2021 Agendas Do You Have God’s or Your Own?

Agendas-Do You Have God’s or Your Own?  Major Kelly Durant  12-27-20

Matthew 6:33 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you

 

2. The beginning of the year we always focus in on agendas. Every one sets goals and new resolutions of what they would like for their lives this year. To make more money, to work more or to work less, to buy a new car or not, etc. Goals, resolutions and agendas are like dreams; we all need them to survive. With God’s agenda though, we can have all of what we need!  

 

There are many people, however, that live without a plan or an agenda, or a dream and they are like a cork on the water going one way one day and going the other way the next day. But nothing great was ever accomplished without someone making a plan, having an agenda and then being constant and faithful to make it happen.  God does not intend for us to live without plans, His plans or doing His will!

 

Prov 29:18

18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. We all need something to live and die for. And Jesus gave us that vision, He gave us the vision to live as He lived, to extend the Kingdom of God by telling everyone the good news! But this means forsaking your self and your agenda in order to take up your cross to follow God.

 

3. Let’s examine 2 cases of people coming to Jesus with their own agenda. One was a rich young ruler.

Mark 10:17-23

 

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

 

There are many people that come to the churches but very few are willing to do what it takes to have riches in heaven. They come to God with their agenda to be rich and the sad thing is there are many churches that do not ask people to give to the poor, to help them as the Salvation Army does; and to live in holiness!

 

These churches that misrepresent the will of Jesus Christ, that teach people to be rich and then ask them their tithes so they can be rich, will have to answer to God for this sin of accumulating selfishly with no heart for those suffering! There are people that have visited our church and they have not stayed because they do not want to leave behind their agenda of having money as life’s priority. They feel uncomfortable with our church with its history of serving the poorest of the poor. Some people have the agenda of being rich and our Salvation Army, our humble representation of the Kingdom of God, does not go with ‘their’ agenda.

 

4. The only agenda that will ever fill your soul is the one of Jesus Christ! What He said by, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”, was a command to live forsaking your own plans to promote Him and His agenda. I had a friend that dreamed to own a chopper motorcycle and he finally got it, but God had called him to give it up to do mission work before he got it but he would not. He soon afterwards had a crash and the bike got totaled and now years later he thanks God that God took away his idol so he would go on to serve Him!

 

Jesus gave us the vision to reject this world and all its empty, unsatisfying vain abusive and material values, in order to gain a whole new world, now amongst ourselves, our brothers, and forever in the future! Jesus agenda for us is to promote God’s kingdom of love where we will spend eternity! He gave his life on the cross to be an example to show there is no limit to what you can give up for God!

 

Let’s look at some other cases of a people who would not follow Jesus because they put their family before the will of God.

Luke 9:59-62

59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

 

5. Jesus wants to be first in your life, even above our loved ones, and He takes no excuses! Your life this year must center around the will of Jesus and doing His will through you, you must be doing His agenda, not your family’s, nor your own will for wealth. Jesus wants us to obey His will here on earth and he needs to use you and me as his Soldiers and brothers to make it happen. 

 

How do we do Jesus agenda?  What was Jesus agenda? (people answer) He first wanted us to love and worship God! That is the main agenda and after that is in place in your life, once you are saved and reborn, and you are a new creature, everything else in your life will fall in line to start serving Him as He shows you. 

 

There is the command to love God and the rest of the command is of equal importance which was to love your neighbor as yourself. How did He want us to love? He taught us to visit the sick and give to the needy and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. He also told us to go and preach the gospel to every creature, to leave all behind binding things in order to do that. Our agenda is to tell others about heaven and how they too can live in love and peace and happiness forever!  This is the formula for happiness in this unhappy earth!

 

6. Now you have an agenda for 2021: You have Jesus’ agenda! People that do the will of God, which is Jesus’ agenda, the people that serve God and others are those that will be blessed! But what happens to those that put their own agendas before God?  They get deceived and fool their selves that they are fine, but they are not. These same ones often get fooled by exploiters of false churches as well.  

 

There are churches that have money as their God and there are people who are attracted to the big and prosperous churches thinking that they must really have a great spirituality because they are so rich but the reality may be to the contrary. And some churches today are like those of feudal times taking from the poor so they can live rich and oppress, and they are not representing the kingdom of God, and they expect all the poor people and middle class to give up everything to them so they can have huge buildings and live in luxury. We must be wiser and more mature in the Word of God than to accept this! 

 

Many people come and leave church because we are unwilling to do the agenda of Jesus Christ! It is easy to just sit in a church and give money without any commitment and compromise, but that is man’s agenda, not Christ’s. Jesus invites you and me to give up everything, family, and money for Him and to get busy helping others and saving their souls!

