The Unity Of The Brethren
True Biblical unity is NOT found in everyone believing the same thing or even agreeing to “disagree.” Truth is not found in agreement on doctrine as important as sound Biblical doctrine may be. No movement or denomination has a corner on the truth. Any such movement that boasts that is both deluded and arrogant. TRUE UNITY IS FOUND WHEN WE ALL BEHOLD THE EMBODIMENT OF ALL TRUTH – THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. ALL Truth is in HIM and HE IS the Truth by which we must measure both our lives and our doctrinal beliefs. In these last days as great deception becomes more and more pronounced, we should take heed to what we believe and where our faith is placed.
By Chris McDonald
TEXT: Ps 133:1-3- Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Eph 4:3-7- Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Without a doubt we live in one of the most exciting times in human history. I firmly believe as I sit down to write this journal in the early part of 2003 that historic times are ahead of us – both as a nation and in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is harvest time! As I write these words our nation stands ready it seems to attack Iraq to disarm a madman by the name of Sadaam Hussein. There is a loud outcry right now in both the international community and even here in America for “peace.”
Over a million anti-war protesters recently took to the streets to spew their "anti-American" sentiments and scream obscenities toward our government for its tough stance on Iraq “in the name of peace.” One so-called famous actress stated recently she was offended because people called her "un-American" because she was questioning our country's stance on Iraq. In a recent TV ad, I saw a very ignorant Methodist minister claim such a war against Mr. Hussein “is a sin against the laws of God.” I couldn’t disagree more! God’s law declares that those who bear the sword against evil “do not bear the sword in vain.” The United States is the world's only superpower at the present time. With that comes great responsibility and at times that responsibility involves making some grim and very tough decisions.
As bad as America is, we still have enough Christians here in this land to consider ourselves a Christian nation. We may very well be the tool in the hands of God to bring down the dictator of Iraq to shift global events in light of coming Bible prophecy. ALL THINGS ARE WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THEM THAT LOVE GOD! I personally believe the Lord is behind this to some degree. From a political standpoint Mr. Bush is in an awful quandary. Either way he turns he will probably get lambasted by the liberal media and the liberals in Congress.
From a spiritual standpoint, the picture is a little clearer. Events that are ahead us in relation to Bible prophecy hinge on the rebuilding of Iraq and it becoming a world center of commerce and exchange once again before its final destruction according to Revelation 17 and 18. If a democratic regime takes over should Mr. Hussein be deposed, that possibility rises tremendously. Some scholars believe the Antichrist will actually have his headquarters during the first half of the Great Tribulation period IN BABYLON (IRAQ!).
The war with Iraq is not the subject of this journal. That is for another time. What I seek to address is the spirit behind this increasing call for “unity” among the nations, even among evangelical leaders in the church. Many in the church who seek peace at all costs fail to realize that prior to the rise of the Antichrist the world will be crying “peace, peace,” then “sudden destruction will come upon then as travail upon a woman.”
1 Thes. 5:1-3
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto
you. [2] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night. [3] For when they
shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
The Antichrist will unite the world under one banner in the name of a “one world government.” Terms like the "new world order," and "global community," are all catch phrases paving the way for this event in the not too distant future (IT'S GETTING LATE NEIGHBOR!) On the surface it will seem like the world’s answer to all the wars, the bloodshed, the murder, the carnage, the death of past centuries where so many innocent lives were lost in conquest after conquest.
In light of these events, I believe there is a great need to define what BIBLICAL unity really is and believe me friend it is NOT what we see being echoed in the world’s forum today – and sadly, it’s NOT what we see or hear being proclaimed by most of the so-called modern church.
True Biblical unity is NOT found in everyone believing the same thing or even agreeing to “disagree.” Truth is not found even in us laying aside our "doctrinal differences" as important that may be at times to further the Kingdom of God. No movement or denomination has a corner on the truth. Any such movement that boasts that is both deluded and arrogant. TRUE UNITY IS FOUND WHEN WE ALL BEHOLD THE EMBODIMENT OF THE TRUTH – THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. ALL Truth is in HIM and HE IS the Truth by which we must measure both our lives and our doctrinal beliefs. In these last days as great deception becomes more and more pronounced, we should take heed to what we believe and where our faith is placed.
There are five main points to this simple journal I want to share with you concerning the unity of the brethren. My goal is not to divide nor to cause even deeper schisms in the body. I do pray that the things in this journals will give us pause to think and consider the type unity we are striving hard to produce in these last days before Jesus comes. If we are seeking unity for just unity’s sake we will end up in delusion and deception. That will be an earmark of the last days – false unity under the umbrella of false peace and false security!
