Jesus said to Apostle Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” But what was Jesus telling Paul? Was He talking about being weak while being tormented by temptation or during long suffering? Was He talking about physically being weak? Not hardly, I said no. That is not what Jesus meant by telling Paul “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” The Word tells us that we are to endure hardships not give in to temptations or give up because we are weak. What Jesus is saying here is we are to fully submit, or give up, the position of Lordship in our lives. We are weak, He is strong. When we realize that and submit to the Lordship of Jesus, then we are blessed. You see then He dictates everything you do and say. Your actions are directed by His Spirit. Can you imagine what type of life that would lead us to live.
Many look at submission as a bad thing. Many women today don't want to submit to their husbands, and many men don't want to submit to authority. Both are wrong according to God not me, so if that rubbed you the wrong way then you have a problem with God not me. To better understand this scripture you could say it like this; on our own, our strength is not sufficient enough. When we submit to the Grace Jesus offers us when we make Him the Lord of our life and obey, His Spirit makes us strong and works best when we realize His Spirit is all we need. That is the message behind what Jesus was saying. I hope this helps clear up some confusion that some have twisted this to say.
God bless!
Eric R. Cox
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Time To Change
The Holy Spirit has been working on me big time lately. Today at work He was ministering to me what the problem is with small churches that cease to grow. The Holy Spirit told me the problem with these churches is that they don't want to change! So I said, "What do you mean?" Then the Lord said "Pride and stubbornness! These two things I can not work with." Then the Lord recalled to me the verse in James, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
So like I always do when the Lord ministers to me about something, I looked with in myself to see if there was any resemblance of this inside of me. Because if there was I want to get rid of it as fast as I can. I never want God to be resisting me! Then God spoke to my Spirit and said, "Never get tired of changing, no one has ever been as perfect as Christ and no one ever will! But the moment you stop changing as I direct you, is the moment you become of no use..." Wow! Immediately I thought of the parable of the fig tree branches that didn't produce any fruit and were cut off and thrown into a pile to be burned! Then I heard God say again to my spirit, "This is why there is a big falling away from me. Churches across the nation are not willing to adapt to the changing of the times and therefore their children grow up to lose interest in me because of the traditions of men are taking the place of my revolutionary leadings of the 'miraculous age!' People are losing their fire because I have snuffed it out due to their unwillingness to change." I asked Him, "wouldn't it be better for them to get the children saved in these churches even if they were unwilling to adapt to this age?" God said, "No! The problem with letting them go on teaching old traditions is that they will be ill prepared for the new tactics of the enemy! Then the enemy can lour them away from the flock easier, and then they are worst off than before they were saved!" Wow! I thought, "I never thought of that!"
You see this generation is fighting a more complex battle than our parents and grandparents ever imagined. At a click of a button sets before us anything we want, Pornography, Violence, Greed, Abusive speech, and the list goes on and on! We are living in a different world than the previous generation. Apostle Paul said in the last days more perilous times will occur. This is coming from a man who was beaten several times and left for dead! More perilous times? The battle raging inside today's youth is extreme, even compared to my youth! And I am only 27 years old! Children are being exposed and forced into making decisions that I myself would have never imagine! Homosexuality is running ramped through out this world and now you are cast down if you believe that same sex marriage is immoral! Drug and alcohol addictions are more common than pickup trucks! Premarital sex is the normal and now if you are a virgin when you get married you are the minority! A few years ago they made a movie that poked fun at a man who was a virgin till he was 40 years old. Comedy central wants to do a cartoon about Jesus Christ, and they want to portray Him as tired of being in His Father's shadow and turns rebellious! Foul language seems to be non-offensive, even to the ladies! This country alone has killed over 52 million unborn children since Roe V. Wade. That is almost 10 million more than Joseph Stallin! 10 million! Why should God help this nation of ours when we have kicked Him out of every public place for it may become offensive to those who don't believe in Him! More like, He may expose their wrong doings!
All these things are taking place right here right now, and as time goes on their momentum is going to gain! And more vigorous times will appear before us. Today, our youth must be on FIRE for God in order to take on the battles they are going to face on a daily basis. Hymns are wonderful, but a 200 year old hymn is not going to create the burning fire that they need to be victorious! Churches that look down their noses at the contemporary songs of worship need to step back and judge their own heart. Ask yourself if what they are doing is exalting the Lord Jesus? If so then what is the problem? If it keeps the kids on fire for God, is that not what we need in today's world? Many traditions of men have been held above God's word in significance and that is a part of why the youth of today are turning away. They think that these traditions are what God is about, and the Gospel couldn't be farther from the truth. But churches that refuse to change when God directs them to have been one of the biggest contributors to the "Great falling away." Now we need to be a big part of the solution!
God help us! For we have strayed from your word! We have abandoned your truth and exchanged it for lies! Lies of this world! God help us not because we are worthy or that we deserve it, but rather help us because you love us and you are merciful! God forgive us of our wrong doings as we gaze upon your face! Lead us and this nation out of the fiery pits of Hell, where we are bound for and set us back upon the Rock of your salvation! Give us the leaders and the voices to achieve you restoration, and please help your children old and young to unite in one effort together in fighting the battle for your glory and expose our indignant attitudes toward one another. Show us how to love one another as you love us. Teach us to tap into your power together as a nation, and lead us by your Spirit to change the world and turn it upside down! Father, I pray that your fire burns on these readers hearts, and that these words fall on good ground. And I bind the devil from trying to steal this harvest and any of his other tactics that might interfere with your plans. In Jesus' name, Amen!
God Bless You!
Eric R. Cox
So like I always do when the Lord ministers to me about something, I looked with in myself to see if there was any resemblance of this inside of me. Because if there was I want to get rid of it as fast as I can. I never want God to be resisting me! Then God spoke to my Spirit and said, "Never get tired of changing, no one has ever been as perfect as Christ and no one ever will! But the moment you stop changing as I direct you, is the moment you become of no use..." Wow! Immediately I thought of the parable of the fig tree branches that didn't produce any fruit and were cut off and thrown into a pile to be burned! Then I heard God say again to my spirit, "This is why there is a big falling away from me. Churches across the nation are not willing to adapt to the changing of the times and therefore their children grow up to lose interest in me because of the traditions of men are taking the place of my revolutionary leadings of the 'miraculous age!' People are losing their fire because I have snuffed it out due to their unwillingness to change." I asked Him, "wouldn't it be better for them to get the children saved in these churches even if they were unwilling to adapt to this age?" God said, "No! The problem with letting them go on teaching old traditions is that they will be ill prepared for the new tactics of the enemy! Then the enemy can lour them away from the flock easier, and then they are worst off than before they were saved!" Wow! I thought, "I never thought of that!"
