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A Testimony

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 Written October 31, 2022 A Testimony  In 1996, while I was in college, I was given a evangelism tract by a friend. This small booklet explained to me (a humanist at the time) the full Gospel: man’s fallen state, through Adam; our separation from God, who is perfect and holy; and what He (God) did to take away this separation. I read the tract, was convicted of my sin, repented and acknowledged Jesus Christ as 1. The Son of God, who is God 2. The Lord and sovereign of my life 3. My Savior from death and Hell. I did not realize then, that what happened at that moment, had not only saved my soul, but was going to keep me from falling…over and over again. Doctrines of demons…in the House of God “God’s Word is not scripture, God’s word is the message you are hearing from God, and then you speak forth and you attract the reality that you speak.”  This above quote from Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now, is a New Age/New Thought teaching known as the Law of Attraction…and is a mainstream teachi
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The “Office” of a Bondservant

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  May 19, 2023 The Prophet Part I  The Office of a Bondservant  “If anyone thinks he is a prophet, let him acknowledge that what I say to you is the Lord’s command.” (1Corinthians 14:37) Why does Paul say this? Because written scripture (including Paul’s own writings) always trumps spontaneous prophecy. According to the New Testament, the “office” of a prophet (if we have to word it like that), is exactly as the other four listed ministries - a position of Servanthood, for the building up of the Church, for the glory of God: Being a prophet is to serve the Body of Christ, in the House of the Lord, like a Pastor or a Teacher, etc. We are not celebrities…We are bond-servants. We’re merely serving in the Body; I don’t have a more spiritual walk than you…I’m likely not more mature than you…I certainly didn’t earn the ministry of prophet. I’m just serving in the Body, in the capacity that the Lord decided to give me, like every other faithful believer. (Maybe if we stopped using the term “o
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The Apostle

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  Part 1 Written 21 November 2022 The role of a functioning Apostle… In its truest and most literal sense, one who is “Sent” by the Lord…For what purpose? The Bible clearly shows us, for the purpose of delivering the Gospel (testifying to the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins:  See Acts 4:9-13 ) to a people who have not yet heard…to go to a place with an untapped well (Genesis 26:18-26), to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Isaiah 52:7; 61:1-3), with signs and wonders accompanying; leading to the planting and overseeing of churches. (I have seen this for myself as a missionary to Kenya and I know it to be true) The Lord will always watch over the truth of His Word to perform it. (Jer. 1:12) The first Apostles, having seen Jesus face to face (1Cor9:1), were the very first to do this, paving the way, in life and in death, for other missionaries (or “lesser apostles”, if you like) to follow in their footsteps: Some were given the pri
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Unity

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 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6 ~~~ Because the Cross of Christ is our equalizer: at the Cross of Christ, we find ourselves on a level playing field; no matter our nationality, race, tribe or background, when we approach the Cross, we do so without exception, as sinners (without hope and destined for Hell) in need of a Savior: of which there is only ONE. ~~~ For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:21-23 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing
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The Sovereign Will of God

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 But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.  22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.  23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings,and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.  25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;  27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.  28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all th
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  Bible Study for Pastors   Colossians 1 9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has  qualified  you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13  He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son , 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  {Redemption: To  redeem  something means to  buy   it   back : When Adam and Eve sinned we no longer belonged to the Lord - sin and Death owned us (Romans6) - we were destined to be destroyed with Satan. To  f
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