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| Yes, by grace we are saved through faith. However, the bible makes it clear that grace is not an excuse to sin. The demands of the Lord are still faith and obedience. The bible says that Abraham ¨by faith...obeyed¨(Hebrews 11:8). It was only after his obedience that he was blessed. The bible makes it very clear that obedience is a key component of salvation. Acts 17:30 states that God commands all men everywhere to repent. A command is something that must be obeyed, hence many won´t be saved because they refuse to obey the Lord. Paul even makes reference to obedience to the Gospel in Romans 10:16. See also Romans 6;16-17, Hebrews 5:9, Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 6:46, 1Peter 1:2,23 & 1Peter 2:7-8. Let us not think that our lives can be identical to the world and that heaven will await us. Those that cleave to the Lord, who serve the Lord, and who are faithful to the Lord are those whom the Lord shall claim as his own. Jesus, the word says, was obedient unto death, and the death of the cross. We are all called to follow his example, taking up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). The cross was and still is the ulitmate expression of obedience. While true disciples joy in the cross, the modern grace only painless gospel mocks at it. Bless you! From Peru, Pastor Adam
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| Pastor Adam here from Peru. I want to let you know something that caused my heart to burn with indignation. This evening I opened up facebook and saw the picture of a young man who I used to know really well. He actually was part of the youth group I helped with at church, I lived with he and his family for an entire year, and he had come with me to Peru on two mission trips. He was like a brother to me, although a few years younger. I noticed from his pictures that he just celebrated his 25th birthday. My heart was saddened to see this once on fire for God young man in risque pictures with young women, drinking beer, and associating with people who are obviously not godly. In these pictures I saw the heart of a generation. He once served God and had a heart for others. Now I see him wrapped up in a world that won't let go, blinded by the guise of good times that will soon come to a bitter end. Can he not hear the Spirit calling him? I began to think about all the youth or young people in so many churches across America right now. Many of them are much like my friend. In fact, the majority of them could not be distinguished from the world. There is a story in the Old testament about a man named Jehu. He called for an assembly of all the Baal worshippers in the temple and gave each of them a special tunic to distinguish them. Then he told all the people "Make sure that there are not any worshippers of Jehovah among you". When it was determined that there were not any, he ordered all the worshippers of Baal to be killed (2 Kings 10:18-28). The Lord wants to separate all those that are his, and is withholding his hand so that those who are true worshippers can "come out from among them". But I dare say that many that are in the temple (the place of worship, or the modern church) will be taken with the judgement of the wicked. My heart was grieved for the condition of this generation. But my heart was burdened and made heavy when I realized that pastors carry the greater blame for the present condition of the youth. These youth have no guidelines, no goals, no dreams, no vision. Just an easy-going care-free escape from reality mentality. The bible commands men of God to EXHORT the young men to be sober minded (Titus 2:6). That means we are to preach a holy life style, purity, self control. Not the watered-down make you feel good garbage that is so popular these days. Get up in their business pastor! Tell them they will go to hell if they keep partying and having sex! My God, stop worrying about having the biggest church in town or offending people. Don't worry if your sermons go over 30 minutes of if you can't use the projector like you wanted to! If we as men of God don't take responsibility for the spiritual condition of this generation, God will demand their blood at our hands! Open your eyes pastor. The heart of God is for the fathers to turn back to the children. It's time to stop messing with politics and things that God never called you to. Start being a father to the flock. Paul said you may have ten thousand instructors in Christ but few fathers. This generation lacks the guidance and discipline that only a father can instill. Ask God to place that fathers heart within you. Our job is to prepare soldiers for the battle, ones that can fight the good fight of faith. Things in this world are going to get progressively worse and the young christians need to be prepared for it. As it is, the slightest bit of heat will cause them to wither. Take a close look at your flock man of God. How many could endure persecution? Most are ready to leave the church when the gas prices go up. Want to know why? Watered down preaching that tickles the ear but never pricks the heart. Shame on us. A general never tells soldiers going into battle that things will be easy. He tells them the truth. Many will die. Some will never come home. The battle will be tough, but their dedication and service will secure freedom for generations to come. Men of God, rise to your calling and prepare this generation! Forget about the methods of growing your church, preaching to be popular, how to raise bigger offerings or build bigger buildings! Stop using the web to promote you and begin to promote HIM! Tell this generation the truth, that they are just a breath away from an encounter with God Almighty, and that what they do and say and believe now will affect them and others for eternity! (Ecclesiastes 11:9) I pray that this stirs you, provokes thinking, and even makes you mad. The true fathers will hear and will rise to the challenge, pleasing King Jesus above all the rest. Bless you, Pastor Adam
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Pastor, preacher, brother and sister in the Lord...are you under Herod's curse?