You see this generation is fighting a more complex battle than our parents and grandparents ever imagined. At a click of a button sets before us anything we want, Pornography, Violence, Greed, Abusive speech, and the list goes on and on! We are living in a different world than the previous generation. Apostle Paul said in the last days more perilous times will occur. This is coming from a man who was beaten several times and left for dead! More perilous times? The battle raging inside today's youth is extreme, even compared to my youth! And I am only 27 years old! Children are being exposed and forced into making decisions that I myself would have never imagine! Homosexuality is running ramped through out this world and now you are cast down if you believe that same sex marriage is immoral! Drug and alcohol addictions are more common than pickup trucks! Premarital sex is the normal and now if you are a virgin when you get married you are the minority! A few years ago they made a movie that poked fun at a man who was a virgin till he was 40 years old. Comedy central wants to do a cartoon about Jesus Christ, and they want to portray Him as tired of being in His Father's shadow and turns rebellious! Foul language seems to be non-offensive, even to the ladies! This country alone has killed over 52 million unborn children since Roe V. Wade. That is almost 10 million more than Joseph Stallin! 10 million! Why should God help this nation of ours when we have kicked Him out of every public place for it may become offensive to those who don't believe in Him! More like, He may expose their wrong doings!
All these things are taking place right here right now, and as time goes on their momentum is going to gain! And more vigorous times will appear before us. Today, our youth must be on FIRE for God in order to take on the battles they are going to face on a daily basis. Hymns are wonderful, but a 200 year old hymn is not going to create the burning fire that they need to be victorious! Churches that look down their noses at the contemporary songs of worship need to step back and judge their own heart. Ask yourself if what they are doing is exalting the Lord Jesus? If so then what is the problem? If it keeps the kids on fire for God, is that not what we need in today's world? Many traditions of men have been held above God's word in significance and that is a part of why the youth of today are turning away. They think that these traditions are what God is about, and the Gospel couldn't be farther from the truth. But churches that refuse to change when God directs them to have been one of the biggest contributors to the "Great falling away." Now we need to be a big part of the solution!
God help us! For we have strayed from your word! We have abandoned your truth and exchanged it for lies! Lies of this world! God help us not because we are worthy or that we deserve it, but rather help us because you love us and you are merciful! God forgive us of our wrong doings as we gaze upon your face! Lead us and this nation out of the fiery pits of Hell, where we are bound for and set us back upon the Rock of your salvation! Give us the leaders and the voices to achieve you restoration, and please help your children old and young to unite in one effort together in fighting the battle for your glory and expose our indignant attitudes toward one another. Show us how to love one another as you love us. Teach us to tap into your power together as a nation, and lead us by your Spirit to change the world and turn it upside down! Father, I pray that your fire burns on these readers hearts, and that these words fall on good ground. And I bind the devil from trying to steal this harvest and any of his other tactics that might interfere with your plans. In Jesus' name, Amen!
God Bless You!
Eric R. Cox
Defending our Foundation
If any of you have noticed that in the past 40 years or so Christianity has been under heavy fire by several humanist groups. Since Charles Darwin, the theory of evolution has been a topic of controversy for many Christian circles and has caused many to doubt their faith in God. As a result they walked away from salvation in Jesus Christ. So the question is, is it okay to be a Christian and still believe in evolution? The answer is absolutely no! Yeah that’s right, I said no! Why you ask? Evolution is completely contrary to what Genesis, the foundation of the Christian beliefs, teaches. For a Christian to believe in evolution would be hypocrisy! James said by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in James 1:8, “Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
If we believers compromise on our beliefs and allow imaginative humanistic theories persuade what the truth is, then where do we draw the line of enough is enough. If we allow a theory to allow the truth to be revised, especially our foundation of the Bible, where will it end? G. Richard Bozarth, who wrote “The Meaning of Evolution”, American Atheist in September 20, 1979 pg. 30 said this and I quote, “The day will come when the evidence constantly accumulating around the evolutionary theory becomes so massively persuasive that even the last and most fundamental Christian warriors will have to lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally. I believe that day will be the end of Christianity.” I do not believe Mr. Bozarth has a clue about what he is saying here. You see these types of statements are made out of the mouth of someone who doesn’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and has never entered into the presence of God and has never experienced the power of God! These types of words come from a natural state of mind that is limited to circumstantial knowledge. The spiritual mind doesn’t communicate with knowledge but rather revelation from God the creator! That’s why God sent us the Holy Spirit, so He could tear the veil that fogged our view of the reality of truth! Scientist will even tell you that the human only functions with 10% of our brain. That is because of the fall of man separated us from the rest of the 90% and now without God to direct us we are limited! You can look around at what man has done with only 10% of his brain, and think of what the possibilities could be if he could use 100% of his brain? Now does it seem so foolish that Adam could name every single species on the planet in 1 day?
Why are humanist so intent on destroying the Christian faith? I am glad you asked. Inside the book of Genesis ch.1-11 we can find hidden every doctrine in the Bible. Inside these chapters along with the rest of the council of God lay the laws of morality. If the humanists can destroy the Christian faith which dictates what is right and wrong, then the laws can be altered and then humans can dictate what is right and what is wrong. There for there is no more submitting to God, and there is no more immorality. Then no one has to be accountable for their actions. We see an overwhelming evidence of this type of behavior already in the world. I for one have been plucked out of this carnal belief by God Himself and I praise Him for it. Jesus taught us that the foundation is what keeps a house stable in the midst of the storms. Now, the humanists want to try to destroy that foundation by getting us to compromise our foundational beliefs of creation. Basically the humanist represents the carnal side of the battle that goes on inside every human being that has walked the earth. Mr. Bozarth and others that share his opinion about Christianity remind me so much of the Pharisees in the days of the early church. One of the brightest teachers of religious laws made a statement that if these followers of Jesus are not genuine, then in a few months after killing them off, they will scatter and we will never hear of them again. Well Mr. Bozarth, that was over 2000 years ago and we are still here!
