Why The Christian Can Rejoice During Worst Times

1st Peter 1:3-6, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.”

The word “rejoice” means to “re joy.” Not just that, but to “greatly rejoice,” again and again and again. There's more, God wants us to do this in the midst of “manifold temptations.” That is, we are to rejoice during the many tests and complicated trials of life.

God says that even during the worst experiences of life—whether it be persecution, divorce, marital troubles, personal loss, the death of a loved one, loss of a job, financial woes, whatever—the redeemed child of God can and should GREATLY REJOICE knowing that we were already justified in the sight of God almighty from before when the world began. Titus 1:2, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” As God's saints we don't hope we have eternal life; but rather, we have the hope of eternal life, because God promised “to save them that believe” (1st Corinthians 1:21b).

Knowing that we have an inheritance incorruptible in Heaven, undefiled that fadeth not away (it doesn't expire), reserved for all believers, we “greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” (1st Peter 1:6). There is no reason for the redeemed child of God to become bitter and complain all the time, when we knowing have an inheritance reserved (waiting) for us in Heaven.

Get your mind off of your problems, burdens and the rottenness of ungodly people, and start focusing on God's great sacrifice of His only begotten Son for you on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago. The inspired Word of God commands every believer to 'GREATLY REJOICE' while you are going through your many trials and temptations. Ladies and gentlemen, we have the glorious blessed hope of ETERNAL LIFE! Luke 10:20b, “rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” We are on the winning side through faith in Jesus Christ!!!

Where Are The Hard Bible Preachers Today?

Isaiah 58:1, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”

One of the saddest things I see today are lifeless churches. The average Baptist pastor doesn't preach on the subject of Hell once every two years. I cannot remember the last time I heard a preacher rip against the murderous evils of abortion. Where are the Bible preachers exposing the evils of homosexuality and the perverse LGBTQ agenda of sodomites? I'm not advocating bashing anyone, I'm advocating preaching the Word of God! Let's face it, today's shameful pastors have become Caspar Milquetoast (wimps). They don't stand anymore!

Revelation 3:2, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.”

I catch a lot of criticism for mentioning people by name who are corrupters of the Gospel. I do not hesitate to tell you that Martin Luther, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Paul Washer, Albert Mohler, Marty Herron, Jared Baldwin, Adrian Rogers, Jeff Redlin, Timothy Zacharias, Bill Adams, John Thompson, Bobby and Brad Moffett are damnable FALSE PROPHETS—who all errantly teach that to get to Heaven you must first be willing to turn away from your sinful behaviour, which is works and not grace (Jonah 3:10; Romans 4:4). Repentance concerning salvation never means to forsake your sinning (nor even to be willing to do so). These are reformation, not repentance.

Where are the fiery Bible preachers today who bring down the roof? Billy Sunday (1862-1935) in a sermon called the people of Gadarenes “peanut-brained, weasel-eyed, hog-jowled, beetle-browed, bull-necked lobsters that owned the hogs” (Mark 5:11-12). He called the audience “you old dogs!” I love it! Pastor Lester Roloff (1914-1982) was absolutely correct, who said: “The great need of the hour is preaching preachers!” I agree but where are they?

Pastor Steven Anderson is one of them, for whom I praise God. Say what you will about the New IFB, but they have most of the men who still faithfully preach hard against sin, earnestly contend for the faith, and righteously uphold the truth. Proverbs 12:17, “He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.” Most Old IFB pastors have succumbed to Satan's lies of Misunderstood Repentance and Lordship Salvation.

God deliver us from the weak-kneed, pot-bellied, lazy, stiff-necked, pompous neo-evangelical pastors today who simply don't care about right doctrine, don't care about the accuracy of the Gospel, don't care about the purity and inspiration of God's Word, don't care about high moral standards; they just don't care! They are in the ministry for the INCOME, not the OUTCOME!

Respectfully said, I don't agree with Pastor Steven Anderson on several doctrinal issues, but I love the guy and am tremendously proud of him for standing. ...

