Saturday, November 3, 2018
Circumcision a Necessity
Circumcision can be simply defined as the surgical removal/ excision of the prepuce (the foreskin on penises). Circumcision is part of the culture of the Israelites dating way back to the time of Abraham. Acts 7:8 reads, “Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.” Here we see how circumcision is a covenant in which God gave to mankind (His faithful in particular), in which this covenant became a tradition within the bloodline and descendants of His faithful, Abraham. Genesis 17:10 reads, “This is my covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” Furthermore, here we see how circumcision is a “SIGN” of the Covenant between God and his faithful mankind. Cicurmcision is for the man-man fig-literally in Genesis 1:27 refers to both male and female.
Circumcision is also not only limited to members of the families but also to servants or any other human beings considered part of the household, within the nation of Israel as a whole and communities within Israel in a micro-perspective. Failure to circumcise resulted in exclusion from the community. Genesis 17:14 reads, “And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.” Furthermore, Jews normally see or perceive the uncircumcised gentiles as unclean. Therefore, separating themselves from them, drawing a line in terms of being clean and being unclean-this was one of the major issues that results in disunity between the Jews and the gentiles during the time of the early church after Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven.
In the past especially within the New Testament times, one of the main barriers between Jews in the early church and gentiles in the early church is over the issue of circumcision. Let’s take a sneak preview at an example from the New Testament times. We see in Acts 15 verses 1 to 5 the Conflict over circumcision, in which certain men taught that unless one is not circumcised according to the customs of Moses, he cannot be saved, in which is not slightly but I should say “totally” misunderstood. Even some of the Pharisees during that time agreed with what these men were upholding and teaching. We see that in Acts 15:5 which reads, “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcised them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.’” These teachings of circumcision were totally misunderstood and slightly going off-track from the true meaning of circumcision according to The Holy Bible.
Then what is the true meaning of Circumcision? Considering the above paragraphs, Circumcision is covenant between God and His faithful human beings here on earth. Romans 2:29 reads, “but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose phrase is not from men but from God.” Or in other words, circumcision is the renewal of the heart and the Spirit, which can only be accomplished through Faith and by the Grace of Jesus Christ alone. Romans 3:28 reads, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Thus heading more weight that through faith in Jesus Christ because of His Grace, man can be able to renew his heart and spirit to the original state they were created in, according to Genesis 1:27-29. This is the true meaning of circumcision! Read verses 25 to 29 for more information… A good example of this found in Acts 4 verses 1 to 4 which portrays the theme of how Abraham was justified by faith-in which concludes that He is indeed circumcised. Furthermore, the physical Circumcision is a “SIGN” of this covenant of circumcision from the heart and spirit in which God first gave His faithful, Abraham…
Circumcision is for the man only-man fig-literally speaking is both male and female according to Genesis 1:27. Circumcision is a covenant between God and His faithful which means to renew the heart and spirit from our selfish nature ever since the Fall of Mankind in Genesis 3:1-7 to the original state in which God created us in Genesis 1:27, upholding Genesis 3:15 (The Plan of Salvation). This can only be accomplished through faith in Jesus Christ alone, the keeping of God’s Law through the Grace of Jesus Christ alone. The physical Circumcision is a “SIGN” of this covenant of circumcision from the heart and spirit in which God first gave to His faithful, Abraham… Which means, only the circumcised are accepted by God and will enter His Kingdom when Jesus Christ returns in His Second Coming-only the Circumcised will believe in Him considering John 3:16: which also means that only the circumcised are connected to the True Vine in John 15, who receive the Holy Spirit which renews their hearts and spirit enabling them to bear the Fruit of The Holy Spirit. For more information about the Fruit of The Holy Spirit, click and read the following link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2015/07/fruit-of-holy-spirit.html Furthermore, this means that both Jews and Gentiles, Papua New Guineans and Americans, etc.., or humanity in general may able to enter God’s Kingdom if they are circumcised (considering its meaning in the above sentences).
Saturday, June 9, 2018
What does it mean to "BELIEVE?"
This is going to be short, sharp and straight to the point. The term “believe” can be simply defined as; to accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing). Or in other words, believing is a choice that someone must make from within and outwards externally, that something or someone is true without absolute certainty or proof! Get any dictionary of your choice and define the term, I’m not going to spoon feed you…
There is no way one would enter God’s Kingdom when Jesus Christ returns in His clouds of glory without first believing in Him! John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It is as simple as that, only those who believe in Jesus Christ will enter His Kingdom when He returns in His Second Coming.
So, what does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? John 1:11-13 reads, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.” According from the above verses, those who Jesus Christ gave the right to become children of God are those that believe in His Name (the Name of Jesus Christ), and those who believe in the Name of Jesus Christ are actually those who are in fact “BORN AGAIN!” For more information of the blessing to be born again and become children of God, click and visit the following link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/blessing.html
To be born again means to go through Water Baptism and Baptism of the Spirit. John 3:5 & 6 reads, “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that is which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” To be born of the water here symbolizes baptism of repentance and to be born of the spirit symbolizes baptism of The Holy Spirit. Furthermore, Jesus Christ stressed it out chronologically in John 3:5, that water baptism or baptism of repentance must always come first before the baptism of The Holy Spirit-The Holy Spirit will never abide within us when we still have sin within us: God loves the sinner but He hates the sin! That is why we must ask God through prayer to forgive us our sins and help us repent from our sins truly from the heart prior to asking Him to infill us with The Holy Spirit, through prayer. For further information, click and visit the following link:http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html
To be born again (to believe) is an everyday thing and not a one-time event! The “VERB” believe in John 1:12-13 means those who continue to believe-those who continue to be “BORN AGAIN” over time everyday in their lives here on earth (which is of unknown duration considering time, which is something we all don’t have): or in other words “GROWING IN CHRIST”, which is one the Seventh Day Adventist Church fundamental beliefs. Or in other words, it is an everyday thing… Quoting from the footnotes of my Andrews Study Bible of John 1:12,”It indicates a constant action over-time and not a one-time event at a particular moment. Thus, it does not in any sense support a ‘once saved, always saved’ understanding of salvation.”
Jesus Christ the Word in John 1:1-4 is currently in heaven as our High Priest but left us the Comforter The Holy Spirit. When we are “Born Again” we have The Holy Spirit within us. When we have the Holy Spirit us, we are connected to the True Vine in John 15,Who is the Truth in John 14:6, Who is the Word in John 1:1-4, Who is none other than Jesus Christ. When we have Jesus Christ through our connection to Him through The Holy Spirit, we are able to love God and Keep His Commandments (considering John 14:15), and love our fellow human beings, from inward (from the heart) and outward (to the world). The power of choice is yours, whether to choose to believe in Jesus Christ or not-every choice has a consequence: eternal life or the wages of sin which is death in Romans 6:23 depends entirely on your personal choice…
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Illuminating The Great Controversy 10, Politics Within The Family Of God (The Church/ God's community)
This is going to be short, sharp and straight to the point. Politic can be defined as an archaic or relating to polity, or civil government promoting a policy especially a national policy; well-devised adapting to its ends, whether right or wrong. Or in other words, it is in relation to the devising and advancing a system of management. You can check out its definition from any dictionary of your choice for reference’s sake. Like our title portrays very clearly, politics within God’s family (community) started with Lucifer in heaven when iniquity was found within him-the start of the Great Controversy. For further information into the start of the Great Controversy, click and visit the following link; http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2016/02/title-illuminating-great-controversy.htmlWhen we talk about politics within God’s Family (The Church/ Community), we talk about the Great Controversy between Jesus Christ and satan!
Iniquity within the Lucifer led to pride within Lucifer like how we see in Isaiah 14:12-14 which reads, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of congregation, on the farthest side of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” This was the start of the Great Controversy and politics within God’s Family (Community/ Church) in heaven, which led to Lucifer corrupting one-third of the unknown total population of the angels in heaven which were cast down to the earth with him, according to Revelation 12:7-9. Yes, this was the start of politics within God’s Family (The Church/ Community) and the start of this Great Controversy! As a result of Lucifer starting politics within God’s Family corrupting one-third of the unknown total population of the angels in heaven, they were cast down to the earth with him! Ever since then, politics within God’s Family prevailed (which is within the context of The Great Controversy), even up to this Modern Era that we are currently living in.
