Wednesday 27 August 2008

God never give up on you

My friends, this morning, God gave me a new revelation. He changed my perspective instantaneously. Before today, unconciously I blamed the world's problem to other people. I knew that world is going to an end, because Bible said so. But people contribute no less to make it faster. Food crisis, energy crisis happened because we have too many people on this planet. Right now, the world population is about 6.6 billion and in 2050 it will increase to 10-11 billion. Can you imagine that? The space to plant crops is reducing exponentially because people need to build houses, it will make food is getting scarce to find. I believe that there will be a huge gap in the shortcoming future.

In my heart, I was always thinking, why the people can't stop giving birth, there are a lot of contraception tools (medically, e.g: like pills, or physically, e.g: condoms, or spirals, etc) to reduce the birthrate. I believe that many people have the same thought as mine. If you see people in Africa, many of them suffer because of famine, their lives are so poor, they starve, but still, I condemned them. I said in my heart, 'This happened because you people, uneducated, just know how to have pleasure by having sex, but don't think further, you are short-sighted people, why don't you stop making babies.' God, I am sorry for my wicked thought.

This morning, God gave me insight. He said, 'Alvin, if you saw new babies are born, rejoice in your heart because it means that I, God, still don't give up on men. Those people who are suffer, don't you think I care less? You are wrong, Alvin. I think about them every seconds. I am the One who created them, not you, Alvin. Who are you, O man, to talk back to God (Romans 9:20)?'

Yes, God is sad when He see his own creations begin to curse Him, blame Him for everything on this earth, but still He is patient with these people, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone come to repentance.

He can bring this world to an end anytime, He is GOD, not man. Just imagine if your wife betrays you, imagine if your own child hates you, if your friends despise you. That's what happen to God. His own creation make joke of Him, despise Him, curse Him, blame Him. But still, He doesn't give up on them. He never get tired to make life. God is Life, God is Love, God is God. He dealt with people one by one, since their beginning, even before He formed you in the womb He knew you (Jeremiah 1:5). And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matthew 10:30). Do you think God care them less than you, my friends?

Psalms 139:14

I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well.

Jesus wept (John 11:35) when He see they suffer

He had compassion on the people and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14). He fed His sheep. He said, 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I know my sheep and my sheep know me (John 10:14)

Jesus open the way for those who are in agony, in pain, in stressful life. Jesus welcomed the little children and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

He said to people who tired, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). He loves them more than anyone of you, my friends.

He casted away the demons who make people suffered: spirit of poverty, spirit of sickness, spirit of trouble, spirit of death, spirit of addiction, spirit of fear, spirit of timidity, spirit of wickedness.

He healed the sick, blind men, the leper, the brokenhearted, paralytic, woman with bleeding, dumb, withered hand, crippled woman, woman with dropsy, etc.

He taught those who are sincere, He gave them revelation, gave them a new heart, gave them the way, the truth, and the life. He showed them the way to God, the Father.

He rebuke the people who are self-righteous, hypocrites, greedy, hateful, pride, haughty, who oppress the poor, fatherless. He ate with tax collectors and 'sinners'. He has come not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:13).

He judge not by appearance, but with the right judgment. He sees through your heart. You don't need to be famous, to be clever, to be handsome or beautiful, to be rich, to be anything you can tell, you accept you as you are. He sees your heart, not your appearance. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him, you are His own image (Genesis 1:27). I am Asian, you are African, American, European, Australian, etc. He loves all of us. For God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11).

Acts 10:34-35

Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him.

He was here, on this earth 2000 years ago, He was crucified by His own creations, but do you what He said for them, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)." If He isn't God, if He isn't Love, He would hold grudge on those people and give up on them. But, the truth is... HE DOES NOT GIVE UP WITH MEN.

He loves us, He bring us life, goodness, joy, peace, love, hope, blessing, grace. He provide us. He said, 'Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what will you wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds? But seek His Kingdom, and these things, will be given to you as well (Luke 12:22-34).

He teach us to: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.

He teach us Love, the Divine Love, not Lust, not Tradeoff.

When we fell into temptation, and feel sorry for it. He stand before us as our advocate with the Father. He speaks for us. He said; And the Father loves us because Jesus love us. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

1 John 2:1-2

My little children, these things write I to you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus is image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church, He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross (Collosians 1:15-20).

This is Peace that Jesus always talking about, not peace of the world, but peace in the heart, that your sins condemning you no more. He said, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven (Collosians 1:21-23).

