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Sermon 150 – GOOD?

14 Nov

I asked a group of practicing Christians a range of questions to challenge their spirits to expose to themselves as to whether they were on the broad-way to hell, or the narrow way to heaven.

Of course, as professing Christians they were all offended that I would suggest that they may not be on the path to heaven, but I persisted that they should not be so proud as to know for sure without at least checking.

What’s the use of being blind to who you really are if it leads you to destruction? Surely, it makes sense to find the truth about what path you are really travelling on, otherwise the journey is all in vain. Sadly, most Christians are too stubborn to be told they may be going the wrong way.

Modernism

Modernism teaches this generation that they have the freedom to choose whatever way they like and no one has the right to tell you what is right or that you’re wrong; and the modern church has adopted this belief under the pretext that love is not offending anyone’s feelings.

Judge by how you make me feel

Modernism is just the old humanism which teaches that I am my own judge and my own god and the way you make me feel tells me whether you are good or bad. If you say nice things and do nice things to make me feel good, then you are good; and if you say or do things that make me feel bad, then you are bad. Humanism bases what is right and wrong on how you make me feel.

The problem

The problem is, righteous correction makes me feel bad, so a humanist Christian can’t get saved because they feel correction as a put-down instead of what they’re doing is wrong and a need to change direction.

Here’s the questions. I suggest you face them honestly yourself, for your own spirit’s sake.

Q.1  What’s the personal evidence that you are a good person?

Q.2  What’s the personal evidence that you are a faith person?

Q.3  What is truth?

Q.4  What is Faith?

Q. 5  What is love?

Q.6  What is a Christian?

I received a range of replies, the core of which are summarised here. I suspect most Christians would agree with their thoughts. Check where you stand.

I’m good

Every person I speak with believes they are good. Humanism teaches this. God’s Word teaches the opposite (Romans 3: 9-12).

They justify their good by their obedience, or niceness, friendliness, hard work, or not having any issues with people, being thought well of, getting something right, helping, or putting yourself out for someone else. The problem is, in almost 100% of cases, all these actions are false good.

The reason I know they are false good is because of their answers to the following questions …

Q.1  Do you think you are good?  Routinely, the answer is always, yes.

Q2.  Do you think you are No.1?  More often than not, the answer is always, yes.

Q.3  Do you look down your nose at your neighbour?  If they’re honest, the answer is always, yes.

Q4.  Do you tell your neighbor how to behave because you know?  If they’re honest, the answer is always, yes.

Q.5  Are you jealous of your neighbour?  If they’re honest, the answer is always, yes.

Q6.  Do you think you are special?  If they’re honest, the answer is always, yes.

Q7.  Do you have a mood if you don’t get what you want, or if people don’t treat you the way you want?  If they’re honest, the answer is always, yes.

Good?

I then asked, ‘are these things good?’, and invariably I get the answer, no.

So, I then challenged their thinking by asking how come you think you are good when the above evidence confirms otherwise? From here on, I usually get dishonesty and not truth. Selfishness doesn’t like to look bad, so obviously, it’s not going to include bad in its list of good because that would make one look bad. False good likes to live in its comfortable lie; to do otherwise makes me feel too embarrassed and self-conscious.

If you think you’re good, then you confirm that you are your own god, because only God is good. So, you’re really doing good for your own selfish self-value. As soon as someone thinks they’re good they confirm they’re controlled by a lying spirit, because the truth is, only God Himself is good. Anyone who thinks they are good is only doing the good so people will think you are good. This is humanism, and the broad-way to hell. It’s certainly not faith; it’s just fake love.

You can’t be No.1 and say God is No.1 too. That’s a lie of self-deception.

You can’t say you love God and say you are good, yet envy your neighbour; that’s a lie of self-deception.

False good vs True good

False good = doing those things that please others and myself for my self-value.

False good is driven by what others think of me. It is measured by how others make me feel and it walks in the fear of what others think about me.

False good lives in the fear of looking bad to others, or being wrong, or getting into trouble, or failing. This false good is always generated by envy towards others who are more favoured or popular, or who can do things better, or the reverse of believing I can do it better than you.

False good either always looks down on one’s neighbour, or feels threatened by one’s neighbour’s status. It contradicts the law of ‘thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’.

False good does good things, but always for self, even if it’s for God.

False good is just plain self-righteousness.

Wise in own eyes

King Saul was wise in his own eyes. David was wise in the eyes of God. Korah was wise in his own eyes, but Moses was wise in the eyes of God. When you’re wise in your own eyes you’ll only see what you do is good and justify your bad as the fault of others. This is the broad-way to hell.

Calling your evil, good

What Christians don’t realise when they practice false good is that they’re actually calling their selfishness, good. This folly exposes you to a curse (Isaiah 5:20,21) and ultimate destruction (Deut.29:19,20) unless you face your selfishness and repent.

True good

True good = doing what pleases God without any thought of gaining self-favour

The good of God is measured by your attitude to your neighbour and your respect of God’s ten commandments, and only works when God is first in your life, and not yourself or others. But, God can’t be first if you haven’t sacrificed the pride of looking good in the eyes of others.

The good of God is walking in the fear of the Lord, and not the fear of others. This requires the sacrifice of one’s pride to look good in the eyes of others. Until that sacrifice is made because you love God first, you’re on the broad-way to hell and not the narrow way to the eternal city.

The two great commandments are … love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. As soon as you look down on your neighbour, think you’re better than your neighbour, wish you could do what your neighbour can do, or do things to get value from your neighbour, then all your good is false.

False good is just a lying spirit

Most people agree that Truth is God’s Word. Now, if God’s Word is The Truth and you don’t follow it literally but rather follow it at your own discretion and convenience, even though you’ve convinced yourself that you do follow it right, then obviously you are lying to yourself. But, false good can never accept that. It hurts their feelings too much.

Conclusion

Most people think they’re good, but the truth is, they do everything in order to make themselves feel good. Everyone lives in the fear of what others think. Everyone thinks they are special and have a mood if they’re not treated as such. The truth is, they worship their own image and hate others for being higher ranked. This is what has to be put to death. God may temporarily be in their lives, but, like King Saul, they’re not saved; their Jesus is just a figment of their imagination.

Jesus said you can’t be a disciple until you give up the need to be valued by your fellowman, your parents (Luke 14:26-33), your friends, your employer etc. You actually have to hate self-value, plus you have to be willing to be hated as Christ was (Matthew 10:22-25). Self-love can’t do this. There’s no such thing as trusting God if you like the favour of others’ opinion. Few believe this pathway is valid. Their goodness deduces that they are good and God is good so God wouldn’t make it too hard to get to heaven, so they choose the easy way of just believing they are good. But, if God’s Word is the Truth, and that Word states that death-to-self is the pathway to heaven, then this good person is lying about respecting God’s way of Truth. If one lives in their goodness they won’t want the truth about the hard way.

Good is God. Truth is God. Faith is God. Love is God. If self thinks it’s good, then it doesn’t know God’s truth, or God’s faith, or God’s Love. It just walks in the imagination of its selfish heart.

Gratitude vs Attitude

If you’re truly grateful for what Christ has done for you on the cross, you may make errors, but you won’t allow yourself the right to look down on your neighbour. Under true good, you’ll judge your neighbour righteously, and not from a self-righteous position, because God is the only entity you live for. You’ll know where you stand because false good and bad will hate you for His sake.

May God strengthen His remnant to live the crucified life for His sake.

Pastor Anthony McNaughton

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2020 in Uncategorized

 

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Sermon 142 – BLOOD for BLOOD

16 Dec

It’s not nice news, but it’s true

The Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood touches blood. Therefore, shall the land mourn, and everyone that dwells therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea shall also be taken away …. Hosea 4:1-3

Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget your children v.6

As they were increased, so they sinned against Me: therefore, will I change their glory into shame v.7

They shall eat and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord v.10

Climate Change

The land is defiled, for blood defiles the land; and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed, but by the blood of him that shed it (Numbers 35:33). Therefore, it will spew you out … Leviticus 20:22

Adultery, incest, divorce, remarriage to your ex-spouse, prostitution, abortions, murder, homosexuality, beastiality, the worship of foreign gods, tattoos, sabbath abuse, disrespect of authority, domestic violence, deliberate shaving of the head, body pins, sex-change operations, and clairvoyances … these are all blood crimes … Leviticus 18,19,20

When you legalise these evils, you call evil good and defy and mock the living God and defile His blood. The consequences are the shedding of more blood to counteract the spillage.

