Before you read this study understand that we do not teach, we share and then ask all who read the following take it to God and verify it with Him. We believe a lot of the world is misled by the church of the world and religion vs the one true church. And to know the truth can only come from knowing, not just knowing of God, John 14:26, I John 2:27, Rev 3:19-22.
Many are called but few are chosen because many are misled by false teachers Matthew 7:13-15 so we help all who wants to know the truth how to find and know the truth of and by God and not of and by man.



Bigotry, Prejudice, Homophobia, Etc...

Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author   Close Window

The truth is: there is only one truth, and it can only be found in God.

I plead with you to do one thing. Take some extra time with the next few paragraphs…do not just read them once. Read them over and over until you understand them fully.

I promise you, that if you will slow down and take your time with the next page or so, and give it all the time it needs, you will know the truth, and it will set you free. The only reasons you do not need to do this is, if you have no debt, no lack, no relationship problems, of perfect health, at total peace, and have all the joy and love you can handle… and of course, if you are dead

We will deal with many lies and misleading teachings in this study. One of the first lies is: "it is ok to talk to God as long as you do hear from Him."

Think about it. Whom does this serve…Not God. If you have read the Bible, you know God has always talked to man directly, even Cain after he killed Abel.

There are those who teach that the spirit worked in the first century church, but not today; that faith ended with the first century church; and hearing from God ended there as well.

Hebrews 13

  1. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Christ is Greek, in Hebrew it is Messiah, and in English it is anointed.

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,

Anointed with the Spirit of God is what Jesus said and since He is the Christ, then we already know He is anointed, now we know what He was anointed with.

A sponge dripping water is anointed with water. wWhen we are of Christ we are to have the Spirit of God (or God) as the sponge has water.

1 Corinthians 1

24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

So, to be of Christ is to have the power and wisdom of God, in us, on us, and all the way through us.

The point is: Christ is the Spirit of God, God is a Spirit.

John 4

24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Since Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday, and forever, so is God. That means nothing ended in the first century church; it is still the same today as it was then.

God did not stop talking to us; we stopped listening to Him.

We accepted a man's idea that the Bible was the end all, when it is not, if anything it is the beginning.

In this study, you can be set free of all doubt about anything dealing with God and salvation. That is, if only you take the time and do as the Bible states to do…not as I state, but as the Bible states.

You do not have to be a scholar or a man of God to know God and His word.

This study is in two parts: The first is based in the natural, the physical. The second is the spiritual.

Although you may get the first part only being of the physical, you will not get the second part without the Spirit.

I do not mean thinking you are Spirit filled and of the Spirit, but knowing for sure, 100% that you are.

If you have the slightest of doubts at all about the spirit in you, get rid of them.

Whether you read this study, another study of others or mine, or just read the Bible, without the Spirit, you will never get more than 50% of the meaning and never get the truth.

The only way to be sure you are of the Spirit is to talk to, listen to, and hear from the Spirit.

The first time I heard God call me His child, and yes I mean I actually heard Him say it, I was totally doubt free about my salvation and about God.

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Romans 8

16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The next few verses will prove you can and are suppose to hear from God…not just His word, but actually from Him.

At the bottom of this study, after the "Added for Clarification" section, there is a section on "How to Hear From God".

John 14

26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

1 John 2

27. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

John tells us what to ask when we do hear from God. Basically, we are to ask, "did Jesus come in the flesh". If we hear "no", we are to tell Satan to go to Hell. If we hear "yes" then we are to 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.

John 15

26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

I have found many that claim to hate bigots or people who are prejudicial, but in actuality they are some of the worse bigots.

Here are the definitions for a bigot, prejudice, and hypocrite.

Bigot

\Big"ot\, n. [F. bigot a bigot or hypocrite, a name once given to the Normans in France. Of unknown origin; possibly akin to Sp. Bigote a whisker; hombre de bigote a man of spirit and vigor; cf. It. S-bigottire to terrify, to appall. Wedgwood and others maintain that bigot is from the same source as Beguine, Beghard.] 1. A hypocrite; esp., a superstitious hypocrite. [Obs.]