 

7. Some people come to the church hoping to get a blessing on their own agenda, but God does not bless those with their own agenda, He blesses those with His agenda! Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you

 

All of us should only care about the agenda of Jesus Christ and winning souls for His Kingdom! Those that get the vision and get on board with us to create and do programs that get the unsaved interested in Jesus are those that are right with God! Do you have God’s plan & agenda doing His will and plans above your plans? 

 

Don’t go away today sad as the rich ruler did. Do God’s agenda! Don’t give the excuse that you must serve your family or someone else first, reject that and do God’s agenda! Don’t make personal plans, find a plan where you can serve in God’s kingdom. Today is a day of rededication. If you want rewards in heaven, then dedicate this year to the Lord! Come and pray.

 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth (the Covid, the politics, etc) will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!

The Leadership Style of Jesus: What kind of a leader do you want?

The Leadership Style of Jesus: Is It Your Style? By Kelly Durant  11-15-20 

Matthew 11: 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

2. Over the elections people always want to talk about leadership and what the next one should be like! What makes a good leader anyway?  Do we want the tough legalistic kind, or a more softer spoken merciful kind? Some people love it when everyone gets insulted! Others want laissez faire, go with the flow types. 

Let’s compare Jesus to John in their management styles. John was your tough legalistic accuser!  He was the righteous law upholder, reminding that if you do not repent and be baptized that you would see the wrath of God! 

When John saw sin, he exposed it with confrontation! He accused Herod the king telling him God would punish him, that it was not lawful for him to have his sister’s wife! 

3. Jesus on the other hand was the merciful tender-hearted mercy giver.  We can recall how Jesus reacted when the people caught the woman in the act of adultery. Did he say, Okay let God’s judgments reign down! No, he replied that she should go and sin no more! 

Jesus was teaching all that there is no one worthy enough, no one holy enough, no one, not even Him who actually was holy enough that should condemn her if she wanted to be forgiven. 

He offered the woman caught in adultery forgiveness with a rebuke to those who were the hypocrite accusers. He was exposing that all of them were just as sinful as her, and the people hated Him for it! Jesus did not hit them direct like John would, but he did expose sin by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Jesus only confronted the hypocrites, not the sinners!

4. So what is happening with the leadership styles? John attacks and condemns with the truth, but Jesus loves and forgives with the truth! Does this remind you of the ways of certain people you know? Some Christians accuse and some forgive?

In the church when someone has a sin, the reaction of some is to want to throw stones, they want the pastor to expose the person and condemn them, to attack them with the truth.  Frequently people complain in the churches, look, the pastor is not rebuking the ones with sin, he is not doing His job! Sometimes the pastors are not aware of the sin because people cover it up, and sometimes the stories people know are not the whole truth either. You and I need to give God’s Holy Spirit a chance to work in people’s lives. God has to reveal when we should reject and rebuke or when we should love and heal according to each individual situation.  

People who love confrontation do not seem to care if the person accused gets offended and lost from God and the church!  All confrontational people care about is their own agenda of proving that that person is sinful, and their own agenda of showing what a great leader they are, because, after all, with their spirituality they see the sin in this person. This makes them feel righteous. But this detracts from the sins they have in their own heart!

    

5. Heb 12:12-15

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet,"so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 

14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 

We are in a battle to gain souls for the Kingdom of God and as followers and leaders God is testing us continually with external battles and internal battles! A great quote is this: 

When we hear of sin exposed in someone, it is time we should examine our own heart to see if we have any sin too! (Repeat)

6. If you want to lead like Jesus, offering healing, forgiveness, and a new start in your life and for the life of others, here is how to deal with your character in the verses…    

 

Heb 3:13

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

 So the scripture offers the forgiveness of sin and exposure of sin through exhortation through each other and the time is today, now, before you become like those who have their bitternesses on why they no longer come to church, nor worship God! You need Christian friends to point out your faults from God’s word from time to time!

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

7. Recall what the people said about John, that he abstained from wine and ate locusts and was considered holy by some (or crazy!) for is abstinence, but Jesus drank wine, so that made Him unholy and a sinner by the ones who also drink wine?! The confusion is in who accuses who! Can the pot call the skillet black?

In the end you can see the detail of the wine really was not the point. It is the fact that most people will never be happy with what the leader does, whether he is harsh or soft, a rebuker, or a healer, and unspiritual people will always accuse the leader! 

 Both Jesus and John lost their lives in the hands of those angry that their sin was exposed and envious of the power that made their spirits feel very uncomfortable! These people wanted to be free from the conviction of the exposure of their evil hearts full of sin. They had sin and they did not want to give it up, so the solution was to kill the messenger exposing it! 

We see this happens today over and over in the communities where we live and even within churches! Do you see the horribleness of human nature? When a person has a sin, people bad mouth them, when a person is really authentic, loving and pure, people still bad mouth them anyway! 