For the sake of planet earth, the principle of the kingdom of God is that blood has to be shed to counteract the spilling of blood. It’s man sin that causes wars, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and murders, and it’s also man’s way of forcing God to save the planet in payment for its sin.

Climate change is due to sin. If you want to stop the decay of the planet, stop your sin. If you want to save the animals, stop your sin.

The salt has lost its saltiness

The church is supposed to be the salt against the bacterial infection of the world’s sin. But, the church is full of sexual perversion, adultery, divorce, lies and pretence, disrespect and deception, and merchandising its wares for the purpose of wealth and lustful gain, all covered in goodness. The world rules the church, not the Spirit of God.

If my people who are called by My name shall humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed

You can argue that it’s all Old Testament, but that’s a convenient lie. Have a look at the decay around you. My God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is immutable, and so is His law (Matthew 5:18). The church is responsible to address its sin and change its ways, first, before it can expect the world to do it.

The life of the body is in the blood

The blood is the pathway for nutrients, the mechanism for fighting disease, the mechanism for clotting and repair, the mechanism for our heart to pump, the mechanism for our breathing. No blood, no life.

It’s the same in the spirit kingdom. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin. No blood, no life. It’s only through repentance and being washed by the blood of Christ shall we ever be able to enter heaven. Both Peter, Paul and John the Baptist preached the gospel of repentance for the remission of one’s sin. Salvation is not by my goodness, but His mercy.

The purpose of calvary was the blood of Christ to cover our sin. Circumcision, communion (Matthew 26:28) and menstruation are blood symbols. By society’s mocking and devaluing the sacrifice of Christ and by silently allowing our parliaments and society to legalise evil, we are promoting the decay of the planet, and casting dispersion on the blood of Christ. There’s a price to pay.

As in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:38)

The purpose of the flood was to save the planet by the removal of its sin. The purpose of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Pompeii, was to remove sin to save the planet with blood. Sadly, God predicts that we are returning to the days of Noah, and few if any will listen. Eventually, this planet will disintegrate under the weight of its sin. Only faith in the living God will save you.

Bad Coagulation

If you mix the wrong blood types, they’ll react against each other and kill you. If you mix the blood of Christ with the world you’ll die, spiritually. Sadly, the church has contaminated itself with the world’s blood. It’s lost its power and strength and is decaying with compromise before our eyes. Congregationalists, Methodists and some Presbyterians have disappeared into a humanistic religion of the Uniting Church which condones the evils of divorce, homosexuality and female priests (1 Timothy 2:11-14).

I’m think I’m good, or at least, not that bad

Everybody wants good news for themselves; they don’t want to feel bad. They expect that if you’re good you get good. Our motive for good is really so we don’t get into trouble, and so we get good back. Most people, including Christians, believe they’re good, so God will be favourable to me. Most believe that God is a good God and only punishes the bad. They blame mother nature for the planet’s disasters, and consider their own personal safety is the consequences of their own goodness. Everything’s fine until things go wrong, and then they blame God for not giving them good for their goodness. This is the religion of Santa Clause.

The truth is, only God is good, so if you think you are good, then you can’t be saved. The truth is, God rules by law, and breakage of his laws requires judgment. His mercy is initiated by your repentance, not by your goodness.

No one thinks envy, judgment or covetousness is bad. Besides, everyone practices it. Jesus is coming back for those who know they’re bad and are willing to repent of their sin. Esau was good, Jacob was bad. Daniel was good, but Samson was bad; they both were saved. The thief on the cross was bad. Rahab was bad. The Pharisees were good, but the blood of the prophets was their curse (Matthew 23:35). Peter wasn’t good, Nebuchadnezzar was bad. It’s not good or bad, it’s the blood of Christ; that’s the issue.

Authority Respect

Most Christians and the world argue that they’re good, but that’s not the argument.  You can cover your coveting, lying, judgmental and adulterous secret thoughts with good, but if you pretend you’re good, instead of owning your sin, you are calling sin good, and that’s evil.

The real argument is … are you resistant to authority? Are you correctable? Everything comes down to authority. You can be as good as you like but if your heart believes … “you won’t tell me what to do”, “you won’t tell me I’m wrong”, then you’re resistant, incorrectable, and thus under the influence of Satan, and thus bad.

The real measurement of good, is … do you resist authority to defend your selfishness?

Bad = the spirit of Satan influences you

Good = the Spirit of God influences you

The problem is, you can be bad and be influenced to do good e.g. King Saul. Ultimately, like King Saul, the good will fade when its measured against resistance to righteous authority. Be as good as you like, but that doesn’t mean you’re covered by the blood of Christ.

Consequences for resisting the will of God

Eventually, any nation that willing turns its back on the living God and pollutes its land with blood, will be given into the hands of the heathen; and they that hated them will rule over them (Psalm 106:38,41). China is coming.

Like Israel in Egypt, if a nation won’t bow the knee to God’s authority, then it forces God to put it under ungodly authority until it will bow to the true God. If you’re spirit resists Godly authority, then don’t lie to yourself that you’re under authority and good.

Don’t wait for the world to change its way; you change your ways to the will of God.

 

May we live our lives in gratitude for the shed blood of Jesus Christ, letting Him be the potter, and not in our goodness expecting God’s blessings and telling Him how He should mould us.

 

Pastor Frank Staener

 

 

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2019 in blood

 

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Sermon 141 – Don’t Tell me I’m the problem

30 Nov

So many people I’ve come across appear to be genuine, willing to help, and agreeable, but everything changes when you suggest they have an issue with their soul.

The average person doesn’t really do anything wrong; they just won’t do exactly what they’re told, and in so doing, they refuse to see that not doing it exactly as told, is wrong.

Modern man hates being told what to do

In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul did what he thought he was told to do, but not exactly as he was told. He did what was right in his own eyes because he couldn’t see that it was wrong, and he couldn’t see it was wrong because he was no longer little in his own eyes (v.17). His pride deduced what was right in his own eyes and he ended up with a stubborn and idolatrous soul (v.23).

This self-rightness spirit can’t be told that it’s wrong. Its pride is offended. Its feelings are hurt and it feels devalued in the eyes of others.

Conceit = fanciful thought about my own self-value

Conceit is the fruit of living in the wounds of, and responding to, my hurt pride.  Your hurt pride becomes your reality and your perspective towards others and the life around you.

The Hebrew interpretation of conceit indicates that it’s … how you see yourself in your own eyes (see Proverbs 28:11). The modern world mollycoddles this hurt pride and promotes its justification; whereas the Word of God confronts it and challenges it as evil.

One definition of Pride = I think I’m a good person. I don’t do anything deliberately wrong.

Whereas, Humility can be defined as = I’m wrong, whether I did it deliberately or not.

If you can’t be told that you’re the problem, then you can’t be told that you’re wrong, and if you can’t be told that you’re wrong, then you can’t be corrected, and if you can’t be corrected then in God’s eyes you’re a bastard and not a son (Hebrews 12:8). That is, despite how good you think you are, you’re not saved, because it’s you who is diagnosing and defining your own goodness; you’re not really open to God’s correction.

Most Christians believe they can be told that they’re wrong, they just hate being told they’re always the problem (pride objects to the ‘always’), but that’s the point; ‘always’ exposes the pride, and the real hidden situation is, that they believe they hold the right to make their own deductions according to how they see it.

The corrector should be the one who diagnoses the true condition of your spirit, not you. If you won’t allow someone else to tell you you’re out of balance, then you simply live in the rightness of your own eyes, and thus lost to heaven.

Pruning for fruit

Every gardener knows that if you want the best results from the tree, the tree must be pruned (John 15:2). If you let a tree grow whatever way it wants, it will not produce the best fruit or flowers, and even produce improperly. Most Christians refuse to be pruned. They want to grow their own way.

The real issue of sin = I don’t want to be told

I don’t want to be told … I’m always the problem

I don’t want to be told … I’m always wrong

I don’t want to be told … what to do all the time. I have the right to prove I can do it myself.