2. A person who regards his own faith and views in matters of religion as unquestionably right, and any belief or opinion opposed to or differing from them as unreasonable or wicked. In an extended sense, a person who is intolerant of opinions which conflict with his own, as in politics or morals; one obstinately and blindly devoted to his own church, party, belief, or opinion.

To doubt, where bigots had been content to wonder and believe. --Macaulay.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1.

    1. An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.

    2. A preconceived preference or idea.

  1. The act or state of holding unreasonable preconceived judgments or convictions. See Synonyms at predilection.

  2. Irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, or religion.

  3. Detriment or injury caused to a person by the preconceived, unfavorable conviction of another or others.


Tr.v. prej·u·diced, prej·u·dic·ing, prej·u·dic·es

  1. To cause (someone) to judge prematurely and irrationally. See Synonyms at bias.

  2. To affect injuriously or detrimentally by a judgment or an act.

    3. Source: [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin praeidicium : prae-, pre- + Idicium, judgment (from Idex, Idic-, judge. See deik- in Indo-European Roots).]

    The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
    Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
    Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved

    hypocrite

    n : a person who professes beliefs and opinions that they do not hold [syn: dissembler, phony, phoney]

    Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

    hypocrite

    one who puts on a mask and feigns himself to be what he is not; a dissembler in
    religion. Our Lord severely rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for their
    hypocrisy (matt. 6:2, 5, 16). "The hypocrite's hope shall perish" (Job 8:13).
    The Hebrew word here rendered "hypocrite" rather means the "godless" or
    "profane," as it is rendered in Jer. 23:11, i.e., polluted with crimes.

    Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

    Understand that a person, who says one thing but believes another, is a hypocrite; but not all hypocrites are bigots or prejudiced.

    A hypocrite or someone prejudiced can be detected more easily than a bigot.

    To most, the idea of being any of these is repulsive at best.

    However, the fact is most of us possess one or more of these flaws.

    Not everyone…or not everyone is always one or more of these.

    People can discover they are and change. But, to change they first have to realize they are.

    Still, in my life I have found people who are none of these. They never have been, and I doubt ever will be.

    Rare as they are, they do exist.

    What makes someone become prejudiced?

    For the most part environment is what makes someone become prejudiced.

    A person may be raised in a home where the parents are prejudiced against a race, based on color of skin, or even religion.

    Not all that are raised in this type of home becomes prejudiced; but unfortunately it does happen more than it does not.

    Some of the more prevalent prejudices in society today are:

    1. Color of skin

    2. Religion

    3. Sex

    4. Politics

    5. Social standing

For the most part in the USA, color of skin has been the largest reason of prejudice.

This one I had to deal with growing up, and for some reason I was never as exposed to it as others of my age group.

It was not until late in my mother's life that she was prejudiced based on skin color.

At the same time, she had some close friends of that same color. So, this caused such a dilema for her, that she was truly bothered and confused by the problem.

For the most part her prejudice was not due to direct contact as much as being media driven.

She was around a lot of Blacks and Hispanics, and as far as anyone could tell she was not prejudiced, but she was struggling with the issue.

The media influence early in the 60's and into the 70's actually may have set back race relations in this country by 100 years. The media would show horrific acts of violence, and it appeared as if one race or another was always comitting them. This was not true, but since the media only showed the violent side of the Blacks and Hispanics, those who had no real contact with them then developed prejudice based on what the media showed over the airwaves.

This happens in a society that is separated by color as ours was until the 60's.

Two or more different color races live apart from each other and do not see each other's daily life, struggles, etc. Then, when all that is seen of any of these different races is shown to be violent. The only outcome will be prejudice.

However, prejudice goes even further than just skin color. If Hitler would have won WWII, in time hair and eye color would have been a problem as well.

Hitler had a view of the perfect society being blonde-haired and blue-eyed.

So, those of us without these two colors would have in time found ourselves on the same train as the Jews did in the 30's and 40's.

I saw a movie once where the voting age was changed to 12, and this in turn changed the scheme of things to the point that anyone over 30 was considered to be over the hill and put away. But, close to the end a 10 year-old told the 18 year-old main character of this movie that he was old and over the hill. The point being is everything is relative no matter what color hair, skin or eyes you have. You could find yourself being in one of these groups that are considered less than appealing.

Prejudice is basically deciding something about someone or something else before ever meeting or seeing the person or thing.

