Category: Christian Living
WILL HE FIND FAITH ON THE EARTH?

WILL HE FIND FAITH ON THE EARTH?

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Rev. Kevin Airrington
February 10, 2018

The most fascinating, almost haunting thing for me that Jesus ever said is this: “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) I have literally lost sleep thinking about this verse.

“The Son of man” is what Jesus called Himself on earth. The phrase literally means “Dude”. So, in essence, He is saying, “When this Dude comes…”

Absolutely awesome, Jesus, gotta love Him!

If He is omnipotent and omniscient, and He is, then why would He ask a question like that? It’s almost like the feeling is that it’s going to get so bad on earth before His return that He asks this question of whether or not there’ll even be faith left on the earth at His return to warn us. Warn us of the Hell we will need to put us with and warn us of how easy it is for us to backslide and to always…ALWAYS stay in check.

Jesus asks, “Won’t God answer His own elect who cry to Him daily?” (if you are a Christian you are His elect) prayer…Christians must more than ever pray! Pray without ceasing. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

In Matthew 24:12, where Jesus was speaking about the time just before His return, He said, “And because iniquity (sin) shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Boundless iniquity and a growing lack of love throughout the earth.

Then in II Thessalonians 2:3 Paul said about the second coming of the Lord, “that day shall not come except there come a falling away first.”

A falling away from faith in God throughout the earth. Maybe you haven’t fallen away or you live in a community where faith is still vibrant. But on a national and international scale, faith in God has declined dramatically in the last century or so, especially throughout the nations of the Western world.

My goodness, you would think the writers of the Bible got on Google and read today’s newspaper!

The Bible says the Antichrist will have “scattered the power of the holy people” (Daniel 12:7), just before the return of Jesus.

Maybe that’s why Jesus asked that question, “When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” It’s going to be the toughest time in the history of the world for the people of faith.

Will Jesus find faith on earth? The answer seems to be yes. However, weeping and gnashing of teeth…wide is the gate that leads to destruction…for many, He will not find faith. This is a fallen world….just watch the news!

Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Again, watch the news…wow!

God help us all to hold on to our crowns and to keep the faith unto the end, whatever that will be for each of us.

May God bless you and yours.

Copyright © 1989 - 2017 AIRRINGTON MINISTRIES | www.airrington.com |All Rights Reserved.

If Jesus is God, then why did He pray to Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane?

If Jesus is God, then why did He pray to Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane?

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Recently on Facebook, a gentleman asked me this question.

His question, who was Jesus praying to?  Very good question… I liked it. And far after you and I are gone scholars will debate this. So…here is what I know.

Since the Bible affirms that Jesus is God, it is often perplexing to note that Jesus addresses God in prayer.  The answer is found in an understanding of the Trinity; 1 John 5:7, Romans 1:20, Acts 17:29, Colossians 2:29 (by the way, you will only find that teaching in the King James Bible).  Jesus is the second person of the Trinity.  We also know from John 1 that God (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus was fully God and fully human.  In His human form He was separated from the Trinity…and therefore needed to pray to God the Father (1st Person of the Trinity). 

Jesus is completely human, but He also has a divine nature.

GOD
He is worshiped (Matthew 2:2, 11; 14:33; 28:9)
He is prayed to (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor. 1:2)
He was called God (John 20:28; Heb. 1:8)
He was called Son of God (Mark 1:1)
He is sinless (1 Peter 2:22; Heb. 4:15)
He knew all things (John 21:17)
He gives eternal life (John 10:28; 17:2)
The fullness of deity dwells in Him (Colossians. 2:9)

MAN
He worshiped the Father (John 17)
He prayed to the Father (John 17:1)
He was called man (Mark 15:39; John 19:5).
He was called Son of Man (In the Greek it is like saying, Hey Dude) (John 9:35-37)
He was tempted (Matthew 4:1)
He grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52)
He died (Romans 5:8)  — HE WAS RESURRECTED!
He has a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)

As a man, Jesus needed to pray.  When He was praying, he was not praying to Himself but to God the Father.

I hope this is helpful my friend. May God bless you as you…as WE try and understand His message to us.

Copyright © 1989 - 2017 AIRRINGTON MINISTRIES | www.airrington.com |All Rights Reserved.

Changes in the King James Version

Changes in the King James Version

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In 1769 the Oxford University Press published an edition of the King James Version in which many small changes were made.  These changes were of five kinds:

1. Greater and more regular use of italics;

2. minor changes in the text;

3. the adoption of modern spelling;

4. changes in the marginal notes and references; and,

5. correction of printers’ errors.

This edition soon came to be known as “The Oxford Standard” edition, because it was widely accepted as a standard text by commentators and other publishers.  The editions of the King James version published in our century generally reproduce this Oxford edition of 1769, with or without the marginal notes.  The following information is given so that the reader may gain an accurate impression of how far the modern editions differ from the original King James Version of 1611.

§ 1. ITALICIZED WORDS OR PHRASES

The King James Version was originally printed in the type style known as “black letter,” which has the following appearance:

The booke of the generation of Iesus Christ

Words of the translation which were supplied to make the sense clear, but which were not represented in the Greek text used by the translators, were often set in small “roman” type:

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled.

In later editions, the ordinary text was set in roman type, with the supplied words in italics:

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled.

This typographical feature was not employed very consistently in the 1611 edition; in many places, the supplied words are not indicated as one might expect. This inconsistency was probably the fault of the printer’s compositors, who very often modified even the spelling of words in order to lengthen or shorten a line of type.

The editors of the 1769 Oxford edition undertook, therefore, to regularize the use of italics by italicizing all words of the translation which did not have a counterpart in the text of Stephens 1550. Consequently, modern editions of the King James version are much more heavily italicized than the original: In Matthew, the 1611 edition uses roman type 69 times, whereas the more exact 1769 edition uses italics 384 times. The reader should be aware of the fact that the King James version is not, strictly speaking, a translation of Estienne 1550; and so in some cases, the modern italics are misleading if used as an indication of the readings upon which the version is based. For example, in Mark 8:14 the modern editions italicize the words the disciples because they are not in Estienne, but it is evident that here the King James translators were following, as usual, the text of Beza 1598, where the words hoi mathetai are found. The following is a complete list of such cases.

Abbreviations:
S – Stephens 1550
B – Beza 1598
E – Elzevir 1624
C – Complutensian Polyglot 1522
Er – Erasmus 1527
Vul – Clementine Vulgate 1592
Tyn – Tyndale 1535
Gen – Genevan Bible 1560
Bish – Bishops Bible 1568
Mark 8:14 Modern editions italicize the disciples, in accordance with S E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon B.
Mark 9:42 Modern editions italicize these, in accordance with S B E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon C Vul.
John 8:6 Modern editions italicize as though he heard them not at end of verse, in accordance with S B E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon C S1546 S1549 and the Bishops’ Bible.
Acts 1:4 Modern editions italicize them after assembled together with, in accordance with S E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon B.
Acts 26:3 Modern editions italicize because I know, in accordance with S E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon B.
Acts 26:18 Modern editions italicize and before to turn, in accordance with S E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon B.
1 Cor 14:10 Modern editions print the words of them in ordinary type, in accordance with S B E. But the text of 1611 had them in italics, in accordance with Vul.
Heb 12:24 Modern editions italicize that of before Abel, in accordance with S B E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon Er.
1 John 3:16 Modern editions italicize of God after love, in accordance with S E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon C B.
Rev 11:14 Modern editions italicize and before behold, in accordance with S. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon B Vul.
Rev 19:18 Modern editions italicize both before free, in accordance with S B E. But the text of 1611 was probably based upon C.

§ 2. MINOR ALTERATIONS OF THE TEXT

The following list includes all changes to the text of 1611 which do not involve the correction of obvious errors of the press (examples of which are given in § 5 below), or changes of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Most of these changes were made with reference to the text of Estienne 1550, and with a view to greater clarity or accuracy. The changes marked with an asterisk “*” are all those which are considered improper or unnecessary by F.H.A. Scrivener, an eminent authority on the text of the KJV, in his book, The Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611), its subsequent Reprints and Modern Representatives. (Cambridge: University Press, 1884).

