 
How do I do: What the Bible says?

By Tiaan Gildenhuys

Copyright 2013 Tiaan Gildenhuys

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword

1. It is TIME to start DOING!

2. How do I hear the Lord's voice?

3. How do I lead someone to the Lord?

4. How do I baptize people?

5. How do I get baptized in the Holy Spirit?

6. How do I capture my thoughts to the obedience of Christ?

7. How do I live a holy life?

8. How do I take up and exercise my spiritual authority? How do I cast out demons?

9. How do I give my tithes and finances to the Lord?

10. How do I pray for the sick?

11. How (and why) do I anoint people and things?

12. How do I pray?

13. Faith. How do I believe?

14. How do I praise and worship the Lord?

15. How can I be sure of my personal salvation?

16. How do I view modern day "prophets" and prophecies spoken over my life?

17. How do I, and may I, speak to the angels?

18. How do I "die to my SELF"?

19. How (and why) do I fast?

20. How do I "surrender all"? What does it really mean?

21. How do I view the nation of Israel (Jews) today?

22. How will my rewards in heaven be determined?

About the author

FOREWORD (Back to top)

Firstly, we must always remember that the MOST IMPORTANT BOOK in the world is the BIBLE and that we always have to go back to that wonderful Book for answers to ANY questions we may have. This book of mine by no means tries to convey that everything contained in these pages regarding the specific matters are complete, or the only way that any of these questions can be answered.

Secondly we must realize that we cannot try to reduce God's Word to some fixed rules and regulations through any external book like this one, as that may return us to the legalism of the old Pharisees and Scribes. No, we must be in a personal intimate relationship with God at all times and we must always ask His Holy Spirit to lead us in every little thing - also including the things I write about in this book. Only then all these things will become a reality to me and then I will be able to DO what the Bible says.

However, I grew up in a traditional church denomination in South Africa where these few basic things as contained in this book were NEVER explained or taught to me personally. Therefore I experienced the urging of the Holy Spirit to write this book to help other new converts who will definitely start to experience these nagging questions shortly after their conversion. I have tried to write down that which I have personally learned during the past number of years after having had an intimate personal spiritual encounter with the living Jesus Christ in August 1999.

The things I wrote in this book I have personally started doing as they have been revealed to me by Jesus through the Holy Spirit and through His infallible Word as contained in the Bible. And I have also seen the results as confirmed in the Bible. My prayer is that this book may in a plain and easy way help teach you to at least start to DO SOME of the practical things the Bible says.

But please don't think for one moment that you may use this book as a "replacement" for the Bible because of the fact that you are too lazy to read the whole Bible for yourself to find all the answers to your questions. The moment that you think you may do so I pray that you will rather throw this book of mine into the trash can immediately.

It also has nothing to do with "works", because so many people will try to imply that I am now promoting a gospel of "works". No it has nothing to do with works, as Ephesians 2:8,9 is very clear:

"For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

What I do believe is the words written by James in James 2:17-20:

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

In other words, if I have faith and am a believer, and if I am in a personal relationship with the living God, my faith will lead to my WANTING to DO the things contained in the Bible. And that is exactly what I am trying to do with this book, namely to help new believers on their new road with Jesus Christ to understand HOW to start DOING some of the things contained in the Bible.

In a PRACTICAL way and on a DAILY basis.

Our problem is that many of us have never really learned to LIVE the Bible in a practical way. The things contained in this book are all things which those new believers will start to experience, or have questions about, very quickly on their new road of faith.

But I want to urge every reader to ensure that they always pray and ask the Holy Spirit of God to lead them regarding the truth of everything I have written in this book. And to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to them, from the Bible, anything further regarding any of these matters or other questions they may have - because from the Bible they will all receive so much more insight, wisdom, answers and spiritual knowledge.

tiaan gildenhuys

Pretoria

RSA

1. IT IS TIME TO START DOING! (Back to top)

"Ye shall DO my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall therefore KEEP my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man DO, he shall LIVE IN THEM: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 18:4,5)

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and DO not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46)

So many of us call Jesus Christ "Lord", but yet not many of us DO what He tells us to do. And so many times we argue that the Lord's ordinances, statutes and judgments in the Old Testament are not applicable to us any longer so why should we do or keep them? Why is that? Is it because we have become so full of ourselves and our own intellect, especially concerning our spiritual well-being, that we think we don't really need to listen to Him anymore? Or is it that we just don't really believe Him anymore?

