REFLECTIONS

   Early in the morning on the day Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, He said to His captors:
      ...this is your hour, and the power of darkness.  
  
   Please know this truth today:
   Jesus Christ is the enemy of all the religions of the world.
   That is a strong statement, but you will come to understand it more clearly if you will simply consider what happened in Jerusalem:  it was the religious crowd that wanted Christ to die---not the Romans, nor the citizens of the city.  Rome did not have issues with Christ, and neither did the people. 
   As we have been sharing with you, the Son of God did not come to earth to launch a new religion:  the Son of God came to earth in order that we, through Him, will come to know God---not religion.  For if religion is all Jesus is about, He could have remained in Heaven.  And if the world truly believed in God, there would be no need for religion.
   For even after His resurrection, the Lord never told the disciples and apostles to go tell the world about a new program of dogmas and doctrines that would begin a system of rites, rituals, and traditions.  A new religion is likened unto a new pair of bluejeans, a new way to bake bread, or new behaviours in order to lose weight.
   Neither is there salvation for our souls in rites, rituals, and traditions:  these are simple behaviours that can be taught.  Man does not need God to learn a set of habits, and neither does man need God to help with another religion.
   To whomever you yield your will, you will become them in you.  Whatever you believe, you become.  You become a walking, talking textbook of your beliefs.  You become a mirror image of your beliefs.
   So then, how is Christ the enemy of all the religions of the world?  Because the religions of the world have rejected Christ, just as the religious crowd in Jerusalem rejected Christ 2000 years ago.
   Christ is not welcome in religion.  For to believe in Christ, people must reject religion.
   Many of the world's religions acknowledge Jesus to some degree:  as a good man, a nice man, or they may be generous and say that Jesus was a prophet. 
   The minds of people are captured and held captive by the power of darkness that reigns in all the religions of the world.  Satan is the Prince of darkness and he is the Prince over all religions.  Because of his deceptive power, people are not worshipping God because they are actually worshpping Satan and they do not even know it because they are living in deception.  Because they have rejected Christ they have accepted another way because of what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears.  They are a reflection---a mirror image---of their beliefs.  Because Christ is the enemy of Satan, Christ is also the enemy of religion.  Therefore, because the religious crowd cruicified Christ 2000 years ago, people of religion have been cruicifying Christ ever since the Son of God came to earth.  In their minds, Jesus is still on the cross and still dead.  For religion will never acknowledge that Christ came out of the tomb to live again and to reign forevermore.
   So that, for we who believe in Christ, the Light of Christ shines in us and is reflected to others.
   Christ is the Door to eternity in Heaven; and through faith you must open the Door and walk with Him.
   Thus you are faced with two doors:  the Door of Christ, or the door of religion.  The door of religion is nailed shut, for religion is a coffin:  a world of darkness where there is no light.

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS

   On the day of the cruicifixion of Jesus Christ, it is doubtful that many of the citizens in all of Jerusalem knew about it---until it was over.
   Earlier that morning, when Jesus was captured in the garden, the Lord said unto the men:
      ...this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
   To begin, Jesus was not the ENEMY OF THE STATE, nor was He among the TEN MOST WANTED.  Even the mighty Roman Empire did not have issues with Christ!
   In Jerusalem and in other places in Israel, Jesus was liked.  He raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, healed the crippled, cast out demons, turned water to wine, and prevented a woman from being stoned to death. 
  Would you have a problem with a person who could do all of that?
  Some people did!
  There are people in the world who are not willing to admit that Jesus is the Christ:  the Messiah!
  Messiah came into the world in a way that did not exactly fit the manner in which Messiah should arrive---according their own expectations.  Jesus did not arrive on earth as a conquering king; neither did He come to earth to establish another empire; nor to rescue Israel from the iron fist of the Romans.  Messiah came as a baby, born of a woman, and to die for the sins of the world.
      Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he:  before me there no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.  (Isaiah 43: 10-11)
   In Israel, there was group of men who could not let go of the past and welcome the Light of the world.  They held on to their rites, rituals, and traditions, and they would not let go.  In their minds, they knew that Jesus is Messiah; but their hearts were stone-cold.  
   For when Jesus was confronted by the accusers at His mock trail, Jesus had little to say.  They knew who He was, and Jesus knew that they knew.  And He also knew that no matter what He said, His words would not matter.  For they had made up their minds.
   When Jesus stood before Pilate, again the Lord had little to say.  Pilate knew who Jesus was, and Jesus knew that He knew.  And Jesus also knew that no matter what He said, His words would not matter. Pilate was nearly persuaded, then suddenly Pilate changed his mind and made a deal.
   Killing Christ was their only solution.  And in their arrogance, they resorted to murder.
   Jesus was the target of a secret society.  Members of secret societies meet in the darkness of secrecy because their deeds are evil.  It is in these meetings, held in dark places, where they plot their evil deeds. 
   The religious leaders of Israel became a secret society.  They met in darkness with Judas Iscariot and paid the bribe.  They captured Jesus in darkness and began the trial proceedings in darkness.  They quietly moved Jesus to Pilate so as not to bring attention to their actions. 
   By the time the people of Jerusalem became aware of events that were unfolding, suddenly Jesus was on the street, carrying a cross, and on His way to die.  Perhaps people were surprised and even stunned, and asked:  What's going on?  What are they doing with Jesus?  Why is He carrying a cross?  Why is He battered, bruised, and bleeding?
   Why were the accusers so secretive?  Because they did not want the people of Jerusalem to know of their plot to destroy the Son of God.  Jesus had friends and family in Jerusalem, who had come with Him from Galilee for the Passover.  They did not come to Jerusalem to watch Jesus be crucified on a cross and die as a criminal!  And there were many others in Jerusalem who had no fault with Jesus.
   When people turn their backs on Jesus Christ, darkness falls:  and evil comes out of the darkness.     
   As people are confronted with the reality of their sins before Christ and resist the Lord, they get angry.  They curse.  They do not want to let go of their old ways:  their rites, rituals, and traditions.  They have what they want, they do not want to lose it, and they hold on.  And then they hate Christ.  For after rejecting Christ at the Last Supper, Judas Iscariot was consumed by evil
   Satan is the Prince of darkness.  Satan hates Christ.  When darkness falls on people, people become like Satan:  full of hate, wrath, and workers of evil,  plotting in secrecy against Christ and against the believers of the Lord.
   Dear people, Jesus Christ is real.  And I urge you to be careful in your consideration of the Lord.
   Amen.
  
