The True Church

The Love Lie The True Church Jesus is Lord

The True Church

The True Church

Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto thee , that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church (ekklesia) and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." 

There have been numerous opinions of what is the true church. The facts are obvious. Look it up yourself. There were three languages spoken in the region where Christ resided. Hebrew, Greek and Latin. Luke 23:36-38. The Jews spoke Hebrew the Gentiles spoke Greek and Latin. These are the languages that our bible translations came from. Recently I passed a sign that said, CHURCH FOR SALE. This statement is a contradiction. How can Jesus church be sold? First we need to look up the word church in Webster's Dictionary, it says, Church: The Lords house. 1. a building set apart for public worship. 2. A place of worship of any religion. 3. Church service; divine worship or religious service in a church. The organization of Christianity, or of an association of Christians as in a nation. 5. The clerical profession. 6. The collective body of Christians; all who are identified with Christ.

Strong's Dictionary says church (ekklesia) (1577) 1. A gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly. a. An assembly of people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating. b. The assembly of the Israelites c. Any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance. d. In a Christian sense an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting. e. A company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake. 

It's obvious what Jesus said his church was; an assembly of his chosen people. Not a building. Christians in the bible didn't go to church, they were the church. Acts 8:3 says, "As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and hailing men and women committed them to prison." Jesus did not use the words church. Men introduced the word many years later. The word church is an anglo-saxon word chirche, which means a building, a place of worship, a house. Church is mistranslated from the Greek ekklesia. Ekklesia really means an assembly, a gathering of people who have been called forth. The word assembly is found three times in Acts 19th chapter. In verses 32, 39 and 41. This word ekklesia assembly is the same word that Jesus used in Matthew 16:18. Jesus did not invent a new word. The word church was totally unknown during the time of Christ.

When Alexander the Great conquered the then known world of that time. They eventually quit speaking Hebrew. Except in a few places like Palestine. And most of the Jews had been scattered. They began to speak Greek because Greek became the language of the empire, the Greek empire. So they could no longer read Hebrew. So the Jews translated the Old Testament into Greek, and it's called the Septuagint. (285-246 B.C.) Whenever they translated the Old Testament word congregation, they used the same word that Jesus used. He said I am going to establish my assembly or congregation. Jesus did not invent a new word. The word, he was using was a word that the Jews as well as the whole Gentile world of the time were familiar with. If Jesus really had used the word church to his disciples, they would have questioned him about the meaning of this new word.

So if the word church is not in the original translation of the Holy Scriptures, where did the word come from? Answer: Constatine. Constatine was the emperor of Rome in 313 A.D. He made Christianity the state religion. Therefoe Christians were no longer persecuted and Christianity became popular. Many people wanted to become Christians. Plus many preachers were given political positions. Christianity was becoming like the world. He also built the first church building (basilica) for Christians to go to, to worship God. Originally, Christians met in homes, rented rooms, etc. Fellowshipping was intimate and personal. Pagans met in temples to worship their gods. But once these buildings were established, he set a Bishop over it. Multiple elders according to scripture was no longer needed. The body of Christ was silenced and shut down. Only the Bishop (pastor) had a voice in this church. Every thing went through him now. There is a lot more to be said about this but it would take too long. Now how did the word church get into our King James translation. Answer: King James. King James was not only the King of England, he was also the Bishop of the Church of England. Therefore in order to keep his position as bishop in tact he required the translators of the 1611 King James Version to follow Bancroft's Rules. There were 15 of them. Rule number 3 says."The old Ecclesiastical words to be kept, vis, the Word Church not to be translated Congregation, and not with lower case 'c'. The translators were going to use the word congregation instead of church. King James rules changed that. If King James had not interfered the King James translation would have said," Upon this rock I will build my congregation", which would have been a better translation. Since church is now a building, people must now come to a specific building to do worship and other religious activities. There is also a manager over that building called the Bishop or Pastor. Worship can almost be done anywhere according to the scriptures. St. John 4:21-24.  Not any more, one must come to church to do it now.

When you look up the word church in the Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words you will see this; " For CHURCH see ASSEMBLY and CONGREGATION.  That's it because, there is no Greek meaning for the word church.  The word did not exist in that area at that time. Look up the word ASSEMBLY 1. EKKLESIA, from ek, out of, and klesis, a calling (kaleo, to call, was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens gathered to discuss the affairs of State., Acts, 19:39. Ekklesia was a common word during the time of Christ. The word church was unknown, it was added later to our bibles.

CONGREGATION 1.EKKLESIA is translated "congregation" in Heb 2:12, R.V. instead of the usual rendering "church". See Assembly. Congregation takes on a more religious meaning because Jesus said my ekklesia.

