Ceremony, Communion and the Sabbath
The Old Testament required God's priests to observe many ritual practices. All of these things pointed to the sacrifical work of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled all these symbols of the Law of God.
But within Christianity many symbolic observances are still practiced. Water baptism as an "outward symbolism of an inward reality" is a chief example along with consuming physical communion bread and wine, foot washing, the wearing of special robes and the keeping of special days. Should we be doing such things when Christ came and obtained for us "a new and living way?" And what of the symbols of the Old Testament. Have they just disappeared and become irrelevant or have they been transformed into spiritual realities?
This is important information for anyone who desires the freedom and liberty that Jesus promised us.
Spiritual Light
Spiritual Light is the result of four visitations from the Lord over a period of 4 years.
Starting with a discussion of the 3rd commandment, marriage and "taking the name of the Lord" and then wonderful insight into Christ's sacrifice this book reveals desperately needed understanding that dispels the confusion about conversion, baptism, salvation and works. This book is available on-line and at cost price from our eBay store
. Check out the eBay store for other good gospel materials and music.Broadcaster
I'd Like You To Meet My Father
"Jesus answered and said him, if a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him " (John 14:23)
Over the years I have found that man has never gotten the gospel to any individual, that the Lord had not already gotten to first! Somewhere and sometime in the past, that person had some experience(s) with God that was drawing them to receive the truth. Plainly stated, it was the love of God reaching out to man: "No man can come to me [Jesus], except the Father which hath sent me draw him. and I will raise him up at the last day " (Jn. 6:44). It is foolish to think that we can "save the lost". Our "man-centered" notion that God is in some way dependent on us to pay men to run every which way (we call such men or women "missionaries", a word not even in the Bible), is merely evidence of our ignorance. God is drawing his people BY HIS WILL: "And [God] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us " (Acts 17:26-27). Jesus said man's part is to pray for laborers to be sent BY GOD (divinely directed by the Spirit), to preach the gospel to those He has already touched, and to reap what was sown by God and others.
God will father those He has chosen: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the Foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. 1:4-5). Jesus said the same thing about the ones which are his: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me ... and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out " (Jn. 10:27 & 3).
If you are seeking after God; if you have a hunger to know Jesus, and a deep desire to live a holy life which would please the Lord; if you feel yourself being "drawn" to God, but not knowing what to do ... then I'd like to introduce you to my Father!
First I must tell you where my Father is NOT! My Father is NOT in man's religion (whether it calls itself Islam, Bhuddism, Christianity, or any other name). Meeting religion is not meeting the Father. There were none so "religious" as the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day. But Jesus said they were "of their father the devil", My Father is NOT in a building or an organization called a "church". My Father is NOT pleading with you to "repeat a prayer" in order to "get saved". These "gimmicks" used by men, in reality, save no one. My Father is NOT in any of men's religious ceremonies such as "baptism", "confession", or "communion". For all religious "deeds" of man are worthless vanity to the Father who is calling people now to worship "in Spirit and in truth"...
Yes, Jesus said, "... the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit., and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth " (Jn.4:23-24). If you want to meet the Father ... the REAL FATHER ... you must receive the Spirit to find Him. The Father has given Jesus the power to give it to you. It is the love and the life of God drawing you to seek after, and to receive his holy Spirit - for "the Spirit IS life". It is only in receiving the Spirit that one can know and worship the heavenly Father. There is no other way.
Jesus proclaimed the way to the Father was so plain that even a child or a fool (a simple person) could find it. He also rejoiced that the way was hidden from the wise and proud in this world. In John 14:23, Jesus revealed what it is to "meet" the Father: "and we will come unto him, and make our abode in him ". Jesus and the Father want to come INTO you by the Spirit. It is that simple.
To know and love the Father, is to become His child by receiving life through the HOLY Spirit: "Now if any man have not the Spirit, he is none of his [Gods].. And if Christ be in you the body is dead..but the Spirit is life because of righteousness... But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies... For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God... The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the children of God.." (Romans 8:9, 10, 11,14, 16).
When you receive God's holy Spirit (also spoken of in the scriptures as "the holy Ghost" or "the Spirit"), many wonderful promises become yours! You taste and experience the kingdom of God: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the holy Ghost" (Rom. 14:17). You are able to say that Jesus is Lord and have it count with God: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the holy Ghost " (1 Cor. 12:3). You are baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body" (lCor.12:13). You are joined with all the other believers who have the same Spirit, and made the habitation of God: "For through him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father .. In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit " (Eph. 2:18, 21-22). Friend, isn't it wonderful to know that the loving, heavenly Father wants his Spirit in you?
