Be A Tough Soldier!

Be A Tough Soldier!                         Major Kelly Durant  7-16-17 Re 9-29-24

II Tim 2: 1Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

2. In Bolivia, in LaPaz, I had a few friends in the military and sometimes I would visit the base. On the base everyone would always be jogging. It seemed no matter where you looked the Soldiers were jogging and I asked my friend why are they in such a hurry? He explained that the rule is that if you are a new Soldier, you are required to run all the time while on the base! Only the 4^th year Soldiers were allowed to walk. Interesting training, don’t you think? Soldiers need training!

Who is a Soldier here in Our Army? Soldiers need preparation to learn to be tough! Spiritual warfare is a different war from what most of us know of war. But each Soldier here must do his or her own training to make their selves tough, or strong in the Lord’s grace as mentioned in verse 1. The battle is to share your faith!

How do you get strong in grace? It comes by personal prayer time, Bible study time, and obedience to Jesus! But are you really sacrificing as much as you should? Most Christians are not! Ask God the question of how dedicated you are, or not, and He will show you! As former General Linda Bond said, “God does not want mediocre servants!”

3. Being a Soldier for any nation of the world implies doing a great sacrifice, the laying down of your life to die if need be and even people as young as age 18 are required to die if necessary. In the military, your life is no longer yours, you are the property of the State for them to use, and abuse as they wish! 

A Soldier of Christ must recall that they also are giving up their life to follow Jesus as he states Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.  

Being a Soldier in the world requires hard labor, getting extremely tired, withstanding extreme temperatures, working stressfully long hours, getting blisters, bruises, and cuts, putting up with punishments, humiliations, commanders yelling at you, and learning how to dominate an enemy when he is attacking you trying to kill you! Christian Soldiers are always under attack by Satan as he wants them to sin and leave the faith because of guilt to be complacent, lazy, and in the end be a traitor to Jesus who gave you and me the mission of fighting against his evils! 

4. Soldiers of Jesus have hardships, and this includes mental, spiritual, and physical ones. But how do we make war, when our mission is peace and God’s love?

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall see God.”  That simple statement was a like a double-edged sword cutting down all the aggressiveness and authority of the Roman warmongers who took pleasure in mass carnage! Jesus says be a peacemaker, love your enemies? There is no pride or vengeance in that!

As Christian Soldiers we must distinguish what our war is all about, it is about living a new life in grace. Grace gives us is a clean slate for our sins, and when your sins are gone and you obtain holiness then you are inspired to never sin again, to never again want to feel the dirtiness of a guilty conscience. And you are so happy for discovering Jesus that you never stop telling others about Him! Ours is a war in which we fight having the desire to give salvation to everyone as Jesus did!

5. Our war is a war on Satan and all the world’s evils destroying people’s bodies and souls.  We seek to save anyone living in ignorance, sin, and suffering. Christian Soldiers must be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause! What a contradiction, how ironic, from the world, we seek to save our enemy and do good to those that abuse us!

What does the salvation we offer imply? Obviously, it includes forgiveness, grace, eternal life, and heaven for the soul. And ours is a salvation that helps people out of poverty, hunger, clothing, and educates as well. We provide for this in part, but the world’s governments claim that they provide for their people, and they do cover some things, but their help is never enough to really help as needed. The military and government’s role in the world does not eliminate the greater destructive evils of mass deaths in wars, crime, addictions, hunger, and violence. 

6. A Soldier of Christ will store up their reward in heaven, but to serve the world means you will never get anything without you being charged Cesar’s pound of flesh! If you borrowed from Cesar in Rome, and you could not pay it back in money, you would pay it back in a body part in the same amount of pounds of gold or silver you owed! 

Contrasting to serving Christ in us; no government prepares the people of the world to answer to God and answer for the consequences of their sin which leads to eternal death. 

Governments are sterile institutions and necessary evils set up to put the brakes on man’s abuses or the violence would be absolute as in the days of Noah with total anarchy, chaos, and indiscriminate murder non-stop. It is governments that need soldiers for their self-preservation. Thank God for them. We do want to preserve our nation; we believe that God has Blessed America! America is a refuge for many who once lived oppressed.