* Mat 3:12 Add he before will burn up. Rejected by Scrivener.
Mat 6:3 Add hand after right. Approved by Scrivener.
* Mat 9:34 Omit the before devils.
* Mat 12:23 Add not before this the son.
* Mat 13:6 Read had no root instead of had not root.
Mat 16:16 Add the before Christ.
Mat 16:19 Add and before whatsoever thou shalt loose.
Mat 26:75 Read word instead of words.
Mat 27:22 Read Pilate saith instead of Pilate said.
* Mat 27:52 Add the before saints.
Mark 2:4 Add the before press.
Mark 5:6 Read he ran instead of he came.
* Mark 6:7 Read he called instead of he calleth.
* Mark 6:53 Read Gennesaret instead of Genesareth. 1611 followed another source. 1769: S B E. 1611: Er Vul.
Mark 10:18 Read [there is] none good but one instead of there is no man good, but one.
Mark 11:8 Read branches off the trees instead of branches of the trees.
Luke 1:3 Add all before things.
Luke 1:74 Read hand instead of hands.
Luke 3:21 Omit and before it came to pass.
* Luke 8:8 Add had before said.
* Luke 11:16 Read others instead of other.
Luke 17:34 Add and before the other shall be left.
* Luke 18:9 Read others instead of other.
Luke 19:9 Read a son of Abraham instead of the son of Abraham.
Luke 20:12 Read sent a third instead of sent the third.
Luke 23:19 Read cast into prison instead of cast in prison.
John 5:18 Transpose not only because he to because he not only.
John 7:16 Add and said after Jesus answered them.
John 8:30 Read these words instead of those words.
John 11:3 Read his sisters instead of his sister.
* John 11:34 Read They said unto him instead of They say unto him.
John 12:22 Read tell Jesus instead of told Jesus.
John 15:20 Read than his lord instead of than the Lord.
* John 16:25 Add but before the time. 1611 followed another source. 1769: S B E. 1611: Er Vul.
John 21:17 Read He saith unto him instead of he said unto him.
Acts 2:22 Add and before wonders.
* Acts 5:34 Add the before law.
Acts 7:35 Read by the hand instead of by the hands.
Acts 8:32 Read his shearer instead of the shearer.
* Acts 10:9 Add top after upon the house.
* Acts 18:5 Add the before spirit.
* Acts 19:19 Transpose also of them to of them also.
* Acts 24:14 Add in before the prophets.
Acts 24:24 Read Jewess instead of Jew.
Acts 27:18 Read And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next [day] instead of And being exceedingly tossed with a tempest the next day.
Rom 3:24 Read Christ Jesus instead of Jesus Christ.
Rom 4:12 Add who before also walk.
Rom 6:12 Transpose reign therefore to therefore reign.
* Rom 7:2 Read law of her husband instead of law of the husband.
Rom 7:13 Transpose Was that then to Was then that.
Rom 11:28 Read for your sakes instead of for your sake.
Rom 12:2 Read and acceptable instead of that acceptable.
Rom 14:6 Read regardeth the day instead of regardeth a day.
Rom 14:10 Add for before we shall all stand.
* 1 Cor 4:9 Read appointed to death instead of approved to death.
1 Cor 7:32 Read things that belong instead of things that belongeth.
1 Cor 10:28 Add for before the earth is.
1 Cor 12:28 Read helps, governments instead of helps in governments.
* 1 Cor 13:2 Read have not charity instead of have no charity.
* 1 Cor 14:15 Add I before will pray.
* 1 Cor 14:18 Read than ye all instead of than you all.
1 Cor 14:23 Read one place instead of some place.
1 Cor 15:6 Read After that instead of And that.
1 Cor 15:41 Read and another glory of the moon instead of another of the moon.
1 Cor 15:48 Add also before that are earthy.
1 Cor 16:22 Read anathema, Maranatha instead of Anathema Maranatha.
* 2 Cor 5:1 Read made with hands instead of made with hand.
2 Cor 5:2 Read groan, earnestly desiring instead of groan earnestly, desiring.
2 Cor 5:20 Omit that before be ye reconciled.
2 Cor 8:21 Add also before in the sight.
2 Cor 9:5 Add and before not.
2 Cor 9:5 Add as before of covetousness.
2 Cor 9:6 Add also after reap twice.
2 Cor 11:26 Read journeyings instead of journeying.
2 Cor 11:32 Add of the Damascenes after the city.
* Gal Title Add the Apostle before to the Galatians. 1611 followed another source. 1769: E. 1611: S.
Gal 3:13 Add a before tree.
* Gal 5:15 Add that after take heed.
* Eph 1:9 Read hath purposed instead of had purposed.
Eph 4:24 Read the new man instead of that new man.
* Eph 6:24 Add Amen at end of verse. 1611 followed another source. 1769: S E. 1611: Vul.
Phil 4:6 Read requests instead of request.
2 Th 2:14 Read our Lord Jesus Christ instead of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Tim 1:4 Add godly before edifying.
* 1 Tim 2:9 Read shamefacedness instead of shamefastness.
2 Tim 1:7 Add and before of love.
* 2 Tim 1:12 Omit I before am persuaded.
2 Tim 2:19 Read this seal instead of the seal.
2 Tim 4:8 Add all before them also.
2 Tim 4:13 Add and the books after bring [with thee].
Heb 3:10 Read their heart instead of their hearts.
Heb 8:8 Add with before the house of Judah.
Heb 11:23 Add were before not afraid.
Heb 12:1 Omit unto before the race.
James 5:2 Add are before motheaten.
1 Pet 2:1 Add all before evil speakings.
1 Pet 2:5 Read sacrifices instead of sacrifice.
1 Pet 2:6 Add also after Wherefore.
* 1 Pet 5:10 Read called us unto instead of called us into.
1 John 2:16 Add and before the lust of the eyes.
* 1 John 3:17 Read have need instead of hath need.
1 John 5:12 Add of God after hath not the Son.
Jude 1:25 Add both before now and ever.
Rev 1:4 Add which are before in Asia.
Rev 1:11 Add unto before Philadelphia.
Rev 5:13 Add and before honour.
Rev 5:13 Add and before glory.
Rev 12:14 Read fly instead of flee.
Rev 13:6 Read them that dwell instead of them that dwelt.
* Rev 17:4 Read precious stones instead of precious stone.
* Rev 22:2 Read on either side instead of of either side.

§ 3. MODERNIZED SPELLING, CAPITALIZATION, AND PUNCTUATION

The following lists show every instance of altered spelling, capitalization, and punctuation from the first chapter of Matthew.

Spelling

It will be noticed below that fourteen is spelled two different ways in the 1611 edition: This is because early printers employed various spellings according to the requirements of space, i.e., they would lengthen or shorten the words orthographically in order to present the text in neatly justified columns. The ampersand (&) was frequently used instead of the word and for the same reason. Another graphic abbreviation sometimes used is the form ye (properly pronounced, the) instead of a fully written the.

begate/begat     dreame/dream hee/he sleepe/sleep
bin/been feare/fear knewe/knew sonne/son
booke/book foorth/forth publique/publick tooke/took
borne/born foureteene/fourteen shee/she untill/until
childe/child fourteene/fourteen sinnes/sins &/and

Capitalization

The use of capital letters in the 1611 edition was somewhat irregular, but in general, it may be observed that, in addition to proper nouns, common nouns referring to important persons were often capitalized, after the custom of the times. Pronouns referring to persons of the Trinity were not capitalized. Because each verse of the translation was printed as one paragraph, the first word of every verse was also capitalized. Below are listed all changes from the first chapter of Matthew.

1611 1769
Angel of the Lord angel of the Lord
holy Ghost Holy Ghost
his Name Jesus his name JESUS
Behold, a Virgin Behold, a virgin

Punctuation

The 1611 edition was more heavily punctuated than our modern editions, as is generally true for older books; but it appears that sometimes the punctuation was influenced by mere considerations of space, as in the second example below.

1611 So all the generations from Abraham to David, are fourteene …
1769 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen …
1611 Then Joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing …
1769 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing …
1611 That which is conceived in her, is of the holy Ghost
1769 That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost

§ 4. MARGINAL CHANGES IN THE OXFORD EDITION OF 1769

In the first edition of the King James Vversion, marginal notes indicating various renderings or readings appeared in 775 places in the New Testament. Of these notes, 34 evidently referred to various readings of the Greek manuscripts. They appear in the following places: Mat 1:11, 7:14, 24:31, 26:26; Mark 7:3, 9:16; Luke 2:38, 10:22, 17:36; John 18:13; Acts 13:18, 25:6; Rom. 5:17, 7:6, 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:31; Gal. 4:15, 4:17; Eph. 6:9; 1 Tim. 6:5; Heb. 4:2, 9:2; James 2:18; 1 Pet. 1:4, 2:21; 2 Pet. 2:2, 2:11, 2:18; 2 John 1:8; Rev. 3:14, 6:8, 13:1, 13:5, 17:5.

The editors of the 1769 edition left all of the original marginal readings and renderings unchanged but added 87 more notes, of which 17 referred to various readings of the Greek manuscripts. The following is a list of all notes added to Matthew.

1:20 Gr. begotten.
1:21 That is, Saviour.
5:22 That is, Vain fellow.
6:1 Or, righteousness.
10:10 Gr. a staff.
10:25 Gr. Beelzebul.
12:24 Gr. Beelzebul.
14:6 Gr. in the midst.
16:22 Gr. Pity thyself.
21:19 Gr. one fig tree.
22:26 Gr. seven.
23:23 Gr. anethon, dill.
24:33 Or, he.
28:19 Or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations.

Below are listed all of the alternatives added to the margin in 1769 which evidently refer to various readings of the Greek text.

Mat 6:1. Read righteousness instead of alms. 1769 margin: Vul. Text: S B E.
Mat 10:10. Read a staff instead of staves. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: C S1546 S1549.
Luke 22:42. Read willing to remove instead of willing, remove. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: unknown.
John 7:50. Read to him instead of to Jesus. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: Tyndale.
Acts 7:44. Read who spake instead of speaking. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: Vulgate.
Acts 8:13. Transpose miracles and signs to signs and miracles. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: unknown.
Acts 8:13. Add great before miracles. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: unknown.
2 Cor 10:10. Read saith he instead of say they. 1769 margin: S. Text: B Vul.
Heb 10:2. Omit not and render For then they would have ceased to be offered. Because. 1769 margin: B E Vul. Text: S.
Heb 10:17. Add Then he said at beginning of verse. 1769 margin: no editors. The note evidently refers to the reading of the recently discovered Harclean Syriac version. Text: S B E.
James 4:2. Read ye envy instead of ye kill. 1769 margin: Er. Text: S B E.
2 Pet 1:1. Read Simeon Peter instead of Simon Peter. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: C Vul.
2 Pet 1:1. Read righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus instead of righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus. 1769 margin: S. Text: unknown (B E read of our God and our Saviour Jesus).
2 John 1:3. Read shall be with instead of be with. 1769 margin: S B E. Text: Vulgate.
2 John 1:12. Read your joy instead of our joy. 1769 margin: Vul. Text: S E B.
Rev 15:3. Read nations instead of saints. 1769 margin: C. Text: S B E.
Rev. 15:3. Read ages instead of saints. 1769 margin: Vul. Text: S B E.
Rev 21:7. Read these things instead of all things. 1769 margin: C Vul. Text: S B E.
Rev 22:19. Read from the tree of life instead of out of the book of life. 1769 margin: C Vul. Text: S B E.

MARGINAL REFERENCES TO THE APOCRYHA DELETED

The total number of references to the Apocrypha in the margins of the Old and New Testaments of the King James version as printed in 1611 is 113. Of this number, 102 are in the Old Testament, and 11 in the New. The New Testament passages with references to the Apocrypha are as follows:

Mat 6:7 Ecclesiasticus 7:14
Mat 23:37 2 Esdras 1:30
Mat 27:43 Wisdom 2:15-16
Luke 6:31 Tobit 4:15
Luke 14:13 Tobit 4:7
John 10:22 1 Maccabees 4:59
Rom 9:21 Wisdom 15:7
Rom 11:34 Wisdom 9:13
2 Cor 9:7 Ecclesiasticus 35:9
Heb 1:3 Wisdom 7:26
Heb 11:35 2 Maccabees 7:7

§ 5. ORIGINAL ERRORS OF THE PRESS CORRECTED

The following changes are all from Matthew.

4:25 great great great
5:47 do you do ye
8:25 awoke, saying awoke him, saying
21:20 away? away!
26:34 might night

§ 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

For the student who wishes to learn more concerning the history of the King James version, the following books will be of interest.

Geddes MacGregor, A Literary History of the Bible from the Middle Ages to the Present Day. Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1968. An excellent layman’s history of the English versions up to 1961. The original KJV prefix, The Translators to the Reader, is given in an appendix.