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. _For men shall be lovers of their own selves , covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)_

"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

The Bible is also clear that only those who DO the will of God will enter into the kingdom of heaven.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

In my book and DVD, entitled: "Kingdom = Authority" I explain the fact that the kingdom of heaven also refers to the authority of heaven. And I will only be able to enter that authority when I DO what the Bible tells me and teaches me to. Very clearly then there can be no more delays, it is time for us who call ourselves children of God, to start to DO what the Bible says.

The question I encounter so many times in the ministry the Lord uses me in, is: "But HOW do I do this, or HOW do I do that, or the next?" I personally came to believe it is purely a matter of READING what the Bible says, UNDERSTANDING what it says through the help of the Holy Spirit, and then DOING what it says. The devil on the other hand tries to tell us it can't be that easy, it must be much more complicated. No, it isn't. During the course of this book, we will look at a few of the things our Lord wants us to do, and we will discuss HOW we should understand and DO these things.

Let us first start with the words of 2 Corinthians 1:13:

"For we write NONE other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end..."

From this verse, it is clear that the things we read in the Bible are the things we should understand and DO, just as they are written. So many times the argument is: "That is not what the Bible really means, the Bible actually means this, or is actually saying that, or the next..." No, I if I read the words of the above-mentioned verse, I understand it to mean that what the Bible says, that is what the Bible means.

So, if the Bible states that God created the world in six days, it means that He created the world in SIX DAYS, not in six periods of a million years each. If I don't believe this, then it means I doubt the Almightiness of God. If the Bible states that Jonah was in the fish, it means that JONAH WAS IN THE FISH. It is not a myth, a legend or a "nice story". I actually heard the other day, from a documentary on television, that there is a species of whale that is so huge, a 12-year old child can stand upright in the main artery to its heart. So there can be no doubt about it that God created some fish big enough to carry Jonah!

If the Bible states that Jesus was born of a virgin, it means He WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN! If the Bible states we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the demon spirits in the air, it means that we are in a war AGAINST DEMON SPIRITS. If the Bible states that we must make disciples of all nations, it means that we must make disciples OF ALL NATIONS, not just certain races or cultures.

It is time to STOP arguing about the truths contained in our Lord's Word, and to just start DOING what it says.

When we look at the media, magazines, television etc., we see a huge onslaught being brought against the infallible truth of God's Word. Things like: "The Da Vinci Code"; "The Gospel of Judas"; "The Secret Bible"; "The Bible Revealed" and many other similar TV-programs or books, are all aimed at discrediting the truth of the Bible, as given to us over the ages. Why would this be? It is because satan wants to deceive the very elect. He doesn't want to deceive the world, for they are already deceived. Just look at the words of Matthew 24:24 with me:

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall DECEIVE THE VERY ELECT."

All these television programs, books, movies and other worldly things are nothing other than false "Christs" and false prophets, proclaiming that they have the "real truth" about the things in the Bible, thereby trying to deceive the very elect. Praise our Lord for the words: "...if it were possible..." This tells me that it will not be possible to deceive the elect. However, it doesn't mean satan and his demon spirits are going to stop trying.

Furthermore, some people want to tear out the Old Testament from the Bible. This just can't be done, as 2 Timothy 3:16,17 states very clearly:

"ALL SCRIPTURE is given by inspiration of God,

and is profitable

(1) for DOCTRINE,

(2) for REPROOF,

(3) for CORRECTION,

(4) for INSTRUCTION in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

So, if 2 Corinthians 1:13 states: "For we write NONE other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge..." and I read in 2 Timothy 3:16 that Paul refers to "ALL SCRIPTURE..." what else does it mean other than ALL SCRIPTURE - starting in the book of Genesis and ending in the book of Revelation? And what can ALL SCRIPTURE do for me?