But no government by their programs or military might can save the soul; that mission is up to you, and me... I mean you...sitting on that church pew, the Christian Soldier! Consider this quote from the Salvation Army’s first street Soldier that preached a few dozens of thousands of sermons on the filthy London streets streets…Gen. William Booth   

7. “To get a man soundly saved it is not enough to put on him a pair of new breeches, to give him regular work, or even to give him a University education. These things are all outside a man, and if the inside remains unchanged you have wasted your labor. You must in some way or other graft upon the man's nature a new nature, which has in it the element of the Divine.”   

8. In other words, Soldiers, you must learn from Jesus and preach Jesus and serve others in need, but if Jesus does not change another person’s heart, it is not on your conscience. This person who got our help with an unrepentant heart may just keep on going down the wrong path in life and our sacrificial love, generosity, and compassion did nothing because they chose not to hear the message of the gospel! It basically means this person still remains on the wrong side of this war, the one of destruction by living for selfishness, and animalistic passions, harming everyone in their family and community. Proverbs 10:16The labor of the righteous tends to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. 

With Jesus it is black or it is white, you are on His side teaching others to save others, or you are by default dividing against Him. Our war is a spiritual war against the rulers of darkness in high places. Jesus said, Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. You are either fighting for Jesus as a Soldier, or by default, you will be fighting against Him by living out life in your own prideful stubborn will!

The founder of this worldwide Salvation Army had such a vision for souls, such an aggression and passion to fight for the Lord and save souls, that he started this massive movement that has kept the momentum and the fire burning ever since! I personally have seen dozens of churches start up and then after just a few years fade away, but this is not so with the SA! Especially around the world! The SA is still growing strong after 159 years! But our few millions of members are not even 1% of the world’s population! We have a lot of work to do!

9. We should learn more from the original founding father, the General, of this worldwide dedicated army who by battling the enemy won many victories through people just like yourselves, the priceless Soldiers for Jesus Christ! God’s royal priesthood! He said:

“While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end”! This is our war! Our mission is to fight until the end of the world! 

10. All of us as Soldiers have the challenge to fight in all places to teach others of Jesus and of the true holiness doctrines. Do you recognize evil and what to battle? We must bring more Holy Ghost power in the Corps and in our own personal life and preach a Jesus that does expect us to repent and be sorry for our past sins being willing to do anything to live to fight for the right! Are you willing to take a bullet and be made fun of for standing up for Jesus? Don’t get so involved with the affairs of this world that you are compromised and a lukewarm ineffective Christian. Our fight is to save souls into heaven! But are you doing it?!

Will you suffer for Jesus? Paul suffered! 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

Jesus reveals to us as Soldiers of Jesus that to serve Him in this Army we are going to need passion and dedication! You are expected to tell others of Jesus, to pray and grow from the study of God’s word, and to serve those in need, visiting the elderly in the homes, and do anything in the kitchen or in the community that the Lord needs! There are dozens of ministry opportunities with us! Which one will you choose? How will you show to God and all you are a good Soldier winning some victories in this war against the evils in the world? Come and pray, take conviction to obey the call!

Do You Have a Heart For Humans Trafficked?

Do You Have a Heart For Humans Trafficked?       Kelly Durant       1-14-18 Re 9-22-24

 

Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

 

2. When I was a kid I use to play cowboys and Indians. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters so I would get my grandmother to tie me up in a chair, like I was captured. I loved the challenge of getting free and I would get the ropes off many times only after a few minutes. So because she got tired of me needing to get tied up so often she started tying me up for good. After about an hour I would have to yell out to her, “Ok, you win, I give! Untie me, please!”

 

Have you ever been in a bound situation where you could do nothing to stop the dominion and oppression of someone? What a horrible feeling, right? It is nothing like the game I use to play, it is real fear and helplessness. I think many people have felt oppression and abuse from those of their own families. Abuse and control is done in many ways, but it is almost always done by someone who has an advantage over you, either with physical size, money, or by threats. 