This is the Gospel that set us free

My friends, whoever you are. I know that we face problems every time. It is a pity if you are struggling alone, no help from others. God is willing to help you. What you need now is just this:

You need Jesus

Open your heart for Him, As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ. This Gospel will set you free. Please don't think that this is foolishness, and you denied it. Your logic is stupid before God, your brain is tiny compare to God love for you.

1 Corinthians 1:18-21

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

My friends who have Jesus inside you, please. Don't think about yourself. See around you, how many people are suffering? You have this Gospel, you have been set free, but why don't you care about others? Do you want to go to heaven alone? Do you don't love your God, love Jesus who died for you and saved you? Do you want to see Him empty-handed? Don't you care when you see your best friends are walking straight to hell, without somebody give them this Gospel? Does persecution make you scare? Do you ashamed of this Gospel? Are you Children of God or not?

Romans 1:16

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

1 Corinthians 9:16

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

2 Timothy 3:12

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Mark 8:38

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels

Tuesday 26 August 2008

Do Not Buy Fake


Olympic has ended. China has great success, not only as a host but also as the new world champion. But something caught my eyes when I saw in CNN about fake bags of famous designers like Prada, Dolce Gabanna, Versace sold openly in China's malls. The worst thing is that the buyers didn't know that it was fake. They have been deceived. I just astonished to see how wicked the people who sold these things.


Everything looks so original, those bags even have certificate of authenticity, have booklet, gifts, etc. And they sell these fake ones with the same price like its original ones. Can you imagine how much is their profit from selling one bag? The price could be 1:20 in ratio. And the method is so smoothly covered. The seller show them the booklet and he offer his customers to make a special order first, and in next two days they can receive their bag. It seems as if those bags are really rare and expensive. The fact is, he ordered to the factory who run this 'fake' business and get everything ready within 2 days. As customer, you will never know, and you have already boasted to your friends, how expensive your bag is, and because of that, you deceived your own friends unintentionally. Because of the seller deceived you, then you deceived others. 1 person's sin can affect the whole community.
One sinner destroy much good (Ecclesiastes 9:18)

Or when I saw the grand opening of the Olympic, I saw so many beautiful women been involved in it. I said to one of my friends, 'Wow, I never knew that Chinese girls are that beautiful', until somebody who is a doctor said, Don't be deceived. Many of them are fake, product of plastic surgery'. I just surprise. I never think that people would deceive themselves and by doing that, they deceived others. I was again deceived by their appearance.


Through this experience, I start to think. what if all this time, I always buy fake things unconciously? And I can't stop thinking, what if the Prada that people bought expensively, is fake? What if the Rolex watch they bought for $1500 is a fake watch that just about $20 each? What if the Nike shoes they bought for $100 is just about $10 a pair? If you judge only by appearance. You will always be deceived for all of your life. Tell me please, is there any thing in this world that can't be faked?

People can even fake their skin colour, their age (thanks to botox), their size (you know what I mean), change their sex, they even can make clonning of Dolly sheep, transplantation plants. If they can fake those things, is it not easier for them to fake bags, laptops, kitchen-ware, or even money? My friends, believe me, what you see with your eyes, most of them are not the exactly original, but fake. And if somebody tell you that it is fake, you will just despise them, and said, 'Mind your own business. Do you think I am fool enough to buy those fake ones?'

Yes, many of us are fool. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3). Many of us have our own self-righteousness, do not want to listen to anybody else, many of us think that we are something, which in fact, we are nobody. Many of us have itching ears, we are too picky about anything. I will always tell you, that I was part of it. In the past, I was wearing mask everywhere, I was like whitewashed tombs, I look nice outside, but inside, I was full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. I was deceiving myself and people around me. I had itching ears too.
I hope that now you are begin to have awareness about your circumstances. The reason I wrote this is because I want you to start thinking that not every person who preach to you is saint and have good intention, that not every person who goes to the church is Christian, that not every book you read is good for your soul, even written by Christian preachers. NOT ALL OF THEM, my friends. Be aware.

Ah, Alvin, you have short-sighted eyes. Open your mind, man. Can you not enjoy everything the world offer you, don't be too rigid.

Bible said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)". My friends, so now, even your own heart can deceive you, to whom you should put your trust? In this world that full of relativity, bad can simply be good, and good simply be bad, right can turn to wrong and wrong turn to right, in what basis you stand on your ground?

Many people playing God, they preach their own doctrines, their own theologies based on their own wisdom. They used Bible too, and in some topic that they can understand, they dig deep into it, but they never touch other thing in which they don't understand. They start to preach heresies. If you only understand that God is Love without knowing that God is also Just, you will preach that everybody will be in heaven, no hell, because God loves all people. That's what Oprah teach, according to her New Age Movement.

