Tag Archives: God

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A Miracle is an End to Itself

I posted this statement today and had some interesting responses. I will deal with one of them. “One small miracle by a Charismatic by faith is more valuable than 1000 Reformed sermons.”

Billy responded with:

“(1) A miracle is not an end to itself.
(2) A miracle (physical healing or any charismatic supernatural scenario) can mean nothing if the crowd misses the point. Many in the crowd, where the miracle of multiplication of bread and fish, missed the point that Christ is the Bread of Life. (3) Meanwhile, the preaching of the Word under the operation of the Holy Spirit inwardly regenerates a sinner. (4)True conversions born anew with the genuine and observable fruit of sanctification and evidential maturity leading to glorification of the saints is more important that a miracle (even if the miracle is from God).”

(1) Miracles happen for different reasons. Some miracles, a small minority of them are to confirm a ministry or a future promise. One such miracle is when Jesus said, “know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home,” (Matt. 9:6). Yet Jesus says statements that indicate most of His miracles were to fulfill His ancient promise to Abraham (Luke 13:10-17, Mark 7:25-29, Galatians 3). There is a category difference between a sign miracle to “confirm” a future promise or ministry versus a miracle to “fulfill” a promise already given.

With that being said people who find the Bible and God is not humble enough for them will always ignore God in order to make them sound more humble by appealing to things such as God centeredness. Usually, the people who hate God the most surround themselves with religious talk and activities, but are never able to produce true fruit that proves election such as miracles, the baptism of the Spirit and healing. Just like the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, they are masochists but surrounding themselves with outward displays of the person they hate the most.

Also, miracles are for God’s glory. However, this is misleading in the sense all things are for God’s glory, in the ultimate sense. Even my unbelieving family members burning in hell are to the glory of God. Just as you can always answer any question about reality with God’s sovereignty on the ultimate sense, you can do the same with God’s glory for the ultimate purpose for everything. It is like saying “things are things that exist.” Such statements are true, but also unhelpful. Even imaginary trees exist in my mind, so what? Thus, such an immeasurably broad answer is not helpful if a specific question is being asked. It is like my mom asking “what would you like to eat for lunch tomorrow” and then I answer with “food.” Yet, this is how most Reformed people answer biblical questions, and they think they are intelligent. LOL!

I could go into more detail, but will deal with this in one brut slap. “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete, (John 16:24).

Jesus says by asking and receiving miracles that the end result will be to our joy.  Early, Jesus said it would bring the Father glory. Yet, Jesus the most God-centered man who ever lived, has no issue saying, miracles are for your joy, as an end to itself. People who cannot receive God’s love for them have a hard time with this, because receiving from God takes a level of wisdom and maturity they do not have. This might be a surprise, but Jesus thinks many loving thoughts toward His children, and wants them to be full of joy. He wants to answer prayers with miracles and make their hearts burst with joy, simply because He loves us. God gave us His Son, how will He not freely give us all things? God’s love is an end to itself. God’s love to Himself is an end to itself, and the Father loves us with the “same love” He loves Jesus with. And in this sense, His love to give us miracles for “our joy,” is an end to itself.  To say otherwise is to say God’s love for Himself is not an end of itself.

It is also an end to itself in the same way healing is according to the will of man, is an end to itself. For more of this see Vincent Cheung, “Healing: the Will of Man.” For quick summary remember the woman who Jesus told her she was a dog. Jesus correctly told her it was “not God’s will” to minister to gentiles at this time. Yet, after she gave an argument based on faith, Jesus relented and said, “Women, your will be done.” In this sense, the miracle was for her joy, in accordance with the will of man. Jesus the most God-centered man did a 180, going from, “this plan is the “will of God,”” to the “will of man be done on earth.”

Also, the statement of Jesus to receive miracles so that our joy is complete is not a suggestion, but a command. You are commanded to receive miracles and to be overjoyed by them in thankfulness, as an end to itself. If you do not do this, you are in rebellion against the command of God. Miracles is a proof of election and the lack thereof a proof of reprobation.

(2) This is just so stupid I feel befouled just answering it. The passage mentioned about the feeding and the crowd not understanding cuts both ways. Jesus also preached and taught, and they still did not understand. Thus, I should conclude that preaching is a lesser thing than x or y? But this was the argument he used against the miracle. Dumb.

It is true that preaching is foundational in the sense of knowing the truth. But my comment about miracles is not addressing the “foundational issue of knowing the truth.” Thus, this section of critique is a non-relevant fallacy, and shows they are intellectually incompetent. I am talking about “a” and then they either stupidly or they knew, but then tried to do a slight-of-hand fallacy and made it about “h” instead.