 

Maybe you have not had your hands tied, but possibly you have been abused by an employer who insulted you or never paid you correctly. Or maybe a violent abusive mate was in your past? And what about so-called friends who entrap you into some dirty business and you then have a big debt to pay?  Abuse is everywhere but due to embarrassment, people keep their secrets, and this is wrong and unjust. God’s solution is freedom in Jesus!

 

3. This month is human trafficking awareness month, and the Salvation Army does its best to get the word out there that we are here to help free the oppressed! You should check out what our USA websites and YouTube clips inform, we are serious about helping people! Your brothers, sisters, and soldiers in the Lord will find safe houses for those escaping horrible situations! There not only exists the porn, drug, prostitution, slave labor exploitation world here, but in most other countries as well. We need to wake up and ‘Do Something!” as child prostitution and slave labor still persistently exists, so what are you going to do to combat this evil?  https://sajustice.us/

 

Human trafficking is modern day slavery! It exists in many forms. We should all be shocked that there is more slavery today in the world than what ever has been! Here are some modern-day slavery statistics that you probably didn’t know about. There are many websites but here is one I found at https://freedomnetworkusa.org/#:~:text=Freedom%20Network%20USA%20is%20the,trafficking%20in%20the%20United%20States.   Below are some quotes related to human trafficking…

‘The 2022 report estimates that 50 million people were victims of modern slavery in any given day in 2021. Out of these, an estimated 27.6 million people were in situations of forced labor and another 22 million people were in a forced marriage.’ https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/human-trafficking#:~:text=The%202022%20report%20estimates%20that,were%20in%20a%20forced%20marriage.   There are 161 countries affected by human trafficking!

The total yearly profit gained from human trafficking is a staggering $150 billion a year.

A majority of modern slavery victims are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. 

This is a lot to take in! How appalling and shocking, right?

 

4. Considering we are free from having a horrible monster over us controlling our every move making us do horrible things, (we are blessed by God!) we should feel conviction to help those who are suffering under this ever-increasing plague of evil. The good thing is you are a part of this Army who does come through with Salvation. When someone speaks up, there are connections and ways to help people get into a safe and new situation.

 

One example, I personally took a Colombian lady one time to a safe-house in Georgia. She was escaping a violent ex-husband who had beat her badly in the past. The information about these victims is private, but I can tell you this, that it is true, anyone escaping prostitution, exploitive pimps, or exploitive bosses can get a new start by just stepping out to ask!

 

That is the big problem, those intimidated in these situations do not know others can and will help them!  What I love is Jesus took on this abuse in the very first sermon of His ministry!  He said: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives.”

 

5. So here is my question to you, “Will you be like Jesus to announce to others that they can have liberty from their oppressors?” Would you call the police, or call someone if you saw an abusive situation, if you saw an underage prostitute or victim of a bad work situation? If you don’t care, watch out, you one day may need help away from an evil person and not find a way!

 

I often get upset when I see minorities, Hispanics or blacks, who see a bad situation daily and do nothing about it to help their own. Well, I get mad at whites too!  It’s just that for the past 40 years I have worked in communities of minorities! We have had friends that have told us that the ladies (immigrants often without papers) will take their 14-year-old daughters to the beauty salon so they can make them pretty so they can prostitute them!?  If any young person here has ever been forced, we would like to know about! Forced sex leaves a scar but the good news is Jesus can heal those scars.  But you must be willing to be God’s instrument and voice!

 

Listen to this again: “He (God) has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives.” It is Jesus who heals and frees, but Jesus has no hands but your hands! Jesus depends on you and me to make that phone call, and to do our part and “do something” so that we bring healing and freedom to a person bound in suffering. Never fear the evil ones! God knows and God protects you from evil people when you denounce a criminal, illegal, horrible oppressive act being done on an innocent one! 

