Category: Bible Preaching

Categories
Bible Preaching

True Cross

Stephen Kuntzman | 12/12/2022 | 6:30 PM

Luke 9:23-24

(23)  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

(24)  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Hebrews 12:1-2

(1)  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

(2)  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

In Luke 15 we have the account of three men – a father and two brothers.

Prodigal son was met by his father, and the older son was met by his father.

The father met both because he loved them both equally.

However, the prodigal son had a son mentality, but was willing to be a servant – Luke 15:17-20, “(17) And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  (19)  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  (20)  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (KJV).

The elder brother had a slave mentality longing to be a son – “All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you” (ISV).

We need a revelation of the Father’s love.

“Jesus, give me a revelation of Your love for me.”

Without a revelation of the Father’s love we will try to somehow earn our place in His family,

Children don’t earn a place in the family –  they are born into the family, and we are born into the family of God.

The new birth puts you in the family of God.

What does it mean to be a bastard and not a son?

What does it mean to be illegitimate in the eyes of God?

The church is a family.

When Jesus says I go to prepare a place for you, He is preparing a place for His Bride, His Church, His family.

Why?

So that where He is there we will be also.

Relationship

Relationship demands proximity, it demands closeness.

It’s that “where I am there you may be also” intimacy found in healthy relationships.

The devil’s tool for destruction is isolation.

To put a gap between you and God.

Sin will surely do that, but so will your inability to see yourself as a son.

You need to be confident in your identity = I AM A CHILD OF GOD.

To be unaware of your true identity and all that comes with it — the benefits of sonship is – detrimental to you.

Know the benefits of carrying His name

Ephesians 3:14-21

(14)  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

(15)  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

(16)  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

(17)  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

(18)  May be able to comprehend [to understand] with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

(19)  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

(20)  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

(21)  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Verse 18-19

  • You are the temple of the Holy Ghost
  • The Church of God is a building: a heavenly house, a habitation for God to dwell in through the Holy Spirit
  • The Love of God for His Church is wide and long and deep and tall.
    • Length = Love is eternal.
    • Breadth = All people have access to His Love in every place, age or nation.
    • Depth = His love will find people at their lowest point.
    • Height = His love will take people to the highest state of glory in Christ.

I remember laying in the top bunk at the age of 11 or 12 with my Walkman cassette player on listening to the Imperials and crying as I told God

I’d do whatever He wanted me to do,

go wherever He wanted me to go,

and be whomever He called me to be.

I can still feel the wetness of the tears as they pooled in my ears.

I don’t remember the exact song, but I remember the moment of calling, response, and commitment I made on that top bunk with my pillow wet with salty tears.

It was there I took up my cross to follow Jesus.

After that night, the devil worked to destroy my young heart, innocence and pure desire.

You may think that devil ain’t worried about a child’s commitment, future, destiny, or ordination. 

You would be wrong

The Antichrist Spirit in Herod tried to kill the Christ, and did indeed kill many children in the process.

Abortion is a satanic tool to destroy the hope and future of our next generation.

All the OT youth: David (lion, bear, giant), young Joseph betrayed, Josiah barely escaping Athaliah’s treachery.

Moses in the bulrush escaping death.

New Converts – young babes in Christ – fighting for their spiritual lives against an enemy who seeks to kill, steal and destroy.

The devil will sift because he wants to destroy, but what he sees as victory is actually God blowing away the chaff that hinders you from fulfilling your purpose.

“The 3D Strategy of Satan: Detour, Distract, Delay.”

-Ken Gurley ?

The devil will try to put a false cross on you if you let him.

This weight might be a legitimate concern that the devil inflates into an illegitimate cross.

The burden he wants to saddle you with doe not lead to victory and resurrection power,

But it leads to hopelessness and despair.

He seeks to get you isolated in order to plague you and burden you down the inner struggles and secret parts of your life,[1]

There – Alone – feelings of depression, desolation and inadequacy overwhelm us.

We then keep the struggle of this False Cross to ourselves and tell ourselves the lie, “This is just my cross to bear.”

That’s a lie.

You have a cross to bare, but this ain’t it.

If you carry this illegitimate cross you’ll be worn away.

Your true cross will lead to full and complete deliverance, power and victory.

The true cross will lead to death, yes, but also to true resurrection:

Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings…”

Take up your cross and follow Jesus.

Stop carrying the false cross of weights and sins.

Quit listening to the voice of the serpent whispering in your ear.

The devil is a LIAR, and the father of all lies.

Because of this, whatever he tells you is a lie and an attempt to get you to believe what he knows is untrue.

So, anytime the devil tells you something just ask yourself, “what is the exact opposite?”

When you find out what that opposite is, it’s a good indication of where the Lord is likely taking you.

Also, if the devil tells you he’s going to kill, destroy, ruin, harm, rob, etc.

You can be certain that he will not do that because he doesn’t have the permission to do it.

If he did then he would have already done it and wouldn’t warn you.

When he speaks it is a play to intimidate and a sign that you are safely in the protection of God.