9. When we look at this a little closer we can determine that men and women of God have a spiritual power, an intimidating authority that will expose sin either by word or good deeds and different people react in different ways to this authority. Let’s look at 4 different reactions to spiritual leadership.

1. There are those that have truth in their hearts and respect and submit to the Word. These are the good sheep, like John the Beloved, and these make the Lord happy by their submission and obedience. They really want sin out of their lives and they become clean by allowing God to expose it daily in prayer. They change their character to be worthy to be called a Christian and to lead and teach. Few times do these follower leaders ever need to have pointed out their sin to them.  But wait don’t think, yes, I am like that, I am the good one! Few people really are this mature spiritually. Recall    

Prov 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?

2. Then there are the ones who want to be first. Instead of trusting in the authority of God’s chosen one, they want to challenge and show off the authority they want to assume. This kind of person minimizes or abuses those with the authority over them. Do you recall how James and John and their mother argued over who would have the most power in heaven? (Mark 10:36) What kind of a manipulating mother was that? 

There are always people concerned about who is first, and they want it to be one of them, they want to dominate.  Usually they want the title and honor but without the responsibilities. But Jesus said the first are last, and he that is greatest amongst you should be your servant! Could this power seeking person be you?

10. 3. Then there are the deceptive ones. These are people who pretend to be good and follow the leader but they follow for some other agenda. Do you recall that Judas was a zealot? He wanted Jesus to help him accomplish his agenda of power for the Jews to dominate Rome. He followed Jesus but he was not really “one” with Him. His evil heart never converted and he was not really supporting Jesus to spread God’s kingdom to win souls through preaching the word. He contradicted Jesus when he didn’t like something, like over the oil that Mary Magdalene washed Jesus feet with that he self-righteously wanted to give to the poor. You see, he wanted all the people to see that he had more compassion than Jesus! When Jesus would not do what he wanted in the end, he betrayed him. Could this ulterior motives person be you? 

 4. Then there are the believers, the distant followers, but non committed. There was a time that there were 70 disciples instead of 12 until Jesus gave a sermon that was too hard for them. These are the comfortable Christians, the just so far and no further kind, that are not willing to go all the way.    

John 6:65-68

65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

  Those that leave the churches or go shopping from church to church, do not want to commit nor submit to anything nor anyone. In the end they are not really obeying Jesus nor doing a work for Him on earth. They want blessings from God but they are not sending saved souls to the bank of heaven, so the blessings compared to the assets they bring to God are at a deficiency! Are you a too comfortable follower doing very little to support winning souls for Jesus!

We can try to look good to others, but God knows our hearts! Which person are you? The submitted follower? The power tripping challenger? The deceptive manipulator? Or the too comfortable non committed one? 

11. Today God is calling us to a higher level of service! Are you going to look at the sins of others or the sin in your own life? Do you want others dealt with harshly when they sin?      

Matt 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 

It is better to err on the side of mercy than to err on the side of judgement! How will God judge you? Have you said wrong things to someone and sinned? Now is the time to come clean! Even if you confess something and the one you think is guilty should confess and they don’t, leave it to God, he knows how to deal with them. Maybe they are confessing and you do not know it! 

Are you guilty of following Jesus for the power, your agenda, or comfortableness? Now is the day to change and become a submitted one willing to die for our Lord! All of the games of human nature are exposed in the Bible, and you and God know where you stand in your position of submission and remission of sins.  The paradox is submission to Jesus = freedom! Do not let yourself and your plans remain your plans, obey Jesus today!

Christians: Jesus Has Your Back! Be One: A John 17 Study

Christians: Jesus Has Your Back! Be One! John 17 Study.    Kelly Durant 

 

John 17:22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

 

2. The world is getting more sinister, more spiritually dark, more Satanically controlled each year and man’s technology, in the hands of the world’s most evil people, is being used to silence, oppress, and control us. The Orwellian nightmare is already here! There are 2 waring factors always, God and His true Word accomplishing good by acts of kindness through His people, and Satan and his people claiming to do acts of charity while oppressing, deceiving, and dominating with their lies in order to satisfy their greed, lust, and thirst for wealth, violence, and destruction. Do you know where your soul stands? 

 

In the prophecy of how we would know who the Messiah was, there is a part in a verse that few focus in on from Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  How wonderful Jesus is to those who take Him in! And he had, “the government on His shoulder”. This was fulfilled in Jesus in all aspects.