“The world will go to Hell unless somebody is authoritative!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “I Shall Not Be Moved”

John the Baptist was unjustly beheaded for preaching against Herod's adultery with his brother's wife. Herod and his brother's wife, Herodias, have been burning in Hell for 2,000 years and will sadly be there for ever. They made their choice (2nd Peter 3:9).

That being said, hard Bible preaching without God's unconditional love for sinners is worthless (1st Corinthians 13:1-3). People won't care what you know until they know that you care. Some hard preachers woefully lack love for people, which greatly diminishes the power of their message. People will not tolerate hatred. I wish I could convince more pastors of this essential truth. I have been kicked out of 4 of the last 5 churches that I've attended. The reason why is because they were wicked neo-evangelical pastors and churches, and unfortunately the best churches I could find at the time. I will never make that foolish decision again. If there are no doctrinally sounds churches in my area, I won't go to church at all.

My ministry friend Michael P. Bowen at the time of writing his helpful book, 'I Never Knew You,' wrote on page 115 that he wasn't attending any of the churches in his hometown, because they were all theologically corrupted with a counterfeit plan pf salvation. He states...

According to many verses in the bible, especially those warnings God gave to us through Paul in the book of Galatians, you should never listen to anyone’s message that runs counter to the message given to us by Christ, and you should never attend a church where the pastor tells the flock that they must add works of discipleship to faith in Christ’s “finished work” as the way to enter heaven. That’s exactly the reason why I no longer attend any of the local churches in my current hometown. —Michael P. Bowen, 'I Never Knew You,' p. 115

Amen and amen! And that is my advice to you as well dear reader. If you cannot find a doctrinally sound church in your area that only uses the inspired King James Bible, and preaches a biblical free grace Gospel, then stay home! God understands.

Better yet, if you can, move to an area where there is a great church! People from across the United States have relocated to Tempe, Arizona, just to attend Faithful Word Baptist Church and hear Pastor Steven Anderson's fiery passionate Spirit-filled preaching. I can't get enough of his sermons! I love a truth-teller! No preacher is perfect. Every human being has a Skeleton Closet of some sort. I'm standing with the Bible preacher, not because he is perfect, but because HE STANDS! Ephesians 6:13, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

To Overcome Temptation And Sin, Saturate Your Life With The Word Of God

Psalms 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” 

Psalms 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

If you want to gain victory in your life over sin, then you need to start hiding the Word of God in your heart (i.e., your sub-consciousness) by memorizing the Scriptures. USE ONLY THE PRECIOUS, KING JAMES BIBLE!!! All modern Bible revisions have been corrupted by Satan!!! Do a Bible study on your particular area of weakness, and then memorize several Scriptures to help you when temptations arise.

For example: If you have a problem with sexual lust, you should memorize 1st Peter 2:11, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1st John 2:15-17 would apply to many sins and should be memorized by EVERY believer, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

These Scriptures should be on our minds continually. Literally, our minds should be SATURATED with the Scriptures. The Word of God should be more yummy to our souls than Krispy Kreme donuts are to our taste buds. King David said that the Word's of the Lord were sweeter than honey to his mouth (Psalm 119:103). Do you find the Bible more refreshing that a box of Dunkin Doughnuts? Sadly, most people would gladly rather have a box of donuts over God's Word. What will today's burdens and temptations matter 100-years from now? All that will matter when we leave this world, as believers, is what did we do for Jesus' sake and the Gospel's (Mark 10:29-30).

Of course, if you are unsaved, nothing else will matter until you receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Sin has alienated mankind from God, and there is no hope for humanity apart from the cross of Jesus Christ. You are a GUILTY sinner, on your way to everlasting Hell, fire and torment in your sins. You need to have your sins forgiven, and only Jesus Christ Who has the nail-scared hands and feet can forgive you. Ye Must Be Born Again!

To Live a Victorious Christian Life, Listen to Lots of Bible-Believing Preaching

When we listen to preaching, we are walking with wise men. And by the way, ALL WOMEN PREACHERS ARE FALSE PROPHETS. Lesbian Katy Perry's mother is a preacher—that speaks volumes! Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Turn that stupid radio off and start listening to some preaching that will help you.