Now why congregation or assembly instead of church? Jesus Christ was talking about building up his people. He was not talking about a man warehousing a lot of people under him in a specific building. They met in smaller groups all over Jerusalem. Jesus knows his sheep by name. St. John 2:2. If a pastor has hundreds even thousands of people under him, how can he know their name or personally know them. Jesus said in Matt. 18:20; "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."  Jesus did not say where a hundred or a thousand are gathered together, but simply two or three, he is with us. Many preachers want great numbers under them, that means lots of money and prestige. The early Christians met in many places. In homes, upper rooms, borrowed synagogues, Solomon's court, the woods, the seashore, catacombs, (when they were persecuted) etc. They did not have a religious building of their own. They knew that their bodies were the temple of God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Jesus Christ biggest problems were with the Scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees. They had their buildings, pride, money and influence. No one was going to change that. Not even Jesus.

http://www.theophilus.org/onetrue/church.html

 

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

1 Corinthians 12:1 (KJV) Says; Now concerning spiritual gifts brethern, I would not have you ignorant.(1Cor 12th, 13th and 14th) chapters contain some of the most controversial words in the bible. The reason is that these verses are dealing with gifts that God has put into the body for its benefit. There are over 18 spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament. Fourteen are mentioned in (1 Cor.12). Four more in Romans 12 an the other two in (Ephesians 4:11). Normally spiritual gifts are cast into the past. They say that the gifts ceased to exist with the completion of the Holy Scriptures. Yet the spiritual gift of the pastor has been going on in the churches for centuries. Yes the pastor is a spiritual gift. (Ephesians 4:8,11...) he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, apostles and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Notice five spiritual gifts are mentioned here. And in (1 Cor.12:28) the gifts are mentioned in their prioriety. First apostles, second, prophets, thirdly teachers, fourthly workers of miracles, fifth, those with the gifts of healing sixth, those who help, seventh, those who govern and eight, those with the gifts of tongues.These are the eight priorities in the church. It did not say first pastors. Why is it that the only spiritual gift that's functioning in the churches is usually the gift of the pastor? Most people don't realize that once a person is born again and becomes a part of the body of Christ, they spiritually become a part of his body. A body comes together to function. A body does not come together just to sit on a pew and listen to the mouth (pastor) There are so many scriptures that tell us that we are a member of the body of Christ. Not the member of a church. Once you come together in an assembly (church) you become his eyes, his hands, his ears, his feet or some other member in his body. We become literally a part of our Lord Jesus in the local body. Pastor John might be a mouth. Sis. Mosley an eye. Deacon Benson a foot. Sis. Johnson the other foot. Bro. Jones an ear and so on. Jesus Christ is truely the head of his assembly (church). Or the brains of his body. Your nose, eyes, ears, hands, feet and your entire body gets directions from your your brain. Your brain sends signals via the central nervous system (the holy spirit) to tell your various body parts to function. Not your mouth. The mouth is not the whole body (1 Cor 12:17). The mouth is not the head of the body. Unfortunately the mouth by tradition has taken over the whole body. Therefore on Sunday morning when the body comes together to function or to use its gifts according to (1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14), the mouth takes over because we have given him the authority of Jesus Christ himself as the head (brains) of the local body. (1 Corinthians 14: 26) says "How is it, then brethern? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. This verse clearly gives us clarity about what we should do when we come together. One person might have a psalm to share, another a doctrine to share, another a revelation and so on. This is the body functioning. It's called body ministry. 1Corinthians says "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other (prophet) judge". In (Acts 13:1-5) it was prophets and teachers that confirmed Paul and Barnabas ministry as Apostles. Not Apostles and Pastors. There are other verses that deals with us coming together. (1 Corinthians 11:17,18,20,33, 14:23.) Why don' t we do these things when we come together. Satan knows that if the body of Christ start exercising it's members (gifts) the growth potential is phenomenial. The nose smells, the eyes see, the ears hear, the feet supports and carrys the body, ect. The body will never grow up only being governed by the mouth. Every part of the body has a different perspective in Christ, to help the body grow. Church does not allow that to happen. You just join the church and become an usher, a choir member, a greeter, a pastors aid, a trustee etc. Satan did his job of confusion very well by focusing only on one gift, that of the pastor. The pastor is actually a security guard over the sheep. Another name for pastor is shepherd. A shepherd leads the sheep out into a pasture of green grass and stand on the perimeter and watches over the sheep as they feed themselves. His job is to keep predators away, whether animal or human. David was a shepherd. A shepherd does not gather sheep into a barn where dry hay is stored up and talk to them from a book. That is not shepherding. That is abuse of the sheep. The sheep are led by the true shepherd out into green pasture to feed themselves. (The word and their gifts) Put their own teeth into that fresh and alive grass and pull it up.The sheep have been fed dry grass for so long that fresh green grass (the true Word of God) would be unpleasent and sour to them.