Praise the Lord[2] -The Imperials

When you’re up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams

And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by Satan’s manifested schemes

And you feel the urge within you to submit to earthly fears

Don’t let the faith you’re standing in seem to disappear

Praise the Lord, He can work through those who praise Him

Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise

Praise the Lord, for the chains that seems to bind you

Serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you

When you praise Him

Now Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think

That we are paupers when he knows himself we’re children of the King

So lift up the mighty shield of faith for the battle must be won

We know that Jesus Christ has risen so the work’s already done

2 Corinthians 2:11

Four Attacks of Satan

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

John 10:10

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

  • Obsession
    • Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.
    • A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.[3]
  • Oppression
    • The act of oppressing; arbitrary and cruel exercise of power:
      • “There can be no really pervasive system of oppression… without the consent of the oppressed.” -Florynce R. Kennedy
    • The state of being oppressed.
    • Something that oppresses.
    • A feeling of being heavily weighed down in mind or body.[4]
  • Depression
    • A mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity.
    • Sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy.
    • A state of depression and anhedonia (the absence of pleasure or the ability to experience it) so severe as to require clinical intervention.[5]
  • Possession
    • The state of being dominated by or as if by evil spirits or by an obsession.[6]

Seven Weapons Against Satan’s Attack[7]

Isaiah 59:19b

“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

  1. The Blood of Jesus Christ.
    • Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
    • Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
  2. Our Testimony.
    • Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
  3. The Name of Jesus.
    • Mark 16:17-18, “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.”
    • Colossians 3:17, “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.”
  4. The Written Word of God.
    • Matthew 4:1-10, “1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
  5. Prayer and Praise.
    • Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
    • I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
  6. Angels of the LORD.
    • Hebrews 1:13-14, “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
    • Psalm 103:20, “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.”
  7. The Holy Ghost.
    • John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
    • Acts 1:8, “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.”
    • Galatians 5:16, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

[1] Kenneth V. Reeves. The Angels, Demons & People (Vol. 1). p. 20

[2] https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/6616995/The+Imperials/Praise+The+Lord

[3] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 4-20-2005.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=obsession

[4] Ibid. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=oppression

[5] Ibid. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=depression

[6] Ibid. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=possession

[7]Kenneth V. Reeves. The Angels, Demons & People (Vol. 1). p. 33-47.

Categories
Bible Preaching

More Than A Song: A War Cry

Apostolic Life Cathedral | More Than A Song | 5/11/2021

Text: Song of Solomon 2:12-13

“(12) The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (13) The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

Psalms 104:10, 12

“He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills….By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (You will be judged by the type of speech that comes from your mouth).

Spring has come, and with it the beautiful melody of birds singing. I particularly love to sit on my porch, or in my home office with the windows open, and listen to peaceful songs delivered by the birds.

We even have a rooster here in the Hills of Guyandotte that crows all day long: morning, noon & night.

We tend to equate the singing of birds to the praise of the saints, and while we can agree with that we also see that their singing teaches us a far greater lesson.

Nature teaches us.

Birds are territorial.[1]

They need to have proper space and conditions to raise their offspring.

They will do many things to raise their families.

I understand that there can be a danger in people being too territorial when it comes to trying to reach the world and not allowing others the opportunity to do a work for Jesus, but tonight I am focusing on your families.

You need to guard your family.

Birds will choose their territory based on the availability of food, water, shelter and nesting locations, and then they seek to attract a mate.

Well, the Church is the perfect location for you to begin nesting, and you already have a mate:

Isaiah 54:5, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”

Paul wrote:

(11) Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.  (2)  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.  (3)  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:1-3).

Birds also claim territory to renew bonds and to let other fowl know that this area is taken.

Birds claim territory through several behaviors, including:[2]

  • Nest building: Some birds, such as different types of wrens, will claim territory by taking advantage of the nesting sites it offers. The males will build multiple nests in suitable locations throughout their territory. The females will then investigate those nests and choose the one they prefer, even if they eventually rebuild the male’s construction to suit their preferences.
    • The Lord Jesus Christ is preparing a place for us, as we prepare ourselves for Him:
      • John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  (3)  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
  • Drumming: Woodpeckers and several types of game birds claim territory by drumming as an alternative to singing. These low-pitched, rhythmic sounds, whether made by pounding on a hollow tree or by using air sacs, will carry great distances. This alerts competing birds that the territory is not available, as well as lets potential mates know that a strong, healthy bird has claimed the location.
    • “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1).
    • Clapping, like drumming, shows an encroaching enemy that we are strong and victorious
    • And to our Lord, it is offered as an expression of praise, worship and thanksgiving for who He is and what He has done.
    • Psalm 66:1, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands.”
  • Visual displays: Visual displays such as puffing up colored feather patches, tail flicking or fanning, wing spreading, and other behaviors are all part of claiming territory. These postures and actions also show off a bird’s strength and health to a potential mate. These behaviors are commonly a part of courtship rituals between opposite sexes as well as territorial displays between two male birds.
    • We lift our hands as a visual display of praise and worship:
      • Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.  (Psalm 63:4)
      • Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.  (Psalm 134:2)
      • I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  (1Timothy 2:8)
        • Worship is closely tied to a life of holiness.
        • Everyone can praise the Lord, but not everyone can worship Him.
    • We dance before the Lord as a visual demonstration of praise:
    • Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.  (Psalm 149:1-3)
    • Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.  (Psalm 150:4)
    • And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6:14)
  • Chasing: As a last resort, aggressive birds may directly chase intruders or competitors out of their territory. This is frequent in areas where many birds are seeking to claim the same space, or when a dominant male is discouraging younger males that are struggling to claim their first territory. In bird species where family groups remain together in the winter, the male parent may chase away his mature offspring the following spring so they do not infringe on his territory.
    • In this day, you better be aggressive about protecting your home, your nest, your territory.
      • The devil is trespassing on your home and in your mind with all the competing distractions. Why is he so set on distracting you, because he wants your most precious possession:
        • Your relationship with God.
        • Your family’s soul.
          • That old serpent will slip near your nest just to consume your future hope.
  • Singing: Singing is one of the most common ways birds advertise that territory belongs to them. Songs will carry quite far, and birds will perch near the edge of their territory to broadcast their claim to the maximum range. At the same time, a strong, vibrant song will help attract a mate. For some species, such as the northern mockingbird, a more complex song will help birds defend a larger territory and are more attractive to females.
    • Singing is so important that the largest book of the Bible is a songbook – Psalms
    • Psalms 66:1-4, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:  (2)  Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.  (3)  Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.  (4)  All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.”
    • We are told to “be filled with the Spirit;  speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:18-20).
    • Psalms 150:1-6, “(1) Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.  (2)  Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.  (3)  Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.  (4)  Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.  (5)  Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.  (6)  Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”