 

Reflect on how we must be ‘wise as serpents’ to know how to deal with the governing powers, those that were not only suppressing, weighing down, and watching Jesus and his disciples, but also the governments that have been doing this to any Christian ever since Jesus was born! And as you have heard this before, that ‘the government is not your friend’, it is In part true, but they are necessary and we must respect them, see Romans 13:1. But conclusively the governments exist to get your taxes, maintain order, and it is ‘their’ pyramid order that they are maintaining, not the ‘kingdom of God’, or the ‘body of believers’. They only care about self-support. This world is not our home and we endure. But there are exceptions, some people in power are good. It’s a 2 tier system. History seems to show that over time the good ones get murdered by the bad ones! They govern by, ‘divide and conquer’.

 

3. Looking at Jesus last prayer in John 17, He prayed for us to be protected from the evil in the world.  15, I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

 

So the question today is, are you letting Jesus protect you and have your back? He stated it right here that He does! We are for the most part protected from the evil one(s). If your life is lived so that you only live to please Jesus? With His sanctification then you will have His blessings, and you will gain the Holy Spirit to know wisdom and truth to navigate in this evil world being sanctified by the knowledge and obedience to His Word. We will be persecuted from time to time though but Jesus will protect us from the evil one(s)!

 

No matter the schemes of Satan you will come out victorious. The government of Babylon prohibited Daniel from praying to ‘His’ God and the punishment was to get thrown to the lions but did the scheme work? Was he the only Hebrew praying? No! There were thousands but they wanted to make an example out of him, since he was a leader, to show the fate of one if you disobey the government ‘s demand to give up your faith. But who knows what happened? The lions did not eat him overnight and instead the king fed to the lions the ones who came up with that blasphemous law in the first place!

 

4. What we see today is Satan controlling all the governments in the world, whether they be dictatorships, or the so called ‘free’ democracies as we have in Europe and the U.S.. There is so much freedom and equality that the enforcement of the equality is usaully as harsh as a dictatorship, right? Satan doesn’t like freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the truth, and most of all freedom to preach Jesus!

 

The world is topsy turvy, what we use to know about laws, which were logical, basic, and right, are now within the past few decades the opposite. If you speak one word to say that certain things are sinful, you are immediately targeted which results in a fine, being fired, and you are cut to pieces by internet chatter (mostly robot ‘bots’, not real people) on facebook, twitter, and etc. and you are blacklisted and ostracized by the mega news groups owned by only a handful of divisive despot mega billionaires.  

 

Basically, preaching the Bible, no matter the country, goes against man’s laws! According to most governments ‘manipulated’ by secret societies and the universities, controlled by anti-Christ people, supported by the depressing ‘press’, you are to be labeled a bigot and a fool if you have the view that Jesus is the only truth! Because for them, all truths are equal and you must respect all the same?! This is impossible as evil and good can never mix to be equal. We are to shun those who  are evil! 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? But Christians do fall, many today mindlessly accept lawlessness.

 

5. So when you need a friend in the world, who are you going to turn to? Will you find a friend amongst your own kinfolk? Maybe but not very often, right? If you can then you are blessed and you both are probably true Christians. But it is usually not so out of the thousands of families I have known in my lifetime; what I see is the ones who have done sins and are unrepentant, have divided families to the point that parents, brothers, children, and cousins do not speak to each other anymore. A sin is not just one of the 10 commandments, not loving God and your neighbor as yourself is the worst and most everyone is guilty of that!

 

Sin divides us but Jesus came to erase that sin so we could have unity with Him and with others. Politics, religion, and worldviews do matter! If you have a relative, coworker, or fake friend who mocks you and insults you because you need Jesus as a crutch to live, then you should rebuke that Satanic person in Jesus name, pray for their soul to be converted, and only interact with them if they will be respectful to you. Jesus cast out demons and we can too!

 

So, in general, your family, your friends, and the government do not have your back so you had better start cultivating friendships with those who are sincere in their love for Jesus because only they will come to your rescue when you need it! I honestly don’t trust Christians who like to be distant, who never want to be available to serve in the church or to do a favor for others. What good are they to be in our fellowships when they are disconnected with the pastors/Officers and their brothers and sisters? Why are some disconnected from the Bible teachers and the mission, and so protective of their private lives? We know it is to hide sins.

 

6. In these end-times you will see this happen, the weak gossipy, distant Christians will cave to the anti-Christ system right away and only a handful from the churches will be ready to continue on for Jesus no matter if it costs them their lives! Some think it is only 3%!

 

According to Jesus final prayer before getting arrested and crucified in John 17, we are to be ‘one” with Him and with each other. Jesus is “one” with the Father, and if we are one with Jesus, we also will be one with the Father and with each other, and the world will see this as a testimony to the supernatural love of God. Love is the answer, God’s love makes us one!

 

Oneness will make us perfect in love! As humans we know our love is imperfect, we fail, and we must always repent and do our best on the next one, but if we are sincerely loving and following Jesus, we will be getting closer to the holiness perfection God can grant us which we will carry on from this life into the next!