Or if you only focus that God is not compassionate, not love you, etc, you will start to create another mediator to soften His heart first, to speak to Him on behalf of you. This is another fake teaching. Don't you know that Bible said there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Or don't you know that even Jesus Himself didn't ask God on our behalf? God the Father Himself loves you, He will give you anything you ask in Jesus' name.

John 16:26-27

In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.

Or because you think that God is Tyrant in His Sovereignity, you will stop preaching, because you will think that it is useless to preach if God didn't open their hearts, haven't predestined them before the beginning of this world, then don't think that everybody has his own freewill. Man is wretch, no change to repent if God didn't allow them. Don't you know that God want everybody to be saved, not wanting anyone to perish?

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

1 Timothy 2:3-4

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

So, please my friends, open your Bible and read, don't just listen to anybody until you will become confused, don't just believe in any lies given to you. You need to also check my words, since I am also human. I can do wrong, and I need somebody to correct me as well. I don't want to be self-righteous and go back to my past, to satisfy again my itching ears. I know that with this topic, some of you feel sad, and think less of me again, because you think that I am against you again.

Paul had that problem too, when he was in Galatia, he asked them 'What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them (Galatians 4:15-17).

My friends, please don't think that those who go to the Bible school, to seminary, who attend so many sermons are all children of God, not all of them. I hope start from now. You don't be too quick to believe in everything they said.

Bible said, 'Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world (1 John 4:1-3).

Do you want all the time be deceived and deceiving others? There are a lot of wicked people out there, and they will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:13-15).

Be wise, my friends. Read your Bible, Open your eyes and See! If you want to go to heaven, 'eat' the Word of God. How can you expect to be in heaven if your Bible always stays on your bookshelf, dusted? Don't you know that there are many false prophets, false teachers around you? They are children of darkness, and they have infilterated the churches. They even preach, teach, hold high status in the church. You will never know whether they teach you the very Word of God or just the teaching of men, unless you read your Bible.

2 Corinthians 11:14

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Do you understand that verse? There is a religion who has their false prophet and false teaching. It started when this false prophet who was illiterate met an angel of light, angel gave him revelation and because of that, he started to claim himself as God's messenger. He killed anybody who didn't agree with him, he married more than once. What can you expect from someone who believe in that religion? Some of them still have , good mind, good heart, they do no harm to others, but if they go deep into that teaching, satan began to corrupt their mind and they will become radical, terrorist, they kill in the name of their god. They believe that by doing that, they will be in heaven with their own harem, they will have sex for eternity in heaven. Can you imagine that? It is only because of one man, now it become the largest religion in the world.

Bible said, One sinner destroys much good (Ecclesiastes 9:18)

And even long before Jesus came, people already practice worshipping statues, worshipping men and women, worshipping animal (cow, snake, etc), worshipping sun, moon, stars, trees, etc, but NOT GOD. I tell you the truth, some of them claimed to believe in God, to have faith in Jesus, but it is just in their mouth, they don't practice what they teach.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles (Romans 1:21-23)

My friends, can you put God inside your statues? Inside human man-made? Do you want to end up as idolater? My ancestors believed in Buddha, my Hindus friends pray in front of food sacrifice and joy sticks with some portrait. How about you?

Acts 7:49

Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will you build me? said the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

This kind of worshipping act continues until now, right in front of your eyes. And you never realized about it, since your eyes are calloused. My friends, have you met people who are under spell? Go to my country, there are a lot of people who are practicing magic. When people under some spell, what you see is different with what they see. You see danger ahead, they see peace, and they walk toward it unaware. No matter how you try to warn them, they will never listen to you. They harden their heart.

So, my friends, if you now realize that all this time you also worshipping statues, men, birds, animals, reptiles. Please stop doing that. Don't exchange your eternity with that kind of practice. Leave those things and worship God alone. Jesus is God, Saviour and Lord of lords, King of kings. Believe in Him and eternal life is yours. Remember, in this world, there are a lot of fake things, maybe all this time, you are in your fake heaven, imaginary heaven, heaven that never exist, heaven that was created by your own pastors, priests, etc.

Bible said, 'For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 3:3-4).

My friends, if you need proof for this verse, just look for the biggest church in your town and try to attend their sermon. There is only 2 reasons why people flock to that church.

  1. because God is there, people get more fire from God each time they come
  2. because the preacher always dope them with what their itching ears what to hear.