1. All Truth Is In Jesus – Truth Is Not A Doctrine Or Belief
Eph 4:21-23
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
When it says the TRUTH IS IN JESUS that supercedes every single doctrinal statement we could ever hold up in our churches – no matter the denomination! Peter wrote in his second epistle to the Hebrews that there was no private interpretation of the prophetic word we have today. This word the Lord has given us through the Scriptures was not given by MAN - it was GOD-BREATHED on men through the office of the Holy Ghost.
2 Pet 1:20-21
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(NIV)
If we are seeking truth in man-made ordinances and doctrines we will be lead astray from the source of TRUTH - The Lord Jesus Christ. The truth is not in knowledge, it’s in JESUS. Knowledge usually only puffs us up and chokes the love of God in our hearts for our fellow brethren.
1 Cor 8:1
1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifies.
When we are beholding and embracing the TRUTH we will not see people as “Baptist,” “Pentecostal,” or "Catholic." Man has done that. The divisions we have today in the body are not across denominational lines but across the very fundamental foundations of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You may say “whoa, wait just a minute there, we all believe the same way about the major things like salvation, baptism, etc.” DO WE????? I will deal with this more later but to be quite frank with you we don't! That statement may draw sharp criticism and disagreement and that is fine. But I remind you that we must admit that we are offering the world 50 different type salvations today in their pursuit of God. The Baptist give them their version. The Pentecostals give them their version. Then the Methodist speak up and say no 'this is how you get saved.' And friend that is fact.
We have lost touch with the TRUTH - The Lord Jesus who is the HEAD of the church. When we lose touch with the Head, we become disjointed and when we become disjointed there is no unity. Being in unity with each other only comes when we are in UNION WITH CHRIST! He IS the truth. Everything we do must center and be unto HIM! When it’s unto HIM and not just to be seen by men or receive men’s applause, then our motives are pure and the glory of God is upon us. Jesus said "WITHOUT ME you can DO nothing." That means without Him, we cannot know the TRUTH!
John 7:18
18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
YESHUA is the head of the church. No offense but as much as I respect the Assemblies of God, Church of God, Foursquare, Pentecostal Holiness, THEY ARE NOT THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH!!!!!!! The Southern Baptist Convention is NOT the head of the church. The Catholic Church is NOT the head of the church and NEITHER IS THE POPE! The true church of Jesus Christ is not built upon the rocks of ROME nor in the halls of Springfield, MO., Cleveland, TN., or Nashville, TN.
The true church of Jesus Christ is birthed in the hearts of every born again child of God, filled with the Holy Ghost, set free from the powers of darkness, washed in the blood of the Lamb. Sir, the true church is not that stained-glass mausoleum you attend each Sunday where a mouse makes more noise than the people do. It’s not that place where every fad under the sun is talked about on Sunday instead of the gospel being preached with unction and power, the sick being healed, the sinner being set free and the deliverance of mankind through Christ proclaimed!
The church is not some man-made organization that seeks to control its members through the adherence to rules and regulations. Am I saying we don’t need denominations? Absolutely not, don't misunderstand me. Denominations are not the problem. But God never intended for His church to become so fragmented. We are "divided" even among our own camps.
Part of the problem today is the men who run these denominations thinking they are ‘little gods’ running around the planet telling everyone what to do. We have been called into leadership to SERVE, not to be served or to tyrant our beliefs over others. If your pastor or leader is doing that - you need a new pastor or leader and I strongly suggest you find yourself a new church! We as leaders in the Body of Christ, no matter the “title” on our names, are part of a BODY. But the unity of that body rests in our dependence and worship of JESUS – in whom all TRUTH lies - not on the adherence to what headquarters sends down the church pike.
I’m going to be very frank and to the point. We are such hypocrites today in many church communities in how we try to establish superficial unity among our fellow brethren. Neighbor, the truth is not a “gray” area. There is a RIGHT understanding of the scriptures and a WRONG understanding of the scriptures. I don’t care WHAT denomination you or I belong to, NONE OF THEM HAVE A CORNER ON THAT TRUTH! I grew up Southern Baptist and I love the Southern Baptist people. I deeply feel however that much of the Southern Baptist leadership and many pastors (some of huge churches all over this country – neighbor don’t EVER confuse numbers with God’s blessings – the two are not related!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) have grieved the Holy Spirit by some of their teaching on such things as unconditional eternal security and their resistance to the gifts of the Spirit in their churches – especially speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance.