 

7. Verse 22, And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. What was Jesus glory? It was His breaking of the curse of death to be able to be the one who controls who will be granted glory passing on to eternal life! Jesus proved His glory by His submission to sacrifice Himself for our sins and then resurrect from the dead to live on forever. 

 

What is God’s glory like mentioned here? It is not one like the glory in the world where one is praised like a rock star until one fades when there is a new sensation on the market! It is an eternal glory in a supernatural body to live in a perfect heaven, an existence where only the righteous, loving, and worthy are admitted. 

 

So here is the question, will you have that glory? You will if you are being one with Jesus and your brothers and sisters here and now. Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” All of us who are with Jesus become one with Him but those who are not are doing damage, they are helping Satan by bringing on division, disunity, and causing dispersion.

 

8. Having the mind of Christ means you naturally support everything Jesus taught! I honestly distrust people who claim to be Christian but their convictions and stances model that of the world’s and not that of Christ’s. Holiness and perfection in love only comes by asking the Holy Spirit to remake you into God’s useful vessel and evidence will show your good works and fruits. 

 

Here is the truth on ‘oneness’, a true Christian brother or sister will love you and serve you because you love Jesus and are doing your best for Him. You can feel in the Spirit who those are that are one with Jesus and those who are not. Jesus has our backs, but do you have the backs of those who love Jesus? And do they have your own back as well? God needs our full commitment for His love to be effective in our lives as well as in the lives of others.

 

9. But here is a flip side to this, some Christians will only do things for their pastors and church and never for others in need; this is a wrong and is not obeying scripture. Luke 6: 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

 

We may never be one with our enemies, (unless they convert) but we are commanded to love and do good to everyone, friend or foe. We must interact and help those of the world, even with those who hate Jesus, but this contrast highlights how special it is to have Jesus as our best friend; He is one with us as long as we are remaining in the vine being one with Him. 

 

10. Jesus was God’s proof to the world that He loves us! John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Consider that Jesus also said: Matthew 11:6

“And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

 

God created the universe and our world in love and each person (yes, you!) He has created in love as well! He just needs to get loved back, and those that learn of Jesus and love Him, they are loving God back for all His love to us! The greatest need of people is not just food, water, and shelter, it is love! To exist without giving love and receiving love… is hell! 

 

Jesus has your back! God’s glory is there for you for eternity! Just strive to be “one” with Jesus daily, reading His Word and obeying it, and praying, so that day after day the bond will grow so strong you will never be deceived by anyone evil. Are you “one” with Jesus and your brothers and sisters? If so we will see your perfect love displayed in all that you do! Connect with Jesus today!

 

 

 

           

Hollywood & Halloween Horror! Fascination with Evil Must Stop!

Hollywood & Halloween Horror! Fascination with Evil Must Stop     Kelly Durant

 

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

2. Have you ever tried to reason with a crazy person? You never can win an argument with them because they always justify their way of being, and their evil deeds. They don’t repent, instead, they gloat! There are different kinds of “crazy” in the world, but quite often it is due to an evil spirit possession. The evil people of the world are always raising up evil spirits to influence the youth, the weak, and those that leave behind their faith in Jesus! 

 

Jesus says trying to convert these kinds of people is like trying to reason with a wild dog or pig.  Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Groups of wild dogs or pigs can kill you! This is why so called protesters for evil causes always gather in crowds, they have more power together. Evil people want to create a hive mentality so everyone will be overcome by evil!

 

I am bringing this matter of evil up because every year in October we have a whole month of horror films coming out of Hollywood, all the merchants in town also promote evil looking costumes and decorations, and evil decorated houses for Halloween reveal how much people are fascinated by death and evil spirits.

 

3. As Christians we are to abstain from evil and the appearance of evil. It is evident that the further away from Christianity this nation has drifted, the more evil has become the replacement for what our culture indulges in. ‘Halloween retail spending was estimated at $9 billion in 2018. It's a little less than 2017's record of $9.1 billion. Slightly fewer, 175 million, said they would celebrate. They spent a record $86.79 per person, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey’. https://www.thebalance.com/halloween-spending-statistics-facts-and-trends-3305716

 

Many Christians have been tricked into leaving behind the healthy, good, and Godly habits we once had in society and it is wreaking havoc on everyone. This slow acceptance of violence and evil, of perversions and filth is in direct disobedience to the scriptures as we just read, 21 ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good’. Evil is prevailing today because not enough Christians are demanding that the beautiful good things of God be the dominant theme in our communities. 