Your Song is More Than A Song.

Your Song is A War Cry.

You are conducting Holy Warfare

Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

Psalms 149:1-9 

  • Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.  
  • Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.  
  • Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.  
  • For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.  
  • Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.  
  • Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;  
  • To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;  
  • To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;  
  • To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

[1] SOURCE: https://www.thespruce.com/how-birds-claim-territory-386444

[2] Ibid.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Agenda for the Ages

Apostolic Life Cathedral | The Agenda for the Ages | 3/16/2021

John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

There are competing agendas at work today, which have been at war before your birth, and your response to these plans determine not only your eternal destiny, but also your present and future.

Thieves come in to steal, seize, invade, and rob you away from Jesus Christ. How? By appealing to your heart of flesh, your desires, your lusts (longing for what is forbidden).

Your desire for power, position, material wealth, food, illicit relationships, are all part of a grand scheme, an agenda, formulated by the satan to deceive you and steal you away from God.

This devilish plan was put into action long before you were born:

There are some who have called this generation “The LAST, LOST, LUST Generation,” but I don’t believe that. I see this generation as:

·       The First Generation because God always saves the best for last and He planned for you to be alive in this time.

·       The Found Generation because you won’t stop searching until you have become exactly what Jesus designed the Church to be.

·       The Favored Generation because you to want and desire what is real and true and will pursue it without with all you have in you.

1 Corinthians 4:14-15, “(14)  I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. (15)  For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”

Listen to your pastor, read your Bible, pray every day, and carve out some time every day to praise Jesus.

1 Corinthians 14:10, “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.”

This is speaking specifically about the gift of tongues, and the fact that there are many languages in the world with each conveying definite meaning of thought, but unless verbally expressed it remains silent.

1 John 4:1-6

(1)  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Be careful of those who would pull you away from Jesus. False teachers, false christs, false men and women who influence you without you even knowing the seed of sin they sow into you.

You have no business watching or listening to anyone who displays actions in direct violation to the Word of God.

So, Disney has some good shows, but many are full of dialogue and scenes that disrespect the mother and father. Youtube and Instagram are full of “influencers” (hear that??) who in some way shape or form are working a plan to get you to buy what they are selling, or to desire (lust after) that which cannot satisfy.

And music, there are some good songs out there today, but many are full of words that either celebrate the accumulation of things, encourage violence, openly mock Jesus and His name, or they objectify the opposite and secretly plant in your mind the idea that premarital sex is ok with anyone of any sexual orientation.

2 Peter 2:1-2

(1)  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

(2)  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

Anyone who tells you that repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, or receiving the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues is not necessary is a false prophet secretly working an agenda placing seeds of doubt and destruction.

If the enemy can get you to doubt the very foundation of salvation he can invade territory that is not his and steal you away from Jesus.

(2)  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

(3)  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

(4)  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

(5)  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

(6)  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

We have an image in our mind of how things ought to be; the devil has a scheme of how he wants things to be (steal, kill, destroy); but, Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, has an agenda for your life that will last throughout all age and time and eternity.

Jesus has planned for you “life and that more abundantly” – the fullness of all that life has to offer.

He has added – superadded – blessings available for you, that the thief wants to snatch from you.

It would have been enough to have been born again – that is life; but He also gives us much more: Love, Joy, Peace, Grace, Adoption, Salvation, Eternal Life…

We need to lay our image of how we think things ought to be and tell Jesus, “I want the abundant life you have for me.”

Someone recently said to me, “I never want to control God, until I do.”

Most of your fear and anxiety (those butterflies or the stomachache you sometimes get) result from trying to forcefully control and shape your life into the way you think it should be, but if you’d allow Jesus to work His Agenda in your life you could have all the abundance this life has for you.

With Jesus, even when my day is rough, I have abundant life.

With Jesus, even if I’m picked on at school, I have abundant life.

With Jesus, even when my future seems uncertain – abundant life.

With Jesus, family troubles won’t stop His abundant life.

