Bible Prophecy

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Knowing God's Voice - Part III

"27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.." John 10:27-28

In this post we will continue a message titled "Knowing God's Voice."

3. Three Voices We Deal With As Christians
There are three voices that we deal with as Christians. They are God's voice, the devil's voice, and our own spirit. We will look at an example of each of these voices.

a) God's Voice
The prophet Elijah heard the voice of God when he fled to a cave from Jezebel. In I Kings 19:9-12 it says "9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." It's that still small voice, the voice of Jesus Christ, that we must know in this hour of great testing.

b) The Devil's Voice
We see the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness. In Matthew 4:1-11 it says "1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." In this passage we see that the devil also quoted scripture at Jesus to try to deceive him.

c) Own Spirit
The third voice is our own spirit. In Jeremiah 23:16 it says "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD." Also in Ezekiel 13:1-8 it says "1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; 3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. 6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD."

In closing, we see these powerful warnings to Christians about false prophets and how important it is today to walk in the Spirit and know God's voice.

In the next post, I will start a new topic.

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Knowing God's Voice - Part II

"27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.." John 10:27-28

In this post we will continue a message titled "Knowing God's Voice."

2. When We Are Baptized In The Holy Ghost, He Will Show Us Things To Come Jesus said in John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come."

All through the word of God we see the Holy Ghost speak through His people in prophecy. In II Peter 1:21 it says "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." We will look at a few examples in the scriptures.

a) Apostle Paul
The Holy Spirit gave the apostle Paul many prophecies about the last days. In II Thessalonians 2:3 it says "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

Also, in I Timothy 4:1 it says "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"

b) Jesus
Jesus Christ spoke many messages on prophecy and one of the most quoted is in the gospels when Jesus was at the mount of Olives.

In Matthew 24:3-14, 21-27 it says "3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come........ 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

In future posts I will share more about this topic.

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Knowing God's Voice - Part I

"27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.." John 10:27-28

In this post we will start a message titled "Knowing God's Voice."

1. To Know God's Voice We Must Spend Time In Prayer
In Luke 18:1 it says "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;"

We as Christians must spend time in prayer before our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we know the voice of God when very little time is spent to get to know Jesus? In John 10:3-5 Jesus said "3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

Jesus said "And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." We are living in a day when there are many strange voices speaking out in the world but a Christian (which is a sheep), who knows the voice of Jesus will flee from those strange voices.

In Philippians 4:6 it says "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

We must not be what I call a "pray and do" Christian. We as Christians must wait on the Lord for His answer to our prayers.

We see an example in Acts 6:1-4 which says "1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word."

We see from this passage that as the church grew the Lord led the apostles
to choose seven men to help in the daily ministration so they could continue to pray and to do the work of the ministry.

In future posts I will share more about this topic.

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Are You Part Of God’s Army? - Part VII

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; II Corinthians 10:3-5

In this post, we will continue a message titled “Are You Part Of God’s
Army?”

2. Jesus Has Given Us Power Over The Enemy
d) They Went Forth, and Preached Everywhere
Jesus said “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

When the word of God is preached under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, people will be saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and healed. There are many examples of this in the Bible. In Acts 2, when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls were saved, filled with the Holy Ghost and healed by the power of God.

In Acts 2:37-43 it says “37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”

In Acts 4:1-3 it says “1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.”

Also, in Acts 8:4-17 it says “4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.”

In closing, as we equip ourselves to fight in God’s army, we must give Jesus Christ all the glory for the victory over the devil and his devices.

In the next post, I will start a new topic.

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Are You Part Of God’s Army? - Part VI
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; II Corinthians 10:3-5

In this post, we will continue a message titled “Are You Part Of God’s
Army?”

2. Jesus Has Given Us Power Over The Enemy
c) They Shall Lay Hands on the Sick
Jesus told us that those who believed in Him would lay hands on the sick and they would recover. It is one thing to pray for someone who is sick, but it is another thing to believe by faith that the sick will recover.

In Mark 16:18 the second half of the verse says “they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” In Mark 11 Jesus spoke about faith and believing before you receive, which is faith in action.

In Mark 11:22-24 it says “22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

In James 5:14-15 it says “14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Notice in this passage the phrase used is “the prayer of faith” but it is Jesus Christ who is the healer. The rest of the verse says “and the Lord shall raise him up.”

In future posts I will share more about this topic.