On one hand we have the evangelicals ignoring and openly rejecting the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit, and on the other extreme we have the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation cult) and WOF (Word of Faith cult) movements misusing those gifts and the power of God. So what’s the biblical balance?
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” – Acts 4:31
What is a cessationist? A cessationist is one who believes that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and gifts of the Spirit are now obsolete in our day – that God has changed and no longer functions through the gifts and power of His Holy Spirit. The cessationist is taught of men that the power, gifts, and spiritual blessings of God ended with the original apostles of Jesus and that believers in Jesus today have no need of these blessed divine gifts and the power of God Jesus instructed and sent us with. The cessationist denies the need for the LORD’s gifts and power here in this last hour, directly contrasting the history of the early church and the warning of Jesus that satanic power would be at an all-time high in the final days (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; Revelation 12:12).
Concerning one cessationist, one author writes:
Pastor John MacArthur teaches the speaking of tongues by believers at Corinth was demonic. – *56. Truth About Speaking in Tongues – John MacArthur 1, T. 7:38-8:27. | Are Tongues Demonic? | John MacArthur Exposed
One writer notes:
“The fact is, John MacArthur’s doctrine of cessationism is not an ‘error’, as in a mistake. He is preaching what he knows is FALSE. He knows exactly what he is doing.”
Because of the deadness in the church, he teaches the believers in Corinth were deceived into feeling God by speaking in tongues. This is why he teaches the work of the Holy Spirit within the Charismatic movement is a counterfeit of Satan.
The night I prayed to be baptized in the Holy Spirit I had never seen anyone speak in tongues. Reaching out for some ecstatic experience was the furthest thing from my mind. I simply wanted more power to be a better witness for God. It’s true—especially in the past decade—admired teachers have deceptively introduced heresies within Pentecostal and Charismatic churches (2 Peter 2:1). This still doesn’t nullify the godly lives of over three hundred million Christians in the world that have been baptized in the Holy Spirit with the physical evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 1:5; 2:4; 8:17; 10:46; 19:6).
For those who love the Lord and speak in tongues, I give this warning. The assault upon us for using the gift God has given us when we were baptized in the Holy Spirit, is intensifying. Pastors like MacArthur, Stanley, and Jeremiah are slandering the entire Pentecostal movement because of false teachers and heretics like Ken Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, and Paul Crouch. Jesus warned us of this division within the body that would occur as we draw closer to the great tribulation.
The blood of the cross has already been shed as Jesus “spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). Satan must hinder Christ’s people from reading, believing, and experiencing His power to “cast out devils” and be used of God in “the ministry of reconciliation” as His very “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). The most powerful way the enemy can do this is by having his agents on the inside, posing as representatives of Christ, while robbing Christ of His glory and pilfering His divine power from His body in the earth.
For such are falseapostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Thereforeit is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
Of this war against the divine power of the Holy Spirit, Randy Orris writes:
All these years of the Church history, the Enemy has masterminded an infiltration strategy: to have Christians enthusiastically embrace the counterfeit gospel, the false prophets and the sensual substitute … while actually rejecting the genuine Power and Gifts of the Holy Spirit which the Head of the Church gave to us and our children forever: “For the promise is UNTO YOU, and TO YOUR CHILDREN, to your children, and TO ALL THAT ARE AFAR OFF, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).
The following verses are still in effect, and will be until Jesus comes:
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH; and YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. – Joel 2:28
For THE GIFTS and THE CALLING OF GOD are WITHOUT repentance. – Romans 11:29,
We would not deny the LORD who purchased us—why would we deny the very gifts that He purchased for us … which are to glorify Him, and not us?”
There are many today who erroneously believe we only need God’s written Word and not His power and presence. Scripture contradicts such a notion. “The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20).
Our LORD Jesus said: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth“ (John 4:23-24).
Is “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8), or did the LORD lie to us in His Word? Has He changed? “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).
In order to control things themselves, the cessationist reduces his version of the gospel down to a set or a book of facts. But that very book—the Bible—contradicts that one who would erroneously suppose that the head knowledge of sound doctrine alone is necessary to walk with the LORD. Such a notion is not consistent with the earliest believers who, while biblically intensive and discerning, were also moved upon by the presence and power of God to preach, to love their enemies, to bring healing, to walk in God’s love with the brethren of Christ, to please the LORD, and to see divine miracles (Book of Acts). These who would teach some new program are not continuing “stedfastly inthe apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42).