But having said that please understand I’m not putting a halo on the Pentecostal world either. Since 1987 when I was baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, I’ve heard some of the wackiest doctrines, seen some of the craziest things, and heard some of the most ignorant messages from preachers I think I’ve ever heard. If you measured the spiritual depth of most Pentecostals by water, you wouldn't be able to drown a mouse. That sounds cruel and rough but there is a serious point needing to be made. The question has to be asked of the Pentecostal world that if we are wanting to “boast” so much of how much more spiritual we are since we speak in tongues then why do we wind up in such FOOLISHNESS and IDIOTIC, STUPID, MORONIC things in our churches??????????????? The Baptists may have their issues with doctrine and may fight tooth and toenail to put a lid on the Holy Ghost, but more times than not Baptists are grounded in the truth about the cross of Christ and not carried away into delusional activity as most Pentecostals do at times.
Most Baptists understand the blood of Jesus, not speaking in tongues, saves us. Pentecostals for some reason have this weird idea that the cross in no longer an important part of our spiritual lives once we get saved. As many put it “we need to move on from the cross of Christ.” NEIGHBOR WHEN WE MOVE ON FROM THE CROSS OF CHRIST WE BACKSLIDE and will eventually apostatize!!! You hear me? I want to make this point hard and leave NO ROOM FOR MISUNDERSTANDING.
Preacher, you are a wolf in sheep’s clothing - and I don’t care what denomination you belong to - if you are not leading your people to a deeper walk with Jesus and teaching them about the power of His resurrection through the power of His finished work on Calvary. The TRUTH is in His Death, burial and resurrection. Everything we have as Christians – be it prosperity, healing, baptism in the Holy Ghost – is because of what HE DID, not what any man did - on that cross 2,000 years ago!
When Jesus died on that cross – WE ALL DIED ON THAT CROSS. When Jesus went into that tomb – the OLD MAN within us WENT INTO THAT TOMB. When Jesus came out of the grave, our OLD MAN did not come out with Him! No, no! – BUT A NEW MAN in Christ Jesus arose and we must identify ourselves with this or we are deluded, blind, wretched and lost!
Eph 2:15
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 4:24
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Col 3:10
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
And just because we bring in a guest evangelist and fill an auditorium with all different movements and all different type churches for a series of meetings so we can “show the community” how unified we are – that does not transcend the fact that when the evangelist or special speaker leaves we go right back to our own little camps and tribes, believing what we did before the speaker came, and still not being ONE in CHRIST JESUS!
Please don’t take offense at that. I’m not saying that those efforts are not noble or worthy of praise. I believe any group of men who come together seeking to tear down their differences for the sake of the Kingdom is on the right path. But neighbor THAT IS NOT UNITY! Unity will be when we all behold the SAME KING! Unity will take place when we preach and teach the SAME JESUS! Unity will be when we preach the same GOSPEL! Unity will be when we believe in the SAME HOLY GHOST! Unity will never come until we stop beholding our doctrines and ourselves and start beholding HIM! When the church returns to its first love and starts once again seeing the splendor and the beauty and the GLORY of the Lord Jesus Christ, THEN we can say that as a church we are ONE IN CHRIST JESUS!
Gal 3:28-29
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(KJV)
The Real Rift - The Jew And The Gentile
I haven’t even talked about the rift between the Gentiles and the Jewish part of the church to this point but I need to. To be quite frank with you I firmly believe that the many factions and divisions among the Gentile part of the church are directly related and a result of the rift between the Gentile part of the church and the Jewish part of the church. When we see that ALL TRUTH IS IN JESUS, we will realize that THE TRUTH is a JEWISH MESSIAH! Wake up saints. Wake up man of God. No, that doesn’t mean we Gentiles have to become Jewish to be saved no more than the Jewish people have to become Gentiles to be saved. But when we are beholding the truth – (Yeshua) – then we will see ourselves in the Gentile world as being grafted into His olive tree- ISRAEL. The covenants, promises and blessings God gave to the human race came through ABRAHAM THE HEBREW! Don’t ever forget that child of God.
