Monday, June 3, 2019

Thrust in Your Sickle; The Harvest of the Earth Is Ripe




by Vanessa P.                        

Inadvertently, through our last two American presidents, AND THEIR ALLIES, millions have been displaced in the Middle East and the persecution of Christians began. As the Middle East burned, the hatred for the West continued to grow. The hatred for Christians that had been hiding in the hearts of Islamic men and women suddenly exploded under GWB and Obama.

After we destroyed their homes and cities, tens of thousands of Muslims were given new homes right smack in middle America. ISIS was formed after Obama's sudden exit from Iraq, leaving a vacuum that resulted in Christians suddenly being murdered in huge numbers. They desperately needed help, but Obama and other Western nations took in Muslim refugees. They turned away Christians who were facing certain death in their own country, and in no small smart part, thanks to us.

The vast majority of Muslims brought into this country have not entered with intentions to work, raise families and integrate. They end up collecting welfare, get free housing, and refuse to integrate. They have continually played the victim in order to gain sympathy from the masses. They have entered our schools and taught our children how to adhere to sharia law. They didn't change for us; we changed for them. A generation of kids have been taught to disregard the flag and pledge of allegiance. They were taught that being born white should carry guilt, and if you don't feel guilty, you're obviously a racist.

Under GWB, we watched as Muslims went from the attacker to the victim. When they wanted to build a mosque at Ground Zero and Americans objected, the victim card was used. With each new Islamic act of terror, the mainstream media victimizes Islam. Fifty Muslims were murdered in New Zealand, and the world comes to a standstill. Thousands of Christians have been murdered since January, and the media is silent.

Globalism has been pushed on the West to the detriment of its own citizens, and the U.S. was leading the way for 32 years under our last four presidents. Each of these presidents left a trail of death and destruction in their conquest for peace. For the last 16 years, we allowed our rights and freedoms to be stripped away. It wasn't just Obama; it was GWB and NSA along with his Patriot Act. Obama weaponized our entire government to work in their favor.

Make no mistake about it; had a RINO like Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney won, we would not have witnessed the vitriol and rage we have witnessed for the last two years. Donald Trump is an outsider who refused to go along with the corrupt, socialist system that his predecessor had formed.

Socialism used to be a dirty word, and an insult. In 1936, when FDR was accused of being a socialist, the White House responded to the accusation: "....which no patriotic, honorable, decent citizen would purposefully inject into American affairs."

Today, politicians are openly embracing, not only the term, but the ideology. The Democrat Party has openly accepted socialists into their realm; and in doing so, they've officially become the Party of Socialism. It's not progressivism; it's socialism, and it's sweeping the world.

An entire generation of kids were indoctrinated by the left for eight years. With that indoctrination came a fierce loyalty to anything Obama. His own little "citizen army." (Remember that?)

They've been taught, no matter what, that their feelings matter. If something offends them, they have the right to remove it. If someone says something they don't like, call them a racist, even if you're not discussing race. The left has mastered the victim mentality; and by doing so, shut down dissenting opinions for years. It has now become fascist to so much as disagree.

America is accused of being a patriarchal society, and yet these same people can't point to another country on the entire map who is more successful than the United States. Socialism leads to class warfare. Those who have are made to feel guilty by those who have not. People like AOC like to make you feel guilty for being white and especially if you eat cauliflower. Woe to those of you with a garbage disposal. Meanwhile, in reality, she grew up in a 99.9% white, upper-class neighborhood. She was born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, only she's not white. GASP!

AOC would like all Americans to make the same wage, whether you earn it or not. Don't worry about how it will work - it just will, and that's IF we don't die in twelve years.

This generation doesn't even know who God is; and if they do, it's a watered-down version that teaches love, acceptance and tolerance for all. The church has become corrupted, and it's difficult to find a church that preaches God's word, as written. This is a generation with absent fathers, drug-addicted mother's, gender-confused children and a absent spiritual leader. There are pedophile priests and a Catholic pope who falsely claims to represent Christianity, while denying who God really is. Behind the pulpit we have feel-good preachers, hypocrites and liars. Is it any wonder our younger generation doesn't know who God is?

They are openly pushing for something they don't understand because their overpaid professor told them so. Is it any wonder why they flock to Pope Francis? He's denied judgment and hell and says anyone can get to Heaven, even non-believers.

"And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ and will deceive many.'"