Pride believes it has the right to make its own decisions, and justifies its position with … “all I’m doing is helping”. Humility doesn’t defend that right or justify its position; it trusts God’s rightness and justice.

Any time you allow yourself to believe you’re good, you expose your vanity. Any time you allow yourself to not be told, you expose your conceit. Any time you defend your right, you expose your resistance to authority.

Another Jesus

Most Christians obviously think they know Jesus, but it’s not the true Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4); it’s another Jesus of their own making.  You can’t find the true Jesus Christ if you won’t be told you haven’t found Him.

The modern Christian thinking is “grace”.  To the modern thinker, that means, God’s favour towards ME because I’m good, and because I’m good I believe I can decide what’s right and wrong for me. But they conveniently ignore the Word of God that clearly states that grace is only given to the humble (1 Peter 5:5), and humility is only available to those who respectfully practice His laws (1 John 2:3,4).

And, that’s the point … laws restrict my freedom to do it the way I think is right, therefore, selfishness prefers to believe in grace, not law.

Sadly, the 10 Commandments have been devalued. Every Christian believes they keep them, but refuse to see they don’t exactly. They’re not really in their heart and loved as Christ’s laws, rather they’re observed as a restriction to our freedoms; so, we keep them, but not exactly. Rather we love to ultimately do what we think is right. We love what’s right in our own eyes, and when it comes to the crunch, we won’t be told otherwise, proof that we are really our own judge and therefore our own little god.

Voices

Pride listens to voices that tell you you’re right and good, and that everyone else is misjudging you and wrong. Those voices are the temptation of evil, and when you’re right in your own eyes, you fail to have self-control over them; you fail to rightly interpret the voices as satanic.

Exercise

Write down what someone is silently saying to you, then write down what you are silently saying back.

The laws of God need to be put back in their rightful place

You can never do what’s right in your own eyes and obey the law of God. You have to obey the law of God first and then you will do what’s right in the eyes of God, not you.

How can you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, if you won’t do what’s right in the eyes of the Lord, but rather prefer to rely on your own judgment?

They feared the Lord and served their own gods 2 Kings 17:33

David, and those who followed his philosophy, did what was right in the eyes of God (1 Kings 15:5). King Saul, and those who followed his philosophy, served God and did what was right in their own eyes. The latter were deceived. The latter still appeared to worship the same god as David, but it was another god of their own thinking, not David’s God.

The Curse

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight (Isaiah 5:21).

The counsel of the Word of God is clear … be NOT wise in your own eyes, but fear the Lord and depart from your own evil conceit (Proverbs 3:7); to do otherwise, is stupid (Proverbs 12:15, 26:12).

 

May God open our eyes to see how we’ve been sucked into fake grace, and then be willing to do whatever the Lord wants, whether we like it or not.

 

Pastor Rick McIntyre

 
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Posted by on November 30, 2019 in Conceit

 

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Sermon 137 – What’s the Right thing to do?

06 Jul

I’m frequently asked this question when people aren’t sure which way to go. The answer is … it doesn’t matter what you do; it matters what spirit you do it in. It’s never the do; it’s the spirit of the do.

The Pharisees couldn’t grasp this. As far as their judgement was concerned, they deduced they were good and therefore Jesus was evil. What most Christians don’t realise is that they operate under the same spirit of pride-analysis as the Pharisees.

“I think I’m pretty good, or at least, not too bad” … are actually thoughts directly from Satan, not Holy Spirit. Everyone has these thoughts and everyone thinks they’re normal thoughts, but they’re actually primed to lead you into pride. If you base your judgments on these thoughts you will always make your decisions out of pride and therefore everything you do that you judge as good, is actually judgment from your own selfish evil.

A committed Christian doesn’t listen to those thoughts; rather, his thoughts are … thank you Father for your mercy and grace. How can I serve my Lord? How can I live for Him?

Whatever is not of faith, is sin … Romans 14:23

Every judgment you make out of pride, is sin. Every judgment you make out of faith, is God.

The disciples asked Jesus the question … ‘what shall we do?’, and Jesus replied … believe on the Father (John 6:28). It’s not the ‘do’, it’s the faith that counts. ‘Faith’ first, ‘do’ second.

If you want to change your pride to faith, you have to face the demonic

As much as we hate hassles and evil, they are actually God’s tools to shake you from your pride. You actually need evil to challenge your pride and force you to yoke to Christ. You can never do it with your own mind or will. Only God, Himself can change your pride to faith and He uses evil to do it.

If you want to truly know Christ and serve Him with all your heart, your pride, which you don’t think you have, has to be broken, and the only way it can be broken is by confrontation with evil. It’s evil that forces you to give up your pride and trust the Creator.

Christians aren’t born to have; they’re born to serve. If in that service you get things, that’s God’s blessings for furthering your service for Him.

Ephesians 6 … We’re not fighting flesh and blood, but principalities and powers and darkness

It’s a journey and everyone’s path is different

No one knows they’re selfish. Everyone thinks they’re not too bad. So, God uses incidents, accidents, failures, relatives, fake Christians, sickness, employers, work mates, friends, family … in fact, any process necessary to expose you to your pride and crack it, so you become faithful to Him. It’s our own lustful stubbornness that hinders or even blocks this process.

The World

The world is opposite to faith. It’s numbers and money before principles. It’s grace and compromise before obedience. It’s the economy before morality.  It’s business with China before human rights. It’s animals before humans. It’s women’s rights before male authority. It’s fornication before marriage. It’s image before one’s neighbour. In fact, the modern church sounds very much like the world.

Friend of the world = enemy of God … James 4:4

Yes, we live in the world but we are not to be comfortable living here. The world should disturb our spirit, and our hearts should crave heaven, not the goodies of the world. We can enjoy them but we can’t love them. We should be disturbed by the evil that’s growing in the world, but we should not be overcome with it. We all want the comforts of this world, but Jesus prophesied the time is coming when His elect will all be hated for his sake (Matthew 24). We should be consolidating our faith in Him, we should be disturbed about the sickness of the world, but not worrying or fearful, but rather letting that sickness drive us further to His bosom.

You can’t seek FIRST the kingdom of God if you think you’re ‘not too bad’ … Matthew 6:33

Whether you agree or not, the truth is, you can’t seek first His kingdom if you seek first your own kingdom through pride-judgment and being comfortable with the world. Double-mindedness = comfortable with the world + comfortable with God, and double-mindedness is confusion. It’s either the world or it’s God; you can’t have both (Matthew 6:24), and if it’s God, you’ll know because the world will hate you.

Separate and live, or conform and die

We live in the world, but you have to be separate from the world to be saved. You can’t get comfortable with abortion, or fornicators, or homosexuality, or divorce, or pornography, or adultery, or covetousness. If your family members or friends are practicing it, your heart has to be separate from them, and if they object to your heart then you will need to separate from them, physically (Ezra 9). If you don’t separate, you’ll compromise and conform and become comfortable with the world and lose your salvation. Cool is not acceptable with God (Revelations 3:16).

Unless you hate the works of your father, mother, brother, sister etc. you CANNOT be My disciple (Luke 14:26). You are called to be separate from anyone or anything that would entice you from obedience to Christ. If you won’t pay the price of conceding to this instruction, then don’t kid yourself that you’re obedient to God’s instructions. The modern church teaches that love is being nice to everyone and not offending anyone, but that’s a lie from hell. Jesus spoke the truth and offended many. The modern church teaches ‘grace’ so you can be comfortable with the world, but it’s a deception of God’s truth. Grace only applies to those who’ve separated themselves from the world (1Peter 5:5). Humility isn’t being nice to everyone; it’s separating from the world to be separated to Christ.

Separation sets you apart from the world

Without the principle of separation set in your heart, you’ll never find the right way to go. You’ll never make a faith decision. Your thinking will always be contaminated for self.

