. BLESSED ARE YOU WHO TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE MESSAGE BELOW:

Each person that decides to follow Jesus must launch out into the unknown. Virtually no one that begins this journey in the beginning understands what this really means. There will be times of joy, peace, rejoicing, and love, but there are also intense battles to be fought against the powers of darkness. Many of these battles take place in your thoughts. Each person will be called to overcome persecutions, temptations, sufferings, problems, and the unexpected. There is an intense war to be fought against your own desires and wrong thinking. There will be times of great doubt, as you try to go upstream against a world that is going downstream. We are called to fight the good fight of faith. God is with us, but there will be times when it seems as if He is not. We will have to fight against our own fears, our own emotions, anger, bitterness, resentment, and rejection. We need to learn to be like Jesus, which means we must change completely from the way we are. We need to stop looking back. We need to deny ourself completely and become an empty vessel, so God can remold and use us. Our own personal desires that we have are contrary to what God has planned for us. We are called to fill ourselves with God’s Word through reading, hearing, studying, and memorizing. The more a person does this, the more he should be conformed to the image of Christ. The more excuses a person has, the less he will ever become the person God wants him to be. Correction and changing is a way of life for those that follow Jesus. A person that does not want counseling and correction, also does not want Jesus. Such a person is blind and in darkness, but often cannot admit this. In other words, such a person lies to himself and thinks it will all turn out all right. His own wrong thinking, wrong desires, wrong attitude, lack of denying self, and sin blind him. He is often so sure he is right, there is no room for God to tell him he is wrong. Because of a person’s strong desires or hurts, Satan can sometimes take a person’s mind captive, so that he will not listen to Jesus speak to him through His Word. Satan has an inroad to cloud his ability to hear God through His Word and examine himself in light of it. Thus, the person wrongly evaluates himself spiritually, therefore he does not repent. The destination of most people, after their earthly body dies, is hell. These people will not believe the truth even when confronted with this fact, because they cannot. Jn 8:43,45-Jesus said: WHY DO YE NOT UNDERSTAND MY SPEECH? EVEN BECAUSE YE CANNOT HEAR MY WORD. AND BECAUSE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, YE BELIEVE ME NOT. As said previously, most people cannot believe the truth when they are corrected or confronted with it. Again, why is this? It is written, Lev 26:43- EVEN BECAUSE THEY DESPISED MY JUDGMENTS, AND BECAUSE THEIR SOUL ABHORRED (or despised or hated) MY STATUTES (or rules and commandments). You will be tested. Life is one big test to see if you will follow Jesus or not, and if you will, to what degree.

There will be times when we feel like there is a chain pulling on both our hands, each one pulling us in an opposite direction. We may feel confused, like we are being torn apart. This spiritual battle rages in our thoughts, in our flesh, and in our emotions. We may feel like we are in a pressure cooker. We need to learn to trust in Jesus in all circumstances and also to learn patience. We need to be filled with God’s love for God and for all the brethren in Christ. We need to be willing to even die for one another as Jesus did for us. How can you be willing to die for the brethren, if you haven’t died to yourself first?

During this huge battle that rages in our thoughts, flesh, and emotions, most people turn away from God and turn back to the ways of this world. Those that turn back and turn away from God, do not understand that they have turned back and are headed to hell, for God allows Satan to dull our understanding. Satan also is allowed to harden such a person’s heart toward being corrected from God’s Word. There are many ways a spiritual person can know positively that a person has turned away from God. Here are a few.
The person’s fruits and attitude are more like the world than like Jesus.
The person does not want or seek correction from the person God has put over them.
The person does not devour God’s Word as they ought.
The person does not allow God’s Word to change them to become more like Jesus. The person accuses others.
The person does not point a finger at himself.
The person slackens off in serving God from the way God had called them to do.
If the person fits any one of these, it is a very strong indicator that he is no longer following Jesus as he ought.

In like manner, if a person has said they have committed their life to Jesus, yet they are not devouring God’s Word on a daily basis and do not want Godly correction—it is a positive indicator that even though they might be confessing Jesus, they are not following Jesus-ref 1 Pe 2:2.