Let's say your friends tell you hear that a movie is bad, then you go in seeing the movie prejudiced against it. Although it may be a good movie, you may not enjoy it...not because it was not good, but because you had prejudice against the film.

The other end of the spectrum is when people labeling you based on your beliefs because they do not fit into or along with theirs.

Example: a person who is not gay and does not believe in the gay life is considered to be homophobic. This is a fear of homosexuals.

This example shows the stupidity in prejudice.

Although it is wrong to harm another for any reason, it is also wrong to label them for any reason.

Some homosexuals do not like the term "queer", but they themselves will then turn around and call someone, who does not believe in their life style "homophobic".

Based on scripture, the Pharisees of the day when Jesus walked the earth were prejudiced against Jesus. They were in fear of loosing their standing in the comunity. They would protect that at any cost.

We are told to love…love all. The two greatest comandments, as told by Jesus, are both based on love.

Matthew 22

37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38. This is the first and great comandment.

39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Most know and to some degree understand the above verses.

Jesus dealt with prejudice early on in Matthew.

Matthew 7

1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

And in Mark Jesus goes an extra step along this same line.

Mark 11

25. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

UN-forgiveness and judging go hand-in-hand.

If you forgive someone, you cannot be prejudiced against him or her as well at the same time.

That is like you saying, "I forgive you, but I will never talk to you". This means you have a prejudice of some type against them and due to it you have not really forgiven them.

Someone asked me if it is ok to be an active homosexual when you are born again.

I told them no, it is not ok to have sex with same sex partner. However, it also is not ok to have sex out of wedlock… with anyone other than your spouse.

So, are all those who have had sex damned to Hell?

No, not if they ask for forgiveness and repent.

Remember to repent means to change ones ways.

If they deliberately have sex knowing it is wrong, then they are rebelling against God.

They are just the ones Jesus referred to above in Matthew 7:5.

Bigots and hypocrites are the way they are based on UN-forgiveness and prejudice.

A phrase today considered correct is in itself a form of prejudice, that is: "Politically Correct".

To be politically correct one must agree with others views, and this leaves no room for difference of any kind.

In a society of individuals, it is impossible to be politically correct.

No matter what, some will have opposing views, and to others this will seem politically incorrect.

I have known many Blacks, Hispanics, homosexuals, etc, and I can say, in each I see the same thing as I do in Whites. There are good and bad in each group.

Do I want to be Black, Hispanic or gay?

No, I am happy as I am, but that does not mean I do not like people who are.

Also, there are those of each group I do not like as well.

If I think it is Biblical and morally wrong to be an active homosexual, does that truly make me homophobic? Or, am I just honest, think about it.

In the late 4th century, the leader of Rome (after he was born again) did something that would be considered by many as needed and good or, at the least, his intentions were good. He made it a law, that to own land or have power, one had to be a Christian.

This did not make Christians out of non-believers; instead, it made non-believers profess they believed when they did not.

It even put many non-believers in power in the church of the day.

The problem with bigots, hypocrites, prejudice, is mankind.

Another area that causes a lot of prejudice is the scholar.

Especially the scholar of theology (mans study of the Bible).

A scholar is one who has been educated by man for just that, to be educated in the field of their choice.

Jesus had His own scholars to deal with in His day.

Matthew 23

13. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

14. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

15. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

16. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

17. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

18. And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.

19. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

20. Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

The idea that man can truly understand the word of God on his own is a lie straight from Hell. And, for the most part it serves no one but Satan.

As the old saying goes, "The proof is in the pudding". Look at how many scholars of theology there are. You will also find as many different beliefs.

Who does it serve to divide the kingdom on earth, God or Satan?

If you said Satan you are right.

The division started early on, all the way back to the first century church.

1 Corinthians 1

10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

12. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Methodist (Paul); and I of Catholic (Apollos); and I of Lutheran (Cephas); and I of Christ.

13. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Jesus even warned about division.

Matthew 12

25. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

26. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

27. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.

28. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

29. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

30. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

31. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Remember until Jesus came there were men of God, and the people went to the men of God to learn about God.

Then Jesus said He came to separate not to unite.

Matthew 10

32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

37. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

He came to separate us from man, father from son, mother from daughter, and man of God from us.