It can teach me the Lord's correct doctrine ("DOCTRINE")

It can bring me evidence and proof of the things contained therein ("REPROOF")

It can correct me if I make mistakes ("CORRECTION")

It can instruct me in righteousness, in leading my life according to God's way of doing things ("INSTRUCTION")

Therefore I must be willing to read the WHOLE Bible and learn from the WHOLE Bible how God wants me to live, behave and DO what He wants us to. Keeping all these things in mind, let us proceed to have a look at certain basic things contained in the Bible, things we have just not learned to DO, because we were either too afraid to ask, or because we thought that only the "qualified" and learned people can do these things, or because we were too deceived by satan, to even TRY and do them.

The Bible is very clear that we must be doers of the Word:

"But be ye DOERS of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22)

So, lets us start to DO what the Bible teaches...

2. HOW DO I HEAR THE LORD'S VOICE? (Back to top)

One of the first questions asked by all Christians is: "But HOW do I hear the voice of the Lord?"

The past approximately eight years that I have come to really KNOW the Lord – in the small little ways that any human can really know Him – I have learned that He speaks to me personally in five different ways:

Always through His Word as contained in the book we know as the Bible.

Think about this first: WHO is the "Word of God"?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:1-3)

We all know that this verse refers to Jesus Christ Himself. He is the "Word of God" and it is through Him that God speaks to us today.

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds..." (Hebrews 1:1,2)

This means that the WHOLE book we know today as the Bible does NOT constitute the "Word of God", but it does CONTAIN all the Word/s of God. How can I say that the whole Bible does not constitute the Word of God? It is easy to explain. The devil himself also speaks in certain parts of the Bible. The things he speaks are most definitely NOT the word of God, even though they are contained in the Bible, because Jesus stated emphatically:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode NOT in the truth, because there is NO TRUTH in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44)

That means the parts in the Bible where satan speaks contain NO TRUTH. How can we call satan's words in the Bible the "Word of God" then if the WHOLE Bible was the word of God? Thus it is clear that the whole Bible IS NOT the "Word of God" but it does CONTAIN ALL the "Word/s of God" which He wanted us to have in His Book and they are all revealed to us BY HIS WORD (Jesus Christ), THROUGH His Holy Spirit.

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into ALL truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (John 16:13,14)

There is no doubt then that it is ONLY the Holy Spirit that can reveal God's complete Word to us.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Corinthians 3:5,6)

In some other instances we can clearly see that some of the Biblical authors are speaking from their flesh or human nature. Look at the following verses as an example:

"O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." (Psalm 137:8,9)

This is most definitely not God speaking because God is not divided against Himself. He won't say "dash the little ones against the stones" in the one instance and a few centuries later He says:

"But Jesus said, Suffer (allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14)

God has never changed and always stays the same. But why are these things contained in the Bible then if it's not always God speaking? Why did the Holy Spirit inspire the authors of the Bible to write down these things as well if they are not from Him? Because from that I can learn from the WHOLE of Scripture that sometimes people, like that Psalmist also say things from their personal point of view regarding certain matters which are not necessarily God's view. And from this I learn that God still loves us, even though we may sometimes say things out of our sinful nature which are in direct contradiction to His Godly nature.

But because people have never taken this fact into consideration, and see the WHOLE Bible as "God's Word" that is why so many people think there are contradictions in the Bible and so they start to doubt the Bible and the Word of God. No dear friend, there are no "contradictions" in the Bible other than the "contradictions" where people in the Bible react to certain circumstances in their lives out of their fleshly nature in contrast to God's Godly never-changing nature which is also very clearly discussed in the Bible.

Just to give you another example regarding this fact let us now look at the words of Job. He receives messages that all his children died and then he says:

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)

He immediately accepts that it was God that killed his children. Is it God saying that "the Lord gave and the Lord taketh away"? No, it is Job. What does God Himself, in the incarnation of Jesus Christ say about people dying?

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning..." (John 8:44)

The word: "murderer" in the Greek here also denotes "a manslayer". That means Job thought God was the "manslayer" and killer, while GOD HIMSELF (Jesus Christ) said SATAN was the manslayer, the murderer, the killer! But because Job's words are contained in the Bible, many people thought for centuries that its God's Word that "the Lord gave and the Lord taketh away" and it is preached as such at funeral upon funeral in the world. I discuss this in more detail in my book: "God is not in the killing business".

