All truth passes through three stages! First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) German Philosopher. Commentary: The Apostle Paul and the disciples went through these three stages as all living do! Why? Sin! It blinds your eyes to truth! The old Gospel hymn that says I was blind but now I see! Paul was blinded by the light of Jesus on the road to Damascus! In his darkened state he perceived the light! So be patient with those in stage one or two! They are now where we once were! Being in relationship to Christ is the only thing that qualifies us for heaven! James & Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: salvation
Salvation or Judgment?
Luke 1:52 Greek Translation “He (Jesus), hath put down and overthrown and demolished with violence the mighty powerful authorities of rulers of territories from their seats and exalted them of low degree.” Comment: Wow! I thought Jesus was this milk toast guy everyone could push around? When you study scriptures you discover that Jesus like a coin has two sides! He is a lamb but also a lion! Salvation and judgment! Sometimes you see the lamb side and sometimes the lion! Jesus told King Herod he was a fox! He overthrew the money changers tables in the Temple! He told the Jewish religious leaders not one stone of their Temple would stand! Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you! Jesus raised the dead! Violence over death! He slew death! Love and judgment go together! You cannot have one without the other! He rebuked his disciples yet showed them by example how to live! He predicted Peter would deny him yet after his resurrection he found Peter along the sea shore back to fishing. However that was the last denial Peter ever made of Jesus and was crucified in Rome! I shared in an earlier post of how in detail all the political leaders who plotted Jesus death ended up! King Herod, Pilot, Judas and the high priest! They all came to a bad end! They were all put down! They rejected Jesus! Yet Jesus disciples were elevated to high positions within the church! We read their writings in the New Testament! Do you feel you are a nobody? Then you are ready for a promotion! My very first sermon I ever preached from a pulpit was in front of two million people in a church in Seoul South Korea in 1983! If we exalt God he will exalt us! This is the Kingdom principle! When you promote God he will promote you! No one can take this away from you! This event is eternal! Jesus is going to return to earth during the Tribulation period a seven year period where the one world government (socialism) will be led by the Anti-Christ! This will be the last great battle on earth called Armageddon! Jesus will return with his saints to defeat Satan and his followers just before the Millennium reign of Christ! Satan will be bound for a thousand years! Are you a soldier of the Cross or milk toast? Are you a traitor or a warrior! We conquer in his name! Start your crusade by resisting evil here on earth! This will be your only chance! Resist the Devil and he will flee from you! President Trump is the first president in my life time (70 years), who has promoted Christianity! Openly promoted! He is a warrior! The last leader we had like this was Abraham Lincoln! We have an opportunity to promote the Gospel to this dying culture! Do not miss this opportunity that can only come once in a lifetime! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Mercy + Grace = Salvation!
Luke 1:50 Greek Translation: “And his mercy or the relief from the misery and consequences of sin is on them that fear or reverence God from generation to generation.” Comment: This verse is part of Mary’s song of praise! We lived on mercy before grace came! His mercies endure forever! Jesus said blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy! Mercy is given to everyone! Mercy is a holding pattern until grace rescues us! It rains on the just and the unjust! We cannot earn the rain it is just there for us! Mercy does not require a response but grace does! Judgment only comes when we reject his grace! Mercy held me until the time when I received his grace through Jesus Christ! When I graduated from high school back in 1967 two of my classmates were killed in accidents before the year ended! Does that mean I was better than them? No! Mercy stayed me until I came to Christ! Mercy handed me off to grace! Remember after Jesus was crucified he went into the heart of the earth and preached to the captives! Mercy had held them there until Christ came to save them! You can reject mercy but not grace without consequences! The Old Testament Saints were secured by mercy until grace came! To reject Christ is judgment the opposite of grace! People reject the mercy of God everyday but not his grace! By grace you are saved and not of yourselves! Everyone gets mercy but the expiry date comes when you reject his grace! When you reject Christ! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! That is good news for the saved and the sinner! You cannot do the math without both factors! You already have the mercy so what are you going to do with his grace? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Salvation & Grace! 1 Peter 1:13
“Wherefore gird up your procreative power of your mind with imagination, understanding and deep thought, be sober and hope to the end complete without wavering for the grace with divine influence, benefit and gratification that is to be brought unto you at the revelation with the appearing and disclosure of Jesus Christ.” Comment: Salvation and grace! You cannot have one without the other! All of our benefits are found within Jesus Christ! That is in relationship to him! Just like in a marriage! His love and power overshadow all of my sin! No one else can offer you eternal life! No one else can raise you from the dead! No one else can heal my soul, mind and body! He washes me white as snow! When Christ appeared unto me the door of grace was opened unto me! I did not deserve it but he gave it to me as a gift! The world always demands you earn what you get! However God earned this gift for you and paid the price for it! Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! When Jesus found Peter the fisherman he was an emotional wreck! He pulled out a knife and whacked a guy’s ear off! When the rooster crowed thrice Peter had denied Jesus twice! At Jesus crucifixion Peter fled and went back to fishing! After his resurrection Jesus found Peter along the shore! Jesus told Peter I will make you fishers of men! Peter became the leader of the Jerusalem church! He was later martyred in Rome and asked to be crucified upside down not to be considered equal to Christ! Jesus told Peter upon this rock I will build my church! Centuries later Rome became the headquarters of the Christian Empire and Peter designated as the first Pope of Rome! After Peter got a revelation of Jesus Christ he became bold as a lion yet willing to suffer and sacrifice himself to further the Gospel! Without faith it is impossible to please God! Trust Christ whether in the palace or in the lion’s den! Your position right now will not determine your outcome! Your position in Christ will bring an outcome greater than anything you could ever achieve on your own! By grace you are saved and not of yourself! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Salvation in Tribulation!