 

Evil is very seducing! When you see it in movies, hear it in amazingly catchy pop songs, observe it in revolutions in foreign countries, and get informed that evil people are getting away with murder, as our political and famous characters do, one starts to subliminally get convinced that the dark side might just be more exciting and powerful! Christians of light must speak up against evil! Jesus warned us to ‘watch and pray’ and to resist temptation, any one of us can fall to evil and bribes catering to pride and the flesh. Satan will deceive the very ‘elect’ or ‘saved’ if you and I let him by not staying intensely connected to Him! Matthew 24:24

 

4. I think all Christians should get very disturbed by how our society is filling up with hypocritical dysfunctional dystopian crazy evil people who mock and persecute the people of God while glorying themselves in their horrific acts. Even those who murder seem to escape as if all is normal politics and acceptable!

 

Satan knows how to play games with the average shallow, uneducated, non-Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit, as he tricks their minds to respect him and evil and offer evil as the solution from the evil in the world. But you and I know we cannot fight fire with fire! Romans 12:17

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

 

Observe how the same old pattern works. Satan inspires evil in people, these people do horrific things to others, destroying and attacking their character or convictions, and some evil rulers exploit defenseless ones for sex or labor. Then the abused get bitter and hate filled; they then (in history and even now) react and murder the oppressors, but sadly they also destroy innocent ones as well in cross fire, so they are no more righteous than the original ones. So whether it be for revenge or for pleasure, division, hate, and murder is accomplished to destroy the beautiful human lives God created. Never fall into the climate of hate of another which evil ones promote, Jesus commands us to love, even enemies! 

 

5. This year, as every year, there is an overrated movie, ‘Joker’ that has the same old theme of Satan trying to invoke sympathy for himself. I don’t even need to see this movie to conclude its contents; it is centered around the idea that we should feel sorry for the abused mentally disturbed people to the point we understand and accept it when they murder others! After all, certain people deserve to be hated and murdered, right? Righteous people in society will not show respect for the perverse evil delusional demonic crowd and in consequence the evil ones want to kill them! The same as it was with Jesus and the hypocrites in his day! 

 

How sick and self-destructive are the appetites of so many as they enjoy seeing violence done to others, but they never want to be the victim of a violent act! Here is the irony, when violence is done in real life, when evil is done as suggested people carry out as in movies, songs, and fake media, then people lose their minds!

 

You soon hear the decrying, ‘How horrible are guns and violence, how sad that our mentally ill are neglected, how is it that no one makes the pharmaceutical companies be responsible! Such was the case with the Colorado mass shooting when James Holmes went in like a ‘Joker’ to kill everyone he could! He was just acting out what he had learned from video games and movies! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Holmes_(mass_murderer)

 

6. Parents that let their kids play murderous video games 8 hours a day, who love evil movies where evil characters are exalted, who abuse their kids with violence and vulgar language, who medicate them with meds from greedy pharmaceutical companies are indeed a part of the problem of the ills plaguing our society. 

 

Before it use to be that 70% of the local kids went to church and everyone had a debt with their neighbor in society to be honest, good, truthful, kind, respectable, and reasonable. Those that did not grow up in the 50s, 60s, and even 70s, do not even know how good it was to feel safe with good neighbors and unlocked front doors!

 

Currently stats show about 70% of kids are not going to church and what do we deal with today? Kids that are dishonest, bad, liars, mean, disrespectful, and unreasonable. Because parents, educators, and Christians have not done their job correctly in punishing evil. Children and adults who proudly boast in their delusions, perversions, and evil, are causing us all to reap the consequences of an evil that is erodingly destroying us! https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/?fbclid=IwAR0WM8wvgNKZCWc5QaTZw7ZYIpowqAQr1Q-qqKy6cARRLivovdS-6nWRK4c

 

 

7. And how did it happen that Christians have had their hands tied and voices muted in most every public square across the country!? A person who will rise up and preach decency, common sense, Biblical values, and punishment for evil offenders and lawbreakers is quickly mocked, ostracized, and shamed! Also, they get banned from Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter!

 

We must pray that we as Christians do not lose our love for others as Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

 

Apart from not participating in Halloween, not going to subversive evil movies, and doing our part to be decent and good, what more can we do to stop evil? Our only hope is Jesus! His Word is like water on the fire of evil! Evil people will not hang around if the subject is going to be Jesus, righteousness, and how to combat evil! Start with yourself, if you are an example of purity and holiness, others will notice, and your light will shine. But speak up too! Denounce evil! 

 

8. We must practice more what we know as in James 4:7 

‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’ The devil always tries to get you to ‘turn’ to his dark side by shaming you, intimidating you, mocking you, and exhausting you to the point you give up in your battle to be righteous and good! But never, never, never give up!

 

Let’s revert back to what was in scripture after we learned we must avoid evil and the appearance of evil, 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

What we see here is a prayer for us that we should pray this for each other! If we are to be ‘holy’, then we must sanctify ourselves (by reading God’s Word, praying, and supporting one another) and we must guard our spirit, soul, and mind! If we do then we will be blameless and ready to face the Lord when we die. And you could die today, never think you can do bad now and repent later, you may never get the chance! Satan does reap souls when young often times and God lets him if the person is given over to him. 