It's amazing how most people will listen to the same old songs, that have been around for decades, thousands of times, and not one of those songs will make you a better Christian. Think about that! But if you get a radio in your car that accepts a flash drive, you can download thousands of MP3 sermons and listen to them to and from work, that will change your life for God!!! Do you have enough character to listen to preaching? You have to want the truth and wisdom, it won't come to you. Ask God to give you wisdom!

I regularly listen to hundreds of sermon videos on YouTube. There are innumerable awesome sermons freely available on the internet. I highly recommend the following preachers: Danny Castle, Jack Hyles, Bob Gray Sr., Steven Anderson, Max D. Younce, Jeff Owens, Lester Roloff, Curtis Hutson, Tom Malone, Ralph Yankee Arnold, John R. Rice, Harry Ironside, Lee Roberson and others. Some of these men are living, and some of them are already in Heaven. 

I don't agree with everything that all these faithful men of God preach, but they are men of God and I agree with 99% of what they each preach. The great need of the hour is preaching preachers! Stay away from Paul Washer, Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Marty Herron, Jeff Redlin and Timothy Zacharias, Bobby and Bradley Moffett, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Max Lucado and other compromised damnable preachers!

Please kick Elton John, Katy Perry, Jay Z, Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Madonna, Reba McIntire, Dave Mustaine, Rhianna, AC/DC, Van Halen, Hollywood and the other filthy reprobates out of your life, who are influencing you for Satan!!! Make sure that you spend the bulk of your time listening to godly men. Americans are in a mess today because we have all the wrong mentors!!! You're never going to win victory in your life until you stop hanging out with losers! Michael Jordan is a loser in God's eyes. Donald Trump is not good success in God's eyes. You're not a success in life unless God says you're a success. Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Think about how much time we spend listening to Fox News (lies), NBC (nothing but crap), CNN (contains no news), secular radio, worldly television, empty magazines, et cetera. Do any of these lame things edify you for God? Of course they don't. We are surrounded today by fools! I choose to walk with wise men, preachers! I hardly miss a sermon by my favorite living Baptist preachers today. I listen to a few who aren't independent fundamental Baptist, but only a few. I tell you truthfully dear reader that there is no such thing as a “good Christian.” We are all woeful sinners who have fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). I preach to myself too.

Deliverance Through Prayer

Luke 22:40, “And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.”

As born again saints of God, we need to pray continually. 1st Thessalonians 5:17 states, “Pray without ceasing.” Obviously, this means that we can pray while working, walking, driving, et cetera. We ought to be in constant fellowship with our God as burdens, people, temptations, problems and frustrations come across our mind throughout the day. Take it all to the Lord in prayer (Philippians 4:6-8).

Prayer is from within our heart, not a recital. We ought to pray continually. Philippians 4:6, “Be careful [stressed, anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” “Supplications” are things on our prayer list (i.e., a petition) that we keep asking God for. Prayer is asking. That's what prayer is. Praise is praise. Worship is worship. But prayer is letting our requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6-7). Prayer is faith.

We should ask God for His help in every area of our life on a daily basis; but then there are certain matters which we will need to pray about for weeks, months or even years. Jesus taught His disciples that prayer was a means to avoid temptation. It is very interesting that Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, but He did teach them how to pray. Prayer is not a “therapy” as liberals call it today. Prayer is expecting a miracle from a miraculous omnipotent (all-powerful) divine and faithful Creator.

We hear much talk these days on television and radio, and in books and magazines, about spiritual matters and mention of God; but they are a bunch of Modernists (an unsaved person who appears as a Christian) and liberals (unsaved scholars and “experts”) who deny the POWER OF GOD (2nd Timothy 3:5).

Do you have a prayer life? It doesn't have to be a prayer closet. Your car can become a prayer closet. Where do you meet God every day? Do you pray at all? Prayerlessness is akin to the sin of atheism, for a prayerless Christian prays no more than an unbelieving atheist. So sad!