The pope has adamantly been against nationalism; he calls those who are for it dangerous. A nation without pride will not stand because the people will not defend it. Meanwhile, he lives behind big, beautiful walls.

He is pushing for globalism; and through him, religion and politics are uniting. As for the illegals pouring over the U.S. border, according to Francis, we need to let them in for the "common good."

Common good for whom though? Certainly not middle America. He also called for an "international arrangement" for all nations. He is against President Trump and has spoken negatively of him many times. He even questioned whether he was a Christian or not because of his border stance. (I didn't vote for him because I thought he was a Christian; let's just throw that out there since I receive so many emails calling me and Christians who support him hypocrites.)

In other words, Francis is openly calling for a WORLD GOVERNMENT.

He recently compared Trump to an animal and the border wall to the Berlin Wall.

He said, "I do not know what is going on with this new culture that defends territories by building a wall... We already dealt with one, the one in Berlin, which brought us enough headaches and enough suffering... but it seems that man does what animals do not do, right? Man is the only animal that falls into the same hole twice. We are repeating the same thing, right? Building walls as if that were a defense."

Pope Francis also warned that sovereign nations attempting to govern themselves will find that they are unable to protect their nations alone, that a united governing body is needed. He said: "The nation-state is no longer able to procure the common good of its populations alone. The common good has become global, and nations must associate for their own benefit."

Who has benefited from global government? The UN was created as a peace mission between nations, but have wars increased or decreased since their founding?

Matthew 24:6:7 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."

Socialism has led to fascism, which is spreading throughout the world. This is the world beast we were warned of. Socialism always leads to communism, and with communism comes a communist leader. The left is going to usher in the Antichrist, one man to bring order to the chaos that's been created. Through communism over one hundred million people have been murdered, and millions upon millions of those were Christians and Jews.

Jesus said the whole world would worship this beast; and through Globalism, socialism has grown tremendously. In a recent Gallup poll, almost 50% of Americans said they would vote for a socialist as president. Who's Karl Marx when you can feel the Bern with Bernie Sanders?

Under Obama, our nation joined the world beast, and America was loved by other leaders in Europe for it. President Trump, who withdrew from pacts like the Paris Climate Accord, is hated and the attempted coup against him was international.

Karl Marx, the father of socialism and communism, was considered a Christian before he became an atheist with a dab of satanism. What changed? He attended the University of Berlin and took a new course titled "liberal theology." It changed his views, his beliefs, and who he was. Sound familiar? Our universities have been damaging the minds of its students for over one hundred years.

Marx was quoted as saying, "I wander godlike and victorious through the ruins of the world. And, giving my words an active force, I will feel equal to the Creator."

In Isaiah 14:13-14 we read, "But you [Satan] said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.'"

Satan has possessed many men and women throughout history to do his bidding, and Karl Marx was no exception. He grew to hate Christ and His followers; he had a dislike for Jews, although his grandfather was actually an Orthodox Jew. His mother was born Jewish but converted to Lutheranism when he was six years old. Long story short, Marx was born Jewish, yet he was known to not only write Anti-Semitic opinions, but speak them as well.

A socialist society is full of resentment, conflict, and the numerous socialized welfare programs we see. Socialists speak of equality, but this equality is not through hard work; it's equality by forcefully taking from those who work and giving to those who won't work. Yet the Bible tells us in 2 Thessalonians:

2 Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."

1 Timothy 5:8 says, "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

Margaret Thatcher famously said:

"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."

Leftists hate our way of life, beginning with our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. They are furious over the electoral college and are actively, at this moment, seeking to end it. Several states have already joined a pact in order to do this. They hate the ideology of our founding fathers; they hate our flag and everything it stands for: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The left removed God from our schools and legalized abortion over forty years ago. We have continued to morally decline since that time, and the Democrats took a hard left.

They want to raise taxes; open our borders; murder babies; weaken our economy; defund our military; remove the first, second and fourth amendment; remove our electoral college; defend illegal immigrants over U.S citizens; and blur gender lines. ADMITTEDLY. Imagine what they're holding back?

Lucifer, or Satan, is the father of all lies. The Russian hoax was a lie on a massive scale in order for America to stay in the Globalist, socialist, one-world system. The anger coming from the left is like something we've never seen, and it's no coincidence that this hatred is coming out in the latter days. This is not to say everyone on the right is a Christian, but the vast majority either are or have some belief. Jesus said He would separate us, on the left and the right.