Everybody has itching ears. We want to be pleased, to be praised, to be satisfied. Nobody want to be judged, to be condemned, to be wronged. Am I right? Bible said so.

John 3:19-21

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

These people who have itching ears will hate everything that Bible said. That's why for them, it would be nice to have fake preacher, fake pastor, fake church, to comfort them. Tell them that God is Love them so much, no matter how bad their behaviour is, they will go to heaven. And because of these, you can see that churches are booming, preaching is now kind of job, the way to earn money, to be rich. You think there are a lot of revival if you see new churches? Don't be too quick to decide.

If they never talk about faith, about sanctification, about hell, about judgment, about something that God dislike, about repentance, about holiness, about strive to enter the heaven, you can be sure, that those churches are one of fake churches, that those preachers are just another super-apostles, who only care about your money, that you keep paying your tithe, your offering, they can have 19000 people flock to their church, which as big as baseball stadium, but their topics is just about peace of the world, love of the world, freedom from slavery of financial problem, trouble, how to gain rich from God, blessing, healing, etc. That church is dead, but people like to be there, because they want to go to heaven, but they don't want to strive for it. So, they think that by doing that, God is pleased.

Galatians 6:7-8

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

John 4:24

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Monday 25 August 2008

Making One's Calling and Election Sure

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3-11).

Do you want to have God-pleasing life?


To all my friends who want to have a God pleasing life, please spend time to read this:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Collosians 1-17).


BE HOLY


Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you (1 Peter 1:13-25).

How to make sure that you will go to heaven (Part 3)? Holy Ghost Baptism

Again, this article would only be a theory if you haven't experienced the Part 2. Sanctification. So, I urge you to read this first.

After you are born again, after you are sanctified, the next thing that will come to you is Holy Ghost Baptism. This will make you an effective Christian, this will make your ministry work fruitfully, this will make you 100% sure, that God has chosen you to be His child, to be His minister, to be His tool for doing His business, to preach the Gospel effectively. What you need is to keep your fire burning for God has pleased with you.

Ephesians 1:13-14

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Let's go back to the Scripture. Jesus chose His 12 disciples and during His ministry, He sanctified them one by one. But still, Jesus ask them to go to Jerusalem and wait for Holy Spirit to come. They already have faith in Jesus, they already been saved, but they still expecting more from God, Holy Ghost Baptism. This is the third cardinal things. Like I said before, you can't have this unless you have graduated from your second level. If you have gone through sanctification process, just wait and ask, for God will give you His mighty anointing on the time that is so perfect for you, that you will never forget for all of your life. Just wait and pray always.

When you are born again, God's Spirit dwell inside you, He gave you a new heart, but still, the Spirit of God hasn't been manifested fully. There is a story in Acts 19:1-7, where Paul asked some disciples, 'Did you received the Holy Spirit when you believed?' They answered, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' So Paul asked, 'Then what baptism did you receive?' 'John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' Then Paul placed hands on them, and Holy Spirit came on them. Or in the Cornelius case, because He had lived God-fearing life even before Peter came to him, he didn't need sanctification process, but he received Gift of Holy Spirit immediately. Water baptism is part of salvation, but if you want to be really complete, you need to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire. John the Baptist said,

Matthew 3:11

I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

Water baptism is baptism of repentance, you did this when you are born again. Repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ. You turned from your sinful life to God-fearing life, from sinner to winner. But still, you have something need to be dealt with, that can hinder God to dwell inside you fully. Don't you know that God is holy? God is Light, in him there is no darkness at all. You can't see God without holiness. You need to make yourself ready first to be God's temple, for God to fully dwell inside you. Jesus teaches us 'Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24). Before God accept your offering, He demand you to firstly settle any matter that are not right. Before you want to be used by Him greatly, have you already disciplined by God? Have your life not be a stumbling block for others?

Let me use common words now. Born again is the beginning of Christian life, we are like a baby, then become a little child, we still did so many error, that need corrections, disciplines from our parents until we are mature enough to differenciate between right and wrong. The process of getting mature is through sanctification. Then as a young man, we want to learn how to drive vehicle, how to live independently, etc. This things need so much responsibility from you. Just ask your earthly parents, what will they do if you ask to ride a motorcycle. They will make sure that you are really ready to be given their approval, their authority before they let you go on your own. They will not let you drive a motorcycle alone when you can't even ride a bicycle. They don't want to put you in danger. They care about you.

The same thing with God. Holy Spirit is powerful. It can help you a lot during your ministry. These are the Gifts of Holy Spirit: to one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kind of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:1-11).

