The true prophet

BY Argie Simonis

Today I will deal with a very important topic. Who is the true prophet? In other words, what are his characteristics and his role in the church. I do this in the hope of restoring the prophetic ministry, which instead of a being blessing in the body of Christ, it has become a thorn. People have been hurt and churches were broken up because of the misunderstanding and rejection of the prophetic ministry as God has ordained it.

Let's start from the basics. See what Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians:

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" Ephes. 4:11-12

I underline the word "edifying ", which means to build up or to construct. So the prophets, like the other 4 ministries, perfect and build up the saints. What are the characteristics and role of true prophets?

1. Prophets build up the saints.

We said that they perfect the body of Christ, like apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers, but they also build it up. The reason I point this out is this: Prophets build up the church, they don't tear it down. There is so much confusion and so many teachings around. Many believe that because I have been called to be a prophet it means that I have been called to tear down, blow in and blow out like a whirlwind. This of course is not true. The prophets have been called to build up the Church:

"But he that prophesies speaks to men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." 1Cor. 14:3

That is, they speak constructive, encouraging and conforting words. I have had people come and tell me that they are troubled by a prophecy that has been given to them. The first thing I ask them is this:

Did this word comfort you? Did it encourage you? Did it build you up?

If they say no, then I tell them don't accept it.

And the reason is that we have just read it above in 1Cor. 14:3. Do you understand? God's word clearly tells us that he who prophesies speaks "edification and exhortation and comfort." Prophets do not tear down the church. 

That's where some people come and say

"I am more like the prophets of the Old Testament.

My comment here is this: You are what you think an Old Testament prophet is. So I'm going to read a verse from the Old Testament about some Old Testament prophets, and look what they did:

"Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even to them.

Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them." Ezdra 5:1-2

I believe that some have misunderstood a verse from the Old Testament, which I will read and explain, so that there is no room for misunderstanding. God speaks to Jeremiah about his identity:

"Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Jer. 1:5

Further down, the Lord also tells him what he will do:

"Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." Jer. 1:9-10

He mentions 6 things here, 4 of them are negative. Because of this, many say that 2/3 of the prophet's ministry is negative. But what they fail to understand is the context of the whole passage.

             -- He says "I set you upon kingdoms" --

and our Bible speaks of 2 kingdoms. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light, which is the kingdomof God.

See what he actually says here:

I have called you to uproot, pull down and destroy and throw down the kingdom of darkness and to build and to plant the kingdom of light. God never called the prophets to tear down the body of Christ, or people. Sometimes the Lord uses prophets, like all of us, to speak correction. Even the friend who speaks correction to us is healing to us.

Some examples of correction not exclusively done by prophets:

"Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother.

But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." Matt. 18:15-16

"Brothers, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted." Gal. 6:1

"Brothers, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." James 5:19-20

"Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." 1Τim. 5:20

"You shall not hate your brother in your heart: you shall in any wise rebuke your neighbor, and not suffer sin on him." Lev. 19:17

So the prophet will also speak correction, but he will not do it with the intention of dis-couraging, but en-couraging. So when you have a conversation with someone, do you feel more or less encouraged? Even if rebuke or correction has been spoken to you, there is one criterion for receiving it as a word from the Lord:

"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" Eph. 4:15

You can show mercy even to the people who come against you, because Christ died for them just as He died for you. But you show no mercy to the spirit that affects these persons, and when you fall on your knees in prayer you revile these spirits and root out, dig down, destroy and pull down the kingdom of darkness and build the kingdom of God, as we read before in Jeremiah.

This is how the prophets build up the saints.

2. Prophets equip the saints.

We do not forget that all five ministries do this:

"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" Εph. 4:12

But if I ask you, "What do prophets do?", most of you would say, "They prophesy."

But do you know that all saints prophesy?

"Follow after love, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy." 1Cor. 14:1

"I would that you all spoke with tongues but rather that you prophesied: for greater is he that prophesies than he that speaks with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying." 1Cor. 14:5

"For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." 1Cor. 14:31

Even the prophets prophesy in their capacity as saints and not as prophets. According to Ephesians 4:12 we read, the mission of the prophets is to perfect the saints for the work of ministry. We have also seen that when you prophesy the main goal is to encourage others.

--- So prophets perfect us in learning how to listen to God and how to encourage people with a word we receive from God. ----

How many times have you said something to someone and they say "You have no idea how much I needed to hear what you said"

or 

you write a card or send a verse to someone and they say 

"that's exactly what I was praying this morning in my time with the Lord".