(3) This is a ridiculous critique against my original statement. Again, this cuts both ways.  The blind man Jesus healed believed because of the miracle. Of course the Holy Spirit was behind the invisible rebirth, but the miracle is what was highlighted, not preaching. Jesus said more than once even if you do not believe what He is saying, you should believe because of His miracles. In either case, the preaching or the miracles, if one believes it is because of the invisible work of the Spirit. However, we not talking about that ultimate level. We are dealing wit the argument of Jesus, who was the most God-centered man who ever lived. He said miracles should lead you to believe in Him. John records more than once in his gospel that miracles were the catalyst for many people believing in Jesus (Lazarus for example), not the preaching.  In fact, on the day of Pentecost, where the baptism of the Spirit came down with miracles, and the crowed asked about the miracle, 3000 were saved. Peter’s ending remark was to be forgiven, and “then” they can receive the miracle of baptism of the Spirt, if they have been predestined for it.  

(4) This is so stupid its funny. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, [proving] yourselves to be my disciples, (John 15:7-8).

Billy’s argument is that “fruit” which prove your sanctification and thus prove your confession is true, is more important than miracles. This is like saying “how long have you been hitting your wife” loaded question.

Jesus says by asking and receiving miracles, you prove to be His disciples. Thus, by Billy’s own standard miracles are the most important thing we can be pursuing. According to Jesus, if you do not have miracles, then you prove you are chosen to be a reprobate.

I say this often, but fighting against God will always make you lose.

Points 2-3 are non-relevant points to my statement, and I only answered them to show the stupidity of them. Point (1) is the real issue.

It is true that God has made it so that pouring His love into us, is what gives Him glory. This is the ultimate end. However, like I said before, “for the glory of God” is so broad, it is meaningless unless defined. This is going to be obvious, but it needs to be said in light of the above stupidity. Because the way God ultimately glorifies Himself in us, is by pouring His love into us (the details), then if we truly want our life to be “for the glory of God,” then we need to receive the abundant love of God. Just being a theological troll by going to every site and posting “for the glory of God,” does not do the thing that brings God’s glory, which is to receive His love in our life. Paul in Ephesians 3 in the context of talking about the width, length, height, and depth of God’s love says that God will answer our request exceedingly beyond what we ask. Therefore in a miracle of financial provision, there were 12 large baskets left over. This is how God loved Jesus when His Son asked for help. We are now sons of God. God loves us as much as He loves Jesus, and as much as the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us the same love (John 15:9, 17:26).

You glorify God, not by how much you give love to God, but by how much you receive from God’s love. It is true that we love God by obeying His commands, and yet, it is these very commands that commands us to ask for miracles and receive them so that our joy my be full. God’s command includes more than this, but not less than. It is true that it is more blessed to give in human relationships, but with God it is more blessed to receive. Therefore Jesus rebuked Martha, because she had this backwards. Receiving is the “better part” in relation to God. When you are blessed, enriched and healed by receiving from God’s love, you glorify Him the most.  Human superstition and speculation in pagan religions give to the gods to honor then, but in Christianity, we receive His abundant life and love and by this we honor the true God.

Thus, one miracle by a charismatic receives God’s love 1000 times more than 1000 reformed sermons, and thus glorifies God 1000 times more than 1000 reformed sermons. Solo Deo Miracles is how to give us all the joy. Solo Deo Miracles is how God loves us so much, as an end to itself. Solo Deo Miracles is how God gives Himself all the glory.

One on One Ministry with Jesus

I have been sick the last week. When I had the mental strength, I would ask for healing and praise God for helping me. However, I did not receive the instant healing I was asking for and didn’t know what was hindering it. Then today I felt well enough to walk and pray in tongues. I was doing so along with praising God and making faith declarations of God’s promises. “God you forgive me all my sins. You heal me all my sickness. You cause my cup to overflow. You are my salvation. You are my righteousness.”  However, I did notice a slight hindrance when saying, “You are my righteousness.” I mentally noted to work on this, and then moved on continuing to pray in tongues. I was also asking for an interpretation. At one point the praying in tongues intensified, and then the power of God came upon me. It was a continued pouring of power, wave after wave. Then the Spirit of God said,

 “I will make you truly understand how righteous you are. You will become strong and powerful from knowing how righteous I have made you. You will know the powerful effects that come from knowing how righteous you are(James 5:16). The years of the Evil one hindering you from realizing how righteous you are, are over. I have removed them. Rejoice!”

Two important takeaways from this.

One. I need more faith in general, and more faith in the doctrine concerning how righteous I am and the powerful implication of this. Second, is how important it is to have God give you one-on-one personal ministry through the Spirit. If you recall how Acts described Phillip and Steven, it says they were filled with “faith and the Holy Spirit.” There is no greater powerful combination on earth than being filled with both the Spirit and faith.  

This is an aspect that faith cannot fulfill. Faith is truly the master key. The charismatics are wrong in overemphasizing the spiritual “gifts” over faith, because faith is both more foundational in making the inner man strong and in how it can constantly (morning, daytime and night) bring in miracle after miracle after miracle. The gifts are God’s sovereign choice and they flow when He chooses. This does not mean we cannot do things to encourage a more constant flow of the gifts and the anointing presence of God. However, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 these are the sovereign work of God. It is not something we do on instant demand, with a possible exception of tongues. This is where faith is different and has an advantage. Faith is on demand of your believing. You need no feeling or situation. You only need to believe. On the demand of faith, God will always work, heal and supply by giving you a fish for a fish, each and every single time.  Moring and midmorning, afternoon, evening and midnight, over and over and over again in the same day. If you have faith, you will have whatever you ask, everything you ask and as much as you ask. The only exception is that God will likely give you more.

