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Turn yourselves from your idols and abomination, and prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
Fred R. Coulter—August 12, 2023
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!
To begin with we're going to start out with understanding a simple but difficult Scripture.
I got an email saying, concerning Matt. 19, that when Jesus answered the young man, He said, 'You know the commandments, and therefore, we don't have to keep them.'
Which tells you that all people know the commandments but they say, 'We don't have to keep them'!
Let's go to Matt. 19 and we'll read it here. Then we'll look at the parallel account in Mark and in also Luke. We will see that there is no way that you can conclude from what Jesus said or what the young man said that you don't have to keep the commandments of God.
People are all locked into this Protestant thought that if you just have your little confessional and call Franklin Graham at this number or whoever the minister is, that you are secure in heaven. You're no more secure in heaven than you are with whatever you could compare it to because there's no comparison.
Matthew 19:16: "Now at that time, one came to Him and said, 'Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?' And He said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except one—God. But if you desire to enter into life, keep the commandments'" (vs 16-17). Nothing could be clearer!
Verse 18: "Then he said to Him, 'Which?' And Jesus said, 'You shall not commit murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (vs 18-19).
Now what's the first thing that all Protestants do when they read that? They are locked into a great lie, which is this: He didn't say the Sabbath! They don't have the wit about them to understand that in Judea and Galilee the Sabbath was the law of the land! Everybody kept the Sabbath one way or another. So, He didn't have to mention it.
But notice He said, "…love your neighbor as yourself.". Is that in the Ten Commandments? No, it's not!
Mark 10—we will see it's just a little different, but we will see that Jesus did say, 'You know the commandments..'
Mark 10:17: "And as He went out to the road, one came running up and knelt down before Him, and asked Him, 'Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?' But Jesus answered him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except one; that is God.'"(vs 17-18). A lot of people can't figure that out!
- Why did Jesus say there's none good but one God?
- Why didn't He say, 'I'm glad you recognize Me, I'm the only One Who's good on the earth'?
He had human nature, and as long as He had human nature, because of the evil potential of human nature, He was not good in the way that God looks at good. People look at 'good' with a different perspective.
Verse 19: "You know the commandments…" There it is, just like she wrote on her e-mail.
"'…You shall not commit adultery; you shall not commit murder; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.' And he answered and said to Him, 'Master, I have kept all these from my youth'" (vs 19-20).
- there is keeping
- there is knowing
- there is keeping
The Protestants know the commandments, but:
- Do they keep them?
- Do they understand them?
- NO!
Let's come to the account in Luke 18. Here's another thing to understand in the way of Bible study and so forth. Get all the Scriptures that pertain to what is being discussed. Because:
- there's part here
- there's part there
- there's part someplace else
Now we will see the missing ingredient after we cover it here in
Luke 18:18: "And a certain ruler…"
Now we learned a little bit more about him; he's a ruler.
"…asked Him, saying, 'Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' Then Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except One—God. You know the commandments: "You shall not commit adultery. You shall not commit murder. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother."' And he said, 'I have kept…" (vs 18-21).
Why didn't Jesus say, 'You don't need to keep them anymore. I'm here to do away with the Law.' He didn't!
"…'I have kept all these commandments from my youth.' And after hearing these things, Jesus said to him, 'You still lack one thing…'" (vs 21-22).
I imagine he was thinking: only one? Notice what Jesus said:
"…sell everything that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me" (v22).
Why did Jesus say that? Because there was another commandment that he was breaking in his own mind, which he didn't understand! We'll see that in just a minute.
Verse 23: "But when he heard these things, he became very sorrowful; for he was quite rich."
Verse 24: "Now, when Jesus saw him become so sorrowful, He said, 'How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.' And those who heard this said, 'Who then is able to be saved?'" (vs 24-26).
Why did Jesus say to 'sell everything that you have'?
Let's learn a lesson, because commandment-keeping does not begin with outward action. Commandment-keeping begins with inward thought.
God wants us to think, but God wants us to think correctly. He wants us to understand what He wants. So, let's read Ezek. 14, because here is what was in the mind of that man.