But because of this is the Power of God, God will not carelessly give to any person. He won't give you this, unless you are ready. I am very sad, when I saw one of famous preacher's website. He sells the gifts of Holy Spirit, he opens the school of ministry: How to get mighty anointing, how to get healing divine, how to cast away demons, each of the course cost $75. As a preacher, he should have read how Peter said to Simon the Sorcerer, 'May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God (Acts 8:20).

This is what Jesus say, freely you have received, freely give.

Matthew 10:8

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.

Or another famous preacher, he claimed that his ministry is ministry of healing. He brought revival, many got healed. But tattoo covered his hands, he has piercing and latest news I heard, he planned to separate, to divorce with his wife. What do you think when you hear about this? For me, I am not surprised, because I already aware with false teachers, false prophets, but think about those who are lost. How they will react? They will think that Christianity is full of scandals, etc.

To those kind of preachers, Bible said, "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you (Romans 2:24)." Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to (Matthew 23:13). Hope you are not one of them, my friends. If you want to serve God, to be used mightily by Him, removed all your entanglement with sins, with your pleasures. That's why you need to be sanctified before you receive His Holy Spirit fully.

God doesn't want you to end up like that, and I believe that God's Spirit has left those false ministers. If they still can do miracles, it is because God honor His word more than His name. He has given them His Holy Spirit, but still they choose to follow their own desire. They have wandered away from the Truth. Like Judas Iscariot, he followed Christ everywhere, but he was full of himself. Still, Jesus chose him to fulfill His ministry. Those preachers were once chosen to be also part of God's ministry. What is God's plan behind that, I don't know, but I believe that God never fails. The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice (Philippians 1:18).

My friends, don't end up like them, but always pursuit to have this experience. With this Holy Ghost Baptism, you will now be able to be effective in your ministry. Please don't get me wrong, don't think that I ask you not to preach before you experience this. NOT AT ALL. Don't you know that even when Jesus still was with His disciples, before all of them got Holy Spirit, Jesus sent them two by two to preach. You must preach with all your might, always ask God to enable you. Don't you care when you see people around you still lost, don't know about Christ? Paul said, 'Woe to me if I preach not the Gospel.' How about you?

What you need to do before you preach is pray then start to open your mouth, after that, you will realize that it is not you again who speak but Spirit of God inside you minister to them. Have you read the Parable of talent? Work for God faithfully according to the talent He has given you, whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much (Luke 16:10). The more you preach to them, the more you realize that you need more Power from God, the more you ask Him, and because of that, He will give you.

When you experienced this Holy Ghost Baptism, you will find that now, when you speak with people, your words will touch their heart, because Bible said through Paul, 'our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake' (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

You don't speak theory, doctrine of men, theology, but something practical. You speak with authority, with power, with Holy Spirit, with deep conviction. You will be able to captive the heart of the person you spoken to. They have no other choice, repent or run away from you and got damped, perish. Your Gospel is not about Yes and No, but always Yes and Amen. No strife, no debate, but with authority. Have you ever read that Jesus had debate with Pharisees? NO. When Jesus finish speaking, no one dared to ask him any more questions, some of them believed, some of them left angrily.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and narrow, it judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). When children of God speak, their words become spiritual particles, that penetrate into the heart. It has no barrier, no resistance, bring godly sorrow that lead to repentance, bring deep conviction. You can differenciate between the preachers who are called by God and those who are even Professor of Theology. Ones learn the Gospel through subjects and exams, ones learn by His anointing from God. When they speak, differences are clearly seen.

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit -- just as it has taught you, remain in him (1 John 2:27)

God can transform fishermen into the great apostles, or we can learn from the old, when God used Joseph, David, Moses, Gideon, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nehemiah, etc. God used the common people then He made them extraordinary. God doesn't need great men, He just needs a man and woman who are willing to be used by Him.

Everybody can be used greatly by God, and God will be exalted if you are offer your life to be His channel to reach others. But the question is, do you really want to be dealt by God? Do you really want to follow and obey Him, without hesitation, if He said to you, go to the most severe part of the world, will you still obey Him? Before you decided, Jesus has taught you to sit down and think. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. WIll he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything can not be my disciple (Luke 14:28-33).'

My friends, if you are not willing to be used by God. Just leave the rest of this writing. Be born again (repentance and faith in Jesus) and be sanctified (live in holiness), accompanied by God's grace is able to prevent you from backsliding. You can be relax now, by keep maintaining this, you can be sure that you are Children of God, that heaven is yours. The differences between you and others are in your works. You don't think that in heaven your crown will be the same like Paul's, do you?