Many claim to have this Spirit today, but do not. They say receiving the Spirit is an experience, but one different than the Bible really describes. The most confusing of all is when someone has the Spirit, but tells you that it is not necessary for you to receive it. Thankfully, the Father has not left us in confusion. When traveling through an unfamiliar area, the best method of reaching our desired end is to "follow the signs". And God has given us a sure and true sign whereby we can know the TRUE Spirit. If you have a sincere heart, you will diligently seek the right way of God by looking for "the sign" of the Spirit.
'Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.." (1Cor.14:22). If you are not yet "converted" (or born again) and you are looking for the Father, look for tongues. Tongues is the "sign of the Spirit" among those who have found a true rest for man's soul: "For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said THIS is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and THIS is the refreshing..." (Isa.28:11-12).
Tongues is an active and present sign that always follows them which TRULY believe (and will be absent from those just claiming to believe): "And these signs shall follow them that believe ... they shall speak with new tongues" (Mk.16:17).
Tongues is the "sign" of God's Spirit in man and is the experience which Jesus spoke of when he said: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God .. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the SOUND thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and wither it goeth: so is EVERY ONE that is born of the Spirit" (Jn.3:3, 5, 8).
EVERY PERSON that is truly born of the Spirit has this experience of "sound", just as Jesus told Nicodemus they would. (Read Acts, chapter 2 to see the first biblical account). In EVERY CASE the person receiving the Spirit speaks in tongues. The Spirit is the Father's "seal" that you are His child and now belong to Him: "by the Spirit we CRY Abba, Father" (Rom.8:15).
Perhaps you decided in your heart to live a good "moral life", and have seen many changes in your character and will. It is even possible you were told you already received the Spirit after "becoming a Christian" or "believing in Jesus". Regardless of what you have been taught, if you have not received the holy Spirit which was initially evidenced by speaking with other tongues, you have NOT been born again yet! Please hear this truth if you really want to know the Father! The work done in you so far is the loving Father getting you ready through repentance to receive the Spirit. So don't stop short of real life in Christ. Trust the Lord, believe God, and receive the Father's love: the baptism of the Spirit!
No person can give you "a formula" to receive the Spirit. Each individual must come to the point of seeing their need, and then looking to God. Thankfully, the scriptures provide several things which sincere followers can do to prepare their hearts to receive the Spirit.
Repentance is imperative: "REPENT and be baptized every one of you...and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost " (Acts 2:38). Repentance is forsaking sin, and walking in the right ways of the Lord. Obedience is also a necessary ingredient to receiving the Spirit: "And so also is the holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that OBEY him" (Acts 5:32). God will begin to prompt your mind and heart with things that must be done in order to please Him. Willing disobedience can hinder God from pouring out his Spirit into your heart. Asking may seem like such a basic thing, but very few are willing to humble themselves and fervently cry out to God: "how Much more shall the heavenly Father give the holy Spirit to them that ASK him?" (Luke 11:13). Asking means "desperate prayer" to God for the Spirit, and perhaps asking those "who believe" to lay hands on you and pray for it. Desperate means, not wanting to live another day without it. Are you desperate?
Being born of the Spirit is a powerful and glorious experience. Ask someone who has received the Spirit what it did for them. These testimonies will build your faith and expectation. God will never fail to give the holy Spirit baptism to those who believe. Receiving the Spirit is the evidence that one DOES believe!
When seeking the holy Spirit, remember it is not just a "tongue" you are seeking. Tongues is only the sign. The reality of the Spirit is knowing the Father in fullness, and having Him come dwell in you. If we walk and continue in the Spirit, we are promised in the end that it is the "power of God unto salvation " (Rom. 1:16). Yes, we shall be raised to be with the Father in heaven by the power of the same Spirit. One last word of caution: FLEE from those who speak against the experience of the baptism of the holy Ghost (as evidenced by speaking with other tongues), or from those who say that it is not a necessity. You will recognize these "faith-less" Spirits (which appear holy) as they attempt to "win you" to their religion. They deceive by promising you "salvation" if you do what they say. But the scriptures reveal their doctrine to be that of the antichrist: "Every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that Spirit of antichrist " (1 Jo. 4:3). Antichrist wants you to receive any "Spirit" that does not speak or bring life. But God wants you to receive the holy Spirit that confesses through tongues that Jesus Christ has truly come into your flesh. You will KNOW God is in you! Amen. If you would like to meet others who can help you receive the Spirit please contact us. We don't believe in "gimmicks", "vain religion" or "quickie prayers". We believe in the power of God unto salvation " - the new birth, which is the baptism of the holy Ghost! This is the only way to meet your heavenly Father. I pray this has been a good introduction to the one you are seeking!