With Easter near our Pastor Oscar Cope wants us to examine the historical record in our Bible of instances of God raising the dead in the Old Testament. What you will find out studying the Old Testament that it is vogue for today! My Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever! Elisha’s predecessor Elijah is considered one of the greatest Prophets in our Bible! He was raptured and did not see death! He was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration! Elijah’s successor Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his anointing! How do we know it happened? Elisha raised two people from the dead and Elijah raised one person! Do you remember Jesus telling us that greater works would you do than me if you go in my name! Elijah prayed and laid on a dead corpse seven times! Elisha prayed and laid on a dead corpse three times! Twice the anointing takes half the time! Jesus was raised from the dead in three days! Seven represents the number of completion! Seven days in a week! We begin the new week on Sunday not Monday! We give the first day of the week Sunday as Christians to God in worship! We start the new week with Him! The first part of our income the tithe and the offerings is given on the first day of the week! This tells God that He owns the week! Any given day of the week is a gift from Him! I have been a Christian for 44 years now! I have asked the Lord about certain parts of the scriptures to give me revelation about some of the more difficult parts? I have asked the Lord why did these prophets stretch their bodies over these dead corpses? As our Pastor said Sunday today if you did this they would file so kind of a law suit against you for sexual abuse however if two men get married no problem? Sunday while in the services and hearing this message many times the Lord gave me the answer! If you want to hear from God be in His House! When you stretch your body out on another body you form a Cross! Jesus body was stretched out on a Cross! The Jews escaped the Egyptian plague by painting with lamb’s blood on the top and sides of the door posts forming a Cross! When the Jewish tribes camped around the Tabernacle in their wanderings their tribes were arranged in a cross formation! It is so sad to see America today where millions of dollars are spent in law suits trying to remove Crosses across our land? What fools we have become! Satan hates the Cross because it reminds him of his defeat over death and is our hope and sign of victory over death, hell and the grave! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: pastor
Real Prophets Suffer! 1 Kings Chapter 17
Elijah lived in a great day of Apostasy in Israel. King Ahab and Jezebel were Baal worshipers! The centerpiece of Baal worship was child sacrifice! Much like abortion in America today! However Elijah did not have a 501c tax exemption! He spoke some prophetic words over Ahab and Jezebel that were not nice! Like the dogs will lick your blood and there will not be enough left of you to bury! However Elijah started off with a drought predicted for the King! How would the 21st century prophets respond to Ahab and abortion? Maybe something like this? Ahab you are going to be rich and wealthy! Prosperity will be everywhere you look! You will be blessed, successful and famous! Peace will dominate your realm! Your lovely wife Jezebel is such a blessing to us! Ahab our ministry is growing everyday and a suggested donation of 30 pieces of silver would grant you God’s favor and we would pray for you! Elijah stuck with God’s word and Ahab sent his army after him! God sent Elijah to a remote area where a small stream provided water! This brook drained into the Jordan River. Then God set up a bird feeder for him! I might have complained here? Ravens are scavengers and are road kill specialists! The prophetic word that caused the drought caused the small stream to dry up! So God sent him to a widom and her son for supplies? She warmly received him and told him they have enough supplies for one meal then we can all die! Elijah told her the provisions would last through the drought! Then the widow’s son gets sick and dies? The widow blames Elijah for his death? I would have lost it here! You no good low down and i cannot finish the sentence here! Elijah keeps his cool and focuses on the real problem the dead son! Elijah raises the son from the dead! So what was the widow’s testimony? “Now i know you are a man of God and that the word of God is in your mouth and that it is truth!” Elijah and Moses with Jesus stood at the Mount of Transfiguration! Elijah was taken up to Heaven and did not physically die! At the Mount Elijah represented the Prophets. Moses the law and Jesus the Prophet, Priest and King! As Easter approaches our Pastor Cope is helping us to look at some of the resurrection documents prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Suffering and Success! Acts 9:15-16
It seems that everyone is trying to show the world how successful they are! The American dream! Mansions, land, gold, money, private jets, limo’s, fame, status and the rest of the vanities! However though everyone wants it there is a problem? Success tends to put the spotlight on us rather than God! Our failures can put the spotlight on Jesus rather than us! God delivered me from the death bed! Jesus raised me from the dead! I was a street person but now He has given me a family and a home! No one else ever cared for me like Jesus! He loved me when no one else would! The disciples were afraid of Paul and rightly so but Jesus told them that Paul was going to be a great leader in the church and suffer many things for my name! In my weakness i find His perfect strength! Much of the modern church has adopted the ways of the world! Then they wonder why there is no power to do the things Jesus commanded them to do? You cannot do it without Him and the Cross you must carry! Pastor Robert Jeffress, Southern Baptist Missions