Book of Revelation. Comment: The good news of the coming seven year Tribulation period is that many Jews and Gentiles will come to Christ during this point in the future! They will be martyred by the Anti-Christ but make Heaven and escape the second death! They will be washed in the Blood of the Lamb and given white robes as a covering! Notice when Christ opens the seven seals of the Book judgment is released upon the earth! Yet those that have accepted Christ in the earth are sealed in his blood and are redeemed! You see the question is not about physical death for we will all pass through this event but the real question is what awaits us on the other side of death? Christ has sealed you from judgment if you are in him! So in your life right now you are either sealed in salvation through Christ or you are unsealed in judgment! Is you name written down in the Book of Life? This truth holds true whether in the Tribulation period or before it right now! God’s truth transcends time! God has not changed but we must change! In fact you do not have the power to change yourself but God does! If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive your sin! Notice here that the angels were instructed to withhold judgment until the servants of God were marked or sealed in their foreheads! The unbelievers will also take a mark on their foreheads to identify them that belong to Satan! So at this time everyone living on earth will have a mark identifying to whom they belong! Two distinct marks that will reveal who they are! No more hiding in the closet! We as a believer are sealed by Christ right now! Sealed for salvation by his blood! The unbelievers unsealed ripe for judgment! So what would these marks look like? Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? The homosexual capital of the world at that time! Interestingly today who is promoting homosexuality? The Anti-Christ will be a homosexual! Satan is promoting this in preparation for the one world government leader! So when the death angel passed over these cities what was the sign that caused the death angel to pass over them and spare the residents of the cities? Remember this is Old Testament! You had to take the blood of a lamb and strike the two side posts and the top post of your front door! This blood was in the form of a Cross! Remember Rahab and the red scarlet cloth hung out her window to escape judgment! The mark on the forehead will be in the shape of a Cross and red color but more important they will have the mind of Christ which is internal and eternal! What will the Mark of the Beast look like? His number shall add up to 666! Six is the number of man! I believe the False Prophet will represent Islam! The Trinity of Islam is Allah, the Quran and Mohammad! Allah is a man made God and the Quran is a man made book and Mohammad is not God but a mortal! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Church at Philadelphia (Continued)
Revelation 3:10 Greek Translation “Because thou has kept my spoken word of my patience with endurance towards people not surrendering to circumstances, I also will keep you from the time and season of Satan trying to test you to fall, which shall come to the inhabitants of the earth trying and testing them to fail.” Comment: Volumes could be written on this one verse! In fact the Book of Revelation is a compilation of all scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments put together! Remember the Word of God as recorded in your Bible was first spoken before it was written down! Remember his spoken word created this world! The power of God comes from taking his written word and then speaking it! That is why in our Constitution so much value was placed on free speech! Satan will always work through any culture to suppress free speech! Political correctness in our culture is one example! It is designed to suppress free speech! Don’t wear your religion on your sleeve! In other words shut up! Do not take Jesus to the public places! Keep him in your own little corner in church on Sunday! Jesus said to go out into all the world and preach the Gospel! There will always be an effort by Satan to silence the truth! To silence you! Notice what speaking the words of Jesus did for the Church at Philadelphia! It brought them endurance and patience towards people not surrendering to circumstances! Jesus said to them that since you have spoken the Word of God I will keep you from the wicked one Satan who wants to test you and cause you to fall! I will protect you from the second death or denial of me because you have chosen me! A rapture will come to everyone! Some to everlasting life and some to everlasting judgment! The coming future event of the rapture of his church from the earth will protect us from the seven year tribulation period led by the Anti-Christ! The greatest destruction in all the earth will happen during this period in history before Christ’s second coming! If you will confess the spoken word of God Jesus will come to you! He will rescue you! What will the tribulation prove? That Satan is real and evil! That God is true and righteous! That God’s word is accurate and the prophecies are true! That Salvation and judgment are a reality! That if you confess the Word of God with your mouth redemption and power will follow you all the days of your life! With your mouth you will either confess your way to Heaven or confess your way to Hell! Your confession is your destiny! Jesus said if you will confess your sin I will forgive you and I will confess your name to my Father in Heaven! The Church at Philadelphia understood this! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Wise Men! 536 B.C.