Ezekiel 14:1: "And some of the elders of Israel… [he was a rich man, a leader] …came to me and sat before me. And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts…'" (vs 1-3)
I want you to think about that! How many idols do we have in our heart? This is why conversion is of the heart and of the mind and everything about us. They've set up idols in their hearts!
- Was not all the riches of that man idols in his heart?
- Was he willing to give them up? No!
- What did Jesus say about coming to Him? If anyone comes to Me and love father, mother, brother, sister, so forth more than Me, he is not worthy of Me.
Think about that! Now we don't know how much he had, but he had a lot!
There's another lesson we can learn from it, which is this: The riches of God that He's going to give us is greater than any riches we can have on the earth! The greatest riches of all that God is going to give us is eternal life!
- which you cannot buy
- which you cannot produce yourself
It must come from God!
"…these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces…." (v 3) That's what happened!
Wasn't that a stumbling block for that young man? Yes! He couldn't get over it. If he really wanted eternal life, he would have said, 'Master, I will sell all that I have and come and follow You.'
But he didn't. So here is the question: "…Should I at all be inquired of by them?" (v 3). That puts a lot of people in the same category who think that they're coming to God!
They are so blinded because they have believed so many lies that supposedly the preacher says come from the Bible that they are adamant in refusing to recognize that! Those are idols in the minds of those who are false Christians who think that they're truly converted. But they're not!
Verse 4: "Therefore, speak to them, and say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him according to the multitude of his idols.'"
Now think about this; you've got to understand this: Whatever Jesus said to the young man to do, that was from God! We'll see about what that is in a little bit here.
Verse 5: "So that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they have deserted Me for their idols—all of them! Therefore, say to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Repent and turn yourselves from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations" (vs 5-6).
I want you to think about that! We'll talk about some of the difficulties we're going through a little later, but I want you to understand something. Here is one major sin that is so predominant in America, and we've covered this before, and it has to do with abortion, because abortion is murdering the unborn of single women.
I don't know how many are there, millions; 64% of them want abortion to be legal, which tells you that idol in their minds cuts them off from God. They are so deceived that they don't even know what a woman is anymore.
Now they understand with all this transgender stuff, gender operations are 100% unsuccessful. They can pretend in a lie in their minds that a woman is a man, but she's not, or a man is a woman, but he's not, and you can take all of the drugs, you can take all of the surgery, you can take everything that they offer to you to perpetuate your lie, to keep you locked into Satan the devil, that you can't see the Truth—100% doesn't work!
God says, v 6: "Repent and turn yourselves from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations"
- abortion is abomination
- Sabbath-breaking is an abomination
Verse 7: "For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger who lives in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to ask of him concerning Me; I the LORD will answer him Myself."
We don't know how God is going to answer him, but it could range from difficult times all the way to death. Here's what happens. When people set their face against God and people refuse to follow God, what does God do?
Verse 8: "And I will set My face against that man, and I will make him for a sign and for a proverb. And I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you shall know that I am the LORD."
So, all of these transsexual things and all of these operations are going to be a testimony to every human being and those who have them that they are 100% failures, because your gender is on every cell and gene of your body.
Verse 9: "And the prophet…"
He talks about the prophet; there are a lot of prophets. I've got a whole page in a newspaper where in Canada all of these churches are accepting homosexuals to come into the congregations. That means all those pastors who do it are deceived. Just one example:
"…if he is deceived, and he speaks a word, I the LORD have deceived that prophet…." (v 9). Think about that!
- Does God react to it? Yes!
- How do you suppose we came from being a normally moral people all the way to the abominations that we have in this society today?
It lays at the doorstep of every minister and every evangelist and all of those who profess the name of Christ who:
- will not keep the commandments of God
- will not teach the Truth of God
- will not follow the Word of God
God says, "…And I will stretch out My hand upon him and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeks unto him. So that the house of Israel may never again go astray from Me…" (vs 9-11).
The ultimate result is that God's going to straighten it out. But there are too many people who think they can straighten it out themselves.
Now let's come back to Luke 10 and see something very interesting. Let's see the obligation of the minister or like it says in Ezekiel, the prophet, the one who is supposed to be speaking for God!