One more thing I want to share with you all, and I am very sincere about this. God has called His people, you and I, to be His testimony (Isaiah 43:12). Jesus told us in Mark 16:15-18, “Go in to all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” These miraculous signs that follow the believer Jesus said will follow, not might, but will! This is not voodoo or magic, but rather God confirming to the world that Jesus is the only way the only truth and the only way to eternal life! If these signs did not follow, then that would make God’s word a myth. The body of Christ is under fire Saints and we have got to get away from our carnal and natural mind sets. We need to tap into God’s revelation by seeking His will through our spiritual mind! We must feed our inner man with the living bread daily! The battle of salvation has been fought and won at the cross, but we believers are the soldiers of Christ, here on this earth with a mission from God to recruit souls for His Kingdom! It is time to get serious about the Bible and know what we believe in. Get it settled in your heart real good, because the day is coming when you are going to be put through the fiery trials. And that fire will do one of two things, 1) purify your genuine faith in God and make you stronger or 2) destroy your false front of faith and you will be consumed. If you do not let God’s word transform you by renewing your mind daily, your future is grim and be prepared to take on a struggle that can be avoided by a little daily discipline.
God I thank you for your truth and your Holy Spirit that has revealed the truth here today. I pray that it has fallen on good ground that will create a harvest for your kingdom Father. And I pray that your words that were typed and read here today will spark new fires and rekindle old ones for your glory! You have called us, your holy people, to be world changers and so Lord, direct us as we yield to your lead. Thank you Lord for our salvation through faith in your Son Jesus Christ, and it’s in His precious name we pray, Amen!
Thank you all and God bless you,
Eric R. Cox
If we believers compromise on our beliefs and allow imaginative humanistic theories persuade what the truth is, then where do we draw the line of enough is enough. If we allow a theory to allow the truth to be revised, especially our foundation of the Bible, where will it end? G. Richard Bozarth, who wrote “The Meaning of Evolution”, American Atheist in September 20, 1979 pg. 30 said this and I quote, “The day will come when the evidence constantly accumulating around the evolutionary theory becomes so massively persuasive that even the last and most fundamental Christian warriors will have to lay down their arms and surrender unconditionally. I believe that day will be the end of Christianity.” I do not believe Mr. Bozarth has a clue about what he is saying here. You see these types of statements are made out of the mouth of someone who doesn’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and has never entered into the presence of God and has never experienced the power of God! These types of words come from a natural state of mind that is limited to circumstantial knowledge. The spiritual mind doesn’t communicate with knowledge but rather revelation from God the creator! That’s why God sent us the Holy Spirit, so He could tear the veil that fogged our view of the reality of truth! Scientist will even tell you that the human only functions with 10% of our brain. That is because of the fall of man separated us from the rest of the 90% and now without God to direct us we are limited! You can look around at what man has done with only 10% of his brain, and think of what the possibilities could be if he could use 100% of his brain? Now does it seem so foolish that Adam could name every single species on the planet in 1 day?
Why are humanist so intent on destroying the Christian faith? I am glad you asked. Inside the book of Genesis ch.1-11 we can find hidden every doctrine in the Bible. Inside these chapters along with the rest of the council of God lay the laws of morality. If the humanists can destroy the Christian faith which dictates what is right and wrong, then the laws can be altered and then humans can dictate what is right and what is wrong. There for there is no more submitting to God, and there is no more immorality. Then no one has to be accountable for their actions. We see an overwhelming evidence of this type of behavior already in the world. I for one have been plucked out of this carnal belief by God Himself and I praise Him for it. Jesus taught us that the foundation is what keeps a house stable in the midst of the storms. Now, the humanists want to try to destroy that foundation by getting us to compromise our foundational beliefs of creation. Basically the humanist represents the carnal side of the battle that goes on inside every human being that has walked the earth. Mr. Bozarth and others that share his opinion about Christianity remind me so much of the Pharisees in the days of the early church. One of the brightest teachers of religious laws made a statement that if these followers of Jesus are not genuine, then in a few months after killing them off, they will scatter and we will never hear of them again. Well Mr. Bozarth, that was over 2000 years ago and we are still here!
One more thing I want to share with you all, and I am very sincere about this. God has called His people, you and I, to be His testimony (Isaiah 43:12). Jesus told us in Mark 16:15-18, “Go in to all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” These miraculous signs that follow the believer Jesus said will follow, not might, but will! This is not voodoo or magic, but rather God confirming to the world that Jesus is the only way the only truth and the only way to eternal life! If these signs did not follow, then that would make God’s word a myth. The body of Christ is under fire Saints and we have got to get away from our carnal and natural mind sets. We need to tap into God’s revelation by seeking His will through our spiritual mind! We must feed our inner man with the living bread daily! The battle of salvation has been fought and won at the cross, but we believers are the soldiers of Christ, here on this earth with a mission from God to recruit souls for His Kingdom! It is time to get serious about the Bible and know what we believe in. Get it settled in your heart real good, because the day is coming when you are going to be put through the fiery trials. And that fire will do one of two things, 1) purify your genuine faith in God and make you stronger or 2) destroy your false front of faith and you will be consumed. If you do not let God’s word transform you by renewing your mind daily, your future is grim and be prepared to take on a struggle that can be avoided by a little daily discipline.
God I thank you for your truth and your Holy Spirit that has revealed the truth here today. I pray that it has fallen on good ground that will create a harvest for your kingdom Father. And I pray that your words that were typed and read here today will spark new fires and rekindle old ones for your glory! You have called us, your holy people, to be world changers and so Lord, direct us as we yield to your lead. Thank you Lord for our salvation through faith in your Son Jesus Christ, and it’s in His precious name we pray, Amen!
Thank you all and God bless you,
Eric R. Cox
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Living for Christ
Paul said in Philippians 1:21-24,"For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live."
This is a very bold thing Paul has said and he says it with confidence. After reading this I am disturbed that I do not see many people with this type of bold confidence. And to tell you the truth I don't see a whole lot of people living to do fruitful work for Christ. This is not condemnation this is an awakening! So many people go to a building called a church and leave feeling like they did their good deed for the Lord, then till next Sunday nothing was done for Christ. Right here I want to pause and give the Lord praise for He is patient and He is merciful with us. Now, these same people are the ones who are afraid to die or have trouble coping when their loved ones die. To them heaven is not real, hell is not real, life after death is not real. But why? Because their relationship with the Lord is non-existent. The promises of God are not real to them (good or bad). They live with a veil over their heads that distort their view of the truth. This veil can only be removed by having faith in God and entering into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to me how someone can go to church every weekend or every so often, and yet live a life believing in the lies of the world rather than the reality of God's word. These people can be compared to the heathens in the book of Isaiah when he says they cut down a tree and use half of the tree for fuel to cook their food and the other half to carve an image and worship it. It is foolish. These same people believe and invest much of their lives to go to a building every weekend and sit through countless hours of sermons, but there is no fruit because there is no relationship! Without relationship there is no salvation! I repeat without relationship there is no salvation! Not one time between Sundays was their Bibles ever opened. Not once was the name of Jesus ever mentioned to anyone. Why do people continue to live a life of vain. What scares the living daylights out of me is the day they try and enter the gates of heaven, and the look on their faces when they hear those words, "Depart from me you who do works of iniquity, I never knew you!"
