The Difference Between Being Lost and Being Led

“Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went
out into the wilderness.” Exodus 15:22

Many people who find themselves stuck in difficult situations
often feel as if they’ve become lost. Somehow, they’ve
arrived in a wilderness where everything has dried up and
nothing seems to be growing. Many of them have lived in this
wilderness for so long that they have given up on things
changing and concluded that this must be all God has in store
for them.

On numerous occasions, they have attempted to
change their situation, but all of their efforts have failed.
If this sounds like you, you may not be lost at all! You may
be squarely within the Will of God. All dry places in life
are not the result of being lost. Sometimes God leads us
into dry places and uses them as a place of preparation.

In Exodus 3:8, when God met Moses at the burning bush, He told
him that He was going to deliver His people from bondage and
into a land flowing with “milk and honey”. Yet, we know when
God delivered His people from bondage, He led them directly
into a “wilderness” where they spent 40 years.

We know that their wilderness experience had a purpose because the Bible tells us that there was a shorter route available that they
could have taken and avoided the wilderness altogether. Exodus
13:17 says, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of
the Philistines, even though it was near “ (underline mine).
Whenever God leads you somewhere He has a predetermined
purpose for you, even if the route is a longer than what you
expected. The longer the preparation, the greater the
promotion.

If takes much longer to get a PhD than it does
a GED. I am not putting down those who have a GED. Praise
God for it. For some, it took just as much determination to
get their GED than it did for some to get their PhD. However, we
are speaking of principles.

Oftentimes, your wilderness is the doorway to your promise.
At the initiation of Jesus’ public ministry He was not led
into the temple, but into the wilderness. Jesus had to be
first prepared in their wilderness before He could preach his
first sermon.

If you are in a wilderness right now, remember what you
learned while there because it will be necessary to sustain
you in your Promised Land. Don’t faint or lose heart. You
may be at the door of your promise and purpose. I know it has
been a long journey, but it will be worth your while. I know
others may have arrived sooner at their place of destiny, and
you are still making your way toward your destiny.

What God wants to do in your life, requires preparation, therefore
He had to take you the long way. There are no short cuts in the
Kingdom of God – only God’s way. I know, all the while you’ve
thought that somehow you where lost. You may not have been
lost at all. You just may have been led!

By Dr. J.C. Matthews, Senior Pastor of Dunamis Life Ministries and Chancellor of The International Kingdom Institute.

Surviving Dry Places

But He answered and said, “It is written, Man Shall not live
by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the
mouth of God “. (Matthew 4:4)

What does Deuteronomy 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 have in common outside of them being almost identical in wording? Of course, they are both found in the Bible. The answer is: They were both spoken in a wilderness or a dry place. Moses and Jesus
both were concluding extended stays in a wilderness and came
to the same conclusion. Their conclusion was: “Man does not
live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of
the mouth of God.”

You may have never spent any period of time in an actual
wilderness. However, at some point in your life you will
find yourselves in some very dry places. Your dry place might
be emotional, financial, physical, spiritual, relational or
some other form of deficiency or you have in your life. Each
person’s wilderness is just as real as the other’s. These dry
places and times in our lives are not designed to kill or stop
us, but to grow us in our relationship and understanding of God.
They are places of decision and learning where the flesh is
tried and our spiritual man (or woman) is matured

The wilderness is not always a bad place. The purpose for the
wilderness in our lives is three fold. These purposes are to:
(1) try us – physically, mentally and spiritually, (2) reveal
ourselves to ourselves, (3) bring us to a place of total
surrender to God. We must come to a place where we no longer
seek fulfillment, meaning and sufficiency in others or our own
efforts – but in God. Until we learn to trust God’s Word in
every situation we cannot enjoy the promises He has spoken
over our lives.

I don’t know what your particular wilderness is, but I can tell
you that the test and the lesson is the same. God does not
deny that you have needs. However, He does say that your primary
means of meeting these needs should be found within His Word.

If you are currently in a “dry place” in your life ask yourself,
“What is it that God is trying to teach me here?” “Have I been
depending on His Word or something or someone else?” The answer
to these questions may determine how long you’ll be there. The
children of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness before they
entered into their promise because they continually failed the
test. Jesus passed His test the first time and left His wilderness         experience in 40 days. The way to shorten your time
in these dry places of life is to learn the lessons taught
while there.

Regeneration vs The Idolatry of Decisional “Evangelism”

A Paul Washer Lecture based on today’s evangelists lack of guiding men to properly giving their life over to Christ. It is not about a five minute prayer, but, a lifetime of repentance. I present this as I’ve had so many negative comments about what so called Christians call “Doom and gloom” messages. Well, it’s your doom, but, the message is the Gospel truth, whether you believe it or not, is irrelevent.