Today, the left advocates for and demands everything God hates and is against. God doesn't use words to describe His people without it having some meaning.

Matthew 25:33, 41 "And He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left... Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.'"

The Bible tells us there is wisdom on the right and fools on the left. In the Bible, a fool is someone who disregards God.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 "A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left."

Psalm 110:1 "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.'"

Jesus Himself ascended to the RIGHT hand of the Father.

Matthew 26:64 "Jesus said to him, 'You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.'"

Jesus sits on the right hand of God our Father.

Acts 2:33 "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear."

The right hand was also a symbol of strength!

Exodus 15:6 "Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy."

Psalm 20:6 "Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed. He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand."

Psalm 78:54 "So He brought them to His holy land, to this hill country which His right hand had gained."

God said He founded the earth and spread out His right hand.

Isaiah 48:13 "Surely My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call to them, they stand together."

The left is rabidly against capitalism, yet capitalism is the only system that has been proven time and time again to work. Without capitalism, this nation will fall. We have political leaders in office right now pushing this nation towards socialism. Two and a half years after suffering defeat, the Democrats are still furious over their loss.

A darkness has come over them, an evil spirit that is furiously pushing us to the one-world socialist system, the beast of Revelation. President Trump once said it's not really him they hate; it's US; ITS YOU, The Christian RIGHT.

The right hand or right side is used often in scripture.

John 21:6 "And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.' So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish."

Acts 3:7 "And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened."

Revelation 1:16-17 "In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.'"

Jesus is returning soon, and the two beasts of Revelation, Islam and the Vatican, have united and are promoting this socialist beast until the man of sin is revealed. It's not if He returns, it's when. And when He does, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

Before America, Rome had been the world's only other successful melting pot of people. When you became a Roman, it didn't matter what you were before. A Roman was a Roman, and the same held true for America until the last two decades. Immigrants once assimilated when they became American citizens. Today, they not only refuse to assimilate, but they dislike America and her citizens. They hate everything America actually stands for.

They enjoy the free stuff though. Free housing, money, healthcare and food.

A nation can't survive if the people don't love it and defend it. It can't survive if there is no identity. You can be a melting pot of people working for the common good, but this nation has lost that. America is being lost to cultures that are not compatible with her own, and we are being overrun by people who refuse to obey the rule of law.

The tribes of people that began migrating to Western Europe were of a completely different culture. Christianity was taking hold of the West, and pagan gods were being abandoned. The Barbarians that invaded Rome were basically welcomed into Roman borders. Rome had spread itself so thin military, it had the Barbarian tribes "watching and protecting" their borders. When you're on the border, it's easier to be welcomed in, or sneak in.

More has changed in the last one hundred years than in the past 2,000 years combined, when Jesus walked the earth. The birth pangs we've been feeling since World War One put us at about 10 cm dilated.

The Godless pagans attacking God and His followers are being led by an evil spirit. They've been given strong delusion since they refused to believe the truth; because when you admit God is real, you know you're accountable for your actions. Mom and Dad might not have held you accountable, but the Almighty will. It's far easier and more enjoyable to deny Him.

As this chaotic world continues to spin out of control, as the hatred of fellow man continues to build, as the political enemies of the people continue to lie, remember one thing: THE KING IS COMING, and these people will answer for their sins. We all will.

1 Peter 4:18 "If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

Sunday, June 2, 2019

JESUS, THE ONLY WAY!!




By pastor Mike Taylor

1:1 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”(John 1:1-5)

The world at large has trouble with explaining who Jesus of Nazareth was and is, Christian and unbelievers, as well. Who was this Man, called Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ (Messiah) and how is He different than all the other so called holy men of other religions? When asked by non-believers why they believe in this historical Man, many have trouble explaining why they believe except to say “Jesus was the Son of God.”

That statement is so very true, but to an agnostic or atheist, it doesn’t explain why we put so much trust in a person who lived 2000 years ago.  Many of these doubters believe that Jesus was a myth, or that He was something other than what we know and believe that He was who He said He was. As John opened his book in the Gospels, John in five verses encapsulated who Jesus Christ was. John called Him, the Word. Before time began for human beings, The Word was with God, and WAS God. Before Jesus who was God becoming a man and lowered Himself to becoming flesh and empting Himself of His glorious nature and becoming a servant in the form of sinful flesh, the incarnate Christ was God, from everlasting to everlasting. Without time, without the constraints that you and I experience, and was called the great I AM, that I AM when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush.