I challenge each and everyone of you who claim the Lord Jesus as your savior this week to talk to 3 people about what He has done for you. If you find this task to be difficult, I encourage you to look inside and ask yourself, is Jesus really the Lord of my life? Or are there areas in my life that I have neglected to surrender to Him? Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the good news! He was talking to you and me! This, "I don't want to offend anyone" attitude must stop! Us not obeying Jesus is offending Jesus! So who would you rather not offend?
Father, I thank you for your truth that was typed here today, and it is my prayer that these words fall on good ground that will produce a harvest of 30, 60, AND 100 fold in return. Cover us with your grace and direct our steps by your Holy Spirit as we live our lives with the intent of producing much fruit for Christ. In Jesus' name Amen!
God bless you all,
Eric R. Cox
This is a very bold thing Paul has said and he says it with confidence. After reading this I am disturbed that I do not see many people with this type of bold confidence. And to tell you the truth I don't see a whole lot of people living to do fruitful work for Christ. This is not condemnation this is an awakening! So many people go to a building called a church and leave feeling like they did their good deed for the Lord, then till next Sunday nothing was done for Christ. Right here I want to pause and give the Lord praise for He is patient and He is merciful with us. Now, these same people are the ones who are afraid to die or have trouble coping when their loved ones die. To them heaven is not real, hell is not real, life after death is not real. But why? Because their relationship with the Lord is non-existent. The promises of God are not real to them (good or bad). They live with a veil over their heads that distort their view of the truth. This veil can only be removed by having faith in God and entering into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to me how someone can go to church every weekend or every so often, and yet live a life believing in the lies of the world rather than the reality of God's word. These people can be compared to the heathens in the book of Isaiah when he says they cut down a tree and use half of the tree for fuel to cook their food and the other half to carve an image and worship it. It is foolish. These same people believe and invest much of their lives to go to a building every weekend and sit through countless hours of sermons, but there is no fruit because there is no relationship! Without relationship there is no salvation! I repeat without relationship there is no salvation! Not one time between Sundays was their Bibles ever opened. Not once was the name of Jesus ever mentioned to anyone. Why do people continue to live a life of vain. What scares the living daylights out of me is the day they try and enter the gates of heaven, and the look on their faces when they hear those words, "Depart from me you who do works of iniquity, I never knew you!"
I challenge each and everyone of you who claim the Lord Jesus as your savior this week to talk to 3 people about what He has done for you. If you find this task to be difficult, I encourage you to look inside and ask yourself, is Jesus really the Lord of my life? Or are there areas in my life that I have neglected to surrender to Him? Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the good news! He was talking to you and me! This, "I don't want to offend anyone" attitude must stop! Us not obeying Jesus is offending Jesus! So who would you rather not offend?
Father, I thank you for your truth that was typed here today, and it is my prayer that these words fall on good ground that will produce a harvest of 30, 60, AND 100 fold in return. Cover us with your grace and direct our steps by your Holy Spirit as we live our lives with the intent of producing much fruit for Christ. In Jesus' name Amen!
God bless you all,
Eric R. Cox
Saturday, June 5, 2010
True Followers of Christ!
As some of you well may know, one of the followers of this blog has since now gone to be with the Lord. And as I sat the other night and pondered on her life, I could not but help see a true example of how we as believers of Christ are to carry ourselves. The late Sharron Weems has been a rock steady example of how we are to serve our wonderful Creator. She was always exhorting as well as compassionate for everyone she came into contact with. She truly realized that each and everyone of us weather lost of saved were put here on earth for God's own divine purpose. She was always encouraging me no matter if it were on the little league football field or in my walk with the Lord. Though I didn't spend a huge amount of time with this godly woman, she has made a profound impact on my life that will forever change the way I view this world and the people in it. Thank you so much Lord for bringing this woman into my life!
With that being said I would like to go on to say that so many times in our busy lives we tend to put the things of God on the back burner to pursuit other less important things. In this great nation of ours we have so much liberty to do as we feel and sometimes without thinking we can let God slowly fade out of the picture. We as believers need to guard our hearts by taking time out of each day to sit before the Lord and enter into His presence. This verse in Proverbs jumps out at me, 3:5 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding... We all hear this verse all the time, but I believe the real power of this scripture comes in the next three verses, he says: Seek his will in all you do,and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones... God has promised us something here that if you are not careful you will skip right over. God promises us that if we seek His will, He will direct us and we will be in good health! But back to what I am saying, this country offers so much liberty to do as we want, that we lose focus sometimes on what God would have us do. Saints, this is, if not the biggest snare of the devil, then close to the top! God tells us to never lose sight of His word in Proverbs 4:21, He is protecting us from this very trap! When we lose sight of Him and His will for us, then we leave the door open for the tempter to have place in our lives and everything that he stands for (sin,sickness,addictions,death,etc.) To keep that door shut to Satan we have to use preventative maintenance. If you want to live a life of abundance like Sister Sharron did, then you MUST everyday sit before the Lord and enter into His presence and never lose sight of His Word! God bless all of you!
In Christ,
Eric R. Cox
In loving memory of the late Sharron Weems
With that being said I would like to go on to say that so many times in our busy lives we tend to put the things of God on the back burner to pursuit other less important things. In this great nation of ours we have so much liberty to do as we feel and sometimes without thinking we can let God slowly fade out of the picture. We as believers need to guard our hearts by taking time out of each day to sit before the Lord and enter into His presence. This verse in Proverbs jumps out at me, 3:5 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding... We all hear this verse all the time, but I believe the real power of this scripture comes in the next three verses, he says: Seek his will in all you do,and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones... God has promised us something here that if you are not careful you will skip right over. God promises us that if we seek His will, He will direct us and we will be in good health! But back to what I am saying, this country offers so much liberty to do as we want, that we lose focus sometimes on what God would have us do. Saints, this is, if not the biggest snare of the devil, then close to the top! God tells us to never lose sight of His word in Proverbs 4:21, He is protecting us from this very trap! When we lose sight of Him and His will for us, then we leave the door open for the tempter to have place in our lives and everything that he stands for (sin,sickness,addictions,death,etc.) To keep that door shut to Satan we have to use preventative maintenance. If you want to live a life of abundance like Sister Sharron did, then you MUST everyday sit before the Lord and enter into His presence and never lose sight of His Word! God bless all of you!