 

6. The problem with the world today is too many people accept evil! Too many people are asleep, indifferent, or afraid to confront evil and call it for what it is! Be like Jesus, denounce evil! How was it with all of those want-to-be Hollywood actors and actresses? Those of the #metoo movement? To get to have a part in a movie they were forced sexually and then intimidated, threatened, and bullied so that they would not denounce the violators. Hundreds and thousands have kept silent until recent years! Abuse has always been rampant with those in power, with dictators and political leaders in high places. But it is all coming out to the light! And still there are rebellious horrible people like atheists who reject God’s command such as ”thou shall not commit adultery’, God had in mind to stop people who were exploiters.

 

These damaged folks had to live with all of that bottled up stress of oppression (which was killing them inside as they used drugs to cope) and the abuse often lasted for years! And these are only a few! There are mega millions still out there! And in the porn and prostitution industry they are controlled by pimps giving them addictive drugs and their entire bodies feel extreme pain when they don’t get their fix. All their money goes to the pimp for drugs! So modern day slavery is the same as torture, and all I can say is that those who manipulate, torture, and destroy children, youth, women, and the poor have to answer to God who will send their soul to a place of perpetual torture, hell! That is unless they repent!  

 

Here’s what Jesus said: Mark 9: 42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched.   You and I must proclaim the, “the day of vengeance of our God;”

 

7. So be thankful you are not being exploited (speak up if you are being exploited!) and be thankful you are not one who is exploiting! The ones being exploited live lives in hell everyday doing things that is making them old before their time! To not care about this is to deny the faith, what use is a so-called Christian who will not help another abused and in need?

 

The Salvation Army is animate about serving the poor and helping those in need and helping someone away from a life of drugs or alcohol, away from a life of prostitution, away from a life of being used and abused is what a Salvationist does! Have you read our history? Who have you helped lately? Who will you help in the future? You might discover a friend of yours is being abused or exploited, so what will you do? People are even tattooed like merchandise!

 

I am very proud that around the world the Salvation Army can help others. We are the ones who must do this mission: “To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, If you have never helped a person find Jesus and His liberating comforting love, you are failing to do as He did and commanded. 

 

8. 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, (This means helping spiritual Zion, the believers in God) What do you do to make others feel better? When someone is suffering, are you there for them? And, “To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning”, in this case what does it mean? The ashes represent a total loss! We have helped people whose houses have burned down and if you were in their shoes it would be awful to need clothing, tooth paste, and everything! Being homeless or escaping an abuser is like losing everything to ashes!

 

But having your life in ashes also implies the spiritual, that you lost everything inside, it was burned up or taken by sin in conjunction with some evil person; you lost your innocence, your freedom, your dignity, your desire to live! So, what is meant by this part, ‘The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness’? People who have been used and abused and lost it all have a heavy or shockingly dry somber spirit that makes you feel depressed just to see their faces! And what is our role that Jesus gave the example of? To bring them a garment of praise!

 

This means we are putting clothes back on them and giving them a new life! We are giving them a reason to live and a reason to praise God that there is hope and that there are people out there loving them no matter what, helping them obtain their respect and joy again. You must look past their sin, you must love them as a creation of God damaged by sin, Satan, and evil people!

 

9. One last thing, I have been very mad, yes, very upset at my fellow Christians, when I or someone have brought into the church a visitor who obviously appeared to be a prostitute, a sinner, or an uneducated exploited farm worker and they were treated with disrespect. Why? Because some ‘perfect one’ was rude to get them to never come back to the church because they were undesirable! I’m sure this makes Jesus furious as He came to save the lost souls! Our mission is to save the “lost and the worst”! Abused suffering people do not need more shunning and abuse from comfortable Christians! One day God will reveal to these so-called Christians, that these exploited ones may have rejected church and Jesus because of their unloving shameful attitude towards them! I do not want to be in their shoes on judgement day.

 

So, if you are doing your part, if you help only one soul in your life (but why not help 10 or more?) then you will have the blessings of God! You will be strong! You will be compared to a tree that brings shade and fruit! 3. “That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Every time you or I do something to help another, we are establishing (planting) the ‘kingdom of God’ Jesus taught about! 