The Agenda for the Ages is Jesus’ plan for you that He outlined from the very foundation of the world to give you a more abundant life.

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

–John the Baptist

Do you feel as if you’re the last one on God’s list tonight? He chose you of all the people who have ever lived to be alive at this crucial moment in time and is entrusting you with His message of Abundant Life – The Gospel

Do you feel lost tonight? Seek and call out to Jesus tonight and there’s no doubt you’ll find Him because He’s never far from you.

Do you have trouble with lust tonight? Give it to Jesus. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Categories
Bible Preaching

A Gospel Message of Hope – G. T. Haywood

A Gospel Message of Hope[1]
Bishop G. T. Haywood[2]
(April, 1922)

We wish to call your attention to the third chapter of Romans, beginning at verse 1, “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” That is, the first opportunity to know God. The law of the Ten Commandments was given to them. God had committed unto their trust the oracles of God, and gave them that they might bring the light of God to the world. And although they failed their God, yet His purpose went forward. Even though some did not believe, “shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” Man’s unbelief does not change God’s word, nor stop Him from working out His purpose.

The word of God is true whether the people believe it or not. God will bring Salvation near. It makes no difference what you say, or what I may say, because, “God hath said.” Our God can work while we are sleeping. And when we are folded away like a garment in our graves, God will still be working. If one man, or one people, fails God, He will take up another and move on. God brought Israel out and made them a great people through a man who was only a shepherd of the plains of Midian and not a warrior, but could speak words of wisdom by the spirit of God. Words, which, even to this day, have astonished the world. God sent His Word from heaven unto this people, and walked in the midst of them with mighty signs and wonders showing His mighty arm. And yet they failed God through their unbelief.

The Lord had no people He could trust. So He declared He would “take a people who are not a people and make them a people of God.” He did this to prove that He does not have to depend on any nation or individual. God Himself never failed, and could not fail. Even the prophets He ordained became weak at points along the line and were filled with fear, or took honor to themselves. “The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment” (Isa. 28:7). 

What if man does not believe the Gospel as it is laid, down in the Book? The Gospel is true regardless of his unbelief. I believe in the Blood of JESUS CHRIST, and that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. But the question is: how shall I get the remission? One may say, “I will just believe,” but to “believe” means more than to just say, “I believe.” Matt. 26:28 says, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

If any people start out with the power of God in their midst and become full of pride and lose their spirituality, God will put them aside and take up another. And if the latter fails, He will set them aside and take up still another. I am satisfied that God does not depend upon any of us to carry His work through, but we are compelled to depend upon Him for without Him we can do nothing.

“For this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Jesus was the greatest preacher the world has ever known, and turned the preaching of the Gospel over to Peter as if to say, “You are next, Peter. You shall begin where I leave off.” Then that preacher in Acts 2:38 said, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” That is the way the Holy Spirit gave it out on the day of Pentecost. In those days the people were always baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins that they might receive the Holy Spirit, which was God’s witness to their faith.  

What is the Holy Ghost? He is a witness to your having received remission of sins. That is what the Apostle said: “There are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (1 Jn. 5:8).  He did not say one was any greater than the other. All three of them are required to make one witness. Many people look at water alone, but the proper thing to do is to see the name in which it is administered. Take away the blood, and you have nothing but faith. Take away the water and you make Jesus a liar. The Bible, in the first epistle of John, tells us plainly, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 Jn. 5:6). I do take notice of this much, there was so much authority in the command of JESUS to baptize, that nearly all the churches (with a few exceptions) try in some way to administer it, if it only be the dipping of the finger in the water. But if it is worth doing at all, it is worth doing rightly. However, a man’s failure to believe and obey does not change the Word of God. You can scarcely join a church in the city without some mode of baptism. There are about as many ways as there are human minds, and all for the lack of following the mind of the Spirit.

The reason some people do not live holy is because they have not been taught it and have been brought up wrongly. But you start a man or woman believing the Word of God and you can bring them out on the Word. Our experiences are so varied that it does not pay to attempt to tell others about it, for they will try to get our experience instead of what is written in the Book. I do not want anybody to be able to rise and say the Word of God is not true. There has always been somebody filled with the Spirit, ever since the day of Pentecost. God has never left Himself without witness. No doubt some did not know just what they had. Luther had it. Wesley, Finney and Fox had it; and they had a hard, severe trial in their days.

We want God to be justified. We have not a thing to boast of this day. There is false holiness and true holiness. The true, is the Holy Ghost in you; and the false, is human efforts without God; self-righteousness. If we acknowledge our own failures God will give us His power to overcome day by day. God does not get behind a man with a whip and drive him to heaven, but He fixes it up so you will follow Him because you love Him.

Who is it that never did sin? Paul shows the whole human family had sinned, and if all sinned, all were condemned. But God had mercy. We could not help but sin. We were born that way. But God said, “You must be born again.” And no newborn child walks perfectly at once. First they crawl, then they totter and fall, but they do not keep falling. By this I mean, when a man or woman is filled with the Holy Ghost and starts out to walk with Jesus Christ, they may stumble and fall at first, but don’t get discouraged. If the devil tries to trip you up God will help you. He is able to keep you from falling, says Jude. I am talking about those who have it in their hearts to live for Christ. Do not let any failure daunt your courage. You know God is able to carry you through. Many have found it to be so.