In Christ,
Eric R. Cox
In loving memory of the late Sharron Weems
Friday, April 23, 2010
The True Battle
I have unction from the Holy One to give this message. I feel that this could be better done at the pulpit but since I have no church to preach at I believe that the Lord wants this truth revealed ASAP! I truly believe that these words are inspired by the Holy Spirit, but don't take my word for it. Sit down with your Bible and judge it by His Word.
As we are all aware, we are living in the final hours. God is stirring up the church and He wants us all without spot or blemish. What He means by that is He will not accept you if you are lukewarm, living with one foot in the Kingdom and the other in the world. Somehow the body of Christ has drifted that way and I know that I am not going to win a popular vote on this blog but you need to listen to what I am about to reveal to you and it needs to be fresh on every believers mind and heart. Though many believe that once you are saved you are always saved, God has placed on my heart that this needs to be squashed, or needs to be exposed as dangerously false doctrine. This is referred to as Calvinism.This Calvinistic doctrine leads believers to think that there is nothing they can do to not become saved once after being saved and this is untrue. First I will direct your attention to the scriptures that expose this doctrine as false, then I will go in to details of the process the enemy takes us through to divide and conquer our souls.
First, in Matthew 18:21-35 we have the parable of the unforgiving debtor. Jesus says this parable is comparable to the Kingdom of Heaven. The place of prison and torture is a metaphor for Hell, not purgatory like many think. Look it up and judge for yourself. Next look in Matthew 6:7-8, Jesus is speaking again here and He says, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." And if that is not clear enough for you look in Revelation 3:5, this is the Master Jesus again speaking, "All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and His angels that they are mine." If Jesus says if you are victorious I will never erase your name, then what do you suppose would happen if we are not victorious? Your name will be erased from the Book of Life!
You say, "yeah but what about where it says in the Bible that no one can snatch me out of the Hand of God and that no one can undo what God has done? This tells me that I can never loose my salvation!" WRONG! God said that no one can take you away form Him, not even all the powers of the enemy and all the forces in the heavenlies. This is true, but God never said that you couldn't walk away from His grace. If you believe you can never lose your salvation then you are totally missing the context or message of this scripture. The problem that is happening here is someone wasn't revealed the truth of the scripture from the Holy Spirit and went on the intellectual translation and now corruptive thinking is running ramped. If you are thinking you are once saved always saved, then that is in direct opposition to what God's Word says in Hebrews 6:4-6.
To engage in a relationship with God the creator, we have to be the one to draw near first. For we have a free will that God said He will not violate. This is also true for the believer that draws back from God and turns away from Him as well. You see God is the same yesterday, today and forever. So if He won't violate your will before you enter into a relationship with Him, He isn't going to violate your will while walking with Him as well. If you decide to walk independent of Him after being saved then He won't violate that either. Do not be fooled you can walk away from the miracle of Grace God performed through His Son Jesus Christ. You see no force or power is strong enough to undo the miracle power of Grace. Grace will always be there for the taking, but the problem is the will of man doesn't always line up to receive it and keep it.
So you say, "Well we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one." No I will not accept that! I refuse to let one go on thinking that way without giving testimony's and solid biblical evidence to disprove the false doctrine if you will. We see in Luke chapter 4, Satan quotes Jesus scripture. And we see how Satan didn't twist the scripture, but He revealed scripture to be misleading and did not rightly apply it. If Jesus would have acted upon the temptations and fell for the snare, what do you think the outcome would have been? This also applies to you and I. Today Satan misquotes scriptures like Isaiah 43:13 and leads the believer to think wrongly. You have to break it down and find the true meaning of this verse. Today, because of this misinterpreted verse Satan has found a pathway into millions of people's lives. I dare to say this is why there are so many sicknesses and diseases running ramped. This is why there are so many divorces and teenage pregnancies and abortions! Satan has found his doorway into people's lives and has propt the door open with this wrongly interpreted verse. You have to see this!
So now you want to say sarcastically, "But doesn't grace abound all our sins or is it just the ones you think they ought to cover?" If you are thinking that, then get ready to be humbled. It isn't the specific sin itself that is going to end your salvation. You have to remember that Satan's whole purpose down here is to divide and conquer. He is always on the prowl looking for an opening into your life so He can drive you away from everything that can bring good to it. His motive is to ultimately get you to walk away from God under your own power by creating doubt and unbelief. Just like he did in the garden with Adam and Eve. You see when we take our place in Christ we receive the ransom that God paid for us and we are now reconciled into God's family once again. Satan won't stand for that and at all costs he is going to try to get you to separate yourself from God again. One way He does this is by getting you to believe the Word of God wrongly. Such as once saved always saved. When people believe this, it leads to the believing that once the sinner's prayer is prayed there is nothing more needed on their part and so they continue on the same path they were on before living a life of a Christian. They do not fight the good fight, and they let their guard down in protecting themselves from the enemy. This is the victory Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:5. We are not fighting an offensive battle rather guarding what Jesus has already established. Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the complete armor of God. This is spiritual armor to protect your heart and so you do not leave a path into your life open for the lion to come in and devour. When we take an attitude of, "well I am saved and there is nothing else I have to do for salvation..." we are setting our thoughts up for the enemy to come in to our lives. This type of thought leads to sin and sin unrepented from leads to more sin. Before you know it Satan has a stronghold in your life and all of a sudden your eyes become opened like Adam and Eve's were in the garden and you say to yourself, "what happened? How did things ever get so far out of control?" "I was doing so good then..." Undoubtedly sin crept in and separated you from God's grace and it happened because your guard was down. This is why it is critical to read your Bible and find out that the Word says we are to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. If the thought doesn't line up with the Word, then cast it out in Jesus' name. Continue this because it says every though is to be held captive every thought! People are all the time blaming God for their bad situations and they think God is putting them through these fiery trials when the truth is their disobedience is what is walking them there. You can blame God for these trials all you want but that doesn't change the truth of why you are there. You say, "yeah well God let it happen!" No you let it happened and the god of this world let it happen! God tells us what we need to do to stay out of firry trials in His Word (II Corinthians 10:5). This is another reason why it is so critical to open up your Bible and read it. God is a God of love and He cares for you, and He does have mercy! That is why He inspired the Holy Bible folks! Open it up and read it! There are so many people around me that are Christians that are experiencing unnessacary circumstances because of their own lack of preparation against the enemy! Then I hear some folks say, "well all things work for the good..." and they stop there but that isn't the end of what it says! You cannot put a period where there isn't one. This is another one of those misused scriptures. Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." To love God you obey His commandments. If you read on the word tells us we are chosen to walk with Him and to share in His glory with Christ Jesus. This is for the chosen who line their life up with God's word and bring their standards up to His level. Not for those who water down the scriptures so the scriptures can conform to their lifestyle! But many do water the scriptures down and when something wrong happens to them they say, "well it just wasn't the will of God, and I don't know why this happened but we know all things are for our good..." And they who say these kind of things believe they are being humble. No, I am sorry folks but this is lack of knowledge of God's Word! Most people will believe in the loving God, but they refuse to see the discipline side of His Word. God's discipline is not inflicted on us by Him. Let me put it this way, If your child has a penny and continues to try and stick it in the light socket. And you, representing the Holy Ghost continue to rebuke and prevent this from taking place time and time again. Then one day you were too late and that rebellious child sticks that penny in the light socket and gets shocked, it wasn't your fault. You didn't let that happen. It was the consequences of the rebellious behavior. This is exactly what happenen in the garden of Eden. God wasn't saying to Adam and Eve that you can't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because He didn't want them to enjoy something. No, He was trying to protect them from the fall or seaparation that sin would cause between them. Likewise today, even after we get saved, sin has this same effect on us all. It causes separation between us and God. This is why we are called to live a life of daily repentance. This is why in the scriptures He tells us He is a jealous God. He doesn't want anything to come between us and Him. This is why you don't continue on in a life of sin. This is why in Romans 12 He says the true way to worship Him is to not copy the behavior of the world but rather let God's word transform you by the renewing of your mind. God bankrupted Heaven for you and I and by us not taking His word serious and walking our salvation out with fear and trembling, it is our fault if we let sin corrupt us and drive us away from His love and grace!