This becomes very important and I want you to understand this concerning the Word of God. and why study is so important. You can't just say, 'I understand this doctrine, I don't need to study it.' OR 'I understand this and I don't need to study it.'
You'll find over the years that when you go back over it, the same thing you thought you knew, you learned a whole lot more about it because you have a greater knowledge of the Scriptures bringing to bear on what you're reading. This has to do with the Word of God:
Luke 10:16: "The one who hears you… [if you're speaking the words of God] …hears Me…"
Think about that! That is the responsibility. Now I'm going to amplify this tomorrow when we have our Elders Conference.
"…and the one who rejects you rejects Me…" (v 16). In other words, IF they would speak the Truth of God like God said, THEN they could represent God.
But the one who rejects those who speak the Truth of God, rejects Christ!
"…and the one who rejects Me rejects Him Who sent Me" (v 16). Think about that! The Great Sovereign of the universe, God the Father!
This tells us an awful lot. It tells us when we answer questions from the Bible:
- we need to do it thoroughly
- we need to cover it completely
- we need to make it so that it becomes a part of everyone's thinking and way of being
Because the blessing comes from God the Father. It's not that there's an inherent thing about the one who is preaching that is superior to anyone who is hearing. That's not true because those of us who were elders are to be stewards.
Now a steward is someone who takes the assets, the money, the goods of the master and gets a profit by trading and doing what he's to do to bring it back to the master. He has to be faithful!
This is why God told all of the apostles that you are not to be like the Gentiles and rule over the people. All of us who are elders, we are her:
- to teach the Word of God
- teach it with truth
- teach it with conviction
- teach it rightly
rightly dividing the Word of God as Paul wrote!
That does not exalt us at all because we are to be as the servant, not as the overlord. Peter made that very clear.
Now I want to cover some other things before we get into the main message today.
I mentioned this to you before and I hope a lot of you have downloaded it, but you need to download:
Thoughts on General Chi Haotian
Secret Speech By Chinese General Chi Haotain
{https://www.cbcg.org/judgment/thoughts-on-general-chi-haotian.html}
Now it's important for you to read it in order for you to understand what is China doing to America?
- What are their designs?
- What are their attitudes?
- What are they proposed to do?
I'll tell you one thing. Any Chinaman that drives down in the Midwest and sees mile after mile after mile of crops, corn, wheat, barley, whatever; he thinks of China where they don't have that.
They have roughly 7-10% of their land for cultivating. Everything else must be imported. So, when they drive through the Midwest, they want this land.
- Are they buying it? Yes, they are!
- Have other countries also bought it? Yes, they have!
So, you read what their plan was in 2003 and you will see that it is coming to pass today. Give you one hint: They say the United States should secede all of western of America to China! Why? Because they were here first!
Here's another article: Biden wants to ban gas generators the generate electricity. Biden and the Democrats truly want to destroy America. Why are they in power to do so? Because this nation has blatantly turned its back on God!Blatantly, in every one of the Ten Commandments of God and all of the sexual morality commandments that God has, a vast majority of people are breaking them with impunity.
Now here's an organization 'in God We Trust' makes a comeback. Well, if you don't come back to God in Truth, it isn't going to do any good.
Here's another one concerning debt. Guess how much debt America is accumulating in new T-bills every single day? Five billion a day! That's a staggering amount. They can't bring themselves to bring a balanced budget and they can't bring themselves to the point that they can have a surplus to pay down any of the debt.
They will never, ever, ever, ever pay down any of the debt. And if it continues the way it is, they're looking for a $50 trillion ceiling on the debt that's going to hit America and it's going to be a repeat of the Weimar Republic. So you need to read about that!
- Do the bank leaders, the top bank leaders know what's going to happen?
- Do they know that inflation is coming?
- Do they know that a big economic crash is coming?
It's going to come because longtime Goldman Sachs executive—one Jeffrey Curry—who has been with them 27 years and is one of the leading men in the whole financial system in the world. He has left along with 27 other top executives. The rats are leaving the sinking ship!
Now then, what should you do? You need to have a supply of food. You need to have a supply of money. It won't go very far.
