Thanksgiving Meetings

John:

It’s late Saturday night and I find myself reflecting over the events of the weekend.  I felt like Jesus had a great desire to touch as many as would be touched, and I’m so glad that many were.  How sad I felt for anyone not there, especially for those who could have been there but  chose to be elsewhere.  That made me hurt, thinking of how it must have made Jesus feel.  It was like he was offering a very personal gift of himself and that it was discounted by some as less important than other things.

Saturday night’ s meeting was wonderful to me because so many were receiving his love and being touched, especially the younger ones.  How that must have made Jesus feel!

I want Jesus to know that I appreciate the mercy, patience, and love he has shown me more than ever.  I am so thankful for the wonderful people Jesus has put in my life and who love him.  Can I ever appreciate enough the countless things Jesus has done for me and the rest of us wherein I find myself rejoicing in what he did in the meeting here tonight?
 
Robert A. Payne

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Satan and Hell

Hi pastor John,

Last night I was pondering on what you said on skype about how that Christianity portrays Satan as being in charge of hell, like he is the one who is over it.  I thought, “That is the last place he wanted to be in charge of.”  He would have desired more to be over Paradise and all the people that were there because he desired to be like the most high (Isa. 14). Satan likes order and being right, as you said.  He is the accuser of the brothers, and, as we are learning, his accusations were right, according to the law and all appearances of what seemed right at the time. But envy was found in his heart, and that envy darkened his heart to think he was doing what was pleasing to God.  But God was just using him for his purpose to get done what he wanted done for his Son and all that would come after him.

I could imagine the anger satan felt when the son came back to heaven, and satan found out who the Son of god was.  My!

I have noticed in anyone who has envy, that they also have a time of great anger when they don’t get their way.  “Woe to inhabitants of the earth of the earth and of the sea!  for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.”

John, I love what we have been learning about the father and the Son and the knowledge that God is sending down to us to help us to know him as he is.  I love God’s life.

Stuart
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Amen, Stuart!  What a fool Satan turned out to be, and how wise God proved to be!  Our God is great!

Pastor John

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the devil and Satan

 

John,

I had some thoughts on the devil sinning from the beginning (1Jn. 3:8) and Satan being perfect from the day he was created until iniquity was found in him (Ezek. 28).   Looks like two different beings.   When I was looking up some Scriptures, I did notice that the devil isn’t mentioned until the New Testament like you said.   Just wonder when his beginning was.   And he was never perfect in his ways if he sinned from the beginning.

Sarah

ps.   one thought sure does lead to another..
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Yes, it surely does.  But this thought is not where the gold is.
I have met people who teach that the devil is a separate being from Satan, but that is not the case.  John tells us plainly that the devil is Satan in Revelation 12:9.

But keep thinking on these things!  Every gold prospector in history has dug where the gold was not before he discovered where it was.

jdc

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The Son of God

How about this?  😎  I was looking up scriptures on “The Son of God” and found this one.

1John 3:8
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

So, Token and I did some research and looked up the word “manifested” in the Oxford English Dictionary and it said – to reveal itself as existing or operative . . . . Token says “in service”  😎

How many things are we going to find now that the Lord has opened our eyes to the truth about the Father and the Son, as we go through the Bible, that have been there the whole time and we didn’t know what they meant or at least the extent of it?  It’s exciting to think about them…reminds me of this scripture, which is my favorite:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – Phillipians 4:8

These things are altogether lovely to me!  😎
Amy

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Tithes & Offerings CDs

 

In the tract room last night I was given a copy of the Tithes & Offerings teaching CDs. Boy is it good! Listening to the CD put a feeling of a deeper trust in me toward you. At one point it brought tears to my eyes and does now as I think about it. By you accepting my tithes, it means you have fellowship with me–with me! I just wanted to say thank you for taking my tithes. I love being a part of this work and I am so glad Jesus loved me enough to surround me with people that love him (and me).

Amanda F. French, RNC-OB, MSN

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Hi Amanda.

Tithes and Offerings are merely one expression of the fellowship and government that God creates among His people.  The doctrine concerning tithing is often used an a tool of oppression by ministers who are teaching people who may not have any fellowship with him at all in the Christ.  Without the love of God, every right things is abused.  Unless the feeling of God’s love was there from you to me, I would not accept your tithes, and without feeling God’s love from me to you, you should not render them.