‘I think I’m pretty good’ might get you position and friends, but it won’t get you heaven

‘I think I’m pretty good’ is just a comfortable way of being accepted by the majority. It’s just a comfortable way of not stirring up trouble. It’s just a comfortable way of defending your rights. It’s just a comfortable way of justifying wrong actions and thoughts. It’s just a comfortable way of convincing yourself that you’re a Christian. It’s just a comfortable way of being comfortable with the world. It’s just a comfortable way of resisting correction and not being told you’re wrong. It’s just a comfortable way of being liked and protecting your image; but it will be exposed as fraud the moment someone offends you and you judge them as ‘not good’, or the moment someone becomes more happy than you. You’ll never find happiness if you can’t be happy for someone else to be happier than you.

Repentance

If you truly want heaven, give up your goodness and trust His faith … Father, have Your way with those who offend me and have Your way with me, and help me to be grateful for someone else’s happiness.

 

Pastor Clive Douglas

 
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Posted by on July 6, 2019 in Guidance

 

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Sermon 132 – The Love of Position

15 Sep

Good correction is an instruction that advises you that you’re doing something wrong. It’s an instruction designed to get you back on the right track when you’ve inadvertently stepped in the wrong direction with wrong analysis.

Pride, however, perceives and thus receives correction as a suggestion that “I’m bad”. Our pride turns correction into a ‘good and bad’ scenario, when it should be a ‘right and wrong’ issue.

Why does it do this?

Because pride is only interested in position, position, position. That’s all it ultimately cares about. You can camouflage your pride with as much exterior niceness as you like but underneath it all is the love of position, and this is the thing that Jesus came to save you from … the love of position. All pride is concerned about is … “I want to be above you”. Pride pretends to love its neighbour but in the depths of its heart it hates it when one’s neighbour gets an advantage over it.

Pride hates exposure, so it does anything it can to hide itself. The consequence of this hidden evil in us, is the solidifying of this evil by lying to ourselves that we are good, and thus the Evil One traps us in his web and manipulates us to unwittingly serve his will against God. Then, instead of breaking free from our sin at the point of correction, we reinforce the lie that we are good.

Lie to escape exposure

If correction is bad, why do we routinely lie to escape exposure of our wrong, and why do we routinely fear the embarrassment of the exposure? Obviously, because we’re too proud and selfish to let others think we are wrong. We don’t want to look bad, so we work our butt-off to show we are good, but our real objective is to avoid exposure of any bad, at all costs. We argue within ourselves that the more good we are the more the correction must be wrong. The ‘good-er’ we are the further from salvation we unknowingly wander, believing our own lie that our goodness is evidence of God in us. But, it’s all our own deception fuelled by our own evil pride.

Don’t tell me what to do

When you argue ‘good vs bad’ it’s simply an indicator of your pride. This means that the real underlying issue is the selfish belief … “I’m good, so don’t tell me I’m bad”. But, what this really means is … “you won’t tell me what’s right or wrong, I’ll decide, and you won’t tell me what to do; I’ll fix the issue myself, my way. Mind your own business”. It’s only at the point of correction that this spirit is exposed, and it’s at that point that one’s pride can be loosed from the demonic. Sadly, few surrender; most defend their pride. They still serve and worship God their way, but they’re not saved.

Pride doesn’t think it’s proud

Because pride can’t see its pride, it needs correction to expose it. The problem is, it’s so focussed on looking good, it sees any correction as rejection and a put-down, thus it constantly misses the door of salvation that God places before it.

Fake Goodness is Satanism

Pride won’t be told it’s wrong. In fact, pride won’t be told. Thus, pride is the practice of disrespect of authority, and the practice of incorrigibility. Thus, your pride protects you from being correctible, and thus pride is the root cause of fakeness and de-salvation.

Pride is always trying to show and re-affirm its goodness. Pride thinks it’s good, so it can’t handle any suggestion that it’s done anything wrong, because it hates feeling bad and looking bad. What pride doesn’t realise is that the more good you think you are, or the more you act that you are good, the more demonic influence Satan has over you. It’s really the spirit of Satan operating through you. The practice of pride is really the practice of Satanism. That’s why God hates it. That’s why it’s so hard to eliminate it from your spirit. This lying deception was inherited from Satan via Eve’s and Adam’s sin and refusal to repent. Pride is a direct inheritance from Satan. Retain your pride and serve God as much as you like. It will all be a waste of time and effort, just like Judas.

Fake Goodness (F.G.) retaliates

Fake goodness retaliates with blame for not letting them explain why they did what they did. F.G. shifts the responsibility so its own bad is not exposed. F.G. is focussed on what you think of me and can’t handle being thought less of. F.G. is just camouflaged pride. As I’ve already said, the more good you think you are, the more proud you are, and the more fake you are.

Only God is good, Luke 18:19

The rich young ruler indirectly asked Jesus to confirm to him that he was good. Doing good was his recipe for looking good in the eyes of his peers. Jesus made it clear; the answer is give up your position. Like most people it was too much to ask. So, if you think you are good then the truth is you’re just full of yourself, not God, and that’s what pride is. Consequently, pride judges others’ badness in the light of one’s own assumed goodness. This judgment actually verifies that you are not good (James 4:11), but pride can’t see it, so it bacterially flourishes and continues to be practiced indiscriminately.

Like the rich young ruler, once you find something that gives you value and supports your position in the eyes of others, it’s even more difficult to let your pride go and find God. The support becomes too valuable to you.

Feelings

Pride makes its judgments on its feelings. Pride believes if you make me feel bad, then you’re the baddie. Pride is always trying to show its goodness. Position by any means is all it cares about.

Do

The real reason we do things is to prove our self-worth in the eyes of others, and that’s why we can’t give up what’s of value to us, because these skills, or money, or successes, or popularity are the proof of our value. Instead of sacrificing them, we compromise to keep them and unwittingly instead, sacrifice the precious gift of salvation.

It’s not DO. It’s not FIX. Rather, it’s DIE to your pride. That means, openly expose you’re wrong and face the fear and the temptation to lie and blame. That’s the only way to free yourself from Satan’s evil spirits.

Good doesn’t cut it

The woman caught in adultery wasn’t good. Rahab wasn’t good. Samson wasn’t good. The thief on the cross wasn’t good. David wasn’t good; he murdered. Prostitutes are not good. The five foolish virgins were good. Good is not the requirement; exposing your pride is the requirement.

Jesus didn’t write-off the thief on the cross for being bad; He invited him into His kingdom at the point of his confession of wrong to a loving Saviour. He knew he was bad. He couldn’t fix the bad or the wrong, but he could face his embarrassment and give up his charade of toughness and lower his resistant position.

Pharisee and Tax Collector

In Luke 18:9, Jesus shares a parable about those who trust in their own goodness, yet at the same time, hate. The Pharisee spoke to his own mind about how good he was, whereas, the publican simply exposed his wrong and was saved. The Pharisee proved his goodness was a lie by passing judgment on the publican, in the light of his own goodness, and immediately confirmed his arrogant pride.

Good is always in your own mind

Good is never in the mind of a Christian. Like Christ, a Christian’s focus is serving the will of his Master, not in justifying why the Master should love him or do his bidding.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t pride Himself in His own goodness; He serves the will of the Father. The goodness that flows from a Christian should be Christ, not one’s own self-manufactured ability and fake purity. Fake purity is just piety, not love.

Pride vs. Humility

In simplicity, pride is calling someone a fool; whereas, humility comes via repentance, and repentance is seeing that you’re the fool. If you’ve never really seen your own folly, then your salvation is in vain. “Sorry” is an arrangement of convenient escape, but “repentance” is when you see your own folly, and without that revelation your pride is not broken. All that’s happened is, like Eve, you’ve talked yourself into believing in your own wisdom being right. But, clearly Eve’s wisdom wasn’t right, or she would’ve seen she was wrong.

Why does God advise against pride?

Pride is the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden. Pride tastes good, and pride looks good. It never looks bad. That’s so Satan can use it to manipulate you into thinking that you’re right (Genesis 3:5,6). But, the reason God advises against it is because pride will always end up hurting you. That’s why Satan sells it to you; to hurt you.

Everyone is either a Pharisee or a Publican or a Publican Pharisee

This parable is not just a story; it’s an evaluation of the human spirit. You can have different levels of Pharisee or Publican, but everyone exists in these two categories at some level. Everyone is born arrogant. Everyone is born fearful. Everyone is born a liar. You can either protect these qualities and reinforce you link your Satan, or you can expose them. What you choose to do at the point of correction will either lead you to salvation or to hell.