This is why when spiritual strength is measured for a person, faith has the largest part to play. It is something we need to think about everyday and consider how to increase it by hearing of the world of Christ. Particularly the Christ found the gospels and Acts.

With that being said, one way the Holy Spirit endows us the power, comes from an aspect some overlook or place too small a value on. It is something faith cannot do. (I say this in context of our weakness and imperfect faith. With mature faith there is nothing you cannot do.). Jesus is your personal minister. Because our faith is not perfect, we can benefit from tailored advice for our specific problem or question.

Imagine if you can go back in time and sit with Jesus for an hour and ask Him to bless and give you personalized instruction? How wonderful would that be, right? It would be amazing, which is why Jesus said it is good that He go away and send the Spirit. It is good because then we all will have direct access to God the way the apostles did with Jesus, but for all believers. Do not be tempted to think this is less powerful than going back in time and having one-on-one ministry from Jesus. The Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ in Romans. When we are baptized in the Spirit for power, we have the power that allows Jesus to minister to us as if we were with Him in person. This is amazing power! This is the greatest Master to student training that ever existed, and all Christian have this available to them if they seek it.

I needed to know I had deficiency in not believing how righteous I truly am. I did recognize this in-part, from reading the word and analyzing my own thoughts. But how good is my analyses of myself? Who am I to ask? Who will give me advice? And how do I remedy this? If it takes real power to solve a problem, then will the person giving advice give me the power to solve it? And in age where it is hard to find a church that is expansionist and believes in God’s sovereignty, who can I ask for personal help?

Yet, all this is swept away by the fact God is my personal Minister. He knows His own word, and He knows me perfectly. He knows the problem and cause. God had the power to remove the problem and the knowledge I needed to hear the most. Who cares if it was Satan himself personally hindering me all these years. God just kicked it to the curb and removed the obstacle, so of course I don’t care. I get a tailored-made encouragement and power, that both fixes the mind and fixes the problem. Who can counsel like this, but God? Who can look at a hiding Gideon and say just what was needed and provide the power at the same time? Who can minister like God? Yet, the Spirit gives us the power to have God to be our minister. He can say the perfect word, at the perfect time. He can give the power to remove any hindrance and solve any problem. If God is your minister, then rejoice because the Greatest Master is your personal instructor and helper.

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Word Of Faith vs God Was Never There

Since, Bill Johnson of Bethel was unable to raise Olive from the dead, that proves he’s a FALSE Apostle because one of the signs of a real apostle of Jesus is that they have authority to raise the dead.
-Chris Rosebrough (twitter dec. 2019)

The real issue here is if Rosebrough can logically deduce that if an apostle or someone claiming to be an apostle prays for a miracle, such as resurrection, but then fails, it “necessarily” infers false apostle. This of course, cannot be done as a sound argument, if Scripture alone is your starting point of knowledge. Now, if one wishes to hybrid Christian epistemology with the Pope or their speculative sensations, observations, history and other human starting points, then they might be able to make a valid, albeit, an unsound argument.

Part of the problem, might come from a strawman concerning the nature of Bethel asking for resurrection. When people were praying for the miracle, some were making declarations of faith as “word of faith.” That is, just like Jesus making “word of faith,” declarations with the fig tree or with Lazarus. Or like Joshua with the sun, or the woman asking Elisha for her child to be resurrected. The issue here is that a “word of faith,” declaration is not the same thing as prophecy. To make this short, a “word of faith,” like Jesus used it or other biblical examples is nothing more than a shorthand prayer. When the Shunammite woman said to Elisha that “all is well,” this was word of faith. (2 Kings 4:18–37) It was not a prophecy. It was faith that God was able to do what she was asking. She still acknowledge the reality saying, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” She, like Jesus, both when questioned acknowledge the persons in question were indeed dead, yet, both made faith declarations about it.

This is like the criminal on the cross or Samson, when they summed up a whole bunch of doctrine about mercy in the shorthand phrase, “remember me.” Instead of saying, “father I ask, through your Son Jesus Christ, that you raise person x from the dead,” they make a word of faith, “they are not dead, but asleep.” Or, “Father, through your Son, forgive me of my sin,” as a word of faith, “I am already the righteousness of Christ.” Or, “Father, through your Son, heal me of this sickness,” as a word of faith, “sickness you have already left my body.” There is nothing complicated about this. It would take a bottom-of-the-barrel stupid person to miss this.

This issue is simple. It is about faith. Faith that God does what He promised. Faith that the blood of Christ is a guarantee for all it is promised for. God cannot lie. God was sovereign and all-knowing when He made the promise. He made the promises because He wanted to. Because He was sovereign when He made it, and is still sovereign, the promises are still guaranteed today.