 

9. Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. When the culture of a nation enters a season in which it is celebrating a holiday that has its founding roots in evil, such as with Halloween, we should be praying more that we conquer dark evil with the light of Jesus!

 

Israel of old got severely punished and taken away as slaves when they abandoned the worship of God and worshipped Satanic gods such as Baal, Ashtoreth, and Moloch. Today abortionists and secret Satanic cults continue to sacrifice children. Halloween is no joke to some, they truly do practice evil. How did we ever accept equating provoking fear as something fun worthy of a sweet reward?

 

I know many will celebrate Halloween no matter what I or the preachers say, but all of us should remind others that we must avoid the appearance of evil, and avoid evil itself as well!  Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil. Satan gets others to accept evil when it is done in a joking manner, or a fun manner, but we must be wise to his tricks. His tricks carry no treat, but rather an infernal consequence unless we repent and get Jesus to clean us and save us!

66 and 33 What are God’s numbers for the righteous? Be with the faithful few!

66 and 33 What are God’s numbers for the righteous?  Be with the faithful few! 

Kelly Durant

 

1 Kings 18:21

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

                                                

2. We live in a nation, a Republic, that in general permits the majority to rule. For example , if Congress votes on a law or something, they need a 2/3rds majority for it to pass, or a 66%. In general when people play games, dominoes or cards quite often they play for the best 2 out of 3, right? If 2 is a number that leaves you tied, with no winners, you need a 3^rd or a final deciding factor, right?

 

There is power in numbers and many numbers are considered sacred and we know about them: 1,3,7,9,12, etc. I had a friend that was a math teacher and I asked him how he became a believer, and he said by observing the perfection of absolute numbers which prove there is a God! Our God changes not; 2 and 2 make 4 no matter the time in history, no matter the place in space, on earth or in the heavens. The forces of the universe are measured constant so all is maintained together. But I will advise you not to worship numbers (numerology) as many people guess numbers wrong and the Scripture condemns decisions based on superstitions. 

 

Why is this the topic today? Because who you side with in this life is important! For example, the rebellious angels that sided with Satan and fell to earth to be stripped of heaven’s status were how many? 33% Revelation 12: 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

 

3. So what do we learn from this? That the faithful majority of angels that did not get persuaded were the 2/3rds majority. The angels were 66% and the dragon followers of Satan were the 33%. Be careful with people who esteem 33 as a special sacred number, it represents those cursed to remain forever on or in the earth which is later to be cast into lake of fire!

So would the remaining 66% or even 66.6% be considered those blessed by God? After all there are 10s of thousands of angels. A real number might even be more like 666,666,666! But 666 always brings to mind the ‘mark of the beast’, as something evil. Here is the factor, Satan always tries to rob for himself the things of God, even His numbers! Jesus preached 33 years and we have 33 spine bones!

 

Satan wants to imitate God! But he only has an evil 33%, not the majority 66% of the righteous as his followers. Jesus and the angels are the winners despite Satan’s deception as being so powerful and god like. Satan imitates everything of god, that he is all powerful, that he is the light, that he offers more justice and pleasures than God. But what did Jesus say about him?  John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

 

4. Today we observe that there were angels that sided with God and others that sided with Satan and it is the same with us, with humans! Some people do not even realize they have chosen the losing side of things as people get deceived all the time. We see that all the time. Have you ever had a friend who always sides with a sports team that seems to never win, or haven’t won for 60 years? Don’t ignore the odds of anything. Why would anyone choose the side of Satan who’s going to lose?

 

Why are some people so blind, so rebellious that they always choose poorly and then always have to pay the sad consequences? It’s in part because they are always getting the numbers wrong! They believe in fake numbers or they are believing they can beat the odds, that they are with the majority, and often they don’t believe in real provable numbers. Google search on the odds of winning the lottery: “the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million” So why do people play it?  Knowing numbers and who controls the odds and outcomes is important as you want to be a winner not a loser! I never gamble, the math proves I’ll lose!

 

We live in a society where the wicked majority appear to rule and have chosen the lies over the truth but what does the Bible say? Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. We are God’s creation, He formed us in the womb (Job 31:15) and that being said, the sooner we surrender our will to Him, the better off we will be. 