  
  
  
  
  

THE CHURCH OF JUDAS ISCARIOT

   Today I want to talk to you about the Church of Judas Iscariot.
   If you say there is not one, you are absolutely correct.
   But wait! 
   Who was Judas?
   Judas betrayed Christ.  Judas was a thief.  Judas was a deceiver. 
   Judas was a member of the Elite Twelve:  the twelve disciples of Christ. He looked like the other disciples.  He walked like the other disciples.  And and he ate and slept just like the other disciples.  Plus, he hung out with Jesus.
   Even among the Twelve, none of the others never knew and never suspected that Judas was untrustworthy, for Judas was the "Secretary of the Treasury".  He kept the money bag.  His position was just as important to the disciples as the Secretary of the Treasury is to the United States.  For not just anybody can be the president of a bank.
   Yet Judas never believed that Jesus is the Christ.  Judas never believed in the born again experience that Jesus explained to Nicodemus.  Judas never believed that Jesus would arise from death.  Judas never believed that Jesus is the Son of God. 
   The group of twelve disciples was like a small church, which could be likened unto The Church of the Twelve.  And Jesus was the pastor.  But Judas never believed the words of the preacher.  He came to church, he participated in the services, he went on missionary trips with Jesus and the others.  He knew what to do, when to pray, where to sit, when to stand, when to sit down again, and when to say "Amen". 
   In his heart, however, Judas was simply going through the motions and exhibiting the proper behaviour.  To the other eleven, Judas was just as normal in his activities as they were.
   So then, how do we arrive at such an idea as the Church of Judas Iscariot?
   Believe it or not, but there are people in churches today with that same spirit of Judas Iscariot.  They believe exactly in those things that Judas Iscariot believed.
   Believe it or not, but there are also churches that operate with that same spirit of Judas Iscariot, beginning at the top with the minister, pastor, preacher, or priest.  There are churches that do not preach all of the Scriptures concerning Jesus, nor all of the words that Jesus said.   They pick and choose what they want to read and teach from their pulpits.  They teach people where to sit, when to stand, when to sit down again, and when to say "Amen".  Didn't Judas do that?
   Have you ever heard a member of a church actually laugh about "born again" believers?
   Jesus did not laugh when He explained this matter to Nicodemus.
   Have you ever heard a member of a church call members of certain churches "Bible thumpers"?
   John the Baptist was serious about baptism by immersion.  And John the Baptist was beheaded.
   The leaders of the Church of Judas Iscariot are false prophets, and the members are deceived individuals because of the deception of the false prophets.  They do exactly what their leaders tell them because their faith is in the words of their leaders and not in Jesus Christ.  Christ is simply part of the atmosphere.  Their behaviours are trained and orchestrated by the false teachers.
   The spirit of Judas Iscariot is of that spirit of antichrist:  directly opposed to the person of Jesus Christ.
   Oleo is not real butter.  It just appears to be.
   False churches and false prophets are not really for Christ:  they just appear to be.
   In the book of Revelation, chapter 2, verse 9, Jesus said:
      I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
   So then, since Jesus said there are Jews that are not Jews, could there also be Christians that are not Christians?  And are they commiting blasphemy for saying they are Christians if they are not?  For Jesus said, I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews.
   That spirit of Judas Iscariot is not only in many churches today, but that same evil spirit is also in human government today:  for when the Antichrist appears, he will be the head of a worldwide religion as well as the head of worldwide government:  and deceived people will worship him.
   Therefore, I urge you to know Christ and the power of His resurrection!
   Amen.
  