A prophecy is something different. If a false one is given, then it would indeed make the person a false prophet. One problem with some sects, focusing too much on “word of faith,” rather than on “faith” itself, is that it can give mixed appearances. Some with weak faith, in the “word of faith” circles, focus on faith declarations as empty pragmatics, or a program, when they would be better served focusing on hearing the word of God, so that their faith is strengthened. With great faith, (the type of great faith Jesus pointed out) it does not matter how the prayer of faith is given. If you have strong faith, you will be given what you ask for. Thus, it is a non-relevant issue if it is a longer prayer asking the Father for something, or if it is given as a shorthand of a declaration. What matters is faith. Faith is always the relevant issue. This was Jesus’ focus, and it ought to be ours.

Thus, a prayer in faith that fails, does not lead to the necessary consequent of a false apostle, prophet or Christian. Such a case merely shows this person’s faith is not as strong as they thought it was. Now, a continued lifelong example of prayers and no miracles, at least according to Jesus, would prove you are not one of His true disciples (John 15:5-8). When the disciples asked why they failed in a ministry operation Jesus said, “Because of your little faith, (Matt 17:20 LEB).” Jesus went behind their backs and healed the boy. That is, despite God causing them to have little faith and failed to minister compassion, Jesus did God’s Will by healing the boy. Did this failed ministry moment, because of little faith, make the disciples “false apostles”? But I digress. Jesus, with these weak faith disciples, kept rebuking and comforting them to be better. They did.

One point of concern about this critique is that everything about this situation screams, “this is about faith in God,” or maybe, “faith vs. weak faith.” Their focus was about obeying God will (commandments), and seeking God’s promise and God’s power. Yet, religious fanboys see, “apostles.” It is easy to distinguish an empiricist, because they are so focused on people, on sensual things (sensations). Spiritual, intellectual and invisible things like God’s word and faith, are too intellectual and spiritual for their fleshly minds. They need to focus on men. They need robust histories, stories, heavy smelly books, elaborate traditions and colorful shadows. Because they cannot understand how a sinner like themselves is able to have faith to raise the dead, their focus is thus on other men, and how these other men cannot do it either. God was never in the picture. God was never there. They do apologetics against others by assuming God out of their arguments, when God is their defining epistemology, metaphysics and ethics. These fanboys, manage to talk about the Bible, sovereignty, and grace without God being there. If only in this aspect, they are miracles in how blind a person can be. They are practicing empiricists and atheists when they view the world and when they speak.

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Faith Testifies about a Certain Attribute of God

Why does Hebrews focus on faith rather than some other ethic that God is so pleased with and turns humans into everlasting heroes, whom the world was not worthy to have known.

There are a few reasons, but I want to focus on one aspect. Faith testifies about a certain attribute of God, that God is very concerned with. God’s word is true. God’s word is faithful. God’s word does not fade away, while everything else fades. God’s word is 7 times tested and sure. God’s word is permanent and absolute. God is a God of truth and faithfulness.

God is not a physical Body. He is Spirit, or a Mind. Or in a technical way, an infinite, eternal, immutable system of propositions. Truth is at the very heart of who God is! And faith is a relational testimony from man to God, that God is a God of Truth.

This is why you will see commands (ethics) that state “ABOVE ALL, let your yes be yes,” (James 5:12). Or Jesus saying in the sermon on the Mount., “let your yes be yes and no be no,” (Matthew 5:37). OR the many commands to know, believe and speak the “truth.” Or in proverbs there are 6 things that Yahweh hates, and two of them directly deal with the issue of truth (“A lying tongue, false witness.”)

Faith not only directly obeys God’s command, but it is a loud testimony of the surety, faithfulness, permanent and enduring nature of God’ Word. Such a testimony greatly pleases God. This is why, unbelief toward the good promises of God, (forgiveness, healing, prosperity, miracles etc), is so hatful to God. It not only is direct rebellion to the command of God, but it is also a testimony against the faithfulness, permanence, and enduring nature of God’s Word.

Therefore, in Hebrews 11:6 we are told if you please God you must believe He rewards those who seek Him. Faith like this, is a testimony of glory of God’s Word. Let our lives be continual acts of faith in God’s rewards, so that not only do we have joy, but our lives become continual shouts to the faithfulness, permanence, and everlasting nature of the Word of God.

This is also why it is good to practice faith confessions. Confess Psalm 23, and 103. “My Cup overflows.” “You forgive all my sins, and heal me of all my sicknesses.” When you confess and praise God, like Israel about the walls of Jericho falling down (BERORE they fall down), your life becomes a loud broadcast to the world and God, that His world is more faithful, more permanent, more tested, more true and more enduring than anything we see or anything related to man’s speculations.

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If You have Faith, You have no Wait

People are waiting on God, however, at the same time God is waiting on them.

God is waiting for their faith. Thus they will be waiting forever.