 

5. Satan and his corrupting and damaging sins are pushed loud and proud from every source imaginable and one would believe 90% of the people in the society are in agreement with his perversions and corruption! But those of us who know the truth know that is not so, that there are few faithful ones that resist his devices and lies and Jesus describes it like this… Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

 

On earth, where Satan has done a demonic fallen angel coup invasion and highjacked this world temporarily away from God, reality is as things appear to be, Satan is controlling a majority of the people and it is sad for them that they will not find life in heaven being that they are choosing the wide gate of destruction. Ephesians 6: 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 

So how many are a few? Could it be only 10% of the population are really Christian and understand and obey Jesus commands? In an experiment, to learn answers you sample 10% of the population. One of the 10 lepers came back to thank Jesus,  and 10% in the Bible is common. But 10% of our current 7.6 billion people is still 760,000,000. 760 million! From past history there may be another 500 million too! Try to count that many standing before God! Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

 

6. Remember that when Gideon went to war against the evil kings nearby he only chose 300. That number appears often in Scripture. Judges 7:7 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.

 

God does not need numbers to win, but God does have numbers on His side. Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; (100 million times 1,000s!) In the Bible God wins even with just one, one brave one, like David against Goliath. 

What God needs is for the righteous (all true Christians) to be brave and courageous and to stand up for Him against the wicked majority. You and I must stand against the deceived ones who are complacent with sinful practices in our communities. 

 

7. It is amazing how Satan and his people shield their selves from guilt, capture, and judgment. Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! What evil we see today has always been around but since we are in the end-times, it is multiplying. 

 

Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked bears rule, the people mourn. Today corruption of all kinds is legalized and promoted by the top main offenders in power worldwide as normal behavior and if you say anything contrary you are to be demonized as a racist homophobe and hater. Jesus said we would suffer persecution and they accused him of having a demon when they had the demons! Every abusive enslaving despicable practice you can image is being made legal of late with demands that law enforcers go away demonized as entirely evil! This is a huge mistake! Any nation falling into this deception degrades itself until a violent self-destruction culminates. It’s been happening since 1917! People in high places can steal millions of dollars and there is no consequence because we are told that is just the accepted practices! But if you or I steal a $10 watch we will be fined and punished harshly. 

 

So who is buying the lie that evil is good and good is evil? 90%? I think not when you see people upset in the streets. Is it 50%? Or is it more like an evil 33%? The point is who will stand for the righteous causes of God? So what do we as Christians consider righteous? You can google the Salvation Army’s International positions of what we deem as righteous causes to fight for. The Bible is the source.  https://www.salvationarmy.org/isjc/ips

 

8. The Solders in the Salvation Army are supposed to be 100% behind these causes and if not, then they are free to fellowship with us but not free to argue, bring division, bring compromise, or try to shame us into conforming to the ways of the world. Evil of late has escalated! Many Christians are not even aware of all the Satanic ritual abuse and child trafficking for sex happening. It is horrible!  

 

Here are some of evils we speak up for or against; these practices in the world bring destruction to human bodies as well as bring on the enslavement of the soul to demons. They are: Abortion, alcohol in society, ancestorial worship, caring for the environment, corruption, death penalty, euthanasia and assisted suicide, gambling, modern slavery and human trafficking, peacemaking, pornography, racism, refugees and asylum seekers, Sabbath observance, the SA and the State, sexism, suicide prevention, and the use (abuse) of power. 

There are even more stances that the Bible is clear on and this is why many people hate the Bible and hate Christ followers.    

 

9. So I began the message with the question of who will follow God, “if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him”.  God has given each person a freewill to choose and then you are then counted in with the few ones that choose what the faithful angels chose, or in with the vast majority of the condemned fallen ones, those controlled by demons, whose punishment is hell.

 

The true Christians (on this temporary earth) will always be few in number and always in the minority and will need to confront the evil majority. If you are in the corrupted majority crowd it might go well with you for a while, you might be praised as a good little consumer of all the perverse vices, but then you will be judged by God for not discerning with the Holy Spirit the things that are abominable to God. 

 

So who is righteous in our world? Probably the one(s) that get the most attacks, ridicule, and persecution from all sources. Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. To be counted in with the righteous do not fool yourself that you can claim to be Christian and then applaud or support those that practice everything contrary to the Christian faith. 

 

10. Jesus asked us this so we see who is evil or not: Matthew 7:16

You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Don’t think you are a Christian if you prefer the company of the thorny people who support everything that a Christian does not. These people are as dried dead leaves on the vine that do nothing good for anyone but are as blackholes condemned astral bodies sucking up every person and thing for their own lustful corrupt selves. 

 

2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

 

The wicked majority have the quality of appearing to be righteous as they claim to stand up against oppressors, but they are not righteous at all since they do not have any good fruits in their works to prove it: 2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Ephesians 5:11

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

 

Remember how Lot had to escape Sodom because not even 10 in the city were found to be righteous!? Pray about where you live. If it is in a place where God’s spirit has departed (Inchabod) you might need to move! Proverbs 22:3

A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. God is in the middle of all numbers, please be wise with your stances, be saved through Jesus, and be counted in with the number of the righteous! Ask Him in your life today!