Secondly, lets have a look at the introduction of politics within God’s Family here on earth. According to Genesis 2:22-23, God created the second man (female), and brought her to the first man to name, in which he called her woman prior to their marriage (they becoming one). Furthermore, God (Who is the True Love in 1 John 4:8) was the connection that joined them in marriage since He brought the woman to the man in which He had previously created. With that in mind, we come to see the introduction of politics into God’s Family here on earth in Genesis 3:1-7, in which satan behind the serpent (used the serpent) through politics persuaded the woman to choose his principality (government style) by disobeying God’s command cunningly before influencing the woman to persuade her husband in choosing to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in which he ate in verse 7 of Genesis chapter 3. The tragic consequence of the introduction of politics into planet earth as we can see in Genesis 3, the serpent, the woman and the man got the consequences of their disobedience before God casting them out of His Garden of Eden considering Genesis 3:15-24.
Let’s take another look at an example of politics within God’s Family here on earth that ended drastically in ruin. In Genesis chapter 4 we see the story of Cain and Able. Both brothers were trying to give an offering to the Lord. However, Cain chose to bring fruits to be offered as offering to the Lord after accepting the idea of bringing fruits to be offered to the Lord as offering from satan and his angels , which was their political strategy to get Cain to do something else in which the Lord does not desires of him to do (which is to offer an innocent lamb as an offering to Him considering Genesis 3:21, which the Lord God did as an example giving Adam and Eve tunics of skin from the lamb from the first sacrifice to wear in order to hide their nakedness). On the other hand, Able brought the first born of his flock, an innocent lamb to be offered as his offering of sacrifice to God (which is according to what God desires), in which God respected or accepted Able’s offering over Cain according to verse 4-5 of Genesis 4. This led to Cain being angry which led him to murder his brother considering Genesis 4:6-8. Again, due to politics within God’s Family here on earth, the end-deliverable or consequence was fatal in which Able died while Cain was cursed by God!
Let’s see another example of politics within God’s Family here on earth which have ended fatally within the New Testament times of The Holy Bible. Lets look at an example from the story of Jesus Christ the Word Himself… Throughout the life of Jesus Christ here on earth we have seen many examples of politics within God’s Family here on earth-especially with the Scribes and Chief Priests, etc… One good example of all these, is during the last moments of Jesus Christ here on earth before being crucified on the cross. Specifically in Mathew 27:20 which reads, “But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barnabbas and destroy Jesus.” Here we see how satan and his angels stimulated the minds of these chief priests and elders with their political strategy (getting Jesus Christ’s own people to reject him, hoping He would give up on them, and even further, to kill and destroy him) to choose and agree to convince the multitudes by persuading them to choose Barabbas and destroy Jesus, in which they did…
Throughout The Holy Bible and even today, we have experienced and seen politics within God’s Family (Church) here on earth and its devastating and fatal results which are part of this Great Controversy. Generally speaking, politics within God’s Family (Church) is one tool in which satan and his fallen evil angels use to attack the Church (God’s people and family here on earth) with the intention to “DESTROY” them considering Revelation 12:13-17, especially verse 17.
The best defense against politics within God’s Church (Family) is to wear the whole Amor of God. .”Ephesians 6:11-17 reads, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against Flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to with stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God;” Let’s briefly simply explain the ‘whole armor’ of God according to the above text in Ephesians 6:11-17;
• 1. Helmet= Salvation.
• 2. Sword of the Spirit= The Word of God or The Holy Bible.
• 3. Shield= Faith.
• 4. Girded waist/belt= Truth.
• 5. Breastplate= Righteousness.
• 6. Shod feet, shoe= Peace.
We can wear the whole armor of God-have Salvation, The Word of God, Faith, Truth, Righteousness and Peace in our lives by willingly accepting Jesus Christ into our lives. By opening the doors of our minds and our hearts to God: God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit. Or in other words, through the infilling and baptism of The Holy Spirit. That is how we can wear and have the whole armor of God… For further specific information on the infilling of The Holy Spirit, click and visit the following link;http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html
When we as church members or Christians are being infilled with The Holy Spirit, we wear the whole amor of God, connect to the True Vine in John 15, etc… When we are infilled with The Holy Spirit, we as church members or Christians will be able to “WALK IN UNITY” in our daily spiritual life with Jesus Christ (Growing in Christ). Ephesians 4:1-4 reads, “I, therefore, the prisioner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;” Also, Philippians 2:1-4 reads, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” There should be "NO" politics within the Family of God (Church)! Only the devil wants politics within the Church (Family of God) with the intention to destroy God's Family (Church)!
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Can The Word be Changed?
This is going to be very short and sharp, straight to the point! The Word in John 1:1-4 is the Truth in John 14:6! According to John 1:1-4, the Word created everything that was created in the beginning! John 1 verses 1-4 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Considering the above verses in-line with Genesis 1:1 we come to realize that the Word created everything that was created in the beginning within the book of Genesis 1 and 2. Yes, Jesus Christ or God the Son specifically is the Word in John 1, Who is also the Truth in John 14:6!
Frist of all we must come to understand that our Creator God is a Trinity God Head which is one of the Seventh Day Adventist Church’s fundamental Doctrines based on God’s Word to us The Holy Bible. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three different persons united in their Principality of Love! Or in other words, they are “one” in their Principality and Character of Love! Furthermore, our focus is on God the Son, Jesus Christ, the Word! All three took part in the creation of the heavens and the earth and all living creatures and vegetation on the earth, however, Jesus Christ the Word specifically created the heavens and the earth (was in charge of creation), furthermore, the Word Himself formed the first man from the dust of the earth (ground) and breathed into His nostrils the breath of Life (when Life in John 14:6 is the Word in John 1, Who is Jesus Christ) and the first man became a living soul/being according to Genesis 2:7! When we worship God, we worship all three. All three play an important and specific role in the Plan of Salvation of Mankind or the fallen human race.
The Word is Omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Since the Word is part of the Trinity God Heads, the Word is Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (All knowing-searches the minds and hearts of men and knows everything) and Omnipresent (present everywhere within this entire universe at the same time)! All these three characteristics only God has!
The Word is Everlasting! Since the Word is part of the Trinity God heads, the Word is everlasting or eternal. The Word was the same in the beginning during creation, still the same today, and still will be the same in the future. Furthermore, when the Word was born into this sinful planet earth, He was consistently the same in His Character throughout His entire life here on earth, till He died on the Cross, resurrected, ascended and went up to heaven… I’ve got two words for you, “consistently eternal!”
Mind you, God’s Word to us is The Holy Bible! When we try to change or modify The Holy Bible, we are attempting to change The Word, which is totally impossible and insane to do so! How can you and I, mere created human beings change God (God the Son)? Impossible! Only a crazy dumb civilized or uncivilized idiot will attempt to do so! We attempt to change the Word by adding or subtracting what God’s Word to us The Holy Bible clearly states!
Finally, the Word is consistently eternal and unchangeable! Furthermore, the “INFALLIBLE” interpreter of the Word (God’s Word to us The Holy Bible) is the Word Himself! Mind you, the Word is currently in heaven right now as our High Priest interceding on our behalf, but promised us the Comforter (The Holy Spirit). When we have The Holy Spirit, we are connected to The Word in heaven right now, and when we are connected to The Word, we come to understand God’s Word to us humanity exactly as how God intended it to be! For further information regarding receiving The Holy Spirit, click and visit the following link; http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html
Friday, April 27, 2018
The Greatest Lesson For Mankind
This blog is short, sharp and straight to the point like all my other blogs. Furthermore, it is my personal favorite (the topic). Firstly, the term “man” within The Holy Bible according to Genesis 1:27 refers to both male and female-mankind: humanity. Also, in the same verse, we see how God created man in His Image-mind you, God is Love in 1 John 4:8, He, Love, created mankind in His Image. Love is the total opposite to selfishness (satan’s principality). Anyways, we will be looking at the greatest lesson for man/mankind/humanity, within this blog.