The Holy Bible, an Exact Reprint Page for Page of the Authorized Version Published in the Year MDCXI. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1833. Reprinted by Thomas Nelson in 1993 as The Holy Bible, 1611 Edition. This is an edition of the King James version which exactly reproduces the spelling, punctuation, marginal notes, and chapter headings of the first edition. An exhaustive collation with the printing of 1613 was prefixed to the Oxford edition, but left out of the Nelson reprint. The following paragraph from Scrivener, The Authorized Edition of the Bible, p. 35, describes the interesting circumstances surrounding the publication of this reprint. “For many years which followed the publication of the edition of 1769, even after its glaring imperfections had become in some measure known, the King’s Printer and the two English universities continued to reproduce what was in substance Dr Blayney’s work, when the public attention was claimed in 1831 by Mr Curtis of Islington, who complained that all modern reprints of Holy Scripture departed widely from the original edition of 1611, to the great deterioration of our Vernacular Translation [The Existing Monopoly an inadequate protection of the Authorized Version of the Scripture, &c. By Thomas Curtis, London, 1833, 8vo]. It is needless to revive the controversy that ensued, in which the case of the priveleged presses was successfully maintained by Dr Cardwell in behalf of Oxford, by Dr Turton for Cambridge, in the pamphlets which have been already cited in this section [Oxford Bibles, 1833. By Edward Cardwell; and Text of the English Bible Considered, 2nd edition, 1833. By T. Turton]. The consequent publication of the standard text in the Oxford reprint of 1833, which we have found so useful, virtually settled the whole debate, by shewing to the general reader the obvious impossibility of returning to the Bible of 1611, with all the defects which those who superintended the press had been engaged, for more than two centuries, in reducing to a more consistent and presentable shape.”

F.H.A. Scrivener, The Cambridge Paragraph Bible. Cambridge: University Press, 1873. This book is a critical edition of the Authorized Version.

F.H.A. Scrivener, The Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611), its subsequent Reprints and modern Representatives. Cambridge: University Press, 1884. This is the definitive work on the textual sources and history of the Authorized Version.

Luther Weigle, ed., The New Testament Octapla: Eight English Versions of the New Testament in the Tyndale-King James Tradition. New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1962. Full parallel texts of Tyndale 1535, Great Bible 1540, Geneva Bible 1562, Bishops’ Bible 1568, Rheims 1582, King James version (represented by Scrivener’s edition of 1873), American Standard Version 1901, Revised Standard Version 1960.

Copyright © 1989 - 2017 AIRRINGTON MINISTRIES | www.airrington.com |All Rights Reserved.

GET OUT OF THE STORM

GET OUT OF THE STORM

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Rev. Kevin Airrington
August 27, 2017

How to know if your “brother” or “sister” is saved or not.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”, Matthew 7:21

Image result for depart from meI believe that there is probably no other Scripture in the entire 66 books of the Bible that is as tragic as this one.

The whole truth of the matter is that there will be people, a good many people, that stand before the Lord, assuming they are about to enter into the Glory of the Lord, the long-awaited reward…HEAVEN. Only these poor tragic souls will be told they’re on their way to hell. This is just reality folks. I am so sorry to tell you this. Can you imagine a worst possible illusion that you can have, one BIG mistake about your everlasting destiny? Can you imagine, for a moment with me, in that moment to be mistaken about your salvation?

I’m often asked the question, “Are Roman Catholics Christians (Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhist, pick one)?” And I will turn it around and ask, “Do you think protestants are just naturally Christians?” What about this one, “Are evangelicals necessarily Christians?” “But more important than any of these questions; Are you a Christian?” Now, believe they will not want to embarrass themselves any more than they have and they will always say, “Yes, yes I am a Christian.”

This tragedy would make a Shakespearean play tragedy of tragedies blush! Sadly, it will occur and it does occur and it will continue to occur that someone would sit in church and end up saying, “But, Lord, but, Lord,” only to hear, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”
Don’t you know my friend that, Christianity is filled with people in all kinds of religious activities. The church programs, etc. Just think of all the Christian organizations, there’s no end to them. With all of this confusion, with every shingle on every counselors door, every church building and crisis center will say, “Christian or Jesus”, how can weu tell if someone is a Christian? Is it really that important to know if so and so is really saved.

Wouldn’t a better question to ask is if you are saved? Yes, that is a great question. Please see my essay, “How to Know You Are a Christian: Ten Ways To Keep The Devil From Barking.”

For now, how can we tell if someone is a Christian? Because he or she says they are? Because their Pastor says they are? Maybe they have one of them REALLY BIG BIBLES. Or maybe they own Jones & Smith Christian Counseling. Or maybe their Band is a Christian Rock Band called, I AM A ROCK!

Well, let’s get into it and see if we can figure this out.

Jesus tells us that there are two ways to know if someone is saved, that is, if they are going to Heaven when they die. This is important, I will explain why later.

1) They have LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

2) BY THEIR FRUIT (what fruit? I’ll tell you in a second.) Matthew 7:16, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
What FRUIT? The Fruits of the Spirit (big S…Holy Spirit) ….are these 9 thing evident in their lives?

FRUIT (beneficial results):

Related imageLOVE (Love is the greatest gift God can give. This love is not a feeling, but a choice. It is the choice to be kind, to sacrifice, to consider another’s needs greater than one’s own (Philippians 2:3). Agape is used in all of the “hard” love verses in the New Testament. God’s children are the conduits of His love, as they are empowered by the Holy Spirit.)

JOY (Joy is the natural reaction to the work of God, whether promised or fulfilled. we have joy because of God’s grace. The next step in the progression is to allow our joy to become an action as we express it, although sometimes joy can be so great it is inexpressible (1 Peter 1:8). Possessing joy is a choice. We choose whether to value God’s presence, promises, and work in our lives. When we yield to the Spirit, He opens our eyes to God’s grace around us and fills us with joy (Romans 15:13). Joy is not to be found in a fallen world; it is only fellowship with God that can make our joy complete (1 John 1:4). )

PEACE (God’s methods of warfare are not what we expected. Instead of a battle, He sent us the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus’ goal in coming to earth was more than simply to cease hostilities; He came to bring about a full and abiding relationship of restoration and love. The cost of this peace was His life (Isaiah 53:5). Just as we cannot force another to be at peace with us, even Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross did not ensure that we would accept His terms of peace. The Spirit-filled Christian has a peace that is abundant, available in every situation, and unlike anything that the world has to offer (John 14:27). The alternative to being filled with the Spirit and His peace is to be filled with alarm, filled with doubt, filled with foreboding, or filled with dread. How much better to let the Spirit have control and perform His work of growing fruit to the glory of God!)

LONGSUFFERING (Having patience in spite of your troubles. Patience comes from a position of power. A person may have the ability to take revenge or cause trouble, but patience brings self-restraint and careful thinking. Losing patience is a sign of weakness. The opposite of patience is agitation, discouragement, and a desire for revenge. God does not want His children to live in agitation but in peace (John 14:27). He wants to dispel discouragement and replace it with hope and praise (Psalm 42:5). We are not to avenge ourselves; rather, we are to love others (Romans 12:19; Leviticus 19:18).)
Gentleness (Might restrained. Humility and grace, to be gentle is to recognize that God’s ways and thoughts are high above our own. we will correct others with easiness instead of arguing in resentment and anger, knowing that their salvation is far more important than our pride. Quick to forgive.)

GOODNESS (virtue and holiness in action, desire to be a blessing, uprightness of heart and life. It results in a life characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It’s a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person. Giving to the poor, providing for one’s children, visiting the sick, volunteering to clean up after a storm, and praying for an enemy. Expressions of goodness are as varied as the Spirit is creative.)

FAITH (strong belief in God, complete trust in God. Faithfulness is believing that God is Who He says He is and continuing in that belief despite the vagaries of life. Functionally, that means we trust what God says in the Bible, and not necessarily what the world or our own eyes tell us. We trust He will work out everything for good. We trust He will work His will in us. And we trust that our situation on earth is nothing compared to our future reward in heaven. We are called to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).)

MEEKNESS (Meekness is a valuable and important fruit and requires much study. Putting God first in all things. Meekness loves to learn. And it counts the corrective blows of a friend as precious (Proverbs 27:6). Meekness begins when we put our trust in God. Then, because we trust him, we commit our way to him. We roll onto him our anxieties, our frustrations, our plans, our relationships, our jobs, our health. James says, in this quiet confidence we are slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19). We become reasonable and open to correction (James 3:17). James calls this the “meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13). Meekness is so important that it is the third characteristic Jesus mentions in His foundational teaching, the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Obviously, the world’s ideal of the perfect man is very different from His. The meek are among those so favored that they will share in Jesus’ inheritance of the earth. Three people in the Bible are specifically described as being meek: Jesus (Mt 11:29)

Image result for praying man(Mt 21:5), Paul (2 Cor 10:1), and Moses (Num 12:3). Each of these men was amongst the most persecuted men in the Bible. MEEKNESS IS A SIGN TO AN UNBELIEVING WORLD THAT CHRIST IS IN US. Meekness does indeed require much study.
In Matthew 11:29, Jesus links meekness with lowliness: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle [meek, KJV] and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Ephesians 4:1-3 states:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness [meekness, KJV], with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The King James version is correct, as the Greek text uses prautes. “Gentle” and “gentleness” are incorrect because in this context they are only an aspect of the meekness we should express in our dealings with others.

Godly meekness cannot be divorced from its association with gentleness. However, this gentleness is not usually seen in the situations where the Bible’s writers use meekness. Notice II Corinthians 10:1: “Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.” Here, meekness appears with gentleness, as though a similarity exists alongside a specific difference.

This does not mean the meek will take everything “lying down.” Notice Moses, who as we have seen, was the meekest man of his time. He did not hesitate to order the execution of about three thousand of the idolaters who worshipped the Golden Calf while he was with God on the mountain (Exodus 32:25-28). Against evil, this meek man was as stern as steel.

A meek person will feel the wrong done against him and feel it bitterly. But because he is not thinking of himself, his meekness does not allow his spirit to give vent to a hateful, savage and vindictive anger that seeks to “get even.” He will instead be full of pity for the damaged character, attitudes and blindness of the perpetrator. From the stake, Jesus uttered, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

A Valuable Fruit

This much misunderstood and maligned virtue is the antidote for most of the nervous anxiety that is greatly intensifying the normal day-to-day stresses of life. God commands us in Zephaniah 2:3:

Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility [meekness, KJV]. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.
How valuable is that blessing?

There is more:
The poor [meek, KJV] shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! (Psalm 22:26)

Further, “The Lord lifts up the humble (meek, KJV); He casts the wicked down to the ground” (Psalm 147:6).

Finally:
The humble [meek, KJV] also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:19).

This is not a virtue to ignore because carnal men consider it weakness. It may appear to them as weakness, but the spiritual reality is that it is great strength, an attribute of Almighty God and a fruit of His Spirit we greatly need.)

Temperance (abstinence from alcoholic drink, or self-control, self-restraint in all things. Temperance is the ability to control oneself. It involves moderation, constraint, and the ability to say “no” to our baser desires and fleshly lusts. Believers need self-control because the outside world and internal forces still attack (Romans 7:21-25). Like a vulnerable city, we must have defenses. A wall around an ancient city was designed to keep out the enemy.)