 

We are glorifying God when we do what Jesus taught us, to proclaim to others His Salvation by acts and deeds of kindness to who are in deplorable conditions! Get educated, learn the signs of people who are abused and for the love of Jesus, help them get free and be able to start a new life! Prayer…

Arithmetic: God Taught Adam About The Universe: His Sons Corrupted This Sacred Knowledge Pt 4

 

Arithmetic: God Taught Adam About The Universe: His Sons Corrupted This Sacred Knowledge  

A Seven Part Sermon on How What We Know Today Has Degraded From The Original Pt. 4.                By Kelly Durant

 

Matthew 10:30

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.    Genesis 46:26

All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.

 

2. How many of you think math education is important? I think we all agree we should learn the basics, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These calculations make or break us in how poor or prosperous we may be able to live. Without a record of numbers of everything we are doomed to chaos! 

 

Why are we on this topic today? Because for God numbers are important as they reveal who he is, who we are, and record time and volumes of events. There is even a whole book in the bible named “Numbers” but few people give it much thought! God is in the details, and that includes many numbers of His people. 

 

People can be easily manipulated with wrong numbers, have you ever thought of that? In election times polls and stats are used for manipulation. Stats that are deceptive and change minds and attitudes. Superstitious people allow their lives to be controlled by ‘sacred numbers’. Wrong numbers can cause you to fail. Luke 14:28-30 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 

 

3. I think we use to grow up in the U.S. with a common understanding of how mathematical skills are vital to our survival, but it has been degenerated. In South America and the rest of the world, many people I knew revealed having a talent or training for correct number calculations, or they use to, but calculators have permitted our minds to become lazy and vulnerable. 

 

What has disturbed me, having worked with immigrants, is how they get abused by people who do tricky math on them. Often their paychecks are done wrong, and employers are stealing from them! We see this personally often. Many end up buying homes and cars with the highest interest ever and being taken advantage of like no other. Now that is an area in society where real social justice enthusiasts should be focused on. It is appalling and disturbing how many people do not have the calculating skills they need to rise out of poverty. 

 

One of the most disturbing misuses of our God given arithmetic system is that of viewing numbers as having philosophical or hidden message which should govern our decisions as in numerology. The occultists, certain religions and cultures, and behind the scenes secret societies are all governed by ‘sacred’ dates, numbers, and their actions will always be tied into the mystery of the number’s sciences.  

 

4. We know God knows everything about everything! God knows if your body lost 51 hairs today and 64 yesterday! Jesus affirms this in Matthew 10:30. God used numbers in establishing consistency in the forces He created. For example, light has a usual constant of 186,000 miles per second. (according to scientists) The numbers don’t lie when revealing how amazingly astounding God is in his created measurements holding invisible forces together which He taught to Adam about.

 

Psalm 147:4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. God did intend for us to notice that some numbers are more relevant than others. For example, our one God reveals Himself in three ways. Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (God in 3 persons, blessed trinity).

 

God is also revealed in the number seven. Revelation 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. At a different time we can look at God’s sacred numbers such as 1,3,7, 12, 24, 40, etc. 

 

5. What is it with 3 in the Bible? 1 in 3 fallen beings, (or 33 %) are condemned by their own choice, angels who became demons, and they are forever banned from heaven. Revelation 12:4 His (Lucifer’s) tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. Dozens of times one third is in the Bible on how to divide things.

 

So, what is 66% then? It is God’s number for the faithful who remained in heaven, and even Genesis 46:26 God reveals this uniqueness through Abraham on earth ‘not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons’. And God promised him children as the stars and sand grains! That’s almost infinite! So, what is 666 then? It is more symbolic of the 2/3rds faithful than of something evil. Never forget God owns everything and it is Satan who wants to flip things with the opposite, in his pride he wants to own the things of God, but he is an impostor, a loser, and a fraud and owns nothing! All numbers are of God, but Satan pretends to own some like 5, 13, and 666. Our Bible has 66 books in it!