I cringe every time I see the President of the U.S. recite a prayer off a piece of paper (which he didn't even write). All of the various President's public speeches for the past few decades have been prewritten by a specialist in propaganda and public speaking. Even the President's prayers are written for him. It's not from his heart. How can it be when his speech-writer prepared it for him? Doesn't the President have a place in his heart for God? Does his staff have to write his prayers too? Yes, evidently so! This is apostasy and a stench unto God. The President's prayer recitals are nothing more than deceitful political propaganda designed to hoodwink conservatives into believing that their President trusts in God.

Not surprising, EVERY Republican President since Roe vs. Wade has given billions-of-dollars to fund abortion. Yet, the candidates will claim they are against abortion, and the gullible religious right votes for them and thus supports their wickedness. If our nation's leaders genuinely trusted in God, they would insist on praying from their hearts, and not read from a piece of paper which someone else wrote for them.

Jesus said that prayer would keep us from temptation. There is NO secret to overcoming sin in one's personal life. We either love the Lord enough to obey Him or we don't, it's as simple as that. If we love the Lord, then we will study God's Word, and memorize passages to help us. If we love the Lord, then we will pray and walk with God in our daily life. Every believer should take time to walk with God. Have a designated place where you meet with God each day. It may be at your desk, or your coffee table, or in your car on the way to work.

Take time frequently to be alone in nature with your Creator. God gave us nature to remind us of His Godhead, goodness, and power (Psalm 19:1-3; Romans 1:20). We need to take time out, to escape the concrete jungle of the city, and get alone with God in nature. Mark 6:46 states, “And when he [Jesus] had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.” Jesus is our example. If our Lord went alone into nature to pray, then we need to find a place everyday, even if just in our backyard, where we can seek God. Most people are too busy to fellowship with their Creator, choked by the cares, riches, and pleasures of this short life here on earth (Luke 8:13). How ungrateful.

Our Truly Amazing Creator, God

Psalms 145:3, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”

I love astronomy. The subject fascinates me. Our own gargantuan sun is just one of 200 sextillion stars in the observable universe. The diameter of the sun is 109 times greater than the earth. You could fit 1,300,000 earth's into the volume of the sun. The nearest star Alpha Centauri is Alpha Centauri (α Centauri, α Cen, or Alpha Cen) is a star system in the southern constellation of Centaurus. It consists of three stars: Rigil Kentaurus (α Centauri A), Toliman (α Centauri B), and Proxima Centauri (α Centauri C). Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun at 4.2465 light-years (ly), which is 1.3020 parsecs (pc), while Alpha Centauri A and B are the nearest stars visible to the naked eye.

Dear reader, if we were to build an accurate scale to compare these distances, and our sun were placed just one inch away from the earth, Proxima Centauri would be 4 miles away! Wow! This just gives you a little idea of how far apart the stars are from each other. Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light years from earth (or about 25,000,000,000,000 miles away). Due to the mind boggling distances involved, there is no possible way that humanity will ever be able to travel the universe.

In 1977, Voyager 1 and 2 space probes were launched from NASA. 47 years later in 2025 voyager 2 had traveled a staggering 15 billion miles from earth, speeding through the universe at 38,000 mph. Even traveling at that incredible speed Voyager 2 would require 73,000 years to reach Proxima Centauri. The human civilization only dates back to about 4,000 BC (6,000 years ago). It humbles my soul to realize that our divine Creator, God, made the universe and all contained therein.

Truly God's greatest is unfathomable and unsearchable. Psalms 145:3, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.” Mankind has only begun to discover the universe. Astronomers are limited by our best technology, which simply falls short of perfection. Scientists can only see about 46 billion light years either way into the universe (9

MoM-z14 is the farthest known galaxy from earth, which is located a staggering 13.53 billion light years from earth. Literally, when we look up at the evening stars, we are seeing light that is millions if not billions of years old. There are differing beliefs about the origin of creation and what happened in the biblical account of creation. I personally ascribe to the Gap Principle (it's not a theory). There is no way that dinosaurs roamed the earth with mankind 5,000 years ago. To claim otherwise contradicts legitimate science and ancient history alike.