If you can get yourself some silver, I recommend you buy yourself some silver. Gold will be too expensive here pretty quickly. It's hovering at $2,000 an ounce. Silver is hovering right at about $28 to $32 an ounce. Think about that! But if you have enough money, you can pick up some of those silver dollars and you can keep them for when the dollar collapses and you need to buy something, then you have something in your hand to buy it.
Because it will get just like it was with the Weimar Republic. It took a wheelbarrow to bring in billions of marks to buy a loaf of bread.
Now then, here's another one to watch for concerning the mark of the beast. Scientists control human DNA with electricity. In a leap forward, a study reports.
Now, last of all, I want to show you this picture. When they say, we're coming after your kids, they're not kidding. There it is! Look at all of those books in Barnes and Noble. I've got the list of all of those who printed them, who wrote them, who did the illustrations.
Why are they right up there in the front when you go in to Barnes and Noble? Because they want everyone to get into a situation where there will be a decrease in population to save the planet! That's an ultimate goal of the global warming thing.
Now then, let's see what we have here.
I was stunned watching the news last night. You missed one of the biggest events that has taken place. Merrick Garland and Joe Biden—and the ones behind Joe Biden that are pulling all of the strings—have agreed to try Donald Trump and make him be in court all during the campaign for the 2024 election.
Now there's one thing that I hope they really catch because that could dismiss that whole case of January 6 that they're trying to bring on Donald Trump, dismiss it completely. You know what that is?
In order to properly try Donald Trump, they have to have access to all records, all videos, all emails. But guess what the January 6 committee, the Democrats, did to all of those? They destroyed them!
I don't know if they're going to go to the Supreme Court and have the Supreme Court rule that you cannot proceed with this trial unless there is all of the evidence available. If you've destroyed it, you have destroyed the case.
So, like Donald Trump said, 'they're not only after me, they're after everyone in America.' All of these things that are coming down:
- are not just political problems
- are not just educational problems.
- are not just medical problems
They are spiritual problems, because we have rejected God.
Now remember what God said: 'IFyou reject me, I will reject you.'
We're beginning to see what it's going to be like in this nation for rejecting God! It's no small matter because the majority of the people, even those who are supposed to be good and upright, have not come to God in repentance and humility and seeking God's mercy the way only God could give.
They think they can solve it all by political means or by whatever other means that may come along, but they won't be able to do it!
(break@37:05)
I want to bring some things to your mind, to remind you of them.
Be sure and get the book, God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days!
This is important. The second edition is greatly expanded and it will give you a whole lot of knowledge and understanding about the Sabbath and the Holy Days and why they are important to God.
Here it is: God's Plan for Mankind, and He's called us to carry it out when Christ returns. So you need to get this book. We send it to you at no cost.
We have 100 more of the Restoring the Original Bible by Ernest Martin.
You can call, you can e-mail, you can write. We'll get it to you. Now one warning. You will see that Martin has some things when it comes to theology not correct, but He has a great history of the canonization of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
This is important for you to know because the attack against the Bible is going to come full throttle. They will label it as lies. They will hate it. They will come after those who believe it.
Also the new book that we have, The Apostle Paul's Teachings on God's Laws. We have a lot of these and you can use these to pass out to your friends and your neighbors.
Then we have one coming off the press this week: The Holy Spirit, the Power of God, A Scriptural Perspective. This will be one of our most important books that we have produced.
Books cannot be, with the flip of the switch, eliminated!
*****
What about all the problems facing America and the world? Not just us!
Jer. 18—we've covered this in the past, but this is important because it tells us what God is doing. Remember that in the book of Revelation it talks about the seven spirits of God that go throughout the whole world. This is how God knows what's going on in the world. Now let's see what God says.
Jeremiah 18:11: "The Word, which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 'Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.' Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was working at his wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was ruined in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the Word of the LORD came to me, saying,…" (vs 1-5).
Here's a lesson, why did the He use clay? Because all human beings are made of dust, and to dust you shall return. So, in forming Adam, God used what we would call clay. This is showing what God is going to do.
Verse 6[transcriber's correction]: "O house of Israel…"—and America has all twelve tribes in it!