This is exactly where you have prophesied. There is no way that you could have done this by your own ability, that is, by picking out the right one from so many thousands of scriptures, except with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is how we minister and prophesy to someone with the word of God.

"And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brothers with many words, and confirmed them." Acts 15:32

It does not say here that they divided and weakened the brethren, but built them up and strengthened them. A warning:

--- Beware of people who say they are prophets but are tearing people and churches apart. Let me help you a little more... They think they are on a special mission from God and use their websites or social media to criticize and tear apart people and churches in the name of "rebuke" and "correction". How deceived they can be! ---

- So beware of people who tear down churches, and leaders within churches.

- Beware of fortune tellers, people who, instead of prophesying, tell you your fortune and predict your future. 

We mentioned that the prophets perfect the saints and equip them for the work of ministry.

Of course there are also cases when God will reveal the future to us:

"However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." John 16:13

As with the prophet Agabus who prophesied to the apostle Paul for future tribulations awaiting him:

"And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

And when he was come to us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus said the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that ownes this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, sought him not to go up to Jerusalem." Acts 21:10-12

But the main mission of the prophet is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. I must insist on this.

All of us, more or less, have heard prophets giving  prophecies about specific events and dates. That's why you can watch the previous message in which I talked about what true prophecy is and what its characteristics are.

I'm just saying beware of people who because they say they are prophets, it means they can predict the future and that the Lord gives them "special insight" about what is coming and they ask us to listen to them. In fact all this serves to satisfy their need to feel important. It would be much better if they focused more on "equiping and perfecting the saints" and sent them out to do the ministry, instead of trying to draw attention to them.

Think of the blessing and fruit that a church can experienced when it has restored the prophetic ministry in its bosom with the above standards!

Let us see what the word of God tells us about such people who predict the future:

"There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God does drive them out from before you.

You shall be perfect with the LORD your God.

For these nations, which you shall possess, listened to observers of times, and to diviners: but as for you, the LORD your God has not suffered you so to do." Deut. 18:10-14

But look at what the Lord has appointed for us:

"The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the middle of you, of your brothers, like to me; to him you shall listen;" Deut. 18:15

This one here is very important because it is a New Testament reference to Jesus:

"For Moses truly said to the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you of your brothers, like to me; him shall you hear in all things whatever he shall say to you." Acts 3:22

The entire 3rd chapter of Acts is about Jesus. So the Lord has not appointed for us "spooky" people, but Jesus, who was not spooky at all.

Let's look at another prophet that the Bible tells us about, and I'm sure that to most people his name doesn't mean much to you: Joses.

Do you know who he is?

"And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus," Acts 4:36

In other words, what we read here is that the apostles told Barnabas that if the consolation had a son, it would be you. Paul we know from the Bible that he was an apostle. Barnabas was a prophet and he was called the son of consolation and not the son of discouragement or bad news. And he was a prophet in the New Testament.

3. How can I prophesy?

We have said that prophets perfect and equip the saints in learning how to hear the voice of God and how to prophesy to others. That is, to encourage, exhort and build up others with words that the Lord gives them.

So how can I prophesy too?

It's very simple. Make yourself available for perfection so that you can be equipped and discipled. Prophets are gifts that Jesus gave us, with the ability to perfect and equip believers for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12).

It's that simple. Be available to equip yourself and learn.

"For you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted." 1Cor. 14:31

Do you all see this here? "you ALL can prophesy,"

It is not my opinion, God's word says so. You ALL can encourage people. And you do this so that ALL may learn, meaning that all may learn to do it "and ALL be comforted." 

You see, if prophesying didn't mean encouragement, then Paul would say "all prophesy that all may be discouraged", or "all may feel bad about themselves".

So ALL of you can prophesy and ALL of you can learn how to do it.

We have already started small groups with teachings on the prophetic, how to hear the voice of God, how to discover, follow and fulfill the call that God has on your life, and more. 

We learn how to prophesy. This is a process. We don't start over as the best prophets or the best encouragers. We grow and mature in this, as we do in all things in our lives.

Amen 🙏

True prophecy

 BY Argie Simonis

Today I will talk about true prophecy. I would like to get deeper on this topic for 2 reasons:

1st - The prophetic gift is one of the best tools that the Lord has given His body but it is not used properly,

and

2nd - Because of ignorance, this gift has been abused to such an extent, that instead of being a blessing it has become a thorn in the body of the church.