God waits for faith, after this we stop waiting, because God gives us whatever we ask in faith.

With faith the waiting stops. Even aged wine, which takes a long time, took no time when Jesus turned water into wine. The same for many types of healing.

If you have faith, you have no wait.

This is an area where even those who think they have mature faith can keep growing. Let us always strive for 100 fold in faith, and not be settled with anything else. It’s is fine to start with 30 fold, or even 10, we all must start somewhere. But let us never be satisfied accept with the impossible standard that Jesus promised we can achieve with faith. There is too much of our own joy and His glory at stake for anything less.

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Today, God Rewards Faith with What?

“And it is impossible to please God without faith.
 Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists
and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6

Ok, so God rewards us if we have faith. So what types of rewards are we talking about? Since some make a distinction between old testament and new, (even if I do not agree with this, let us consider it for argument sake), then what rewards should we expect in this age? In the age that Jesus sits on His throne in triumph with the church empowered by the Spirit, under the New Contract, what types of rewards are we to anticipate?

It is convenient that our verse in question is addressed to church age. It is directly for us.

Hebrews 11:3-35,

3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.”[a] For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.

21 It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

23 It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. 27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. 28 It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.

29 It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.

30 It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.

31 It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 

Again, the context is about what we receive now, as a Reward from God, when we sincerely seek Him. Hebrews 11 mentions a long list of miracles in the Old Testament, as examples for the rewards we receive Today, when we have faith in God.  The list contains many lists of different types of miracles rewards.  There are miracles rewards of protection. Noah was delivered when the entire world was drowned and killed off by God’s anger. In the Passover, the Israelites were protected again from God’s wrath, as it past-over them on its way to destroyed Egypt. In the book of Daniel the 3 Israelite men were protected from the wrath of a human king, when he throw them into a blazing fire. King David was protected, time and time again from all sorts of evil men trying to hurt him. There are miracle rewards of healing and health. Sarah was very beautiful, even as an old woman. Moses was healthy and full of vitality even at 120. Caleb was as strong at 80 as he was at 40. Sarah’s dead womb was healed, or resurrected back to life so that she conceived Isaac. There are miracles of various feats of strength. Gideon, was a man hiding from the enemy when God called him a mighty man of valor. He believed God, and went on to be just that.  David had many impossible victories by faith. The wall of Jericho came down by faith and praise. Samson believe God would use him, when everyone else did not. Samson believed God would use him, according to God’s promise, even after he sinned. He was a man of glorious faith, that the world was not worthy to have known. Women also received the dead back. Thus, resurrection is a reward of faith, meant for today.

The passage says they had victory over entire Kingdoms or nations. Thus, part of the REWARD we can receive today by faith, (even one man by himself in faith) is victory over entire political systems and even their armies.

The passage summed these up as “received what God had promised them.” They received victory and triumph over impossible odds, as a reward for their faith. According this this passages v.6, this pleases God.

The other type of rewards is future rewards of a heavenly kingdom, so that, where there is direct persecution for the gospel’s sake (not unbelief’s sake), you can receive great rewards in the next life. Since most seem to accept this without hesitation, we will focus on what most of the passage addresses.

As a summary, God today, rewards faith with things such as, impossible protection, healing, strong life in old age, power and various feats of impossible strength, resurrection and even victory over entire kingdoms.

Verse 6 says, in order to “please God” you must believe God exists. This is good; yet, I am sure even the demons believe this much. However, this second part is something demons cannot do. They cannot believe God will reward them for faith. Only a child of God, to whom the promise of good reward is promised to, is able to do that. Thus, if you want proof you are able to do more than what a demons can to, then you must have faith that is able to expand and receive the things promised in this passage. If you want to “please God,” you cannot do so with believing God will reward you, in THIS LIFE, impossible protection, vitality in old age, impossible healings, strength to tear down gates of a city, to have your child resurrected, and to be victorious over entire kingdoms.

How can your faith be a faith that “pleases God,” if you do not believe and seek God for this? It cannot according to Hebrews 11 infallible definition of faith. You might please men with a weak faith or unbelief, but God will not be impressed. We are to seek God’s approval, not men’s. God will not go by a man made definition of faith. God will judge and reward us based on His definition of faith.

Cessationist do not possess a faith that raises above that of demons. They are a cult of demons and unbelief.

As for the rest. Now that you know the truth, how “rewarded” you will be if you put it into practice! If you admit you are wrong, then remember the prodigal son. If you are sincere in your acknowledgment of wrong, God will receive you. He will put His best robe on you, His sandals and put His ring on your finger.

When there is a promise there is a way. There are many promises to forgive and restore. But there are also many promises to protect, strengthen and empower. They are yours for the taking. Let us not seek the approval of men. Let us seek to please God, by seeking all the promises from the least to the greatest, both for the next life and for this life. When there is faith, every promise, even the greatest impossible promises are low hanging fruit ready to be plucked..