If God brings judgment upon a sinner for his wrongdoing, some will charge Him with injustice. But how can God then judge the world? God said He would give us a light for our path, and put His angels around us, and give us a pattern in Jesus, and place His Spirit within us. Brother, I would be ashamed to tell God I could not live right with all that help! Then folks will try to tell you, “You can’t make it, Brother!” So we are going to commend the righteousness of God, by acknowledging: “O Lord, we are all failures?”  

It is the grace of God that is able to sustain and uphold any man or woman who desires to be kept by the Power of God. There are people who desire to boast of themselves and never have had a change of heart. And some even go so far as to say, “I am all right. I am good enough. I don’t need that Holy Ghost.” I don’t care if you did not steal, drink, or commit adultery: it is in your heart anyhow! Everybody needs the power of God. Good works never did save anybody. It takes the “power of God unto salvation” (Ro. 1:16). I am not telling a moral man to get worse in order to get saved. No! I am telling him there is no condition so bad but that God has grace to save us from it. 

You cannot make men righteous by legislation for “ye must be born again.” God says to the church, “preach the word,” and makes a fertile spot in the terrible desert of sin, that men may see the water of life along the side of the road. No law can make you live right. God Almighty tried it Himself with the children of Israel, and the Word says, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Ro. 8:3). Did you know that when a man becomes saved he will keep the spirit of the law? There is no law against attending to your own business, paying all your debts, and no law against praying.  Do right, and bless God, and pray without ceasing. No law is against doing that which is just and good (Gal. 5:22-23). 

Many homes have been torn asunder. Sorrow and mourning drapes the human heart because of sin. I dislike hearing some people talk because of their disgraceful utterances. But let God get into their hearts and then note the change. Everybody without Christ is guilty. Had God Almighty demanded justice, every living person would have been dead, and brought before the judgment bar to give an account of their misspent lives. The only thing that is going to save a man is the power of God. I am talking about genuine salvation, too! You can go any place and hear everything else but the Gospel of salvation. But men shall be saved. That is our whole service: to save men. The church is ordained for that purpose. 

God sums up the whole human family and declares that it is full of “wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores” (Is. 1:6). To tell a man he should not steal, or covet, or commit adultery is not enough. Tell him how to get saved so he will not do those things. The power of God can save anybody that will believe. The god of carnality has certainly got some folks fast, but, 0, I am so glad I am saved! Saved by the power of God! It is wonderful to be God’s free man, delivered from the power of the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh. It does not make any difference whether a man is old or young, rich or poor, black or white, or brown, just so he believes. If you have never been to school to learn a letter, you can believe. I am satisfied that you do not have to have eyes to believe. You do not have to be able to speak to believe. You may have both hands cut off, but still you can believe. If you cannot hear, somebody will write, or make signs and you can believe. You do not have to weigh so many hundred pounds or write letters, or understand the Bible to get saved. All God said was to believe. Why? Jesus paid it all! The people that are saved today are people that believed the Gospel. And you do not believe God if you do not obey Him! I will prove it to you, too. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18).  I will show you my faith (without saying a word) by my works! It is not merely saying, “I believe” it is proving your belief. If you actually believe then you know what Jesus was talking about when He said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved,” and prove it by your actions (Mk. 16:16). Jesus declared, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). If you do not obey, then you do not believe. 

God has fixed the matter so you need make no mistake about it, either. Too many jump over the fifth verse of the third chapter of John’s Gospel: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Moreover, Jesus stated emphatically that He “testified of that which He had seen; and spake that which He did know” (John 3:11), and this is what He spoke: “I know that if a man be not born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.” If you have never been baptized in the name of JESUS CHRIST, you have never been immersed properly. This is the only name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved. If you repent deeply enough in your heart, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, I will guarantee that you shall receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost as you come up out of the water.[3] If people do not believe God’s Word they never get His best. Even if you do not understand, you must believe, before you can see the Glory of God.[4]


[1] SOURCE: http://www.greateremmanuelchurch.com/drsmith/haywood.htm. Accessed: 5/3/2012. (Link no longer works).

[2] Elder G. T. Haywood at the Apostolic Faith Assembly, Indianapolis, Ind., delivered this sermon during a Sunday morning service in April, 1922.

[3] At the end of this sermon seven persons accepted the word, came forward immediately for baptism. Four of them received the Holy Ghost while coming out of the water, and another soon after changing clothes.

[4] Edited by Stephen E. Kuntzman. 5/3/2012.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Night Before the End – Norman L. Wagner

Bishop Norman L. Wagner (Pentecostal Assemblies of the World) preaching “The Night Before the End” in 1987 to the Because of the Times conference in Alexandria, Louisiana, and introduced by Nathaniel A. Urshan, who was the General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International at that time.

Categories
Bible Preaching

How To Receive the Holy Ghost – Billy Cole

Categories
Bible Preaching

Justified By Faith -J. T. Pugh

This journey we’re on is a faith walk, not a works walk. I know that our faith will produce obedience to God’s  Word, but to say that my salvation will be the result of my own goodness is a lie, or that my guilt can be assuaged by good deeds. No, It is only by the redemption of Jesus Christ (He paid the price for my sin, my guilt, my salvation) and my faith in Him that I can live free from the pangs of guilt. 