I will try to explain more what true prophecy means, and a message about true prophets will follow. So don't miss it.

I will begin by reading something from Proverbs:

"A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!" Prov. 15:23

Let us not forget that the Lord speaks from the 1st chapter of Genesis to the 22nd chapter of Revelation. God basically speaks throughout the Bible. Many of you may have had bad experiences with the prophetic and I totally understand. This is because the prophetic word is given by imperfect people, mistakes may be made, but God does not stop speaking and He certainly does not make any mistakes.

There are some very basic characteristics of true prophecy.

1 - It is accurate.

When the Lord speaks through a man and addresses other men, He speaks accurately. I will refer to one of the most awesome prophecies in the Bible in terms of the accuracy with which it is given. It is when the prophet Samuel, who learned to hear the Lord from a young age, prophesied to Saul the first time he met him. Saul was looking for the donkeys that his father had lost, and so he went to see if the prophet knew anything:

"Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD has anointed you to be captain over his inheritance?" 1Sam. 10:1

Here Samuel anoints Saul as king privately, but later he does this publicly. He gives him this prophetic word to show him that the Lord is speaking to him.

"When you are departed from me to day, then you shall find two men by Rachel's sepulcher in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went to seek are found: and, see, your father has left the care of the asses, and sorrows for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

Then shall you go on forward from there, and you shall come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet you three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

And they will salute you, and give you two loaves of bread; which you shall receive of their hands.

After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when you are come thither to the city, that you shall meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

And the Spirit of the LORD will come on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man." 1Sam. 10:2-6

Do you see the accuracy of this word? When the Lord wants something, he simply speaks it. So when the Lord wants to do something in your life, He speaks it and His power is available in you so that you can see this word fulfilled and your life changed!

2 - True prophecy brings encouragement.

Let's go back to 1 Samuel 10:15:

"And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray you, what Samuel said to you.

And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not." 1Sam. 10:15-16

You see he didn't tell his uncle what happened. Don't you wonder why?

Let's go back to chapter 9:

"And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people." 1Sam. 9:2

From this description we see that Saul was a handsome man who stood out among the people. Samuel was to elect a king for the people.

"And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold he has hid himself among the stuff." 1Sam. 10:20-22

You see, you can't hide from God :)

So this is why Saul received such an accurate word from Samuel. Because he was insecure. The same happens with many of us:

"Can God really use me?"

"Can I do something important for His kingdom?"

That is why this prophetic word is given to Saul, to encourage him. That is exactly what prophecy is.

3 - True prophecy comes to pass.

"And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day." 1Sam. 10:9

All those signs happened that day. Some of you may think that Saul did not end up well according to the Bible, and I understand that. But for many years Saul was a good king. That's why you don't let one failure make you completely reject a person. It's something you wouldn't want to happen to you either.

Look at another verse from Joshua:

"There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass." Joshua 21:45

- All came to pass -

Everything that the Lord speaks comes to pass.

Amen;

I hope this message has clarified within you the meaning, role and character of true prophecy. In the next message I will talk about the true prophets, so don't miss it!

Watch on our YouTube channel the video with English subs:

Conscience and guilt

BY Argie Simonis

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9:14 

The most common interpretation of this verse is that it is talking about those acts of sin that cause guilt. But I believe it can also be applied to the religious concept of our good works, that is, the whole idea that if our performance is good and we do good, we will be more loved and accepted by God.

But this is far from the truth. Without being born-again we cannot have a relationship with God. This is what the Lord said to Nicodemus:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John 3:3 

In other words, if we put all our trust in our good works, we fall into the trap of dead works.

Notice what it says that it is our consciences that must be cleansed of these dead works. Conscience is a part of us that justifies or accuses us.

"which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another."

Romans 2:15 

Paul here refers to the guilt our conscience produces when we do something wrong or the self-righteousness our conscience produces when we do the right thing.

We need to be cleansed of both these functions of consciousness:

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:22

How can we achieve this?

We do this by focusing our attention on Him through prayer, Bible study, and fellowship with other believers. We come before the Lord according to what we are in Christ and not with self-righteousness, that is, with what we achieve with our own strength.

The absolute confidence and assurance in our hearts must be based on what Jesus has done for us and not on what we have done for Him.

We can be as close to Him as we want because it is not God who causes any separation. Every separation comes from our guilty consciences.

Notice that there is no mention of confession of sin or atonement for sin in this passage from Hebrews that I read. Atonement for sin has already been taken care of by Jesus with His sacrifice on the cross.