I humbly believe scientists are correct who tell us that the universe is 13.8 billions years old. The earth and universe were created a long time before God remodeled the earth in Genesis chapters one and two. You'd have to be a really gullible fool to believe that dinosaurs lived 5,000 years ago, or that Noah brought dinosaurs aboard the ark. Scientists tell us that dinosaurs lived 60 to 220 million years ago, and I accept that scientific fact. The inspired Word of God makes a distinction between the age of the foundation of the earth as versus everything else contained therein. Psalms 102:25, “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.” Our faithful Creator is truly amazing, brilliant and good.

 

God Will Hold Believers Accountable For The Good And Bad Done In Our Body

2nd Corinthians 5:10-11, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

I heard an idiot on the radio yesterday, on a religious station. The man was teaching that Christians shouldn't worry about the sins in their life, because God wasn't going to be harsh or unkind towards any believer in Heaven. Well, that man doesn't know his Bible very well. Listen to what king David said in Psalm 6:1, “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.” God is longsuffering and slow to anger, but once God gets angry... LOOK OUT! Psalm 7:11 warns that God is angry with the wicked every day. As a holy God, He hates sin with a passion, and won't dismiss anyone's frivolous attitude about sin.

1st Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” If we DON'T judge ourselves, then we WILL BE JUDGED! Judging ourselves means dealing with the problem before God has to deal with it. 2nd Corinthians 5:10 WARNS, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” Romans 14:12 states that every person will be held accountable by God on Judgment Day. We would be wise to live for God now as believers, confessing and forsaking our sins today, rather than face the judgment of an angry God tomorrow because of our arrogant pride disobedience.

Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” As we memorize the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will remind us of them when we need them. This is one way that the Lord helps us when we are temped (as Hebrews 2:18 promises).

As we SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES (John 5:39), and a Bible passage burns our heart, we should memorize It. By the way, I've NEVER met one believer who could quote multiple Scriptures from any modern corrupted Bibles; BUT I have known many Christians who could quote hundreds of Scriptures from the preserved, inerrant, infallible, precious and inspired King James Bible.

God Chastises His Disobedient Children Because We Are Saved

Hebrews 12:6-8 teaches that God scourges (beats) and chastises (disciplines) His children when they are disobedient. Evangelist Paul Washer errantly teaches, close to the end of his video titled, “Regeneration Verses The idolatry of Decisional Evangelism,” that a Christian still living in gross sin after ten years of being saved, is not really saved. I totally disagree! There are many believers living in gross sin. And for that matter, all believers still commit sin. All sin is gross in God's sight. If what Paul Washer says is true, then salvation becomes subjective to discipleship.

Furthermore, where do we draw the line between the saved and the lost? Mr. Washer is espousing a dangerous heresy in the churches. The inspired King James Bible teaches that eternal life is a free gift (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10), paid for in full by the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18-19). Jesus doesn't forgive sin. That is correct! Jesus has already paid for everyone's sins with His blood. Therefore, forgiveness of sins is a gift, that we simply receive by faith.

The fact that God chastises disobedient children evidences that they are saved. Beware of Paul Washer's false doctrine, which says that a person cannot know they are born-again in an instant. Mr. Washer says that a person cannot merely write down their name and date, when they get saved, in the back of their Bible. Paul Washer says their life must evidence continued repentance and faith, otherwise none of it was ever real at all. This is salvation by qualification by works. That is not “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4), which is “THE GOSPEL” (Romans 1:16; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4).

Once saved, always saved. Salvation can NEVER be lost, forfeited or given back. It is impossible be lose eternal life once you have it. If salvation could be lost, certainly sinful Lot would have lost it. Samson would have lost it. David would have lost it. Solomon would have lost it. Demas would have lost it. peter would have lost it. Ananias and Sapphira would have lost it. The sinful man in 1st Corinthians 5:1-5 would have lost it. And for that matter, the entire sinful church at Corinth would have lost it! If saved, always saved!!!

Pastor Harry Ironside's Bible Commentary For “Proverbs”

Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

I was delighted recently to find this website featuring the invaluable library of Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951). This is a very helpful resource when studying the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs

We all need God's wisdom, which the world cannot teach you. James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” If you want God's wisdom, then ask Him for it and live in the book of Proverbs.