The first church was Messianic! The Bible we read was written by Jewish writers! The apostles were Jewish. The covenants upon which we have our salvation are Jewish. The gospel was given to the JEW first. The severity of judgment is passed on to the JEW first. We are merely the branches in the Gentile world. We have gotten this really messed up. We think now that when people get saved - be it Jew or Gentile - that they must embrace a Gentile God. Uh, friend, He is not a Gentile God - He is the GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC and of JACOB. That is how He identified Himself with nearly 6,000 years ago and that hasn't changed. He chose to send the Messiah through whom the world would be saved through the lineage of Judah! Our Lord is Jewish! He attended the feasts. He worshipped on the Sabbath. He read the Torah. He fulfilled the TORAH! He embraced the customs and the life of His ancestors - David, Abraham, Moses and Solomon.
Gen 14:13
13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
Gen 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
When the rift between the Jew and Gentile gets healed, then the entirety of the church will be healed. We will truly see "life from the dead."
2. Christ Is Not Divided, So Neither Should Be His Body!
1 Cor 1:10-13
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1 Cor. 3:4-6
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
Corinth was a spirit-filled church. But in writing to the Corinthians Paul rebuked them for great divisions and schisms that had arisen since he first ministered to them. He called them “babes,” and “carnal,” He encouraged them to be joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. What did he mean by that? When we are beholding the TRUTH as being IN JESUS and not man, then our minds are pure and our judgments of others and in general are spiritual and not carnal!
Paul addressed this many times in his writings:
Phil 1:9
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
1 Cor 4:3
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
2 Cor 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
So did the apostle James:
James 2:12-13
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty; 13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.
We preach a divided Christ to the world.
The sinner out there hears one group tell him he has to be baptized in water to be saved. He hears another group tell him he has to speak in tongues to be saved. Then He hears some groups (who are arrogant and deluded) even go as far to claim that if he don’t belong to their little group then he isn’t saved at all. Then we get him in and we make him “just like us,” instead of proclaiming the truths of the gospel that will make him – not like us – but like CHRIST! And until the church comes together in TRUE UNITY, which is centered in the LORD JESUS, we may put a great face on what we are doing but the results will be death.
Like it or not this rallying cry we hear in the world today for “peace peace” is only an echo of what we hear in the church today as well. The rebellion, strife and division in the world is a rebuke to the same issues we face today in the church. As the church goes, so goes the nation. Judgment begins with the HOUSE OF GOD, not the world. The world takes their cue from us in the church in how it approaches God. If WE have a distorted view of redemption and God’s plan for man, we cannot expect the world to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. WE are supposed to be HIS LIGHT to them. Instead we are so fragmented in what we believe it is virtually impossible for the world to see HIS LIGHT to hear the true gospel preached anymore.
What we have substituted for true unity is this message that we must maintain “order” and “peace” at all costs within our ranks. Neighbor, I’m all FOR peace and not conflict. Jesus is the PRINCE OF PEACE. There is a PEACE that passes ALL understanding in God. But the PRINCE OF PEACE declared He had not come to bring “peace” on the earth – but a SWORD! His UNITY divides families – daughters against mothers, sons against fathers, husband against wife. Why? Because when we have TRUE UNITY we are not defending our church or our doctrines or our pet rituals we are identifying ourselves with the one we are in UNION and UNITY with – JESUS CHRIST! And that will always cause conflict with carnal man and the kingdom of darkness.
Matt 10:34-40
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
37 He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that takes not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
You see, peace and unity at the cost of denying or betraying THE TRUTH (JESUS CHRIST) is not unity! To placate evil and embrace error in order to have unity is NOT UNITY! It’s delusion! To shake hands and embrace false doctrine for the sake of keeping peace and having our cute conferences where we all make the world think we are in unity with one another when really underneath we are biting our bottom lips at the disagreements we have in the faith is NOT UNITY!
Some of you reading this right now go to a church that teaches error and false doctrine strictly because your parents go there, or your grandparents go there or your brothers and sisters go there. You are in a place of death and you KNOW IT but you refuse to leave. I have a dear friend in the Lord, he’s a young man in high school whom the Lord sent me to mentor and tutor as he prepares for the ministry. He emails me all the time telling me how awful his church is and how even this young man knows what his preacher is preaching is NOT the word of God.
When I asked him why he and his parents stay there instead of finding a church where they can be fed and ministered to he just replies “my grandma goes there and we can’t leave her!” Friend, “grandma” and “grandpa” won’t be standing with us on the day of Judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ. We will be judged as Christians by how we used our time on earth to be in the places God wanted us to be. We will be judged on how we used the talents God gave to us. And I firmly believe we will also be judged on how we obeyed the will of God for our lives no matter the cost! Believe me we will not be able to say to Jesus on that day – “I couldn’t do Your will oh Lord because of Grandma.” Friends, there will be no excuses there.