I BELIEVE THAT GOD DIDN’T JUST PUT WORDS IN HIS WORD TO FILL UP SPACE. EACH WORD, UNLIKE MY RAMBLINSG 😊, EACH WORD HAS SPECIFIC MEANING AND VALUE. Jesus taught us how to separate the sheep from the goats…the sinner bound for hell and the Christian saved by Grace on his way to Glory because of Christ’s finished work upon the cross.
Why is it so important that Jesus made sure we knew how to tell if someone was a Christian? I believe that answer is simple and to the point.

Ephesians 4:14, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”

In order to protect us. It is one thing to be a Christian and yet and entirely different thing to say we are a Christian. If someone says they are a Christian…and they preach a gospel…and they are not saved, you will be blown to and fro…confused with the knowledge of the true gospel. Remember, GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, 1 Corinthians 14:33, BUT THE AUTHOR OF PEACE.

Colossians 2:8, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

I have seen the face of mental illness. I have seen what it is like when people are unable to hear God because their minds are broken and cannot seem to connect to God even when they want to connect to God. And I know whatever gets your mind gets you. So one of the most important things we need to learn and teach others is how to guard, strengthen, and renew our minds, because the battle for sin always starts in the mind.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 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;”

It is important to know God’s Word, be in prayer. The Bible says that if any man lack wisdom to ask for it. James 1:5 We must know we are saved and we must have confidence in our salvation. See my essay, “How to Know You Are a Christian: Ten Ways To Keep The Devil From Barking.”

Even though they are in church many people are uncertain of their salvation. Some denominations teach that you can lose your salvation. Some Christians believe they can lose their salvation. Some teach and others believe you can’t lose your salvation. Which is it and if it be so, how to keep from losing your salvation.

Image result for How can you be sure that you are a Christian?How can you be sure that you are a Christian? Here are 10 true Christian values that will keep the devil from barking and you can rest assured that you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, working in you, which provide solid, biblical evidence that you are a Christian and that you can know that you are saved. On the other hand, we may prove that even though you think you are saved, that you are not, even though you truly desire to be saved.

Let’s get to the truth and at the end I promise that either way, if you want to be saved, you will be and you will have confidence that you are. On the other hand, if you read my thesis and decide, nahhh, I’m fine, who cares, you will not be saved and you will know why. Why in the world would you want to read my poorly written essay if you had no desire to be saved? 😊

See you next time, may God bless you and yours,

Copyright © 1989 - 2017 AIRRINGTON MINISTRIES | www.airrington.com |All Rights Reserved.

GET OUT OF THE STORM

GET OUT OF THE STORM

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How to know if your “brother” or “sister” is saved or not.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”, Matthew 7:21

I believe that there is probably no other Scripture in the entire 66 books of the Bible that is as tragic as this one.

The whole truth of the matter is that there will be people, a good many people, that stand before the Lord, assuming they are about to enter into the Glory of the Lord, the long-awaited reward…HEAVEN.  Only these poor tragic souls will be told they’re on their way to hell.  This is just reality folks.  I am so sorry to tell you this.  Can you imagine a worst possible illusion that you can have, one BIG mistake about your everlasting destiny?  Can you imagine, for a moment with me, in that moment to be mistaken about your salvation?

I’m often asked the question, “Are Roman Catholics Christians (Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhist, pick one)?”  And I will turn it around and ask, “Do you think Protestants are just naturally Christians?”  What about this one, “Are evangelicals necessarily Christians?”  “But more important than any of these questions; Are you a Christian?”  Now, believe they will not want to embarrass themselves any more than they have and they will always say, “Yes, yes I am a Christian.”

This tragedy would make a Shakespearean play tragedy of tragedies blush!   Sadly,  it will occur and it does occur and it will continue to occur that someone would sit in church and end up saying, “But, Lord, but, Lord,” only to hear, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”

Don’t you know my friend that, Christianity is filled with people in all kinds of religious activities?   The church programs, etc.  Just think of all the Christian organizations, there’s no end to them.  With all of this confusion, with every shingle on every counselor’s door, every church building and crisis center will say, “Christian or Jesus”, how can we tell if someone is a Christian?  Is it really that important to know if so and so is really saved?

Wouldn’t a better question to ask is if you are saved?  Yes, that is a great question.  Please see my essay, “How to Know You Are a Christian: Ten Ways To Keep The Devil From Barking.”

For now, how can we tell if someone is a Christian?  Because he or she says they are?  Because their Pastor says they are?  Maybe they have one of them REALLY BIG BIBLES.  Or maybe they own Jones & Smith Christian Counseling.   Or maybe their Band is a Christian Rock Band called, I AM A ROCK!

Well, let’s get into it and see if we can figure this out.

Jesus tells us that there are two ways to know if someone is saved, that is if they are going to Heaven when they die.  This is important, I will explain why later.

  • They have LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
  • BY THEIR FRUIT (what fruit? I’ll tell you in a second.) Matthew 7:16, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

What FRUIT?  The Fruits of the Spirit (big S…Holy Spirit) ….are these 9 things evident in their lives?

FRUIT (beneficial results):

LOVE (Love is the greatest gift God can give.  This love is not a feeling, but a choice. It is the choice to be kind, to sacrifice, to consider another’s needs greater than one’s own (Philippians 2:3). Agape is used in all of the “hard” love verses in the New Testament.  God’s children are the conduits of His love, as they are empowered by the Holy Spirit.)

JOY (Joy is the natural reaction to the work of God, whether promised or fulfilled.  we have joy because of God’s grace. The next step in the progression is to allow our joy to become an action as we express it, although sometimes joy can be so great it is inexpressible (1 Peter 1:8).  Possessing joy is a choice. We choose whether to value God’s presence, promises, and work in our lives. When we yield to the Spirit, He opens our eyes to God’s grace around us and fills us with joy (Romans 15:13). Joy is not to be found in a fallen world; it is only fellowship with God that can make our joy complete (1 John 1:4). )
PEACE (God’s methods of warfare are not what we expected. Instead of a battle, He sent us the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus’ goal in coming to earth was more than simply to cease hostilities; He came to bring about a full and abiding relationship of restoration and love. The cost of this peace was His life (Isaiah 53:5).  Just as we cannot force another to be at peace with us, even Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross did not ensure that we would accept His terms of peace.  The Spirit-filled Christian has a peace that is abundant, available in every situation, and unlike anything that the world has to offer (John 14:27). The alternative to being filled with the Spirit and His peace is to be filled with alarm, filled with doubt, filled with foreboding, or filled with dread. How much better to let the Spirit have control and perform His work of growing fruit to the glory of God!)

LONGSUFFERING (Having patience in spite of your troubles.  Patience comes from a position of power. A person may have the ability to take revenge or cause trouble, but patience brings self-restraint and careful thinking. Losing patience is a sign of weakness.  The opposite of patience is agitation, discouragement, and a desire for revenge. God does not want His children to live in agitation but in peace (John 14:27). He wants to dispel discouragement and replace it with hope and praise (Psalm 42:5). We are not to avenge ourselves; rather, we are to love others (Romans 12:19; Leviticus 19:18).)

Gentleness (Might restrained. Humility and grace, to be gentle is to recognize that God’s ways and thoughts are high above our own.  we will correct others with easiness instead of arguing in resentment and anger, knowing that their salvation is far more important than our pride.  Quick to forgive.)

GOODNESS (virtue and holiness in action, desire to be a blessing, uprightness of heart and life.  It results in a life characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It’s a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person.  Giving to the poor, providing for one’s children, visiting the sick, volunteering to clean up after a storm, and praying for an enemy. Expressions of goodness are as varied as the Spirit is creative.)

FAITH (strong belief in God, complete trust in God.  Faithfulness is believing that God is who He says He is and continuing in that belief despite the vagaries of life. Functionally, that means we trust what God says in the Bible, and not necessarily what the world or our own eyes tell us. We trust He will work out everything for good. We trust He will work His will in us. And we trust that our situation on earth is nothing compared to our future reward in heaven.  We are called to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).)

MEEKNESS (Meekness is a valuable and important fruit and requires much study.   Putting God first in all things.  Meekness loves to learn. And it counts the corrective blows of a friend as precious (Proverbs 27:6).  Meekness begins when we put our trust in God. Then, because we trust him, we commit our way to him. We roll onto him our anxieties, our frustrations, our plans, our relationships, our jobs, our health.  James says, in this quiet confidence we are slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19). We become reasonable and open to correction (James 3:17). James calls this the “meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13).  Meekness is so important that it is the third characteristic Jesus mentions in His foundational teaching, the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Obviously, the world’s ideal of the perfect man is very different from His. The meek are among those so favored that they will share in Jesus’ inheritance of the earth.  Three people in the Bible are specifically described as being meek: Jesus (Mt 11:29)
(Mt 21:5), Paul (2 Cor 10:1), and Moses (Num 12:3). Each of these men was amongst the most persecuted men in the Bible.  MEEKNESS IS A SIGN TO AN UNBELIEVING WORLD THAT CHRIST IS IN US.  Meekness does indeed require much study.

In Matthew 11:29, Jesus links meekness with lowliness: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle [meek, KJV] and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Ephesians 4:1-3 states:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness [meekness, KJV], with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The King James version is correct, as the Greek text uses prautes. “Gentle” and “gentleness” are incorrect because in this context they are only an aspect of the meekness we should express in our dealings with others.

Godly meekness cannot be divorced from its association with gentleness. However, this gentleness is not usually seen in the situations where the Bible’s writers use meekness. Notice II Corinthians 10:1: “Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.” Here, meekness appears with gentleness, as though a similarity exists alongside a specific difference.

This does not mean the meek will take everything “lying down.” Notice Moses, who as we have seen, was the meekest man of his time. He did not hesitate to order the execution of about three thousand of the idolaters who worshipped the Golden Calf while he was with God on the mountain (Exodus 32:25-28). Against evil, this meek man was as stern as steel.

A meek person will feel the wrong done against him and feel it bitterly. But because he is not thinking of himself, his meekness does not allow his spirit to give vent to a hateful, savage and vindictive anger that seeks to “get even.” He will instead be full of pity for the damaged character, attitudes and blindness of the perpetrator. From the stake Jesus uttered, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

A Valuable Fruit

This much misunderstood and maligned virtue is the antidote for most of the nervous anxiety that is greatly intensifying the normal day-to-day stresses of life. God commands us in Zephaniah 2:3:

Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility [meekness, KJV]. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.

How valuable is that blessing?

There is more:

The poor [meek, KJV] shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! (Psalm 22:26)

Further, “The Lord lifts up the humble (meek, KJV); He casts the wicked down to the ground” (Psalm 147:6).

Finally:

The humble [meek, KJV] also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:19).