First, there was a problem of people holding their parents in a higher place than even God was in. The second problem was to separate us from men of God…Men of God who kept us from God.

John 14

26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Spirit shall teach you all things, what will the Holy Spirit teach? ALL THINGS, not just things of God, but all things.

Many ministries are afraid of me and my teaching. They fear I will cause division and send their congregation running from them. This is because I teach we are to learn from God and not man.

SO why should anyone listen to me?

They should not; at best, I am only able to save you time and nothing else.

You should never take anyone's word on anything, including mine. You should take everything to God and verify it with Him.

All you should allow me to do is save you time. How is this?

I will spend days, weeks, and sometimes months doing research and bring it to you. Then, you take it and verify it with God that it is true. This you will learn in hours what has taken me up to months to learn.

You then need to verify who you are hearing from to be sure that it is God and not Satan. You ask one question, "Did Jesus come in the flesh?" Satan will reply with no, God will reply yes.

So, if you hear no, tell Satan to go to Hell and try again. And, if when you hear from God that what you are asking about is not the truth, do not confront the person about this other than to let them know they are wrong. Do not engage in long-winded debates if they do not get it at first…a debate will not change them. You then leave from them and pray for them.

The reason scholars are wrong in their understanding of the word and why there are so many interpretations of the word is that it is done without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, all man does is interpret the word of God; there is no understanding.

Where there is understanding there is unity, where there is not there is confusion. And where you find confusion you will find Satan.

1 John 2

27. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Before I heard from God directly, each time I read the Bible I seemed to get a little more and a little more out of a verse.

However, since hearing from God I get the fullness of each verse.

What is spiritual can only be understood spiritually.

God is a Spirit We are to be taught of by the Spirit, and we are to live in the Spirit and walk by the Spirit. We are to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

John 4

24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

You can not understand that which you are not, and until you are of the Spirit you only get half of the word of God. To each verse there is a physical side and a spiritual side.

John 3

3. 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.

Here is another misunderstanding: baptism of water. I am all for being baptized in water as a showing of our faith, but that is it. Water baptism has nothing to do with our salvation.

John used water for repentance of our sins. Jesus is our repentance of our sins, and by His blood we are clean.

It is sad that there are those who will argue the need for water baptism until they are blue in the face; or at least until they read Matthew 3:11.

Matthew 3

11. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

So why did Jesus say we had to be of water?

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.

6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Notice in verse 5, Jesus said born of water, then of Spirit, and in verse 6 flesh then spirit. We that are flesh are born of water, our mother's water breaks, and we are born.

Of course, the problem is that people are misled by leaders who teach this. There are two types of people, who will wrongly use this verse.

    1. The first group is people looking for an easy way out. Then, someone preaches that if you are baptized of water, you are saved…and once saved always saved. This gives this group license to sin and get away with it. They do not have to change anything in their lives.

    2. The second group is those who have been raised with this teaching. They learned it from people they highly respect. Since these men of God, whom they consider to be the final say so on the Bible, say it is true they accept it.

And, these are two of those groups I mentioned that fears my type of teachings.

I have found that those, who truly want to know God and are of group 2, can see the light and know the truth. The first group requires a lot of prayer to help them.

They are just like the Israelites of Exodus. When God was to be their king, they rejected Him and asked for a man to be their king.

To them it is easier to rely on a man or woman as an expert; for some it is laziness, for others it is ignorance. But, the outcome is the same; they are on the broad path, not the narrow one.

This may sound like I am judging, but I am not. I am stating fact. In the Ten Comandments, as well as in what we discussed above, there shall be no other before God for us.

And when we allow anything or anyone to be before us with God, we have sinned.

What does scripture say about the group doing this out of ignorance?

Hosea 4

6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

For those of you thinking this does not mean you, because you are not a priest read Revelation 1:6

Revelation 1

6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Sex referring to extra-marital or homosexuality is a sign of the flesh.

Galatians 5

16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

By now you should understand why this study is about bigots, hypocrites, and prejudiced. Although at times it appeared to be about anything but bigots, hypocrites and prejudiced, you now should understand we have all been all of these. Not until we hear directly from God are we delivered from them.

Another area of misunderstanding deals with predestination.