(Acts:20:7) "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight." This verse is used by many preachers as the foundational scripture of a Sunday morning worship service regarding coming together. When you read this your brain automatically tells you that on a Sunday morning you must go to church and hear a sermon by pastor. This verse is not remotely talking about that. Notice the words after the first day of the week. It says the disciples came together to break bread or eat the Lord's Supper. It was not a wafer and a thimble of grape juice, it was a full meal. The references are in (Matthew 26:26), (Acts 2:42,46), (1 Corinthians 11: 20-26) and (Jude 12). Paul had started the assembly in Troas in Acts 16th chapter. It doesn't say how long he stayed with them. Between Acts 16 and Acts 20 Paul had started over 10 other churches (assemblies). What did the disciples do between Acts 16 and Acts 20 when Paul wasn't there. They simply met together, ate together and shared together. He came back to Troas in Acts 20 and spent a whole week with them. On Saturday evening Paul was eating and discussing with them over a meal he was not preaching a sermon. a sermon is a one way speech, a dialogue is both ways. The disciples interacted with him, they asked questions, they made statements. Look up this word preach in your Strong's Concordance or Vines Dictionary. Its number 1256 in the Strongs dictionary. It means "to converse, to discourse with one, argue, discuss." You wouldn't dare ask your pastor a question regarding something he said in his sermon. A sermon is actually for sinners. After eating and discussing certian issues with the disciples all night. Paul left them the next morning (Sunday) and never came back. After Paul left they continued to eat together, minister in their gifts. Sharing with one another, singing to one another, blessing one another and growing up together. Every one functioning in their gifts and callings. (1 Corinthians 12.7-11) "But the manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit. For to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, discerning of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues,; to another, the interpretation of tongues."

(Ephesians 4:8, 11-13) Wherefore, he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; Yes, the five ministry gifts listed here are actually spiritual gifts. As stated earlier the priority of the gifts in the church is stated in 1 Corinthians 12:28. There are eight spiritual gifts listed and the pastors and evangelist gift is not in the priority list. All gifts are needed in the body of Christ. Before I go any further there is an excuse made by many pastors regarding the gifts. They say "There are those who are always seeking the gifts, but not the giver of the gifts (Jesus)." This statement sounds spiritual but it is not true. Jesus said in St. John 14:23, "If any man loves me , he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Therefore if you love Jesus and his word he abides with you. Pastors don't want the focus off of them. The focus is not the pastor but the whole body of Christ. There is too much to learn about the gifts and the body. God Bless.

TRUE WORSHIP

St. John 4:19-24 The woman said unto him, Sir I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

Every day as we go about doing our daily activities we will usually pass by a church that has a sign located somewhere nearby, that says;  SUNDAY WORSHIP 11:AM. Other churches worship time may vary. One day many years ago I decided to look up the word worship. The Hebrew word for  worship is - shachah (7812) to depress, i.e. prostrate (espec. in homage to royalty or God):-bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship. The Greek word is proskuneo (4352) (mean. to kiss, like a dog licking his masters hand); to fawn or crouch to i.e. (lit. or fig.) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore):-worship. Next I located various scriptures in the New Testament that dealt with worship.(Matthew 2:11) "And when they were come into the house, (the wise men) they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him." (Matthew 4:9) When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness "And he saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Satan wants worship just like God must be worshipped. (Matthew 8:2) "And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt thou canst make me clean". That same situation is also found in (Luke 5:12) and it says; "who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord if thou wilt , thou canst make me clean"  (Acts 10:25,26) "And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I my self also am a man." (1 Corinthians 14:25) Talks about an unbeliever being exposed through the gift of prophesy; "And thus the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth," These are only a few scriptures dealing with worship. Haven't you noticed that there is a lot of falling down or prostrating one's self in worship. It is all through the Bible. Worship is based on the individual, not on the group. Every case of worship found among the believers was done individuality. To make it even plainer I could not find not one single reference in the bible where the body of Christ came together to worship God. I am not saying that God does not desire to be worshipped. The words worship service or praise service is not even hinted at in the New Testament. There is no such thing as going to church to worship God. Worship has nothing to do with any particular location or time; it can be done almost any place the believer happens to find himself and at all times. So where did choirs, praise teams and a lot of others things that churches practice today come from? Answer: The Old Testament. Very few christians realize that they are practicing a revamped form of Judaism instead of New Testament Christianity. Preachers want you to believe that you cannot truly worship God unless you come to his church to do it. Under Judaism the Jews had to come to Jerusalem to worship God. (Acts 8:27, 24:11) Because God only dwelt in the temple. Under the new covenant every true believer is filled with God's Holy Spirit. We are God's temple (1 Corinthians 6:19) "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (Matthew 18:20) Jesus said, " For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

 

Witchcraft in the Church

Galatians 3:1 " O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you."