Bible scholars tell us that King Herod began a renovation project on the temple that lasted 43 years. He invested a lot of cash and gold. His purpose for beautifying the temple was to gain favor with the Jews. He brought in the best arquitects from Alexandria and used the most skilled craftsman. Herod's temple was known as a literal wonder in the ancient world. While the Romans destroyed the temple, they could not destroy the temple's foundation, over 100 feet high and made of cut stones so large that even modern experts wonder how they could have been moved and placed with laser precision. The foundation stands to this day.
Sadly, with so much revenue and recognition bestowed on the temple, the religious leaders of the day were loathe to speak out against the obvious wrongs in the royal family. It would be so easy to overlook adultery, murders, tortures and the like when the coffers were filled and the priests were fat. How sad that those closest to the king were the very ones least likely to influence him for God's kingdom.
Enter John the Baptist. A lone prophet who moved the masses with a message of sin, repentance and devotion to God. He did not wear designer clothes or have an army of body guards. He openly reproved the hypocrisy of the leaders of his day. His words not only touched the temple but at last reached the palace. Would there be persecution? Would there be fierce opposition? Yes, and the man of God never flinched. He knew what his calling and destiny was, and he would not rest until both had been fulfilled. He knew that the Greater One had come on the scene, the kingdom of God was at hand, and that not even the gold of Herod's temple could compare with the rewards of faithfulness in eternity.
And so, with the fire of God's message burning in his bones, the prophet began to speak. His message was not politically correct nor well received. Yet John's call was to preach the truth. Anything less would be compromise. Anything less would put him on par with the hypocrites. He was put in prison. Ah, the gloating of the priests. The relief of the pharisees. The tears and smile of God upon His faithful servant. The kingdom of heaven was at hand, rejected by the great and embraced by the least.
Many ministers and preachers in our day have looked unto the glamor, gold, endowments and grants of a Herod. The same curse enjoyed by the priests, sadducees, and pharisees has come upon many in the christian gild. For fear of the IRS and political backlash few ministers preach the real word of God. Don't preach against sin in the government. Don't dare tell gays they are going to hell. Don't touch on political subjects. Preserve separation of church and state. That works well in the world but is a complete flop in the kingdom. God's ultimate desire is His kingdom on earth, with Jesus as king. Over all the earth, including the United States.
Right now as in the days of John the Baptist "the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12). God does not need yes men like the religious leaders in Herod's temple. He needs men of truth and conviction, called of God, anointed and empowered. Let them open their mouths. Let them prophesy. Let the nations drink of the cup. Let them get off of Herod's payroll once and for all. God will foot the bill. The curse is broken!
Bless you all!
From Peru,
Pastor Adam
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Hello all. Pastor Adam here, writing from a library in SC. Will be back in Peru in less than a week.
As I've been here reading some articles, meditating on what the Lord would have me minister on this evening, my spirit has been stirring. My eye was drawn to a news article of a former NFL player who in his time was quite famous...he is now in the hospital. I've seen various reports over the past few months of used to be icons in the sports and entertainment industries having accidents...dying...gone. As I've prayerfully considered the occurences, my heart bears witness that these things are not accidents or coincidences. They are signs.
Just as God judged the gods of Egypt, so now is He judging the gods of America and the nations. More specifically, the financial woes that have come upon our land are the beginnings of sorrows. I will go so far as to say this: It has more to do with the people of God than it has to do with the sinners of the land. Let me explain.
Right now many of the children of God are crying out to the Lord, moaning and literally groaning because of the burdens laid upon them. Just like Israel of old, the church in the USA has become afflicted in a land that is not theirs. Many have forgotten His promises of deliverance, that a better land awaits us... a "heavenly country". This world is not our home! Praise God there is a place made for us in the heavens! Eternal. Majestic. Glorious.
Now, God had told Abraham all that would take place to his descendents, in effect letting them know that things would get worse before they would get better. Yet, His promise was to bring them out with a strong had to give them the land sworn by oath and blood. Yet the many children of Abraham had forgotten the word, becoming slaves not to a pharoh but rather to their own minds. They could not believe that there was a way out. They had lived so long as slaves, never having tasted real freedom. Hope was lost. The bible says that at that time the children of Abraham (Israel) began to groan, and God heard the sound of their groaning. When He heard that sound, coming from the very core of their being, the bible says that God remembered His covenenant with Abraham, and God "acknowledged them". Now things get interesting.