Let us start with the greatest mistake of mankind. The story of the greatest mistake that mankind did is found in Genesis 3:6. In Genesis 3:6 we see, how the woman choosing to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, gave it to her husband, and he willing ate it, without saying any word. Yes, and I repeat, “without saying any word,” without replying with a “wait”, or an “I’ll think about it”, etc… Thus concluding, that the first man (Adam) ate the fruit in which his wife gave him simply because he loved her more than God! This was man’s greatest mistake-this was mankind’s greatest mistake!
The greatest lesson for mankind is based on the greatest mistake of mankind. 1 John 2:15 reads, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.” Its really simple, God should be first in our hearts! We should choose to put God first in our hearts! We literally do that by Growing in Christ everyday-being born again everyday: according to John 3:5, to be born again means to be born of the water (symbolizes baptism of repentance) and of the Spirit (symbolizes baptism of The Holy Spirit). Mind you, to be born again is an everyday thing-Growing in Christ! Furthermore, Jesus Christ even said that if you and I love Him, we should keep His Commandments, according to John 14:15!
Boldly speaking, one can never love someone else without first having Love. We will never keep God’s commandments without first loving Him and we can never Love God if we are not connected to Him (having Him/Love within us through The infilling of The Holy Spirit). One can never love without first having love! This is how important the infilling of The Holy Spirit is! What it means to be born again-growing in Christ everyday! When we are infilled with The Holy Spirit, we are connected to the True Vine in John 15: we have Christ. Click and visit this link for more information about the importance of the Baptism of The Holy Spirit: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2015/07/when-we-have-holy-spirit.htmlAlso, chronologically speaking, in John 3:5, to be born of the water (symbolizes baptism of repentance) must always come first before born of the spirit (symbolizes baptism of the Holy Spirit)! The Holy Spirit will never abide within us if we have stains of sin/selfishness/unrighteousness within our hearts! This is why we must seek God’s forgiveness first and repent from our known and hidden sins through prayer before asking Him to infill us with The Holy Spirit of The Word! It is an everyday thing-growing in Christ!
Yes, “God loves the sinner but He hates the sin!” Even though He is the Creator of this entire universe, the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, incomparable and indescribable God, and defeated selfishness and satan on mankind’s behalf within this Great Controversy, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He will never force a single soul to accept Him, Love Him, or put Him first in the heart of any particular person, simply because He is Love-this is just Who He is: if He would have forced us, than He would have been selfish, but thankfully He is not, because Love is eternally consistent! The power of choice is yours whether to put God first in your heart or not-every choice has a consequence: the eternal life in John 3:16 and the wages of sin in Romans 6:23 depends entirely on your personal choice! Whoever you choose, I hope you understand that time is something we all don’t have: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/time-is-something-we-all-dont-have.html
Saturday, March 17, 2018
My Powerful God (The Omnipotent God)
This blog is going to be short, sharp and simple. Our focus today would be on the “Authority” of God within this entire universe. First of all, God created everything in this earth and within this entire universe. Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Every living thing or entity within the heavens and the earth were created by God! Furthermore, this God is Love in 1 John 4:8-His Character and Principality: His governance of this entire universe (His Creation) is based on His Principality of Love! Our Key text for this blog is found in Mathew 28:18. Well let’s dig into it…
Mathew 28:18 reads, ‘And Jesus came and spoke unto them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”’ In other translations of The Holy Bible, the word ‘power’ is interchangeably used with the term ‘authority’ within verse 18 of Mathew 28. According to Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary page 86, authority is; 1) the power to give orders to people, 2) the power or right to do something. The term power within Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary page 1,187 is; the ability to control people or things. Here we see how Jesus Christ made it very clearly to His disciples that He has all authority (power) in heaven and on earth! Or in other words simply speaking, Jesus Christ has the authority (power) over everything in heaven (all the two-third of the unknown population of the unfallen angels in heaven, the unfallen worlds in the heavens, the stars, the moon, Mars, Jupiter, etc…) and everything here on earth (every human being that ever lived in this earth and are still living, every creature or animals in this earth, satan and the one-third of the unknown total population of the angels in heaven that were cast out with him to this earth, the winds, the clouds, the land, the soil, the rocks, the sea, etc…)!
Want some examples? Well let’s see some literal-physical-examples of Jesus Christ within The Holy Bible. Mark 4:39 reads, ‘Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great clam.’ Here we see how with His Authority (power), the winds and the waves of this earth obeyed Him and ceased. Read the entire story… Mark 5:6 reads, “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.” How incredible is that? The man who was possessed by not one, two, or three, but legions of demons, the first thing that he did when he saw Jesus from afar is “ran and worshiped”! The demons within that person (possessing that person) actually ran and worship Jesus! This was their first response when they saw Jesus. Read the entire story in Mark 5:1-20 to confirm… Jesus in-fact did away with the law of physics when he resurrected Lazaruz from the dead. This clearly shows Jesus Christ’s authority over death (and that He is the resurrection and the life). Read the entire story in Mark 11:1-44, etc…
When did Jesus had the authority over the heavens and the earth? Simple, ever since the creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Or in other words, He is the rightful owner and Creator! John 1:1-4 reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.” Firstly, Jesus Christ is the Word! According to verse one, God, was present in the beginning-our Trinity God: God The Father, God The Son Jesus Christ, and God The Holy Spirit: our focus is on the Word Jesus Christ. Therefore, in verse two we clearly see that Jesus Christ (the Word) was in the beginning with God. Verse three is my favorite. In verse three we see how everything that was made in Genesis 1:1 (the entire creation) were made through Jesus Christ (the Word), everything, macroview from planets, sea and land to microview, creatures, insects, vegetation: in the heavens and in earth. Verse four confirms how He “is” the source of life to this entire universe! This “IS” His rightful authority back then up until now and will always be, since He is the Creator of this entire universe.
This is the God that I’m worshiping! He is the Creator of the entire universe! Who is any demonic magician, witchcraft, Satanist or some evil satanic spirit compared to the power of my God? Even though He, my God, Jesus Christ, the Word, is already victorious within this Great Controversy considering Mathew 27:24-54, He will never force you and I to accept Him and follow Him truthfully in heart every day, simply because He is Love in 1 John 4:8 (that is why the power of choice exist)! The power of choice is yours to accept Jesus or Reject Jesus Christ every time he knocks at the one-handle door of your heart that can only be opened from the inside-every choice has a consequence: the eternal life in John 3:16 or the wages of sin which is death in Romans 6:23 depends entirely on your personal choice! For more information about 'following' Jesus Christ, click and visit the following link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html?m=1
Saturday, March 10, 2018
The Hardest Thing About Being Rich
Our discussion today will be short, sharp and straight to the point. We’re going to discuss about Mathew 19:23, which reads, ‘Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”’ Firstly, man according to Genesis 1:27 represents both male and female (humanity or mankind). According to Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary page 1,315, rich is the state of having a lot of money or property. So the rich man above in the Bible verse represents a man or woman who is in the state of having a lot of money or property.
Mankind “was” rich before the Fall of Man though money was not present during that time considering Genesis 1 and 2. In fact mankind during that time were in charge of God’s entire creation here on earth as faithful stewards following God’s appointment of them to be stewards. On the other hand, “scarce resource” in general within this planet earth is a consequence of the Fall of Man in Genesis 3 (for more information click and visit this link:http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-basic-ingenious-introduction-to.html?m=1 ). Also consider Genesis 3:17-19. Furthermore according to the definition of “rich” quoted above, money is a means of exchange which was later-in-time invented due to “scarce resources”.