Salvation is simple

All you have to do is expose yourself. All you have to do is own up that you were wrong. All you have to do is face the fear of looking bad in the eyes of others. God does the rest. The problem is, almost everyone resists their conscience by explaining away their sin by blaming the other person, or justifying why they really didn’t do anything that bad, and so the opportunity for salvation is lost and sacrificed to protect one’s pride. You have to sacrifice your pride to be saved. You have to sacrifice your pride to be freed from Satan.

Conclusion

Ultimately, it’s not an issue of right or wrong, or good or bad. It’s an issue of … will you stop your pride and take the correction and admit you were wrong, no blame and no excuses.

No exposure, no salvation

Behold I stand at the door and knock (Rev.3:20). When Jesus is knocking on your door, Satan is also standing there whispering fears and lies into your mind. If you truly want to be saved you will always have to face the fear of embarrassment or the fear of persecution, and the temptation to lie, and the temptation to blame to protect yourself. It’s actually the temptation from Satan to fear and lie, that confirms that Christ is the one addressing your conscience. The fear is the sign of Christ’s presence, not from Him, but from the enemy trying to manipulate you away from Him. In fact, if you don’t face fear at a point of salvation, then it’s not Jesus that’s knocking. Yes, like Samuel, you can be saved as a child, and like Peter, you can walk with Christ and think you’re saved, but, somewhere along the walk you will have to face the fear of your convictions in order to seal your salvation (Luke 22:32). All you have to do is open the door and let your sin be exposed and you’ll realize that the fear was a Satanic inhibitor to block you from being free.

 

Pastor Rick McCauley

 

 
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Posted by on September 15, 2018 in Pride

 

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Sermon 131 – The Inherent Evil of every Human Soul before God owns it

11 Aug

1. ME
I think … I’m Special, I’m Important, I’m Clever, I’m Skilful, I’m Intelligent, I’m GOOD
The problem is … only God is Good. So, the more GOOD you think you are, the more you love yourself, and the more you are your own god.

2. I WANT
… Security, Position, Superiority, Value, Favour, Happiness, to look good in the eyes of others eg. King Saul
I hate INFERIORITY
I WANT to do it MY way. Don’t TELL me what to do.

3. ENVY
I WANT what you’ve got = I should have it, how come you’ve got it? = love ME above my neighbour = HATE my neighbour
I lust after SUPERIORITY. I lust after HAPPY
I HATE you because … you’re more HAPPY, more SUCCESSFUL, more LOVED, more POPULAR
Defined in James 4:5 as ‘malignant grief ‘ towards your neighbour eg. King Saul vs David, Pharisees vs Jesus
Associated in James 3:15 with the world, perversion, and demonic

4. MANIPULATE
Subtle or deliberate TACTICS to gain self-advantage over others, so that I’m ELEVATED above my neighbour, so I have the POWER and CONTROL.

TACTICS = ∗Intimidation eg. King Saul, ∗Lie, ∗Money eg. Ananias & Sapphira Acts 5, ∗Help, ∗Generosity, ∗Sad eg. Ahab, ∗Complain (have a MOOD) until you get it, ∗say Sorry & expect sorry back, ∗Spite, ∗Exclude, ∗Ignore, ∗Pay-back, ∗Sex eg. Jezebel, ∗use Friends = those who serve my expectations, ∗act Perfect = fake niceness / humility, ∗drive a man to Adultery eg. Potiphar’s wife, ∗Pimp on them so I look good and they look bad

5. EVIL DEDUCTIONS
If you make me feel INFERIOR, then you’re evil
If you hurt my FEELINGS, then I have the right to hurt yours = Revenge, Matthew 7:12
If CORRECTION hurts my feelings, then you’re wrong
If you make me feel REJECTED, then you’re bad
When things go positive = God is blessing me
When things go negative = It’s your fault = Blame eg. Eve & Adam
When others are put-down = I’m better than you = Mock
When others fall = I told you so = I’m right, you’re wrong
FRIENDS = those who treat me right
If you’ve got a problem with me, then you’re the problem. If I have a problem with you, then you’re also the problem.

6. CONSEQUENCES
If you routinely practice any one of these above qualities, know that you are under the banner of the spirit of Anti-Christ and therefore, not saved.
Demonic Occupation eg. King Saul = lose your right mind
Incorrigible = Bastard, Hebrews 12:8
Sow and Reap
Disrespect Authority / Hate men, Genesis 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:11,12
Fear, Faithless, Temporary Pleasure, Wrong JUDGEMENT, Confusion, Hell, Hypocrisy James 3:17
Do what’s right in your own eyes, Judges 21:25, and come under God’s judgment
BLINDNESS = we know people hurt us, but we can’t see us doing it to them

7. SOLUTION
Wake-up to your sin and REPENT of it = give up your “I Want”, and TRUST God’s plan instead of imposing and demanding yours. You don’t have to fix yourself, you have to SEE yourself.

Godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, 2 Cor.7:10
Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, Acts 3:19
I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me, Galatians 2:20

Pastor Rick Ramsley

 

 
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Posted by on August 11, 2018 in Envy, Pride

 

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Sermon 102 – The SEE-SAW Christian

25 Jun

 

[A see-saw is an English term for a plank with a central fulcrum with a person on either end who each extends their legs alternately to make the plank go up and down.]

I’ve met so many people who say they are Christian because they think they are good, yet are actually not; it’s overwhelming.

I was counselling a young Christian woman who had rejected the approaches of a Christian man. They had been courting for some months so I asked her why she had rejected him and her response was ‘he wanted to kiss me’. Now, in our modern society, one would generally misinterpret her information as the male doing the wrong thing, but knowing the man and her own family history, I dug deeper. The truth was she didn’t like the man telling her what to do so she made it sound like he was abusing her. She was lying so she could get her own way.

What was really happening?

The young woman had decided that she was ‘good’, not because she put Christ first, but, on the basis that her sister had run away from a committed Christian man who was challenging her willingness to be a help-mate rather than a potential wife who wouldn’t be told. The young woman had watched and criticised her sister for not being submissive like she herself would have been.

Her deduction was … I’m good because I would not have done what you did.

So many Christian people judge their goodness on the basis of someone else’s errors of judgment. It’s the see-saw principle …. When you’re down, I’m up. If you judge your goodness on the basis of comparing yourself to someone else’s error, the Bible says your good is bad (2 Corinthians 10:12; Galatians 6:4). It is never the love of God to ever think you are better than someone because they are in error themselves. The Pharisee judged himself as good because he compared himself to the publican, but Jesus rejected his deduction (Luke 18:9).

The see-saw Christian

The see-saw Christian loves being up, hates being down, and envies those who are up. These people are not genuine Christians, they’re fake wheat (tares). They look like they’re Christian and act like they’re Christian, but they routinely elevate themselves above others when others are down. They hide it well and won’t let you see it, but if you are spiritual you will eventually sense its pattern. Tares draw nigh unto God with their mouth and honour God with their lips, but their heart is far from Him (Matthew 15:8).

Demons win when you’re self-centred

What the young woman was ignorant of was the spiritual fact that putting yourself up above your neighbour actually results in your spirit being dictated over by a demon. Once you are under the power of a demon you’re blinded to the truth and can only see your own truth. To this woman, her sister was wrong so that made her superior to her sister. The real truth was that she wasn’t good at all, she was simply bloated with her own fake goodness, and having an inflated mood. People hate deflated feelings so they selfishly strive for inflated feelings at the cost of others.

Why do we automatically think we’re good or better, when others are corrected or proved wrong?

The real truth behind it all is that the human spirit doesn’t want others to tell it what to do. It loves to tell others what to do because it thinks it knows what’s right; it hates being told. That’s because we inherited this evil trait from Adam and Eve. The corrupted gift that Satan sold to Eve was simply … ‘you will know what’s right, so don’t let others tell you what to do.’ That’s what Satan believes and that’s what he wants you to believe.

The human spirit can’t handle being down; it absolutely envies anyone else that is up and secretly wants for their position, and when it is up it boasts of it upness over you.