New Testament Christianity involves walking with the LORD in the Holy Spirit and His power; not just learning the facts about God (Luke 24:49; Acts 1-2, etc.). “But ye shall receive power, AFTER that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
HOW many people know that you and I have never once had the “problem” of having too much of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives?
Paul gave us Jesus’ one true Gospel and he stated: “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit andof power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).
Satan’s goal is to hinder Christ’s sacrifice from being fully effectual and realized in the lives of as many souls as possible. Remember, it is a grave error and extremely dangerous action to take away any part from God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Changing in any way, the original Gospel program that was instituted and carried out by our LORD and His holy apostles, is a deadly undertaking.
Quench not the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19
The primary passage the cessationist uses in his lame attempt to peddle the evil, Spirit-quenching wares of God’s arch enemy, is the end of 1 Corinthians 13. He grossly reads into and distorts this passage for his own self-serving agenda (2 Peter 3:16). At the end of 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is simply contrasting the eternal nature of love and the temporal nature of the gifts of the Spirit. However, Paul never says anything to indicate the ceasing of those gifts until “that which is perfect is come.” Obviously, this will not be the case until we are actually with Him. “That which is perfect” is not yet come. We are not yet in glory.
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. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 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. 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. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. – 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
1 Corinthians 13 is purposely wedged between chapters 12 and 14 to establish that the “greatest” priority in God’s kingdom is “charity.“ He says nothing to remove the functioning of the gifts of the Holy Spirit here and now in this Church age. Yet, those eager to control the minds and lives of men use Paul’s words to dismiss the presence and work of the divine Person of the Holy Ghost. This is an insidious preoccupation, motivated by the enemy of Christ himself and perpetrated by Satan’s wolves to steal the glory and power from the LORD and His blessed people. To say that there is no Holy Ghost baptism or gifts of the Spirit is to call Christ’s apostle Paul a liar, and likewise the Holy Spirit who was inspiring his writings.
Paul introduced the Spirit’s gifts, as well as the proper order and usage of them, in chapters 12 and 14. Just because God says that charity is most important does not give any sinful man the license to try to remove HIS gifts. Attempting to do so is undiluted arrogance! Anyone participating in this should repent at once, cease leaning to his own understanding, and stop removing things from God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Limiting God is a sin (Psalms 78:41). The denial of the work of the divine Person of the Holy Ghost in and among His people is a ploy of Satan to take glory (and control) from the LORD Himself and hand it over to mere sinful men who are venomous, thieving wolves. This is that doctrine and the deeds of the Nicolaitans which Jesus says He hates (Revelation 2:6, 15).
In 1 Corinthians 13, “that which is perfect” is clearly speaking of Heaven. To the cessationist, I would say: If you will read the 1 Corinthians 13 text and stop regurgitating the lies of the wolves you have been deceived by, the LORD will open your eyes. He is calling you to repent, and fear and serve God and not man. His “counsel” is the very “thoughts of his heart” and the very “lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path” (Psalms 33:11; 119:105).
Feigning to love, worship, and desire more of God while rejecting His clear counsel concerning being baptized in the Holy Ghost, is betrayal. Saying that intellectual knowledge of His Word is enough is rebellion. Paul said, “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20). Jesus said we must worship Him not only in “truth” but “in spirit” (John 4:23-24). On this very note, Jesus told the false teachers of His day that they went into error for two reasons—they rejected the full-counsel of His Word and they rejected His divine power in their lives. “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, NOR THE POWER of God” (Matthew 22:29).
To further illustrate this truth, one may wish to reflect upon the lives of Jesus, Paul and other apostles and New Testament saints. Were they just full of head knowledge? Is that all being a follower of Jesus consists of? Was not Christ and His apostles and servants active in casting out devils, healing the sick, laying hands on people, and doing other exploits for Jesus’ glory under the Spirit’s power? Well of course they were. When was the last time you read the book of Acts?
Even a child who reads the New Testament can witness a myriad of Gospel action. Do the Great Commission passages sound like Jesus was sending us forth to simply learn knowledge and theory, or is there a thrusting forth into Gospel work and action with the promise of His divine power being present to bless, heal, deliver, and bring forth the fruit of lives saved and made whole by Him? Let’s review what Jesus said:
AndJesuscame and spake unto them, saying, A l l p ow er is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. – Matthew 28:18-20
Well, is it “the end of the world” yet? No! So, we know that Christ is still working in, through and with His true disciples today who go forth to preach His Gospel and teaching all men His Word.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. – Mark 16:15-20
“Signs” certainly do follow the preaching of His Word and the absence of such power and blessing is more evidence that His original Gospel, in its full-counsel, is not being set forth.