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Psalm 23

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Paul Washer vs Joel Osteen

The Gospel truth as opposed to the evangelical watered down Gospel tweaked by man to soothe the conscience of the wicked. The “warm and fuzzy sermon” serves only satan.

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The Four Step Program

For a few months I have been spreading the same message through my articles on various pages, discussion groups on other’s Christian pages, and wherever possible. I have been doing this through obedience to the Lord and with the help of His Divine guidance. It certainly has not set well with other Christians, and especially with evangelists and top televangelists.

I have received countless negative feedback and requests to stay out of discussions as my message totally conflicts with their ‘warm and fuzzy’ sermons and attractive websites. Out of over thirty requests to exchange links with other’s pages, I received two. Praise the Lord for that and God Bless them. As most know I have a full list of various links with different Christian points of view. I may not subscribe to everything they are preaching, teaching, or advising, but, as I responded in their rejection letters (the ones gracious enough to send a letter), It is about spreading the Word and leading people in the right direction. If my page is not appealing enough to someone seeking answers, then at least they may be led by other’s.

Abortion, and support for it, is just as prevalent among Christians as anyone else. Divorce rate is 50%; 29% of those are Christians. Sexual amorality has no distinction among Christians, yet so many think all who profess Christianity will go to Heaven; millions will be taken in the rapture.

As many of whom follow my articles have known, the constant theme is, many who think they are going to heaven, simply are not. This is not popular among many, as you can imagine. There are the ones who think they don’t have to believe in anything, as long as they are ‘good’. This group covers many, from atheists to people sitting in church to appease someone else. There are the ones who think they don’t have to believe Jesus is the only way, but, claim they are Christian. Oprah is the high priestess of that new religion. Then, there are the ones to which I have been called to reach out to; the ones that said the prayer of salvation at some point, and claim they are Christian only for that reason. They rely on what they think is a Bible believing Pastor to feed them all the words they need. The problem is, many of those Pastors will not see Heaven. They think because Jesus died horribly for our sins, they won’t pay for a sin free-for-all.

Just because a man is standing in front of a crowd and he has a license to minister does not mean he is a true man of God. If he is a televangelist the odds are even greater he is not a man of God. This is not to say that everyone who is on the two most popular Christian networks is not to be trusted, but, you must discern. It is our individual responsibility to know God’s Word, and know when it is abused. There are so many of whom say God speaks to them all the time and they are passing His message to you. That makes them a prophet. A prophet in a $3,000(US) suit, selling blessings to meet your budget. I have always felt such sorrow for those who could not afford a blessing and missed out. Actually, if they just picked up a Bible and found out what it really means to be a Christian, they would receive more blessing than they would know with what to do. The only one receiving anything is the televangelist… all your money. They will convince you it is God’s Will that they live better than most, in order to spread God’s Word.

Most of today’s evangelists are teaching the same misguided doctrine. They have plucked out of context those scriptures which, viewed partially, backs up their worldly message of don’t worry about sin; or ‘if it feels good – do it’, you will be forgiven. For the most part, they take passages from letters from Paul TO OTHER CHRISTIANS. Paul was not writing spam to heathens in hopes they would ignorantly follow and be duped into believing. He was writing to Christians to encourage them and let them know how important it was to not forget the mission of spreading God’s Word. They are already presumed to be without sin on a regular basis.

Everybody is aware of John 3:16, but, this passage became not as popular with the evangelists as did Paul’s letter to the Romans 10:9, That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. There are many other instances similar to this, but, this being the most used. Whether it is implied, or mistakenly received, so many, no, too many believe this is saying all you have to do is believe, and you will be back in Kansas, like Dorothy.

If we were to read on from Romans 10:9, we would clearly see this passage is to provoke in us the witness to others, which was the gift given to us as believers. It does not mean all we need to do is believe Jesus died for our sin and go on sinning. As believers, we also are professing we believe His Word, in its integrity. To suggest to a believer that God’s law was just Old Testament “legalism” and it doesn’t have to be regarded in these modern times, is ridiculous. The legalism of which they refer, pertained to how they wore their beards, or proper attire, or how to worship in regards to what was available at the time. Not the commandments. When Paul wrote his many letters to believers, it was much easier to be without sin in those days, when they had none of the temptations we have today. This does not mean it is alright to give into the temptations of today, because there are so many… too many for us to deal with.

The temptations must be dealt with, regardless the rest of the world has gone in the wrong direction and succumbed to Satan’s lies. We as believers are supposed to be aware of the commandments and make every attempt to follow His word, rather than cherish iniquity, and presume God will not judge us as we have chosen to follow the world, instead. God doesn’t even figure into our path of selfish choices, and we have been given the false message He doesn’t want us to be unhappy in whatever situation we’ve been given, so, it is OK to sin to get out of it; and He will forgive us afterward. This is wickedness, which we rationalize, to serve our own ‘worldly’ desires.