Now, we have an interesting thing in Europe. Germany is Assyria, which includes Germany, Western Czechoslovakia, and Austria. They're all German speaking. Surrounding them are all of the twelve tribes of Israel except Manasseh and Ephraim. Very interesting!
So there are many prophecies that apply to the children of Israel concerning Assyria, but there are also other prophecies that apply to Ephraim and Manasseh separate from those that are there in close hand with Assyria. And Assyria has always been close to Israel when both were in the Middle East.
Verse 6: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you even as this potter?' says the LORD. 'Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hands, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.'"
Notice v 7 because here it shows that God has given free moral agency to the people and the nations.
Verse 7: "If at any time I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck it up and to pull it down, and to destroy it."
Look at all the nations that have come and gone. You go back and you look at Dan. 2 with the statue of the great empires, starting with the head of gold and all the way down to the toes and the clay. Pluck it up to destroy it!
Verse 8: "If..."
- God always gives warning!
- God always gives a chance of repentance!
You look in the Bible and what is the only nation that ever repented? Assyria! Read the book of Jonah! Israel never repented though they were the chosen people of God and that's not just the Jews.
Verse 8: "If that nation… [any nation, remember the rise and fall of nations] …against whom I have spoken, will turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them."
How does God bring evil? By using other people; by using armies of nations.
Verse 9: "And if at any time I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build it and to plant it; if it does evil in My sight, that it not obey My voice, then I will repent of the good with which I said I would do them good" vs 9-10)
Notice v 11, because this is what's transpiring today. Everyone's wanting to know:
- Why are all these problems coming?
- Why are all these difficulties here?
We're going to look at one of them that is going to be gigantic. There is no way that it will be solved quickly.
Verse 11: "Now, therefore, speak to the men of Judah, and to the people of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD. 'Behold, I am forming evil against you, and devising a plan against you….'" We see it unfolding against us now!
So, what does God do? He offers repentance! Repentance must be coming to God His way.
"…Return now, each one…" (v 11). Every person!
God is talking to every person, not only in this nation but in every nation on the face of the earth. God made all the people and at the end times they're going to be all involved with all of the things that are taking place.
- What are they going to do?
- How many are going to repent?
- How many are going to turn to God?
- What's going to happen?
"…Return now, each one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good" (v 11). What does that mean?
Amos 4—this is coming. Then we'll see what God says and then we will see what He requires since they're not converted to do good, to hold back the hand of God's correction.
Amos 4:6: 'And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, [#1]yet, you have not returned to Me,' says the LORD." We're going to see that:
- lack of food
- lack of things in the store
- inflation
- worthless money
Verse 7: 'And I have also withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest…. [we've seen the drought; we've seen too ] much rain] …And I caused rain to fall on one city and caused it not to rain on another city; one field was rained on, and the field on which it did not rain dried up. So, two or three cities wandered to one city to drink water…" (vs 7-8).
We've seen that and that's going to happen again!
"…but they were not satisfied; [#2]yet, you have not returned to Me,' says the LORD.
Notice God gives chance after chance after chance! So, the question today becomes: How many more chances do we have?
Verse 9: "'I have stricken you with blasting and mildew. When your gardens and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees increased, the creeping locust devoured them; [#3]yet, you have not returned to Me,' says the LORD"
Verse 10: "I have sent the plague among you… [we have many plagues] …after the manner of Egypt…"
- look at the sicknesses we have
- look at all the drugs that we have
- look at Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore
- drugs sold on the market openly and killing people
Will they return to God? No! they haven't!
"…'I have slain your young men with the sword, and have taken away your horses. And I have made the stench of your camps to come up into your nostrils; [#4]yet, you have not returned to Me,' says the LORD" (v 10).
Verse 11: "'I have overthrown some among you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked out of the burning; [#5]yet, you have not returned to Me,' says the LORD.
With all these national problems, it's not just a political thing, it is a spiritual thing and a coming to God His way!
Verse 12: "Therefore, I will do this to you, O Israel; and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"
What does that mean? We're going to meet God with all of the troubles that are coming down! How far off that is, we don't know, but we do have to speak the words of God concerning these things, because it's important.