We have been sanctified and perfected forever:

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Hebrews 10:10,14 

There is no more offering for sin:

"Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin."

Hebrews 10:18 

The only obstacle to entering God's presence is our unregenerate mind that does not understand the true magnitude of our redemption and allows an evil conscience to condemn us.

If there is a bad conscience, then there is also a good conscience.

So by renewing our minds with the word of God (Rom. 12:2), the truth about who we are in Christ is revealed to us. So we can shake off the guilt which the devil puts upon us when we do wrong, and by sincerely repenting in our heart, we purge our consciences of dead works, that we may serve the living God.

Amen 🙏

Watch the video with English subs on our YouTube channel:

The Lion and the Lamb

 BY Argie Simonis

During the last supper the Lord said that every time we receive His body and blood we should do it in His own memory. So what is it that we bring to our memory? Before referring to some characteristic examples, I will explain how our memory works. 

Did you know that our memory works with pictures? 

If I ask you, for example, what you did yesterday, you will tell me by seeing yourself in pictures doing what I asked you. This applies to everything we do.

The Bible as a whole is a prophetic book that reveals to us God, His will and His character. As we meditate on His word, all these descriptions written in ink, turn into images in our minds and so we begin to actually see what we read. Let's have a look at some examples:

Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5), the Lord and Almighty God (Rev. 1:8). John, being exiled on the island of Patmos, one Sunday has a visitation from the the Lord. See the picture from John's description in the book of Revelation:

"And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

And in the middle of the seven candlesticks one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

And his feet like to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shines in his strength.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for ever more, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Revelation 1:18

So, Emmanuel, God who became a man and dwelt among us (John 1:14), bled and became the sacrificial Lamb, so that we can enjoy eternal life with Him.

"The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29

The first time the Lord bled was in the garden of Gethsemane:

"And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then said He to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even to death: tarry you here, and watch with Me." Μatthew 26:37-38

"And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Luke 22:44 

Three times He asked the Father to let this cup pass from Him:

"And He left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."

Matthew 26:44 

But He submitted to His will:

"And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt.

Matthew 26:39 

All this agony He felt, was not from the fear of the torture He was about to suffer.

Jesus, 

" for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:2

He suffered death on the cross with joy, because He saw before Him the fruit of His sacrifice which is you and me!

It was the agony of His seperation from the Father that before the foundation of the world was in perfect union with Him that turned His sweat into blood. The time had come for Him who never knew sin (1 Peter 2:22) to become sin and be separated from the Father, so that through His sacrifice we could be freed from sin.

Imagine the scene on the night of His arrest, when Judas along with the Pharisees and a battalion of soldiers find Him and something terrible happens:

"Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come on him, went forth, and said to them, Whom seek you?

They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he.  And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

As soon then as he had said to them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

Then asked he them again, Whom seek you? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth." John 18:4-7

The whole battalion, (that's 600-1000 men) including Judah, fell down as soon as the Lord introduced Himself in the same way he did to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

Peter in an attempt to defend the Lord, drew a knife and  cut off the ear of Malchus who went to arrest Him (John 18:10).

But he did not know that the Lord of glory, if He willed, could have had much better help. He explained it to him:

"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

Matthew 26:53 

Doing the math, more than 72,000 angels (1 Roman legion = 6000 men) were ready to rush in on a Lord's command. Only one angel was enough to do the job:

"And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." 2Kings 19:35

The King James translation uses old English. That was a total of 185.000 Assyrian men killed in an instance!

Even after that, their hatred had blinded them so much that they did not realize they were about to arrest the King of kings and drag Him before an unjust court that had already decided His death sentence. The fools! How foolish they were!

Sin could only be paid with blood, and Jesus knew He had to go to the cross, so He submitted to the Father's will.

He even healed the soldier's ear.

I can imagine the question mark written on each angel's face. I can see them looking at Him and wondering, "Lord, you really love them that much?"

And it doesn't end here. After His body was broken, with hands and feet nailed and His blood running on the cross, we see the magnificence of His love, just before He gave up His Spirit:

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

Luke 23:34 

What an awesome love! Impossible to conceive with the human mind! is there a heart that can remain unmoved before something so majestic? This is also why Paul writes to us:

"Or despise you the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" Romans 2:4

So with such thoughts we bring to our remembrance the Lord and with gratitude we thank Him for the grace and mercy He extends to us every day in our lives.