Now, we are not to seek signs. No. We are to seek the Savior and to obey Him fully and diligently as we dispense His truth unchanged from its original form as written in His Word.
Yet, why are these things not happening more often? Why are such signs, deliverances, and blessings seldom or never seen in today’s so-called “evangelical” church world? It’s simple: tradition-loving, Christ-denying modern Pharisees have long ago taken over the helm, stripping Christ, the only “Head” of His true body, of His blessed glory and power (Mark 7:6-10; Colossians 2:18-19).
The answer to the gross lack of divine power is obvious (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20). Believers know that communicating or preaching the Gospel message or Word of God is most important and yet, it is not our prerogative to diminish anything from the Commission of God (Deuteronomy 4:2; Jeremiah 26:2).
Please allow me to encourage you to dismiss the lies of the cessation beguilers and get deeply into God’s Word for yourself so that you rightly divide the Word of divine truth (2 Timothy 2:15). As you do this, the truth will be manifested in your heart.
Prayer:Blessed and holyFather, I love You. Imbue my life with Thy holy fear. LORD, please clean my heart and life of all unbelief, traditions of men, false notions, erroneous teachings, and all sin. I will trust and walk only in what You have clearly stated in Your Word LORD. Fill me afresh with Your Holy Spirit Father as I now surrender my life afresh to You in repentance and return wholly to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Capture Points
Discuss what a cessationist is and how this is affecting the modern church
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Jesus Calling Devotional Exposed: 10 Things You Might Not Know
“I know so many who are so deceived by this book!! The author is a woman and she makes Jesus sound like your boyfriend who is so in love with you he can’t bare a minute without you! It is sickening! Plus she says the Bible was not enough for her. She needed more. This author died and if she did repent of her blasphemy against a holy God she is burning in hell as we speak.” Karen Cochran
BEWARE of the Jesus Calling devotional book which is written by a full blown heretic, Sarah Young. This book continually assures things to lost souls (catholics, etc.) reserved only for the true Christian. It promises salvation, assurance, grace, mercy, the glory of God, etc to lost hell bound idolatrous sinners. Like antichrist Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life book, Jesus Calling never calls sinners to repent which is a Gospel essential and without which God will never save any soul from sin and hell (Luke 13:3, 5). You will never hear Jesus’ born again commanded or command to repent in this heretical devotional book title Jesus Calling. This monstrosity simply confirms sinners in their sin, sealing their doom in the lake of fire (Jeremiah 23:17; Lamentations 2:14, etc.).
Sarah Young is just another self-willed false prophet who does “ministry” her way, not God’s, in order to sell books and to mislead eternal souls into eternal damnation.
The blessings of God in Christ’s salvation are reserved only for those born again “in Christ,” and never for hell bound religious idolaters (John 15:7; 2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Peter 1:1-4, etc.).
Stacy Strother writes:
“Her subtly, deceptive, doctrinally corrupt fairy tale version of what she calls bible studies for all the different ages of people, including children’s bible studies, teen and other, are found in the book stores—shelves filled full.
She is deceived, a false witness, False bible teacher, and has not heard from our Jesus—the Christ, Son of the living God, of which, is the very Word of God.
She hears from demons. Period! She needs to REPENT, and be born again! Please Lord Jesus, help her see her own demise!”
About That Jesus Calling – 10 Things You Might Not Know
ARE you seeking to experience God OR to KNOW HIM? (John 17:3)
“People want a word from God instead of the Word OF God.” Warren Smith
by Lighthouse Trails Editors
1. Did you know that Sarah Young says she had been inspired by the “Jesus” of a book called God Calling?
2. Did you know that Christian publisher Harvest House’s book TheEncyclopedia of New Age Beliefs says that God Calling is an example of a channeled New Age book “replete with denials of biblical teaching”?1
3. Did you know that the “Jesus” of God Calling teaches that God is “in” everyone?
4. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the Jesus of the Bible?
5. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling rejects the Jesus of the Bible’s warnings about the future and tells us to “laugh” at the future?
6. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling frequently flatters his followers, which contrasts the way Jesus Christ spoke to people?
7. Did you know that Sarah Young’s “Jesus” revises the night that Jesus Christ was born and calls it a “dark night” in a “filthy stable” in “appalling conditions” even though the Bible says the shepherds rejoiced in all that they had seen that night? 2
8. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling revises the accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph of the Bible?
9. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling encourages his followers to practice contemplative “listening” prayer and to have a “buffer zone of silence” with no warning about seducing spirits?3
10. Did you know that the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling emphasizes New Age terms and concepts throughout the book?
The 10 points above have been taken from Warren B. Smith’s new book, “Another Jesus” Calling. This book provides valuable information that can help you warn your family and friends how the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the biblical Jesus.
Notes:
1. John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996), p. 103.
2. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, p. 376.
3. Jesus Calling, June 15th entry
FEEDBACK:
“Solid Biblical refutation of the “New Age ” nonsense passing itself off as the latest thing God is doing. In our area a number of Churches have embraced this and other similar material with no discernment to the un-biblical nature of this drivel. Thank God for Warren B. Smith and others who provide an inestimable service to the Body of Christ as “watchmen on the wall.” Pastor Tom, West Harrison NY”
“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” Romans 1:4 Chapter 1-16 Chapter 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2 (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3 concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5 by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience […]
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Billy Graham Promoted and Sent People to Go Join the Catholic Church
“One of the most troubling problems within the church today is the unwavering loyalty to a ‘christian’ personality rather than to Christ and His Word. The unwillingness to test every man’s teaching with God’s Word, coupled with a stubborn lack of discernment, produces fertile ground for deception to flourish.” Evangeline DiChristi
from Chick Publications
Billy Graham Still Sending Converts Back to the Pope
Billy Graham. We know that his messages are solid gospel. Few in or out of the Christian World have not heard of him. Since 1949 he has held the spotlight as the most prominent evangelist in Christendom. He has just finished his 416th crusade in Pasadena, California that drew over 300,000 people in four days. 13,000+ responded to his altar calls. Graham is now 86 years old and has one more crusade scheduled in New York City next year, health permitting.
The Pasadena crusade was on the anniversary of his first Los Angeles revival 55 years ago. It was after that meeting that Graham was “kissed by William Randolph Hearst” according to Dr Cathy Burns in her book, Billy Graham and His Friends. This meant that Hearst had decided to promote Graham’s ministry in his nationwide chain of newspapers.
Immediately, reporters and photographers were crawling all over the Graham meetings. Front page articles began to appear in the leading local papers wherever Graham held meetings. One reporter was assigned full time to travel with Graham’s team.
In 1991, Graham claimed that this sudden attention remained a mystery. Burns describes a more complex scenario. Regardless, the publicity propelled Graham into the national, if not international, limelight.
Jesus warned, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you.” Over the years, Graham became the friend of presidents and kings, a beloved “America’s Pastor.”
But the fame came with a price. In his book, Smokescreens, written in 1983, Jack Chick describes how Roman Catholic leaders viewed and used Graham as a key player in their ecumenical plans. As early as 1965, he was a guest speaker at Catholic Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina where he received an honorary doctor’s degree. A college official’s letter describes Graham’s address as “theologically sound” as may have been given by “any other Catholic preacher.” The letter further states, “I would state that he could bring Catholics and Protestants together in a healthy ecumenic spirit.” Graham was also speaking at several other Catholic colleges at that time.
This prediction was fully realized. In Smokescreens, Chick shows various illustrations. In 1971 Graham is shown meeting with Oakland, California, Catholic Bishop Floyd Begin who lauded Graham’s ministry. In 1972 he received a Franciscan Friars’ award for true ecumenism. In 1979 Graham praised the pope as a “moral and spiritual leader that believes in something.”
In 1981 he was closeted for almost two hours with Pope John Paul II. After the 1982 New England crusade, thousands of those who went forward for salvation were turned over to Catholic clergy for follow-up.
And this hasn’t changed. Before the Pasadena crusade this year, The Tidings, official newspaper for the Los Angeles diocese, reported that Cardinal Mahony had written to parish priests to encourage their members to attend the crusade.
Crusade officials bragged that they had “a marvelous agreement” with Graham to give all registration cards to the diocese, of the inquirers who identified themselves as Catholic. The object was to “reincorporate Catholic Crusade participants back into full sacramental life in the Catholic Church.” “This is ecumenicity at it finest,” said Alexei Smith, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer for the archdiocese.
There is no doubt that hundreds of thousands have been swept into the kingdom during the Graham crusades. But how tragic that so many who responded to Graham’s call to salvation were then sent back to the spiritual bondage and pagan rituals of the pope’s prostitute church?