Romans 8

29. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Do you remember that I said there were two sides to each verse in the Bible - a physical one and a Spiritual one?

The physical side of predestination is that God saw ahead and saw who would and would not make it.

Imagine a parade and you are on a street watching it; all you can see is what is on the street before you. Now go up to a 30 story tall building and watch. You can see the first part, the middle, and the last part of the parade.

The Spiritual side of predestination deals with the verse many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 20:16 and 22:14).

Matthew 22

14. For many are called, but few are chosen.

As there are three stages to life: womb (decides sex), here (decides eternity), and next life. There are also three steps to this life: First you are saved, then you grow and become part of the church, and then the body of Christ.

No everyone saved is not of the church and body of Christ.

When Father God REVEALS to you who Jesus is as the Christ and true Son of God, then you become a piece of the church.

Matthew 16

15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

In verse 18 the word Peter in Greek is Petros.

Here is verse 18 in the literal.

18.

|2504| I also

|1161| And

|4671| to you

|3004| say,

|3754| -

|4771| You

|1487| are

|4074| Peter,

|2532| and

|1909| upon

|5026| this

|4073| bedrock

|9999| {statement}

|3618| I will build

|3450| of me

|3588| the

|1577| comunity

|2532| and

|9999| {the}

|4439| gates

|0086| of Hades

|3756| not

|2729| will prevail against

|0846| her.

Notice above next to Peter [#4074] this is the strong's reference number for the word in Greek:

Strong's Ref. # 4074

Romanized Petros

Pronounced pet'-ros

a primary word; a (piece of) rock (larger than GSN3037); as a name, Petrus, an apostle:

KJV--Peter, rock. Compare GSN2786.

Peter or piece of the rock, so Peter became a piece of the rock when God the Father revealed to him who Jesus was the Christ. Also notice Jesus said "Flesh and Blood did not revel this to you".

Matthew 22

  1. For many are called, but few are chosen.

God so loved the world, so salvation is for all, then many are of the church, but few are of Christ.

Spiritually, God predestined some of us to make it for sure into the body of Christ.

But it was not as some want to believe that He said "ok, this group you make it and this group does not".

It is that He saw who would have the desire and will to go the full route.

You see God is not a man that he could lie.

Numbers 23

19. God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Here is more proof that predestination is not as some teach.

Acts 10

34. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

(Based on Acts 10:34 you, me, anyone can be anything we want in God and more)

If God did predestine some, then the above verse would be false.

We have free will, the will to choose, and agree there is only one of two choices… follow God or Satan.

But, it is our choice. God created us in His image, not necessarily physical, but with a soul, mind, will, and emotions.

Genesis 1

26. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cMattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

There is a problem with the idea of God predestining some to make it and some not. That is: God would not have to go through all of this if He had wanted beings without any free will. Jesus would not have had to come here and died. However, this shows a God not of love, and that god is not God with a capital "G", but lower case "g", Satan.

Most who teach and believe it wrong do so to justify a life style or are lazy and do not want to have to do anything.

They teach that in the beginning that God predestined some to make it and some not to make it.

And if this was true then they would be right, we could live any way we want and if we are of the group to make it we would.

People who want to believe this are those who are living lives of sin and do not want to change, they are deep in the flesh and want to stay there. But they do not want to go to Hell and all they see Jesus, as is a way to avoid Hell. As sad as it is, this is why they can not see the truth and are in bondage to the flesh and why until they see Jesus differently than they do they will not make it.

Jesus is not a way to avoid Hell, He is our messiah, our Christ, He is the anointed one, and He brings unity with God for us.

He is the way and the truth.

John 14

6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

This means none; noone can make it to God but by Jesus. There are no other special deals out there, which God has with other groups or religions.

What about the Jews?

Jesus was a Jew. The first-century church was mostly comprised of Jews. I have worked with Jews for Jesus, which is a group of Jews, who believe in Jesus. They would be among the first to tell you that the only way to the Father for everyone (including the Jews) is via Jesus.

Why are there so many lies and misleading teachings in the world?

Satan is prince of this world, and the ways of the prince are the ways of the world.

Now that you are coming to the conclusion of this study, let me share something with you that will make you want to re-read this study.