There is much written about this Man who lived 2000 years ago. Most of it is found in the many witnesses who wrote about Him in your bible. Historically, Josephus wrote of Him, but only to witness that Jesus was indeed, a very real person in his time. First we have to decide, do we believe their witness from different men who saw, touched, and lived with Jesus for 3.5 years during His ministry on earth? Each of these men tell the same story, but from a different perspective. The Bible is a record of the prophecies that concerned a coming Messiah that began in Genesis and runs through the whole of the Bible until the end of man’s rule recorded in the last book of the Bible, Revelation.

BY FAITH WE BELEIVE IN THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

I had a dear brother write me and explain why a believer believes in God the Son, the Savior of the world:

Can anyone "prove" Jesus lived and died for the sins of the world? No, not any more than one can prove the stuff in the can that says "Campbell's Mushroom Soup" really is mushroom soup. Unless we actually see the soup being made and put into the can (which depends on our senses telling us the right thing) the best we can do is to rely on evidence, either from other people or our own when we bought another can of mushroom soup last week, opened it, heated it up and discovered it was indeed mushroom soup!

 This is a very simple example of historical evidence, which is what
we have to use to learn about Jesus because we didn't live in his time
or place. For me, the historical evidence is compelling, and there is,
to my knowledge,  more for this than Tiberius Caesar.

  There are two key elements which I regard the strongest:

1) The inability of his enemies to "trot out the body" which would have
totally destroyed the Resurrection account and cleared up the matter
once and for all.

2) The totally changed aspect of his disciples who had once fled and hid in terror but boldly and publicly proclaimed Jesus' words and the
accounts of his life and resurrection after the fact.

These men, except for John who was sent to Patmos as punishment for preaching Jesus, died for what they reported. I don't know anyone who will die for something they do not believe is true themselves. (Of
course they might have been mistaken - people have died for lies, but
only when they thought they were true.)  But with all the other
evidence, it certainly seems they had good reason - and so do we - to
believe their message.

The "impossibility" of the resurrection and all the other miracles is
dealt with by faith and a very frank assessment that we as human beings are not omniscient, something that our very nature often rebels about admitting.

Two hundred years ago I'm sure that we could find all kinds of expert scientists who would tell you that the flight of human beings in a heavier than air vehicle was totally impossible, too.

 Since the complexity of the universe and life itself points to a
"Designer," then why not go the extra step and decide that he can also
decide to step in a change something in the design to allow what we
would call a miracle to happen?

There were two other passages, John 3:1-8 and John 6:53-56, which to this day have led to what I believe is an unresolved debate. John 3:1-8 has been interpreted to mean one must be water baptized as part of the "salvation formula."

  John 6:53-56 has been interpreted  to mean one must also have Holy
Communion to be saved as well. Unfortunately such entities as the Roman Catholic Church, and even the Anglican Church to some degree,  has too often used theseinterpretations to get a stranglehold over their flocks. You step out ofline, you get excommunicated. That means, no communion for you, and you'll end up in hell because of that. Likewise, without baptism, best thing you can hope for is limbo.

  The main problem here becomes the evolution of "works-based salvation" which Jesus and Paul soundly refuted over and over again. Paul's letter the Galatians is a wonderful treatise on this topic.

  On the flip side, an interpretation I tend to agree with is that John
3:6 is the explanation of John 3:5.  To be saved, you must first be
physically born, and then, at the age of accountability, accept Jesus at
which time the Holy Spirit comes to live in you and through you. Now
there is a spiritual baptism that not only surrounds you, but dwells
within you, too.

  Regarding John 6:53-54, if literally taken really does sound pretty
extreme. I am sure these verses factor prominently into the false Roman concept of "Transubstantiation." The communion itself becomes an object of "adoration"  and, as we saw before, salvation. Sounds like idolatry to me!

  Notice Jesus used these words even before instituting what we call
Communion today. That means what he was saying was already true when He said it. If we look ahead, to verse 58, we see Jesus explain what He really meant - that he is the bread from heaven, the sustenance which will last one for all eternity. This actually  reinforces what he said back in John 6:28-29 - belief is the key!”(thank you , my brother Ed.)

WHY WAS THE BIBLE WRITTEN?

