Crowns! Revelation 4:10

In the Kingdom of Heaven it is His work that will be crowned, not yours! Anything in you that He has not wrought Himself will count for nothing! Johannes Tauler (1300-1361). Comment: This statement might let the hot air out of your balloon? Just a piece of humble pie will help us! Let us look at Revelation 4:10 The events described in Chapter four is the Rapture of the Church! The earthly residence of the Church is moved to Heaven! There are other scriptures that support this like the dead in Christ being raised first! The events found in this chapter are astounding to say the least! People are not falling to sleep in church here! Part of the scene here is the 24 elders clothed in white rainment and having gold crowns on their heads! Old is gold especially in Heaven! Remember the Sanhedrin was made up of 70 elders who many believe the Apostle Paul had been a member. We get our word Presbyterian from this Greek word! The elders were worshiping Christ around the Throne of God! Then they cast down their crowns before the Throne of God! There are different root words used in our Bible for our English word crowns! The word used here is not a King’s crown! Tell me more? It is a crown given to those as would have won a military battle! You might call it the Medal of Honor! The crown was woven of oak or ivory! Wood was used like in the Cross or the crown of thorns. Then it was dipped in gold! You have probably heard of the oak leaf cluster! Given to brave soldiers in battle! The 24 elders had enough sense to know that they conquered in Jesus Name! So this old theologian who lived in the 1300’s got it right! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

First Christian Martyr in Colosseum? 107 AD

The first Christian martyr in the Roman Colosseum was Ignatius the Bishop of Antioch! Remember the believers were first called Christians at Antioch! Emperor Trajan forced the Christians to choose between the pagan Roman gods and death! Sounds like Islam? Islam came along about 550 years later. The Colosseum is the largest Amphitheater ever built! Where did the Romans get the money and labor to build it? Rome usually got their money from their conquests! This was no exception. They got their money and labor to build this huge project from Israel. The Roman/Jewish war from 66-70 AD resulted in the destruction of the Jewish Temple and the slaughter of tens of thousands! Rome destroyed the Jewish Temple and took all the gold back to Rome! They also brought back one hundred thousand Jewish slaves that built the Colosseum! Remember Jesus predicted some 40 years earlier that not one stone would stand on the Temple grounds! How did this happen? When the Romans burned the Temple the heat from the fire melted the precious metals and  flowed down through the foundation stones! So the Romans took down every block of the walls looking for the gold! Ignatius was thrown to the lions in the Colosseum! Then thousands of Christians followed him in history at the Colosseum! History has shown us that when Jews are persecuted Christian persecution will follow! The good news is that about 350 years later Rome became the Headquarters for the Christian Faith! However remember Christ dwells in you! Here is one of the many quotes from Ignatius; “I would rather die and come to Jesus Christ than be a King over the entire earth! Him i seek who died for us; Him i love who rose again because of us!” Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse GodWhoisGod.com

Accursed Thing? Joshua 7:1

What is the accursed thing? Is it something I had for breakfast? My wife’s cooking? Fast food? It will help you to go back to the Hebrew root word to help understand this. I would suggest you get a Hebrew-Greek study Bible if you want to dig deeper in the Scriptures! According to the Hebrew word this is something devoted to religious use. Some consider this word to have a contradictory element because it can also be something devoted to destruction! So something accursed is either set apart for destruction or set apart to be devoted to God! During the conquest of Canaan the Jews set aside the spoils of war for religious use. That is the silver, gold, bronze, iron and the animals were devoted to religious use. The idea here is since God has given us the victory in war the spoils belong to Him! Much like the tithe and offering today is given to God because He has given us the victory over sin, hell and death! So after crossing the Jordan River in a miraculous way they defeated the first city Jericho in another miraculous way! A man named Achan from the tribe of Judah and his family got greedy and stashed some of the gold from the spoils in his tent! God got angry and in the next battle for the city of Ai Israel got defeated. Joshua went to the Lord and the Lord revealed to him there was sin in the camp! Joshua went through every tent and found the offender! Achan and his family were stoned, burned and buried in the Valley of Achor! Is your life set apart for God or for destruction? What you do with Jesus Christ will answer that question? If you accept Jesus Christ your life will be set apart for Him! If you reject Christ then your life is set apart for destruction! The choice is yours! God will not send you to Heaven or Hell without you deciding! He will not force His will on you! Love demands a choice! So it is up to you! Victory or defeat? Heaven or hell? Light or darkness? Wealth or poverty? Health or sickness? You choose! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Wood and Gold! Deuteronomy 10:1-5