Jack Chick concludes the Smokescreens chapter: “Yes, beloved. Billy Graham, as much as I love him and hate to say it, I believe was cleverly used as a smokescreen and as a pied piper for the whore of Revelation.”
In Graham’s 1952 Pittsburgh crusade, the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph reported that Graham said:
“Many of the people who reach a decision for Christ at our meetings have joined the Catholic Church and we have received commendations from Catholic publications for the revived interest in their Church following our campaigns. This happened both in Boston and Washington. After all, one of our prime purposes is to help the churches in a community. If after we move on, the local (sic) churches do not feel the efforts of these meetings in increased membership and attendance, then our crusade would have to be considered a failure.” [Emphasis in the original.]
Did you notice that Graham was only interested in a church’s increased membership-but nothing was said about a person receiving Christ as his or her personal Lord and Savior. This is what is important-not church membership! Church membership could increase a 1000-fold but if people are not being saved, then all is in vain.
Graham also gave a boost to the Catholic Church (in 1952) when he added that he “hoped to hear Bishop Fulton J. Sheen at one of the masses at St. Paul’s Cathedral tomorrow. ” [Emphasis in the original.]
“In 1968, Graham was in a meeting in San Antonio, Texas. He said that the Roman Church had given ‘tremendous cooperation’ in areas where he had held crusades. He added, ‘A great part of our support today comes from Catholics. We never hold a crusade without priests and nuns being much in evidence in the audience.”
By 1973 nuns were singing in the choir at Graham’s crusades.
Continuing on with Graham’s ecumenical outlook, the June 10, 1966 issue of Time said that volunteers “will tactfully receive those stepping forward to make a decision for Christ, [and] steer them to the nearest church of their chosen denomination….”
In Poland in 1978, “Graham taught nuns and priests how to evangelize. A picture taken at the famous Polish Shrine of the Black Madonna shows Graham welcoming pilgrims to the worship of their Virgin.”
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Mary is just one of millions of people who have obeyed their Maker. That doesn’t make the immaculate conception heresy correct, that doesn’t make her anything other than a sinner, which she admitted (Luke 1:47). If Mary had refused to obey God, He would have simply replaced her (Esther 4:14). Did Mary walk on water? Did Mary tell anyone to pray to her? Is there even one prayer in the Bible to Mary? No. Did Mary raise the dead, open blinded eyes, heal the lepers, or die for anyone’s sins? No. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHES THAT MARY IS THE MEDIATRIX/co-redeemer: […]
10 Clues Your Love for God has Waxed Cold [podcast]
The wise virgin saints are keeping their lamps full of divine oil, they are taking personal responsibility for their own spiritual state with Christ the great and soon coming Bridegroom. Read Matthew 25:1-13.
“The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold”
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:10-14
Did you notice in verse 14 that those who hot for Jesus are participating in the preaching of His Word to the end of the earth (Mark 16:15).
Anyone not devouring God’s Word daily is falling away, is not enduring to the end, is choosing the let their love for Jesus wax cold, and on the wrong, the losing end of this prophecy Jesus gave here on record in Matthew 24:10-14.
“I will spue (vomit, reject) thee out of my mouth”
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” Revelation 3:16-17
Praying God will help you love Him more (Matthew 22:37-40). It really all boils down to WHO we love most. THAT is exactly who we are serving (Romans 6:16).
Loving God is everything as far as what’s in our control – because it’s a choice, daily, and will determine if one remains in Christ to the end.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
“Thou hast left thy first love”
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Revelation 2:4-5
1. When you are choosing not to spend quality time with God in prayer each and every morning… When you are choosing not to spend quality time with God in His Word each and every morning (Luke 9:23-24; 1 Chronicles 16:11).
2. When your love for God’s people is being reduced instead of increased (Philippians 2:12-13; 1 John 5:1) Marks of the True Christian …. “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;” (Romans 12:9-11) See John 13:35.
“And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.” Luke 8:20-21
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” 1 John 3:14
“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” 1 John 5:1
Reading 1 Corinthians 13 today will refresh your heart and mind on the divine importance placed upon LOVE.
3. You are not denying self and not taking up the cross daily (Luke 9:23-24; 19:27; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3, etc.).
4. You aren’t communicating the light of truth to others because you no longer seek or fear the LORD and so His divine virtue isn’t teeming in and flowing out of you. Your cup no longer runs over but instead is running empty (Psalms 23). You have a lampshade over the light and are not letting His light shine in and through your life and words… “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isaiah 58:1)
5. You live in fear instead of faith and the joy of being with Jesus (Luke 21:28; 1 John 4:16-18; Proverbs 28:1; Psalms 2:11).