Beware, Satan uses your love for a certain religion, your love for certain people or things, your selfish emotions, your desire for money, the lusts of your flesh, your desire for pleasures, your own pride, your craving for more things, your fears, worries, feelings of rejection, your hurts, your anger, and unforgiveness to deceive you and makes you believe the Scriptures do not mean exactly what they say. The world tells you to buy. God tells you to sell. Even as you are hearing or reading this message, everyone of you has thoughts from the devil in your head contradicting some things presented here. And certainly, Satan is working in your thoughts making it more difficult for you to examine yourself personally by God’s Word to see just how wretched a person you are in light of God’s Word. Paul himself said, in Ro 7:24-O WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM! WHO SHALL DELIVER ME FROM THE BODY OF THIS DEATH? Jeremiah writes in 17:9-THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED: WHO CAN KNOW IT? Rev 12:9 tells us that Satan deceives the whole world.

As you try to follow Jesus and read your Bible, Satan will stir up things around you and also create distractions to make it difficult to concentrate and grow. Satan knows exactly how to get you involved in situations, because of your not denying yourself. He knows exactly how to get you involved in and distracted by other people’s affairs. What good is it, if you help an unbelieving friend with their situation, but lose your own soul? Time is running out. Jesus is coming back soon. If you are not watching and ready, you shall surely perish. There is no repenting when you are in hell. The Bible warns you most severely to beware, lest that day come upon you unexpectedly. Remember, the world is a place of spiritual darkness, and it will get worse. Because some of you that are hearing or reading this are dull of hearing, we need to remind you again of certain things. Satan can be expected to get you involved in other things that are not of God. Satan uses your love for relatives, friends, children, babies, and the elderly. It often starts as Satan sets a trap and then you see a need to help. The rest becomes history. You begin to shrink back from God’s calling on your life, and you take on a new calling because of your concern and love. Then as time goes by you become more and more involved. Then spiritual blindness begins to set in. It usually begins very slowly—so slowly, that you do not recognize it. Then a few weeks, months or years later, you have become hardened to any correction from God—as God tries to draw you back to serving Him as you once did, but you’re love for God has dwindled, and your love and concern for those relatives, friends, children, babies, or the elderly have now consumed your life. Such are Satan’s traps. Few people recognize Satan’s traps, even when they are declared to them from an elder through Scripture. The elder can easily recognize the traps you are in, as his emotions are not involved as yours are. When you are being Biblically corrected, does your love for that elder grow dim?

It is possible that nearly every person in hell, will be able to look back at his life-ref Lk 16:19-31—and remember that God sent people to them. These people may have been sent in person, perhaps through something they read, perhaps through some other means—that showed them the error of their way. Regretfully, they could not be persuaded that they were going in a wrong direction. For ever and ever they will hate God, but God, in His mercy, tried over and over to get them to repent, but they would not. It is written: Lk 16:13-NO SERVANT CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS: FOR EITHER HE WILL HATE THE ONE, AND LOVE THE OTHER; OR ELSE HE WILL HOLD TO THE ONE, AND DESPISE THE OTHER. YE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON.
You cannot serve this world and God.
You cannot serve your self and God.
You cannot serve money and God.
You cannot serve your relatives, friends, children, babies, the elderly, and then try to fit God in somewhere, somehow.
You are to serve God the way He directs, not the way you direct.
You are to serve God at the time He directs, not the time you direct.
You are not to fit serving God into the time you have available.
Rather you are to fit doing other things into the time God gives you.
You’re life is to be summed up in one word—Jesus.
Your life is to be a life of commitment and obedience to Jesus, prompted by faith which works by your love for God and for the brethren.
Jesus is your Creator.
Jesus is your Saviour.
Jesus is to be your God. Is He your God?
Are you His servant, or do you try to make Him your servant?
Are you constantly trying to get God to do your will—or are you humbling yourself to do His will?
What is the number one priority in your life? What Gospel do you follow? Is it the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the gospel of “Me.” Life is a test.
Your excuses fade into oblivion, if you look at Jesus and His Word truthfully.
Be grateful if God has given you some work to do for Him, lest you find yourself unemployed by the Lord and employed by the world.
Be grateful if God has given you some work to do for Him, lest you find yourself fired by the Lord.
Be grateful if God has given you some work to do for Him, lest you find yourself doing your own works and calling them works for the Lord, but He sent you not-ref Jere 23:32.
Even if you are called to dump trash for the Lord—thank God that you have a job for Him. Never regard any job God has given you with a negative attitude, lest you be found to be an unthankful servant. And if you be found to be an unthankful servant, or a servant that puts other priorities before God’s calling, you may be found to be a servant that cannot be trusted by God to do His work faithfully. Woe unto you, if this has happened.