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay and straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's works. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss, he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

You can decide by yourself, do you really care about other people or just think about your own salvation? if you are willing to be used by Him more greatly, if you want to have the gifts of healing, gift of prophecy, gift of knowledge, etc. You need to be ready. It will be given to you according to His will. But please, don't joke with it. The closer you are with God, the more you need to be careful. He is a jealous God. He will do anything according to His will just to excel you to do His work. If you know Eric Clapton, God touched him because of the death of his 4 years old son, or Don Moen' song, 'God Will Make a Way' was inspired because of the death of his nephew (his wife's sister's son).

In the Bible, there is also a story when God spoke to Ezekiel. He said, 'Son of man, with one blow I am about to take from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. Groan quietly, do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet, do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners (Ezekiel 24:15-17).

This mighty anointing is only for those who are ready to give everything for God, even to die is gain, to live is for Christ. To be a Christian is impossible if you don't have Christ in you. Maybe some of you never read about persecution. But Bible said 'In fact, everyone who want to live godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted' (2 Timothy 3:12). You will receive more Power from God, Gifts of Holy Spirit but on the other hands, devils will try his best to defeat you, opposition will raise up against you, the more you disturb devil's captives, the more devil try to persecute you, even to kill you. But one thing for sure, No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13)

John 12:25

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

This Holy Ghost Baptism is not theory, but practical, you will know it by yourself. You will see the glory of the Lord, you will feel His Presence for real. He is so close to you. As Peter, John and James when they saw the transfiguration of Jesus, His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them, where they saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, what did they say? Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put three shelters -- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from this cloud: 'This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!' (Mark 9:2-7). God's Presence can be felt by His disciples, and this is the best thing in this world you can get. Every time you are in God's Presence, you will always want to stay there as long as you can. You need to experience this by yourself. But before that, you must first humble yourself, be born again, be sanctified, and wait and keep spreading the Gospel to others.

I have shown you the steps to experience God more. It depends on you now, whether you agree with me or not. If I were you, I would not be skeptical. If I haven't experienced it, but somebody has, I will never say that they are wrong, false prophets and I am right. NOPE. I will ask God, if this really the Truth, let me experience it by myself.

Again, before you experience this, don't stop doing God's will. For I have seen many people did not do in orderly manner. They bring argument to God and say like this, 'God, if you really want to use me greatly, I want to have gift of healing first, I want to have gift of speaking in different tongues first'. When I have this great conviction, I will close my business and be a full-time preacher. I will then decide to follow you.' You will never get it, my friends. Bible said, 'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).

These things are practical, you will never understand it unless you practice it in your life. Believe in God, believe in what Bible says, then you will get it. Otherwise, die trying and I do believe that many people when they can't experience this by themselves, they will start to mock those people who have this Gift. I hope you are not one of them.

May God bless you, my friends.

Sunday 24 August 2008

How to make sure that you will go to heaven (Part 2)? Sanctification

This is only for those who already experience genuine born again, genuine salvation from God, genuine peace in heart. This is the next thing that need to follow to really make sure that you are not easy to backslide.

Please don't read this if you are still behaving as your flesh demand. You need to graduate from your elementary school first before you can go to the next level. Even if there is any accident, e.g you got wrong admission from the middle school by mistake, but if you can't do physic, mathematic; calculate linear equation, formula, and other stuff that necessary for middle school student, you yourself will run out from it and go back to elementary school by your own choice, will you not? You can't get your Visa unless you have your Pass first.

You will find it is very difficult to do the thing that I will explain to you without being born again, but if the Spirit of God inside you, His yoke is easy and His burden is light, living a Christian life is not burdensome. So, please make sure that you are already born again before you read it. For the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. This is the sign that you are already children of God.

1 John 3:9-10

Whoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whoever does not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loves not his brother.

1 John 5:1-2

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

When you really sure about your first cardinal thing (be born again), let us go deeper into perfection in Christ. This is the real food for those who want to be mature in the Lord. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so (Hebrews 6:1-3).

When you are born again, you will find that you are now walking with God. Like the newly born baby, the only thing he can do is crying and depending so much to his parents, but with time, he understand more, and begin to walk, begin to speak, begin to understand his parents, and he will be able to perceive things. Every newly born again Christian will have the same experience like this baby.

