Message to Churches! Revelation 1:5

Greek Translation: And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful one worthy to be believed keeping his promises a witness having knowledge of everything. The first born of the whole creation being before and after all things. The first born for the spiritual dead. He is the Prince or chief ruler of the Kings of the people in the earth as part of man’s dominion in creation. Unto him that first showed his love toward men. And washed us from the sin that kept us from our true purpose of life in his own blood. His blood the life of all flesh.

Who Do You Trust? Psalm 86:11

Hebrew Translation: “Teach me by laying a foundation established and erect controlling me which leads me down the road of life. O Lord; I will walk faithfully and stable in thy truth; unite my heart in the totality of my inner nature to reverence and respect your name.” Comment: We like Jesus disciples have struggled with this scripture! Like Jesus disciples we sometimes do not walk stable following him! We waver in faith getting off the road that leads to life! The disciples would sometimes get off the foundation! Their heart was not always united with Christ! Reverence and respect for his name was not always there! Peter denied Jesus even though he told him he would die for him! He eventually did in Rome years later! Jesus told us to go out into all the world and preach the Gospel! We say let the church do it! Let an organization do it! Pay them so I do not have to do it! Our gift’s God has given us cannot be used unless we do what Jesus told us to do! At the feeding of the 5000 Jesus asked the disciples what do they have? The disciples wanted to send the crowd away! We do not have money to feed this large crowd? Cancel the meeting! Send them home! The disciples were perplexed? They can buy their own food! A little boy in the crowd came prepared! He had more than enough for himself! He had a little faith! Enough faith to give Jesus everything he had! The little boy gave his all! He had the gift of 5 loaves and 2 fish! Bring what you have to Jesus! God will multiply it! Let God bless what you have! Really what he has given you! Doesn’t seem like much but enough! He will multiply it to feed everyone! God is greater than what you have! Have you figured this out yet? Do something with what God has given you! With your life! Don’t waste it on drugs and go to work! With the left overs from a miracle you can feed even more people! Twelve baskets full! Israel had twelve tribes and Jesus had twelve disciples! God can build a nation out of left overs! God can build a church with left overs! God has more than enough for your family! He has more than enough for your church! God can bless you if you bring all you have to him! Peter build my church! Do you want to distribute God to the world? Or keep him for yourself? Sow the seed you have! Do not eat your seed! Share and multiply what you have! The rich young ruler was not able to do that? He valued his possessions more than God! I don’t need to tithe and make offerings? The possessions God had given to him he could not give back! If you give to God what you have he will do more with it than you ever could by yourself! The graveyard is full of excuses! Even David who wrote this Psalm waivered at times! Jesus never did! Wait on God but not on anything else! Do what God has called you to do! Help the needy and the lost! Go after those the world has rejected! Pray and agree with God! Jesus had every excuse to quit! The crown of thorns was very painful! The betrayal of his disciples was painful! His back cut open and bleeding was painful! His Cross was heavy! Your will be done! God’s will is not easy! Jesus had no excuses to die for you! Do you have any excuses not to live for him? He gave his all! Can you? Be faithful! Stand up for our flag and take a knee for Jesus in prayer! Pastor Don Wildes, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia

Church Growth & Decline! II Chronicles Chapters 6-7

Mary pondered these things in her heart! Do we ponder the things of God? His House? A church that was once strong and powerful fades away into history? Solomon built the most beautiful Temple for God in history! Solomon had so much wealth given to him! The Queen of Sheba gave him 4 tons of gold for a gift! Solomon did not spend on himself but invested it into the building of the Temple! The Jews made sacrifices to construct the Temple! Solomon asked God for wisdom but God gave him both wisdom and riches! Riches outside the will and purpose of God will come to nothing! After Solomon and many years passed the Temple declined and was destroyed and the Jews went into captivity! Why do some churches fail while others prosper? What series of events cause these opposite outcomes? We must see life God’s way and not our own way! Solomon took the wealth God had given him and invested it into the Temple for worship! God gave the provisions! The church began and the people gave their best! We see from the recorded scriptures here the people prayed and God heard their requests and acted upon them! He bless their cause and work! At the end of Solomon’s prayer God was pleased and fire came down from Heaven and the sacrifice was consumed! What was going right in the Temple! People were obedient to leadership! It was more than just the ornaments of gold silver and jewels! Something was going on inside the Temple! Fire came down and the Lord’s House was filled with His Glory! His mercy endures forever! Solomon built a place where people could bring the sacrifices! God confirmed the blessings with his presence! God has chosen this place for himself! The power of faithfulness and obedience! God heard their prayers! If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves………! We will hear from Heaven! Revival! Times of refreshing! Heart’s right with God! Eyes opened! New revelation! Examine ourselves! Meet God! Who is your God? God is not the reason for a declining church! People have forgotten who they are in Christ! Lost favor of God! Lost sense of purpose! Focus on themselves! No witness of God to the community! Forsaken the God of our Father’s! Calamity follows! God moves out and the world moves in! Secularism! Return to the Lord! He will hear from heaven! He will heal with church growth! Now I must ask you a personal question? Have you given any sacrifice to God that he can consume? When God consumes your sacrifice his presence is manifested in his House! No sacrifice no consumption and no presence! No God in the House! Empty! Christ’s sacrifice caused God to consume Jesus completely with His manifested Glory! Miracles left and right! Are tithes and offerings too much sacrifice for you? Are ministries into your community too much for you? Prison ministry? Hospital and nursing home visits too much for you? Without your sacrifice he has nothing to work with! Do not waste your sacrifice on the world! Your effort will be lost forever! Have faith in God and trust him! You will never be disappointed! When the leadership and people stop sacrificing the ministry declines! When they begin to sacrifice the ministry grows! Pastor Ron Wilder, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.

Truth & Christmas! John 14:6

But truth is greater and stronger than all these things. Everyone on earth honors truth; Heaven praises it: all creation trembles in awe before it. There is not the slightest injustice in truth. You will find injustice in wine, the emperor, women, all human beings, in all they do, and in everything else. There is no truth in them; they are unjust and will perish. But truth endures and is always strong; it will continue to live and rule forever. Truth shows no partiality or favoritism; it does what is right, rather than what is unjust or evil. Everyone approves what truth does; its decisions are always fair. Truth is strong, royal, powerful, and majestic forever. Let all things praise the God of truth! 1 Esdras 4:35-40 (Apocrypha) Comment: The apocrypha was never canonized in our Protestant Bibles but in the Catholic Bibles. There are some good things in the apocrypha for even Christopher Columbus discovered the New World because of it! So what do we mean by truth? According to the Hebrew Old Testament truth means someone trustworthy, faithful, certain and foundational for support. Like the foundation for a building. The foundation is there to build you up. According to the New Testament Greek truth is someone who is open not concealing anything. Someone transparent not hiding anything. Jesus said I am the truth! The way and the life! Truth is embodied in a person! The man/God Christ! There was no sin in Him so nothing concealed or hidden! The strength of sin is it’s secrecy! That is why we are to confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive our sin! Truth is not an immaterial quantity of something! It is a spirit embodied in a person by Jesus Christ! If Christ is not embodied in us then there is no truth in us! We must be born again as Jesus commanded us! The second birth! As you worship his first birth this Christmas ask Him for His second birth to be born in you this Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Judgment Seat of Christ! Isaiah 11:3

(Hebrew Translation) “The Spirit of the Lord shall make Him of quick understanding distinguishing between good and evil, also the spirit of council commanding and executing the will of God with might and discerning knowledge prompted by the spirit with reverence of the Father recognizing He is all powerful.” Comment: Do you see why the Father renders all judgment to the Son? There are two judgments and Jesus presides over both! The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Thrown Judgment! The Judgment Seat of Christ is where all believers go after death! After death we go immediately to this court! The Great White Throne Judgment is where all unbelievers go. Everyone will get a fair hearing in the court and judgment in righteousness is rendered. We as believers are pardoned from sin because we accepted the blood sacrifice for our sin. Jesus will either be your Judge or your Savior! The decision is up to you! From this verse in Isaiah we see Christ knows everything about us! We cannot hide our sickness from Him! God knows our every thought and action! No excuses and no escape! Why should we want to escape His love? We can hide from men but not God! If every human knew this about Christ crime would stop overnight! My Bible says if we will confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. To confess and repent of sin means to turn your back on sin never to return! When you die your decision about Christ is locked in forever! That is a long time compared to this short life on earth! Decisions matter! Do not play the lottery and gamble your eternity away! There are no winners without Christ! Hang your hat on the Cross and the atoning work He has done for you! James & Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Rich Young Ruler! Matthew 19:16-30