However after his children died he went through extreme trials and tribulations for a number of chapters. Then God Himself spoke directly to Job in Chapters 38-41 in the book of Job. Listen to what God now tells Job:

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:1,2)

What is GOD saying here? He says that Job speaks words without knowledge regarding any of the matters that Job was complaining about. After God spoke to Job, Job makes the following very interesting statement:

"Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not... I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:3-6)

Here we see that Job now agrees that he spoke words without knowledge and that he said things which he did not understand and spoke about things which were too wonderful for him and which he knew nothing about. The reason for this is that when he REALLY SAW God for who and what He was he immediately realized that it wasn't God that killed his ten children but satan himself. And that is why he stated that he repented of everything he spoke out of his previous lack of knowledge.

Let us also look at the following example of how two Biblical authors describe exactly the same event in history, yet one blames God for it, while the other correctly shows the devil as the author of that event.

"And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people." (2 Samuel 24:1,2)

"And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it." (1 Chronicles 21:1,2)

Now if you read these two different books in the Bible and you don't realize what is going on, these two different points of view cause many people to argue that the Bible contradicts itself. NO it doesn't! What we do learn from this is that different people have different points of view on things that happen around us, especially in the spiritual realm, and that is true to this very day. But if we really know the WHOLE Bible we will know that God is NOT divided against Himself. He doesn't provoke anyone as is clearly written in James 1:13,14:

"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: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."

That means the author of the book of Chronicles discerned it correctly concerning the fact that it was satan that provoked king David. The rest of the chapter in both books is explained in exactly the same way again confirming the fact that the two authors discerned the SPIRITUAL part differently but understood or experienced the physical part exactly the same, just as people do to this day. In this manner can I still learn doctrine even from these two verses that seem to "contradict" each other in the Bible.

There are many other examples like this in the Bible and you will find them the moment you really start to read the WHOLE Bible for yourself. But when you find them don't become disillusioned or exasperated and think that the Bible is "contradicting" itself. Just ask the Holy Spirit for the necessary discernment regarding who is speaking at that moment and what you may learn from that passage, even though it may be some human speaking from his own flesh and not necessarily God Himself.

Remember there is no doubt at all that THE WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE was inspired by God so that we may learn from ALL that is written therein. In certain instances I receive lessons from God from that specific human author's reaction or point of view regarding a specific matter as contained in that specific passage in the Bible.

But I repeat that it is only the Holy Spirit that can reveal this kind of knowledge regarding the Bible and the Word of God to us and turn it into a LIVING WORD for us, as the Bible states:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the LETTER KILLETH, but the SPIRIT GIVETH LIFE." (2 Corinthians 3:5,6)

The moment we start to discern this fact, it is also easy to start to realize when God is really "speaking" to us from the Bible. I have had many instances since I got saved in 1999 where I prayed for an answer about some matter, when a certain text suddenly "sprang" from the pages of the Bible as being the exact answer to my request or prayer. A very clear confirmation that the Lord "spoke" to me:

1. From the pages of His Bible.

So can He speak to you, if you are willing to allow Him to do this through the Bible. But then we have to actually READ the Bible. It must not be something we pick up once a week just to leaf through for a few moments. We must also ASK the Lord to speak to us through the Bible and we must TRUST Him to do so, while we must do our part by READING the Bible.

2. Through the mouths of other people, e.g. preachers, pastors, friends or family.

Many times I have prayed to the Lord and asked Him for an answer to something, only to receive an answer a few days later from a sermon that I heard, or a conversation that I had with someone. Or it happens that you are praying for an answer to something, and when you meet a friend in the street, he suddenly starts to speak about a verse in the Bible that he had read only that morning...

And suddenly you realize that it is the answer to your question/prayer! What has happened? God has "spoken" to you through the mouth of that friend!

I also have a friend who used to say that God even speaks to him through his own mouth. I would ask him some advice and while he would give me some advice he would stop and say that he just received an answer for some of his own problems!