Once we realize that salvation isn't done at the altar, but rather it begins there, the relationship with God our creator forms. Yes we are called out of darkness, but God's plans for us aren’t restricted to this only. God also wants to bring blessings into our lives, and He also has destined us to shine in certain areas for His Glory. We are created for purpose and next time I'll dive into that more, Lord willing, And if we aren't caught up in the rapture by then... Till next time....
In Christ,
Eric R. Cox
As we are all aware, we are living in the final hours. God is stirring up the church and He wants us all without spot or blemish. What He means by that is He will not accept you if you are lukewarm, living with one foot in the Kingdom and the other in the world. Somehow the body of Christ has drifted that way and I know that I am not going to win a popular vote on this blog but you need to listen to what I am about to reveal to you and it needs to be fresh on every believers mind and heart. Though many believe that once you are saved you are always saved, God has placed on my heart that this needs to be squashed, or needs to be exposed as dangerously false doctrine. This is referred to as Calvinism.This Calvinistic doctrine leads believers to think that there is nothing they can do to not become saved once after being saved and this is untrue. First I will direct your attention to the scriptures that expose this doctrine as false, then I will go in to details of the process the enemy takes us through to divide and conquer our souls.
First, in Matthew 18:21-35 we have the parable of the unforgiving debtor. Jesus says this parable is comparable to the Kingdom of Heaven. The place of prison and torture is a metaphor for Hell, not purgatory like many think. Look it up and judge for yourself. Next look in Matthew 6:7-8, Jesus is speaking again here and He says, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." And if that is not clear enough for you look in Revelation 3:5, this is the Master Jesus again speaking, "All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and His angels that they are mine." If Jesus says if you are victorious I will never erase your name, then what do you suppose would happen if we are not victorious? Your name will be erased from the Book of Life!
You say, "yeah but what about where it says in the Bible that no one can snatch me out of the Hand of God and that no one can undo what God has done? This tells me that I can never loose my salvation!" WRONG! God said that no one can take you away form Him, not even all the powers of the enemy and all the forces in the heavenlies. This is true, but God never said that you couldn't walk away from His grace. If you believe you can never lose your salvation then you are totally missing the context or message of this scripture. The problem that is happening here is someone wasn't revealed the truth of the scripture from the Holy Spirit and went on the intellectual translation and now corruptive thinking is running ramped. If you are thinking you are once saved always saved, then that is in direct opposition to what God's Word says in Hebrews 6:4-6.
To engage in a relationship with God the creator, we have to be the one to draw near first. For we have a free will that God said He will not violate. This is also true for the believer that draws back from God and turns away from Him as well. You see God is the same yesterday, today and forever. So if He won't violate your will before you enter into a relationship with Him, He isn't going to violate your will while walking with Him as well. If you decide to walk independent of Him after being saved then He won't violate that either. Do not be fooled you can walk away from the miracle of Grace God performed through His Son Jesus Christ. You see no force or power is strong enough to undo the miracle power of Grace. Grace will always be there for the taking, but the problem is the will of man doesn't always line up to receive it and keep it.
So you say, "Well we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one." No I will not accept that! I refuse to let one go on thinking that way without giving testimony's and solid biblical evidence to disprove the false doctrine if you will. We see in Luke chapter 4, Satan quotes Jesus scripture. And we see how Satan didn't twist the scripture, but He revealed scripture to be misleading and did not rightly apply it. If Jesus would have acted upon the temptations and fell for the snare, what do you think the outcome would have been? This also applies to you and I. Today Satan misquotes scriptures like Isaiah 43:13 and leads the believer to think wrongly. You have to break it down and find the true meaning of this verse. Today, because of this misinterpreted verse Satan has found a pathway into millions of people's lives. I dare to say this is why there are so many sicknesses and diseases running ramped. This is why there are so many divorces and teenage pregnancies and abortions! Satan has found his doorway into people's lives and has propt the door open with this wrongly interpreted verse. You have to see this!