Acts 8:9-10 "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

2 Corinthians 11:4 "For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if ye receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (NIV)

It’s amazing that many Christians don’t realize that Satan goes to church (his demons). There are three major areas that Satan uses to deceive people. 1. Sin 2.The Occult 3. Religion. There are many demons that are experts in all of these areas. I have seen all kinds of demonic manifestations in many churches since I was a child. I thought what I saw was of God. Yet when I began to study the scriptures on spiritual warfare my eyes open up to the many tricks of Satan. Below I will share two dreams God gave to me about Satan’s tricks. The others are two testimonies from two other brothers in Christ. The first brother is a retired sheriff who is preaching the gospel all over the world. He died and an angel of the Lord took him into the spirit realm and revealed to him many tactics of the enemy. His book is not a lie, I have too much confirmation. The second brother is from Nigeria, Africa. He was deeply involved in a satanic cult before he became a Christian. This brother’s experience was also not fabricated, because I had a pastor from Nigeria who stayed with me in my apartment for about three months, in 1980 and shared similar stories with me.

Many years ago I had heard rumors that many large and successful churches in America were pastured by warlocks (male witches). I didn't pay that much attention to the rumors. Later God gave me a dream. In this dream I was in a church service. The pastor of the church was preaching a sermon from the scriptures. The membership wasn't that very large, maybe between one to two hundred people. Suddenly the dream changed; the service was over. Everybody had left the main sanctuary except me. I got up from the pew and walked up to the pulpit and stood behind it. This pulpit was wooden. I leaned over and pulled back a curtain that covered the rear of the pulpit and looked inside. Inside were the typical offering plates that were kept inside such pulpits. But I noticed something different; in the inside front of the pulpit was a witchcraft symbol indicating that this pastor was a witch. Vision ended. God did not give me the name of that church nor did I retain knowledge of any of the faces that I saw. Witchcraft has been in many churches for a very long time, because these false preachers travel to many other churches preaching, teaching and laying hands on people, spreading the demons as they go. And I wondered why God showed me this small church pastured by a warlock. Satan is desperate he wants as many blind followers as he can get. Because many people will not join a large church therefore he has all the grounds covered.

When I was a member of a certain church here in Memphis in the middle 80's. I had a dream in the night. I saw the pastor in the front of the church. There were these strings coming from his body, many strings. They flew up into the air and were in the heads of many members of the church. Interpretation: The pastor was the puppet master. Sometimes later this church folded.

Demons an Eyewitness Account by Howard O. Pittman - Chapter 6 – Parapsychology –page 45 – Deceived

"To stop man in his relentless search for the true God, Satan gives him a false God. It is a fact that most Christians don’t read and study their bible, and many depend on the preacher to tell them what the bible says and how they are to worship. Satan knows that a preacher that he can control is a very valuable asset to his kingdom. If that preacher has a good story with evidence of some kind of supernatural power, then the people will believe and become his followers. In reality, they are following Satan in their quest to follow God, and are so skillfully deceived that they can’t see wherein they are trapped as a result, we have many false religions that appear to be a perfect bible based, God fearing religion. We find that the big denominator for cults, then, is the leader. The leaders of these cults are gifted with tremendous oratorical powers of persuasion (2Corinthians 11:15). The demons will sometimes go to the point of producing miracles, through this leader because they must keep him believable and clearly in charge of the flock."

Delivered from the Powers of Darkness by Emmanuel Eni- chapter 2 The Initiation – Back home in Nigeria

"One day I went to a hidden place in the bush, made some incantations as stated in the books and commanded the ground to open. The ground opened and the demons created steps immediately. I stepped in and went right inside the ground. There was total darkness that can only be compared with one of the plagues that occurred in Egypt as recorded in the Bible, I saw a lot of things that are hard to explain. I saw people chained, people used for making money – their duties are to work day and night to supply money to their captors. I saw some elite society members who came in to do some sacrifices and would go back to the world with some gifts given to them by the spirits controlling the place. I saw some church leaders who came for powers, powers to say a thing that is accepted without questioning in the church. I stayed for two weeks and came back after receiving more powers. People saw me as young and innocent but never knew I was dangerous. There are lots of such people around; only those in Christ are safe in a real sense of safety."

