Baptist_Bible_Believer

There are no words.

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24 KJV). What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Ev'rything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Ev'rything to God in prayer! Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged-Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness-Take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy laden, Cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge-Take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer; In His arms He'll take and shield thee-Thou wilt find a solace there. -Joseph Scriven, written 1855 Joseph Scriven knew heartache and devastation first hand. As a young man his hopes and dreams vanished on the day before his wedding when he watched in horror as the lifeless body of his beloved was pulled from the water where she had drowned. Sorrow overwhelmed him, yet in the months and years that followed, Scriven turned repeatedly to the only Friend who would never leave him. Although he battled loneliness and depression for the rest of his life, he never let go of the hand of his Savior. Scriven knew that Jesus cared and that He was acquainted with loneliness and sorrow. This man knew that he could take his grief to Jesus and find strength and peace that no one else could give. Years later Scriven took what he had learned through his pain and put it into the words of a poem that we now sing as "What A Friend We Have In Jesus." Lord, I have had friends in the past that have led me far from Your purpose and will for my life, but I thank You that You have become my personal friend and have led me into all riches and honour and grace through You. You gave all You had in order to give me all that I have, and I thank You. Amen.

Of course I am. Some are 'believing' that their church membership will save them, or they may believe that the "good" side of the scale might outweigh the bad side. As to your last sentence, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19 KJV). Belief in a Saviour is a far cry from trusting in the Saviour. A wino sleeping in a gutter in a pool of his own vomit will tell you that he believes in Jesus.

Thank you for your answer, 360. What I will tell you here is that if you are absolutely 100% sure that you are going to heaven (not 99 9/10% but 100% without any doubt whatsoever) then you should be able to pray to God for understanding and read your Bible trusting that the Holy Spirit of God which is part of you will help you understand that Bible. I gave you a verse in Ephesians that tells us how we get the Holy Spirit . . . it is a down payment on our future eternity with God. Now, the purpose of having that Spirit is so that we can have spiritual guidance as we study God's Word: "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him" (I John 2:25-27 KJV). So, my advice to you is to read the Book and pray to the Author of that book for understanding. When you have a specific question based on a verse or passage of Scripture that you need help with, I'm sure the brethren here at online will try to help you. I am encouraging you to make the effort on your own to study, rather than ask a broad question on a broad subject--such as the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Trust the God of your salvation for more than just a trip to heaven, trust him to make you a strong Christian through His Word.

God is saying that when a man is saved he is sealed with the Holy Spirit. In order to be sealed, it is obvious that the Holy Spirit is received. Tell me about the day you were saved. What happened? What did you do?

"That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:12-14 KJV).

"Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding" (Proverbs 17:28 KJV). I guess we've all heard the quote, attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but certainly derived from Proverbs, that is: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt." Ecclesiastes add to the thought: “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words” (Ecclesiastes 5:3 KJV). We can almost feel Job’s exasperation when he said, “Oh that ye would altogether hold your peace! And it would be your wisdom” (Job_13:5 KJB). The wise man would do well to heed the Apostle Paul, he had an answer for just about everything thanks to the indwelling Spirit of God that he listened to every moment, "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6 KJV). How many words will the Devil yet try to steal and change. Today, we must carefully consider our context when we use a word like “gay.” It is sickening and disgusting to take what once meant happy to where it now mean a person that is incredibly sad, and without hope. Even the word “salt” is now “salty,” which means profanity—the total opposite of Paul’s usage. Put it down, if our Saviour owns a word, the Devil will try to steal it: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13 KJV). Another old saying is that to keep a bird from flying, sprinkle a little salt on his tail. I have not proven this, so I don't know if it is true or not . . . but you can bet that the way to keep the tongue from running off is to use a little "spiritual" salt on it. A man that possesses the “mind of Christ,” should never be guilty of wicked, stupid speech. We represent the Lord Jesus Christ as ambassadors of heaven. This makes us dignitaries, and that ought to make us sober, grave, temperate in all things. God has no use for court jesters. Lord, You know we are prone to speak our own opinion and that gets us into trouble, as You did for Job, please do for us . . . "Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred" (Job 6:24). Amen.

"By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil" (Proverbs 16:6 KJV). Is not Jesus Himself called Mercy, and that mercy promised? Doesn’t He say that He is truth? Those attributes have met together at the Cross, where we first saw the light, and the burden of our sin fell away. It was there that He became “our righteousness.” And that rises or falls on “thus saith the Lord!” God has given us His Word! Titus tells us that our God "cannot lie," so we can depend on whatever He tells us, but sadly, many Christians claim to have faith in a Bible that doesn’t exist. They say they believe the “original autographs” were without error, but they don’t have them. We need a Bible we can trust that we can actually hold in our hands. We have such a Bible! Because it is such a Bible, we can appreciate what Titus adds to the believer's hope (which is assured faith, not wishful thinking). "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:4-5 KJV). And, because we have confidence in such a book, we can know that we are saved and have an unique relationship with the Father, we are filled with a deep and abiding fear of His holiness, so that we would not dream of offending Him . . . though we do. I have given God a million reasons not to love me. None of them changed His mind. If we do not have a perfect Bible, how can we claim to have a perfect salvation? How can we trust that our iniquities have been purged? How can we truly claim to know that we have a home in heaven? An imperfect Bible speaks to me of an imperfect God, Who can do nothing more than make imperfect promises. "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (II Timothy 2:19 KJV). Lord, help us to love you even more than we do now. Let that love grow daily, and let our love teach us to avoid those things which offend you. We choose to keep these words in our Lord's prayer, "Lead us not into temptation!" Despite what the religious "leader" says. Amen!