You would think by hearing the prosperity message of the 21st Century from American pulpits that this guy would have the most coveted position on earth! Many spend their entire life pursuing these goals! The rich young ruler wanted to be sure he had all his ducks in a row and right with God! So he asked Jesus a question that we should all ask Him! What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said he should keep the Commandments to love God and people! He told Jesus he had done all these things since his youth! Jesus said you just lack one thing if you want to be perfect! The word perfect used here means reaching one’s goal of Heaven being blameless and righteous before God! Jesus told him he must sell all he has, give to the poor and follow me! This was just too much for this guy and he walked away sorrowful. Jesus only asked him to give up something he loved more than God! Jesus went on to say it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven! The sin was not being rich but loving money more than God! Jesus is telling all of us that we cannot go on a sin diet! We have to forsake it all. The last words that Jesus said somehow echo in my ears! Follow Me! Follow Me! If we hang unto a little sin it will turn into a monster! This is what happened to the Las Vegas shooter! Bill Gates is giving all his money away! The money no longer controls him! This is an important lesson when it comes to our tithes and offerings! It is a statement to God that He owns it all and we are acknowledging His authority! Sin will control us unless we forsake it! When you love God more than your sin and confess your sin to Christ victory is your estate! Jesus is God because only God can forgive sin! The rich young ruler refused to confess his sin! The joy of the Lord is our strength! If we will confess our sin He is Faithful and Just to forgive our sin! Then the bondages and chains of guilt, shame and condemnation are cut loose from our soul. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Are You Having a Cloudy Day?

A cloud is simply water vapor that condenses into rain, snow, ice particles or fog. Clouds at night reflect heat and keep the earth warmer. During the day clouds shade the earth and keep it cooler. On our other planets in our solar system clouds are not made up of water vapor. For example Jupiter has clouds made up of ammonia gas. The clouds on our other planets will not support life. The Bible has 108 verses that speak about clouds. You need to have a cloud to have a rainbow! Remember in Creation God moved upon the waters! Jesus walked on water! The Jews in their wilderness wandering were provided a cloud by day for protection! The Tabernacle was covered in a cloud! God spoke to Moses in the midst of a cloud on Mount Sinai. When the cloud moved the tribes of Israel moved! God’s GPS was a cloud! Remember the cloud at the transfiguration? Jesus ascended into a cloud! Jesus will return in a cloud! The two Prophets in Revelation will ascend into a cloud! God turns water into clouds and clouds into water! Noah was saved by water and the earth destroyed by water! There was a cloud over the earth at Calvary! Today when you see a cloud in the sky think on these things! God is Faithful to you and look up for your redemption draweth nigh! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Grandpa and Grandma get a Son! Genesis 18

They say that if your two year old son raises his hands up to his father and says grandpa you know you have a miracle! Abraham has three men show up at his tent door in the heat of the day! Normally people do not travel in the heat of the day? These men were not normal and represent a theophany or God appearing to men Could these three men represent the Trinity? Jesus Christ is the personal manifestation of God to man! Abraham recognizes that these were not just men but God Himself standing before him! Abraham entreats them well offering the best he had with provision and water. When they announce to Abraham that he will have a son his wife Sarah laughs! Their son that was eventually born to them was named Isaac which means laughter. God also promises to Abraham and his descendants that they will be a great nation and all the earth will be Blessed through them! Later in history the birth of Christ and the nation of Israel would confirm these promises! The second mission of these three men was to destroy the gay’s living in Sodom and Gomorrah! Abraham tried to convince God to spare them because his nephew Lot and immediate family was living among them! Lot was a lousy evangelist even among his own family! God spared them but destroyed the rest of them! God could not find ten righteous in the city! God is faithful to Bless the righteous and destroy the wicked! So how does one move from the camp of the wicked to the camp of the righteous? There must be a change in behavior! Repent of your sin to Christ and let Him give you the strength to live a new life! You must be “Born Again!” Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com