Hear J. T. Pugh preaching about the subject of being Justified By Faith: 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qrfdpi3j0wd4d7p/%20Justified%20By%20Faith.mp3?dl=0

Categories
Bible Preaching

Pergamos, Christ and You

Much of the following sermon was influenced by the work of Dustin Abbot’s book Revelation Unveiled and F. J. Ellis’ curriculum for Purpose Institute course on The Book of Revelation. So, please allow this disclaimer to serve as my citation for anything I failed to properly cite in the body of the text. Be well & maranatha! 

Text: 

“For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

The book of Revelation is probably one of the most misunderstood and discussed books in the Bible. 

Many, including myself, often read its pages attempting to figure out answers to questions we describe as the end times, or eschatology (the study of the end times).

In those pages, written by the apostle John – John the beloved – students of the Word of God try to figure out future events coming to this world. 

My interest today is not about when, where or how the catching away of the Church will take place.

Nor am I going to discuss seals, vials, elders, or the four beasts sitting around the throne.

I’m not even interested in who the beast, false prophet, or antichrist are, and if they are alive right now.

I know that rockets continue to  drop all over Jerusalem and Israel even while I am in this podium, and that many are discussing the coming of the Lord for that very reason, but that is not why I have lifted this text to our attention today. 

You see, according to Dustin Abbot (in his book Revelation Unveiled), the Book of Revelation is primarily written to reveal Jesus to us. It is a disclosure of the everlasting Truth of who Jesus Christ is yesterday, today, and forever. And along with this is the unveiling of the Church in its relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:” (Rev. 1:1).

It is a “Jesus” book, and in its pages we see Jesus Christ as:

1. Alpha and Omega – the Almighty.

2. One in the midst of the seven candlesticks.

3. One holding the seven stars of the seven churches.

4. The only One worthy to sit on the throne.

5. The Lion of the tribe of Judah.

6. The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

7. The King on a white horse.

8. The Judge of all. 

It is also a book written to the church about the past, present, and future.

It is specifically addressed to seven churches: “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”

Seven Churches of Asia:

1. Ephesus

2. Smyrna

3. Pergamos

4. Thyatira  

5. Sardis 

6. Philadelphia

7. Laodicea

Some believe that these seven churches are symbolic of various ages that the Church will have gone through from Acts until today (source: Purpose Institute’s notes on the Book of Revelation, lesson 1):

Church/Meaning of Name/Time Period:

Ephesus/Desirable/100-200 A.D.

Smyrna/Myrrh/200-300 A.D.

Pergamos/Marriage or Elevation/300-500 A.D.

Thyatira/Continual Sacrifice/500-1500 A.D.

Sardis/Remnant/1500-1900 A.D.

Philadelphia-Brotherly Love/1900-Rapture

Laodicea/People Rule/Present-Rapture

I also think it is referring to conditions evident in churches right now, spiritual conditions that exist in local assemblies and even in the lives of its individual members.

With that in mind, it is this third church I am interested in today: Pergamos.

PERGAMOS

Revelation 2:12-17  

(12)  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Pergamos literally means “married with the world.”

It refers to a condition and time when satan changed tactics to attack the Church.

We all want to be accepted. So, satan stopped persecuting the church and began popularizing it. The church became the “in thing” to join. And so it became fashionable. But while fashionable it was impure. Those joining didn’t leave their sinful practices and those already in it became influenced by the world.

This led to a condition where the Church would become unfaithful to Christ and married to the world.

Jesus is stating here that He is coming with a two-edged to divide the true Church from the false church that is full of compromise and polluted works.

(13)  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 

Even as popular culture tried to pervert, popularize, and convolute the name of Jesus, the Church held on to the truth of the mighty God in Christ. They still understood:

*Neither is there salvation in any other…

*In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily…

*Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name…

God has always had a True Church that has held onto His name.

Somewhere and somehow Truth has always been preserved.

Even when satan changes tactics, God is always steps ahead preserving and protecting the Church.

You see, Truth doesn’t need protecting. Truth is true whether all believe it, or none do.

It was Adrian Rodgers who said,

It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. Let me tell you something, friend, it is not love and it is not friendship if we fail to declare the whole counsel of God. It is better to be hated for telling the truth, than to be loved for telling a lie. It is impossible to find anyone in the Bible who was a power for God who did not have enemies and was not hated. It’s better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately succeed with the truth than to temporarily succeed with a lie. There is only one Gospel and Paul said, “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

-Adrian Rodgers, National Religious Broadcasters Convention in 1996

Pergamos had martyrs who’d died for Truth – Antipas (thought to be the pastor).

(14)  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

It was Balaam who couldn’t curse the Hebrews. So, he encouraged Balac to have his pagan people intermarry with the Hebrews.

Thus, the Hebrews brought a curse on themselves when their gentile wives brought false gods, heathen practices, and compromise into their homes.

The devil wants you to bring a curse on yourself by allowing a marriage of the holy with the profane in your life.

(15)  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.  

The doctrine (deeds) of the Nicolaitans: corrupted Paul’s teaching concerning grace, and made it a license to sin.

They were sensual and unrepentant.

They turned the grace of God into lasciviousness.

