💥 Podcast: The sins of Jeroboam

(This podcast was previously published on, December 17, 2021) 

 

Rehoboam, son of Solomon, is king over Judah.

Jeroboam is king over 10 of the tribes of Israel.

Jeroboam is afraid for the people of Israel to go to Jerusalem to worship.  He thinks they might have their hearts turned at Jerusalem and follow Rehoboam and make him their king and kill him, Jeroboam.

So Jeroboam does two great evils:

* He builds 2 golden calves and tells the people of Israel these calves are their gods and they do not need to go to Jerusalem to worship.  He places the calves of gold in Bethel and in Dan and the people of Israel go to these two cities to worship in front of the golden calves.

* He removes the Levites from being priests and appoints his own vile fellows to be priests.

II Chronicles 11

14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:

15 And he (Jeroboam) ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

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I Kings 12

25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:

27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.

30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

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Sins of Jeroboam carry over to today's New Testament church groups.  

For churches today break off into denominations according to the will of man and they depart from certain scriptures and set up doctrines opposite to the doctrines of Christ which are written for us in the New Testament Bible.

And men who are not chosen by Jesus for the New Testament ministry are appointed by man to be ministers to the churches which they have set up by their own wills.

Jesus calls HIS chosen ministers from heaven and puts those who are called into the ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher.

A minister must be called by Jesus and taught by the Holy Spirit of God.

Many ministers today put themselves into the ministry by going to Bible schools and by calling themselves "Reverend".  (No minister in the Bible is called "Reverend.")  So in the eyes of the congregation those men become as gods to the people, idols.

Paul told us in the Bible what to do when we gather as the church:

I Corinthians 14:26   How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

The Holy Spirit spoke to the congregation by whom HE willed.

This is not the case in the churches today.  Only men approved by themselves are allowed to speak.

I often think:  "If Jesus attended this church group this morning, HE would not be allowed to speak."

They often build platforms to keep the congregation separate from the ministers, designating who is allowed to speak to the church.

They remove the called ministers and set up their own ministers, just as Jeroboam did.

And this is a great sin in the sight of God who calls and appoints HIS own ministers for the church of the New Testament.

Ephesians 4

8 Wherefore HE saith, When HE ascended up on high, HE led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

11-12 And HE 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:

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When Jesus comes to gather the elect of God, Jesus will destroy those churches who set themselves up by their own will and do not follow the Holy Bible, for they are antichrist.

II Thessalonians 2  

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of HIS mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of HIS coming:

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

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II Corinthians 11 

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

 

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💥 Scriptures shared by members of the body of Christ:

 

1 Corinthians 13:11  When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

 

***

 

Proverbs 15:31  The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

 

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11 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; Behold, all things are become new.

 

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Psalm 141:3-4  Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

 

4  Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.

 

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James 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

 

***

 

Psalm 100:3-5  Know ye that the LORD HE is God: it is HE that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are HIS people, and the sheep of HIS pasture. 

4 Enter into HIS gates with thanksgiving, and into HIS courts with praise: be thankful unto HIM, and bless HIS name. 

5 For the LORD is good; HIS mercy is everlasting; and HIS truth endureth to all generations.

 

 

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💥 Acts 8 (Reading through the Bible)

 

And Saul was consenting unto his (Stephen's) death.

And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

² And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

³ As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

(Saul is "the apostle Paul" of the NT.  He persecuted the church before God revealed HIMSELF to him.  Acts 9)

⁴ Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

(We see how even this persecution of the early church accomplished the purpose of God for they preached the word wherever they were.)


***

⁵ Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ (The Word) 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.

(With The Word comes great joy to those who believe The Word.)

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.

¹⁸ And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

²⁰ But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

²¹ Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

²² Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

²³ For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

²⁴ Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.


***

²⁵ And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

²⁶ And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

²⁷ And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

(Notice what a religious man this man was.)

²⁸ Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

²⁹ Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

³⁰ And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

³¹ And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

³² The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: ³³ In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

³⁴ And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

³⁶ And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

³⁷ And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.

And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

³⁹ And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

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💥 Podcast: Rehoboam, king of Judah, tries to unite the kingdoms of Israel but God stops him from doing this

 

(This podcast was previously published on, December 16, 2021) 

 

I Kings 12

20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

(So the kingdom is now divided into Judah and Israel: 2 kingdoms with Rehoboam and Jeroboam as their kings.  This fulfilled the word of God which HE spoke to Solomon and the prophecy of Ahijah which was spoken to Jeroboam in I Kings 11:29)

21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from ME.

They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.

II Chronicles 12

1 And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him.

5 Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken ME, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.

6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.

7 And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and MY wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

8 Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know MY service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.

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II Chronicles 12:12 And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.

14 And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.

15 ... And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

Penalties from God follow evil doings of men.

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💥 Scriptures shared by members of the body of Christ:

 

Psalms 92:13  Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.

 

***

 

Psalm 97:10  Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: HE preserveth the souls of HIS saints, HE delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

 

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Psalm 138:8  The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: THY mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of THINE own hands.

 

***

 

Psalm 93:5  THY testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh THINE house, O Lord, for ever.

 

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💥 Acts 7 (Reading through the Bible)

 

Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

² And he (Stephen) said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
³ And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

(Faith is hearing God when HE speaks and doing what God tells you because you believe it was God who told you.)

⁴ Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

⁵ And HE gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet He (God) promised that HE would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

(And he, Abraham, was 99-years-old and had no child of the promise.)