Pastor John

PS  The Tithes and Offering CD is available now.  Hopefully, the book will be out soon.

Note: The Tithes and Offerings book is now available at:

http://www.goingtojesus.com/text/books/tithesandofferings.pdf

 

 

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Buying Things

 

Hi John,

I have a question.  Are there ways to buy things in the spirit?

Caroline

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Yes, Caroline.  Even in the Old Testament, God invited His people to “Come buy, without money, and without price.”

Everything God offers us is free, after we pay for it.

jdc

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Sacrifices

This sounds like a conversation that was worth having!

Pastor John
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Hey!

Talking with Amy tonight about sacrifices it was stirring up the thoughts and feelings from the other night when we went over the sacrifices paper.  My mind was going all over thinking about what our sacrifices are now and it made me think of the times that we are overwhelmed with joy, peace, thankfulness, love, etc.  We have those feelings most of the times, but there are times that you can be so full of them you can hardly move or do anything but cry.  What if that’s when we’re making those sacrifices and we get to eat of it with God, like they did in the old testament?  Give a thanksgiving offering and when you eat of it with the Father you are so full of thanksgiving that you do nothing but cry and lay out on the floor.  🙂  mmmmmmmmmm. 🙂  And then when Amy and I were reading the part about the fire being our salt!  And what the salt does between His people!  Good stuff 🙂

Ashley

———- Forwarded message ———-

Hey,

Ashley and I started talking about the sacrifices and wondered what we could find in the Scriptures about sacrifices in the Spirit.  So, this is what we found.  There’s got to be some more…. 😎

Sacrifices of praise (Jer. 17); Sacrifices of joy (Ps. 27); Sacrifices of thanksgiving (Ps. 107); Sacrifices of righteousness and of a broken and contrite heart; (Ps. 51).

Then, in Hebrews 13:15 & 16, we saw that sacrifices please God:

“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

And, then we found this about the salt for the sacrifice in the New Testament, which we learned in the Old Testament was offered with every sacrifice, even the drink offering:

Mark 9:49-50:
“For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.”

So, we thought it was interesting that everyone should be salted with fire! 😎

Amy and Ashley

PS:  We did discover that when you mix salt and fire, they make beautiful colors! 😎

Ashley and Amy

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Glory and Light

 

 

Good morning John,

Woke up this morning still thinking about the glory of God.  On a whim, I just entered the words “glory” and “light” in my computer concordance.  I still do not understand what I was talking about last night altogether concerning all that.  🙂

In finding these verses, I realized (again) that I can’t really be taught anything without the Spirit of God, John.  I don’t know anything, and I did not know before my plane experiences that those two words (glory and light) ever WERE together in the scriptures, nor even thought about it!   But they are there and they are there in a big way.

God is great!  Here is what is there.

Isa 58:8  “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.”

Isa 60:1  “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.”

Isa 60:19  “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.”

Jer 13:16  “Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.”

Luk 2:32  “[Jesus] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

Act 22:11  “And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.”

2Co 4:6  “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
 
Rev 21:10-11  “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,   Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;”

Rev 21:23  “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” 

Is Jesus FABULOUS or WHAT????!!!!!!!!  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm………….

Thank you for your great message again from chapter seven.  It was literally, out of this world.

Gary

 

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Loving Others

 

 

 

The Lord has graciously been blessing us with remarkable visitations lately.  I am still being blessed by little Haley’s healing this past weekend in Kentucky.

Here is another example of the Lord giving something to us.  Maybe Sandy will tell it in person tonight, either before or after she sings that new song the Lord gave her!

jdc
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Dear Bro. John:

I had a wonderful dream last night.

In the dream, someone close to me in the Lord was dying.  I took this person to the doctor, but when we came into his office, instead of treating him, the doctor came over to me and put his hands on my neck and very gently turned it just a little bit (I heard it “crack” when he adjusted it).   He looked so tenderly at me and very kindly asked if I could breathe okay and if I thought I could live with the adjustment that he had just made.   He said that if I could not, he would adjust my neck back to where it was (as he was saying this he put it back just so I could feel the difference).   Then, he glanced over at the person who I had brought in to see him and said to me, “I can put you back like you were before, but then (nodding toward the other person) I would have to put him down” (meaning that he would die).   Without hesitation, I told the doctor that even though my neck was in a different (and noticeably awkward) position, I could adjust and was more than okay with it.   I did not want the other person to die.