In these last days we are going to hear much talk about “unity” and “peace” in the name of religion and even so-called Christianity as we are doing right now. The people invoking this insidious debate about war are actually using the Bible as their shield to tell the world such action is "against the law of God." There is a great deal of terminology being heard already in governmental circles such as “international community,” “global community,” and “one-world government.” The liberal media and political parties of this nation want to strip America of her sovereignty and place us under an organization such as the United Nations in the name of “world unity” and “compliance.” It's a dress rehearsal for the rise of Antichrist in the not too distant future.
John said that the “spirit of antichrist” doth already work. Neighbor, the rise of the Antichrist is upon us. He is hidden away right now soon to be revealed to this world after the rapture of the saints of God. His trump card to the world is going to be the same little trite message we hear today from many behind the pulpit - “Let’s all come together in the name unity" and "let's don't offend anyone," and "we don't preach against that here because we don't want to be 'divisive' in our ministry.' It sounds all so good but underneath neighbor is the very spirit about to be unleashed upon planet earth through the wiles of Satan and the false prophet.
We love to use religious catch phrases and clamor for unity at any cost in the church. One thing I hear quite often among evangelical circles is that we in the church are called to “make the world a better place.” Uh, neighbor, I hate to be kill joy and a stick in the mud – but this world is under a CURSE and it’s not coming OUT from under that curse till Yeshua steps foot on the Mount of Olives.
We in the church are not going to make it a better place. Men will become worse and worse, seducing and being seduced, giving heed to doctrines of devils and seducing spirits. The church has not been called to elect presidents. The church has not been called to be politicians and even though they are right on many things – we are not even called to be conservatives! Neighbor, we’re not saved because we are conservative or liberal. We are not saved because we are Republican or Democrat. Those things do not save us. Glory to God! No, we are saved because one day 2,000 years ago the Lord Jesus Christ came from glory and He went to a hill called Golgotha and hung between heaven and earth and shed His precious blood and set the captive free and destroyed the powers of darkness and liberated man’s soul from the clutches of Satan and delivered man from the evil wicked heart that is within him! OH GLORY TO GOD. My Lord I feel like shouting right now. My Lord I feel the anointing of the Holy Ghost on me as I write this. THAT IS UNITY! THAT IS UNITY THAT IS UNITY! The CROSS-, the CROSS-, the CROSS-, the CROSS-! When we behold and lift up the CROSS – THEN we are declaring the ONLY TRUTH that this world needs to bring it into a right relationship with God. And if we compromise this message for the sake of unity and peace – we are deluded and deceived.
We are called in the church to proclaim the gospel of THE TRUTH – the Lord Jesus Christ and preach that gospel under the mighty anointing and unction of the Holy Ghost! We are not called to hide behind the banner of unity so we won’t offend others. God help us. Offending others should not be our goal or desire but the cross itself is an “offence” to those who don’t believe but unto us who DO believe – it is the power of GOD!
Paul even used the term the “offence” of the cross when describing the power of the message the Lord invested and entrusted him with:
Gal 5:11-13
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
I could give two bit pens less if the Muslims get angry if I say that their belief in a desert heathen deity known as Allah will not grant them entrance to heaven. Muslims, if you are by chance scouring over this journal and have reached this point I say this to you in love but I say it to you under the anointing of the Holy Ghost – JESUS CHRIST IS GOD! ALLAH is NOT GOD! There is no god known as Allah; His name is I AM THAT I AM! His name is Jehovah. His name is Yahweh. His name is the Bright and the Morning Star. His name is Shiloh. His name is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His name is Yeshua Ha'maschiah. You think you are going to die and go to heaven if you keep the tenants of the Koran. I don’t mean any disrespect to your religion but you are believing a LIE. You believe in something that will only generate DEATH and cause you to miss eternity with God. Muslims, Jesus Christ loves you and He came to die for you just as He came to die for ME. Just as He came to die for the Jewish people, He also came to die for the Arab world. He came to die for the Japanese world. He came to die for the Chinese world. He came to die for the Spanish and Mexican world. Oh Glory to God. For God so LOVED the world, that HE GAVE His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in HIM should not perish but have everlasting life.