 

 

JESUS NEVER TOOK UP AN OFFERING

Now this statement might sound strange to a lot of people but truly Jesus never passed the offering plate, took up a special collection for his ministry. Charged for any miracle or demanded that people tithe into his ministry. It is not found in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. I am very aware that these statements are unpleasant for a lot of preachers. Jesus is our greatest example of a preacher of the gospel. Jesus throughout the scriptures was called an apostle (Hebrews 3:1), a prophet (St. Matthews 21:11), pastor/shepherd (St. John 10:14) and teacher (St. John 3:2). He gave so much, even his very life and asked for nothing.

There are two verses in the bible that states that the disciples carried a moneybag. (St. John 12:6) and (St. John 13:29). So it's obvious that people gave to Jesus and his disciples. How did they give? Answer: Voluntarily. They made up their own minds to give them money or some kind of support. There is no reference in the New Testament where Jesus preached a sermon to fill up his moneybag or for people to throw coins at his feet. Jesus did not preach for money. He preached and ministered to set men and women free from sin, sickness and death. Yes beloved, Jesus never raised an offering he simply received what people gave him. (Matthew 10:7-8) says " as ye go preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."

Jesus preached the gospel No charge   St. Matt 4:23

Jesus taught the multitude No charge    St. Matt 5:1-7;29

Jesus healed the lame No charge          St. Mark 2:3-12

Jesus opened blind eyes No charge      St. Matt 9:27-31

Jesus cast out devils No charge            St. Matt 12:22-23

Jesus raised the dead No charge          St. John 11:39-44

Jesus fed 5000 + people No charge     St. Luke 9:10-17

Not one time did Jesus even hint at any type of compensation for duties performed. I would advise those who love the word of God to read the bible and let God's word speak to you. You'll be surprised at what the scriptures really say.

Also most people don't know that Paul the apostle only took up one offering in the scriptures. And that was for the Jewish believers in Judea. They were going through a famine and persecution at that time. (Acts 4:1-31; 11:27-30), therefore; Paul asked the Gentile Christians in Corinth, Macedonia, Achaia and Galatia to assist them financially. (1Corinthians 16:1-3). The money was not taken up for the preaching of the gospel, to build a church, to buy robes for the choir or pay the pastor's salary. It was taken up for the relief of the poor saints in Jerusalem (Romans 15:25-26. Paul did not ask the Christian assemblies every Sunday to send money to Jerusalem. Every instance in the New Testament where money was raised it was for the believers who had a need. (Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37).

To truly understand giving one must read the entire chapters 8 and 9 of Second Corinthians. In those two chapters Paul is talking about voluntary giving and helping those in need. Not one time in the scriptures did any apostle even hint at telling people what to give. Unfortunately we have relied upon "reverend" to interpret the bible for us.

(2 Timothy2:15) says " Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needed not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth."

(1 Thessalonians 5:21) says " Prove (Test) all things; hold fast that which is good"

I received this revelation in 2003. Later at my job the Lord spoke to me and told me why he did not take up an offering. He said "The reason I did not take up an offering is that I don't want my people taken advantage of more so than what they already are. You see your bible where it is worn in the pages where you have studied the most. If I had taken up an offering that would have been the most worn out page in most preacher's bible, even yours Enoch." When he finished speaking to me I saw a vision of a preacher holding up his bible saying to a congregation; "I'm doing what Jesus did. Jesus took up an offering. Jesus is my example, how many want to obey Jesus." Vision ended. Many preachers faith is not in Jesus Christ, it is in your checking and savings accounts.

I have seen over the many years so many preachers lie on Jesus. I heard one preacher say the Lord said that there are eleven people in this congregation that need to give $345.00 dollars. You need to obey Jesus. Many people actually stood in line to give the money. He came back later and ripped many of them off for a $1000 dollars. Many preachers would come up with figures from $20.00 dollars to a $1000.00 dollars or more. I have also seen where certain individuals in the church were told by a preacher to give a specific amount of money. They would say; The Lord said you need to give $10.00 dollars, to another, you need to give $20.00 dollars, to another you need to give $50.00 dollars, and to another you need to give $100.00 dollars and so on. That is manipulation and witchcraft, by no other name. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had, give everything he got to the poor, and come and follow him. (Luke 18:22) Very few preachers will tell a man of substance to sell all he has give it to the poor and come and join his church. He wants his money. First he will tell him he needs to give ten percent of it to God. Which is his ministry. Then he will say you haven't really given until you have given above the tithe and give an offering to God. Which is his ministry. Read an excerpt from the sermon," The Reproach of the Solemn Assembly" by David Wilkerson. Click on the link at the bottom of this article. That's why I stopped listening to these preachers that David named many years ago in the early 80's. They began to develop into gospel pimps instead of staying gospel ministers.