Brother John, when I awoke, I asked the Lord, “Lord, what was that about?”

He started showing me how much we in the body of Christ are connected to one another.  How much we can hurt or can help one another.  How much we depend on one another for Life!  Whatever correction or adjustment is needed, someone else’s life is connected to ours, and we are dependent on one another to do the right thing in God.  We have to be willing to humble ourselves to accept that adjustment for the sake of others.  And above all else, for the edifying of the body of Christ and the namesake of Jesus.

In the dream, I would have been more comfortable with the position my neck was in to begin with, but it was not about my comfort.  I did not want the other person to die – – I loved them.  I had to be willing to accept the adjustment so that they could live.  I pray that we all learn how very much we need one another and are connected, that we be willing to humble ourselves to the hand of God so that the body of Christ may live.

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”  1Cor. 12: 26-27

See you soon,
Sandy  🙂

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Pastor John

Do you think that God would put us into a worse position if it meant saving someone else?  Or, do you think that the adjusted place is actually better — we just have to get used to it because it is different?  A question I’ve been thinking over since reading Sandy’s email about her dream with the doctor re-adjusting her neck to an awkward position.

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Yes, God will definitely put people in worse positions in order to save others.  Paul said he was suffering greatly for the saints, and Jesus certainly did.  Their sufferings led to better situations for them both, of course, but here on earth, the things they suffered were horrible.

At the same time, God will also put His servants in a situation which seems worse for a while simply because, as you say, those people are not used to it — if that will help others.  So, both Sandy’s point and yours are valid.

Pastor John

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Touching Jesus

 

hi pasor john,

I’ve been thinking again and have a question.  jesus told mary, in john 20:17 not to touch him for he had not yet ascended.  However, in matthew 28:9,  jesus appeared to both marys, and they fell at his feet holding his feet worshiping him.  why didnt jesus tell them not to touch him.  in matthew account of what happened.

thanks rob s.
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Hi Rob:

That is a good question, one that we all ponder over, once we understand that the sacrifice of Christ took place in heaven after his ascension, not on earth on the cross.

There is no clear-cut answer, either.  This is how the relevant events of that resurrection morning seemed to have played out:

As Matthew says, Mary Magdalene and another Mary, as well as a woman named Salome (Mark 16:1), and Joannah and other women (Luke 24:10), came together to Jesus’ tomb early the morning that Jesus rose from the dead.  When an angel appeared to them and commanded them to go tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, the women left but met Jesus in the way.  When he greeted them, they all fell down and held his feet and worshiped him.  John’s account indicates that Mary Magdalene later returned to the tomb with the disciples who came to see if it was a true report the women had brought them.

That is when we find Mary alone, weeping at the tomb of her beloved Jesus.  When he revealed himself to he, she came toward him, and that is when Jesus told her not to touch him.  The reason he gave to Mary for this (that he had not yet ascended) does not explain why he allowed others at other times to touch him, including Mary herself and the women on their way to tell the disciples, and Thomas, whom Jesus invited to put his fingers into his wounded side (Jn. 20:27).

Jesus’ reason for allowing so many to touch him after his resurrection, but not Mary at that particular moment at the tomb, is one of those questions, Rob, that I just have to leave on my mental shelf until God grants me understanding.  I have no answer.

At any rate, I have said many times before that I will have succeeded as a teacher when and if I bring those who hear me to the point where they have the same questions I have.  It sounds as if, so far, I am doing a pretty good job with you.

Thanks for writing.  Sorry I couldn’t give you a fuller answer, but that really is the best I can do with that one.

Pastor John

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https://pjhmail.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/sacrificial-offerings/

this is great pastor john

when i sent you an email last night about jesus talking to mary about “dont touch me ive not yet ascened”, i had been looking for scripture that would show me where jesus did something as the high priest.  but after reading this, i found my answer — it was all in spiritual sacrifice

thanks   robert

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