  • In the first time, walking with God seem so difficult, God is still blur, not real enough, your Spirit was just quickened from dead. God still seem far away, but don't give up since He will help you too. He has given you a new heart, you will have more desire to know more about God.
  • Like baby, for the first time, you can only say 'Mama, Papa', your prayers to God will be short, after 1 minutes, you don't have anything left to say, you can't talk to Him more. Don't be discourage, keep practicing it, keep talking to Him, pour out your heart onto Him.
  • Like a small child learn in his kindergarden how to read, M-A-M-A = Mama, etc. For the first time, reading Bible seem so many contradictions, confusing, do not be discourage, keep reading for God will open your eyes more. When you don't understand, ask Him to teach you personally. Beware of the false teachers, always test the spirits. Don't risk your eternity by being lazy and just want to be pet by your pastors, priests, etc.
  • Then you will begin to feel God closer and closer to you. You will be able to call Him, 'Abba, Father'. And you will hear He said to you, 'My son, my daughter.'
  • Like a small boy in the midst of new environment, you will feel that you are a stranger in His church, you never know about Christian language (Halleluya, Syalom, sins, atonement, Lamb of God, parables, etc), Christian songs, etc. But with time, you will make new friends in His church, being in the fellowship now become so sweet, praise and worship God become the joy of your life, you are like in the big family, care each others, love each others, you can feel God's presence in His church. You love His dwelling place.
  • But still, like a little children, you still can do many error that can make your parents sad, but they still love you, don't they?

God will never hate His children (but He hates children of darkness who still do as their sinful nature want to do). Don't you know the parable of the Lost Son? He asked his inheritance to his Father and went away on his own. He left his Father's house and go to the far country, did whatever he likes. Until he found himself lack of money and need to eat with pigs, he lived in the mud of thrash until he came to his senses and decided to go back to his Father. Do you know what his Father do? He accepted his son back without hesitation, he order his servants to bring the best robe and hold a party. Can you imagine that the child was so stinky, like a beggar, but the Father threw his hands around him and kissed him? That the best thing you can ever get, my friends.

If you want to know God, do not delay, do not first try to make good of yourself, do not say that 'I am the sinner of sinners, God will never forgive me. I will come to Him when my life is better than this for I am ashamed of Him' Do not ever say like that. This lost son didn't fit himself with something good first, he went back as he was, with all of his sins, and repent to his Father and ready to surrender his life to Him, even to be His slave. That's it. You need to 100% surrender, go back immediately, and ask His forgiveness, without arguments.

Devil is creating fear in your life, he doesn't want you to go back to your Father. He fabricates lies, he tells you that if you accept Jesus, you will lose your freedom, your satisfication, your sin-partner, etc. If you think like that, I won't force you. Do as you like, but let me warn you. The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them, the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not can not be hidden (1 Timothy 5:24-25). Some day, your sins will cost your life. Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free (Proverbs 11:21).

For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (1 Peter 3:10-12).

Yes, after you are born again, you are children of God, but still, like this lost son, you can go out from your Father's house, go back to your old habit (backslide). God is still always hoping you to come back, but He will respect your own freewill, He will still give you good things (inheritance), He still bless you, raise the sun for you, give you comfort, even though you never think about Him, He still love you, still patient with you until your time is up, then it is decided, you will be judged according to your own life, heaven or hell. If your time is up and you didn't receive His calling, you will be lost and got damped in hell. Just imagine if this lost son never come back to his senses, will he receive the glory of his Father back? Nope. He will die in the most miserable place.

Numbers 14:18

The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'

God will never leave you, but you are able to leave God, to go back to your sinful nature, you are the one who disown Him, and because of that, you will end up in hell. Whenever you follow and obey your Father's will, you can be sure, that heaven is yours. Please don't twist my words. I said 'your Father', not 'your god'. Many moslems, hindus, buddhists, etc do good things in their life, but they do their god's will (little 'g' --> dead gods), not their Father's will. They are not yet children of God since they have not accepted Jesus, have not been born again. Their deeds mean no salvation. Please read my previous article first.

Salvation come from God, and is not because of your might, your beauty, your cleverness, your diligence, but because of God's grace. He sustains your life, He, with His Holy Spirit dwell inside you, He make you to be able to overcome the temptations. God's grace will help you, but there are things that can grieve Holy Spirit inside you, that can make you put God aside, no more be your number one. This is the things that need to be removed from your habit, your character:

Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Have you overcome those things? If you still have some of them, start to worry about your heaven. Don't end up in your imaginary heaven. But, try to deal with this. How, Alvin?

You need the second touch of God, to deal with you deeper, to make sure that your life now is different from your past. You must have holiness, through sanctification, by the hands of God, by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Maybe right now, you are genuine born again Christian, but there are still some bad behaviour that you still have, like talkativeness, always want to know other people's business, angers, easily discouraged, easily disappointed, drunk, addiction, pessimist, always worry, fear, selfish, jealous, etc. This things have rooted in your heart, it is 'in your blood' and can't be dealt by being born again alone. You need more the touch of God to deal with it.