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Logic Is God

To start this section, I will shamelessly quote Gordon Clark, “God and Logic,” because he says it so well:

“Psalm 31:5 addresses God as “O Lord God of truth.” John 17:3 says,” This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God….” 1 John 5:6 says, “the Spirit is truth.” Such verses as these indicate that God is a rational, thinking being whose thought exhibits the structure of Aristotelian logic.

If anyone objects to Aristotelian logic in this connection-and presumably he does not want to replace it with the Boolean-Russellian symbolic logic-let him ask and answer whether it is true for God that if all dogs have teeth, some dogs-spaniels-have teeth? Do those who contrast this “merely human logic” with a divine logic mean that for God all dogs may have teeth while spaniels do not? Similarly, with “merely human” arithmetic: two plus two is four for man, but is it eleven for God? …

… It was God’s eternal purpose to have such liquids, and therefore we can say that the particularities of nature were determined before there was any nature.

Similarly in all other varieties of truth, God must be accounted sovereign. It is his decree that makes one proposition true and another false. Whether the proposition be physical, psychological, moral, or theological, it is God who made it that way. A proposition is true because God thinks it so.

Perhaps for a certain formal completeness, a sample of Scriptural documentation might be appropriate. Psalm147: 5 says, “God is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding is infinite.” If we cannot strictly conclude from this verse that God’s power is the origin of his understanding, at least there is no doubt that omniscience is asserted. 1 Samuel 2:3 says, “the Lord is a God of knowledge.” Ephesians 1:8 speaks of God’s wisdom and prudence. In Romans16: 27 we have the phrase, “God only wise,” and in 1 Timothy 1:17 the similar phrase, “the only wise God.” 

Logic Is God

It is to be hoped that these remarks on the relation between God and truth will be seen as pertinent to the discussion of logic. In any case, the subject of logic can be more clearly introduced by one more Scriptural reference. The well-known prologue to John’s Gospel may be paraphrased, “In the beginning was Logic, and Logic was with God, and Logic was God…. In logic was life and the life was the light of men.”

This paraphrase-in fact, this translation-may not only sound strange to devout ears, it may even sound obnoxious and offensive. But the shock only measures the devout person’s distance from the language and thought of the Greek New Testament. Why it is offensive to call Christ Logic, when it does not offend to call him a word, is hard to explain. But such is often the case. Even Augustine, because he insisted that God is truth, has been subjected to the anti-intellectualistic accusation of “reducing” God to a proposition. At any rate, the strong intellectualism of the word Logos is seen in its several possible translations: to wit, computation, (financial) accounts, esteem, proportion and (mathematical) ratio, explanation, theory or argument, principle or law, reason, formula, debate, narrative, speech, deliberation, discussion, oracle, sentence, and wisdom.

Any translation of John 1:1 that obscures this emphasis on mind or reason is a bad translation. And if anyone complains that the idea of ratio or debate obscures the personality of the second person of the Trinity, he should alter his concept of personality. In the beginning, then, was Logic.

That Logic is the light of men is a proposition that could well introduce the section after next on the relation of logic to man. But the thought that Logic is God will bring us to the conclusion of the present section. Not only do the followers of Bernard entertain suspicions about logic, but also even more systematic theologians are wary of any proposal that would make an abstract principle superior to God. The present argument, in consonance with both Philo and Charnock, does not do so. The law of contradiction is not to betaken as an axiom prior to or independent of God. The law is God thinking.

For this reason also the law of contradiction is not subsequent to God. If one should say that logic is dependent on God’s thinking, it is dependent only in the sense that it is the characteristic of God’s thinking. It is not subsequent temporally, for God is eternal and there was never a time when God existed without thinking logically. One must not suppose that God’s will existed as an inert substance before he willed to think.

As there is no temporal priority, so also there is no logical or analytical priority. Not only was Logic the beginning, but Logic was God. If this unusual translation of John’s Prologue still disturbs someone, he might yet allow that God is his thinking. God is not a passive or potential substratum; he is actuality or activity. This is the philosophical terminology to express the Biblical idea that God is a living God. Hence logic is to be considered as the activity of God’s willing.

Although Aristotle’s theology is no better (and perhaps worse) than his epistemology, he used a phrase to describe God, which, with a slight change, may prove helpful. He defined God as “thought-thinking-thought.” Aristotle developed the meaning of this phrase so as to deny divine omniscience. But if we are clear that the thought which thought thinks includes thought about a world to be created-in Aristotle God has no knowledge of things inferior to him-the Aristotelian definition of God as “thought-thinking-thought” may help us to understand that logic, the law of contradiction, is neither prior to nor subsequent to God’s activity.

