God or Idol?

So many talk about God, yet it is not Him of which they speak. Rather they have conjured an idol out of their vain imaginations to be a god of their liking, and it is not THEE True and Living God. They are the blind leading the blind, and they are all headed into a ditch.

Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
Isaiah 29:13-14 NKJV

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
II Timothy 3:6-7 NKJV

Wineskins Parable Luke 5:36-39

Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
Luke 5:36-38 NKJV

Many try to maintain their old life and do patchwork with Jesus into their life. That doesn't work. It must be a new life, with a new Spirit. Likewise we cannot build on presuppositions, but must break up our fallow ground and let God build from scratch. Both of these are seen in the parable of the wineskins. Doing this goes against everything in, because we don't want to accept that all that we once knew was a lie.

And no one, having drunk old wine,  immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Luke 5:39 NKJV

The doctrines of grace were revealed to me only by allowing God to destroy everything I thought I knew and teach me whatever He wanted to teach me.

Isaiah 6

In family devotions last night we read the first verses of Isaiah 6. These verses generally bring tears to my eyes in admiration of my God.

I asked the boys how Isaiah was brought before God, and we concluded that he was brought there by God.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Isaiah 6:1 NKJV

Because of the lies of the apostasy going around right now we addressed these verses pointedly in the fact that the angels were NOT saying "God is love", but WERE saying "God is holy". God is HOLY above ALL.

Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:2-4 NKJV

Then, in response to the holy awesomeness of the Lord God Almighty, Isaiah is utterly humbled and ashamed in is inequity and sin.

So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah 6:5 NKJV

After Isaiah was humbled and brought low, which is the proper place of the creature before the Creator, the Lord removed his inequity and purged his sin.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with  it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”
Isaiah 6:6-7 NKJV

After God had brought Isaiah before him, and purged him of his sin, THEN Isaiah volunteered to go for God when He asked whom He should send.

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Isaiah 6:8 NKJV

Once we are regenerated it is us who is raising our hand and saying "Here I am! Send me!" Then as we are found a living sacrifice on the alter at different times in our lives, and we are found complaining about the situation, the Holy Spirit will bring this commitment to memory. Did we not say "Here I am! Send me! Do with me as You please and send me where You will."? Why then are we found complaining?

To God be ALL the glory!!

The Lie of Universal Salvation

One of the greatest lies found in today's apostasy is the since we are commanded to love our enemies by Jesus that this is proof that God will be kind to those who hate Him. They say "Why would God command us to do something He, Himself, won't do"? This is a carnal question asked by the unregenerate who have a god of their own imagination. We are commanded to love our enemies because God will repay.

Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 KJV

The Name Of God Written Over The Cross

John 19:19 reads as follows: "Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the Cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS".

Pontius Pilate wrote the words "JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS" on a sign. The sign was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. There was probably a very large sign, if not three of them, which could be easily read from the busy road by the Damascus Gate. Jesus was the "featured criminal" and was sentenced to death under Roman Law for "sedition against the Roman state", and under Jewish law for "the sin of blasphemy." In Hebrew, the sign read as follows:

"Yeshua Ha'Nazarei W'Melech Ha'Yehudim"

The code in Hebrew above the Cross

The first letters of each of these four words spell YHWH, the name of God.

"Yeshua Ha'Nazarei W'Melech Ha'Yehudim"

Jesus had been tried and condemned for "blasphemy". Above the Cross was written, in a simple code, YHWH, the Name of God. This code was clearly visible to the Sanhedrin, which is why they asked Pontius Pilate to change what He had written over the Cross, to break the code. This is recorded in John 19:21-22, "Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews".' Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written",

Will Jesus be Sad When He Returns?

Yesterday a brother told me that he believed it was going to break Jesus' heart that so many are to be cast away into eternal damnation. This is a logical from an Arminian view, but it is not Biblical.

God delights in judgment and righteousness.

But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord , exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord .
Jeremiah 9:24 NKJV

When Jesus returns He will not come with a sorrowful heart. He will come to execute the righteous judgment of God, and to destroy those who hate Him. He will not be sad because some of those He tried to saved were not saved. He will be perfectly satisfied as He tramples out the winepress with the wrath of God because all that He came to save are saved.

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND Lord OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:11-16 NKJV

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Revelation 14:9-11 ESV

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Revelation 6:16-17 ESV

These Little Ones

People believe that these verses apply to all children. I hear it all the time. Do you also believe these apply to all children?

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
Matthew 18:6-7, 10-14 NKJV

That is an absolutely erroneous reading of this Scripture. There are important parts that one must miss in order to think these verses apply to all children.

First off Jesus defines who the "children" and "little" ones are. It is the "converted" ones.

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are CONVERTED and BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself AS THIS LITTLE CHILD is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this IN MY NAME RECEIVES ME. Whoever causes one of these little ones WHO BELIEVE IN ME to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
Matthew 18:2-7 NKJV

These Scriptures further verify the same, because IF He were speaking of every child born, EVERYONE will be saved since not a single "sheep" will be lost.

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
Matthew 18:10-14 NKJV

The Floods. What are they in the Bible?

Can you SEE?

So shall they fear The name of the Lord from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.
Isaiah 59:19 NKJV

So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Revelation 12:15-16 NKJV

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV

Sent

It is only AFTER the Lord draws us unto Himself and cleanses us that we are then willing to go forth, but then we are willing to go and do whatever we are commanded.

Listen to the words of the Lord as He speaks to Isaiah. As we speak the words of the Lord many will be hardened and made fat for the day of slaughter, yet "a tenth" will be preserved. The remnant will be saved.

We are brought to the Lord by His will, cleaned by His will, sent by His will, to do His will. May His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with  it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will  be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall  be its stump.”
Isaiah 6:5-13 NKJV

Three Heavens?

Let us compare the three heavens of the Bible with the three heavens of the LDS doctrine.

The three heavens of the Bible are as follows.

1.The firmament where the birds fly.

Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were  above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”
Genesis 1:7-8, 20 NKJV

2. The firmament which holds the sun, moon, and stars.

Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He  made  the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it  was good.
Genesis 1:16-18 NKJV

3. The dwelling place of the Most High.

then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause,
I Kings 8:49 NKJV

The LDS get their three level of heavens from not understanding the different heavens of the Bible, and from this verse in 1 Corinthians. It is NOT talking about different levels of heaven. It is saying that the things of the earth are different than the things in space, which are both different than the spiritual.

There  are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
I Corinthians 15:40 NKJV

There is only one heaven where God dwells and where the saints will abide with Jesus.