I have started a group on-line, where I send out a verse a day. In this, I plan to help all recepients to see the problem in reading the Bible more than a verse at a time.

Matthew 27

52. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53. And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Many have emailed me, when I have stated that many rose with Jesus from the grave, they could not believe it. Until I point out Matthew 27:51-53, especially the part "after His resurrection", then for the first time they see it.
They are always amazed how they missed it for so long, when it was there all along.

This is why I point out the problem of reading the Bible more than a verse at a time.

Think about this. What did Jesus do in the grave for 3 days?

When He said to the thief on His right, that they would be in Paradise that day, did you think He meant heaven? He meant paradise, which is not heaven or at least not in this context.

Jesus told a true story of a rich man, who died and was in Hell; and how across from Hell was "Abraham's Bosom" or paradise, that a gulf separates the two.

When Jesus died, He went to Hell and all of the sin would have to fall off Him, because He did not deserve to have it on him. And, if there is no sin, you cannot be in Hell. Therefore, Jesus would have gone over to paradise. How do I know it was that fast?

Because Jesus told the thief that day, they both would be in paradise. And Jesus preached one day for each of the 3 years He preached above. Then He left and all that believed left with Him.

Why did they go into the Holy City?

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.

10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

They had to confess with their mouths that Jesus was and is Lord.

Imagine the shock, when all of Jerusalem saw loved ones, who had died a day, week, or longer, walking down the street saying in so many words, which you crucified was Lord.

Here is one for you to look up and meditate on; Wisdom of this world is foolish to God.

Therefore, whatever is wise here is foolish to God.

Look it up in the New Testament. Then think about all that is wise here, and then look at it as being foolish.

Most who read this verse state they thought it was awesome, but read on, and never gave it the time it needed. SO, they never got all they could from it.

You see, you cannot even get close to the depth and fullness of the word of God without God. He will impart into you the fullness of each verse He teaches you. No man or woman alive can do that.

All I can or will offer is this, you read what I send you, you take it to God, and read it with Him. He will verify it as true or not, then He will impart in you the fullness of what you read. So I am not teaching you, all I am doing is saving you time, in some cases as much as a year.

Here is another reason ministries will never have me attend their church.

I will not accept the tithe from anyone unless they: first, they understand it fully, and secondly, they tithe to me because "godsgifttoyou.com" or I feed them.

The tithe is meant to protect you physically and spiritually.

Physically it protects your income, I have not met a person yet that tithes fully, for the right reason, and to the right place that does not notice a difference soon.

What I know for myself, and have heard from others is, our income may not increase, but what we have stretches a lot further. Instead of living paycheck to paycheck we have extra.

That is the physical, the spiritual deals with your growth in God.

Malachi 3

10. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

Mark 4

11. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

13. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

14. The sower soweth the word.

Now go and read Mark 4 completely, notice how Jesus is sharing how one grows the same way as the tithe works. One is sown into with the word, and the word stays and grows in good ground but it does not in bad ground.

What is needed to help one grow is good ground, and good ground can only be when someone is rebuking that which turns good ground bad.

In Mark 4 you will read some 30 fold, 60 fold and 100 fold, in the literal it is percent not fold. Some 30%, 60% and 100%, the first group is lost, the second may grow 30%, the third 60% and the last 100%.

Or, that without the tithe, you are gambling that you do not fall into the 40% to 100% failure group. Where, with the tithe you are of the 100% that grow.

Luke 12

48. But he that knew not, and did comit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have comitted much, of him they will ask the more.

I added this about the tithe not to get you to tithe; but to again, as I have tried in this study, to help you see the truth in areas I have been asked about, where many have either been misled or misunderstood.

I am sure you can see by now the truth in the fact that if you cannot be responsible with little, how can you be expected to get more.

And 10% is very little, more than that is taken out for taxes. In comparison, what the tithe does for you verses taxes is Hugh. True, taxes do help you, highways to drive on, protection (police, military, fire department, etc.) The tithe deals with your eternity as well as your income now.

Think about whom it helps and whom it hurts by keeping you in the dark about the tithe.

God does not need our money. We need His help. If you have tithed and it did nothing, it may have been because you tithed to the wrong place or did not understand all you needed to understand about the tithe.