Paul wrote in response to them: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2).

2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

(16)  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

REPENT – Jesus here gives to John the very first word of the Gospel that He shared in the beginning – REPENT.

It is the only solution for your sin.

It is better to fall in humble repentance now than to be broken by God’s judgment.

Psalms 103:8-11, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.  He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.”

(17)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Hidden manna = Divine provision both natural and spiritual.

The Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our sustenance.

White stone = a sign of purity and innocence.

Even in this wicked age of compromise God can keep you pure and declare you innocent.

Name recorded in stone = worthy of eternal life

God would not condemn the True Church to Hell because of the failures of their generation.

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). 

SOURCES:

Dustin Abbott. Revelation Unveiled.

F. J. Ellis. The Book of Revelation. Purpose Institute.

Categories
Bible Preaching

Playing the Composition of Life In Another Key – J. T. Pugh

The late J. T. Pugh preaching “Playing the Composition of Life In Another Key.”

https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/music-composition-beginners-guide

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jp9sklyjexc1em6/Playing%20the%20Composition%20of%20Life%20In%20Another%20Key.mp3?dl=0

I have always had a high regard for Bro. Pugh’s preaching and depth since the first time I heard him preach.  Then I met the man and all that regard increased. In fact, as a young man, I would often say that I could gauge a young minister’s depth and maturity by what they thought, or said, about Bro. Pugh. Perhaps that was wrong of me, but I must admit that I still think this way.

Listen and let this man’s ministry continue to bless you.

Categories
Bible Preaching

The Comeback Story of the Royal Seed

“While everyone was busy looking after Jezebel they failed to take note of Athaliah.”[1]

Jezebel’s attack on the ministry (the Word of God) was a distraction, Athaliah is a real threat to the kingdom (attack the authority of God), Jehoshabeath (Jehovah-Sworn)[2] will protect the royal seed, and the King will come back.

Text:

“But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not” (2 Chronicles 22:10-11).

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

Genesis 3:14-15, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  (15)  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

JEZEBEL = “Baal exalts,” “Baal is husband to,” or “unchaste”

When we say her name, it conjures in our mind an image and thought. She was a dangerous queen, the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel, but her true allegiance was to herself.

She refused the Word of Jehovah, and even killed His prophets: “For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD…” (I Kings 18:3-4). – No details, but just that fateful line.

The threatened to kill Elijah after he destroyed the prophets on Mount Carmel. Her intimidation tactic distracted him and he ran.

Refuse the distracting tactics of Jezebel and identify her by her traits:[3]

  • CONTINUALLY TESTIFY OF THEMSELVES: Through their revelations, insight, or spiritual sensitivity.
  • OFTEN SEEK RECOGNITION: Thrive on recognition from the pulpit by leaders, becoming offended or distant if they are not.
  • TRY TO GET CLOSE TO LEADERS:  Fellowship, Flattery, Prophecy
  • SELDOM WANT TO BE IN AUTHORITY: But will seek to be the power behind the throne (with hopes of being the King of the throne).
  • USUALLY ATTRACT THE WEAKEST MEMBERS IN THE CHURCH: Will begin to control and manipulate them with flattery and/or grand prophecies.
  • USE THOSE WEAK MEMEBERS:  To spread slander, discontent, and division, lies…
  • OFTEN TRY TO BE A MATCHMAKER: And try to control those relationships.
  • MOST OFTEN HAVE WEAK SPOUSES: (Like Ahab) But will proclaim them strong, spiritual, and greatly gifted.
  • STEAL PROPHECIES FROM OTHERS:  In order to look better.
  • USUALLY FEEL PERSECUTED: They don’t, believe, want to use me because…
  • OFTEN MAKE EXCUSES:  And never, or rarely, acknowledge their own sins.
  • USUALLY ARE WORKS-ORIENTED: Often fasting and praying hoping to be seen as spiritual.
  • OFTEN FULL OF BITTERNESS: Towards Father, or another male authority figure.
  • OFTEN HAVE FLAWED REASONING: hiding behind a pseudo-spirituality that implies that only the spiritual can understand.
  • OFTEN HAVE CHARISMATIC PERSONALITY: Constantly looking for people to listen to them, with hopes of having their own following.
  • OFTEN REFUSE SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY OF PASTOR:  Get their direction from God, have no need of a Pastor, or counseling.  Usually leave the church and have private meetings – – forsaking the house of the Lord.
  • OFTEN THE SOURCE OF THE JEZEBEL SPIRIT IS SHAME: A grudge one holds against themselves, others, or God.

Yes, Jezebel is dangerous, but most of the time her attack is a distraction, a feint, an attempt to get your attention on a possible danger and to ignore the real danger lurking in the palace hall.

What Jezebel seeks to have is control through manipulation, domination, and intimidation. She works behind the scenes causing division, mistrust, while feeding a spirit of offense with hope of getting you to reject the God appointed spiritual authority in your life.

“The issue is never the issue, the issue is almost always control” –James Rowe

You won’t win this battle in your flesh, it’s spiritual warfare:

Ephesians 6:10-20, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  (11)  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  (12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  (13)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  (14)  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  (15)  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  (16)  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  (17)  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  (18)  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  (19)  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,  (20)  For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

ATHALIAH = “afflicted of the Lord”

While everyone was busy looking after Jezebel they failed to take note of Athaliah

Jezebel had a sister-in-law who was married to King Jehoram of Judah. Her name was Athaliah and she was the sister of Ahab.