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having Salvation: lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Comment: Yes! Zachariah lived 5 centuries before our Messiah’s arrival yet he saw him coming! He saw Christ as many other prophet’s did with great detail hundreds of years before this event! Yet 2000+ years after Bethlehem many do not see him? The alternative to a wise man is a fool! There are no fools in Heaven! The fool has said in his heart there is no God! Many still deny God! Why? Pride! There are millions of little gods running around on planet earth trying to be God! The WANNABE’S of Hell! If you try to replace God you displace yourself away from God separated forever! You forfeit your place in Heaven! Two King’s are present at Christmas! King Herod and Jesus our King! The Kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of light! No star is following us around! Zachariah looked forward and the wise men looked back! Both confirmed the truth of God’s Word! Do you want to be confirmed? Believe his word! Take Christ at his word! History confirms him how about you? Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Wake Up Dummy! Luke 1:20
“And behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day these things shall be performed because thou does not have faith, trust and confidence in my spoken words expressing intelligence which shall be fulfilled in this season and time of opportunity.” Comment: Zechariah was a Priest in the Jewish Temple. His wife Elizabeth was also a Godly woman! If anyone had opportunity to be close to God it would be this couple! This was evidenced by Gabriel speaking to them directly! Zechariah being a Priest had a great knowledge of the scriptures just like you may today. They were getting up in age and probably though God could not use them anymore! When the Angel Gabriel presented Zachariah with the spoken word of God he flinched! He did not believe the words! As a young man I attended Church but did not really believe the word of God! How do you know? Because I would not speak the word of God! I read it and heard it but would not speak it! Like a mute! When the written word was spoken back to Zechariah he did not believe it! The day I believed the written word of God was the day I responded to the spoken word of God! After I got saved I began to speak the Word of God to others who did not believe! Sin is all about not believing the Word of God! You remember Satan’s words to Eve in the Garden of Eden? Surely God has not said you will die if you eat of the fruit of this tree! The Pharisees had a great knowledge of the scriptures but did not believe them when Jesus spoke them to them? When I was a young man on my death bed Jesus came into my room that night and spoke three words to me! “God loves you!” When I believed those three words everything changed! From death to life! From darkness to light! I was raised from the dead! So was Zacharias and Elizabeth for they were long past having a son! John the Baptist became an important part of Jesus ministry! Your season of Salvation will come once in your life! After I got saved I could not stop telling people about Jesus! The Angel Gabriel was telling Zacharias since you do not believe God at his word then you are not going to be able to speak for a season! Hearing is the prerequisite for speaking! If you do not share your faith with others then you really have no faith! Faith that is not spoken is faith that is not believed! There are no Happy Holidays without Christ! Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
What Jesus Wants for Christmas?
Well, it is Jesus birthday so what does he want? Since I was a little child I always was asked what I want for Christmas? The gifts were for me! I though it was all about me! Jesus gave us the greatest gift but what do with it? Do I treat the gifts as precious? Could I give Jesus more of my time? The time is not mine because he created time! Could I give him gold like the wise men? The streets of Heaven are paved with gold and besides the scriptures declare he is more precious than silver or gold! Could I pray more? He is interceding for me right now at the right hand of the Father! Could I love him more? He first loved me! Could I live for him? He gave his life for me! Could I put sinners under his Christmas tree? Could I put the lost souls of this generation under his tree? Could I present worms turned to butterfly’s under his tree? Could I help to populate Heaven and earth with Saints! Forgiven sinners? Only by his power and grace! Can I do anything without Jesus? I can sin and live a selfish life away from him! I can work death instead of life! Because of him I do not have to do that! I think the best thing I can do for Christmas is receive his gift of Salvation and eternal life and share his gift with others! Happy Birthday Jesus! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
See! Hear! Write! Revelation 1:11
There are only two kinds of books you will read while living here on earth! The first category of books are those that support the Kingdom of God and his Christ! The second category are those books that oppose the Kingdom of God and his Christ! So the question you should ask yourself is does this book support or deny the kingdom of God and his Christ? You know the old saying you can never judge a book by its cover! The cover of every book ever written is either hiding the truth or a lie! The uncovering of the Book of Revelation uncovers the Truth of Jesus Christ! Either sin or righteousness will author every book that has ever been written! Sin cannot be defeated if it is exalted! Sin can be defeated and is defeated by the Christ that was the substitute sacrifice for your sin! For my sin! If we will confess our sin God is faithful to forgive our sin! To confess your sin to Christ is to uncover your sin before God! If we will do this then our names are written down in another Book! Your name is recorded in the Book of Life in Heaven! This Book will be opened at the Judgment Seat of Christ! If your name is not there it would be better if you had not been born! Remember any man or woman that rejects Christ will write a book to oppose Christ so that others would follow them and reject Christ! Hell loves company! Do not let the Kingdom of Darkness abort your Salvation! Herod like many others tried to abort Jesus! Herod got out his knives and swords the master abortionist and cut the womb of every pregnant woman in Bethlehem! Jesus was preserved by God to be the voluntary sacrifice on the Cross for our sin! All of God’s love for us is recorded in a Book called the Bible! The Book of Revelation reveals Jesus Christ as Savior and Judge of the world! For all of his creation! For his church! Truth boils down to one Book one God and one Savior Jesus Christ! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com