PICTURE PERFECT

   The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a picture through a window, which we can see by faith and therefore believe:  that as Christ arose from death and the grave, we also will arise from death and the grave and live again just as He is alive and is living now. 
   The body of Christ was changed from a physical body to a spiritual body that will never die again.
   After the resurrection, Jesus walked, He talked, and He ate food!  And He will live forever!
   When we die, our bodies will be dead.  But when Christ returns, we will be awakened and our bodies will be changed, just as His body was changed.  We will talk, we will talk, and we will eat food!  And we will live forever!
   The death of Jesus on the cross was for us!---both for this present time as well as for the future.
   Look through that window by faith and see the picture that Christ has provided for us.  Do you see it?
   If you miss the resurrection of Christ, you have missed the total message of His purpose:  to forgive us for our sins and to prepare us for the future.
   Look in the mirror and look at your face.  If your faith is in Christ, you will also see Christ in the mirror.  You in Him and He in you.  This is what the new birth is all about.  This is salvation!
   None of the religions of the world can do this for you, for all of the religions of the world are all about man and not about Christ.  Religions are dead works of man created out of the imaginations of man.  But Christ is alive!
   This is an important matter, an important message from God for you today.  Please do not miss it.
   God loves you and He wants you to be with Him in His kingdom for all eternity, in a world that He has prepared for us:  a world that will never end.
   Amen.
  

UP UPON A ROCK

SEVEN WORST KILLER PLAGUES IN HISTORY:

   1.  SMALLPOX:  killed more than 300 million people in the 20th century alone.
   2.  SPANISH FLU:  (1918-1919)  killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide in less than two years,
   3.  BLACK DEATH:  (1340-1771)  killed 75 million people worldwide.
   4.  MALARIA:  (1600-Today)  kills about 2 million people per year.
   5.  AIDS:  (1981-Today) has killed 25 million people worldwide.
   6.  CHOLERA:  (1817-Today)  8 pandemics; hundreds of thousands killed worldwide.
   7.  TYPHUS:  (430 B.C.?-Today) killed 3 million people between 1918 and 1922 alone, and most of Napoleon's soldiers in Russia.

NEW MYSTERY DISEASES IN 2012:

   1.  In Uganda, a "nodding disease" has killed 100 and infected another 2000.  There has also been an outbreak of ebola in Uganda and this disease could become a contender for worst plagues ever.
   2.  In India and Iran, a new deadlier form of tuberculosis has struck those nations and is totally drug resistant; killing 1000 people a day in India.
   3.  In the Philippines, people are sick and dying from leptospirosis in flooded areas; disease is spread from infected rats, dogs, cats, and other animals.
   4.  In Vietnam, a mystery disease is killing children and there is no known cure for the disease.
   5.  In Cambodia, a mystery disease is killing children and there is no known cure for the disease.
   6.  Chagas, a disease spread by reduviid bugs in South America, transmitted to the United States through immigration and blood transfusions, has produced 300,000 cases in the United States.  There is no known cure for chagas, which has also been called the new HIV/AIDS of the Americas.

   Elsewhere, sudden outbreaks of horrifying diseases are popping up all the time.  Nearly 7 million bats have died from white-nose syndrome over the past five years; eastern rattlesnakes are dying painful deaths from a mysterious new fungal disease.
   Mexico has declared a national animal health emergency because of an aggressive bird flu epidemic that has infected 1.7 million poultry.

 Jesus said in the gospel of Luke:
      Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 
     And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. 
      And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
      Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:  for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

   So then, what shall we say to these events as we are witnesses to a tital wave of pestilences and plagues that are sweeping across the face of the earth? 
   From what we are seeing, we should know and believe that this is only the beginning of pain and great sorrow, for the Lord has spoken.
   Run to Him!  For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:  in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  (Psalm 27: 5)

  
      
  
  
  

