Chapter 2:
Building Your House on
the Word of God
the Word of God
Joan Boney
Amazon: Paperback & E-book
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Matthew 4
8 Again, the devil taketh HIM (Jesus) up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth 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.
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KWJS turned out to be a radio station.
I asked God, "Are YOU telling me to go on radio? I wouldn't know how to do that."
The Holy Spirit then brought a very gentle thought to my mind: "Call the radio station manager."
I called KWJS that same morning and I told the station manager God might be showing me to go on radio. I asked him, "How would you do that?" The station manager told me to make an audition tape 29 1/2 minutes long and send it to him and if I fit their broadcasting they would offer me a contract. I made a tape immediately and sent it to the manager and within 5 days I was broadcasting exhortations to the church on KWJS.
(If anyone should say to me, "How did God show you to go on radio?" I could easily tell him exactly how God showed me to do this.)
The radio work spread rapidly and within a few months I was on stations from NYC (Hartford area) to Seattle, with several cities in-between. (just as I was shown when the voice spoke to me saying, "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS" for the radio broadcasts spread across the USA)
Bob Tilton (my pastor at that time) told me about his advertising agent, Michael Ellison, and said I needed to sign with this agency.
Bob said, "They can really do you a lot of good."
(At that time they were representing several big-name ministers including Kenneth Copeland, Jimmy Swaggart, and Marilyn Hickey.)
I did sign with this agency.
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They were very sophisticated people and low keyed and subtle.
As we met, the agent said, "Just one thing ... We would like you to add the following to all your envelopes and writings: 'SEND ME YOUR PRAYER REQUESTS' ."
I was horrified at this idea!
"I don't want to do that! " I said to the agent.
He was shocked and
said: "You don't?"
I said, "NO
... They should pray directly to GOD through JESUS."
There was a pause
filled with silence.
Then he said, "Well
... you're missing a good bet ... for when they send a prayer request they
usually slip some money into the envelope."
It was a fund raising
gimmick.
I never did this.
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I never got bigger for they threw me out after about 4 months.
One of their requirements was that I never offend any one on my broadcasts.
(I'm a prophet!)
Certainly Robert Tilton said you should never tell anyone you are a prophet for it was not popular ... Yet Tilton himself was one of the people who said I am a prophet and he said this from the pulpit about me.
The agency told me they could fill Soldiers and Sailors Auditorium for my meetings in Pittsburgh, all I had to do was to be sure I never offended anyone. They said they would go into the city a week or so before my meetings and recruit pastors to get these pastors to send their congregations to my meeting.
I had no doubt they were able to do this as they said.
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Another "requirement"
they had for me was before I would send out any written material, I would have
to send it to the agency for them to approve the material.
When I
told them I could not do this, they released me.
I was devastated,
thinking I had failed.
God brought Matthew 4:8 to my attention showing me the truth from HIS eyes:
I had not failed but
had passed a test in the sight of serving God, refusing to obey man even when
great rewards were in view.
It was a difficult
period of time for me.
Today, I see it as a
very narrow escape and I rejoice that I continued faithful to God in spite
of loss of glory and fame of man.
It is critical for us
to cling to what is right in the sight of God and suffer the loss.
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(Additional comments by Joan Boney)
Mark 8
34 Whosoever will come after ME (The Word), let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (The Word).
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake (for the sake of the Word) and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
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It does not matter what we do on this earth so long as it is what God wants us to do.
Matthew 7
Jesus says:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
(The works they did in the name of Jesus were not authored by God.)
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Matthew 23
Jesus says:
Many put themselves into the ministry without being set there by Jesus.
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Each of us serve in the place God put us.
But if we try to do works for God, when God did not call us to do those works, we damn ourselves and others by our works.
I Corinthians 12
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
15 If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
16 And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.
28 And God hath set some in the church (to care for the church), first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
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After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus set up the New Testament church:
Ephesians 4:11-12 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
For man to set up anything or anyone else as a NT ministry is a sin.
Many today who do ministry work are not called and set in the ministry by Jesus. Many had natural performance talents and they copied other ministers and set themselves into the ministry by their own will and did not have the Spirit of Jesus nor the calling of Jesus nor the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They put themselves into the ministry by their own will and their own cleverness.
Paul said: And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (I Corinthians 2:1-5)
Paul told how he became a minister: (speaking to king Agrippa)
Acts 26
I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.
12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,
13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
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Recently a man came to our house to do some extermination work.
He said to me, "You can always hope the mice will go to a neighbor whom you hate."
I was shocked. I replied, "I don't hate any of my neighbors."
Later he began telling about how he went on ministry trips occasionally.
He began telling me all the cities where he had gone to minister.
I interrupted him and asked, "How did God show you that you were to do this ministry work?"
He just stood there speechless. He could not tell me how God showed him to do this work.
I told him this was not a work of God but was his own fleshly desire.
Many are like that today, in the end times. Jesus said it would happen this way.
Matthew 24
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
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.
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Jude
18 How that they told you there should be mockers (copiers) in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
(They have ungodly lusts to do good works and to be praised by men for their works.)
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
We can only do those things God shows us to do.
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