God’s rewriting of His law was a demonstration that no man could fulfill and keep the law! Sin built the golden calf! The two tablets of the law were placed in the Ark of the Covenant waiting for the one who could keep the law! The Ark of the Covenant was made of wood (humanity) and was covered with gold (Deity). Only Jesus was fully man and fully God could keep the law and be the perfect sacrifice to satisfy God’s Justice and Judgment! You cannot have gold without wood! When mining for gold you have to have thick wooden timbers to support the mine shaft. Without God becoming humanity (wood) you could never have Deity (gold) dwelling in these earthen vessels! The Cross members of wood supporting humanity dwelling in God delivers us from a lawless life! The Ark of the Covenant shows us that man’s best efforts cannot save us! Only God’s plan and effort will deliver us from our own attempts to reach and dwell with God! We did not go to Him He came to us! In the Book of Revelation it describes the Golden Altar before the Thrown of God! The Ark of the Covenant on earth represents what is already in Heaven! When you accept Christ God’s plan in Heaven becomes a reality in your life here on earth! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse.  GodWhoisGod.com

True or False? Matthew 7:15-23

False Prophets! Not all that shines is gold! Jesus warning His disciples. Wolves attack just to kill while other beasts kill only for food. Assassins! Dressed in sheep clothing. They look like you, dress like you, have a good church language but are suicide bombers wearing a Christian costume. Intentional people who purposely mislead us to hurt. Evil at the core. Verse 16- By their fruit you will recognize them. Good or Bad! True or False! Pay attention to the right thing. Walk and be not deceived. Good fruit is moral fruit. Bad fruit is immoral or evil fruit. Verses 21-23. Final Judgment! I prophesied in your name? I cast out demons in your name? I did miracles in your name? Jesus said but I never knew you! Worst thing you could ever hear! Warning! Big crowds always follow those who perform prophecy, cast out demons and perform miracles. They may be genuine or total deceivers? Work for the right fruit. Do they sell products and then sprinkle Jesus on top of their sales pitch? How does fruit come? Fruit takes time to produce. Galatians 5:22- Fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace———-. Is our motivation on self or Christ? Look for sound doctrine! Is your household built on sand or rock? 2Timothy 4:3-4. People want a doctrine that fits their desires. Our desire and God’s desire is different. Make me happy God! The 21st century church theology is called; Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. It says that God is here to make me happy! Use Jesus to get what you want. No sound doctrine. A lot of money made under this false doctrine. Money made in the God business. Why? It sells! Itching ears. We want to hear this! Pleases the flesh. Marketing 101- Find out what the people want and tell them how to get it. Politicians today- They follow the culture rather than lead it! Flow with the stream down the drain. Sound doctrine- Iron sharpens iron. Follow Jesus. Believe Him. False Prophets will appear to go along with the Gospel but yet will say Jesus did not die and raise from the dead. The Death and Resurrection of Christ is foundational to our Faith! The Nicene Creed has been foundational to our Faith for over 1600 years. The early church father’s wrestled these heresies to the ground for us. You have to be able to discern truth to avoid the destruction of the false! Source: Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sunday Sermon Notes Message given on September 8, 2013. Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Is Everything On The Table?

Do not buy what you are not willing to give away! Otherwise things will have you. Do not live for things. Live for Christ. Sometimes examples always help us. Since moving back to Cololrado we have learned of a story of an old gold miner who lived in Colorado Springs. His name was Winfield Scott Stratton. He knew danger and tough times for 17 years wandering the Colorado mountains in search of gold. He finally found it in 1891 on the west slopes of Pikes Peak. His Independence mine made him a millionaire. One hundred years later the house his gold built stands as a memorial to his work and name. The Myron Stratton home off Nevada avenue, named after his father, is one of the more venerable institutions created by one of the most enduring acts of philanthropy! It opened in 1913, in accordance with Stratton’s will, as a free home for the poor who were without means of support and who are physically unable by reason of old age, youth, sickness, or other infirmity to earn a living. Today in Colorado Springs we have another man with the same God given vision! His name is Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church. He is buying properties in our city to provide living places for the homeless, widows, orphanes and single moms. We are thankful for being a part of this work! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

There is Gold up in them Hills!

Since Obama took office the Jews have been buying up all the Gold! Why? The Jews are always two steps ahead of everyone else! You have seen the ads on TV, newspaper, ect, over past years to bring in your Gold! Gold prices have soared to new highs over past few years. The Jews are expecting the dollar to crash! If they are right anyone holding dollars after the crash can use them for toilet paper! The Jews will then be able to trade their Gold for the new currency! The Bible in First Peter, Chapter one verse seven says this; That the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ!

Word Study

I like word studies of the Bible! We can trust our English or other Language Bible translations but a key word study by going back to the Greek(NT) or Hebrew(OT), will give a unique perspective on the word of God! These words are layered much like the earth’s crust is layered wth different kinds of rocks. We have to dig deep to find the Gold and Diamonds! God has spoken to us through His Word! We speak to God through prayer but God primarily speaks to us through His Word! God’s creative power and redemptive power is through His Word! The Holy Bible is the Word of God. God’s Image is expressed and manifested through His Word! There are approximately 700 scriptures alone just on the word-“word”! In our next Blog we will take one word out of one scripture and study it. Thankyou. James Sasse GodWhoisGod.com