I could give two bit pens less if the Baptists get angry when I tell them that the baptism of the Holy Ghost as taught in the book of Acts is scriptural and valid for today. Baptist ministers can get up behind their pulpits and lead their people away from the gifts of the Spirit but they will give an account before the Lord for their unbelief and hardness of heart. The Lord hears what you are saying sir and He’s going to bring upon you the result of your unbelief and rebellion! Some of you reading this need to just get saved to be quite honest. I’m not promoting a denomination. I’m about to address my Pentecostal brethren next but Baptists you need the Holy Spirit. Keep preaching the blood, but start preaching the CROSS with the Holy Spirit. The two work TOGETHER, not apart. When you preach the word without the power of the Holy Ghost you get legalism and bondage. You get DEATH. You get Ichabod wrote over your threshold.
I could also give two bit pens less if the Pentecostals get angry when I tell them they are listening to seducing spirits and giving heed to devils when they allow Christian rock bands and contemporary Christian music to come inside their churches and blare out ungodly sounds in the name of Christ. Both are of the devil and are being used to entertain us instead of leading us to Christ. Wake up church. Wake up man of God. Wake up children of the LIGHT, we are NOT IN DARKNESS, but of the LIGHT! The darkness of this hour is upon us and we must be a LIGHT to that darkness. We are in the world but we are NOT OF THE world! As Jesus declared to Satan “he hath no part in me,” so should we declare to this sordid, cursed world that its system “has no part in us!” I don’t need the world’s music to thrill me. I get thrilled already thinking of what the Lord Jesus did at Calvary when He set me free from the powers and the chains and the shackles of sin. I get thrilled when I feel the Holy Ghost flow all over me to the point at times I just have to kneel down and weep and allow His wonderful words to come through my lips to my Heavenly Father.
I’m glad I’m saved! I’m glad I’m filled with the Holy Ghost. Jesus said rejoice NOT that you cast out devils, but REJOICE that your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Paul said in another place to “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say “REJOICE!” Oh Glory to God. I’m so happy right now I am jumping up and down in my seat as I write this. I feel the anointing of the Holy Ghost on these words today.
Phil 4:4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Luke 10:20-21
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
He set me free, he set me free. He broke the BONDS of prison for ME! I’m glory bound my Jesus to see! Oh Glory to God, He set me free! Goodbye to sin and things that confound. NONE of this world (and its ungodly system) will turn me around. I’m pressing on and I’m praying too and GLORY TO GOD I’m going through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh He set me free, yes He set me free. OH HE broke the BONDS of prison for me. I’m glory bound my Jesus to see. Oh glory to God He set me free.
That’s UNITY. That’s UNITY! Jesus is the UNITY OF THE BRETHREN. Jesus is the HEAD of the church and we are HIS BODY. And we must GROW UP unto HIM! We will deal with that in part two of this journal.
Oh neighbor, it’s getting late as I write these words. Backslider, it’s getting late in the game friend. Some of you have read this journal and probably gotten very angry or more than likely just stopped reading and passed this off as foolish babble. But if you’ve made it to this point I plead with you today to hear the blessed Saviour, calling the oppressed. ‘Oh, ye heavy laden, come to ME and REST.’ He your load will carry, if you’ll claim HIS best – IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, He will give you REST!
There is no confusion in HIM. There is no division in HIM. Christ is not divided man of God. Stop preaching a divided Christ. HE IS NOT subject to your pitiful rules and regulations you put on men to bring them into bondage. Religion puts men in bondage, true unity and Christianity sets men free to worship the HEAD OF THE CHURCH – YESHUA.
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 4:4
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Col 3:15
14 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
As we close let those words you just read sink in – we have been called IN one body! There is ONE body and ONE Spirit and we called in ONE HOPE of ONE CALLING. That does not sound like division to me! It also means that in all this mess that we have in doctrinal circles today that there is THE TRUTH that can set men free and bring GLORY and HONOR to the Kingdom of God, not glory and honor to a man-made group or organization. Our darkest hour in the church was not when the world persecuted us but when it accepted us. We will talk about that more in the next journal.
Let’s pray:
Oh Yeshua, how long must we wait, how long must we wait till Your return. Bring Your church into TRUE UNITY oh Father by bringing us back to the source of ALL UNITY – JESUS CHRIST. HE IS OUR TRUTH and OUR WAY and OUR LIFE today. There is no other way, no other truth and no other life except through HIM! Teach us to LOVE YOUR SON with all our hearts, souls and spirits. Increase our faith and increase our passion for HIM so we can preach a Christ to the world Lord that is not divided. Help heal the wounds in the Body of Christ and bring us together into the unity of the brethren! In Jesus name! Amen.
Eph 4:11-16
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.