I am a retired pastor of
the Church of God (Tennessee). My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India. |
Email: Pastor True Gospel
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"Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ... 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. In Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Jesus Christ met his disciples just before his ascension and told them to teach people to observe all his commandments whatever he told them to do, and he will always be with those who will preach this as his gospel until the end of the world, with all his omnipotent power. What it means to observe? It is to live in accordance with what he taught, and he promised them that he will be with those who teach to observe, until the end of the world, as God with power. "Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Jesus Christ again visited apostle John and confirmed to the churches that those who live by his commandments will have inheritance as rewards in the kingdom of God in heaven. As much as we observe, that much higher status we will get in heaven. Four statuses are in heaven for God's people.
Jesus Christ says in "John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." So, rejecting the word of Jesus is rejecting Jesus; and so, the word of Jesus Christ will judge him who did reject the word. "John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. .... 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ... 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." We all say that we love Jesus, but almost nobody observes what he tells us to do. Do you know why? Because the word of God says that we do not know him. "1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." So, if we do not keep his commandments, it is proof that we do not know him. We know many things about Jesus when he was a man; but we know nothing about him after he became God; since now he is in the omnipotent Spirit.
I want to cover all the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ from the bible as much as possible. But there are too many to cover in one day session. So, let me just take the main ones. So, it may be a small lesson for a big topic. When Jesus begins the sermon of the mount, he tells who are all the blessed people; even though they are not in the form of commandments. They are in Mathew 5:2-14. He tells us to be poor in spirit to inherit his kingdom; to mourn to be meek; to hunger and thirst to be righteous, merciful, and pure in heart to be peacemakers; rather be persecuted for righteousness' sake, be reviled, be evil spoken of and so on. All these are for more rewards in heaven. Then he tells us to be salt and light, which is symbolic for godliness with vigor and much power. "Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:" So, even the least of his commandments are very important for us to inherit the kingdom of God. "20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." This command appears to be the most difficult one, but in reality it is the easiest, because the scribes and Pharisees were hypocrites and unrighteous people; and so, to exceed their righteousness is not difficult, but an easy one.
"Matthew 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Mark 12:28-33 also says the same thing." So, love God and love the brethren in the Lord; are two commandments. How to love God? Most people want to give him a kiss, a hug, an offering, or sing a praise song to him. Can we fix him a nice breakfast, a rich dinner, a grant feast, take him to a trip to Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls? No, such things are not possible. Then how to love God? His word tells us two ways to love him. First is: "John 14:15 says If ye love me, keep my commandments." So, love him is to live by his commandments. The second is: It is in Matthew 25:32-46. Let me give a couple of verses. "40 says, ... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ... 45 says, ... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." If you read the parable, love the brethren means, take care of them, as and when it is needed, as much as possible for you to do. This is loving God, Jesus Christ, whom we cannot see. Bear in mind; his least brethren are not con artists, who use his name to exploit you and plunder your money, not celebrity preachers, not charity fund raisers, and such people. The first commandment is to love God, who is in the omnipotent Spirit, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. But what is the proof whether we love him are not? It is the second, which is like unto the first, which is to love thy neighbour as thyself. Let us see on more reference from the epistles. "Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." With this one word, all the commands of God are fulfilled, because it is the proof for our love toward God. If we take care of his poor brethren, who preach to observe his commands, we do love God; if we do not, we do not love God. This is the proof.
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Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, ..." So, God created us as men and as women, and told us to multiply. So, multiplying is not shame or sin, rather it is obeying God. Whatever that is pertained to multiplying; the desire, the attraction, the drive, all are designed and created by God, but not by the devil. So, they are not sin. But the devil is doing something else. All other deviations other than male, female, and multiplying are perversions from the devil. So, reject the devil and demonic people completely. They will all burn in hell. That is it. Back to the point. I often wonder, why women love their husbands despite the hardships they go through. The answer is in "Genesis 3:16. God says, thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." So, women have no other choice, but to love their husbands. God considers this union of man and woman, even as honorable. "Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." So, God will judge sex outside of the marriage as sin against God. So, marriage is between one man and one woman; the primary purpose of marriage is to multiply; and also, it is for love, to enjoy, to have pleasure, and for good relationship. "1 Corinthians 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. 5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." So, with the exception of fasting and prayer with consent, you can be together all the time. Another point. "Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Usually, false preachers use these verses to threaten people, saying that it is impossible to obey the commandments of God. Look at the beauty of a woman is perfectly all right. It is to lust after a woman to pull her to commit adultery is sin, because his intention is to commit adultery. So, enjoy life; treat others as sisters, mothers, and daughters; and have a normal life. God does not intend you to live like horses with blinders. Do not twist scriptures to suit your doctrine. Do not threaten people beyond the limit of the word of God. It is sin. The commands of God are reasonable and are possible to obey. One more important point. In "Matthew 19:4&5, 4 And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24, Mark 10:7, & Ephesians 5:31 also say the same thing. The command of God is, when we marry, our father and mother must stop controlling us, to begin our new family as husband and wife to be united as one. Unfortunately, in Indian families, in the pretense of protection and guidance, parents are always between the new husband and wife. It is ungodly and it is against the command of God. I would like to say that it has ruined more than 95% of the Indian families. I am not against helping the new family, if one or both require help. But we must not dominate and destroy any new family.If you like to study the details about bad elements in relationship, please refer this link: "Immorality."