Our so called million kina question here is; “According to our key-text above, how is it that difficult for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom?”
Answer: Firstly, let’s start from the beginning… God created man (specifically the first man, Adam) by forming him out of the dust of the ground before breathing the breath of Life into his nostrils considering Genesis 2:7-man, as a living soul is a combination of the dust of the ground and God’s breath of Life (which is the breath of the Life in John 14:6): separation of the two results in death (sleep). As a result of this, “THE EARTH AUTOMATICALLY REAPED MANKIND’S CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR DISOBEDIENCE” considering Genesis 3:17-19-furthermore, since mankind is also part of God (created in God’s Image in Genesis 1:27) “DUE TO THE BREATH OF LIFE (GOD's Breath), CHRIST HAD TO DIE FOR HUMANITY AS THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR DISOBEDIENCE” which was promised by God Himself in Genesis 3:15! This resulted or initiated “Scarce Resources” in general (everything that the earth produces, plus time, became limited or scarce due to the introduction of death in general, from the leaves of the trees, animals to man).
Secondly, as a result of mankind’s disobedience, God told man to sweat and eat bread (or survive) considering Genesis 3:19. Or in other words physically speaking, man now had to literally “work” (sweat) into order to survive (eat bread, which represents food in general). Now work (sweat) is practical and time consuming!
Thirdly, since time became limited after the Fall of Mankind in Genesis 3 mankind also use certain portion of their unknown limited time while alive in this sinful planet earth to work in order to survive. This is time consuming. Furthermore, rich people one way or another work hard in order to be in the state of having a lot of money and properties. Now this time consuming!
Rich people remain “rich” because they maintain their position in being rich or accumulate more wealth with extra efforts. This is time consuming. On the other hand back to our key text for this blog, they tend to focus and use more of their time (the unknown duration of time allocated to them by God according to His Will to live in this planet earth) in the work of maintaining their state of being rich rather than on God and the things of God focusing and looking unto Jesus Christ! This is why it is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. Also, Christ also ease mankind’s worry of wanting more wealth in order to have more resources (due to scarce resources) in order to survive in Mathew 4:4, when he said replying to satan's temptation (stimulus), “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Mind you, Jesus Christ is the Word in John 1:1-4. However on the other hand, “it is harder but not impossible” considering John 15:5! As long as any man connects to the True Vine in John 15 everyday in Truth (according to what the Truth in John 14:6 says), and maintains his or her connection till death (sleep) or till Jesus Christ returns in His Second Coming, he or she will enter God’s Kingdom.
To conclude, only those who are connected to the True Vine in John 15 will enter God’s Kingdom. Only those who truly follow Christ from the heart within this Great Controversy despite whatever challenges they face within this Great Controversy will enter God’s Kingdom. For more information on how to connect to the True Vine in John 15 or truly follow the Truth in John 14:6, click and visit the following link:http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html?m=1 Remember, “JESUS CHRIST CLEARLY STATED IN MATHEW 5:3 BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD-WE BECAME POOR EVER SINCE THE FALL OF MAN, AND WE ARE BLESSED WITH CHRIST IN WHOM WE MAY BECOME RICH AGAIN, CONSIDERING 2 CORINTHIANS 8:9.” The power of choice is yours-every choice has a consequence: eternal life in John 3:16 or death in Romans 6:23 depends entirely on your person choice! I almost forgot, "REMEMBER, WHATEVER CHOICE THAT YOU MAKE NOW AND ONWARDS THAT TIME IS ALSO A SCARCE RESOURCE!"
Saturday, March 3, 2018
Illuminating The Great Controversy 9, Joseph Fled but David Fed
Every human being born into this sinful planet we call earth after the Fall of Mankind in Genesis 3:1-7 has been demon harassed (tempted) one way or another undetected or detected. Even Pastor Doug Bachelor agrees with us on this in one of his sermon’s uploaded via youtube.com, click and visit this link in order to watch or even download this video: https://youtu.be/2hVlTL_ONdc For more information on demon harassment, click and visit the following link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/03/illuminating-great-controversy-8.html?m=1 Here within this blog, we’re going to have a brief look at few examples of demon harassment within The Holy Bible in order to better understand what actually happens when someone has been demon harassed (experiencing demon harassment). Mind you, demon harassment (temptations and mind attacks by satan and his demons) is not a one day thing, it is an everyday thing for every human being born into this sinful planet earth. It doesn’t mean when you baptize into Christianity satan will stop attacking you, as long as you’re alive in this earth while awaiting Jesus Christ’s second coming, satan will still attack your mind persuading and tempting you and I into choosing his selfish principality! This “IS” The Great Controversy! Anyways, let’s get on with it…
Our First Biblical subject within this Great Controversy is David. Throughout David’s life, from his childhood even unto his death, he has experienced this Great Controversy and have made some choices in his life, in which he himself is held accountable for the consequences of his many choices. However, our focus will be on a segment of his life here on earth, in which will help us illuminate this Great Controversy and how satan attacks the minds of humanity within this Great Controversy! And the same would apply to our second biblical character within The Holy Bible, Joseph.
Firstly, our story of David is based in 2 Samuel 11… According to 2 Samuel 11:1 we see that kings normally go out for battle, in which David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, while he remained in Jerusalem. Reading from 2 Samuel 11:2, “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.” Here we see that the subject within this Great Controversy (David) was in a peaceful and relax environment (his house)-actually he arose from the bed (which is an object used for resting): and to make it even sensational, it was during the evening (the time of the day where human beings normally are in a relax state of being with minimum activity in general, whether it be after a long day’s work, etc…) What a better “TIME” and “PLACE” for satan to attack (stimulate his mind) David into choosing sin (sexual immorality)! Furthermore, from the roof, David “SAW” a woman bathing (normally human beings bath naked when in their shower at home)! These (plural because it’s in video mode-picture in action) are stimulus entering the sensory nervous system of David, in which runs up to his frontal lobe or short term memory pending for analysis and decision making. During that very moment, satan stimulates (attacks undetectably) the mind of David directly, not through any of the five senses of humanity in which God created mankind with (like smelling, hearing, tasting, seeing, feeling), but through ESP (God did not create human beings with such abilities, but than again, angels were created a little bit higher than humans). That would mean that as soon as David “SAW” the woman bathing, as soon as this stimulus entered David’s (the subject’s) sensory nervous system, evil spirit/s (demons) attack or stimulate the mind of David through ESP (through sexual thoughts telepathically transmitted to the mind of David and feelings of sexual excitement through clairvoyance transmitted to David’s sensory nervous system with the intention to create sexual excitement and genital arousal within David), persuading David to find the woman attractive sexually, in which we see at the end of verse two, David finding the woman attractive-to be specific, “THE WOMAN WAS VERY BEAUTIFUL TO BEHOLD,” according to The Holy Bible. We see in 2 Samuel 11:3 that David wanted to know about the woman (inquired about the woman), in which may occur after the woman bathing or while the woman was bathing, all in all, satan continuously stimulated David with the same stimulus (lust of the woman) due to the fact that David enjoyed it, lustful thoughts, in which inquired about the woman. Even after learning that the woman was married to Uriah, David sent messengers after the woman to bring her to him with the burning desire of sexual immorality and adultery in which he did not actioned-it-out yet (in which satan and his angels were continuously stimulating and conditioning his mind with such thoughts). 2 Samuel 11:4 reads, “Then David sent Messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.” So here we see, after David giving into these lustful sexual adulterous thoughts about that woman (Bathsheba), accepting and enjoying these thoughts continuously in his mind undetectably from satan and his angels, he finally chose to “actioned-it-out” and actually having sex with that woman, who was in fact married to someone else! This is how the man after God’s own heart sinned! It all started in the mind... A combination of a stimulus of this world with satan’s very own undetectable stimulus attached together undetectably entering David’s sensory nervous system up to his frontal lobe...