6. You preach promises and not conditions…following the apostate modern church and you don’t preach the cardinal doctrines of the original Gospel which we are commanded to “earnest contend for.” (Jude 3) You begin meditating on and living by trends instead of truth (Jeremiah 9:3; 2 Timothy 4:2-4; Philippians 4:8; Romans 12:1-2).
7. You have little or no true fellowship with other born- again Bible believing disciples of Jesus as is defined in God’s Word and not by the modern church world (Acts 2:42).
The Word of God is to run rich, to be abundant among God’s people … “In all wisdom” and “all in the name of the Lord Jesus” … “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 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.” (Colossians 3:16-17)
8. You know you are backsliding when your main thrust and identity become politics, not the work of the Gospel. YOU are a blood bought disciple of Jesus, not a conservative. You are a Bible believing follower of Christ (Luke 9:62; Galatians 6:14).
9. When you love this world…..When you spend more time and money on hobbies and the things of this fleeting world than you do on attending to knowing, walking with the LORD and preparing to be used of Him (Mark 4:17-19; 1 John 2:15; James 4:4).
10. When you spend more money on trash and trinkets then helping the work of the One you claim to love and the poor. You know you are backslidden when you are not obeying God with what He’s placing in your temporal possession. He shall bring you into full account for this.
Regrettably, people will give their money to any and every pleasure under the sun but make excuses when the opportunity to support the work of the One they claim to love and serve. The Holy Spirit foretold that in the final days before the return of Jesus, there would be those with a mere “form of godliness”, “men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous,” and “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7) According to the LORD, one of the main ways to measure our true love for Him or lack thereof, is by peering into our personal stewardship of the resources He’s placed into our temporary possession. Luke 12 and 16 offer a plethora of divine wisdom and warning concerning the judgment to come, the judgment we shall endure in giving account for our stewardship in this life.
The clear proof that God is working in our lives, that we are truly following Jesus, is that we are becoming less and less vested in this fleeting, fallen world (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). And that we, our good works, our giving are more and more invested in eternity – in the eternal kingdom of Christ, laying up treasures in Heaven, sending them before us, relinquishing the things of this world for the glory of God – putting them to work for the eternal Gospel of Christ – for saints to be fed and equipped and the lost to hear the Word of God (Matt. 6:19-21).
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:19-24
To underscore the importance of stewardship, we should realize that 16 of our LORD’s 38 parables involved stewardship. Those who now do not wish to face and confront this truth, are apparently those who are in the most need of hearing it.
PRAYER: Father I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. Please cause my conscience to be super sensitive to Your conviction, Your leading, and to evade all that defiles me in Your holy eyes, sin. Here and now I submit my life afresh to You dear LORD. You must increase but I must decrease. I am crucified with Christ and thank You for conforming me to His holy image. I am all Yours LORD and thank You that You are all mine. I love You Jesus. Please make me one with You and the Father and with Your beloved body. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
You can Have a … Jesus is the Great Shepherd of His Sheep (Heb. 13:20; Lk. 15) A FRESH START WITH GOD (First, if you are not certain that you are genuinely born again, please go here first) Let’s get something straight…. the disciple, the mere man writing this message is more in need of JESUS than anyone who ever lived! No one needs Jesus more than I do and yet, we must do things HIS way, not our own (Ephesians 3:8). “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs […]
Dollar Dialogue [podcast]
Holes in Your Money Bags? [podcast] Curing the Dilemma of Diminishing Returns. If we want to see Heaven’s floodgates opened, we must examine what compliance, what agreement, what obedience the LORD may be leading us to render. The Reason Your Bag has Holes in it [podcast] (below) YOUR own bank statement tells you exactly who you are. Matt 6:21 A financial investor takes your money and multiplies it for your last few years in this temporal life, right? In contrast, laborers for Christ take your support and multiply it for Christ and themselves for all eternity. In Christ’s eternal kingdom […]
The Love of Many Shall Wax Cold [podcast]
If someone’s love toward God’s people has waxed cold, it’s only because their love for the LORD first waxed cold (Matthew 24:10-14). Today is the best day to repent and return to the LORD. “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all […]
by Lighthouse Trails Editors
The 10 points above have been taken from Warren B. Smith’s new book, “Another Jesus” Calling. This book provides valuable information that can help you warn your family and friends how the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling contradicts the biblical Jesus.