Many call themselves Christians as they belong to a church and believe there is ‘some kind of God’. They do not know what kind, because just like atheists, they block out the evidence which is contrary with their views, so as to support their lifestyle. They have never said the prayer of salvation, and like atheists, are stubborn to do so, as they know it would mean making changes and giving up their iniquity. These people, including atheists, are in a much better situation to go to Heaven than most professed believers, which whom, have said the prayer of salvation. This is simply because the atheists always have the opportunity to repent and accept Christ as their Saviour. The disillusioned ‘believer’ will be caught off guard one day, as they are blind to the fact they are not saved. Even Oprah has a chance to realize how completely stupid she is, regardless how rich she is, and drop to her knees and repent. When they do realize their calamity and say the salvation prayer, hopefully they will realize it is a package, a multi-step process, and not just in and of itself, saying it, means they are saved.

The prayer of salvation can be stated in many ways, as long as all the requirements are covered. The most basic, and effective wordage would be as follows:

Lord God, I am a sinner. I repent of my sins, and ask your forgiveness. I believe you died on the cross for my sins because you love me. I now ask you to come into my heart and be Lord of my life.

By saying this prayer to Jesus and meaning it with all your heart, you are committing to four basic and very prominent steps to ensuring your salvation.

Step 1. You are confessing you are a sinner. This is where you should take a few moments to acknowledge your most prevalent iniquity to the Lord. Whoever walks another through this prayer should allow for this moment of meditation between the recipient and His Saviour.

Step 2. You vow to the Lord you will repent, or turn away from, your sin, and ask His forgiveness. All your sin, not just the big ones, but, you’ll hang onto the ones you conceive to be not so bad, as this will surely make Him happy; you gave up the big ones, right? God hates all sin. ALL sin; big or little. If you are making a commitment, you go all the way. We do not bargain with God on which sins would be OK to keep. We are promising to not intentionally sin. This why the first thing we should do is find a Bible and learn His commandments; and always know it is His law, now and forever. You are now, also, stating to yourself you are dead to sin.

Step 3. You are letting the Lord know you believe with all your heart that he came to earth as one of us, but, innocent, and in a humble way, and suffered what NO man would ever, just to give you this opportunity to believe in Him and what He stands for, and therefore enabling you to share the Kingdom of Heaven. If we don’t believe this, we don’t stand a chance, but, that is not saying that is all we have to believe. Otherwise, the prayer of salvation would be quite short. “I believe you died and was raised again”. No commitment on our part, other than to believe that? Interesting.

Step 4. You are giving up your will for your life and telling God you now want only His will for you. You are seceding to the fact your way doesn’t work, no matter how much you think it does, and seeking His way. If you seek after His Word and truly repent, He will allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through everyday life in a way that will keep you righteous. He will show you how to resist temptation and live in the mainstream and yet be faithful to Him. If we do not follow the Will of the Father, He will say “Depart from me, I never knew you“.

After completing this process, you will immediately experience a profound change in yourself and your life, if you were sincere. But, the point here is, the commitment here, on our part, is a package deal. It is never expressed in God’s Word, anywhere, that all we have to do is say that little prayer, and profess we believe it. God knows we are sinners by nature, and He is faithful to forgive us, as we acknowledge our slip up, and repent. We cannot hide any sin, and He will not ignore any sin, regardless how we rationalize it. Our Lord is more Holy than we can conceive. We are so fortunate that He is. We cannot take advantage of His goodness, however, or He will let us know of His wrath, real quick. If He was not a just God, we would not have a prayer.

Gal 2:20, It is no longer I who live, but, Christ who lives in me, and this life I must live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave His life for me.

Larry Huch, a well known televangelist, is waving his Bible at his audience and entertaining them with the idea they may sin; as God did not expect “Americans in 2009” to be bound by His Word as it was two thousand years ago. I am not making that up. That is exactly what Mr. Huch said. Hopefully very few believe him when he speaks garbage like that, because, just like Oprah, if she doesn’t change her ways, he will go to hell.

I have had many letters from ‘believers’ stating we cannot lose our salvation. Really?!! You go right on believing that, if you insist. But first, you should read Matthew, chapter 7, over and over apparently, until you get it. Wouldn’t a little reading with an open mind be worth not going to hell? There are so many passages pertaining to sin and iniquity, and what it means to God. I don’t find anywhere it means you can keep right on doing it and still go to Heaven, because a false prophet said you will. God expects us to go through great suffering, if need be, to stand for our beliefs, and we will be blessed after this life on earth as we know it. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are promised riches or complete happiness, except through Him. If we have anything that would be of help to another, we are to give it up. Why do we believe that a man, or woman, wearing expensive clothes and jewelry, living in mansions obtained from spreading the Gospel, are holy people? We rationalize they deserve riches as they are doing such ‘good works’. God doesn’t expect everyone to be poor, but, He doesn’t expect everyone to enter the kingdom of Heaven, either.