God made heaven in four levels, since we have different spiritual achievements and desires. The four levels are, paradise, tabernacle of God, New heavens, and mount Sion. If we fulfill the commands of God in the primary level, we will attain paradise. It is in Romans 13:5-10. "10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." That is, if we have done no evi to others and that is all, it is the lowest level, and we will get to paradise. But if we desire to get the top level, which is the status of the bride of Christ, we will receive a custom command to fulfill; and it is our high calling. Let us see an example from the scripture. "Mark 10:17 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?" This man was asking for a high calling, which is inheritance in heaven. But Jesus began with him from a lower level. "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." So, he has done them all to enter the first level of heaven, which is paradise, even from his youth. Jesus has accepted it. Let us look at the same from Matthew to bring one more point. "Matthew 19:20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." Now he desires a higher level, and asked Jesus what to do more. So, Jesus tells him that if he wants to be a Son of God, that is to be perfect and to have treasures in heaven, then distribute his wealth to the poor; and if he wants to be the bride of Christ, follow Jesus as his disciple. "22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Jesus says that he could not inherit the higher level of the kingdom of God. However, he did not lose paradise, which he has already gained. But preachers interpret this as he lost heaven completely and is going to hell. No, just because he did not make it to the higher level, he did not lose what he has gained. Higher level in heaven has treasures, but paradise do not have any such glory. New heavens and Zion are for Sons and for the Bride. But any rich person will have difficulty to fulfill a higher calling.
If you like to study the detail of the High Calling, New Jerusalem, and Mount Zion, please refer this link: "High Calling."
Jesus told a story among the parables to the Pharisees and scribes. We all know this story; it is of the prodigal son. It is in Luke 15:11-32. Let us see a few points in the story. #1) It is more than a sinner saved story; but it is a story of a father and his two sons. If the father represents God, his two sons do not represent sinners, but they have attained the status of Sons of God. #2) "12 says, the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." Sons have inheritance. In this case, if the father is God the Father, his inheritance is in heaven. His younger son, who has attained the status of Sons of God, want to receive his inheritance even in the worldly living, and God has granted it to him. So, he has received his inheritance in the form of power to do healing, miracles, to become famous and rich as a worker of God, and so on. Perhaps his rewards might have run out; that is, the true power of God ceases; and so, he became really hungry for Spirit food. #3) "17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." The prodigal son has learned his lesson, repented of his sins, and he decided to go back to his father and join him as one of his servants. His father received him and decided to celebrate the occasion with feast. However, now this Son has no inheritance since he has wasted it. So, his status became as in the tabernacle (temple) of God in paradise. #4) In the middle of the celebration, his elder brother came. He asked his father two things and his Father answered them both. "30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf." He asked the reason for the big celebration, and his father explained him the reason. "32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Luke 15:7 also says,... likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." The Son became a sinner, but again repented and is saved; that is, he was dead, and is alive again; or lost and is found. So, it is proper to celebrate the salvation of a repented sinner. In "29 he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:" So, he was serving as a perfect Son, totally dedicated, and never defaulted; yet God has given him no benefit to him in this world. Please pay attention to the reply of God the Father: "31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." The Father tells him that what all the Father have is to this Son; and so, heavenly Zion belong to him; that is, he is not only a Son, but he is also in the status of the bride of Christ. So, in the past, both brothers were in the status of Sons; so, they were to inherit new heavens. But one backslid, became a sinner, lost and dead, was in the status to go to hell, but somehow repented and came back to God, and was accepted in the status of the tabernacle in paradise. And the elder Son continued to serve God in his field very truthfully, was raised to the status of heavenly Mount Sion, which is the house of God. Younger son began his own way with whatever he got, may be a personal healing and miracle ministry, but repented, and came to God. Many people in this status now a days, continues in their fallen rotten status, and they will all go to hell. However, the elder son continues in the field of God without any glamor in this world, inherits Zion. What do you want? A testimony as the elder son which is, "Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment:" Will that be yours? It will be great!
If you like to study this story in detail, please refer this link: "Prodigal Son."
If any
point needs explanation, OR, if you find an error according to
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Matthew 28:20, & Mark 16:15. Jesus Christ preached his commandments to obey, as his
The true gospel will convert evil people to do good and thereby they will inherit the kingdom in heaven.
John 3:19-21 say that people are two kinds, evil and true. Evil doers will not come to the Light, who is God; but people of truth come to God for their deeds to be made manifest. We have good and evil people by our standard of our society or culture. These evil people may be converted to be doers of truth by the power of God, and they may inherit the kingdom of God in heaven.
Email: Pastor True Gospel