This conclusion may disturb some analytical thinkers. They may wish to separate logic and God. Doing so, they would complain that the present construction merges two axioms into one. And if two, one of them must be prior; in which case we would have to accept God without logic, or logic without God; and the other one afterward. But this is not the presupposition here proposed. God and logic are one and the same first principle, for John wrote that Logic was God. At the moment this much must suffice to indicate the relation of God to logic. We now pass to what at the beginning seemed to be the more pertinent question of logic and Scripture…

… On this basis-that is, on the basis that Scripture is the mind of God-the relation to logic can easily be made clear. As might be expected, if God has spoken, he has spoken logically. The Scripture therefore should and does exhibit logical organization. For example, Romans 4:2 is an enthymematic hypothetical destructive syllogism. Romans 5:13 is a hypothetical constructive syllogism. 1 Corinthians 15:15-18 is a sorites. Obviously, examples of standard logical forms such as these could be listed at great length.

There is, of course, much in Scripture that is not syllogistic. The historical sections are largely narrative; yet every declarative sentence is a logical unit. These sentences are truths; as such they are objects of knowledge. Each of them has, or perhaps we should say, each of them is a predicate attached to a subject. Only so can they convey meaning.

Even in the single words themselves, as is most clearly seen in the cases of nouns and verbs, logic is embedded. If Scripture says, David was King of Israel, it does not mean that David was President of Babylon; and surely it does not mean that Churchill was Prime Minister of China. That is to say, the words David, King, and Israel have definite meanings.[1]“

——-

The important take away from this is elementary level easy. The Bible actually as a doctrine and teaching about logic. Some doctrines only have a few verses, but this topic on logic has many. Thus, any Christian who refuses to understand what the bible teaches on this subject and not obey it, is to be excommunicated. Since all thinking about scripture involves logic, then it is important to know what our God says about this and then follow it

The basic laws of logic are nothing more than faithful motions of the Mind of God. These are motions that His Mind always moves within. We then point out one of these particular constant motions and then give it a name like, The Law of Contradiction or Law of Identity (etc.). Some of these motions are so constant and rudimentary for God’s Mind, that if we who are made in His image do not think using these motions, we simply stop thinking altogether, because we stop being a mind. A mind is a system of propositions. The laws of logic are structure or motions that these propositions are to move in. Some mistakes are worse than others. There are some so basic, that if you do not use them, then the system of proposition’s stop working completely, or there is no movement. It becomes nothing more than a unthinking page from a book.

To say God is logic, is like saying God is the I AM. It is so part of His Mind, you cannot remove it without removing God. It is also like saying superman is Clark Kent, or Clark Kent is Superman. In this case it is rare in that it can be said either as a prediction (to give us understanding), but also as an identity “is” statement.

[1] Gordon Clark, God and Logic. 

Copyright © The Trinity Foundation, http://www.trinityfoundation.org. Post Office 68, Unicoi, Tennessee 37692. Phone: 423.743.0199 Fax: 423.743.2005

You have Fear, Thus You have No Faith (Logic)

Mark 4:30, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

When put in a syllogism it shows Jesus Christ is stating premises 2 and 3 of a Modus Tollens.

This little syllogism shows the positive first (faith) and the negative in the consequent (fear). This is a statement about reality about stating a positive in antecedent and denying the contradiction as a necessary consequence. Very basic, but very important foundations for having a correct understanding of reality.

Thus, faith and fear do not belong together. Any teaching that tries to put these together is false. We also see the moral lesson from Jesus. Jesus expects a return on His investment. He has deposited faith into His children and expects a return of faith being produced and not the contradiction of fear.

(1) (p) If you have faith, (~q) then you do not have fear.

(2) ~(~q) You have fear.

(3) ~(p) Thus, You have no faith.

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Power is what will Finally Deliver You

I awoke today feeling off and with a headache. Halfway through the day I saw a reminder to seek God in devotion for spiritual strength, and I felt the Spirit prod me to do this. As the day went on the headache got worse and I felt an irrational oppressive pressure on my mind. I even had a difficult time remembering things. Finally it got to a point where it was irrational fears and accusative thoughts coming out of nowhere.

I have been seeking personal inner strength as a priority for about 2 or 3 years now. God has been delivering me from many of my old fears and even sins and etc. I will one day write about this, but even as a young man I experienced a direct demonic attack regarding temptation. It frightened me. I lacked the knowledge and power to know how to deal with such a thing. It caused me years of terrible fear in my heart. Vincent’s materials were helping me, and his essay on Demonic Attacks was a moment of where I began to experience real breakthrough.

Today, I suddenly felt all those old fears suddenly being pressed upon me, like they once did. So, again I did the easy thing and just began to pray in tongues and declares God’s promises over me. When I began this, the oppressive mental attacks ratcheted in up strength. However, after about 15 minutes I felt a sudden power in speaking in tongues. This happens often to me. You will be praying in tongues and suddenly, the power will increase, and you feel power and urgency. The moment this happened I heard the Spirit say to me, “You are a child of God, these things are to be afraid of you, not the other way around!” At this exact moment, all the oppressive thoughts and pressure vanished and even my headache was instantly healed.

In a perfect world of mature faith, a simple word would have stopped this attack earlier on the day. And we are all to seek this level of faith. So, while you work on a strong faith, have compassion on yourself and those around you needing help, by praying in tongues and bringing down the power of God to expand His kingdom.