So now you want to say sarcastically, "But doesn't grace abound all our sins or is it just the ones you think they ought to cover?" If you are thinking that, then get ready to be humbled. It isn't the specific sin itself that is going to end your salvation. You have to remember that Satan's whole purpose down here is to divide and conquer. He is always on the prowl looking for an opening into your life so He can drive you away from everything that can bring good to it. His motive is to ultimately get you to walk away from God under your own power by creating doubt and unbelief. Just like he did in the garden with Adam and Eve. You see when we take our place in Christ we receive the ransom that God paid for us and we are now reconciled into God's family once again. Satan won't stand for that and at all costs he is going to try to get you to separate yourself from God again. One way He does this is by getting you to believe the Word of God wrongly. Such as once saved always saved. When people believe this, it leads to the believing that once the sinner's prayer is prayed there is nothing more needed on their part and so they continue on the same path they were on before living a life of a Christian. They do not fight the good fight, and they let their guard down in protecting themselves from the enemy. This is the victory Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:5. We are not fighting an offensive battle rather guarding what Jesus has already established. Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the complete armor of God. This is spiritual armor to protect your heart and so you do not leave a path into your life open for the lion to come in and devour. When we take an attitude of, "well I am saved and there is nothing else I have to do for salvation..." we are setting our thoughts up for the enemy to come in to our lives. This type of thought leads to sin and sin unrepented from leads to more sin. Before you know it Satan has a stronghold in your life and all of a sudden your eyes become opened like Adam and Eve's were in the garden and you say to yourself, "what happened? How did things ever get so far out of control?" "I was doing so good then..." Undoubtedly sin crept in and separated you from God's grace and it happened because your guard was down. This is why it is critical to read your Bible and find out that the Word says we are to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. If the thought doesn't line up with the Word, then cast it out in Jesus' name. Continue this because it says every though is to be held captive every thought! People are all the time blaming God for their bad situations and they think God is putting them through these fiery trials when the truth is their disobedience is what is walking them there. You can blame God for these trials all you want but that doesn't change the truth of why you are there. You say, "yeah well God let it happen!" No you let it happened and the god of this world let it happen! God tells us what we need to do to stay out of firry trials in His Word (II Corinthians 10:5). This is another reason why it is so critical to open up your Bible and read it. God is a God of love and He cares for you, and He does have mercy! That is why He inspired the Holy Bible folks! Open it up and read it! There are so many people around me that are Christians that are experiencing unnessacary circumstances because of their own lack of preparation against the enemy! Then I hear some folks say, "well all things work for the good..." and they stop there but that isn't the end of what it says! You cannot put a period where there isn't one. This is another one of those misused scriptures. Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." To love God you obey His commandments. If you read on the word tells us we are chosen to walk with Him and to share in His glory with Christ Jesus. This is for the chosen who line their life up with God's word and bring their standards up to His level. Not for those who water down the scriptures so the scriptures can conform to their lifestyle! But many do water the scriptures down and when something wrong happens to them they say, "well it just wasn't the will of God, and I don't know why this happened but we know all things are for our good..." And they who say these kind of things believe they are being humble. No, I am sorry folks but this is lack of knowledge of God's Word! Most people will believe in the loving God, but they refuse to see the discipline side of His Word. God's discipline is not inflicted on us by Him. Let me put it this way, If your child has a penny and continues to try and stick it in the light socket. And you, representing the Holy Ghost continue to rebuke and prevent this from taking place time and time again. Then one day you were too late and that rebellious child sticks that penny in the light socket and gets shocked, it wasn't your fault. You didn't let that happen. It was the consequences of the rebellious behavior. This is exactly what happenen in the garden of Eden. God wasn't saying to Adam and Eve that you can't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because He didn't want them to enjoy something. No, He was trying to protect them from the fall or seaparation that sin would cause between them. Likewise today, even after we get saved, sin has this same effect on us all. It causes separation between us and God. This is why we are called to live a life of daily repentance. This is why in the scriptures He tells us He is a jealous God. He doesn't want anything to come between us and Him. This is why you don't continue on in a life of sin. This is why in Romans 12 He says the true way to worship Him is to not copy the behavior of the world but rather let God's word transform you by the renewing of your mind. God bankrupted Heaven for you and I and by us not taking His word serious and walking our salvation out with fear and trembling, it is our fault if we let sin corrupt us and drive us away from His love and grace!
Once we realize that salvation isn't done at the altar, but rather it begins there, the relationship with God our creator forms. Yes we are called out of darkness, but God's plans for us aren’t restricted to this only. God also wants to bring blessings into our lives, and He also has destined us to shine in certain areas for His Glory. We are created for purpose and next time I'll dive into that more, Lord willing, And if we aren't caught up in the rapture by then... Till next time....
In Christ,
Eric R. Cox
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
You Must Believe!
The other day I was speaking to a dear friend after Wednesday night service, and he was telling me about an Evangelist who had traveled to Africa to minister the Word of God, but as it turned out his trip ended up being more of a learning experience for him. While in Africa spreading the gospel, this Evangelist met a women who in the name of Jesus raised 16 people up from the dead! Wow! can you imagine the kind of faith it would take to raise that many up from the dead? Some denominations teach that these things have done gone away with when the last Apostle died, but on the contrary these things still go on today!
Jesus says in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Jesus says in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Jesus was always talking about faith! It is impossible to please God without faith! A good example in the Bible that shows what faith can do is the women with the incurable issue of blood. She had been seen by every doctor in the land and no one could cure her, but she didn't give up. She said, "If I could only get close enough to touch Jesus' garment I will be healed!" She fought her way through the mob and did it! Mark 5:30, "At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" And verses 32-34 "But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." You see the power came from the Holy Spirit, but faith was what activated the power! The power of faith is weaved throughout the gospels. Jesus was always saying, "Your faith has healed you." He never said pray and if it be God's will it will happen and if it doesn't then it wasn't His will. No, No, No! His will is for us to have faith! Not doubt!
Now don't be running off in a ditch and start claiming Christian Science on me. Today we have people practicing doctrine based off a scripture they miss interpreted. To experience the full potential of your faith you have to use solid fundamentals. First of all faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17) You can't expect to get the results with your faith if you never hear the anointed word preached. Once you hear the Word of God preached you need to put the Word to work in your life. In other words, be a doer of the Word of God. James 1:22-25 "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." Often times people want to confess it and believe for blessing to come into their life, but they forget that it is the doer of the Word that receives the blessing! When used in the right way faith is a power to be reckoned with! God promises to bless those who sincerely do the work of the Father to glorify Him! Some may say, "I've tried that and it don't work!" Yeah well I can grantee that the problem lies with the man and not God. God is always faithful to His Word! God never said to be a tryer...No, He said to be a doer!
Now when you are praying like Jesus says to in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." It is critical that you find scripture to stand on when you pray. God's word is full of promises to those who have the faith to believe them. Like I said earlier you can not expect to receive blessings without doing something. In this case when you pray the action is to believe. If it is healing you are believing for from God, then dust off that old Bible and find the scriptures that tells you that He bore you sickness and disease and meditate on it! Confess it with your mouth till you believe that you have received it in your heart, then go into your prayer closet or where ever you go to pray to God, and praise Him for your healing. So many want to see the healing then believe they received, but that is not what the Word says to do! Believe you receive first! Then it will be given to you! I can't stress how important it is to find scripture to back up what you are believing for. If God promised it then it is rightfully yours if you have been adopted into God's family. But avoid foolish babbling and foolish thoughts of material prosperity that don't benefit the kingdom! Yes it is true God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus! (Phil 4:19). And yes it is true that God doesn't want His children to struggle financially! But you can't expect God to go against His Word and bless you without you being a doer of the Word! Yes God wants to bless you, but not at the expense of jeopardizing His faithfulness to His Word.