This is not a virtue to ignore because carnal men consider it a weakness. It may appear to them as weakness, but the spiritual reality is that it is great strength, an attribute of Almighty God and a fruit of His Spirit we greatly need.)

Temperance (abstinence from alcoholic drink, or self-control, self-restraint in all things.  Temperance is the ability to control oneself. It involves moderation, constraint, and the ability to say “no” to our baser desires and fleshly lusts.  Believers need self-control because the outside world and internal forces still attack (Romans 7:21-25). Like a vulnerable city, we must have defenses. A wall around an ancient city was designed to keep out the enemy.)

I BELIEVE THAT GOD DIDN’T JUST PUT WORDS IN HIS WORD TO FILL UP SPACE.  EACH WORD, UNLIKE MY RAMBLINSG ?, EACH WORD HAS SPECIFIC MEANING AND VALUE.  Jesus taught us how to separate the sheep from the goats…the sinner bound for hell and the Christian saved by Grace on his way to Glory because of Christ’s finished work upon the cross.

Why is it so important that Jesus made sure we knew how to tell if someone was a Christian?  I believe that answer is simple and to the point.

Ephesians 4:14, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”

In order to protect us.  It is one thing to be a Christian and yet and entirely different thing to say we are a Christian.  If someone says they are a Christian…and they preach a gospel…and they are not saved, you will be blown to and fro…confused with the knowledge of the true gospel.  Remember, GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION, 1 Corinthians 14:33, BUT THE AUTHOR OF PEACE.

Colossians 2:8, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

I have seen the face of mental illness. I have seen what it is like when people are unable to hear God because their minds are broken and cannot seem to connect to God even when they want to connect to God. And I know whatever gets your mind gets you. So one of the most important things we need to learn and teach others is how to guard, strengthen, and renew our minds because the battle for sin always starts in the mind.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  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;”

It is important to know God’s Word, be in prayer.  The Bible says that if any man lack wisdom to ask for it.  James 1:5 We must know we are saved and we must have confidence in our salvation.  See my essay, “How to Know You Are a Christian: Ten Ways To Keep The Devil From Barking.”

Even though they are in church many people are uncertain of their salvation.  Some denominations teach that you can lose your salvation.  Some Christians believe they can lose their salvation.   Some teach and others believe you can’t lose your salvation.  Which is it and if it be so, how to keep from losing your salvation.

How can you be sure that you are a Christian?   Here are 10 true Christian values that will keep the devil from barking and you can rest assured that you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, working in you, which provide solid, biblical evidence that you are a Christian and that you can know that you are saved.  On the other hand, we may prove that even though you think you are saved, that you are not, even though you truly desire to be saved.

Let’s get to the truth and at the end, I promise that either way, if you want to be saved, you will be and you will have confidence that you are.  On the other hand, if you read my thesis and decide, nahhh, I’m fine, who cares, you will not be saved and you will know why.   Why in the world would you want to read my poorly written essay if you had no desire to be saved?  ?

See you next time, may God bless you and yours,

Rev. Kevin Airrington

Airrington Ministries

The Bible Rescue Co.

www.airrington.com

www.thebiblerescue.co

Copyright © 1989 - 2017 AIRRINGTON MINISTRIES | www.airrington.com |All Rights Reserved.

Keeping the Sabbath

Keeping the Sabbath

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Rev. Kevin R Airrington
October 22, 2010

The 4th commandment tells us to keep the Sabbath Holy.  All through scripture we see this command.  Many Christians who love God, sort of hang their hat on this commandment.  And, there is nothing wrong with this, in fact, God bless them.  Jesus said if we love Him we would keep His commandments.  Although, He probably was not just speaking about the 10 commandments found in Exodus.   (John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”)  Christians that try and truly “keep the Sabbath” as we understand it, are really saying, “I LOVE YOU JESUS.”  Who can argue with that?

No Sabbath Day holder would ever disagree with the following statement, “The primary purpose of the Sabbath is for us to rest from our worldly labors and to seek God.”  As an avid student of the Creation account and the Bible in general, I can assure that God was not tired after is creation work was complete.   *God set aside a special time for His people.  We will discuss the last sentence in more depth later.  God blessed the Sabbath and sanctified it or set it aside for a holy purpose.  We are commanded to set aside time for a holy purpose.

In this essay, I would like to discuss why I chose to not go to church on Saturday and I do not honor some of the traditions surrounding the Sabbath.

  • *The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.
    1. Mark 2:23-28 “… The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
    2. Isaiah 58:13-14 The Sabbath was intended to be a delight, not a burden. The focus of the Sabbath should be on what we can do and not what we cannot do. (More on this later)  The Sabbath is a time we put down our own desires and spend time with God.
  • When is the Sabbath?
    1. Leviticus 23:32, “It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” This scripture is clear that on the 9th day of the month from evening to evening we should celebrate our Sabbath.   Is this every Saturday?  According to this passage it may not even be on Saturday to begin with.
    2. Saturday in Hebrew is Shabbat, which means rest.
      1. Except for the Sabbath day, the individual days of the week have no names, just numbers.
    3. When God created the heaven and the earth, there were no calendars. Thus, no way to tell us when the first day of the week was.  Perhaps He may have begun on a Wednesday and ended the following Monday.
    4. It is only from our tradition that we assume that God started His creation process on Sunday and ended on Friday.
    5. Rabbi Yose ben Halafta (Died in 160AD) changed the Jewish calendar. So even the Jewish calendar cannot be relied upon.
    6. Exodus 20:8-11 “remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.“

I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO NOT LET THE “DAY” BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE “INTENT”.  Don’t let the “day” become more important than the “intent”.

From Scripture there is no way we can tell when the Sabbath was.   Even from outside evidence all we know is in the Hebrew it means “rest” not specifically what day of the week it is.    We cannot simply compare it to our weekly calendar and say, “well, we are not complying”.

  • In today’s modern society it is impossible to keep the Sabbath.
    1. I am sure that, “Sabbath Holders have run into this before and have their answer. Which is fine, but I cannot get away from what the scripture says.
    2. Exodus 20:10, “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:”
      1. If you use lights, gas, eat food or do anything that causes anyone else to work then you are not keeping the Sabbath.
      2. If your dog fetches your paper or your slippers you are not keeping the Sabbath.
  • There are other activities that the Bible tells us to refrain from in order to keep the Sabbath.
  • Going to Church…Worship on the Sabbath.
    1. Luke 4:16 is an example and Hebrews 10:25 tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves.
    2. We should go to church on the Sabbath and we need fellowship, uniting in worship and prayer.
    3. Today, it takes electricity to run the lights…causing people at the light company to work. If we flush the toilet then we cause the person at the water company to work.
  • What did Jesus do with the Sabbath day?
    1. While nowhere in scripture can we find an example of Jesus preaching on the 4th commandment, given He preached on the other 9, we do find examples example as in Luke 4:16 where Jesus entered into the Tabernacle on the Sabbath.
      1. This is different that “Keeping the Sabbath”. He did go to “Church”, showing us as in number 4 above that we need to be in church on the Sabbath.  Nothing more could or should be read into this.
      2. JESUS PREACHED ON ALL 10 OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS EXCEPT THE 4TH COMMANDMENT, THERE IS NO PREACHING ON THE SABBATH BY JESUS.
        1. Jesus was clear in His teaching of the Sabbath, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath!”  He also proclaimed that HE WAS LORD OF THE SABBATH.  Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5
        2. Isn’t someone who created something the owner of it?  Can’t they do whatsoever they please with it?  In this way, Jesus, being the Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:6), has every right to do whatever He pleases on the Sabbath, just as anyone of the disciples had when they were with Him.  That’s why Jesus said that He was Lord of the Sabbath.  The word Lord denotes sovereign rights and ownership so who can tell Jesus what He can and what He cannot do on the Sabbath?  Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of the day because they were making the Sabbath something that no one could possibly
    2. Matthew 12:5-6, “Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?…” Jesus was saying that even though the priests violated the Sabbath it was okay because there was something more important than the Sabbath.  The temple and the sacrificial rites were more important.
      1. Jesus, however, is more important than the temple and its sacrifices. The logical conclusion is that he is also more important than the Sabbath. Even before his death and resurrection, he was more important than the Sabbath.
      2. Although Christianity tends to reject the temple and the rites…the principle is still the same…”Some things are more important than the Sabbath.”
  • The Pharisees needed to worry more about Jesus (The Holy One) instead of a holy activity on a holy day.
  1. Jesus then summarized his argument about the Sabbath and about his own identity: “If you had known what these words mean, `I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (verses 7-8).
  2. Jesus is telling the Pharisees that love for humans is more important than sticking to worship rituals.
  3. The Sabbath was holy only because God had designated it so, and here was God himself telling them He was Lord of the Sabbath.
  • Then they tried to set Jesus up in (V9-11). Healing on the Sabbath was work that was for forbidden.  Jesus replied, “If your sheep fell in a hole would you not get him out?”  Meaning, sometimes we have to do things even if on the Sabbath.  If your child drank a bottle of bleach…would you take him to the emergency room on the Sabbath?
  • There are other examples of Jesus healing on the Sabbath in the Gospels.
    1. John 5:1-18 — The Gospel of John has some additional stories about Jesus’ Sabbath activities, and they reinforce the emphases we have already seen. On the Sabbath, Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. And he told the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” (verse 8). The Jews accused the man of breaking the Sabbath because he was carrying his mat.
      1. I think accusing a man of breaking the Sabbath by carrying his mat his mat is an example from God’s Word of how we can get carried away with (no pun intended) our keeping of the Sabbath.
    2. Jesus risked His life by His activities on the Sabbath.
      1. Jesus never broke the Sabbath, nor did he teach others to break the Sabbath. But neither did he teach against circumcision and sacrifices. He could point out administrative problems, and present himself as the Lord, but it was not yet time to publicly reject any particular law (see John 16:12-13). But the implications are there.  When John describes Jesus as working on the Sabbath, he does not feel compelled to explain that Christians cannot. When Luke says that people are freed on the Sabbath, he does not feel compelled to qualify what he said. Jesus’ example regarding the Sabbath is liberty, not rules.
      2. If Sabbath work actually dishonored God, then the Sabbath would have priority over humans in need and sheep in pits, since correct worship of God is more important than human lives and sheep. If absolute rest were essential to worship, then Sabbath-keepers should let houses burn down, since that would only be a monetary loss, and God’s honor is far more important than our material goods. This indicates that the command to rest on a specific day is a ceremonial matter rather than a moral one. God’s spiritual law does not have any exceptions.

Summary

The only time Paul mentions the Sabbath by name is when he exhorts us not to judge one another concerning the Sabbath days (Colossians 2:16-17).  Respectfully, asking if I keep the Sabbath or I conform to the Sabbath is the wrong question.  I wonder how Jesus would have responded to that?  His answer may have got Him stoned.

The Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around is perhaps the most profound statement in this whole discussion.  God created the Sabbath for man…and God healed on the Sabbath and partook in other activities on the Sabbath.   Jesus’ example regarding the Sabbath is liberty, not rules.  What a blessing the Sabbath is.

There is also no way we can determine the exact day or days (sometimes it is plural) of the Sabbath.  There was no calendar when the Sabbath was created by God.  Even the scriptures seem unclear; calling it day, days and the 9th of the month.  My thinking is the “day” is not so important as is the “intent”.

The Bible says that we are not to cause others to work, not even strangers on the Sabbath.  There is no one…not one who can “keep the Sabbath”.  If this is all there is to the Sabbath.  There has to be more to the intent than a day or whether we do some work.

We see from the Apostles, the early church and Jesus (God) that the Sabbath is going to Church.  We also see in the same breath this is for fellowship, worship and prayer…not forsaking the assembling of one another.

Finally, we have Jesus’ own actions concerning the Sabbath.  Jesus did not (and this is not meant to be a mockery) hide in his house from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown.  He worked on the Sabbath and he went to Church on the Sabbath.  He even rebuked the Pharisees over the Sabbath telling them there were more important things like the Temple and people than the Sabbath.  Jesus is Lord over the Sabbath!

The Sabbath is very important to me as a Christian.  We need to just as the scriptures demand; keep the Sabbath Holy.   We need to set aside time for God.  Sundown to sundown…frankly, I don’t think this is enough.   The intent has got to be more important than the day.   I have joked with my Seventh-day Adventist friends saying, “I am a seven day Adventist” meaning, I try to keep every day holy.   However, I am like Paul; I am not judgmental on how anyone cho oses to honor the Sabbath.  If it is sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday…God bless them.  If they do this Wednesday…God bless them.  If it is Sunday morning in Church…God bless them.

I think we should be in worship and in church.  The point is we need to give God or time and that time needs to be holy and hollowed.  After all, He took the time to come down from Heaven, was beaten, tortured and murdered for us.  He deserves our worship; more worship than we can humanly give.   God wants more than our Saturdays.  He wants our Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays too!

Copyright © 2010 Kevin R. Airrington, Airrington Ministries

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WHAT IF I STUMBLE?!

WHAT IF I STUMBLE?!

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Rev. Kevin Airrington
April 2, 2017

Back in 1995, one of my favorite Christian groups, DC TALK recorded “WHAT IF I STUMBLE?” and although split up now they ARE STILL serving God through their music through the new group Newsboys and Toby Mac on his own.

When this song first came out I assumed that one of the original group- DC Talk was having a difficult time in their walk. But as the years rolled on I realized that they were not singing specifically about one of them but all of us. And, I for one cannot take it lightly.

The lyrics go like this:

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

What if I stumble
What if I fall?
What if I lose my step
And I make fools of us all?

Will the love continue
When my walk becomes a crawl?”

The Bible tells us that we are the called out. We are the Saints of God…we are the sons of God…we are a peculiar people! We are ambassadors for Christ’s.

2 Corinthians 5:20, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

What if I stumble? What if I stumble and make fools of all of you? What if you stumble and make fools of me and all the called out for Christ?

As ambassadors of Christ, we are examples of His. To be a Christian literally means to be Christ-like. What if I stumble and make a fool of Jesus? What if you stumble and make fool of Jesus? “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians…” I hate to admit juts how powerful that statement is! The sad truth is it is true.

I knew a guy named Tommy. He was from the Bronx, NY. He was an admitted atheist. One day he puts a video up on youtube and asks the questions, “What is the difference between me, an atheist and you so called Christians?” A Christian could not have done a better job…Tommy goes on:

I smoke…many Christians smoke…
I drink…many Christians drink…
I cuss and swear…many Christians cuss and swear…
I look at porn…many Christians look at porn…
I lie….many Christians lie…

“What is the difference between me, an atheist and you so called Christians?” “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians…who acknowledge Jesus with their lips…Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle”

WOW! What does an unbelieving world see when they look at you? What do they see when they look at me?

I had a lot of respect for Tommy. And I think he had a lot of respect for me too. No, I was not perfect, but he could see that I would not…could not comp[romise.

The song continues…

“Father please forgive me
For I cannot compose
The fear that lives within me
Or the rate at which it grows
Is this one for the people
Is this one for the Lord?”

Isaiah 27:5, “Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me”

Take hold of the strength of Christ, so that He may make peace with you…it’s not too late.

“I hear You whispering my name
(You say)
My love for You will never change
(Never change)”

Jesus loves you and His love will never change. If we stumble we have an advocate with the Father. Our Testimony can be as powerful as the Word of God or as weak as a helpless turtle on his back. It’s up to us…

1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:15, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba [daddy], Father.”

That’s good news. I don’t want to stumble…I don’t want to fall…I do not want to make fools of you all and I definitely do not want to make a fool of Jesus Christ. But if I do…I have an advocate with the Father, whereby I cry Abba!

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Creation In The Stars

Creation In The Stars

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Rev. Kevin R. Airrington
It amazes me that every single science discipline supports a Creator. What’s more is not only does every science discipline (including math) support creation, they also disprove evolution. And no, evolution is not a science; it’s not even a theory. 🙂 Evolution is a faith based religion, which takes more faith to believe in than the Christian faith I might add. 🙂 I am working on a series of books for kids. One of the books is called “On the 4th day God created the moon.” This is basically an astronomy book for grade school kids from the biblical perspective. Here is a snippet of that book for this discussion. Scientists estimate that there are a lot of stars in the universe.

There are about 70 sextillion stars out there. That’s 10 to the 21st power or 70 with 21 zeros after it.

It looks like this:  70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Now that’s a lot of stars!  And that’s the ones we know about; we don’t know about the ones we don’t know about. 🙂 There are enough stars out there that we know about, that each person on earth could own 11 trillion stars. You can have 11 trillion of your own stars…yeah!  Have fun…go name ’em. 🙂 The evolutionists want us to believe that all 70 sextillion stars formed over 70 billion years.  That’s impossible!  Do the math with me real quick.

That is over 3.5 trillion stars forming in a year or 6.5 million stars forming every minute…EVERY MINUTE!!!  We don’t see that happening today…nor have we ever saw that happening.  In fact, we have never ever seen a star form.  Oh, sometimes they will say we have…and their evidence is a bright spot.  A bright spot!  🙂  They cannot tell if a dust cloud moved out of the way or a supernova took place (stars get brighter just before they explode).  Even if we have seen a star form…this is a long way off to 6.5 million stars forming in a minute.   You might say, “gee professor, maybe the universe just stopped making stars, did you ever think of that dummy?”  Uh, yes, I have.  So, the universe is popping stars out at the rate of 6.5 billion stars a minute and then for some reason it just stops?  Or at least kicks them out 1 every 10 years or something?  Will you look at what they want your kids to believe Martha?

I believe God…He created the moon, the sun and the stars on day four.  It took Him only one day and the stars were created and completely mature with the light reaching earth etc. Praise God! “Stars burnt out billions of years ago.”

“Stars burnt out billions of years ago, but the light is still just reaching us.”  You know, I can believe that they burnt out some time ago…not billions of years ago…but maybe some burnt out 100 years ago or 1000 years ago.  What’s cool is God…THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE, and no, not that wimp Zeus is capable if creating a star and sticking it in the sky and making the light reach the earth instantly.

Can I get a witness?  You sure can.  The Bible tells us that God created the angels, including the god of some of you, Satan (ouch) on day 2 of the creation week, how do you know that Kevin?  Don’t worry about it. Just kidding, read this: http://airrington.com/?p=1384.  It probably needs a rewrite…but you will get the point.  The angels were there to watch God do all of this.  “No, now you see there Kevin, now you are off your rocker, the angels have always lived with God, they are eternal just like Him.” Really?  To be honest I am not even sure if they are everlasting like us.

Why did God create angels?  Hebrews 7:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

He created angels to minister to us!  And, just in case you have never read Genesis, chapter one in the Bible…and I mean the BIBLE, God’s Word, The King James Authorised Version, I will give you a hint, down on day six, God created, man, cows, rabbits, tigers, bears, dinosaurs…you know all your basic land animals.  AND YES, DINOSAURS.  Oh and then He created woman…named her Eve, the mother of all living. 

Until God created man, four days later, there was no need for angels.  And you want to know something else cool?  You and I are assigned our own personal guardian angels.  It’s true.  And about every 6 months God gives me two more and the angels pleas with God, “Have you seen him drive his wheelchair God, we can’t take it no more!”

Psalm 91:11, “ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

Cool huh?  And look, it’s 911!  I think when we get to Heaven we are going to be amazed at all the things that angels do.  For more about angels, see my book, AN ANGEL IN MY BATHTUB.

Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

 

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IF THE PREACHER WONT DO IT I WILL 

IF THE PREACHER WONT DO IT I WILL 

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Rev. Kevin R. Airrington
January 30, 2017

Sin is sin and sin bites…u repentant sin will send you straight to Hell.  There is simple no such thing as a little boy saved

A little bit pregnant…get the point?  Either you love Jesus…you have been forgiven and you are on your way to Heaven or you are playing church…you continue in your sin and he’ll awaits you!

This is the truth my beloved.   They is no such thing as a white lie…there is no such thing as taking something that does not belong to you and saying you will pay them Tuesday…there is no such thing as I don’t hate them I just don’t care for them…and on and on.

Hell is real…unrepentant sinners will have everlasting life in this place of torment and suffering.

The devil is a liar and a deceiver…”yeah hath God said….” Did He?   Well hold on you …i don’t trust you…so ima checking.

This the Bible calls judgement is coming faster than we think…and if we don’t make haste boy will it all be a waste!

Satan fooled a naive woman…a woman of some wisdom for she lived on this earth some 100 years…he also fooled a man…a man too week…too focused on the physical beauty…the warmth of her body next to his clouded his mine…

But why?  Listen…Adam quite possibly was the smartest man to have ever lived.  I have given this a lot of thought…

First he came from God Almighty!

El Gibbor – THE MIGHTY GOD – Is a 9:6

El Haggdol – THE GREAT GOD – Deut 10:17

El Hannora – THE AWESOME GOD – Neh. 9:32

El Vegas – ONE GOD – Mal 2:10

El Olam – THE EVERLASTING GOD – Gen 21:33, Ps 90:1-3, 93:2, Isa 26:4

El De’Ot – THE GOD OF KNOWLEDGE – 1 Sam 2:3

Gen 1:17 & 2:7 ADAM WAS MADE IN GOD’S IMAGE! He formed him from the dust of the ground and then breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and he became a living soul.  THE NESHAMA CHAIYIM – THE BREATH OF THE SPIRIT LIVES.