Our second biblical subject within this Great Controversy is Joseph. Our story of an event in Joseph’s life is found in Genesis 39. Due to Joseph’s personal relationship with God (maintained relationship), Joseph was entrusted over all that his master had (accept his wife) considering Genesis 39:5 & 6. On the other hand Joseph was a very handsome young man considering verse 6. Genesis 39:7 reads, “And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’” Here we see satan undetectably behind the seen stimulating (through ESP and not through one of mankind’s five senses) the mind of Joseph’s master’s wife with the stimulus absorbed into her eyes (from seeing Joseph’s physical appearance) into her sensory nervous system, up into her frontal lobe, creating a perception that “Joseph is attractive”, in which she willingly accepted this lustful thought-that is why she asked him to lie with her in verse 7. When the wife of Joseph’s master asked Joseph to lie with her, satan was also there-when that auditory and visual stimulus entered Joseph’s sensory nervous system up to his frontal lobe, satan and his angels undetectably stimulated the mind of Joseph persuading him to give into adultery. However, Joseph chose the other alternative within his mind (within his frontal lobe), and that is to turn down the offer considering Genesis 39:8 & 9. This other alternative is the still small voice of The Holy Spirit of God within this Great Controversy stimulating the mind of Joseph not to give into adultery. In Joseph’s case, we see that satan and his angels continuously indirectly attack (tempted) Joseph through the wife of his master-in which they already stimulated her mind into lusting to having adultery with Joseph, in which she willingly “CHOSE” it, that is why she came by more than once tempting Joseph considering Genesis 39:10. Genesis 39:11-12 reads, “But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.” Here we see how the wife of Joseph’s master, tempted Joseph through both auditory and physically (through touching) stimulus entering the sensory nervous system of Joseph, up to his frontal lobe, in which along side this stimulus, attached their stimulus, satan and his demons undetectably stimulated the mind of Joseph through ESP to give into adultery. Upon analysis and fast decision making process, Joseph chose the other alternative from God’s Holy Spirit, and that is to flee the scene, in which he did!
To conclude, demon harassment and manifestation will continue as long as this Great Controversy is not over! “DEMON HARASSMENT WILL NEVER STOP FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS, WHETHER IT BE DETECTABLE OR UNDETECTABLE, DEMON MANIFESTATION WILL STILL HAPPEN BECAUSE DEMONS WERE CAST DOWN TO THE EARTH CONSIDERING REVELATION 12:9-THE ONLY TIME DEMON HARASSMENT WILL STOP IS WHEN THE GREAT CONTROVERSY STOPS: WHEN JESUS CHRIST COMES AGAIN!” The only time this Great Controversy will end is when Jesus Christ returns in His Second Coming. On our own strengths trying to overcome satan’s temptation/s we are nothing, considering John 15:5! We overcome satan’s temptation/s (mind attacks through direct or indirect, detected or undetected stimulus) when we are connected to the True Vine in John 15! It is an everyday thing to maintain our connection to the True Vine in John 15! Remember, “JOSEPH FLED BECAUSE OF HIS PERSONAL-MAINTAINED-RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS GOD! NOT BECAUSE OF HIS OWN STRENGTH!” For more information into connecting to the True Vine in John 15, click and visit this link:http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html?m=1
Israel's Rejection Our Lesson
The noun Israel basically is another name of Jacob the son of Isaac. The angel of the Lord changed the name of Jacob to Israel and blessed him after wrestling with him almost to day-break. Genesis 32:26-29 reads, ‘And he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob answered saying, “Tell me Your name I pray.” And he said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And he blessed him there.’ Therefore, the descendants of Jacob or Israel are today known as the Israelites. For more information about this blessed nation, click and visit this link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/blessing.html?m=1 Our discussion today will be on Israel’s rejection concerning Romans 9. In Romans 9:1-5 we see how Paul the faithful follower of Jesus Christ expressed his sympathy for the Israelites, how he acknowledges the Israelites as a blessed nation, and how he confess of telling the truth in Christ while bearing witness with The Holy Spirit.
Israel have been rejected of being Israel! Romans 9:6 reads, “But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.” This is a very interesting verse! It clearly states how the nation of Israel, who are by blood and DNA descendants of Israel (Jacob), who are not all of Israel. Even though they all, the Israelites are by blood and DNA descendants of Jacob (Israel), they are not Israel (the blessed name in which the angel of the Lord gave to Jacob prior to blessing him). The so called million dollar question is, “why?” Why are not all Israelites who are by blood descendants of Jacob (Israel) are “NOT” Israel? Why would Paul in Truth considering Romans 9:1-5 say such a thing? Our answer lies in the arrival (birth) of Jesus Christ, life here on earth, until his death on the cross at Calvary!
We must come to understand that ever since the Fall of Man in Genesis 3:1-7, God promised a Savior, a Messiah to crush the serpent (satan) on the head and save mankind according to verse 15 of Genesis 3. For a very long time mankind have being waiting for this coming Messiah, in which is a blessing to the entire human race (for more information about this blessing to mankind, click and visit this link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/blessing.html?m=1). Furthermore, many prophets during the Old Testament times, have prophesied about the coming of this Messiah or Savior. In fact, considering the first few chapters of Ellen G. White’s book titled ‘The Desire of Ages’, it took the fullness of time before the Messiah was to come-the Savior’s coming was according to God’s perfect timing and perfect will: the Christ came into this world in a time where humanity degraded into selfishness in character… When Jesus Christ the seed in Genesis 3:15 finally arrived into this sinful earth, the very people that were waiting for Him (His arrival) did not know that He had already arrived (born into this world), only few knew! Even during His ministry here on earth, the very elect like the Teachers and Scribes doubted Him and were against Him and His Ministry, even unto His death-in which his very own people betrayed him leading to his death, considering Mathew 27:24-54. Because Israel in general (nearly all), rejected the seed in Genesis 3:15 in which they themselves have been waiting for, they became “NOT ALL OF ISRAEL.”
Even though the nation of Israel (nearly all) rejected Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ was one of them by blood and DNA! Continuing and reading from Romans 9:7, “nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’” Here we see how, Jesus Christ was an Israelite by blood and DNA, born in the bloodline of the faithful (descendant of Isaac) within the house or descendants of Jacob (Israel). Furthermore, this fulfilled God’s promised in Genesis 3:15… For further information into the bloodline of the seed in Genesis 3:15, click and visit this link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/blessing.html?m=1
Israel is a name given to Jacob with a blessing. Israel is a blessing. That is why, those Israelites by blood and DNA who rejected Jesus Christ were referred to as “NOT OF ISRAEL”. Or in other words, they are not part of this blessing-they do not inherit this blessing (which is rightfully theirs or meant for them)! Romans 9:8 reads, “That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.” Here we clearly see how, those who are children of the flesh (people who choose selfishness within this Great Controversy, whether Israelite by blood and DNA, Papua New Guineans, Americans, Melesians, Africans, etc…) are not Children of God! On the other hand that would mean, people who choose Love within this Great Controversy are children of God-Israel, the blessed group of people that inherit the blessing and shall enter God’s kingdom considering John 3:5 and have the eternal life in John 3:16! Romans 8:14 reads, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." When we are infilled with The Holy Spirit, we are connected to the True Vine in John 15-we become sons of God.