The real issue is ‘control’

I’m good, actually equals … ‘you can’t tell me what to do because you have your own errors.’ The Lord said there is none good but God, so the moment you deduce you’re good, you made yourself god, and that’s exactly what Satan wants you to think.

You succumb to the same error as the one you judge

The moment the young woman judged her sister’s error, she came under the influence of the demonic and eventually ended up doing the same thing as her sister. The satanic kingdom was laughing.

More bad deductions follow bloated upness

In her bloated upness, this woman deduced from my counsel that she had taken on the bad character of her sister and that it wasn’t really her that had the problem and therefore all she had to do was repent and everything would be back to normal; but, she was wrong again. Everyone’s own old nature is evil; it’s stubborn, it’s selfish, it’s arrogant, it’s envious, and it loves to see others down so it is up.

When she acted like her sister, it wasn’t because she had become her sister, but rather that she had opened up her old nature and Satan’s common characteristics were exposed. Our old nature is under the control of Satan; our new nature is under the control of the Holy Spirit. It’s not our nature that’s new, it’s His in us, and the only way you can operate in new nature is through the death of your old. It’s simply your choice … you first or God first.

How to break the power of the demonic

If the Holy Spirit indwells you, your envy of others will not routinely over-power you, and the temptation to be up will not routinely over-power you. You will be willing to be a nobody for the sake of Jesus Christ, and once you’re willing to be a nobody and don’t have to be special or prove your goodness over others, the demonic will lose its power over you. That’s why Jesus advised us to love our neighbour as ourselves and why Christ died on the cross, not only to offer us salvation for our sin, but also to show us the pattern of freedom from the power of the demonic.

Down wins

See-saws only work when the two people help each other and work together. The fact of the matter is that the person on the down side has power over the person on the up side.  The person on the down side can stop the see-saw; the person on the up side, can’t. The up person is really at the mercy of the down person. Once you choose to be a nobody by unconditional surrender to the will of God, you actually gain the power and that’s the only way Satan can’t touch you (1 John 5:18).

The up woman

The will of God declares that the man is to rule over the woman (Genesis 3:16). Modern Christianity rejects this law because it believes what the world believes. The church is the world parading as fake goodness. The demonic is setting the course for the church and the world and the church is not fighting back because it’s lost its saltiness. The church is just being adaptable to the world’s standards and calling it love and understanding, because we are all under grace. No woman will ever be free from the demonic while ever her heart tells her husband he is not the boss of her, and if the man doesn’t righteously stand against women’s resistance to man, the woman will take him to hell, just like Eve opened the door for Adam to be separated from God.

 

We’re not fighting flesh and blood but principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places … Ephesians 6:12, and the fight starts within before its ever external. You can only ever beat the demonic when your spirit is first dead to your selfishness by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

 

Pastor Raymond Whitney

 

 

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2016 in Elevation, Pride

 

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Sermon 95 – I’m RIGHT, you’re WRONG

30 Jan

Every human being judges people for not doing it the way they think is right. Why?

The answer is in Genesis 3. Satan offered Eve the ability to discern good and evil, or in other words, the ability to know right and wrong. God had withheld man from this characteristic because he knew he wasn’t capable of handling the responsibility of using this gift with righteous discernment. It was beyond his spiritual make-up. The problem was that the gift was now contaminated with human pride because Eve took the fruit against God’s instructions and fell to the temptation to elevate her position. From that point on, humans analyse behaviour based on the belief that their emotions are the thing that tells them they are right and they’re badly done-by.

Consequently, because every human being knows what’s right and wrong to themselves, they will automatically fall to the sin of judging people for not doing it right according to their own selfish rightness. Every human being will eventually argue that they are right and the other person is wrong. It’s inbuilt and you won’t be able to stop yourself unless you’re dead.

Old nature characteristics

Once we make a judgement based on our inherent spirit of envy, James 4:5, we elevate ourselves above our neighbour and start operating in the unique characteristics of our old nature, instead of being in His new nature. We then lie to ourselves that what we’re doing is right, and then start telling everybody what’s right and wrong. Telling is the defining measurement, not rightness. The discerning factor that exposes a person’s old nature is the fact that they’re happy to tell but they won’t be told.

In their inner heart, a person who believes they’re right will label you as “stupid, or nasty and mean, or you don’t understand me” whenever you indicate your disagreement with their rightness. Satan uses this labelling to make you feel guilty or offended and if you take the bait you too will fall to your own old nature of rightness in self-defence. In our old nature we unwittingly make our judgements based on whether someone has hurt our feelings, or promoted our feelings, or manipulated our feelings; our feelings are our measurement; whereas, a saved Christian will make his judgement by in faith in Christ’s Word.

In other words, immaturity or fakeness analyses what’s right based on hurt feelings; but a saved Christian holds back his feelings and uses his senses to trust the Lord and analyse a person’s behaviour by faith in Christ; his foundation is faith in Christ, not hurt feelings.

Spirits of Fear and Lying

The problem is, if you allow your feelings to be your compass of what’s right, you will unwittingly live under the influence of a spirit of fear and a spirit of lying. Fear of what people think will drive your analysis and you will automatically lie to protect your self-value. This was the side-effect of Adam’s and Eve’s downfall and it’s automatically inherent in every human unless you’re dead to your self by faith alone in Christ’s rightness.

Jesus didn’t have to argue His point of view

He knew he was right because the Father told Him. At the inquisition before Pilate, He said nothing. At the conversation with the rich young ruler, He didn’t continue the conversation; He let the man go and allowed him to keep his own perspective. In the Garden of Eden, God didn’t argue with Adam and Eve that He was right and they were wrong. They argued their point of view with Him (they’d never done that before) but He didn’t argue with them. He already knew He was right and they were wrong.

Jesus didn’t have to try to prove He was God

All of us have to try to prove we are somebody special. It’s because we are linked with Eve and the fall to this temptation. Jesus didn’t have to try to prove He was God; He knew He was. If people didn’t believe Him, it wasn’t His job to persuade them. It was His job to obey the Father, John 6:38. He actually told people that He had helped not to tell people about Him. He was the Word of God and He simply stood up for that Word. In the same manner, because our rightness is inherently selfish, when you’re falsely accused, God’s instructions are to be silent unless He tells you what to say, Matthew 10:19, but it’s inherently not possible to achieve this instruction unless you’re dead.

When we argue our point of view, we’re simply revealing our humanity instead of God’s heart. When you’re defensive of your view, you’re arguing on the basis of fairness. When you argue from God’s point of view, you argue on the basis of God’s righteousness and authority. The temptation to explain your point of view is the evidence that Satan is manipulating your pride.

Forbidden fruit of right and wrong

In Genesis 3, Satan manoeuvred Eve to eat the forbidden fruit by making God look bad for withholding something from her that would enable her to know good and evil. Once she took and ate the fruit, she initiated the curse on all of humanity … the curse of knowing what’s right and wrong. Satan said … take the fruit because it will tell you that you are right. The problem is that our knowledge of right and wrong is contaminated with pride because Eve ate for the sole purpose of elevating her position above what God had decreed. Consequently, we all see right and wrong from our pride’s perspective and not from God’s. Thus we judge people on the basis of what we see as right and wrong. This is the very reason why God says not to judge your brother through your own eyes, because as soon as you do you actually judge yourself, Matthew 7.

Up to the forbidden fruit incident, they fellowshipped with God, but once they ate the fruit they argued with God what was right because from their perspective they now knew what was right; but their right was wrong because it was contaminated with pride, and because they refused to back-away from their right they were separated from God.

The second great commandment

The second greatest commandment is … love your neighbour as yourself. If you love yourself then you will judge your neighbour as not being as good as yourself and thus you will bring down your own judgment on yourself. In other words, the irony is that if you say you love your neighbour as yourself and you want to judge your neighbour then you must also want yourself to be judged at the same time.

If you truly want to fulfil the 2nd greatest commandment then you must fulfil the 1st commandment, first. In fact, your judgment of your neighbour will reveal your true attitude towards God. You actually can’t love your neighbour unless you first love God. Without God 1st, any apparent good you do towards your neighbour is really because you love yourself.

This is the very reason why Jesus said you have to die to yourself to love God. So. If you truly want to be a genuine disciple then you have to hate yourself, not love yourself, Luke 14:26-33, otherwise your own judgment will destroy you.

