It sounds like a termite colony? The word is describing a time share property that has a lot of rooms, accommodations and permanent guests! It is a place where people are in agreement with each other! No debates about good and evil! However there is a lot of buyers remorse there! It is also described as the place of the dead! It is the Hebrew word “Shehole” (hole) from where we get our English word ‘Hell.” There are 31 verses in the Old Testament and 22 verses in the New Testament on this word. Funny of the Hebrew description is a subterranean retreat! It is interesting in the Greek of the New Testament there are four different words used! Will discuss later. So why bring this up? Every Pastor that prepares any sermon must consider two things! What are we saved from and what are we saved for? Most of the early fire and brimstone sermons of early America are gone? Heaven is not talked about much so what is left? The here and now! However the here and now is temporal! Heaven does begin here on earth after we receive Jesus Christ as Savior! Jesus talked more about the Kingdom of God than any other topic! If the reality of Heaven and Hell are not taught from the pulpit then people have a hard time understanding why they need to be saved? Saved from what and for what? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: jesus
Is Jesus God? Philippians 2:6-8
Jesus while He was here on earth positively laid claim to Deity is clear from the fact that the Jews reproached Him with two accusations: first. that He place God on par with Himself—and this they called blasphemy, secondly, that He made Himself God—and in this they thought they recognized the false prophet, although both idea’s merged together in John 10:30-39. Remember our Lord Jesus Christ being the Son of God did not and could not claim to be the Father but He did claim to be God! Even a human cannot claim to be his father but can claim to be a human being. A claim to the sameness of nature of personality in like manner is consistent and intelligible in the case of Divine Sonship of the Son of God but the sameness of personality would be contradictory! But there is a similarity of persons that it would be true that those who saw the Son have seen the Father! Also remember that the Trinity is one Spirit and character and not many personalities! Christ’s distinction had everything to do with His mission here on earth as Redeemer of mankind! Christ is not half man and half God! He is wholly man and wholly God! Jesus prayed because He is a man! God does not pray! God answers prayers through His Son Jesus Christ! If God were to pray who would He pray to? Himself? What is Jesus doing in Heaven right now? He is interceding for the Saints in prayer to the Father! Jesus still has a human nature in Heaven and so will we! We will not be floating on a cloud as a bodiless Spirit! You mean I get stuck with my ugly face for eternity? Do not jump over the cliff yet! Our human bodies are created by God! Male and female! Sin has marred us! God has a fix for our sin through Jesus where death no longer rules us! Your God given identity will not change! Jesus is a man in Heaven as He was on earth! Mary the mother of Jesus is still a female right now in Heaven! You will be much greater in Heaven because sin will no longer influence your decisions! You will live more like you are in Heaven while on earth because Jesus has redeemed you through His Blood! You will carry the same gender in Heaven and this is why gender reassignment is such a mockery to God and His creation! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Are You a Remnant? Romans 9:29
Paul was quoting the Old Testament here in Isaiah 1:9. Jesus quoted the Old Testament a lot! In Romans here Paul uses the word Sabaoth! This word means the armies of Heaven! Remember the war angel Michael? They are still employed by God! Isaiah uses the word remnant while Paul uses the word seed. The Hebrew word for our English word remnant means a people who survived an onslaught of an enemy! They are simply survivors! A seed is also a survivor in the sense that it was not consumed but lived to produce more fruit! So what in the world are we surviving from? I am glad you asked! God’s Judgment due to our sin! Love cannot exist without judgment! If God winked at sin and looked the other way there would be no need for Salvation! The earth would just be consumed in wickedness! We are all who are in Christ Jesus survivors from judgment! Whether it be Noah and his family or Joseph in Egypt or Lot and his family! There are only survivors in Heaven! It is interesting that the word Lord used in Romans refers to God using His authority for good! Lucifer the fallen angel had authority in Heaven but he used it for evil and was cast out of Heaven! How do you use the authority you have? For good or evil? Israel is a survivor today as it exists as a State under threats from all around her! In the last battle on earth Armageddon Israel will be surrounded by Gentile armies as they try to destroy her! God will dispatch His armies and consume them! No survivors! Do you want to be a survivor or remnant? Then you need a Savior! He is a Jew and His name is Jesus Christ! Remember according to the Covenant if God cannot be faithful to Israel He cannot be faithful to you! The Covenant promises include the Jews and the Gentiles! What you do with Jesus Christ determines whether you become a survivor or a Sodom and Gomorrah! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Are You a Saint? Philippians 1:1
Thankyou for the promotion! Are the only Saints in New Orleans? The football team there got put on probation and had to pay huge fines for violations of the National Football League Rules! My friend asked me if I thought he would make it to Heaven? Just wondering is not good! I told him that if he did make it he would be on probation for some time! Notice Paul addressed the congregation as “Saints in Jesus Christ!” Apart from Christ there are no Saints! In Him you are one! So by definition what is a Saint? Is it a marble statue in a church or park? No temptation there! According to the Greek a Saint is one who is set apart or consecrated from a common root! If you and I were branches on the same apple tree we would share a common root! We would draw the same nourishment from the same root for life! If we were cut off from that root we would die! As long as we were attached to the same root we would share the same life! So the life that I have is connected to Christ alone! Apart from Him I can do nothing! If I cut myself off from the Tree of Life I will spiritually die! The church cannot save me, the saints cannot save me, the clergy cannot save me and I am disqualified if I trust anyone else other than Jesus Christ! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Are You a Servant? Philippians 1:1
I am glad you asked! You say I feel like one with job, family and ministry! The true slave loves to be a slave! No complaints! A true slave would work for free and many did in the Roman Empire and early America! The Romans had slaves of all races! They were non-discriminatory in their slave employments! So what would be the attitude of a true slave? First, they would be completely consumed in the will of another! They would be completely bound in the relationship of another! Like marriage! They would be bound by the law! They are bound to do that which is needful to another! Their Master! They would make their needs know to their Master in prayer! The needs of others to their Master? Jesus was bound to the Cross in service to God and man! The only Master that could destroy you is the one who makes his Master himself! That is what Satan did! He quit serving and forced others to serve him through sin! Who your Master is important because it is a matter of life and death! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