God created Adam & Eve fully functioning young adults.  They were not tossed in the garden of Eden with their diapers on and a bag of seeds and given instructions they could not understand.

First day…they could:

1) communicate- complex language skills

2) name all the animals

3) no what sex was

4) Adam did not see God make Eve…but he trusted God.

So this man, Adam…who came straight from ELOHIM (Gen 1:1 – Gen 2:7).  Had a brain full of wisdom and knowledge…yet for a brief moment sex, lust and the beauty becomes his ELOHIM!  It becomes his idol.  It would not be for sometime later that GOD would write in a rock with his very own finger, “THOU SHALL NOT HAVE ANY OTHER gods BEFORE ME!”

The very first commandment!  As intelligent as Adam was…he was still able to destroy the very first commandment – even before it was written down.

There punishment?  God throws the man & the woman out of the garden of Eden…and send angels with flaming swords to keep them out!

Sin will keep you from Heaven.  SIN EATS AT YOU LIKE A MAGOT EATING STINKING ROTTING FLESH!

Sin does not care if you are the smartest man on the planet or the most beautiful. It will find you…it will do its work on you and ultimately sweetheart you WILL pay the ultimate price!

But all I did was smoke a ?.  Yes, that’s all you did.  All Adam did was choose the beauty of his drop dead gorgeous wife over God all MIGHTY.  All Adam did was blow his testimony in front of his wife…all the while a stinking snake in a clever disguise of deception and deceit laughed and carried on knowing that Adam was one step closer to hell.

Was it with it?  Thrown from paradise? WAS IT WORTH IT?  Well all I did was…all I said was…

Is it a sin to cause your brother to stumble?

1 Thess 5:22

Rom 14:1-23

Col 2:8

1 Pet 5:8

Ga 5:13

1 Cor 8:9,13

Matt 18:16

Mark 9:42

Luke 17:1-14

STOP IT!  STOP IT! STOP IT!

IF YOUR PREACHER WONT TELL YOU I WILL!

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AMERICA FIRST

AMERICA FIRST

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Pastor Kevin R. Airrington
June 22, 2016

I AM SO SICK OF THIS…I gotta say it!

We need to declare war on the Muslim Religion!   AMERICA was founded on CHRISTIAN principles. I get it, “religious freedom”…but let me make this is plain as possible.
THERE IS NO DOUBT WHO GOD AND HIS SON WAS TO THE FOUNDING FATHERS!
Yes, I understand there may have been some that may have been “less of a Christian” than others…but even Benjamin Franklin, probably the least Christian of all of them…quoted the Bible like the Son of God!  What’s your excuse, Christian?

Our founding documents are riddled with godly influence and the Holy Bible! Show me one statement that came from the unholy Quran? Do that and I will fall on my sword this instant.

And yes, I am aware of Spellberg’s book about Islam and the Founding Fathers.  She asserts that the Founders dealt with the same fears of Islam as we have today but they understood it.  She quotes:

“[He] sais “neither Pagan nor Mahamedan [Muslim] nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the Commonwealth because of his religion.”
 — Thomas Jefferson, [quoting John Locke, 1776]”

Serious?  I am supposed to read that statement and believe Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States embraced Islam?  She is a LIAR…and besides this is Jefferson quoting John Locke.  And who is this “John Locke” anyway?  Mr. Lock was an Englishman…he was a doctor and a philosopher.  He is conserved to be the “Father of Liberalism”.  Is claim to fame was RELIGIOUS TOLORANCE.  In his letters on the subject three arguments come to light: (1) Earthly judges, the state in particular, and human beings generally, cannot dependably evaluate the truth-claims of competing religious standpoints; (2) Even if they could, enforcing a single “true religion” would not have the desired effect, because belief cannot be compelled by violence; (3) Coercing religious uniformity would lead to more social disorder than allowing diversity.

Yeah…. this John Locke is a freak…and is no doubt burning in a little place we like to call HELL!

Ms. Spellberg…well I think she has a room reserved next to Mr. Locke.  She is a LIAR and she is pushing her own agenda…Google her!  Her book is even a lie.  Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an.  The speculation is she wants us to believe that…Thomas Jefferson had a Qur’an on his night stand…read it every night…faced mecca 5 times daily and prayed to a false god named Allah!  Excuse me?  Toilet paper please!!!  Thomas Jefferson rewrote the Holy Bible not the unholy Qur’an.

She also likes to quote President George Washington…that would be the first President of the United States for all of you history challenged people.  Don’t worry…stick around, I’ll help you.  George Washington hired some workers to work at Mt. Vernon.  Da…that’s where he lived…ok… Washington said that he didn’t care where someone was from as long as they were good workers.  Now, Ms. Spellberg hangs her whole feeble lie on this statement by the First President.  She claimed he tolerated and loved Muslim’s.  No…he said…well let’s look at what he said exactomundo (that’s Kevineese for exactly), “If they are good workmen, they may be of Asia, Africa, or Europe. They may be Mahometans [Muslims], Jews or Christian of an[y] Sect, or they may be Atheists.”

She is a liar and a “stretch artist” …Kevin term.

JESUS called the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin dogs and pigs. he told us in Luke 22:36 to sell our cloak and buy a sword. I am thinking we should NOT be turning the other cheek on this Muslim problem.  We are at war!

Many of you have no idea how Islam got started. Let me tell you that story in a couple sentences.
Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch from whom all Jews and Christians and MUSLIMS trace their descent (Genesis 11:27–25:10), directed by God to leave his own country for another land.
His wife Sarai, was barren and could not have children. Now, God promised Abraham to just HOLD ON…you will be the father of many nations, God tells Abraham. Which…turned out to be true (from a demographic point of view and a religious point of view).
Abraham so desperately wanted a son. Now, how wife Sarai who loved him very much offered her handmaiden, Hagar, so that Abraham could have a son.

Now, listen, Abram (Abram is short for Abraham…like Rob for Robert) and Sarai is the same couple who were about to enter into Egypt, you know…the land of many gods. This is one of only 2 places in the Bible where it is permissible to lie…now, I am not saying we should lie…but to protect your family it may be permissible.

So, Abram tells his wife, “Say, I pray you, that you are my sister: that it may be well with me for your sake; and my soul shall live because of you.”  Hey…I don’t want to die so let’s lie and say you are my sister…if we don’t do that, they will kill me and take you.

Egypt in the Bible…I tell you is what God uses as a bad example…a place of evil.  God even told Israel, “don’t even send your king to Egypt to get a horse.”) Deuteronomy 17:16) Today, over 95% of Egypt’s population of roughly 85 million people are MUSLIM!!!!  About 80 million people follow the teaching of Muhammed the pedophile and his false god Allah!

So, Abram takes up his wife’s foolish offer and he has a child with Hagar.  That was decision number one that is bad for Abram.  He has a son and his name was Ishmael.  For a while everything was hunky dory…but Sarai…really began to hate Hagar.  Then…Sarai has a son, a miracle and his name was Isaac.

To make a long story short…Sarai gives Abram an ultimatum…either they go or I go!  So, mistake number two…Abram hands Hagar some biscuits and beef jerky and a canteen full of water and says…see ya!  Actually, it was not exactly what happened…but that is the gist of it.  Was it a mistake to send them away…yes and no…but understand Abraham was OBEYING God…so it must have been right.  However, kicking them out is what lead to our problems with the nation of Islam!

Isaac…that is the son that God tested Abram and told him to kill his son…and then He provide a ram in the thicket, sparing the young Isaac’s life.  Isaac became the Judeo-Christian faith and Ishmael became the Judeo-Muslim faith.   My personal feelings are Ishmael was dealing with some serious rejection and daddy issues…and he was filled with Satan…and decided to attack his daddy the best way he knew how…HIS FAITH IN GOD.  Isn’t that ALWAYS how it works Christian?  Someone is angry at you…right or wrong and the first thing they do is attack your FAITH IN THE ALMIGHTY!

“Some Christian you are!’  “I want nothing to do with your religion!”  “I thought you were supposed to be a man/woman of God.”  That’s about right isn’t? Although…I know they are usually littered with profanity.  The people that know the least about the Bible launce the worst attacks.

As far as we know Ishmael never saw Abraham again, although he was present at his funeral. (Genesis 25) In Genesis 21, God tells Abram to listen to his wife…and he tells him that his offspring shall be named after his son, Isaac.  God also promises that God will raise another nation under Ishmael. God absolutely kept His promises…in both instances.

Now, here is the kicker…. Hagar…WAS AN EGYPTIAN.  Ding ding ding…bells should be going off in your head…80 million descendants of Ishmael in Egypt today.

We are not the descendants of Ishmael…we are the descendants of Isaac…and both of these nations are at war!  AMERICA was not founded under the rights of every American to practice Islam.  But the rights to practice BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY.  Ephesians 2:19, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”

We are a religion of turn the other cheek…however, Ishmael and his nation of Islam have declared war on us!  I understand that some of us are soldiers who fight on the front lines, others of us supply the front line with bullets, nourishment and prayer.  Figure out which you are supposed to do and pick up your sword!

Ecclesiastes 3:8 tells us very plainly that there is a time for peace and a time for war and this I assure you is NOT a time for peace.

WHAT ARE WE REALLY FIGHTING?

Mohammed, the founder of Islam who claims to be a direct descendant of Ishmael and Muslims, today, they view themselves as both the physical and the spiritual descendants of Ishmael. And so here you have this story, this incredible event that took place in this child’s life. Two thousand six hundred years after these events took place, a direct descendant of Ishmael named Mohammed birthed forth a new religion into the world. And what does the religion teach? … It teaches God is not a father. God has no Son. And, thirdly, Ishmael, not Isaac, is the heir with regard to the promises of God to the earth. The very things that those issues of rejection and woundedness and brokenness that took place in Ishmael’s life were preserved in that line and two thousand six hundred years later, a man named Mohammed goes into a cave, has an incredibly dark encounter with some sort of spiritual demon. It literally chokes the life out of him to where he feels as though he’s going to die, three times this presence comes over him and it demands of him to recite… On the third time, the words of the Qur’an begin to flow from the mouth of Muhammed.

Mohammed, himself, literally believed that he was demon-possessed. He was suicidal. He was terrified.”

Muhammed is a pedophile in the 10th degree.

Let me quote from two reports in Bukhari.

I m providing the link…not so you can read it and study it…but rather so you can verify what I am saying.  If you are sitting at the doctors and you have an extra 10 minutes…read your Bible not the unholy Quran!

“It is reported from Aisha that she said: The Prophet entered into marriage with me when I was a girl of six … and at the time [of joining his household] I was a girl of nine years of age.”

“Khadijah [first wife of Muhammad] died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed [alone] for two years or so. He married Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consummated [that means he had sex with her] that marriage when she was nine years old.”