The Bible was written for one reason and one reason only. It was written as a prophecy and a witness to the coming of the Messiah to redeem man from his fallen state. It’s all about Jesus the Christ.  It’s was God’s plan for redeeming mankind from the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve who chose to believe the lies of Satan and choose their own will, instead of being obedient to the will of God. In Genesis, you will find the first prophecy concerning the coming of a Savior.
3:15  “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."(Genesis 3:15)

A major theme of the Old Testament is the coming of the Messiah. From 
Genesis 3:15 through Malachi 4:2, prophecies of the coming of the Savior fill God's Word, the gospel writers show time and again how Jesus fulfilled the prophets’ predictions in His actions or in the actions of those around Him. Matthew, especially, makes a conscious point to highlight many Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus' life. Of all the prophecies in the Old Testament account, and there was 250+ prophecies of a coming Savior of mankind, Jesus fulfilled every one of them. The probability of one man fulfilling every prediction and every detail about His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection have a improbability of infinity of being fulfilled by One Man. But Jesus certainly did fulfill them all..

In our Bible, we have 66 books, written by 40 different authors, spanning nearly 2500  years and all with one theme, the coming of the Messiah and the redemption of mankind. To have such a harmony between books, between authors, the majority of whom  never met, gives strong evidence that there is only One author, and that is Almighty God. It was God's love letter to mankind for his salvation and being restored in fellowship to God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.


HOW IS JESUS DIFFERENT?



When a person makes a comparison of other “holy men” and compares that man in another religion with the Messiah of the Bible, the differences are striking. Men of other religions, no matter whether it’s Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism , Taoism, or whatever -ism, each try to have the person raise themselves to a higher plane of consciousness to save themselves by works of piety or sacrifice. Only Jesus Christ is different. When the disciple Thomas asked Jesus to show us the way to the Father, Jesus stated plainly:


14:6  “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”(John 14:6-7)

Jesus plainly stated that there is no way that a man can come to God the Father, except through Him. No amount of meditation, no matter amount of good works, and no holy man of other religions can make you acceptable before a Holy God.
Why is there no other way to come to be in the same existence as Almighty God and come into His presence?  Paul proclaims it and it agrees with what the Apostle Paul declared in Romans:


3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (emphasis mine)
3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (substitution) through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”(Romans 3:22-26)

The bible is full of declaration such as those mentioned above. All profess and proclaim that there is no other way to salvation and enter into the presence of the Ancient of Days, God the Father, but by this One Man, who is God in the flesh glorified.

I call these declarations found in your bible, nuggets of the saving grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Each should be used to introduce the only chance a person has to be forgiven of their sins, and should be shared with all who will listen given by the believer in Jesus Christ, called the Christian.  Let’s examine just a few of the many, many scriptures that could be shared with that loved one, that co-worker, or that friend who asked you, “Why do you believe in Jesus Christ?”

God’s Saving Plan of Grace


2:8 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”(Ephesians 2:8-10)

Faith's importance to salvation is accentuated by this verse. Faith plays a role in the entire process until we enter God’s Kingdom. It is the sum of what God is doing in our lives: “Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He sent'" (
John 6:29). In the fourth and fifth chapters of Romans, we read Paul mentioning faith a dozen times, almost all concerning justification, being made righteous or having access to grace, and thus, having the hope of the glory of God.


Jesus, when He was speaking to Nicodemus, the Pharisee that came to Him by night, He proclaimed His mission:

 
3:11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (the cross)
3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
3:16  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.
3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”(John 3:11-18)

The root and the trunk of the born again doctrine found in the bible is found in John chapter 3.  The other gospel writers do not expressly say it, but provide supporting evidence of this essential truth. In this gospel, John starts by proclaiming the divinity of Jesus Christ, as John the Beloved Apostle talks of light, darkness, baptism, and the Temple of God in the first three chapters of the Gospel of John.  Symbolism is used to illustrate the spiritual with the physical. Many of the symbols Jesus uses are understood by the people Jesus spoke to. Nicodemus, was one who could not understand the concept of being “born again.” Notice what Nicodemus says when Jesus tells him, ye, must be born again:


3:3 “ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?3:5  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.
3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
3:8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”(John 3:3-8)

Nicodemus was thinking in the physical, not the spiritual application of what Jesus was saying. He did not understand that this physical body must be changed from mortal into an immortal when raised from the dead, or changed at His coming in the twinkling of an eye at the Rapture of the Bride of Christ, the Church. Notice how Jesus says we will be when He changes us in verse 8? We will be like the wind that blows through the trees. Jesus when He was raised from the dead was able to walk through walls, but could eat and drink. So it will be with us. Till we become immortal, we have the promise of the redemption of our bodies into immortality by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Nicodemus did not understand the concept of being born of Spirit and water. Water,  being the symbolism of being baptized by immersion into a symbolic grave. We are lowered into the water, as symbol of the grave, buried with Jesus Christ and raised to newness of life, a new creature that we should walk in obedience to the commands of God as spoken by Jesus.