All I can say is that, it is all according to God’s perfect will and plan! Because the Israelites by blood and DNA (nearly all) rejected Jesus Christ, He was persecuted without any crime! Because Jesus Christ died on the Cross at Calvary, the entire human race (even the people of Israel who rejected Him, Papua New Guineans, Australians, Chinese, Africans, Malaysians, Americans, etc…) can inherit the ultimate blessing of being re-instated to the state of being in which God created mankind in, considering Genesis 1:27, and that is a state of being in the “Image of God” Who is Love in 1 John 4:8-His Character and Principality (can be able to have the eternal life in John 3:16)! That is why we have the article “the” in front of “way, truth, and life” (which represents Christ) in John 14:6! There is no other way, shortcut, or hidden passage that leads to the eternal life in John 3:16! The only “Way” to the eternal life in John 3:16 is the “WAY” (only Way) in John 14:6! We too are like them (the people of Israel during the time of Christ), whether we choose to accept Jesus Christ into our hearts or reject Him when He's standing at the door of our hearts knocking considering Revelation 3:20, the power of choice is yours... Yes! The power of choice is yours-every choice has a consequence: eternal life in John 3:16 or the wages of sin in Roman 6:23 depends entirely on your personal choice! For further information in following “THE WAY” in John 14:6, click and visit the following link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html?m=1
Friday, March 2, 2018
Illuminating The Great Controversy 8, EXORCISM
This is going to be very short and straight to the point. According to the Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary page 531, “exorcism is; the act of getting rid of an evil spirit from a place or a person’s body by prayers or magic; a ceremony where this is done.” Still on the same page, “exorcist is a person who makes evil spirits leave a place or a person’s body by prayers or magic.” On the other hand, there is a difference between demon harassment, demon manifestation and demon possession! Let’s simply define the following terms; Firstly according to page 404 of Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary, “a demon is an evil spirit.”
According to Oxford Advance Learner’s dictionary page 706, harass is; 1) somebody to annoy or worry somebody by putting pressure on them or saying or doing unpleasant things to them. 2) Somebody/Something to make repeated attacks on an enemy. Combining the word demon and harassment together, demon harassment is an evil spirit’s repeated attack on a human being (especially a Christian) as stimulus whether direct or indirect, detected or undetected, pressuring, persuading and stimulating the person’s mind into choosing his selfish principality within the context of this Great Controversy! Every human being born into this sinful earth has been demon harassed (tempted) or stimulated (conditioned) by satan and his demons to sin (accept selfishness) and disobey God! Even Pastor Doug Bachelor agrees with us on this, click and visit this link for more information:https://youtu.be/2hVlTL_ONdc For example, John was traveling to work. On the bus, there sat beside him a young attractive woman (a young woman in which John finds attractive). Upon literally viewing the young woman’s face, body and sniffing her perfume blown by the wind (which are stimulus entering John’s sensory nervous system up to his frontal lobe or short term memory), John thought that the woman was sexy and hot, and would be nice to have sex with (which is his perception)-this thought is an harassment (undetected stimulus) from satan and his demons persuading John to lust (which leads to sin-sexual immorality)! Another good example would be in Mathew chapter 4…
Manifestation according to Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary page 936 is; an event, action or thing that is a sign that something exist or is happening; the act of appearing as a sign that something exist or is happening. Demon manifestation is an event, action or thing from an evil spirit that something exist or is happening (because of the evil spirit). For example, John was walking back to his home from work one night near the old mango tree, and saw a black tall figure standing there that looked like a ghost of a really tall man. Other people have also reported similar encounters of such entity near or by that same old mango tree.
Possession according to Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary page 1,180 is; 1) the state of having or owning something. 6) the situation when somebody’s mind is believed to be controlled by the devil or by an evil spirit. Demon possession is the situation in which someone’s mind is being controlled (mind controlled) by the devil or an evil spirit. By the way, the mind is the process that the brain does, in which controls the entire body of a human being! There is a difference between the mind and the brain! However, demon possession is when an evil spirit is in charge of the mind (mind control), in which influences the entire body. Think of it as a puppet and its master or the Television and the person with the remote control (for the television)-the person being possessed is at the control of the evil spirit, if it wants that person to cry, he or she will cry, if it wants the person being possessed to run, that person will run, etc… For further information on mind control, click and visit the following link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2016/04/illuminating-great-controversy-3-mind.html?m=1 Furthermore, during this stage, the person being possessed at most occasions does not recall doing anything he or she had done during the period of time being possessed. A good example of demon possession, read Mathew 8:28-34… On the other hand, a good example of demon possessed human beings would be people engaged in the practice of witchcraft (which is traditional satanist-who willingly open up their souls to demons in order to get the things they desire like, astral project sensations, etc...) who are witches and wizards, like Dynamo and Chriss angels (demonic magicians who are fools selling their souls to satan for something worth less than the eternal life in John 3:16).
There is only one true exorcist, and His name is Jesus Christ. We see how the evil spirit/s obey the command of Jesus Christ and came out of the man they previously possessed in Mark 5:1-20. This exorcist not only has the power to cast out evil spirits but has the authority over everything in heaven and in earth considering Mathew 28:18! Or in other words, you and I do not have the power to cast out any evil spirit, only Jesus Christ has the power to do so! Even Jesus Christ made it very clear in John 15:5 that we are nothing without Him. We see an example of this in Acts 19:11-20, when the sons of Sceva failed to exorcize the person being demon possessed (failed exorcism)! Furthermore during this attempt of exorcism, we see very clearly how the authority of Jesus Christ (considering Mathew 28:18) is upholded by the evil spirit/s in Acts 19:15, which reads, ‘And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”’ This clearly shows how only Jesus Christ has the power (the one with all the authority considering Mathew 28:18) to command and cast out the evil spirit, and also, those who are connected to Him (like Paul) through His help because of His presence through The Holy Spirit.
To conclude, only Jesus Christ has the power to cast out an evil spirit. Jesus Christ has all the authority in heaven and in earth considering Mathew 28:18! On our own strength we will never cast out any evil spirit from a demon possessed person considering John 15:5 and Acts 19:15! Yes, “THE NECESSITY OF JESUS CHRIST!” Mind you, Jesus Christ is in heaven right now as our High Priest, the only way we connect to Him (the True Vine in John 15) is through the baptism of The Holy Spirit. When we are connected to the True Vine Jesus Christ, He will be able to cast out the evil spirit/s from a demon possessed person we are praying about, not because of our own strength but because of the presence of Jesus Christ Himself with us through the Holy Spirit (just like Paul considering Acts 19:15). For more information about our connection to the True Vine in John 15, click and visit this link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html?m=1 However on the other hand, “DEMON HARASSMENT WILL NEVER STOP FOR ALL HUMAN BEINGS, WHETHER IT BE DETECTABLE OR UNDETECTABLE, DEMON MANIFESTATION WILL STILL HAPPEN BECAUSE DEMONS WERE CAST DOWN TO THE EARTH CONSIDERING REVELATION 12:9-THE ONLY TIME DEMON HARASSMENT And DEMON MANIFESTATION WILL STOP IS WHEN THE GREAT CONTROVERSY STOPS: WHEN JESUS CHRIST COMES AGAIN!” Yes, we are in this Great Controversy! The Power of Choice is yours-every choice has a consequence: eternal life in John 3:16 or the wages of sin which is death in Romans 6:23 depends entirely on your personal choice! If you are tired of this Great Controversy, never fear, be ready, Jesus Christ is coming soon-we are in the Age of Iron and Clay considering Daniel 2…
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Honesty with God
Humanity or mankind are social beings because we are created in the Image of God according to Genesis 1:27. Both male and female. God is Love in 1 John 4:8, His Character and Principality is Love. Therefore, by default, humanity are social beings-we are relational beings… Though the consequences of sin was reaped by the earth and humanity considering the Fall of Man in Genesis 3, while mankind’s nature shifted from Love to selfishness, mankind is still a “Relational” or “social” being due to their creation… In any relational issues whether with God or with fellow man, honest is something very important to take into account. According to Oxford Advance Learners dictionary, honesty can be defined as 'the quality of being honest. On the other hand, honest can be defined as, 1) always telling the truth, 2) not hiding the truth about something, etc…' As social-relational human beings, our relationship with God should be based on honesty!
Firstly, we must come to understand that nothing under the sun or in this entire universe is hidden from the sight of the Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Creator God Who is Love! Jeremiah 17: 10 reads, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing.” Here we see how, only God can read our minds and hearts knowing everything in it-no one, not even the angels or demons could do that! That is how God is an omniscient God in a narrow perspective! Romans 8:27 reads, “Now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercessions for the saints according to the will of God.” Here we see, how specifically it refers to Jesus Christ or God the Son, Who is now our High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary, interceding on our behalf! 1 Chronicles 28:9 reads, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” This is actually an advice from King David (a man after God’s own heart) to his son Solomon, clearly stating that God (the only Holy One) who searches the minds and the hearts of every creature, knowing everything within... Yes, nothing under the sun or within this entire universe is hidden from the sight of God! Therefore, God already knows every intents of our thoughts in our minds and hearts-not even satan or any demons or angels have such capabilities!