Amen 🙏

Watch the video with English subs on our YouTube channel:

The law of harvest

 BY Argie Simonis

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Luke 6:38 

This verse reveals one of the basic spiritual laws that God has set. You see, the Lord's mathematics does not agree with the world's logic:

"How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight?"

Deuteronomy 32:30 

Just as we "give" seeds to the ground to receive fruit back, so it is with everything we give. And of course I'm not just talking about money. This can include feelings such as love, compassion, our prayers, our service or our time:

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

Galatians 6:7‭-‬8 

Thus we will reap exactly what we sow and we will receive according to the same measure that we give:

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

2 Corinthians 9:6 

This spiritual law can have positive as well as negative effects, as the Lord tells us in the immediately preceding verse:

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven"

Luke 6:37

But just as the law of gravity is overcome by the laws of flight (thrust and lift), so we can avoid the effects of many negative things we sow, through the law of forgiveness:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

1 John 1:9 

Something we must not forget is that God is our source, but He uses people to bless us. I will mention some practical examples:

If you pray about your finances, the Lord will use people to bless you with money. If you pray for employment, the Lord will cause you to find favor in the eyes of your future employer. He can introduce you to people, He will bring in your way partners who will bless your business or your ministry. If you pray for friends, be friendly and you will get friends. Be merciful and you will receive mercy. Pray for those who are sick and you will receive healing in what you pray for. 

Do you understand how spiritual laws work?

As a closure, I want to mention something else equally important. We live in a fast food society, meaning we want everything here and now, but we must not forget the time factor:

"Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."

James 5:7 

Don't get impatient and try to dig up the seed to see if it springs. 

See how Jesus describes it to us:

"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."

Mark 4:26‭-‬29 

All the Lord's promises are YES and AMEN. Our trust to His promises is a desicion of the heart rather of our mind and when we follow His instructions we will reap in due time. 

Amen🙏

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Satan and Job

 BY Argie Simonis

The story of Job is very interesting and full of lessons for us. Job was a godly man and enjoyed God's blessings, until the devil stepped in:

"And the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and eschews evil?

Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

And the LORD said unto satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So satan went forth from the presence of the LORD."

Job 1:9-12 

Many believe that the Lord started this whole conflict. They think the devil wouldn't have even noticed Job if God hadn't pointed it out to him. In fact, I believe the exact opposite happened in this case. The Lord knew that the devil was looking for someone to devour and that Job became his target. All the Lord did was bring it to the light:

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

1 Peter 5:8 

And yet most interpret this verse to mean that the Lord gave permission to the devil to afflict Job. But what really happened was that the Lord revealed that everything Job had was already in the power of satan. The devil was the god of this world, because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and the ruler of the power of the air:

"in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

2 Corinthians 4:4 

"wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"

Ephesians 2:2 

Job did not live under the New Testament grace that we live in today and was by nature a slave to the devil:

"and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." 

Ephesians 2:3 

The fact that the devil already had dominion over the world because of sin does not directly apply to us today. All of God's children have been freed from the power of satan's kingdom and have been transferred to the kingdom of God's dear Son:

"giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."

Colossians 1:12‭-‬13 

Satan does not have the power over us that he had over Job. And we are under a covenant with the Lord full of promises that Job did not have:

"But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Hebrews 8:6 

In other words, what happened in the story of Job is that the devil had already targeted him and provoked God to withdraw His protection from him to see if Job would continue to serve Him. And this, because the Lord had spoken a blessing to Job that was irreversible:

"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."

Psalm 89:34 

Without the intervention of the devil no harm would have happened to Job and the same is true today. The Lord is not the source of our problems:

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:"

James 1:13 

Another thing to note is that Job was not under any covenant with God. This story takes place before the Mosaic law was given. God wanted to bless Job, and he did:

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."

Romans 9:15 

But when Satan protested, God had to hand him over because there was no legal contract (covenant) between Job and God that provided for this kind of blessing. You see that as there are physical laws, so there are spiritual laws.

This is also the reason why the Lord began to make covenants with man. He wanted to bless us, but he needed a legal way to get around the fact that all mankind had become corrupt and had made satan their master. These covenants were only partial covenants, because sinful man failed to live up to them, until Jesus came. Then God made a covenant with Jesus, the New Testament, based on the blood of our Lord, so that all who believe and trust in Him as their Savior enter into God's covenant with Jesus. This is how we have our greatest security and assurance in our lives, because Jesus will never change:

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

Hebrews 13:8 

Amen 🙏

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