The Word of Truth Ministries
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Enduring Until
The End
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Last week I stopped this message after testifying of the mighty hand of God in the case of my son's miraculous deliverance from death in the very face of Satan's threat and attempt. The message was not at all developed so I want to complete that message, as I said I would. The way of the saint is through much toil and tears and occasionally through blood. The blood is not as frequent for most of us as it was for the apostles--the pioneers of the faith. And to that end, Paul said that we have not resisted Satan unto blood. [Heb. 12:4] But the blood of which he spoke was our blood not the blood of others, as Christianity historically is known for--the Crusades, in which Christianity was forced upon others. How soon Christians forget the history of what has happened in the name of Christ. Today, many so called Evangelicals and even the Pope of Italy are condemning Muslims for the actions of some of their extremists, who may not represent Islam properly, saying they are spreading their religion by force. If that is what they are trying to do, let us not forget Christianity's own extremists who also killed many in a supposed effort to spread Christianity. Christianity is not spread that way, but it is spread through a life lived and others seeing that life lived. That life acts as a great light, a beacon that draws lost souls to Christ, the light of the world, which that life lived represents a small sample. [John 9:5] This is the very problem that is at crisis in Christianity today: Most "Christians" feign Christianity and do not live the life of God. Initially, when coming into the kingdom of God, for those who actually enter,* they live the life of God with great joy, but after a while, it is as if someone actually stopped/hindered them for going on. They lose the joy of the Lord and start on a path of retreat from the things of God, laying the foundation of repentance, which they never get to. [Heb. 6:1] Often that retreat is not just back to the vulgar and beggarly elements from which they came, but sometimes they blaze new paths into sin. [Neh.8:10; 1Cor. 5:1;Gal. 4:9] Today, we have homosexual bishops, elders, church members--some openly and some with a wink and a nod. Yet God's word is explicit on this subject and many, many more that once-holiness people now violate with impunity. One of the vilest acts of all their sins is this: they do not leave the church and go back into the world from where they came, but they stay in the church with all their sins, old and new, and pretend that they are saved, still when they are not! [Acts 20:29-30] They pretend that their sins are not sin. And many of the most vulgar have become physical brawlers--they threaten violence and will enact violence on the person of another if the truth is told and it goes against some of their very emotional sins that they engaged in. One tragic case of contorted Christianity occurred in my ministry: a sad brother whom I had brought to the knowledge of Christ went violently out of the faith in a marriage, and I went to that brother saying as Ezra and Nehemiah, when they saw the people of God had polluted themselves in wrong, unsaved marriages, that they needed to look at their sin and repent. [Ezra 10] I went to the brother, as I am wont to do under such circumstances with the truth of God, but that "brother" was in no mood for truth that contradicted his way of living. He wanted God and the man of God to accept his position as the position of God. And when I told him the truth, rejecting his imaginations and concoctions, he said he felt like fighting me, as if that was some type of solution to his sin and his wrong-standing with God. Paul said that these types of confrontations would occur as we strive against sin. In his preaching and teaching, he said that he had fought against beasts and dogs and that are to be aware of them.[1 Cor.15:32; Phil.3:2] But it is these types of confrontations that often cause some to question whether they are on the right path. That path is correct, but sinner will attempt to rewrite the word of God to represent and include their behavior as acceptable. It is not. God's ways are not our ways; we must accept and contour our behavior to God's word. It is God's standard that will take us from here to glory, not our own; our standard will take us from here to a devil's hell. We must see that being saved places us on a journey; we are born again to go from there to perfection that we may be a part of the bride of Christ. This earth and life is NOT our destination. Paul, looking at Christians' confusion, stated this, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." [Rom. 8:18] Yet, in spite of that reckoning, many are still opting for the things of this present world over the things that shall be revealed in the soon coming world. Many have left this way of God for the riches of this world. And today, seemingly everyone wants to be a Bill Gates, but they are not willing to work for their money as Bill Gates did for his; so they live a lifestyle they cannot support on credit. Therefore, many preachers and supposed Christians are stealing it. They have authorized themselves to do all manor of evil, and, of course, since they are gods unto themselves, they have authorized God to say it is ok. In this present age, we fight against the world, the flesh and the devil in a manor a bit differently than before, namely this way: America has caused many to think that it is heaven on earth; they can have all the pleasure they want to have here on earth. Resultantly, many "Christians/saints" have sold their souls and lost their way for mere beggarly elements and will not endure this life's temptations to walk in glory. These earthly things, and that is all they are, things, seem so calling, so inviting, so alluring that we fail to endure the struggle with our flesh and instead we fall victims to sin. But, dear saints of God, Jesus is not going to take us out of the world to help us overcome sin. He will give us power to keep us from the evil of the world if we want it. [John 17:15-18] We are to lights in this world that men can see God. If the world over comes us with sin/darkness, there is no light that shines out in this dark world signaling sinners to Christ, and we have failed God! Sadly, that is what has happened to many Christians. They have fallen prey to Satan's toys and lusts and are failing God and do not care. Once