Now the last part that you need to understand. In addition, this will be the hardest, as well as the one thing that can set you free more than anything else other than your direct relationship with God.

There are only two sets of thoughts we have: one is forced on us by Satan, and the other is offered to us by God.

Now this to some of you may seem bizarre, even extreme but it is true and if you bear with me, I will prove it scriptural.

Satan forces his thoughts on us, Gods thoughts are offered to us but are harder to receive, almost impossible until we have the one on one relationship I mentioned.

To help you understand and believe what I am saying, think about something you said or thought that afterwards you wondered, "where did that come from".

2 Corinthians 10

4. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Paul wrote this knowing fully, that unless we understand this and get a handle on it, we are at risk of loosing it all.


If you are honest with yourself, you will realize that no thought you have had is original. Someone else has thought them all before, and others will think them again.

If you operate thinking you are operating on your own, then you think it is of you, all that you do is of you.

But if it is not you, and it is someone else forcing you, then it is not all you.

A thought starts and is nothing until we make it our own. We do this by dwelling on it, saying or acting it out.

Then, then we are at fault. This is why we are judged by every word that comes from our mouth and not our thoughts.

Matthew 12

37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Matthew 15

18. But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

You see when a thought comes it is not ours until we make it ours so we cannot be judged by it. But when we make it our own, we dwell on it, we speak it ,and we act on it.

Therefore, if we control our thoughts or control the thoughts that we get, then we can control our life. Only then, are we in control. Until then, we are puppets, and Satan is pulling our strings.

He will place a thought in hopes we will say it. Satan knows that if we do say it, it will affect someone we are with. Think about it. Have you ever said something, then someone got mad, and you wondered why he or she got mad? Of course, we all have. Satan knows what will push our buttons. He can manipulate us like if we were puppets. He gets us to say things we think are innocent, while at the same time it pushes a button on someone else.

2 Corinthians 12.

2. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

The third heaven is where God is; the first is what we see in the sky; the one in between, the second heaven, is where Satan is…in between God and us.

You need to take a minute or so and meditate on what I am saying here. This is a secret and truth, which Satan cannot afford for you to know.

Think of all the times a thought or something you said that afterwards you wondered where it came from. Think as well of those times when you said something, someone got mad about it, and you could not understand what had happened.

By controlling our thoughts, he (Satan) has controlled us, and he has divided us.

As a pastor, I deal from time to time with couples and problems they are having, and 99 out of 100 times, it boils down to words, something someone said or did not say.

Sometimes, it is how it was said, or not said.

Remember, thoughts do not just become words, but they also become actions.

For example, how a mother or father will abuse a child, or kill one; or, how someone will abuse someone else.

If you think about it, you will see what I am saying does not just make sense but it is true.

Now that you know the truth in this area, you can become free.

Also, the only place you have a true choice is in God. He will never leave you even when you totally blow it. Satan, on the other hand, will drop you like a hot rock.

Now think about what media, such as television, movies, etc are feeding you.

If you have children you would not leave them with just any babysitter, you want to know about them first. Why are we not as careful about television, movies, and media in general as we are with the babysitter?

We have no idea of the values and morals of the person writing the shows we watch, or those who make the shows.

Blindly, we accept them in our homes. We act as if it is natural, as if the media has been around forever. It has not. For the most part, media is less than 100 years old, and out of the history of the world, that is very short.

Now take this into account, how do you know 2+2=4?

Because someone told you, right?

But, how did they learn it, from someone else, and on and on. Of course we know 2+2=4, but the point is we have no idea what we are told is true at all.

Look at how fast we change and forget. In 1979, there was a big deal about putting a bra on a dumy, over a sweater. Now we have semi-nudity on television. And, this has happened over only 25 years. How did it change on us? Were we asleep? I mean I remember that so many were very mad that dumies were being used at all.

Other areas that we just take for granted, as if they have been around forever, but have not:

Santa Claus, Christmas, Halloween, and Holidays in general. Think about this, we tell our children to believe in Santa. When they grow up and learn he is not real, but they can see him. How can we expect them to believe in God, whom they cannot see, when we lied about Santa whom they can see?

Who gets the credit for your hard-earned money, that was spent on presents given to them at Christmas…Santa.

Santa is Retail sales promotion to get us to buy, buy, and buy; also, go in debt, live without, operate in lack.