Amos 5:4: "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel, [#1]Seek Me, and you shall live. But do not seek Bethel...'" (vs 4-5).
What is Bethel? Bethel was the center of the false worship, supposedly of God, but it was to Baal and the golden calf.
"…nor enter into Gilgal, and do not pass to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing" (v 5).
So, don't go to those places that are going to be totally wasted. I can think of one, which I'm concerned about, and that's San Francisco. Have you seen the reports on San Francisco? Do you know what lies right under San Francisco? The San Andreas Fault Line! I wonder how soon it's going to be that that breaks loose and all hell is going to transpire in San Francisco. It is already a ghost city because of the policies of lawlessness and drugs, and people are moving out of it as fast as they can, and businesses are closing down, and the streets are empty except for the crop and the pee and the drug needles.
Verse 6: [#2] "Seek the LORD and you shall live, lest He break out like a fire on the house of Joseph and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel—you who turn judgment to wormwood and leave off righteousness in the earth" (vs 6-7).
So that tells you who this is going to come upon, and how many is that? Look at how many people are trying to solve a lot of these problems, and in some they're coming back to God a little bit, but they've got to come back to God more!
Verse 8: [#3]Seek Him Who created the Pleiades and Orion, and Who turned the deep darkness into the morning, and Him Who darkened the day into night…. [that is God] [#4]Seek Him Who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the face of the earth—the LORD is His name."
Verse 14: [#5]"Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as you have spoken. Hate the evil… [do not embrace it; do not replace the Word of God with it] …and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate….[that better begin right in Washington, D.C.] …It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph" (vs 14-15)—which is who we are!
Now, let's see one of the great problems that we're going to face. This is a never-ending problem that is not going to go away. It is not going to be quickly solved, and it is going to be very difficult indeed.
Deut. 28:
- How many times have we been here?
- How many times have we warned that this would happen?
But look at it now! The cartels are here as soldiers with weapons. If one of an American citizen shoots one of them, he'll be tried and convicted of murder trying to protect his property.
I don't think we have grasped the magnitude of what's going to happen!
Deuteronomy 28:43: "The stranger dwelling among you shall get up above you very high, and you shall come down very low."
What does that mean? Think about what the governor of Massachusetts said just yesterday to solve the problem of the immigrants! And they only have a few thousand there in Massachusetts.
She said, 'We can't afford it. We're appealing for funds. And if any of you would like to open up your house to take some of the immigrants in, that would help a great deal.'
In other places, they're going to come, and if there's an empty house, they're going to move in it, and no one's going to get them out of it. So think about what is going to happen. Think about what's going to happen when there's a scarcity of food. Think about what's going to happen when the federal money runs out to support the 8-million that are already here under the Biden administration, and they are sent here by God as punishment for this nation!
Now then God says, "…you shall come down very low. And he shall loan to you…" (v 44). That's about the lending with the finances that we have covered.
Verse 45: "And all these curses…
Go back and read the whole first part of, and then the whole chapter of Deut. 28.
People will say, 'We don't like the word curse.' All right, put punishment. How's that? Will you be happy with that?
Verse 45: "And all these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes, which He commanded you."
That's why! You didn't serve God joyfully! Now let's look at it on a national basis! Remember, just like where we started, I don't know how much of a mass repentance there could really be in America. I don't know how we can break through all of the censoring that goes on by the establishment against anyone who speaks the Truth from the Bible. It needs to be spoken and it needs to be said!
Let's see what God thinks is very important to receive the blessings of God because that's what everyone wants.
Leviticus 26:1: "You shall make no idols to yourselves; and you shall not set up for yourselves graven images, or a standing pillar. And you shall not set up any image of stone in your land in order to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God.
Notice; first thing: Verse 2: "You shall keep My Sabbaths…"
That's what God wants! Everybody wants to go keep Sunday.
- Why would you want to keep Sunday when God didn't say anything about Sunday?
- Why are people so hateful against the Sabbath?
Because they believe the lies of the Protestant and Catholic teachers, which come directly out of the mouth of Satan the devil!
So, as John wrote in 1-John 3, when you do that:
- Are you a child of God or a child of the devil?