Our relationship to God should be based on honesty knowing that the Omniscient God already knows what is in our minds and hearts and every intent of them! This is a capability satan, demons nor any other angels or human being have, only God (our Trinity God)! Every intent of our thoughts and of our hearts, He already knows-only God can read our minds and our hearts! Therefore, why waste time (which is a scarce resource) in not being honest within our relationship with God. Thus saying, when we fail God in sin (whether it be hidden or known), we should confess our sins and seek forgiveness from God through the blood of the Lamb (none other than Jesus Christ) considering 1 John 1:9, which reads, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Our hearts should be like the good ground in the parable of the Sower! Even Jesus Christ emphasized on this issue while he was here on earth! Luke 8:8 in metaphor reads, ‘“But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has hears to hear, let him hear.”’ The encoding of this metaphor above is in Luke 8:15, which reads, “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Bearing fruit above refers to bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit. For more information into the fruit of the Holy Spirit, click and visit the following link; http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2015/07/fruit-of-holy-spirit.html For futher understanding I suggest you read the entire parable and its denotation in Luke 8:1-15!
Wonderful things happen when we ensure that our hearts are like the good ground in Luke 8:8,15! "Ensuring", meaning, every time when we fall into sin, we should come back to God seeking His forgiveness and truly-honestly repent from our sins with His help! Furthermore, the Holy Spirit will never abide in us when we have stains of sin in our hearts without God’s forgiveness, seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit through pray without seeking forgiveness and repentance first, through pray. Even Jesus Christ stated very clearly that we need to seek forgiveness and repentance first before seeking the baptism of The Holy Spirit according to John 3:5 (the meaning of being born again). Baptism of repentance must come first before baptism of The Holy Spirit! For more information about specifically following John 3:5, click and visit this link: http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html When our hearts are like the good ground, we become good stewards of God, not only good stewards in money, talent, etc.., but most importantly good stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our God! For more information into good stewards of the gospel, click and visit the following link;http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/02/stewardship-of-gospel.html
To conclude, 1 John 2:15 clearly states that we should not love any things in this world more that God! In this world, meaning, your girlfriend, your wife, your work, your school, your car, money, pleasure, etc.., God should be first in your heart considering 1 John 2:15. When we love the things of this world, God (Who is Love in 1 John 4:8) will not be in us (in our hearts)-specially God the Holy Spirit (in this Day and Age that we are currently living in)! Only those with a heart like the good ground in Luke 8:8 & 15 will love and keep God’s commandments considering John 14:15! Thus saying, “OUR CONNECTION TO THE TRUE VINE IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE SINCE IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!” Mind you, Jesus Christ the True Vine in John 15 is currently in heaven, interceeding on our behalf as the High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary. He is not here in this planet earth! We connect to the True Vine through the Holy Spirit! That is how important the Holy Spirit is in our connection to the True Vine in John 15. Not only will we be good honest stewards of Jesus Christ and His Gospel (with regards to all other areas of stewardship) and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit naturally from within-going-outwards, but we will also have that eternal life in John 3:16! The power of choice is yours to ensure that your heart is like the good ground in Luke 8:8 & 15-every choice has a consequence: eternal life in John 3:16 or the wages of sin which is death in Romans 6:23 entirely depends on your personal choice!
Friday, February 9, 2018
Stewardship of The Gospel
We must come to realize and understand that God gave mankind the stewardship of earth during creation. Man according to Genesis 1:27 refers to both male and female-humanity or mankind, which are created in God’s Image: God is Love in 1 John 4:8 (His Principality and Character in which man were created in by default during creation). God gave mankind the stewardship of earth and every living creature that roams the earth. Genesis 1:28 reads, ‘Then God blessed them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that walks the earth.”’ Here we see clearly that not only mankind had dominion or stewardship over the earth but also the creatures that live on the earth (creatures of the air, sea and land that are part of God’s creation). Mankind is only a steward but not the owner! Genesis 2:15 reads, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” Mankind was to tend and keep God’s Garden and creation on the earth (creatures) as faithful stewards but not ‘OWNERS!’ However, this all changed due to the Fall of Man in Genesis 3 (when mankind disobeyed God). Fast forwarding the scene to our Current Day and Age, today in the Seventh Day Adventist Church the topic of stewardship is upholded and presented commonly during seminars-in which covers a wide range of categories, like for example; stewardship of time, stewardship of money, stewardship of spiritual gifts, etc… That is general but is not our focus.
Our focus is on 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. We will be focusing mainly on verse 4… One of the greatest stewardship task in which God gave man was the stewardship of His Gospel. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 reads, “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” Our keyword in the verse above is ‘entrust!’ Mankind lost their place in the Garden of Eden when they disobeyed God considering Genesis 3, in which led to the consequences of their sin in verses 15-19 and their eviction from God’s Garden in verse 24. However, after, Jesus Christ defeated satan and was victorious within this Great Controversy considering Mathew 27:24-54, He entrusted mankind with His Gospel-which is commonly referred to as The Great Commission considering Mathew 28:16-20. What a way for mankind to be saved-which is also to be proven trust worthy stewards of God’s Gospel. Just imagine, out of every perfect unfallen creatures in heaven, God chose the fallen human race or mankind to be stewards of His Gospel. What a way to be redeemed! Praise God and all Glory be to God!
The Gospel is God’s Gospel and not mankind’s gospel. Mankind is only a steward of the gospel and not the author or commissioner (owner or inventor)! 1 Thessalonians 2:5 & 6 reads, “For neither at anytime did we use flattering words, as you know, nor cloak for covetousness-God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.” These clearly shows how we too, should not try to make this gospel our own by using flattering words, seek glory from our fellow men (in tokpisin: seekim praise wokim nem), etc…
So how do we “NOT” make the gospel our own and uphold it as God’s Gospel? Well our answer is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12! Open your Holy Bible and read it to confirm it…
Considering 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12, we would be good stewards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our God proven trust worthy by establishing and maintaining our connection to the True Vine in John 15! John 15 :5 reads, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” This clearly shows how, when we connect (and maintain) to the True Vine, we bear the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, in which relates to verses 7-12 (what we should do naturally from the heart outward). For more information on The Fruit of The Holy Spirit, click and visit this link; http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2015/07/fruit-of-holy-spirit.html The True Vine is also the Way, the Truth and the Life in John 14:6. He is currently up in heaven as our High Priest interceeding on our behalf. However, before ascending to heaven, Jesus Christ promised his disciples The Comforter the Holy Spirit-in which they received on the Day of Pentecost. For more information on the Infilling and baptism of The Holy Spirit, click and visit the following link;http://peterjnrbebi.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-it-means-to-leave-all-and-follow.html
Even the good outcomes and accomplishments of good stewardship of God’s gospel is because of God and not the stewards (ourselves)! For example, if a pastor that maintains his personal relationship with the True Vine in John 15 everyday prays for a seek person and he is healed, it is not him that does the miracle but God! When an elder preach to a multitude and hundred thousand people take the stand to be baptize, it is not him that does the conversion but God through the Holy Spirit. When a Gospel group sings and a woman is touched and accepts Christ, it is not the singing group that does the conversion but God through the Holy Spirit, etc… That is how important The Holy Spirit is-also, the only means of our connection to the True Vine in John 15!