 

And it is amazing how evil frequently divides in thirds. Congress may vote 66% for something good, but often 33% are evil and illogically, callously, and in explicably vote against it. The same is in all organizations and other networks, as well as churches, as often we observe that 2/3 are there for God and 1/3 are there for some personal gain or to do plots of sabotage and dissention. On whose side are you and those we know? Matt. 7:20 ‘By their fruits you will know them” 

 

6. So today I am postulating that Adam learned all the mathematical sciences as we know them today from God and passed them down to his descendants. Enoch the grandson of Adam is attributed to being a builder of complex structures and land markers, which many believe include the major pyramids dividing the ancient north from the south in Egypt.  I am convinced that Adam knew of all the formulas of Pythagoras, Archimedes, and Euclid, and of others.  

 

So, did Satan plot to rob God’s numbers and seek worship for the revelation of scared math formulas? Yes! His demons possessed early civilizations to create a pantheon of false gods and mega structures that cannot be explained even today on how they were created, as with the pyramids. 

 

The pyramids around the world were most usually used for celestial worship of the sun and stars and not for the worship of our true God and even worse the temples were used for Satanic human sacrifice. What a combination! Imagine an exact counting and measuring of the stars for times and seasons yet mixed with an insatiable desire for human blood and murder?! These cults still exist today!

 

7. Arithmetic today is common knowledge yet secret societies still push the idea that only certain elite master builders had the knowledge of the sacred formulas. Only they were worthy to build! How erroneous! Today we see many structures in all the cities around the world that are built lined up with the sun, Saturn, Venus, or stars, and built with a certain amount of sides, and are spaced with 13 blocks apart with intersecting angle junctions that reveal secret symbols such as the pentagram. The earth’s ley lines are also used as markers for where to build.

 

Computers have made it possible to calculate numbers with lighting velocity. There is no room for human error, and so some people actually claim that technology is to be worshipped as a god superior to us, a new cult! https://www.newsweek.com/google-executive-forms-religion-artificial-intelligence-714416  

There exists “technopaganism” (a new cult) and numbers, times, place locations, and quantities are an essential part of Satanic worship.

 

The idea is for us to marvel that only Lucifer could reveal such mathematical knowledge to our past forefathers who belonged to these secret cults. Often Solomon is mentioned in secret circles, but not the wise version as he communicated in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, but rather the fallen version when he worshipped pagan gods in order to please his pagan wives. 

 

8. So, Satan’s crowd wants you to conclude this, that the money, the power, the shapes, and even the dates of things (as in past wars or murders as, in Friday the 13th) are established points for the purpose of exalting ancient cult worship that employs numbers and numerology. If you don’t join their insider’s clubs, and learn their so-called secret knowledge, then you will never partake of any of their privileges, sinful benefits, or power. 

 

Jesus’ life is connected to ‘sacred’ Godly numbers, like the 12 disciples, fasting 40 days, dying at age 33 & ½ (not at 33 & 1/3), and he feeds 5,000, gets his disciples to catch 153 fish, and on and on. Pay attention to God’s numbers and learn that God does keep track of everything beyond our imagination and ability.

 

Arithmetic knowledge is important! We need it to add up our finances, control our health, and calculate if others are using truthful numbers or deceptive numbers for our day-to-day transactions. On the 7^th day, God rested, and so should we as we reflect on His amazingly perfect harmony of numbers. Keep count of things and be faithful to God 24/7 who created you with an estimated 36 trillion cells functioning in harmony. Worship Him! His creation reveals His perfect design, awesomeness, complexity, and love for us!

Rhetoric: Part 3 of the Series on Sacred Sciences

Rhetoric: God Taught Adam About The Universe: His Sons Corrupted This Sacred Knowledge  

A Seven Part Sermon on How What We Know Today Has Degraded From The Original Pt. 3. By Kelly Durant

 

Psalm 19:14 

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. 

Acts 4:13

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

 

2. Have you ever listened to someone and not fully understood what they are talking about? It is an art to be able to express yourself so that others capture what you are trying to convey in speech. The ability to communicate is one of the most basic things in life and if it is not done in an appropriate way, frustration sets in, a tuning out occurs, and in the end all the words were just wasted energy, and the original intent is lost in translation from the mind to the mouth to the brains.