(1 Timothy 6:3-11) " Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions, and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich. Well, religion does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have. What did we bring into this world? Nothing! What can we take out of this world? Nothing. So, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows. But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love endurance, and gentleness." Good News Bible

Always check behind what any preacher says. It's amazing how many preachers lie on Jesus to the body of Christ. How many people have come to you and handed you money, slipped money into your pocket or laid money at your feet because they sensed that you were blessed of God and that they wanted to be blessed by giving you money? NOBODY. You have to work for your money. Yet we lay money at many preachers feet all the time. The scriptures clearly talks about false apostles, prophets and teachers that will use you and take almost every thing you got. And they will do it in Jesus name. God Bless

The Tithe Lie

(Malachi 3:8-10) "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, how have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and test me now herewith, saith the lord of host, if I will not open up the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing , that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

First and formost, tithes and offerings is fruits, vegetables and animals not money.Anyone who tells you that both is money is lying to you. I studied all 17 chaptures on tithes and offerings in the bible, starting in Februrary 2005. From Genesis to Hebrews and found out that tithes and offerings was to the nation of Israel only. God never gave Gentiels the tithe law. But many preachers twisted this doctrine; changed it to money to keep their church business going. Yes, church is a business. That's another study and subject.

(Hebrews 7:4,8) Now consider how great this man was, (Melchizedek) unto whom even the patriarch, Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils...And here men that die receive tithes; but there he (Melchizedek) receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth."

In many churches these verses are the most quoted scriptures in the bible. I quoted them for twenty five years. In 2005 I was studying the subject of tithing. In reading Hebrews, I noticed the word spoils. In reading the story in Genesis 14th chapter, I realized that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils of warfare, someone else merchandise. It was not from his own personal possessions or income. So I read the same story in other translations. It was clear Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils he recovered and gave the other ninety percent back. Abraham did not keep any of it. He also tithed that one time. Also God did not tell him to do it. (Genesis 13:2) Says that Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold. Tithing did not make Abraham rich. Abraham was already rich before he tithed that one time to Melchizedek. Over the many years I have heard preachers use the story of Abraham and Melchizedek to justify tithing by saying that Abraham paid tithes before the law was written. He did. One time with somebody else’s stuff. Isn't that amazing. So I realized that I had been lied to about Abraham. And if that story was a lie, what else about tithing is a lie.

It took many months of study to find out about the truth of what tithing was really all about. I had been taught about the tithe lie more than about hell. Also I thought that I was the only one that knew about this. I had no idea that many other ministers all over the world knew about the tithe lie. When you are born within a denomination that teaches this lie' then leave that denomination and join a non-denominational church and the same lie is taught. Study other churches doctrines, it's taught in them. How can so many churches be wrong? Then I realized that many preachers simply repeat what other preachers say, especially if it sounds good. I found out that there are scriptures on tithing that I had never been taught. That's where the deception lies. Many preachers want you to believe what they say without question. Don't listen and study, just believe and receive. That's deception. Many churches are teaching this lie and putting God's people under a curse.

FIRST, TITHING IS NOT MONEY. THERE IS NOT ONE SINGLE VERSE IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE FROM GENESIS TO HEBREWS WHERE GOD COMMANDED ISRAEL TO TITHE MONEY TO THE LEVITES. So where it is in the bible that tithing was changed from food to money? Answer: NOWHERE. Many preachers who pastor churches can get away with this heretical lie because they are preachers. Who is going to question a man of God? Plus when people join HIS church he can tell them anything he wants to. Weather it’a hundred to thousands of members, he can tell them anything that he wants as long as he mis-quote a few scriptures. Because once you join his church your brain belongs to him, critical thinking is no longer necessary. There is a well known preacher who was exposed on national television and told a lie when he was questioned about the rich young ruler in the scriptures. He flat out lied. It’s all over the internet and he’s still telling the same lie. He don’t care, he has thousands of followers that believes whatever he says without question.

Many preachers will quote Malachi 3:8-10. Very few will quote (Galatians 3:10,13,14) "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written. Cursed is every one that continued not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written. Cursed is every one that hanged on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ: that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." These verses clearly tells us that we are no longer under the curse of the law and that Jesus paid the tithe for us. (Malachi 4:4) says, "Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statues and judgements." There were 613 laws under the old covenant. The Jews were required to obey all of them including the tithe law or be cursed. It would be wisdom to read the entire book of Malachi.

As Christians we were never under the law, but under grace because of Jesus death, burial and resurrection. (St. John 1:17) "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." If we put ourselves under the law we nullify grace. Plus the Old Testament is Judaism, the New Testament is Christianity. (Romans 6:14b) "for ye are not under the law but under grace." In Acts 15th chapter the Apostles had problems with some of the Jews trying to convert the Gentile Christians into practicing circumcision and keeping the law of Moses. They came together in Jerusalem to consider this matter, and came up with this solution. That the Gentiles are not under the law. But that they should abstain from four things. 1. Abstain from meats offered to idols 2. Abstain from fornication 3. Abstain from eating meat of animals that have been strangled. 4. Abstain from tasting or drinking blood. That is all. If you will notice tithing or keeping the Sabbath was not mentioned.