God arrested the attention of a lone pastor (shepherd) out in the desert. Moses, who had fled Egypt, must now return. This time God would be with him. The time for God's people to "come out from among them, and be thou seperate..." had come. God was calling His church, His assembly out of Egypt to worship Him. That is the plea made to Pharoh..."let my people go, that they may worship Me". God is calling for His children all throughout the land to gather together as one man, worshipping Him, and only Him. God's demand was that every man, every woman, every boy and girl be free to worship Him. There was only a small problem. The gods of egypt, even Pharoh himself, demanded that all worship them. They touched the apple of God's eye, inflaming his passion and jealousy. Judgment was inevitable.
And so it happens again. Now as we come to the close of the ages, the final curtain about to be drawn on all of history, God is calling for His people to come and worship Him. Yes, He has heard the collective groaning of all the elect, burdened by the sin and the ungodliness in the world. And He will answer. Indeed, there seems to be things that only get answered by groaning, moans that come from the heart, and by nothing else. Not by prayer conferences, not by spiritual warfare, not by making a covenant, not by giving or even by serving. Romans 8:26
What is taking place now in the United states is not so much about the sinners as it is about the church! It is time for the church to come out of the world. First the false gods of the land, many of which we have in our homes and our hearts, must be judged. We have erected altars to the gods of sports and hollywood. Our children no longer walk in holiness because WE don't walk in holiness...what's a little beer, a little profanity, nudity, violence, sodomy? Isn't it just a harmless song that talks about teenage girls kissing (gasp!) each other? It's a nice beat...don't be so old fashioned. All these things can take you to HELL! Wake up church! In a world spinning out of control such restrictions seem archaic. We have fled for refuge not under the wings of God almighty, but the Federal Reserve and the American Dollar. All that will fail. It has to, as it is a god that dares to defy the true God. God and God alone will be the only one left standing when the dust settles. There will be a pure church, spotless and lovely, mature, waiting and ready to meet with her beloved on His holy mountain.
Those that know God and follow the Spirit are inwardly rejoicing right now. God has arisen! Let the nations be scattered! The gods of the land are being judged. I will also say this. Herod was killed because the people acclaimed him as a god too. Selah.
The Spirit and the bride say "Come!" Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!
May God bless you!
Pastor Adam |
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BROTHERS, I GOT THIS LAST NIGHT, AND HAVE BEEN MOVED BY GODLY FEAR SINCE THEN TO ACT UPON THIS WORD. I ASK YOU TO PLEASE READ THIS WORD WRITTEN BY PASTOR DAVID WILKERSON AS HE RECEIVED IT FROM THE LORD, DATED MARCH 7 2009. The full text is below, if you prefer you may read it on his website at: www.worldchallenge.org Lord bless you and keep you! From Peru, Pastor Adam AN URGENT MESSAGE: by David Wilkerson I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world. AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE — EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US. For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires — such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago. There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting — including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written, "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (v. 3). God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations. The prophet Jeremiah pleaded with wicked Israel, "God is fashioning a calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh, turn back each of you from your evil way, and reform your ways and deeds. But they will say, It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart" (Jeremiah 18:11–12). In Psalm 11:6, David warns, "Upon the wicked he will rain snares (coals of fire)…fire…burning wind…will be the portion of their cup." Why? David answered, "Because the Lord is righteous" (v. 7). This is a righteous judgment — just as in the judgments of Sodom and in Noah’s generation. WHAT SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS DO? WHAT ABOUT GOD’S PEOPLE? First, I give you a practical word I received for my own direction. If possible lay in store a thirty-day supply of non-perishable food, toiletries and other essentials. In major cities, grocery stores are emptied in an hour at the sign of an impending disaster. As for our spiritual reaction, we have but two options. This is outlined in Psalm 11. We "flee like a bird to a mountain." Or, as David says, "He fixed his eyes on the Lord on his throne in heaven — his eyes beholding, his eyelids testing the sons of men" (v. 4). "In the Lord I take refuge" (v. 1). I will say to my soul: No need to run…no need to hide. This is God’s righteous work. I will behold our Lord on his throne, with his eye of tender, loving kindness watching over every step I take — trusting that he will deliver his people even through floods, fires, calamities, tests, trials of all kinds. Note: I do not know when these things will come to pass, but I know it is not far off. I have unburdened my soul to you. Do with the message as you choose. God bless and keep you. In Christ, DAVID WILKERSON |
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