we fall away from Christ, we are back into sin, even though in many once-holiness churches most of the backslidden sinners who have fallen away from the word of God are still in the churches pretending to be saved. This is Satan's trickery for those who want to be saved. But God tells us to stand in these ways, and see; ask for the old paths of God's truth that is God's good way, and when we find that truth because Satan and wicked men at the behest of Satan and to cover their own sins have hidden that ways from many, God says when we find it we should walk therein. But most of the people, sensitized and receptive to the world of sin, will not walk in it. [Jer. 6:16] The way of God is not always easy to find because of Satan's shell game of deception. Jude said that we need to earnestly contend for it because wicked men have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. [Jude 3-4] To understand our tragic condition as people of God is to stop deceiving ourselves and look at ancient Israel and see how they turned from God unto their own lust and self-deception over and over again and see ourselves. These are the same patterns we see in the church of today. Remember, these things of old were an allegory and an example for us to learn from and see ourselves that we may repent; however, repentance is not a subject God's backslidden people are interested in today. Yet the good that was once done is remembered no more as we go into sin; if you have sinned and gone away from God, and you died in your sins, you would share a devil's hell. That is why I am a watchman on the wall calling out that the sword comes! I am that stumbling block to turn you away from sin! [Ezek 3] At death, the scripture is plain: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. The Lord comes quickly and his reward is with him to give every man what his work shall be. [Rev. 22:11-12] It is foolish to play with the man on the cross scenario--last minute salvation just before death; that is a Roman Catholic Last Rights myth. God has a prescribed scenario for salvation: repent of sin, be baptized in Jesus name, and receive the baptism of God's spirit in your life. [Acts 2:38] The man on the cross was not under the New Testament covenant; the church started at Pentecost. In fact, he was in between the new and the old covenants; so Jesus saved him there--we are not there today; we are under the New Testament/covenant with God. Your time is now. Once saved, you are in a race. And this race is an endurance race, not a strength or swiftness race. [Eccl. 9:11] This race is an endurance race that must be run with patience, as it is set out before us. The race is for runners, not stoppers. To stop is to be disqualified from the race. We can not stop running and still be in the race. We must keep running and run all the way. [Eccl. 9:11-12;1 Cor.9:24; Heb. 12:1] Many have started and stopped, having lost their hope in Christ; many are simply playing church and playing saved, as they take on the attributes and behaviors of the world and still profess salvation. But salvation is much more than a profession--it is a way of godly living that takes us to the perfection of God. [Eph. 4:11-16] Saints and sinners alike, I will end this message by saying this, God has blessed me beyond measure. He has actually not only blessed me, but he has made me a blessing to all who have been around me. Those who are around me recognize their lives as blessed, unless they attempt to harm me. I recognize that the blessings that he gave to others in the Old Testament are examples of what he would do to his children of the New Testament, God has shown me over and over again. Now let me be clear about this because many satanic ministers have played this "I am blessed of the Lord" game as a way of stealing God's people's money. When I talk of blessings, I am not talking about money. That is something that He has added according to my needs, and it was not added to me from the saints of God. He has blessed me in many ways and one is in being able to make money honestly and fairly. I have harmed no one; I have stolen from no one. All that I have God has blessed me with. I am not rich, but I live comfortably. I needed to get this clearly placed on the table because wicked men who call themselves of God have equated blessing with finance and things of this world. Even though He has blessed me beyond measure in that he has allowed me to experience the power of his spirit in great force and magnificence, God's way has not always been easy, neither has it always be rough; it is a life of God that we must practice living until that practice is perfected and we grow into him. And, yes, we can live the perfect life in Christ! It is a fallacy of Satan and the world that "Ain't nobody perfect." But God's word demands it. [Mat. 5:48] Nevertheless, I must run this race per God's prescription, not my own. My steps must be ordered by the Lord, and I will not presume upon the grace of God, claiming that God is love to deviate from walking in his way and presume I am in the good graces of God. He is more than just love; that is why we must follow on to know the Lord. The race is a long-distance run unto the end, but I, like Paul, have reckoned that the things of this life and the space of this life are not comparable to the glory that shall come. Therefore, I have asked the Lord to fix me in that place in him, according to His word, where I cannot fall that I might run ALL THE WAY unto the end. Just as we have school reunions, family reunions, and we look back on things, on studies, and the difficulties we have overcome, I want to be able to look back in glory and see all that have been touched by my teachings, all who have been encouraged, enlightened, and been saved and discuss how we overcame. I want to be able to look around and shout that we made!! We made!! We Made!!! Halleluiah, we made it!!! When all about us said it could not be done; we couldn't live for God, that God is dead, that Christ wouldn't come back for us, that it is all of this was just a myth, we made it!!! Through all that life and Satan threw at us, we made it HOME to be with our LORD!!!! We endured until the end. [Psa. 37:23; Hos. 6:3] Oh I want to see him; to look upon his face. There to sing forever of His saving grace. On the streets of glory, I want to lift my voice and just say, my cares are all pass, I'm free at last, there I want to ever enjoy and say, I MADE IT!!! WE MADE IT!!!
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P.O. Box 6573
Oakland, CA 094603