If that is not enough, what about the red suite; who else has a red suite?

Here is the real kicker in it all, move the "n" in Santa over two letters to the right and you have Satan. In addition, a Claus in a contract is a law; so you have Satan's law, which are things, debt, etc.

I know some of you think I have lost it, or stretching, but am I; Have I?

Think about it; also notice how many children are scared of this nice old man, and how many cries when they get close to him.

Children sense things we do not; they see things we do not. Why do we shut that sense out?

Is it because we have grown up, or are we just so deep in all the lies of the world, that we can no longer discern the truth if it came up and bit us?

Here is one more thing. Notice how the reality television is going. A new show I saw advertised pits the family against each other. All of the children are out against their mom.

By the way, how long does a car last? How long will a house last? How much of what you are paying off on your credit cards do you still have, or even remember.

Why is it that we window-shop, when we are not able to buy? We want more then, than when we have the money.

If you really want a reality check, sit down and try to think of all you have bought with the credit card you are paying off. Try to figure out what all you bought and where all that money went.

For something even more depressing think about how much the item cost and how much you are paying for it between interest payments finance charges, etc.

How often have you bought on impulse? What is impulse?

Here is a good one; advertisers pay millions of dollars to be on television, although fully aware that we will try to miss watching the ads. However, they still pay millions to advertise. It must be working for them to have the money to do it; which means we are buying whatever they are selling.

In the fifties, the movie industry tried subliminal ads for popcorn, drinks, and candy embedded in movies; and it was a big success. If it had not been for the government telling them to stop, we would all be 100 lbs. heavier and our pocket books a lot lighter.

Can you tell me what were the last 5 movies you saw, and what they were about?

If you are the average American you saw that many in the past 2 months.

Think about how much money we spend on movies, cable, televisions, etc.

What is it all for? Is that what life is about…watching movies, getting in debt so our children thank some old man for their Christmas.

I know of one young lady aged 13, who had major problems with her parents. I discovered that she was upset, because she had doubts about her parents loving her.

You see, they would spend very little on birthdays and spend the bulk at Christmas. They went a little further than most with Santa. And the girl got most of her stuff from Santa and almost nothing from her parents. Therefore, she had wondered why her parents bought so many nice things for others and so little for her. Yes, Santa gave her a lot, but to her that was not even a family member and he gave her more than her parents did.

Then what are we saying to our children that are good and don't get anything from Santa, because their parents cannot afford anything more than the bills?

This is just one area of our lives, and only deals with one day of 365-day year.

If you want real choice, the chance to really choose how to live and to really live, then you have only one way and that is with God. It can only be done when you have a one-on-one relationship with God.

And what you will find out is just how many choices He does offer; and how much living you have missed out on.

If you believe nothing else, believe this: not only does God love you, but also He wants to prove it to you every day of your life. You can start now by listening to and for His voice.

Yes, it takes time, some weeks some longer, but all good things do take time.

And this one is the only un-coruptible thing you will ever have. It is eternal.

-------------------------------------------------------

ADDED FOR CLARIFICATION

Flesh VS Spirit

Jesus and the Sword

---------------------------

Listed below is some of the scripture about the flesh VS the Spirit, and clarification on the sword and Jesus.

Romans 7

5. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work

in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Romans 8

1.There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

The rest is for clarification of the sword and Jesus, many miss-understand what Jesus was talking about in Luke 22:35-38.

Luke 22

35. And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

36. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

37. For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

38. And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Part of the prophecy of Jesus still had to come about, and only to full fill the prophecy was there a sword. And here is what the sword was for:

Matthew 26

  1. And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

If you are not sure this is what it was referring to search for any reference about a sword after this.

--------------------------------------

How to Hear From God

------------------------------

You must have a desire to hear from God, and then you need to set a time side every day to do nothing but listen to and for His voice.

Do the following:

      1. Ask God for His help to hear from Him.

      2. Find a place free of any distraction and noise.

      3. Spend 30 minutes a day min listening to and for His voice.

If you will do this everyday, not missing any and for as long as it takes you will hear from Him. Then ask the question below and continue to listen.

Did Jesus come in the flesh? Only God will say Yes.

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2-25-04 H.O.M.E.