Vincent Cheung in the essay, “Cure for Psychological Trauma,” says, “Power is what will finally deliver you.” The foundation is first correct theology and promises. But the thing that will deliver from all your troubles is power. Unadulterated power of God. Mature faith will always do this. However, praying in tongues is one of the easiest, (it is so easy it is like having game cheat), ways to move the power of God directly into your soul, body and life. You should eagerly seek this gift. We need less talk and more power! God’s power is able to deliver you, your family, your church and even entire nations.

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He Will Do It/We Will Do It

Salvation’s broad foundation, is “God.” God is the foundation of theology and thus salvation. Without Him, there is no point in doing theology. God’s foundation as taught in Scripture, is that of absolute and directly sovereign over all reality. This foundation takes away all the problems for salvation and man’s ablity to obey God.

We will not rehash the absolute reliability of the Contract we have God. God will do what He says, no matter how great and wonderful the promise. That is the summary of the doctrine.  

Many look at their sanctification and thus proof that they will be glorified, from a man-centered focus. Doing so will bring heartache, stress, depression, blasphemy, and if not rectified damnation.

When Isaiah 55 says that God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts, it is not referring God’s knowledge versus human knowledge in general. If that was the case, then the knowledge that God’s knowledge is not our knowledge is not our knowledge. It would end up in self-contradictory nonsense. But since Jesus appeals to the law of contradiction, we know anything that leads to skepticism is false. Thus apart from the obvious nonsense we know such an interpretation is unbiblical.

Rather, in this passage God refers to knowledge about His future revelation of unmerited favor that will be given through Jesus Christ. The verse that follows says, come buy milk and honey without price. That is, things like forgiveness and healing (etc), because of Jesus’ finished work, we can buy them without cost. For the audience at that time, such a revelation of grace was beyond their understanding and faith. However, since we live after the finished work of Jesus, then God’s ways of grace are our ways, and His throughs of grace are our thoughts. Paul even says in 1 Corinthians 2 that “we have the Mind of Christ.”

I say this to remind the reader, that the gospel radically changes the believer into a super species. They have a new created reality, fundamentally different from their old reality.  The Christian renews their mind to think in line with the new definition given to them in Christ.

In laymen’s terms, what King David says is 100 more true today, when he says, “In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall,” Psalm 18:29

Man’s ablity is God’s ablity. Or stated negatively, man’s limitation is God’s limitation. We are not talking about being deified with attributes that by definition can only belong to God like being infinite, or immutable. What we are referring to is God’s promises to strengthen us, bless us and empower us.

Our ablity to be sanctified is not measured by man’s limitation but by God’s infinite ablity to work in man. Our ablity to know God, is not measured by our finiteness, but by the limitless ablity of the Spirit of God to make us to have the mind of Christ, and to cause us to know all the things freely given to us. Or is the finiteness of man greater than God’s ablity of infinite power? Some perverts not satisfied to limit man, but they are not quenched until they limit God. We are not talking about something irrational like God creating a rock to heavy for Him to lift, when God does not have body. We are talking about the sheer power of God to create and cause. How many propositions can you think of at the same time? Or how high can you jump? Or how long does it take to go 500 miles? Howe well can you cure an incurable disease? How well can you sanctify your actions? The issue is how much ablity does God have to enable me to think of many propositions at the same time. How much power does God have to enable me to jump or go a distance of 500 miles? How much power does God have to renew and heal the body? How much ablity does God have to sanctify my actions? This is the new measure the Christian is to measure their own ablity.

Jesus says, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” Matthew 19:26. Jesus is making a distinction with God’s power and human power. Jesus points out that human power it limited, but God’s is not.

Paul in Ephesians 6:10 says, “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Also, in Acts 1:1-8, Jesus commands the apostles and believers to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Lastly, Jesus says about those who believe in Him, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these,” John 14:12.

The conclusion is simple. Jesus says in Mark 9:23

“Everything is possible for one who believes.”

We are not pantheists. God is not what He creates. God is separated from creation. When God empowers “you,” then it is “you” not God that is empowered.  

It will obey “you.” Jesus says you can command a mountain to be thrown into the sea and it will obey who? God? No. It will obey “you.” In Ephesian 6, it is a command, not a mere suggestion, to be empowered with human limitations? No. To be empowered with God’s own power and strength. Let the sink in. Imagine Zeus freely giving power and his lightning bolt to “you” to empower “you.” But this is what God does for us, and commands that we do. Boldly walk into the throne of grace and grab Yahweh’s lightning bolt and use it. God like this. He wants you empowered with His power.

The limitations of the old man are gone, whether if it is about spiritual things such as sanctification or something like being teleported 500 miles to another city.

We are children of God. His ways are now our ways, and His thoughts are now our thoughts. So much so that “all things are possible to the one who believes.” This is the glory and splendor and privilege that belongs to the sons of God.  The corrupted world will be liberated into the “liberty of” the “children” of God.