 

I recall in a movie from 1983,’Trading Places’, in which there was a man off the street who was enticed to replace the role of an important rich finance broker. When they put him on the spot , on TV, and asked how he would fix the bankrupted finances at hand, since he didn’t know anything about that, he responded by saying let’s talk about simple things and explained how to garden. He responded with something very off topic. His rhetoric had nothing to do with the question (he knew nothing on the matter), but all of the commentators went with it so they said, ‘Oh, how amazing he is’! This man speaks deep things about fertilizers and soils, and now we all understand he is referring to investing reserve funds, etc. What a wise man they all said! It was comical! This shows how unexpected or unclear rhetoric translates into our minds as some form of reality, but it is only an invented illusion on our part to make sense of things unrelated. 

 

Rhetoric :  ‘Rhetoric is defined as the art of using language in such a way as to make the desired impression upon the hearer or reader.  Generally speaking, rhetoric covered the whole subject of composition, both oral and written. In rhetoric we see the interplay of both grammar and logic’ (online, ref., various). Considering Jesus used a lot of rhetoric (in the positive sense) like in parables to win others to the kingdom of God, we as His followers must learn about that skill of expression. He talked about sewing and reaping but referring to God’s kingdom.

 

3. Today most people equate rhetoric with the convoluted talk in politics. Here is an article that examines this assessment, but rhetoric is not only used just in politics but in most everything.

 https://theconversation.com/us/topics/rhetoric-8995

Notice that the way something is expressed may change the original content, as is done in the intent of political parties, so we should learn about this as word games are designed to convince you of things you may have convictions against. We do as Christians have strong convictions concerning our faith and the standards of God communicated in His Word! But some may get confused!

 

Often worldly rhetoric can misrepresent information, and it may change your opinion, temporarily, until you discover the errors in what was fed to you. Applying rhetoric to a conversation can either make or break you when sharing your authentic Christian faith. In the Christian faith apologetics is the art of winning others to the faith and we need to be clear, convincing, convicting, and converting! Colossians 4:6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

 

Why do I find the topic of rhetoric important to share with you? Because too many people are deceived by Satanic secret society rhetoric which they call wisdom, replacing darkness for light, and so-called light for darkness, from Lucifer’s confusion and deception!  2 Thessalonians 2:3 ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition’. We need to know how to answer these well-versed folks with tricky slogans, chants, or lying statistics. Today the news outlets believe that if you repeat a lie often enough the people will eventually believe it and accept it as truth. That sort of rhetoric is what got Hitler into power! Always with discernment start with this premise of… what lie are they pushing now?

 

4. The rhetoric of the anti-Christ will deceive many; Daniel 8:23 ‘And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up’. ‘ Dark sentences’ is referring to Satanic rhetoric being disguised as wisdom which many will swallow because they do not have the Lord, nor His Holy Spirit.

 

In the ‘end of days’’ a flood of lies will prevail like a deluge flood and those without faith, those of the flesh, of the material earth (not spiritual), will buy into the words of the new world order leader, the anti-Christ, but the saints of God will not! Revelation 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. That verse is spiritual rhetoric using nature (earth, water) for illustration.

 

A war of words always precedes a war in the physical realm and by what we observe today, we know a violent clash between the followers of God and the followers of Satan is coming: a great persecution. We see how this played out through atheistic Communist governments in the past 100 years with over 100 million murdered for not accepting the manifesto rhetoric. It’s already here again!

 

5. Today many young people, as well as old ones, get sold a false narrative and bad rhetoric with flash quotes on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and mainstream media. Their minds get shaped by the world because they have no Biblical knowledge to compare to or override it with. Christians should be posting things that lead people to God because millions of posts and articles daily mock God with subliminally and/or overtly schemed rhetoric!