America’s Greatest Threat? Romans 1:28
Is it external? Russia, China or Iran? Is it internal? Financial, political or social? Is it Islamic terrorists? Is it the divide between liberalism and conservatives? All the greatest minds cannot seem to unwrap the mystery of our decline? If we would just get the right people in office or throw a few more billion dollars at it? If the government would just take over then we would be secure! If we could just get rid of certain groups of people? The answer is clear but you will not find it in the Halls of Congress, the Senate or the White House! However our Pastor Oscar Cope in a little old Baptist Church down in Fairburn Georgia has it figured out! Last Sunday morning he told us that the real problem in America is that her people are losing their consciousness of God! He is not in their thoughts! They are unconscious of God! They are brain dead towards God! They are in denial of Him and trying to live without Him! They are dis-functional in their thoughts! So what fills the vacuum left by a dis-functional mind? Many things! Atheism, communism, fascism, evolution(Junk Science), liberalism, false religions, secularism and whatever man can invent to fill the void! God has warned us in fact Paul wrote over 2000 years ago in our Bible about the threat to any culture! God has promised us Blessings or doom if we reject Him! Here is the Greek Translation of Romans 1:28. “And even as they did not prove to retain God in their acknowledgement, God gave them over to a worthless immoral intellect to promote those things that are descending in moral character!” Comment: Is there any proof in your life that you have acknowledged God by living a moral life before God and man? If you want that kind of knowledge you are going to have to work towards it! You need to read and study your Bible everyday for the rest of your life! If you are to busy you are too busy! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Christmas and Family! Matthew 1:18-20
Many fascinating things can be learned from the Christmas story! One thing cannot be denied! God always wanted a family! He started off creating one man and one woman! Not two men or two women but one man and one woman! The challenge got bigger when God wanted a son born of human parents! He looked over His creation to find the right parents. They had to be Jew for salvation comes by the Jew! The new millennium had just begun and the signs in the Heaven and earth were just right! The virgin birth predicted hundreds of years before by the Prophets was ripe for fulfillment! God found a young Jewish couple from Nazareth that were about to be engaged. Their names were Joseph and Mary. Then Joseph found his espoused bride pregnant? Joseph minded to put her away privately! Then an Angel appeared unto Joseph and told him his bride Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit! So Joseph became the step-father of Jesus! Years later Jesus told us that pure religion was taking care of widows and orphans! God always wanted children to have both parents! My Bible says God hates divorce! He wants to come to the aid of the victims! It seems American culture today does not hold the values God has established for the well being of the family? Jesus God’s son could not increase the size of His family until He went to the Cross! Today Jesus Father is your Father! Christmas means many things but most important you are now in God’s family now and forever! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Grandma gets Challenged!
Grandma had a daughter who gave birth to a cute little granddaughter! Little Mary loved grandma very much! Mom brought her over to grandma’s to spend the night. Mom told little Mary she had to be in bed by 8:00 PM. Grandma announced to Mary it was now time to go to bed! Little Mary said no grandma! I do not have to go to bed now! Grandma said why not you know what your mother said! Little Mary said remember you are her mommy! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Is God a Show Off? 2 Kings 5:11-14
Naaman the Captain of the Syrian Army had trouble following simple directions! Can i get a witness? First of all he was informed by his Jewish servant girl who was captured and made a slave through the spoils of war that there was a God in Israel who could heal his leprocy! Then Naaman sends money to the King of Israel trying to buy his healing? The King of Israel rent his clothes saying am i God? So Naaman mounts up his chariots with his army and heads for Israel! He stops his chariot at the front door of the Prophet Elisha! Elisha does not go out to meet the Captain but sends his servant girl out to tell him to dip in the Jordan River seven times! Naaman lost his cool! Naaman thought God would come down in a bolt of lightning and make a big show for the world to see! Like dazzle the elite! The Bible says Naaman left in a rage! Are there not better rivers in Syria? Well more servants saved the day! Naaman’s servants asked him why not just follow the directions? Naaman took their advice and dipped in the Jordon seven times and got healed! It was a humble little servant girl that birthed forth Jesus! The Angel went to the humble shepherds to announce the birth of Christ! God did not make a big show! He appears to a few to save many! Pride can keep you out of God’s purpose and plan for your life! About 60 years ago there was a young man dying of tuberculosis in the slums of Seoul Korea! The doctor sent him home to die! He was coughing up blood! A