>>Some scholars believe that Athaliah was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel<<

Regardless, she was a deadly force to be reckoned with. She was a contemporary of Jezebel and had watched and learned from her, silently learning how and when to make her own move for power. She refused the authority of God.

The desire for power and recognition will destroy you, but usually not until it has hurt and possibly destroyed those in your way. Innocent people, God called people, and children of the King will not stop Athaliah from reaching her goal. Not if she can help it.  

Because she will stop at nothing to get what she wants, God will afflict her mind. There is no peace of mind for Athaliah. She was vexed, troubled, bothered, upset, worried.

When you want something so bad that you will take it, steal it, kill for it, and lie for it. Well, you have an Athaliah problem.

While Jezebel is busy manipulating, pulling the strings and intimidating – Oh, she’s a bully – people to achieve her agenda,

Athaliah sits in the queen’s chamber silently plotting, scheming, and biding her time.

The spirit of the antichrist controls Athaliah. She is driven to destroy the Royal Seed.

God told the old serpent, the devil, back in the Garden of Eden, that while he would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, the Seed of the woman would crush his head. That passage in Genesis 3:15 is the first messianic prophecy in the Bible and it is a promise that there was One coming who would reverse the curse of sin.

Since that time, the devil has been trying to supplant the promise of God with the antichrist spirit.

Antichrist = “An opponent of the Messiah.”[4]

In another passage, Judah was promised that the scepter would never depart from His line. David was promised that from his seed would come the Messiah.

So, that old antichrist spirit rose up and influenced Athaliah, and she set out to kill all the royal seed of Judah. Every man and every boy of the tribe of Judah who had a claim to the throne she marked down until the right moment and then, when her son died, she had them killed…

JEHOSHABEATH = “Jehovah is an oath”

BUT, Jehovah had sworn that the Seed of the woman would crush the head of the devil, and that the Messiah [the Anointed One] would come through Judah.

This is a good time to tell you, “God keeps His promises.”

Joshua 23:14, “…not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you…”

Delay is not denial.

So, Jehoshabeath [Jehovah is an oath] found one infant son of the royal seed and hid him away. He was hidden in the house of God. Do you want to know the safest place to stay when Athaliah is on the loose? Stay in the house of the Lord.

Jehoshabeath’s husband was Jehoiada the priest, and he hid and protected Joash for seven years in the temple. In that seventh year he gathered all the Levites and all the rulers and captains and showed this the Joash of seed royal and they made a covenant with him saying, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign. As the LORD hath said of the sons of David.”

2 Chronicles 23:11, “Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.”

This is The Comeback Story of the Royal Seed – It doesn’t matter what plot the enemy of your soul has planned against you. When God has made an oath He will keep it, and He will never leave or forsake you.

Joash [Jehovah fired][5] is a type of Christ. We know how that the devil, the antichrist, tried to kill Jesus Christ – the Messiah:

  1. He was falsely accused and brought before Pilate.
  2. He brutally abused, beaten, bloodied, wounded, tortured.
  3. He was marched to the place of execution.
  4. Then the Royal Seed, the promised Messiah, was brutally staked and crucified to a cross.
  5. Naked. Alone. Rejected. Despised. Afflicted: “…he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”[6]
  6. He died. “On the cross crucified for me He died. He was nailed to the cross for me”
  7. He was buried in a tomb.

Yes, the Christ was buried. He was dead. Everyone has an appointment with death, but this death seemed to be the capstone of Satan’s career.

How could anyone come back from that?

  • You have been dealing with a Jezebel, who is trying to distract you from the ministry God has ordained for you to walk in.
  • You’ve been attacked by Athaliah, who want to kill you because your very existence is proof of God’s power and Lordship.
  • You’ve made mistakes, committed sins, chose paths, and listened to lies that told you that there no coming back from where you are this time.
  • Your marriage is trouble, your prayer life is non-existent, your job is in question, finances are down, sickness is all around you, you’ve hunkered down in a hidden place (secreted away in isolation like Joash of old), and perhaps you’ve just about given up all hope and haven’t the strength to lift the shield of anymore.
  • HOLD ON! Day three is coming! Resurrection power is on its way. the Royal Seed is coming.
  • On that third day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and He said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is The Comeback Story of the Royal Seed, and He is here right now to help you with your own Comeback Story.

Comeback from depression, sin, anger, marital strife, financial despair, addiction, hopelessness.

Come to Jesus. He trades beauty for ashes, joy for heaviness, forgiveness for sin, peace for anger, unity for strife, miraculous provision for financial despair, freedom from addiction, and He is the God of Faith, Hope, and Love.

Jesus Christ is the Comeback King and you are His Royal Seed.

1 Peter 2:9-10, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  (10)  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

[1] The Lord spoke this into my spirit about 2-3 months ago (July-August 2020) while I was crossing my driveway.

[2] Strong’s. H3090.

[3] Source: Mark F. Kuntzman. (10-14-2007). The Jezebel Spirit.

[4] Strong’s. G500.

[5] Strong’s. H3060.

[6] Isaiah 53:5.