- Whose child are you?
Verse 2: "You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary. I am the LORD. If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit" (vs 2-4).
Then it says that you'll have blessings overflowing. Remember what God said, Jer. 18, IF you will return to Me! As we read in Amos 4, five times return to Me! But they didn't. Then five times the things they could do to seek God!
Now, if that doesn't happen, let's come to v 14, here's the choice; God always gives choice!
Verse 14: "But if you will not hearken to Me and will not do all these commandments, and if you shall despise My statutes, or if your soul hates My judgments, so that you will not do all My commandments, so that you break My covenant" (vs 14-15).
Think about that in relationship to Israel and then think about that in relationship to the Church and our covenant with Christ; our covenant with God the Father.
Verse 16: "I will also do this to you: I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and burning fever, consuming the eyes and causing sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it."
That's what China wants. China wants all of American food! How close are we to this point here in:
Verse 17: "And I will set My face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies. They that hate you shall reign over you. And you shall flee when none pursues you. And if you will not yet, for all this, hearken to Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins" (vs 17-18).
Read the rest of the chapter; it is not a lovely chapter. It is difficult!
Let's see what we are to do because God looks down upon us. Let's come to Jer. 6, and God speaks to the congregation that is in the middle of all of this suffering that is going on in Jer. 6. Of course, that means we need to prepare for the difficult days that are coming!
We can't sit back and let it come and then say 'Oh, I wish I would have done this or that or the other.'
We don't know what God will do because in Ezek. 9 God says that 'before the difficulties come God is going to send an angel to put a mark on the forehead of all of those who 'sigh and cry for all the sins and plagues' that are coming upon Israel and he will spare them.
Do we want God to spare us? Yes, indeed! Also, there are those who will go to a place of safety. We don't know who is going to go, but God will take them when they are ready. That means that we have got to be faithful to God!
Jeremiah 6:17: "Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Hearken to the sound of the ram's horn.'But they said, 'We will not hearken.'"
What you can say is this: Whenever something like I'm giving as a message today to whoever—there are some Protestant ministers speaking out against all the things that are going on that you have to give them credit for—but returning to Sunday is not returning to God!
Verse 18: "Therefore, hear you nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them? Hear, O earth, behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts…" (vs 18-19). God doesn't do it in an unjust way! So for us:
- What are our thoughts?
- What are we thinking on those of us in the Churches of God?
- What are the thoughts of those in the world that God hasn't called?
- How evil are their thoughts?
Well if 64% of single women want abortion:
- What is that?
- Is that not murder in the heart? Yes, indeed!
"…because they have not hearkened to My words, nor to My Law, but have rejected it" (v 19).
That's what's going to happen. God is giving this nation a chance and opportunity. We don't know how many will respond. We don't know how many will come to God the way that they should.
But what weneed to understand is that God wants us to draw close to Him all the time, and we need to ask God every day:
- for protection of His angels
- for understanding of His Word
- for giving us wisdom and discernment that we don't get ourselves in trouble
Let's see how we have to function in this world, and how we need to stay close to God.
2 Cor. 6 is quite a section that Paul has here so that we will know what we need to do! Now then, it's very important for us to understand and here's a great principle we can apply to everything that we do.
We cannot take from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that which appears good and try and attach it to the Tree of Life and expect it to come out good, because it won't!
The good from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil still always ends in disaster. The good that comes from God is the righteousness of God!
So, in the midst of all of this we need to pray is there going to be a repentance and how much so and how much of a part of this does God want us to play and how is that going to work out? We don't know, we have to put it all in God's hands but in the meantime here is what we need to understand.
2-Corinthians 6:14: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…."
That doesn't apply just to marriage, that applies to other things, because you can't serve two masters!
"…For what do righteousness and lawlessness have in common?…." (v 14).
Now one of the things I'm going to bring tomorrow at the elder's conference is: What is lawlessness?
Lawlessness can come in different forms. Look at what happened to Worldwide [Church of God], look at what happened when they brought in the doctrines of the world!