little teenage girl would come by each day as he lay on his cot dying and pray for him. He would insult her, spit on her and call her a Christian dog! She asked him if he would surrender his life to Christ? She kept praying and his health improved! God healed him and he started a ministry in the slums of Seoul Korea! Today this church has over one million members and is the world’s largest church! Pastor Cho commissioned us as missionaries to India from 1984-1987. Pastor Cho could never find this teenage girl even though he has looked for past 60 years? The world and even some in the church think you are wasting your time praying for the sick and dying! No money in it for me? Waste of my time? God will use what the world discounts or throws away to bring Glory to His Name! God’s love never discounts anyone! Not even you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
You Cannot Live For Yourself! Ecclesiastes 12:7
Some call this suicide! You cannot live for yourself either! Many try! Either way brings emptiness! God’s character is just the opposite! He lives for you and died for you! If you want fulfillment in life follow His example! Solomon had it all. He had riches, women, fame, and wisdom from God that he did not use all the time. In the end he said it was all vanity! That is to no purpose or worthless! Life under the sun means living your life without God! We need the son! Here are some quotes from rich famous American’s! John Rockefeller;”My millions brought me no joy!” Cornelius Vanderbilt;”Two hundred million and i am still empty!” John Astor;”I am the most miserable man on earth!” Henry Ford;”I was a lot happier when i was a car mechanic!” Ralph Barton; Suicide Note: “I have run from woman to woman and country to country to try to escape myself!” King Solomon;”It is all vanity!” Your purpose is to live for God and others and to sacrifice yourself in service to others! Follow Jesus example and be servant of all. Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia
Selfies, Selfish & Selfless! Matthew 16:24-26
Selfies are not wrong or bad! Hey, look at me! They could be called the poster child of selfishness! Selfish seems to dominate American culture! Every group wants attention! They all get up on their soap box! Sin is about selfishness! No sacrifice required! Satan, Adam and Eve thought they could rise above God! Do not be denied God is holding out on you! Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God! Would you lose your life for Jesus? Take up your Cross and follow Him! Deny yourself! When you do that you are following Him! Ditch your selfie! His words seem as foreign to our culture as they did back in the 1st Century! To take up your Cross is to live in self-denial and lay your life down and take up His life! You will be exposed to death! For the first time in American history Christians are being executed for their Faith on our home soil. The executed had to carry their own Cross to the execution site after scourging! When you carry your own cross the popular culture will look at you as a criminal. You will undergo suffering, trial, punishment, disapproval and death! The only way to deny self is die to self! Others are more important! No wonder Jesus had so few disciples! Very few sign up and stay on! It is easier to live for you and not for Him because you have to trust your outcome to Him! Faith is taking your destiny out of your control! To follow Jesus means to walk in the same path! It means to be in union on the same road like military soldiers marching down the same path! To lose your life means to destroy it completely with a new identity! Save my life or lose it. The word life used in this scripture means the Spirit or eternal soul. It is more than just the here and now! Self is about the here and now! Gain the whole world and lose your soul? The word soul used here is the same Greek root word used for life! The world will never be able to save your soul. You were purchased with a price! His blood for your soul! Matthew 6:33 To seek first means in time, place and order of importance! Seek His righteousness! That means to seek His innocence and justification! Can we do the math? Then all these things will be added unto you! II Corinthians 5:15 Do you live for yourself? Live for Him! As He was raised He has promised to raise you up from the dead! Live like it! Look for Him and live for Him! Pastor Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
Don’t Worry!
A wealthy man who had retired decided to go on a cruise to the south pacific! He was elderly and his wife had passed on so he thought it might help him with her loss! Into the second week of the cruise a typhoon hit and the ship began to take on water! The ship sank and he found himself floating in the warm pacific ocean! After three days he drifted unto this small island! A day later another man from the cruise ship drifted ashore! The rich man was not much worried about their plight but the other man was frantic! The worried man walked around the island looking for food and water! When he got back he reported he saw a giant Komodo dragon lizard that almost caught him! He told the rich man the only food on this island is you, me and the lizard! The rich man told him not to worry for he made ten thousand dollars a week! The worried man took off again across the island looking for food and water! He reported back no food or water we are going to die! The rich man again said not to worry for i make ten thousand dollars a week! The worried man asked him what good his money would do us? We could try to start a fire with it! The rich man told him he makes big offerings to his church and tithes his income to the church and his Pastor is out looking for him right now!