I suppose one could call the headquarters of the Meyer ministries office, though I suspect they'll probably give him a different address to send the check to.

"A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies" (Proverbs 14:25 KJV). Nowhere does this seem to be truer than in the realm of "religion." A faithful preacher speaking the truth is not very popular in this world, yet those that consider him their undershepherd are blessed and strengthened by his sermons. They know that when they listen to Him they are going to hear the Word of God in such a way that it applies to them personally and results in them becoming fully equipped to live the life that pleases the Lord. Unfortunately, the multitudes prefer to hear messages that tell them how wonderful they are and how sins are simply mistakes but that God loves them anyway and accepts them just the way they are. They prefer the lies that make them feel good and doesn't convict them of sin and hell, while the Bible-believer prefers the truth that makes them feel bad but points them to the Cross, the Blood, and the Saviour. After being convinced by the false witness that there is nothing to fear from God, that He is a loving grandfatherly-type being that loves all and accepts all, the lost continue to bear their sin under the false notion that God will excuse them, while the Word of God as a faithful witness says that they are “condemned already” and that they are “without Christ,” “without hope,” and “without God in the world.” The megachurches are filled with those that are wish to feel good in this world, but eternity is a long time to ponder their willful act of letting themselves be deceived, for they are without excuse. The lying and false preacher is only reinforcing what they themselves want to believe for the invisible things from the beginning of the world are clearly seen, but rejected. The believer clings to the cross where the Blood of Christ cleanses them from all sin and unrighteousness and makes it possible for them to serve the living and true God, as they await the day when their faith will become sight in the very presence of their Saviour. Paul strengthened many by his epistles, and still does in the written word, yet he had those that hated him and his message. At one point he asked, "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16 KJV). Ever will it be true, that, “Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:5-6 KJV). Lord, help us to be honest and tell our friends what they need to hear, and not only what they want to hear. Give us stars for our crown as we share your precious gospel with our lost loved ones and friends. But above all, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer" (Psalm 19:14 KJV). Amen!

I'm listening to the link you provided. I love the singing!

That's okay. I don't even agree with myself half the time. I should probably have said that the church was "empowered" on the day of Pentecost . . . when was it "established"? I agree with you in the sense that there is no verse we can point to which states, on this day I establish the institution which will be known as my body and my bride. But we know it was future in Matthew 16 and present in Acts.

"The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things" (Proverbs 15:28 KJV). The Word of God is our "necessary food" for without it we would starve spiritually, just as we do physically when we refuse to eat physical food. Yet, apart from serious illnesses, how many folks do we know that just don't like to eat? We rarely miss our three squares a day, but what of that man that can go weeks, if not months, at a time failing to read their Bible? Why do we need to read and study God's Book of instructions to man? Peter answers that, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (I Peter 3:15 KJV). We need to know how to answer their reasonable questions. This, of course, does not mean that we spend hours debating what Scripture refers to as “doubtful disputations,” that is but a waste of time. We need to have a testimony and be able to clearly tell others what took place in us when we came to know the Lord. A lost friend is not going to benefit from a theological explanation of the rapture, or any of the many doctrinal truths—they’ll not understand them without the Holy Spirit. They only need to understand the Cross and what God did there for them. Well, in a true sense, we were there—and we can tell them what He did for us. After all, we are all blind beggars telling other blind beggars where we found food. And if their soul is hungry, they’ll gladly have some of it as well. But, “the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.” There are plenty of cultists out there that are fully trained by their leaders to give answers--but those things are "damnable heresies" that unfortunately, make sense to the unsaved man. A lot of things seem reasonable to unsaved man—such as the whole salvation-by-works heresy. When they come to the Lord, the Holy Spirit awakens their understanding to the point where they can see that such teachings as the cultist brings are from the pits of hell, as well as any idea that God elects man to reprobation without any say in the matter. That is because “the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.” For us that are saved, who are witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 KJV). Lord God, we have all wisdom at our fingertips and the promise of the "mind of Christ" as we devour Your Word as though it were our "necessary food." Make us more like You every day and use us as we make ourselves available, and dependable. Give us fruit from our labors. Amen!

"Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets" (Micah 7:7-10 KJV).

The first question would be, what constitutes the church. At the least, it must consist of Blood-bought, born-again believers. When were people born again according to the Gospel as presented in I Corinthians 15:2-4? If we take the Scripture as presented, no one is born again until after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus speaks future tense concerning His church: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18 KJV). If the church only consists of born-again believers, and no one was born again until later, the Matthew 18:17 must also be of a future fulfillment. Further, my view is that the church was established officially on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God descended and endowed those meeting in the upper room. Shortly after that others were added to the church. At the same time, Jesus was transitioning from the Old covenant to the New and certain aspects of the coming church were being established such as the officers that DaveW mentions.