What’s the role of a judge?

When I ask people that question, they invariably say … to pass judgment. I find people say this when they’re hurting from someone’s unjust attack. They want the person punished. But passing sentence is not a judge’s main role.

The prime role of a judge is to discern whether someone has done right or wrong by the law. From a spiritual perspective, Jesus said that only He was entitled to perform that role because He alone is impartial. If you are going to stand in the position of judge then you are telling Jesus that you know what’s right more than He does, and the law of God will judge you, because that’s the law of the spirit kingdom.

The serious side-effect

The real problem is that once you decide (whether you realise it or not) to be the judge, unless you wake up to your selfishness and repent, you will end up separated from God, like Eve and Adam. Thus, the bait that Satan used to trap Eve is the same bait that he uses to trap each one of us away from God, unless we repent. You can’t make up your mind not to judge, you have to die.

The two truths of judge

There’s a time not to judge, but there’s also a time to make a judgment, John 7:24. There’s a difference between making a judgment about someone and making a judgment against someone. The difference is whether you’re judging from the false gift that Satan offered Eve, or whether you’re judging from God’s heart. The only way a human can make a righteous judgment is when they look at something through God’s eyes and not their own, and the only way that’s possible is if one is dead to their own thinking and self-defence and alive to God’s righteous heart; and the only way that’s possible is to suffer the misjudgements that Christ suffered till you are dead to your proud inherited human rightness.

You can only judge righteously through meekness, 2 Timothy 2:24-26

If you are to judge righteously, you must analyse someone through the window of your own weaknesses and mistakes and not through theirs. If you know you have your own weaknesses and are grateful for God’s mercy, then you have a better chance at judging righteously. A righteous judge will give a person the benefit of the doubt, eg. the woman in adultery; whereas, an unrighteous judge will love to punish.

A righteous judge will interpret the person’s heart by the spirit that’s influencing the person; whereas, an unrighteous judge will interpret the person’s wrongness by the way the person hurts their feelings.

A human example

Some time ago I was challenging a young ten year old girl about the attitude of her heart. She was telling everybody how they were to behave towards her. On the outside, her school work was impeccable and her helpfulness was unquestionable, but something was clearly wrong in her heart. When I challenged her she agreed but defended herself with her outer goodness. Once somebody does that you know you’re up against a demonic spirit.

The spirit in her is telling me what’s right and that I’m treating her unfairly, and the Spirit in me is telling her what’s right. It’s a silent argument of who’s right. She’s arguing she’s right and it’s not fair because that’s the contaminated gift of knowledge that Satan gave to humanity via Eve, and I’m arguing that I’m right and she’s wrong and disrespectful.

Now, if my arguing is on the basis of the contaminated gift, then even if I’m right, I’m wrong, because whatever is not of faith, is sin, Romans 14:23. The only way I can be truly right is if I’m arguing with God’s eyes and not mine; if I’m not doing it for my value but for God’s.

I suspect I’m fighting a demonic spirit, so I test the spirit by asking her to rub out her perfect work and do it again. Her negative reaction tells me I’m up against a spirit of defiance, so I hold my position on God’s Word and pray that God will intervene and loose this girl from Satan’s bind. The test verifies the spirit in the child and proves the outward appearance is fakeness. I’ve made a righteous judgment against a spirit and stood up for God’s Word. It’s the only path that has the potential to save that child’s soul.

Every spirit is born under the influence of Satan

You don’t have to teach someone to be bad or selfish; they already know what it is from birth. What you have to do is to teach them to die to their badness; not by being good, but by being dead. Everyone knows how to be good or bad; they don’t know how to be dead. In every single case, if you want to save someone’s soul, you have to win the battle against a demonic spirit by getting the person to admit, surrender and repent. That’s why God tells us we aren’t in a fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and wickedness. Jesus knew who would surrender, so He didn’t waste His words with those who wouldn’t. Similarly, in most cases, keeping quiet instead of arguing your point against a spirit is far more righteous that arguing with something that refuses to bend. It’s not our job to save; it’s our job to stand on God’s Word, and leave the saving to the Holy Spirit.

Every argument comes down to my right versus your right

Every argument and every negative feeling comes down to my right versus your right. That’s because every human being has inherited the contaminated gift of knowing what they think is right and wrong.

My experience is that most people think they’re good and special, so when you contradict their good they get offended and in their offence they argue their rightness and thus will never be saved.

There are only two alternatives in life … God or selfishness

If it’s not of God; it’s automatically selfish no matter how good and right it looks.

May God open the eyes of His remnant to see the satanic trick of our own rightness judging.

Pastor Michael Craige


 
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Posted by on January 30, 2016 in Judging

 

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Sermon 84 – The Lie of HAPPY FAMILY

06 Jun

Q. What’s your expectation about God?

Most Christians believe that if you do good then God will do good back to you. They believe that the closer you get to God the more God will protect you and supply all your needs, and make you happy, and free you from all bad feelings. Most Christians believe that the evidence that God is on your side is good health, financial success, happy family relationships, and good feelings all the time. But what about the song we sing from Habakkuk 3:17 …’though the fig tree doesn’t blossom’.

The truth is, most Christians have a relationship with God so they can get a better deal; they’re just not honest enough to want to see it. Most Christian’s I’ve met serve God on their terms and conditions, not His.

Reality is that the closer you move to God the heavier the battle against you.

Biblical Picture

Tell me somebody in the bible who had a happy deal because he was godly? You won’t find it in Samuel’s family, or David’s family, or Jesus’ family, or Noah’s family, or Adam’s family, or Moses’ family, or Jacob’s family, or Hannah’s family, or the prodigal’s family. You won’t find it in Paul’s life, nor any of the disciples or prophets. Daniel wasn’t happy, he was content in God.

Why?

It’s simple. Because of Eve’s sin, we’re all born selfish, self-righteous and envious, under the influence of Satan, and Holy Spirit fights for us to be saved from Satan. But that salvation does not occur until we concede to the will of Holy Spirit. The reality is that most people concede for their convenience, they don’t unconditionally surrender; thus it’s fake concession and therefore they remain under the influence of Satan thinking that they are under the influence of Holy Spirit. They worship Holy Spirit, but like the Jews they love the things of the world and they love the right to their own thinking (Mark 7:6).

In every family there is always some who will not bend their will to Holy Spirit, and the demonic influence over them will directly conflict with the other family members whether they are under the influence of the demonic or Holy Spirit, but specifically against you if you are under the influence of Holy Spirit.

Demons like being No.1, so they fight amongst themselves for that position, and they hate Holy Spirit. So how could family ever be happy unless all members are under the Holy Spirit, and even though that is God’s heart, in reality that does not happen because the human spirit is selfish and full of envy.

Why is a prophet without honour in his own family? Mark 6:4

Because everybody is born envious of everyone else’s position until they die and let that person have the honour God decreed. ‘Envy’ is Satan’s strategy to put you in conflict with God’s will. Like Joseph and David, it’s family that thinks you’re of no Godly value, because they selfishly think that they are the one that’s of value in God’s eyes.

Is God into happy family?

The simple answer is yes, but the reality is that it has been abducted by Satan, and won’t be a reality until heaven. In fact, Jesus said that if you put your hand up for Him then Satan will make sure your family opposes you; so the only way you can have happy family is to not be a genuine Christian and then Satan will leave you alone. But, even that strategy doesn’t work; Satan’s got control of all families, and in this modern western culture, the family model is disintegrating before our eyes.

Don’t tell me that Satan isn’t in control. Yes, God is the ultimate control, but God takes His hand away when His people concede to the world’s way; and Satan is taking full advantage.

And you shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. Luke 21:16

The most effective way that Satan can try and discourage and hurt the remnant is to get the family to oppose them.

Why do people want happy family anyhow?

So they can control their circumstances, look good in the eyes of others, have no hassles, have good feelings all the time, and get back what they lost in their childhood.