I was speaking to a Bernie Saunders lover in the Seattle Airport; the conversation was pleasant enough…but his son told me that “according to their culture Muhammad was not a pedophile.”  Wasn’t a peda…are you kidding me?  SIX YEARS OLD…what does she have to be three to be considered a pedophile?  Disgusting. Muhammad only married widows and divorced women.  He had some 19 wives.  He even claimed that in Heaven Allah married him and Mary.  That’s right, the mother of Jesus.  Muhammad said Mary lived in a beautiful jeweled palace in Paradise next to Khadijah’s, his first wife.

Listen, I know the Muslims love to quote the Holy Bible…and say that young virgins are okay…they often quote 1 Kings 1:1-4.  It is at the end of Kind David’s life…he needed some help…what kind of help…I have no idea…the Bible said that they found a young virgin named Abishag.  The Bible records that David could not keep warm and she laid next to him in bed to keep him warm.  It is clear from the text he did not have sex with her.  And even if they did…it would seem that she was young not 6 years old.  They also like to discuss the most famous marriage in the Bible.  The marriage of Joseph and Mary.  Mary the mother of Jesus and His step-father, Joseph.   We know that Mary was at the “tender” age of 14.  First, I would like to point out that FOURTEEN IS NOT SIX YEARS OLD!  Even in America, we used to marry much younger.  Now we tell them to wait!  Wait until you are 30…when you have a house, 2 cars in the garage and making $100,000. a year. So stupid.  I am not saying marry at 14…but my goodness…we say, “don’t have sex, don’t yank yourself (figure it out), don’t look at porn, practice CLEAN dating and well do all that and wait until you are 30.  Gimme a break!  It’s not working…is it?

Paul said we must control our own bodies in holiness and honor.   He also said that it is better to marry than to burn. Again, I am not saying, “walk your daughter down the aisle at 14!”  But I am saying, “teach them to control their own bodies with holiness and honor…and marry when the time is right for them so that they do not burn with passion…or WORSE!”

Make no mistake, Muslims marry young…they rape…they murder…they terrorize…ALL IN THE NAME OF ALLAH!

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:39 to not resist an evil person, but to turn the other cheek.

The unholy Quran contains at least 109 verses that call Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Some are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and kill infidels wherever they may be hiding. Muslims who do not join the fight are called ‘hypocrites’ and warned that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.

Quran (2:191-193) – “And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing…but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [disbelief and worshiping of others along with Allah] and worship is for Allah alone. But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zalimun(the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.)” (Translation is from the Noble Quran).

Quran (3:56) – “As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help.”

Quran (3:151) – “Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority”. This speaks directly of polytheists, (ie. what Muhammad incorrectly believed to be ‘joining companions to Allah’).

What am I saying?  I am saying that Islam comes straight from hell. And we are breading a bunch of wiener dog Christians that wear pink panties…and they in a bunch! We need to raise up soldiers…men and women of God that WILL sell their cloak and buy a sword.  Now, I understand…not all of us are soldiers…I get it.  I may be stupid but I am not dumb er um something like that.  But the LEAST you could do is pray…. the LEAST you can do is read your Bible…the LEAST you can do is tell SOMEONE ABOUT JESUS!

Now, I am about to say something that may shock you!

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and is expected to outstrip Christianity by the end of the century. The number of Muslims will grow more than twice as fast as the world’s population from now until 2050.

You JACKASS!  Hee Haw!!!  What in the world are you doing about it Christian?  That means, that millions of people will go to HELL…and it just may be your fault.  This is WAR!  Not a time for tolerance.  Show me where JESUS said we should be tolerant?  I am so sick of hearing about tolerance.  Hell is running rampant…and the Church is silent.  Of course that building you go to gossip and get free food is silent…  but the Church isn’t a building is it?  The Church is people…the Church is you and I!

We need to declare war on the Muslim’s.  Now I am not saying we should not be neighborly.  I don’t care who a man calls god…that is between him and God.  But, I can still be a good neighbor…be a good Christian and show the love of God.

I saw this movie [one free month subscription to about 5000 Christian movies on David A.R. White‘s Pure Flix] once…it was about a Muslim coming to America and staying with a friend of his.  This friend was a “Christian”.  The Christian decided he was going to do all he could to convert his Muslim friend to Christianity.  He worked really hard…he read the Qur’an…and studied all about the Muslim religion.

Every day, 5 times a day the Muslim would pray…although the Christian saw him praying he had other things to do…too busy to pray.  The Christian never missed an opportunity to talk to the Muslim about the cult he was in and how the Qur’an was not real and how the Muslim should become a “Christian”.  One day the Christian is watching TV…and without even looking up at his Muslim friend…he asked him, “Will you go to church with me this Sunday?”  The polite Muslim said, “I might…would you go to Mosque with me?”  The Muslim sat there…and the Christian flipped through the channels on the TV.

Finally, the Muslim could not take it anymore.  He scorns his Christian friend and says, “Are you trying to convert me to your religion?”  The Christian friend stammered and stuttered…had no idea how he should answer.  Then the Muslim said, “How much did you read my Qur’an…and study my religion?”  Again, the Christian had no real answers…and then the Muslim said, “all this time you have been studying me…trying to take me down…trying to convert me…but you were not reading your Holy Bible…you were never praying…why would I convert to Christianity…I just don’t think it is real?”  For the first time the Christian had an answer for his Muslim friend.  He said, “I don’t know!”

This war needs to be fought by Christians reading the Bible (preferably the King James) and praying.  We cannot win this war if you are not equipped to defend the Gospel for the sake of Christ. We cannot win the war if you do not pick up sword and clash steel with the enemy!

The Muslim religion is not a religion of peace.  I don’t care what George W. Bush or Obama says.  They seek to kill and destroy us!  Today they are cutting the heads of Christian school girls!  Not just cutting them off…they are sawing their heads off with knives while they are alive.

It’s time.  It’s time to put America First.  This war cannot be fought or won by secular humanism.  It will need to be fought with the army of the Lord.  The next president whoever he/she is will need to understand that we are in a war.  They will need to attack Islam head on and by God if locking the country down is what we need to do then let’s do it!

I fly to Seattle at least once a year.  It never fails…some 20-year-old Middle Eastern map gets waived through security…while I enjoy a full cavity check.   We don’t want to be offensive.  We want to be respectful…we would never want to stereotype. Seriously?  These are the people killing us…I just cannot imagine King David, General George Washington, General Robert E. Lee, General Stonewall Jackson, General US Grant, General John Pershing or General George Smith Patton not naming and killing the enemy.    We are already at war!  But we have chosen to, one: NOT NAME OUR ENEMY and two: NOT DESTROY OUR ENEMY.  When Moses and the Israelite’s were wondering in the desert for 40 years…they became a mighty army and as they took the promised land…God commanded them to kill everyone: man, woman, child and livestock.

Will you sell your cloak and buy a sword?  Will you stand up for your Christian values or will you cower in a corner and wet your pants?  Will you speak out and destroy our enemy?  Will you not allow Satan a foothold in your city…in your state…in your country?  On this earth.  I know…it’s dangerous.  Tell that to Sam Childers, The Machine Gun Preacher…he is a bad boy of the worst kind…finally, he gives his life to Christ.  Things are still rough for him but a change is taking place in his heart.

He ends up going to Uganda, Africa with some missionaries to put his construction talents to work.  During his visit he befriends a freedom fighter…who takes him on a tour of the village of Yei, Southern Sudan. …smack in the middle of a civil war.  He purchases property right in the middle of that war…everyone told him that it was too dangerous…that he will be killed.  He said, he did not care…that this was going to happen…he started an orphanage for children.  Construction begins…shortly thereafter in the night they find themselves under attack by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army, a brutal rebel militia that had kidnapped 30 thousand children and murdered hundreds of thousands of villagers.)

They successfully survive and repel the attack.  However, not without loss of innocent life and the orphanage is burnt to the ground…every hut…every building.   He calls his wife, Lynn to tell her what happened.  He says, “It’s too hard”.  This wise, strong woman tells the once tough…now a little soft, made so the children of Sudan tells her husband, “God has called you to greatness…now STOP YOUR CRYING and build it again!”  Pastor Sam puts on his big boy panties and he rescues more kids and rebuilds his orphanage.

In spite of the odds…he stands firm.  In about 2011…he fired an employee.  The list of offenses was long…but one of them was, this employee had sex with someone that worked at the orphanage and got her pregnant.  After the firing the disgruntled former employee bean attacking and lying about the conditions of the children…no food…etc.  Christian Today, took a camera crew and went to see for themselves.  What they found was plenty of food in the kitchen…happy children…and in general good health.  And it’s 2016 and he is still there…taking his ministry into other countries of Africa.

He has fought rebel armies…lies of the devil!  This CHRISTIAN Preacher…may sleep with his Bible and an AK-47 but he truly is in the heart of the devil’s camp. 97% of the Sudanese population adheres to the Muslim religion.  My guess is the nearly 3% remaining are Christians that work for Pastor Sam.

Pastor Sam against all odds…puts a sword to the neck of his enemies.  He stands up to his critiques…will you?  Or are you just another spineless Christian?

One of the ways we can put the sword to the neck of our enemies is to elect Donald Trump to the highest office of the land.   Trump alone understands America.  He understands our enemy and he can do for our economy what he has done in his businesses.  Trump is the only one that wants to build a wall…stop the massive flow of Muslims into our country…he has the only plan to keep us safe!  Look at the terrorist attacks in our country since 9/11.  Say what you will of George W. Bush…but he kept us safe.  Do you think Putin would ever order Russian Fighter Jets to buzz our naval ships in international water if he feared America?  He knows this is no longer the country of the people, by the people and Obama is a joke to him!

I think he both respects Trump and fears him.  Trump is a wild card…unpredictable.  One of the things our enemies have wrote about us in previous wars is…America was unpredictable and lead to them winning the war.

When you are in a firefight…continually move closer to your enemy…he will not expect it and he will see the determination in your eyes…move in close and shoot him dead…in the head!  Don’t misunderstand me…am I promoting a war on Islam with real bullets?  Yes, and no…if it comes to that then yes, ABSOLUTELY.  However, I believe that we can hit them hard through prayer and outspoken soldiers of Christ!  Heaven forbid you DO NOTHING and we wake up and America is 97% Muslim!

I guarantee you that we will win this war…but only if we stand up and we serve God…and fight our enemy.  Make no mistake, the Islam Nation WANTS YOU DEAD!  There is no “Peaceful Muslim Religion!”

That my friends is a fairy tale.  Listen close…when the pundits and the President get on TV and they use the words, Muslim, a peaceful religion.” …grab hold to something a fairy tale will be told.  This is a false religion full of hate and war.  We need to call it what it is!  Start putting America First!

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