To conclude, God is Love in 1 John 4:8 that is why He gave us all the power of choice. Love does not force love into or onto someone else-that is just Who Love is: the opposite of Love is selfishness (satan’s principality and character). Even though Jesus Christ is already victorious within this Great Controversy considering Mathew 27:24-54, He will never force you and I to accept Him. And if we do (become Christians), He will never force us to follow Him (all His footsteps or examples according to His Word to us The Holy Bible) and be good stewards of His Gospel here on earth awaiting His Second coming-it will depend entirely on our personal choice. The power of choice is yours-every choice has a consequence: eternal life or the wages of sin which is death depends entirely on your personal choice!
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Building the Church
This is going to be simple and straight to the point, for any eight grader to understand. Firstly, grab your dictionary and define the term, Church! There is a difference between the Church, the Church building, the Church truck, etc... The Church is the people with a common belief in Jesus as the Christ...
These people may be of different backgrounds, physical appearance, etc.., but are united in Jesus Christ, Who is the Founder of the Church. Without Christ in the center of their lives, the Church will never be united! Disunity dismentals and breaks the Church, and is caused by the devil: a key aspect that leads to disunity is gossiping, etc... Or in other words, Jesus Christ alone builds the Church if we let Him to be the center of our lives through our personal choice! When all the members have Jesus Christ in the center of their lives, the Church is united in Christ-we have a 'True' Church.
The Church is responsible to build the Church building. The government, the PNGDF, etc.., are not responsible to build the Church building, the Church is... Or in other words, "if we do not have a Church united as one in Christ, then there will never be a 'True' Church to build the Church building."
The baptism of the Holy Spirit brings Jesus Christ to be the center of our lives. Jesus Christ ascended and went up to heaven but gave us the Comforter, The Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we have Christ in us. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit will never abide in us if we have sins, whether it be hidden or for the whole world to see. Remember, only God searches and reads our minds and our hearts, no one else can! Nothing under the sun is hidden from the sight of God! That's why we need the baptism of repentance before the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When we forgive others, ask God for forgiveness through pray, we are cleans from all unrighteousness. Furthermore, when we ask God for The Baptism of The Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit will abide in us. When we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have Jesus Christ in the center of our lives. When we all do that, then we have a 'true' Church united as one in Christ. When we have a true Church, we will be able to build a Church building.
Remember, the baptism of repentance and baptism of The Holy Spirit is an everyday thing in our spiritual growth in Christ. We ask God for both through prayer-God will never force them to us since God is Love in 1 John 4:8: Love will never force Love onto someone else, that is why the power of choice exists! The power of choice is yours-every choice has a consequence: eternal life or death depends entirely on your choice! However, time is something we all don't have! Whether you're flying or falling, happy or sad, going rich or going poor, healthy or sick, never ever give up on Christ because He never gave up on you in Mathew 27:24-54!
Death and Resurrection
Life is a gift. It is a gift from God (judging from my perspective: within Christianity's context). Due to the fact that God, The perfect creator created the earth, and mankind within it. Thus, the sense of mankind’s very existence is a “gift” from the creator God Himself. Yes, God created man (mankind, all living creatures, the earth and the heavens above the earth, within it and outside it) to live and exist in perfect righteousness eternally. Through sin (the fall of mankind/humanity after creation), life itself was indeed degraded from what God intended "it" to be (at the first place at creation): everlasting life in righteousness. Therefore, the wages of sin is death.
Death is the result of sin. When man/mankind first sinned (Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden), God cursed man/mankind for sinning (Genesis 3:15-19), and death was a part of it: the curse of sin (Genesis 3:19 "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." Upon reading from Genesis chapter three verses fifth teen-nineteen (the curses God implemented due to sin), you'll realize that on verse nineteen God was referring to Adam. So why then do female/woman die or experience death (you would wonder and not only man: since the Bible only stated man)? It's simply because of "creation itself": how God created woman/the very first female (God created man, Adam: and took out one of his ribs and created female/woman after laying him into a deep sleep: as described according to Genesis chapter 2:21-23); furthermore, man and woman are "one" as a whole when joined (together in marriage). Or in other words, Eve (woman/female) “is” a part of Adam (man/male).
On the other hand, the death we experience today (while awaiting Christ's Second coming) is described as "sleep". As King David described in Psalm 13:3 "Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, Lest I sleep the sleep of death;" Similar to as what described above, the state of sleep that God had put Adam into: prior to creating Eve (found in Genesis 2:21-23). Thus saying that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and unrighteous when Jesus Christ returns to this earth. Which indeed tells us that the dead today are in fact awaiting Jesus Christ’s second coming: which automatically means they are sleeping in their graves, “in a deep sleep”. Or in other words, this simply means the real "death" is yet to come.
The second death (final death: in which death “itself” is also destroyed, along with evil, the devil and sin) is taking place after Jesus Christ's second coming. As described in Revelation 20:14-15 "Then Death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of life was cast into the lake of fire. The life we have today (according to my judgment) can be viewed as a duration of unknown time in which we have no control over. Unfortunately, since only God controls "time" (and no one else: even the devil or any angle), the future is "unknown", meaning each and every human being alive today cannot and do not know the hour, the exact day and date of their own death: furthermore, the Second coming of Jesus Christ. In clear contrast, the "detailed-record, history and choices" (in regards to the power of choice within the barriers of The Great Controversy) starting from an individual's life here on earth (from birth) to the day he/she is laid to rest (sleep/first death) is all recorded in "The Book of Probation". What the record states in the book of probation determines the end-deliverable or future of that in particular individual (you, me, or us all): in terms of eternal death or eternal life.
Resurrection on the other hand represents "life" after death. Paul describes (in Act 24: 15) that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both just and unjust (according to their records in the Book of Probation, which determines their faith or end-deliverable within the barriers of The Great Controversy: to be on God's side or the devil's) for judgment when Jesus Christ returns. Our lives/life (the life we have today: according to my own judgments) can be viewed as a state of consciousness in a mortal body plus the spirit of life from God (which is a soul: the state of being alive/mortal). Or the existence of a soul (Soul equals: spirit/breath of life from God plus dust/body: as described in Genesis 2: 7).
Apart from Jesus Christ resurrecting Lazarus from the dead (like described in John 11:38-44, which only He has the power to do so, since He is God: God The Son), He Himself was also resurrected and ascended up to heaven (as described in Luke 24: 51). This we must surely understand that no other being or angel has the power to "resurrect" the dead rather than God Himself. Thus symbolizing the "life" after death and the "gift of eternal life" which He "had" promised (found in John 3:16), towards those who "would" in fact accept Him: His gift of eternal life after His second coming and judgment. This life is different from the life we have today, because it's eternal (supported in John 3:16, Titus 1:2, etc...) and it's righteous (or without sin: since God would absolutely, and definitely destroy sin once and for all after Judgment Day: as found in Revelation 20:14-15).
Yes, today death is a sleep. And each and every individual alive "today", that "had" been alive in history, or still "soon" to be alive in the near future (according to time's uncertainty and unknown characteristics: according to its definition) are recorded in detail (according to their will/choices during their duration of time/life here on earth) into the Book of Probation; therefore, the outcome of their choices within this duration of time/life "will be" their end-deliverable or result on Judgment Day (after the Second coming). But the death tomorrow is final, real and eternal (the second death). As described in Revelation 20:14-15 "Then Death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of life was cast into the lake of fire”. Resurrection on the other hand, is the life after death, or represents “life” after death. Physically Jesus Christ awoke Lazarus from the dead because He is God, The Creator, and has the key to life and death. Secondly, He Himself resurrected from death and ascended to heaven which proves that “there will” be a resurrection following Jesus Christ’s second coming. Thus illuminating the gift of eternal life which He Himself had promised (while here on earth: has found in John 3:16). Therefore, death is the wages/result of sin, and righteousness is the wages/result of life. God is righteousness and satan is evil. Whoever (mankind/humanity) chooses God’s side within his/her duration of time/life here on earth chooses life, eternal life. And whoever chooses satan’s side within his/her duration of time/life here on earth chooses death. Therefore, the power of choice rests upon each and every individual (human being) that have been here on earth since the “Fall of Man” or when sin begin here on earth for humanity.