Tithing consisted of: 1. The annual first fruits tithe, that supported the Levites at the temple in Jerusalem. (Numbers 18:21). 2. The annual festival tithe which was eaten before the Lord in a place that he chose and shared with the levite. (Deut 14:22-26). 3. The local storehouse tithe every third year, that supported the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger as well as the Levites living in the area. (Deut.14:28, 29) (This is the tithe of Malachi chapter 3). Most people do not realize that the Jews today do not tithe because there is no one to tithe to. (Check out the web site at the bottom of this article). The Old Testament was written to the Jews not the Gentiles, the Jews know more about the Old Testament than we do.

Jesus Christ never received tithes for his ministry, actually he never took up an offering; never. There is a difference in mentioning about tithes to Jews who were still under the old covenant in (Matt. 23:23) and (Luke 18:12). The law was still in effect. Jesus had not died and risen from the grave. (St. John 1:17) "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Once Jesus died the law became of no effect. (Galatians 3:13,14) "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law , being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree; That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

Malachi 3;8,9, Will a man rob God?Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say How have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." Malachi 4:4, "Remember the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel,with the statues and ordinances." Yes Israel remember all 612 laws including the 613th law; the Law of Tithing. How is it that Jesus paid the tithe for us with his shed blood according to Galatians? Yet greedy preachers constantly put the body of Christ under the curse of the law Sunday after Sunday. Galatians3:10,11 "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident; for The just shall live by faith." If you put yourself under one of the 613 laws of the old covenant, you must obey all of them or be cursed. Galatians 5: 3-4 says that if we are justified by the law we are fallen from grace. Christ's grace has become null and void in our life. The entire book of Galatians was written to tell us we are not under the Law of the Old Covenant. Please read the entire book of Galatians in various translations.

What does windows of heaven mean in (Malachi 3:10)? You'll be surprised if you look it up. It's found in two other chapters in the book of Genesis. (Genesis 7:11,12) "In the six hundred year of Noah's life in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights." (Genesis 8:2, 3) "The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; And the waters returned from of the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated." Malachi was talking about natural rain on natural crops for the watering of the land for the sustaining of life, not spiritual blessings. (Leviticus 26:3-4, Deuteronomy 11:13-14, 28:12). I tithed over thirty years and it rained on my lawn as well on the non tithers lawn. The word meat found in (Malachi 3:10) is also the same meat found in (Proverbs 31:15) regarding the virtuous woman. It's talking about natural food. Look it up in your Strong’s Dictionary, Hebrew number 2964. tereph. teh-ref; "something torn, i.e. a fragment, e.g. a fresh leaf, prey, food:-leaf, meat, prey, spoil." Therefore if you really want to tithe according to the Old Testament law, you need to purchase some corn, strong drink, wine, oil, sheep and oxen and drop that in the offering plate. Tithing was not money, only food products and animals. If one brought money they had to pay a 20% penalty, which meant that they had to pay 12% cash instead of the food products. (Leviticus 27:31) "If you want to buy back this part of your harvest, you may do so by paying what it is worth plus an additional twenty percent." (Contemporary English Version). Also read the entire 27th chapter of Leviticus, you are going to be surprised at how many times money is mentioned in it's various forms, unassociated with tithing. Money is mentioned in the Old Testament, in various forms over 900 times. Therefore money was available hundreds of years before the tithe law came into effect. You could not tithe money. Tithing is not money but food products and animals. Tithing was only once a year. Every first and second year the people brought their tithes to Jerusalem and ate them before the Lord and shared with the Levites. Every third year the people brought the tithes to Jerusalem and gave all of it to the Levites, the strangers, the fatherless and the widow. (Deut. 12:1-21, Deut.14:22-29). The poor did not tithe. Tithing was also for the poor. Therefore, by teaching the poor to tithe the preachers are actually robbing them. Every three years Israel made a confession before the Lord regarding giving the tithe to the Levites and the poor and asked the Lord to look down from heaven and bless them. (Deut. 26:12-15). Many pastors are having people make confessions over their tithing every Sunday asking the Lord to bless them because they are giving their tithe to his church, not to the poor. There is a great deception between today's church that teach tithing and what Israel did.