So if you have no job in the Lord, do not waste your precious time, but spend every moment in Bible study and reading, so He may judge you worthy to serve Him rather than serving the world.

Oh, that you might have ears to hear and become a faithful servant to God, for indeed, your time is short.

Woe to the person that is found not serving Him when He comes to take His people in the translation, for many shall be found crying out to God, “Open unto us,” but He will tell them that He does not know them.

You were created to serve God. You will be tested to see if your heart will follow Jesus Christ or the deceiver. Not long after you are born you begin to learn many things. However, you do not need to be taught to lie, or cheat, or be deceitful. You do not need to be taught to be stubborn, rebellious, self-centered, or prideful. These things come naturally. You need to be taught to tell the truth, not to cheat, not to be deceitful, stubborn, rebellious, or self-centered.

Not long after you are born, your mind begins to be filled with what your parents believe. What they say to you, and how they treat you can affect the rest of your life. If they make you feel unwanted, you may feel rejected the rest of your life. In most cases, if your parents are Catholic, you will believe as a Catholic. If your parents are Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist, or atheist, you will usually believe as they do. When you go to school, your open mind will be influenced by all sorts of things your teachers believe. If your teachers teach you about evolution, sinful lifestyles, sex, abortions, then you will probably accept them as truth and believe they are right. By the time you become a young adult, you will already be filled with all sorts of prejudices and beliefs. You may believe there is no God. You may believe in reincarnation, idols, or just your own self-reliance. If you are a Moslem, you will probably hate the Jews. If you are a Hindu, you may hate the Moslems. If you are from a certain African tribe, you may hate those from another tribe.

The answer to why Satan was created is this. He was created to do exactly what he is doing. He was created to deceive the angels of heaven, to deceive the people of the whole world, and to deceive you. He has all the power he needs to do so.

Satan was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee; thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty-ref Ezek 28:12, 15, 17. And said in thine heart…I will be like the most High-ref Isa 14:13-14. He is also called the prince of the power of the air-ref Eph 2:2, or the ruler of the kingdom of the air-NIV. He is a liar, and the father of it-ref Jn 8:44. Satan is the embodiment of evil—the most crafty, conniving, lying, hateful, deceitful being ever created. He was full of wisdom (or intelligence)-ref Ezek 28:12, beyond any person God has created. He understands man’s hopes, desires, and weaknesses far beyond nearly any person’s comprehension. He is the master of masters at making a person believe right is wrong and wrong is right. He knows how to test and tempt people to do exactly what he wants. He knows how to set up circumstances, even working through other people, to force you to do whatever he desires. You cannot—I repeat, you cannot out-think, out-smart, or out-maneuver him in your own strength. He has the power to bring every imaginable hardship on you, every form of sickness, even everything you dread. And when he does, he knows exactly what thoughts to put in your mind, so you will blame God or other born again Christians. He knows how to set up situations around you, so you never seem to have time to serve God. The devil knows exactly how to force you to turn to the right or to the left—even if you don’t want to.

Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy-ref Jn 10:10. He has permission to tempt you and to bring calamity-ref Job ch 1 and 2. He has the power to bring sickness, financial disasters, and what seems like hopeless situations on you. He can destroy your peace of mind, destroy your marriage, make your children hate you, make your friends and parents feel estranged from you, have you fired for no apparent reason, and cause you to be in one auto accident after another. Satan can arrange for you to be thrown in jail and found guilty of things you have no knowledge of.

So what can we do? It is written: Ja 4:7-SUBMIT YOURSELVES THEREFORE TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU. 2 Cor 10:4-(FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL, BUT MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS;). Eph 6:11-PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD, THAT YE MAY STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL. Eph 4:27-NEITHER GIVE PLACE TO THE DEVIL.