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
Tag: sin
Burned at the Stake! 1415 A.D. Hebrews 11:35
Hebrews 11:35 (Greek Translation) “Women received their dead standing on their feet again and others were tortured not receiving kindness with joy and redemption from sinners that they might obtain a stronger more powerful resurrection.” Comment: Could an early resurrection from martyrdom be stronger than a later one from natural death? Absolutely! Why? Jesus resurrection was the most powerful one because it required the most forgiveness! All the inhabitants of earth from Adam and Eve until now and for all that will ever be born were forgiven by God for their sin! We all put Jesus on the Cross! The greater the resurrection the greater the forgiveness required! Here is a quote from John Hus the Czech Reformer who was burned at the stake in 1415. “O’ Lord Jesus Christ, into thy hands I deliver my soul, which thou has redeemed with thy blood. Father in Heaven, do not hold against them the sin which thy enemies commit against me, and let my eyes see them blissfully with thee, when their souls fly to thy throne after an easy death. Holy Spirit, enlighten their deceived hearts, so that the truth of the Holy Gospel may open their eyes and it’s praise be spread everywhere, forever and ever! Amen.
Hall of Faith! Hebrews Chapter 11
Can you place your name in with those in the Hall of Faith as listed in Hebrews Chapter 11? How do you get there? So what is Faith? Faith is a relationship with God that causes one to be persuaded to trust and believe in the confidence of Divine Truth that produces good works! Faith in a false god will produce destructive works! Islam is probably our best example but atheism with Darwinism ranks right up there with Islam! A Faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ leads to the miracles described in Chapter 11. Faith in Christ makes one confident and free from guilt, doubt and fear! Faith in a false god leads to guilt, fear and death! You have to trust in the one greater than yourself! You cannot save yourself! To trust in yourself is sin! God and His Christ is the gold standard for Faith because there is no sin in them and they have power over death, hell and the grave! A Faith in a false god will send people to the grave! A Faith in the true God will raise people from the grave! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Someone Else Baked Your Cake! Isaiah 2:19
“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth as dust blown by the wind, for fear of the Lord, and for the Glory of His Majesty when He ariseth to the terrorism of the Lord’s judgment!” Comment: In Isaiah Chapter 2 God is contrasting His love and peace with the foolishness, pride and sin of man! Why is this important? Salvation means nothing without Judgment! If you leave out the Judgment of God as some modern day preachers do then there is no reason for Salvation? Saved for what? Saved from what? There are two sides of the coin when in comes to the Gospel. Salvation on one side and Judgment on the other side! You will have Judgment without Salvation but you cannot have Salvation without Judgment! Christ took our Judgment on the Cross! The problem with the prosperity Gospel is that it can lead people to believe that their success is based upon their works rather than God’s work! If we leave God’s Judgment out of the equation then good works circles around again and can lead people to a false Gospel! The challenge today is witnessing to Muslims! They do not believe they are sinners! They believe they have no need of Salvation even though they kill people following their Koran! Did you ever notice no condemnation comes from the Muslim community following these terrorist attacks? Why? They believe they are instruments of Judgment for God to remove the infidels! If we do not include Judgment for all men and only present a prosperity Gospel we will not get their attention! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
What is Hebrew Word for Red? Isaiah 1:18
Adam! Isaiah 1:18 Hebrew Translation “Come now, let us debate your case in court together! Your sin has condemned you! You have been rebuked and judged by me! Though your transgressions are as red as Adam’s sin, they shall be as white as snow! Though they be as red as crimson they shall be as white as a lamb!” Comment: Jesus blood was more red than a human’s blood! No sin! Jesus will either be your Savior or your judge! All judgment is rendered unto the Son! We are all on trial for murder! We all put Jesus on the Cross! Sin has condemned us! Guilt is a horrible estate! If we cannot live with ourselves we cannot live with others! For those who accept Jesus atoning blood as the sacrifice for their sin Judge Jesus has now become our Defense attorney representing us before the Father! The Father says we are condemned to death! When the judge and the defense attorney are the same person we get mercy! The Father says my blood and the blood of my Son is enough to pardon us! Satan is on the jury and tries to condemn us! Salvation is conditional in that repentance, confession of your sin to Jesus is the prerequisite for Salvation! God’s love is unconditional in the sense He died for all. If we try to hide our sin from others we are just hiding from other sinners just like us! Only God can forgive sins! That is why Jesus is called the God/Man! If we wait to confess our sin before the executioner Satan he will still execute us! He is the accuser of the brethren! When Satan comes to accuse you point him to the Cross! He will flee! At the final judgment those that reject Jesus, He will not execute! He simply turns them over to Satan! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Communion Service July 30,2017 Genesis 4:4
As we were preparing for Communion Service our Pastor Cope asked us to contemplate what this ordinance in our church meant to each of us? Pastor Cope presented many scriptures out of the Old and New Testaments! As these scriptures cut through my soul I asked myself where is recorded the first body and blood sacrifice in our Bible? From where did the first fountain of blood flow? Abel presented an excellent sacrifice according to the KJV. Some Bible translations say a better offering but to me a weak translation! A sacrifice to God means blood! An offering may not mean blood! Then Cain murdered Abel his brother and his body was broken and bled! Did Abel have more faith than Cain? No! Abel had faith in the right thing! The blood sacrifice of his lamb! Cain’s sacrifice was of the ground and did not remind God of His Son Jesus Christ sacrifice of his body and blood for our sin! We can have faith in the wrong things! Jesus said remember this my body and my blood! Every time we take Communion we are reminded of His love towards us! God had to become flesh for the flesh of men could only sin! Man’s blood continues to be shed in the earth through wars, violence and sin! All the wars in the history of men starting with Cain and Abel could never cure the sin problem! It was also violence that put Jesus on the Cross! Had I been Cain, Adam, Judas, Pilot, Herod or Caesar I would have done the same thing! Abel’s sacrificial lamb reminds me that Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for me on Calvary is the only lasting sacrifice for the sin of everyone who has lived on the earth or will ever live on the earth! Men that reject Christ’s blood always end up sacrificing the blood of mortal men in rebellion against God! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Hebrews 11:1 Greek Translation
“To believe and act is the foundation for your expectation and desire that you have not seen yet.” Comment: We believe and act on what we trust! If we put our faith in the wrong things or people sin, guilt and fear will control us! A.B. Evans said this, “Faith is not a sense, nor sight, nor reason; but faith is taking God at His Word!” The words of people can be deceptive! Remember Satan told Eve surely God has not said this? Go ahead and eat this delicious looking fruit! There is only one of two voices we will hear and obey! Either God or Satan! All of us first listened to the voice of Satan! We were deceived like Adam and Eve! Sin, guilt and fear was the outcome! Sin was the outcome yet we still have an opportunity to listen and obey the voice of God! It is never too late! Remember the thief on the Cross? If you believe and act upon the Word of God through His Son Jesus Christ and confess your sin you will enter a new day being born again and experience God’s love! No longer in bondage to sin but free to serve God and love others! The choice is yours to make but it is a matter of life and death! Pastor Oscar Cope, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Fairburn, Georgia.
The Devil Made Me Do It!
It is so stupid of modern civilization to have given up believing in the devil when he is the only explanation for it! Ronald Knox (1888-1957), English Protestant and Catholic Theologian, Author, Radio Broadcaster BBC. Comment: If you are deceived enough to believe there is no God then you will also believe there is no devil. Three strikes and your out! So what is strike three? Doing nothing about your fallen condition and continuing in sin and destruction! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
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
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