Basics
Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author
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The basics are actually for all of us, something we should always review once a year or so. Luke 1 My prayer for you is: 3 John 1 2.
The first part is for those who are not of Christ, not saved or born again. First I will explain a few words so when they are used on this site or else where you will at least understand what they are talking about.
"Saved" - those who have accepted Jesus in their life.
Romans 10
9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
"Born again" is another way of saying being saved.
John 3
3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
What are we saved of or from?
We are saved from death, hell and the grave just to name a few.
Adam sinned and due to his sin we are all of sin; being descendants of Adam we inherited it.
So Jesus did what we could not; He paid the price we could not.
You see God did not want us separated from Him, but since He gave us free will, we have the choice. It is the same as when a person passes down to their children problems inherent to their physical makeup (genetic). We know we have problems and we know there is a chance that we can cause problems in our children, but that does not stop us from having children. God could have done the same thing and stopped after Adam and given up, but He did not. That is most likely why we do not either. Instead He started putting His word in the earth until He could find one that would have enough faith from His word to agree with Him and have Jesus.
The way a person can know they are saved, and have it so deep in them it can never be taken away is by hearing God call us His children. Romans 8:16
35. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37. For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Now this started our actual salvation, but up until this time He would use anyone who would let Him get things prepared for Jesus, but at the same time get His word both by flesh and in the physical as well.
John 1
14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Now you should see that we have a way of salvation via Jesus,
You can say that this is a bunch of garbage or the truth, but before you decide ask yourself this, what is the worse that could happen?
If I am right you get blessings here and life eternal. If I am wrong well, then nothing will happen and this life is all there is. At least as a believer you would have spent your life loving instead of hating.
The thing is this, I can testify to the FACT that not only is this true, but you even know there is something missing in you. What is missing is what was there at the beginning with man and that is the Spirit of God. I ask you to take some time and make sure the choice you make is the right one. What I have been shocked at the most is how many people (once they do have the level of relationship I am talking about with God) always say the same thing. That is, "Why did I not do this sooner?"
Now the level I am talking about is much higher than just being saved. You see there are 3 levels in the kingdom on earth.
Salvation - the name "Jesus" it self means salvation. By calling upon the name of Jesus we start our learning.
Next is becoming part of the church. No, you are not part of the church because you are saved. In Matthew 16:15-18 we are told that one becomes a piece of the church when God REVEALS to us who Jesus is as the Christ and the true Son of God. The word Peter in these verses is Petros in Greek and means "a piece of the rock".
The last level will be an on going learning level it is when you become a part of the Body of Christ. No, someone saved and/or part of the church they are not of Christ. This is something we have to ask for, many call it being in-filled with the Spirit of God. The word Christ means anointing in English, to understand better imagine a bowl of water and a dry sponge placed into it. What happens is the sponge absorbs the water, in, on and through it. That is what happens when we are of Christ; we have the Spirit of God in, on and through us. Yes, when we are saved we have the Spirit of God in us, but only in us, not on, and through us as well.
Luke 4
18. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Isaiah 10
27. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. (KJV only)
1 Corinthians 1
24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
As you have read the anointing or Christ is referred to alone, not with church or salvation. Read the first 4 chapters of Revelation you will notice Jesus writes to the churches only, not to the body of Christ. The reason is because the body is removed. It has to be because in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-9 the Bible talks about the power that restrains the antichrist from being revealed, and this power is in the Body of Christ only.
There are some very basic and simple things you can do to grow and be blessed.
Tithe (Malachi 3:10-12) is something, if understood and followed, that can take a person from living paycheck to paycheck to extra.
Sowing and Reaping is already done by farmers; they sow corn and they reap corn. The same can be done with clothes, cars, money.
So between the tithe and sowing and reaping you can live a lot better.
Next is your health.
I Peter 2
24. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Jesus being sin free could not die or get sick, so for Him to pay our price He had to allow all sin to come on Him. Right before He did that He was whipped with a cat of 9 tails. This whip had many strings on each was a claw and the when the claw connected it would take a large chunk of skin out of Him. Then they struck him with it 39 times. Each strip stood for one of each of the sicknesses we could have. Meaning cancer may have many different forms and names but they are all cancer.
So far we have come to learn that:
an (Adam) sinned and due to that sin cut us off from God, then God started working to fix the problem.
Through Jesus we have a way back to God, but it is our choice.
God is our one and only true Father, and He loves us more than we can ever imagine.
Due to being of God and growing in His kingdom on earth we can be blessed in our health, finances, and relationships as well.
All we have to do is accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour.
In turn we are heirs to all of the kingdom of God.
We are saved from sin, death, hell and the grave.
The more we grow the better our relationship with God grows, and the better we will do and be in relationships, health, finances and more.
Now to hear God's voice it takes time daily. I suggest 15 minutes a day for 2 weeks and then add 15 minutes every 3-4 weeks until you hear His voice. Then, when you hear His voice, spend as much time as you can while at the same time verifying who it is you are listening to. If it is God, then listen and be obedient.
1 John 4
1. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Some of you will read this and say, "This is old stuff." It is, but it is also something that is good to be sure you follow. Read it annually to be sure you have not slipped any.
Remember to show faith when you pray, then praise and give thanks.
God Bless You as you hear His words and follow His leading.