AMERICA'S ARROGANCE

   Self-love is America's arrogance.  Left untreated and uncured, and America will self-destruct.
   To begin, there are millions of Americans with fundamental principles that are unshakable.  They are solid individuals, with strong worth and work ethics, honest and decent people, unyielding and unchanging in their commitments to God, to family, to country.  They believe in the Constitution of the United States and for the Constitutional rights of all people, willing to give and to help others unselfishly, and wanting others to succeed in their desires of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
   On the other side, there are also millions of Americans that are the exact opposite of the characteristics aforementioned.  And this is the problem:  these are the ones that are getting all of the attention:  from the news media, from television, movies and music; from city, state, and federal government; from politicians, commercials, and even from poets, priests, and pulpits.  The spotlights and glamour lights are upon them.  These are the ones that are pampered, polished and sent forth on the stages to demonstrate what the rest of America needs:  ME!
   Self-like is selfish.  Self-love is selfish.  I like what I want, I know what I want, I will get what I want, and you will get out of my way! 
   Self-love people annoint their heads with halos, and with angelic attitudes they believe they are above and over earthly mortals, soaring with the clouds---and nobody can stop them.  In their own carnel and twisted minds they are the law, and people beneath their pomp and power are law breakers, in need of new educations in a new way of living for a new and brighter world.  The word "no" is not a word in their filtered and fulgar language.
   Self-love is the arrogance that overshadows America's fundamental, foundational cornerstone for the success and stability of our nation, and the threat to the freedom of the United States and other nations.  Self-love has no boundaries, no limitations.
   Self-love is arrogance, and it is also a disease.  It is an evil monster. There is no quest that will ever meet or complete its gratification.  The more it gets, the more it wants.  Its appetite is limitless in its pursuit for self-pleasure:  all-consuming, never sharing, and giving nothing. 
   Self-love's purpose:  is all about ME!
   Self-love reaches the level of a reprobate mind:  a mind void of God, and a mind that cannot be contained, controlled, tamed, harnessed, nor even converted.  It is a rebel just like Nimrod at the Tower of Babel:  the first god-man on the face of the earth.
   Arrogance laughs at God, laughs at the Bible, and laughs at Christ.  And if the laughing doesn't stop, then we will hear from heaven:  and the news will not be in the form glad tidings.
   Please pray for the Holy Spirit to breathe on America one more time. 
   Amen.
  

Wednesday, April 3, 33 A.D.

   On April 3, 33 A.D., Jesus of Nazareth died in Jerusalem.
   Earlier that morning, the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders, led by Judas Iscariot, came for Jesus in the garden.  And Jesus said unto them,
      "Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?  When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me:  but this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  (Luke 22:  52-53)
  
   --- Early in the morning on December 7, 1941, under the cover of darkness, Japanese war planes departed from aircraft carriers in the Pacific for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 
   --- At 2:45 a.m. on August 6, 1945, under the cover of darkness, the Enola Gay  B29 Superfortress bomber departed Tinian Island in the Marianas with an atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
   ---  Late Sunday night on March 1, 2011, under the cover of darkness, U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 swept into a compound in Pakistan to kill Osama Bin Laden.
   ---  And after participating in the last supper with Christ, Judas Iscariot "went immediately out:  and it was night."  (John 13: 30)

   When they came for Jesus early that morning, darkness was across Jerusalem.  People were either sleeping or beginning to arise to meet the day.  Perhaps as early as 4 a.m. they came to whisk Jesus away, under the cover darkness, so that Jerusalem would not know of their secret activity:   their conspiracy to execute Christ.
   The Sanhedrin is the name of the highest Jewish tribunal, consisting of 71 men:  the high priest, chief priests, and elite religious nobility in Jerusalem.  According to Jewish law, the Sanhedrin violated three rules on April 3, 33 A.D.---
      l.   the Sanhedrin was not supposed to convene in darkness, neither the darkness of night, nor the darkness of early morning;
      2.  the Sanhedrin was not supposed to vote on a sentence of capital punishment on the day of a trial:  they were supposed to sleep on it  and render their decisions the following day;
      3.  the Sanhedrin was not supposed to convene on a sabbath day.
   For the Sanhedrin, however, this was their time.  This was their moment.  This was a time for the wringing hands and not a time for reason and common sense.  They were hasty.  And thus the trial of Jesus began in the early morning hours with darkness across Jerusalem.
   Unable to find agreements with their witnesses, they hastily took Jesus to meet with Pilate to see what Pilate would have to say about the matter.  And three times Pilate told the Jews that they were wrong!  In the gospel of Luke, Pilate said:
      1.   I find no fault with this man.
      2.  Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people:  and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:  No, nor yet Herod:  for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.
      3.  Why, what evil hath he done?  I have found no cause of death in him:  I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.
   But the Sanhedrin would not let it go.  Their evil minds were bent on the destruction of Christ the Lord.  In only a matter hours, they captured and killed the Son of God. 
   Thus, on Wednesday at high noon, on the 15th day of the Hebrew month Nisan, which is the same as Wednesday, April 3, 33 A.D., Jesus of Nazareth was crucified on a cross in Jerusalem:  at precisely the same time when the Passover lamb was sacrificed in the temple!
   In the words of John the baptist:
      "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."