Suppose you that I come to bring peace on earth? I tell you NO, but rather division: from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against the daughter in law, and the daughter in law against the mother in law. Luke 12:51-53

Jesus said ‘division’; Satan preaches ‘happy’. Anything that you believe which is opposite the Word of God, is obviously anti-Christ. Happy family is not biblical; it’s a Satanic lie that both, Christians and the world aim for without any thought as to why. Who says that happy family is proof of God? As I’ve already reiterated, the truth is, happy family is really so I don’t have any hassles, and so we look better than other families, and so I can get what I lost as a kid in my unhappy family. It’s all about self-promotion and selfishness and control. The person with the power puts fear on everyone else in the family to toe the family line and from the outside everything looks happy but the reality is, the family is too afraid to be unhappy.

Under a spirit of fear

In almost all instances, if there is the appearance of a happy family, then that family is operated and controlled by a spirit of fear, and is cleverly demonically inspired, and not godly. Today, no doubt there are some rare families that are happy in Christ, not happy. But this will only occur by the grace of God because the father is righteous and the family respect his relationship with God.

Separation is the pathway to happiness

To find the real happiness of God you have to be willing to walk the path of unhappiness.

There is no man that has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel’s, But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters and mothers, and children and lands, with PERSECUTION, and in the world to come eternal life. Mark 10:29,30

This is the true will of the Father

If any man come to me, and doesn’t submit to my will in preference to the will of his parents, wife, children, and siblings, and even himself, then he cannot be my disciple. If he is fair-dinkum then he must bear his cross, count the cost, and forsake everything in order to be a disciple. Luke 14:26-33

Salvation is death to self; it’s copping the crap thrown against you by faith in God’s will for your life and purpose; and resting in His plan. Quite often the attack is from family to force you back under their control.

The issue is faithfulness, not happiness

If you’re chasing happiness, then you’re not of God, you’re of Satan. Satan offers happiness, God offers death, and He allows Satan to use the family to achieve your salvation by surrendering in faith to Him and His plan, through opposition and persecution.

Righteous expectation

Don’t expect anything from God except His perfect will and perfect plan.

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence. Psalm 62:5,6

Conclusion

Whether you understand it or not, you won’t find God until you give up your family … the generational spirit is too strong.

Whether you understand it or not, the Word of God aligns happiness with death, not with get.

Everybody is born thinking they are a ‘somebody’, but you won’t find the true God till you wake up and realise you’re a ‘nobody’.

Pastor Jim Desmond

 
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Posted by on June 6, 2015 in Happy

 

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Sermon 83 – The LIE of “GOOD”

19 May

In Mark chapter 3, verses 1-6, we read the story of the man with the withered hand.

The Pharisees were there to see whether Jesus would break their interpretation of God’s laws. Their eyes were blind to the healing; their whole perspective was focussed on right and wrongness.

The real issue in their heart wasn’t a concern for the sick man, but a self-protected concern for their position. Jesus’ popularity and miraculous power was threatening their position with the people. If it carried on for much longer their church system would collapse and their valued position would be shattered. They had to come up with a plan to destroy Jesus.

Jesus’ righteousness was challenging their self-promoted authority. They hated Him because He was more respected and more capable, and they lived in the fear of losing favour and position. Don’t kid yourself … any time you challenge authority because you are self-elevated and are afraid of looking bad in the eyes of others, you’re under the influence of the same demonic spirit that the Pharisees were under.

They came face-to-face with the Christ but their goodness blocked their salvation.

The Pharisees genuinely thought they were good. They really believed it. They were blind to their pompousness. Their good was exposed as fake at the intersection of someone else looking better than them. It’s that intersection where you can truly evaluate your relationship with Christ. It’s that intersection that can save you by opening your eyes to your pompousness long enough to recognise that your goodness is just fake and plain selfishness.

The rich young ruler

The rich young ruler thought he was good because he did the right things and kept the commandments. He expected Jesus to reinforce that perspective to those who were watching. Jesus started with the comment that there is ‘none good except God’. He was hitting the heart of the matter. Jesus was saying that if you think you are good then you think you are god whether you can see that or not, and you are simply being good like the Pharisees to impress those around you and promote your self-worth.

In fact, if you think you are good, then you are evil and of Satan. A genuine Christian doesn’t think he’s good; he’s dead.

The Pharisees measured themselves by themselves.

Selfishness sets its own measuring standards. It thinks it’s comparing itself to the standards of God but it’s out of sync with the Word of God and simply manoeuvres God’s standards to fit with its own selfishness.

How do you measure ‘good’?

Most Christians measure it exactly the same as the world … being nice, friendly, not cheating, being polite, helping, doing good deeds. But, as pointed out by the 2nd great commandment, God measures good by your attitude to your neighbour, such as … envy, bitterness, superiority, judgemental, narcissism. If these attitudes dwell within your heart, then your niceness is just fake selfishness so you look good in the eyes of others, and you’re not good, you’re evil.

Don’t ever call yourself ‘good’ if you have a grievance or judgement against your neighbour, or think you’re better than your neighbour.

A genuine Christian’s heart is not based on right and wrong, it’s based on what’s best for my neighbour.

If you stand for Jesus, your enemies will be the authorities in the church + your own family

Evil, was the secret heart of the Pharisees. Their goodness was a sham; their real heart was filled with pre-meditated murder. Like Christ, if you’re a genuine Christian you’ll be able to tell from the hatred towards you from the church, John 16:1-3. If you’re a genuine Christian you will not allow envy against your brother to be harboured in your heart, 1 John 3:15, and you can measure that envy by your attitude when your brother is blessed and you are not; when your brother prospers and you do not.

This whole healing scenario happened in the church, not in the street.

Rules

The Pharisees measured their goodness by how much they kept the rules. In Mark 7 they found fault with Jesus because He didn’t wash before He ate. Washing hands is right, but if your heart is hard, you’re wrong even if you’re right. If you judge someone for not doing it right and you can’t face it that you are wrong, then your heart is hard.

Whereas, like Jesus, if you don’t wash your hands, you are wrong according to the law, but if your heart is soft, you are right, even if what you’ve done is wrong. Pharisaical rightness can’t understand love!

It’s a constant fight between old nature and new nature

I’ve met many people who believe they’re good and because they believe they’re good they believe they’re a Christian. If a genuine Christian senses his old nature trying to rise up he commits it to God and fights it until he has the victory over it. A fake Christian justifies his old nature by ignoring it because he believes he’s good.

Evil measures your goodness by your anger

Evil looks for ways to find fault with the righteous. Evil deduces that if you get angry, you’re the one that’s wrong. It can’t see why you’re angry. It’s measuring you by how it reacts. Jesus got angry because He was grieved by their hard-heartedness. It’s right to be angry against evil, if your heart is soft. Righteousness gets grieved at people’s hard-heartedness.

I’ve met many people who are very capable at not being angry. I have come to recognise that the demonic in people is capable of enabling a person to fake goodness and control their temper so that the demon is not recognised and exposed. Often times the only way you can recognise demonic activity in a person is by God exposing to you their hidden reaction of envy and bitterness towards their neighbour, even though it is still camouflaged by their smile and niceness.

Hard vs Soft

Jesus didn’t classify the attitude of the Pharisees as ‘bad’; He classified their attitude as ‘evil’ and ‘murderous’ (v.4). Any time you put yourself above your neighbour, your heart is inadvertently practising the same hardness; yet, in your self-deception, you still believe you’re good.

The Pharisees had the opportunity to have their eyes opened. It was right in front of their faces. Why couldn’t they see their arrogance and pride? I suggest they were more worried what the other Pharisees would think of them if one of them was to suggest that perhaps Jesus was real. Who’s going to suggest that Jesus might be right? You’d be knocked down in flames, but your heart would be changed.

Jesus came to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, but the majority were too stiff-necked to see and too hard-hearted to bend. What the Pharisees couldn’t see was that it was their own heart that had the problem, not Jesus.

Hard-heartedness actually can’t see right and wrong. It can’t see the truth even when it’s in your face, and it can’t be told it’s hard.

Be careful what you judge

If I’m doing ‘good’ by the hand of God and it doesn’t fit your box of ‘right’, and you judge it as evil, then you’re on the side of evil, even though you think you are good.

Thankfully, God can soften hard hearts (Mark 6:52), if you’ll own your hardness.

Pastor Jim Desmond


 
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Posted by on May 19, 2015 in Goodness

 

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