Now before I close I want to stress something and lay it out there and make my point clear. There is a denomination out there that does a great job of getting souls saved, but at the same time they turn these once lost souls loose with bad doctrine. Teaching Calvinism (once saved always saved) it is false doctrine! I repeat false doctrine! This denomination gets these souls saved and then these folks go out into the world claiming to be Christians and live their lives as if nothing ever happened. So they continue on in their sinful perverted lives believing in a lie that there is nothing they can do to lose their gift of eternal life. They never submit to Jesus or make Him their Lord. They never crucified their flesh and they never renew their minds. The issue with this is that this false doctrine corrupts the flock, and other babies that are still on the milk of the word get consumed by the wolves in sheep's clothes. Anytime you teach that it is okay to give Satan a foot hold in your life there should be an immediate red flag going up in your spirit. If there is not then something is wrong. This same denomination also rejects the essential gifts of the Holy Spirit that edifies our walk and allows our spirit to commune with the Father. Why would a denomination want to restrict our ability to talk to the creator one on one and fellowship with Him? There is only one thing I can think of and that is many have yielded to their own natural human faith, and choose to not fully have faith in God. To have faith in God is to have faith in God's Word. If someone rejects the word then he rejects God Himself. Don't listen for one minute to these ravenous wolves who twist the scriptures to conform the Word of God to their beliefs. That is an abomination to God, so don't be fooled.
We believers don't have to be scared to be approached by people from this denomination. God has given us His Word (the Bible) and with it we are to filter out all the lies of this world. And that goes for false doctrine too. I am not saying this to condemn anyone but to rather make it aware that it is critical that we read and study scripture and that we practice it in our lives. This is our only defense against the enemy who prowls around looking for whom he may devour. By strapping on our full armor of God we can walk boldly and confidently in this world not bothered by the trials and tribulations in our lives because we understand that we are not here for long and that in the end it all works out for the good of those who love God!
In Christ,
Eric R. Cox
Jesus says in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Jesus says in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Jesus was always talking about faith! It is impossible to please God without faith! A good example in the Bible that shows what faith can do is the women with the incurable issue of blood. She had been seen by every doctor in the land and no one could cure her, but she didn't give up. She said, "If I could only get close enough to touch Jesus' garment I will be healed!" She fought her way through the mob and did it! Mark 5:30, "At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" And verses 32-34 "But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." You see the power came from the Holy Spirit, but faith was what activated the power! The power of faith is weaved throughout the gospels. Jesus was always saying, "Your faith has healed you." He never said pray and if it be God's will it will happen and if it doesn't then it wasn't His will. No, No, No! His will is for us to have faith! Not doubt!
Now don't be running off in a ditch and start claiming Christian Science on me. Today we have people practicing doctrine based off a scripture they miss interpreted. To experience the full potential of your faith you have to use solid fundamentals. First of all faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Rom 10:17) You can't expect to get the results with your faith if you never hear the anointed word preached. Once you hear the Word of God preached you need to put the Word to work in your life. In other words, be a doer of the Word of God. James 1:22-25 "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." Often times people want to confess it and believe for blessing to come into their life, but they forget that it is the doer of the Word that receives the blessing! When used in the right way faith is a power to be reckoned with! God promises to bless those who sincerely do the work of the Father to glorify Him! Some may say, "I've tried that and it don't work!" Yeah well I can grantee that the problem lies with the man and not God. God is always faithful to His Word! God never said to be a tryer...No, He said to be a doer!
Now when you are praying like Jesus says to in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." It is critical that you find scripture to stand on when you pray. God's word is full of promises to those who have the faith to believe them. Like I said earlier you can not expect to receive blessings without doing something. In this case when you pray the action is to believe. If it is healing you are believing for from God, then dust off that old Bible and find the scriptures that tells you that He bore you sickness and disease and meditate on it! Confess it with your mouth till you believe that you have received it in your heart, then go into your prayer closet or where ever you go to pray to God, and praise Him for your healing. So many want to see the healing then believe they received, but that is not what the Word says to do! Believe you receive first! Then it will be given to you! I can't stress how important it is to find scripture to back up what you are believing for. If God promised it then it is rightfully yours if you have been adopted into God's family. But avoid foolish babbling and foolish thoughts of material prosperity that don't benefit the kingdom! Yes it is true God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus! (Phil 4:19). And yes it is true that God doesn't want His children to struggle financially! But you can't expect God to go against His Word and bless you without you being a doer of the Word! Yes God wants to bless you, but not at the expense of jeopardizing His faithfulness to His Word.
Now before I close I want to stress something and lay it out there and make my point clear. There is a denomination out there that does a great job of getting souls saved, but at the same time they turn these once lost souls loose with bad doctrine. Teaching Calvinism (once saved always saved) it is false doctrine! I repeat false doctrine! This denomination gets these souls saved and then these folks go out into the world claiming to be Christians and live their lives as if nothing ever happened. So they continue on in their sinful perverted lives believing in a lie that there is nothing they can do to lose their gift of eternal life. They never submit to Jesus or make Him their Lord. They never crucified their flesh and they never renew their minds. The issue with this is that this false doctrine corrupts the flock, and other babies that are still on the milk of the word get consumed by the wolves in sheep's clothes. Anytime you teach that it is okay to give Satan a foot hold in your life there should be an immediate red flag going up in your spirit. If there is not then something is wrong. This same denomination also rejects the essential gifts of the Holy Spirit that edifies our walk and allows our spirit to commune with the Father. Why would a denomination want to restrict our ability to talk to the creator one on one and fellowship with Him? There is only one thing I can think of and that is many have yielded to their own natural human faith, and choose to not fully have faith in God. To have faith in God is to have faith in God's Word. If someone rejects the word then he rejects God Himself. Don't listen for one minute to these ravenous wolves who twist the scriptures to conform the Word of God to their beliefs. That is an abomination to God, so don't be fooled.
We believers don't have to be scared to be approached by people from this denomination. God has given us His Word (the Bible) and with it we are to filter out all the lies of this world. And that goes for false doctrine too. I am not saying this to condemn anyone but to rather make it aware that it is critical that we read and study scripture and that we practice it in our lives. This is our only defense against the enemy who prowls around looking for whom he may devour. By strapping on our full armor of God we can walk boldly and confidently in this world not bothered by the trials and tribulations in our lives because we understand that we are not here for long and that in the end it all works out for the good of those who love God!
In Christ,
Eric R. Cox
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