This is your second requirement: Visa

Bible said that faith is important, without faith you can't please God, without faith you will never be able to believe in God, to be justified. But Bible said more that without holiness, we won't be able to see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Let me tell you what written in the Bible. After Jesus chose 12 disciples, during His ministry for 3.5 years. Beside He need to do His Father's will to fulfill all the prophecies about Him, He also sanctified His disciples, John and James who still argued about who will sit in the right and the left of the Lord (they were still selfish), Peter who said that he will follow Jesus no matter what, but within a day, He had already disowned Jesus 3x (still boastful). Thomas, who was doubtful, who will never believe that Christ has risen until he put his finger to where the nails were, or Philip when Jesus fed 5000 people, he thought helplessly, no chance to give those people enough food. Jesus dealt with them personally. He sanctified them, until then He said, 'Now you are clean, though not every one of you.'

The same thing with you, after Jesus has chosen you to be His child, after you known by Him, you still have some things that will make your life not effective as Christian, that can make you to be a stumbling block for others. Some of you have critical mind, always use your own logic and say that Bible is contradict Bible and try to mislead others. Please, my friends, if you don't believe Bible is the Truth, don't read it, don't say that you believe in Jesus, don't ever say to me that you are Christian. You are not. How can you believe in Jesus but reject His Word? Why don't you behave wisely, what do you think? Is your little, tiny brain can understand God fully? God understand you, not you understand Him. What you can do is, to try to be as close as possible to God, so He will tell you what is in His heart, not using your own logic trying to guess what God want to do.

Or some of you always criticize among believers for their attitude, not because of their wrong-doing, not because of their false hope, but just because something in your mind, like: why you only eat vegetables? why you think everyday is the same? why you didn't wash your hand before eating? why you been baptized like that, etc? My friends, why don't you leave those things? The one who only eat vegetables, the one who make one day more special, they do it for God. And also the things that go inside your mouth will not make you impure, but things that came out from your mouth can make you impure.

If you still have the behaviour that you really know deep down in your heart, that it can make God sad, can make you backslide; ask God to deal with it. Have you ever see the tree like this picture below? We are the branches, Jesus is the vine and God the Father is the gardener. We must always stick to the vine to get life from it. Jesus said, 'Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.'

God is the Gardener, He is your Creator. Like a clay of pottery in the hand of the Potter, He knows what He wants you to be. He has designed something great for you. Don't you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him (Psalms 139:14)? Allow Him to cut every branch of you that can't bear fruit. If God wants you to be like this elephant tree, just allow Him, my friends. Each person has his own purpose, has his own glory from God. Don't you know that He has something special designed only for you which is greater than this human-made elephant tree? What is your purpose in this life? If you don't know yet, go and ask Him. Pray to Him, speak to Him.

Perfection, holiness are the things that you need to pursue in your life to be an effective Christian, to have good relationship with God, to know more about Him. Let Christ be seen in your life.

Matthew 5:48

So be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 Peter 1:15-16

Instead, just as the one who called you is holy, be holy in every aspect of your life. For it is written, “You must be holy, because I am holy.'

2 Corinthians 7:1

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by perfecting holiness in the fear of God

1 Thessalonians 4:7

For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness

This is what God demanded from you. To be perfect, as He is perfect. Many people can't do this, so they mock people who are pursuing holiness. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:4-5). These speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves (Jude 10).

Many people are like that, they mock Christian who loves God. Are you alone who will go to heaven? Are you saint? Are you not too self-righteous by telling other that they will end up in hell? Are you not playing God?

To those people, someday, God will send His strong delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). So, my friends, instead of being critical, it would be good for you to ask God to tell you, is this mad guy, Alvin, telling me the Truth or he is just another false teacher. Ask God, my friends. Don't harden your heart and try to satisfy your itching ears always. Don't you know that your heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9)?

If you really sincere to experience the touch of God come to you for the second time. This is what you need to do. Ask God.

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

But believe me, His process is never seemed to be pleasant, but painful. Do you really want to grow mature or you want to be like seed who sowed in the shallow soil or among thorns? Receive the word with joy only for a short time, but when trouble, persecution comes because of the word, you quickly fall away, or because of worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. What kind of seed do you want to be? If you want to be like a seed that fell on good soil, read this.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: ''My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed (Hebrews 12:1-13).