Beliefs
Pastor Jerry Wilhite,
author
Some have trouble with the idea of actually hearing from God. I can say a few things about this that may help you understand why this is real. Let me ask you this can you find anywhere in the word it states that it is the be all and end all, that we are not to hear directly from God, the author himself? I can not, but I can find plenty to support the opposite. Before I show you the scripture think of this, isn't it arrogant to believe we can talk to God and He the creator of all can not talk to us? Where did you get the idea we could not hear from Him, because as I stated it is not in scripture.
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Before you say it means reading the word, it clearly states hearing, and before you say it is referring to hearing someone read it, it states clearly "by the word of God."
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.
If that is not clear enough, what about when Jesus said we are to be taught all things, not just that of God but all things by the Spirit of 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 word Christos is Greek for anoint and also means Christ.
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.
So we are taught by Christ (anointing), not by man. Jesus told us that He was anointed with the Spirit of God. Since He is the Christ, the anointing is the Spirit of God in, on and through Him and subsequently us.
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,
Any of you who think the Spirit is dead or ended in the first century church you are then saying God ended or is dead.
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
For those who believe that faith ended in the first century church or who are against sites and ministries of faith, then you are also against salvation, because it is by faith we are saved.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
If we are not to hear from God, why would John write 3 verses about testing the spirits to be sure it is God and not Satan that we are hearing from?
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.
1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1 John 4:3 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.
If you believe Jesus is God, then God is the same at the least not less than Jesus is, right?
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever.
Baptisms, yes there is only one true baptism that of the Holy Ghost, but do not take my word on it. Take the word of John the Baptist and Jesus about it.
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:
If the one true baptism was water not the Holy Ghost then Jesus would never have stated:
Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
I know it confuses many because they read later about water baptism but that is of the flesh not the spirit and it is our way of showing our faith.
Galatians 6:7 clearly states... "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
There are three separate elements at work in us, that of the flesh, the soul, and the Spirit. If we bow to the flesh then we are of the flesh, but if we are subject to the Spirit then we are blessed by the Spirit.
Without looking it up in the Bible, do you know which one of these statements pertains to you and what each means?
If you stated number 1 then you need to understand to say you are of the world is stating you are of the world’s system that is ruled by Satan. So you are stating you are of Satan. If you said number 2 you were correct. You are in the world because this is where we are physically now, but not of the world.
You see there are so many misunderstood and even miss-taught beliefs of the Bible.
What is the Bible then? First of all yes it is the breathed word of God, but that does not mean it is the end all of God. When we try to force the Bible to be the end all we are divided and then we are doomed.
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:
Satan knows this as well and uses it to his benefit, not ours.
We can not be divided and will not if we all hear from God because then we will not all walk away with different interpretations as we do with His word. We will all have the same understanding of His word as He explains it to us.
I mean really think about how arrogant we are to think we can talk to Him, pray to Him and even expect Him to answer our prayers but He can not talk to us. What better way for Him to help us until we do hear from Him than by having a manual here to guide us through our infancy as children of God. The day comes and we must grow up.
Answer me this, can you say you know without any doubt at all that you are saved, that no one can ever say anything to get you to even consider you are not? If you say yes then you must have heard from God as it is stated in Romans 8:16 that you are His child. Once we hear this no one can ever steal our salvation.
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
So why are there so many different beliefs and wrong teachings then? It is like two people reading the same book and then they finish and talk about it but both have a totally different understanding or interpretation of the book. That is at least until they meet the author and learn what he/she meant. Then they both have the same understanding.
The same is for us with the word of God. It is given to help and protect us while we are growing until the day comes when we hear that still quiet voice and it grows louder and louder and we learn the truth. Not of man but of God and God only.
You can not say you or anyone else is 100% right because you do not know what is 100% right but God does. Even Paul warns about our thoughts:
2 Corinthians 10:5 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;
You see you do not have an original thought. Every thought you have had or will ever have has already been thought and will be thought again by others. We are so arrogant that if we have a thought we consider it was ours and then act on it. That is when we get into trouble. If we realize that our thoughts only come from one of two places, God or Satan, then we can be ware and protect against those of Satan. You see Satan forces his thoughts on us. God does not; God is a gentleman at the door waiting. We have to seek His thoughts, but if we do not believe we can hear from Him we never will seek His thoughts and will continue to act on Satan's thoughts.
Think about the evil, hate, and violence in the world think how much may be prevented if the truth were known. Whom do you think this serves the best?