Every tenth animal was given to the Levites. If a man had 18 sheep the tenth sheep that passed through the gate was the Lords. Not the first sheep that came through, the tenth. If a man had 21 goats the tenth and the twentieth goat was the Lords. It was not the first of the flock, it was the tenth. (Leviticus 27:32, 33). Every seventh year there was no tithing, (Exodus 23:10-11, 5:1-7), the land had to rest. There is too much to be written about tithing. The reason why preachers still teach it is because it's easy money. Come to church, worship, take communion, pay God his ten percent, listen to a sermon. God don't want our money, he wants us. (Romans 12:1-2). Without tithes church would cease to exist. Why not? Because man created it. Jesus was not talking about building a structure, he was talking about building up his people in (Matthew 16:18). Because of the tithing issue, church has become a multi-billion dollar business. Many poor will not come to church because of the pull for money constantly in many churches. It would be wisdom to read (2 Corinthians 8th and 9th) chapters in various translations to see what Paul was really talking about regarding giving. These two chapters are talking about giving to the poor. Also (1 Corinthians 16: 1-3), (The collection was sent for the relief of the poor saints in Jerusalem). Not to build a church, buy new carpet, pay
the pastors salary, etc. Many Christians are living from paycheck to paycheck and have been tithing for twenty years or more. Many have lost their jobs, their vehicles, have filed for bankruptcy and lost their homes because they tithed. They were told to tithe and God would pay the bill. Therefore when the money did not come in on time they had to try to get a loan or borrow it from relatives to keep a float. And they better not ask their pastor what's wrong. He will probably tell them they didn't have enough faith or they must rejoice when they bring God his tithe. Or give some other stupid answer. Giving is necessary in the body of Christ, but not tithing. You are either under the law or grace. Note: There is more to tithing than you realize, I could write a book about the tithing lie. You are not a Jew, you are a Gentile. The Old Testament was written to the Jews, the New Testament was written for the Jew and the Gentile. The Old Testament is Law. The New Testament is Grace. The Gentile Christians did not tithe. Egyptian Christians did not tithe. Greek Christians did not tithe. If you try to tithe you are saying that you are a natural Jew, that you have a Jewish heritage. (Revelation 2:9, 3:9). Pastors who tell people to tithe to their ministry not only are telling the people that they are Jews but that they are also Levites; a certain priestly class. Levites were not preachers, they were priest in the temple that assisted the Aaronic Priesthood. Only the Aaronic priest could go into the Holy of Holies in the temple. Not the Levites. Pastors are not Levites (Numbers 18:21, 24). The scriptures clearly tells us that we are priests (1Peter 2:5, Rev. 1:6) Compare Malachi 1:1 with 4:4. Are you Israelites or Americans?  I REPEAT, GOD NEVER COMMANDED ISRAEL TO TITHE TO A PREACHER. ABRAHAM, ELIJAH, JEREMIAH, AMOS, MALACHI, JESUS, PAUL, ETC. PREACHERS WERE NOT QUALIFIED TO RECIEVE TITHES BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT LEVITES. THE PROPHET, APOSTLE, PASTOR OR ANY OTHER PREACHER COULD NOT GO INSIDE THE TEMPLE AND MINISTER  BECAUSE GOD WOULD HAVE KILLED THEM. THEY KNEW THE LAW. These greedy preachers today don't care about the law, grace or anything else, they want your money for their business.

Tithes and offerings were only brought to one place, the temple in Jerusalem. The place where God put his name. Tithes were not brought to individual synagogues all over Israel. (Deut 12:5-7, 2 Chronicles 6:6, 31:4). Tithes from gentile nations was not received it was considered to be polluted. When people think of the word tithe they automatically think money instead of food products and animals. It's called the bait and switch technique. This technique has worked for centuries.

Study and give as the Lord directs you to give. Not the preacher telling you what the Lord said. I have been in church services where some minister told certain people in the congregation exactly what to give. That's not God, that's witchcraft. Jesus said "My sheep hears my voice". (St. John 10:16). You are Jesus sheep not the pastor's. God Bless.

(http://www.askelm.com/tithing/thi003.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-09-23-tithing-housing_N.htm

 

How to be Born Again

First, you believe and come to a realization of the reality of God, it is written, "In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1) It  is also written "that he that cometh to God must first belive that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

Second, one must repent of their sins (Matthew 4:17) "From that time Jesus began to preach, and too say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Acts 17:30) says " And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commanded all men everywhere to repent."

Third, one must must make a confession of faith and belief  in Jesus Christ. (St. John 3:36) " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (Acts 8:37) "And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

Fourth, one must be baptized, (Mark 16: 16) " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Acts 2:38) " Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:41) "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."

Fifth, one must live a life of obedience and holiness unto God. (Hebrews 12:14) "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." If we are to see God in peace we must live for him in complete obedience.  God Bless