God of Mammon! Luke 16:13
The Greek word translates as a comprehensive word used for all kinds of possessions, earnings and gains and is designated for a material value. Jesus said we cannot serve God and Mammon! We cannot have two masters for we will hate the one and love the other! Idol’s are easy to make but hard to abandon! Once entrenched in our soul extraction is very difficult! We are born into a material world! We are material ourselves! Wealth is not evil of itself but Jesus said the love of money is the root of all evil. We can have a misplaced trust in something that will perish! Jesus was trying to get us to focus on eternal values such as your spirit and soul that will never perish but spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell depending on what you with Jesus Christ! You will either worship Jesus or Mammon! Chose Jesus! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Are You a Deacon? Philippians 1:1
I could be or may be but first tell me what one is? According to the Greek the word translates as one who runs through the dust! One who runs errands! One who waits on tables! A voluntary servant. So if you are a good deacon you should have dusty shoes! Just call me Dusty! Jesus got his feet dusty! He walked across the dusty trails of Palestine in the 1st Century! Walking after reluctant disciples, maniacs, adulterous women, blind and deaf people, the rich and the poor! He walked after Rulers and servants! He walked miles to raise the dead! He waited on tables at the wedding and turned water into wine! He struggled up a dusty trail as he carried your Cross to Calvary! He got his feet dusty for you! Jesus took the dust we were created out of and raised us from the dead! Before you turn to dust raise someone out of it! Time is short for all of us so volunteer to be a deacon for Jesus and His Church! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Where is the Kingdom? Luke 17:20-21
The religious folks the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom should come? I wish Jesus had said, “Da! You big idiots! I am God and I am with you right now!” However Jesus was polite not like me and told them the Kingdom of God does not come by observation! That is you cannot observe Him with your eyes! No man can look on God and live! Remember Fanny Crosby the Queen of Gospel Music? She was blind! Then Jesus dropped the bomb shell on them! He told them the Kingdom of God was within them! The religious folk over history have always presumed that since God lived outside of us we must worship Him outside of ourselves! Build monuments to Him! Statues and figures of wood and stone! Build Temples so the poor homeless guy has a place to dwell. Fill it with gold and silver! The bigger the Temple the more impressed God should be! Right? If we can just do enough works for Him! Jesus made things so simple yet missed by most? Who can worship God better than God living inside of you? He knows just how to do it! The songs that speak to us and the sermons that change us are powered by the God that lives inside of us! It is not about us but about Him! Sin is the only thing that keeps God out! Confess your sin to Him and let the Blood of Jesus cleanse you and then the door will be opened for Him to come and dwell in you! There is nothing greater than God living in you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Philippians 2:6 Greek Translation
He continued to be who He was before and after the flesh and His outward appearance, idea’s and reality was the true God! He did not value highly to be equivalent with God but continued to be who He was before the flesh! Comment: It is interesting that most human’s value the flesh more than the Spirit and the Soul? The flesh is not eternal and Jesus did not let the flesh distract Him from who He is! Neither should you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Is There a Bible in Heaven? Philippians 4:3
There is an answer to this question and it is found in our Bible! Let us start with the word “Gospel.” This word originally meant the reward for good news! Then it became good news! So what good news? That salvation only comes through Jesus Christ! The next word in this passage is the word “names.” This word used here means the character or reputation of a people! It describes the names of people who are saved! These names are on God’s hard drive and He has more capacity to add more names! God’s hard drive is the Book of Life! This book is not just any book! This book is a Book in Heaven and contains the list of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior! It is the only Book in Heaven! Will the Bible be in Heaven? It will be only in the sense that it will live in the people who are there! The Bible is for those who dwell here on earth! Remember the Bible is the recorded spoken Word of God! What God spoke was written down! If you believe the Bible here on earth then your name will be written down in the Book of Life in Heaven and that Book will be opened at the Judgment Seat of Christ! Remember the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden? If you reject the Word of God then your name will be blotted out of the Book of Life in Heaven! (Revelation 3:5) I know what you are thinking? What about John 1:1? The word ‘beginning’ used here means at creation! The word “Word” used here is logos or the spoken word! Now back to Philippians! The word “life” used here refers to the spirit and the soul as distinguished from physical life. (Biology). This position is the highest Blessedness of all His creatures! Now let us put things in perspective here! Paul was writing another letter from another prison in Rome and was commending his financial supporters because he could not earn wages while in prison! Paul encouraged them that they would earn the same rewards as co-laborers in Christ! What you do with your Bible is very important here on earth! It will either pardon you or condemn you! There will be no sinners in Heaven on probation! I would encourage believer’s here that when you take God’s recorded spoken words and repeat them yourselves they become very powerful. If you leave your Bible on the night stand to collect dust it will do you no good! Remember Jesus said to go out into all the world and speak or preach the Gospel. Great prophets hear the word of God and then speak those words! One of our present day examples was Tim Clements! He passed away recently but I knew him because he came to our church in Macon Georgia back in the early 1990’s for a Crusade! Tim prophesized in 2007 that a new president would come by the name of Trump! Then in 2013 he gave his first name Donald! These video’s are on YouTube and you can see for yourself! Your Bible is a tape recorder and has recorded God’s Words and when you replay His Word’s and speak them His Power is released to push back the darkness and at the same time your name is recorded in Heaven! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com