When Jesus proclaimed the spiritual truth in a physical way to the masses in the synagogue at Caperneum:

48 “I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”(John 6:48-56)


Thinking in physical terms, this idea repulsed most of the disciples and those who heard  and many left Him, as they didn’t understand the spiritual application of the New Covenant of His death and resurrection and symbolized when we take the bread and the wine at the Lord’s Supper and commemorating this act of total surrender for our redemption.
If you want to know the man, Jesus Christ, you need to start at the Gospel in the New Testament that proclaimed His divinity, His earthly ministry, and His death leading to His resurrection, as the first born of the dead. That Gospel is John. John uses the last days of Jesus ministry leading to the cross to illustrate who Jesus was, and what He did for all mankind. If you wish to understand how God the Son came down from glory and became a man with only one mission, to save mankind, then you must start at John and study the witnessed account of the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ up close and personal. Then read the surrounding gospels that support it, and read into the Pauline epistles of the man who met Jesus in His glorified state and how it changed his life.
Paul continues the story in his epistles when he spoke of Jesus in Romans:

5:6  “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
5:7  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”(Romans 5:6-9)


Paul mentions in v. 6, that we were yet without strength. 
Without strength means "powerless." Before our justification by Christ's sacrifice, we had no way to appeal to God for vindication. In our guilt, we could not stand before Him. The death sentence was upon us, till we were justified by His blood by believing on God’s only Begotten Son.


God made a way, through Jesus that we could be justified:

6:44  “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
6:45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
6:46  Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
6:47  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”(John 6:44-47)

God in His sovereignty draws who He wills to Him via His Holy Spirit. To reject that call is to endanger your spiritual condition. Will the call come again? Will you have a chance to believe on Jesus a second time around? God knows, but we do not. What does it say?


9:26 “ For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”(Hebrews 9:26-28)

The time of the open window for accepting Jesus Christ is coming to a close in this dispensational age, the Age of Grace. To enter into the next dispensation of God’s wrath has untold amount of suffering and tribulation.  Jesus made a statement in John that God has given Him full authority to enact judgment because of His willing sacrifice as was written in John 3:16-18:
5:26  "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good (accepted Jesus Christ), unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (denied His invitation of salvation)”(John 5:26-29)

The Holy Spirit convicts each person that He will and knocks upon the door of the individual’s heart, as noted in Revelation chapter 3 when addressing the Laodecian church of the last days:

3:20 “ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”(Revelation3:20-21)

Not just a Holy Man, but a Holy God that is different from any “holy man” from any other religion who proclaim as their leader. All others will land you short of heavens door, but unlike as it is with the spokes of a wheel, each spoke leading to the axle, other religions, other spokes of an axle do not lead to that One source (God), there is only one way to spend eternity with God, and that is believing on Jesus  Christ, as the Son of God, who lived, died (shedding His blood for the salvation of the world, to all who believe what He did), and rose again to ascend to the right hand of God the Father and has all authority in heaven and on earth to bring men out of their graves, some to eternal life, some to everlasting torment. Which side will you choose?

WHAT WILL YOUR DECISION BE?

I call upon all who read this message, who is Jesus Christ in your life? Is He just some enigma that you find unable to understand with your mind. Do you use His name rarely accept in an expletive? If He is so unimportant to you and the world, why is the world so consumed by Him, unlike other “holy men.”? Could it be that He was right, and the Bible is true? If it’s not true, why do you not just dismiss it, but see you can’t, because He is a part of us all….How you say? He created you and I. He longs for His creation and He longs to spend eternity with you. God has this in mind for all who will believe and who will not believe:


,3:9  “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”(2nd Peter 3:9-10)

He wants you in His family. Won’t you hear His voice and make that decision to believe on the “One whom God has sent?” Because Jesus IS the Savior of the world, even you if you let Him.
8 "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”(Romans 10:8-13)


This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying God’s Salvation in your life. If there is anything I can help you with, pray with you about, counsel you with, or just a listening ear, drop me a line at 
pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, God bless you all ,

till we meet at Jesus feet.