"…And what fellowship does light have with darkness?" (v 14). None! We need to keep that in mind, stay close to God:
- in prayer
- in study
- in living
- in understanding
- in every way
Verse 15: "And what union does Christ have with Belial?…."
None of the doctrines of Protestantism and Catholicism are not the true doctrines of God. They're all combined with the knowledge from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and in philosophy and tradition!
How many are really going to leave that? But we can't come to them and compromise the Gospel in an attempt to get them to come to us so we can have more numbers. That won't work! That's what they're concentrated on now:
We need to accept the homosexuals because God loves everybody.
Then they come into the church and now two men come up to the minister and say 'will you marry us?' Now what are you going to do? Or two women?
"…Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? And what agreement is there between a Temple of God and idols? For you are a Temple of the living God, exactly as God said…" (vs 15-16).
Remember this: Having the Holy Spirit of God and understanding the Word of God is so absolutely wonderful and powerful!
While all of these things are going on around us and we can analyze and see what is happening and know why, we need to stay closer to God!
Anybody we can help that really wants to know an answer and how to come out of these problems, fine:
- we'll help them
- we'll teach them
- we'll provide for them
- hope that they come to repentance and baptism
Here's why we're a Temple of God:
"…exactly as God said: 'I will dwell in them and walk in them…'" (v 16).
Go back and read John 14 that the Father and Christ will be dwelling within us! That is the great thing that God wants us to understand. So, keep that in the forefront of your mind with all of the difficulties that are taking place around us on every side.
"…'I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people'" (v 16).
That's the whole Plan of God right there in that one verse! For all of you who like summaries, there you go. Here's the one verse that tells you all.
Verse 17: "'Therefore, come out from the midst of them and be separate,' says the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you.'"
That's what it means to be with God! We have to maintain that relationship every day. That's why there's:
- prayer
- study
- overcoming
- tests and trials
- difficulties
That's why we're asked to pray for people who have afflictions, sickness or disease—or the brethren—that God will heal them and raise them up.
You have to be persistent in prayer that some things take a lot longer than other things. People have to come to God and help them in their trials, because why are they going through trials?
Every trial we go through is to help bring us closer to God! Even though while we're going through it, we might seem a little further from God than we ought to be. But when you get through it, then you look back on it and you can see that God used that to help you grow in knowledge and understanding!
Verse 17: "'Therefore, come out from the midst of them and be separate,' says the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you; and I shall be a Father to you…'" (vs 17-18).
Notice that this is the most important thing, that we have direct connection to God, to Father and Jesus Christ, right within us with the Holy Spirit of God through prayer and study all the time!
"'…and you shall be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty" (v 18). Think about that!
All of these things that we've covered with all the disasters and all of the sins and all of the abominations of the things that are going to be in the world.
The thing that is important for us is that we stay faithful to God and love God with all our heart, mind soul and being! We can repeat that every day.
That's part of my prayer every day for all of us, that we love God that way and stay close to God. God has a glorious thing for us and we are going to take over the world and rule the world and:
- eliminate war
- eliminate sickness
- eliminate disease
because we will all have the power and authority from God the Father and Jesus Christ to do that!
We need to keep that in mind even though all these things are transpiring around us. Let us take all of this to mind and ask God for his blessing and goodness and kindness!
Scriptural References:
- Luke 18: 18-19
- Mark 10:17-20
- Luke 18:18-26
- Ezekiel 14:1-11
- Luke 10:16
- Jeremiah 18:1-11
- Amos 4:6-12
- Amos 5:1-8, 14
- Deuteronomy 28:43-45
- Leviticus 26:2-5, 14-18
- Jeremiah 6:17-19
- 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Daniel 2
- 1-John 3
- Ezekiel 9
- John 14
Also referenced:
Thoughts on General Chi Haotian
Secret Speech By Chinese General Chi Haotain
{https://www.cbcg.org/judgment/thoughts-on-general-chi-haotian.html}
Books: {truthofGod.org}
- God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter
- The Apostle Paul's Teachings on God's Law by Fred R. Coulter
- The Holy Spirit: Power of God, A Scriptural Perspective by Fred R. Coulter
- Restoring the Original Bible by Ernest Martin
FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 8/16/23
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