 

For example, a quote: “We must conquer life by living it to the full, and then we can go to meet death with a certain prestige”. Does this sound like something good? Sort of like what Jesus said to live “life abundantly” in John 10:10? We will as Christians face death to be resurrected and exalted through Jesus’ grace, right? 

 

This quote was stated by one of the worst devil worshippers of our century: Aleister Crowley. The context in which he refers here is to live ‘doing as you wilt’, abusing, fornicating, even murdering so you have power and magic on your side!

 

6. To defend yourself against the deceptive rhetoric of all the evil people in the world we must ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit! John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. We must pray for the Holy Spirit when listening or reading anything.

 

Quite often we are dumb like sheep, we really don’t know what to say when bad people criticize or attack us for our love for Jesus. But we must remember it is God’s Spirit who will speak through us. Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

 

And as in the verse Acts 4:13, we will by the Holy Spirit have powerful words, not our own words, to proclaim Jesus! We will have boldness, and we will not be afraid of the faces nor rhetoric of the people of the world who only speak by the same old preprogramed copied rhetorical fallacies as minions trying to impose worldviews which include evil hierarchies and murder as a solution. We must be preconditioned to God’s word and feed ourselves daily with it.

    

7. We must always research into who is saying what, and try never repeat quotes by authors, politicians, or even pastors unless they line up with the spirit of love as we know from God’s Holy Scripture’s teachings. We must eliminate from our heads the evil lyrics of certain songs and decipher intensely what is in our heads, or memories, and hearts! 

 

Some people are passionate for certain causes, but unless God is in that cause it would mean that the confused person is just another one of the enemy’s minions! Matthew 12:30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” All because a person buys into, or pushes, a pretty rhetoric originated by an unknown source, does not mean that you and I should buy into it. Beware of repetitive narratives, it implies a web of connected agendas behind it and our agenda should only be focused on God’s Kingdom. 

 

I hope you see why I am emphasizing this because we must be sold out to God’s communications because Satan’s crowd are always producing more and more hypocritical liars and deceivers using convincing words. Colossians 2:4

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

 

8. The Bible is extremely relevant to you and me to influence us with God’s word combinations which instill wisdom. People who read the Bible get exposed to almost every facet of life with stories of envy, power struggles, pride, deception, romance, miracles, happiness, purpose, and of all the things that affect all kinds of people no matter the race or culture throughout time. It is the use of words to inspire and motive you and me, so with that, the Bible contains the best rhetoric that exists!

 

The rhetoric of the Bible includes everything you would need to learn in English grammar, literature, and speech class. Here is a list of expression devices and most all of them are used in scripture: alliteration, allusion, amplification, analogy, anaphora, antanagoge, antimetabole, antiphrasis, antithesis, appositive, enumeratio, epanalepsis, epithet, epizeuxis, hyperbole, litotes, metanoia, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, parallelism, simile, and understatements.

 

The Bible has it all! But you do not have to be a well-educated person versed in rhetoric to stand with confidence as a representative child of God. What I am explaining here is all you need is the Bible to educate you. https://billmuehlenberg.com/2007/04/18/rhetoric-the-bible-and-the-believer/    

For example: “Elijah’s encounter with the prophets of Baal is a classic example of humorous sarcasm and taunting (1 Kings 18). Verse 27 of course is the highlight: “Is Baal musing, or gone aside (figuratively means to go urinate), on a journey, or asleep?”

 

9.  Satan has hijacked most all of the world’s rhetoric making it demeaning, suggestive, and debasing! His word combinations through media, music, and cultural influences shape, wire, and brainwash, the world’s people into a mindset of animosity against God and His people. For example: Christians are described as bigoted, prejudiced, Bible thumpers, Jesus freaks, and right-wing evangelicals! Always something pertaining to evil or ignorance. It is our job as Christians to discern what words are of God and what are not and expose fallacies with truth.

 

It is our job to study to know how to use rhetoric in favor of convincing others of God’s love and purpose in our lives. You can do it and rewire your brain, so why not start by memorizing certain verses in the Bible? 

 

Start with Psalm 19:14 

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. Let’s pray…