⁶ And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

⁷ And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve Me in this place.

(This is so much like us today.  We dwell in a strange land.  God will judge this world.  And God will deliver us from this world and we will "come forth" from this world to the new Jerusalem wherein dwelleth righteousness and serve God in total righteousness forever.)


⁸ And He gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

⁹ And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
¹⁰ And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹ Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

¹² But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

¹³ And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

¹⁴ Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

¹⁵ So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers, ¹⁶ And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

¹⁷ But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, ¹⁸ Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
¹⁹ The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

²⁰ In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: ²¹ And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

(God has a plan which HE will execute.  God raises up people to do HIS plan.  God had a plan whereby HIS people would go into bondage 400-years and Egypt would rule over them.  At the time appointed by God for deliverance, God raised up Moses to execute HIS plan.  God has a plan and HE will do it.)

²² And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

²³ And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

²⁴ And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

²⁵ For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

²⁶ And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

²⁷ But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

(In fact God had done that very thing.  Making Moses a ruler and a judge over them.  In God's time that is exactly what would happen.  God has HIS plan and God will do all that HE wills in HIS time.)

²⁸ Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹ Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

³⁰ And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹ When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, ³² Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 

Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

³³ Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

³⁴ I have seen, I have seen the affliction of My people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

³⁵ This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶ HE brought them out, after that HE had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

(God brought HIS plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians and with each plague until the last plague, God hardened Pharaoh heart so the next "wonder", plague could be sent upon Egypt.  These plagues were part of the glory of God and showed the might of God.)

³⁷ This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear.

³⁸ This is HE, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

³⁹ To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

⁴⁰ Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

⁴¹ And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

⁴² Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
⁴³ Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴ Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as HE had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

⁴⁵ Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; ⁴⁶ Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
⁴⁷ But Solomon built Him an house.

⁴⁸ Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
⁴⁹ Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build ME? saith the Lord: or what is the place of MY rest?
⁵⁰ Hath not MY hand made all these things?

⁵¹ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

⁵² Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
⁵³ Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

⁵⁴ When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

⁵⁵ But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
⁵⁶ And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

(When you see Jesus, even your own death doesn't mean a lot.  Jesus, The Word, is all in all.)

⁵⁷ Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
⁵⁸ And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰ And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.  And when he had said this, he fell asleep (died).

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💥 Hymn: Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow'r

(Click play symbol, > ... to start music)  

(Click pause symbol, || ... to stop music)


1.  Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Chorus:

Are you washed …
  in the blood,

In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?

Are your garments spotless? 
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?


2.  Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

3.  When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white!
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for His presence bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

4.  Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.

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Music for this hymn downloaded at:  hymnal.net

*****

Scriptures pertaining to this hymn:

Romans 5:5-9     the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

But God commendeth HIS love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

(We didn't shed our blood to pay for our sins but Jesus shed His blood for our sins ... without shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.  Hebrews 9:22 ... we cannot hope to pay for our sins and our wrong actions by our good works ... only by the shed blood of Jesus are we cleansed)


*** 

The new covenant replaces the old covenant:

Hebrews 10:9-14   Then said HE, Lo, I come to do THY will, O God. HE taketh away the first (covenant), that HE may establish the second. 

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

And every priest (old testament) standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man (Jesus), after HE had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 

From henceforth expecting till HIS enemies be made HIS footstool. 

For by one offering HE (Jesus) hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

***

 

Testimony of Pam Padgett

When I was 14 years old a boy in my class at school was killed in a motorcycle accident.

For the first time, I realized that I could die.

I was terrified.

Somehow, I strongly knew that the various things I had learned to do in the Catholic church would not keep me from going to hell.

My only hope was God.

I began praying ... "I know there is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but I don't know which one to pray to.  So please get this to the right one."

I went on to ask that God would somehow save me.

I was changed from within, born again, and wanted to do what God wanted me to do and to please Him.  And I had such a strong desire to read the Bible. 

Not long after this, I realized there was something of God in me.

A few years later I read the following scripture and, for the first time, realized that it was the Holy Spirit in me:    

I Corinthians 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  

***

Matthew 11:28-30   Jesus says ... Come unto ME, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take MY yoke upon you, and learn of ME; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For MY yoke is easy, and MY burden is light.

Yoking yourself to Jesus for basic salvation is critical.  But it is also critical to yoke yourself to Jesus when you make plans after you are born again.  

For the plans we make could be plans of our own flesh or of other human beings or plans of the devil.  If such, dread will likely be the resulting fruit.  

For the yokes of man, and the yokes of the devil, and the yokes of our own flesh are hard, whereas the yoke of God is easy.  

Victorious Christians succeed in plans of God because they yoke themselves to plans of God through prayer and through being established by God in the plan. 

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💥 Podcast: All these things happened in the Old Testament as examples for us today, to warn us!

(This podcast was previously published on, December 15, 2021) 

 

The apostle Paul says:

I Corinthians 10

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured (complained), and were destroyed of the destroyer.

11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

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I Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)

3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,

4 Thy father (Solomon) made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.

5 And he (Rehoboam) said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?

7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.

8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:

9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?

10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.

11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

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God had said there would be a divided kingdom and there will be a divided kingdom and here is the way God brings this about:

I Kings 12

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.

13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;

14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform HIS saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.

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In all things, God will work the issues of this life so that HIS own will and purpose will come to pass.

Romans 8:28   And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to HIS purpose.

 

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