3. In my mind through the soft voice of the Holy Spirit.

This is the way that He speaks to me personally most frequently. In my mind I have many conversations with Him. And because the Bible states that He is IN me, I have come to learn to trust that little soft voice to lead me.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth IN me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

We know that satan can't read our minds, because he is only a part of God's creation, he is not omnipresent like God is. So he is not IN us like God, but he does put thoughts INTO our minds which we must capture to the obedience of Christ according to 2 Corinthians 10:5. The moment I realize this, it is easy to start discerning the Holy Spirit's soft voice, in contrast to thoughts which satan puts into our minds to try and let us do things which God would never want us to.

Many times I have had to make a certain decision concerning whether I should do something or not, or accept a specific invitation or not, and have "heard" that little soft voice whisper into my mind: "Yes you may", or: "No, you can't". Of course I still have the choice to LISTEN to that soft little voice, or to ignore it. But because I have learned that most of the times it really is the voice of the Holy Spirit that wants to lead me on the right paths, I have made the right decision most of the times. I do say: "most of the times" because sometimes I still listen to the wrong voice in moments of haste and then I suffer the penalty for that in different ways.

Not long ago I realized something for the first time. We all grew up with a "small little voice" that we called our "conscience". That was the little voice that told you not to steal the cookies in the jar, or not to kill the neighbor's birds. That "little voice" was nothing and nobody else but the Holy Spirit all the time. But most of us chose not to listen to that "little voice" and not to heed the warnings it gave us, so we pushed it away and many times we paid the price for that in different ways. All I did when I realized that it actually was the voice of the Holy Spirit all along, was to ask God to please start speaking to me again in that "small little voice". And He did. The only difference is that I now take heed of what He says and what He warns me against.

I also read in 1 Kings 19:11-13 the confirmation of the fact that God speaks to us in such a "still small voice":

"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a STILL SMALL VOICE. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

Do you see? We all think that God speaks through loud things or in a loud voice like wind, or thunder, or earthquakes or fire and we all want to hear His voice like that. But actually, He prefers to speak to us in that "still small voice". Why? Because it teaches us to become still ourselves so that we can start to listen to and hear His still small voice.

"Be still, and know that I am God..." (Psalms 46:10)

4. Through dreams.

It is absolutely awesome to experience God's voice in the night when He starts to speak to you in dreams. Everything you dream about has certain symbolical meanings. There are very good Christian books available on the subject of dreams and is a must in any spiritual library when the Holy Spirit starts to speak to you in dreams. The Lord can either rebuke you, or warn you, or build you up through dreams.

5. In my personal life, in exceptional circumstances, through visions.

I have not had many visions, but when it happens, it sometimes passes in a split-second. However, you still remember every detail rather vividly. Visions also happen while you are wide awake, or sometimes just before you fall asleep. I have a number of friends who get the most awesome visions from the Lord and they are really edified in their walk of faith by this.

We receive confirmation of the fact that the Lord speaks to us through dreams and visions in Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17:

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions..."

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams..."

But please take note that God works with us all individually and in a unique way. So, the fact that He speaks to me personally only in these five ways does not mean that they are the ONLY ways He speaks to His children. He may speak to you in other ways, so please don't think these five ways are the only ways He speaks to us.

I have also received testimonies from people that God "spoke" to them through something they experienced or saw in nature. Other people testify that He "speaks" to them through gospel music.

He is God, He is our Father, He is the King, He is Sovereign and He can speak to you in any way He wishes to. In Numbers 22 He even spoke to Balaam physically through the mouth of his donkey!

All that we must do is to always be open to hear His voice in the subtlest ways possible.

3. HOW DO I LEAD SOMEONE TO THE LORD? (Back to top)

So many people always wonder whether THEY will be able to lead someone to the Lord, or whether it's even their job, or HOW they should go about to do this. As I have already quoted in the first chapter, the Bible states that we can read and acknowledge (understand) that which we read just as it is written. So, if the Holy Spirit does not reveal any further spiritual insight into any particular verse, I can read what that verse says, and I can do what it says, exactly the way it is written.

Let us start with the first question: "WHO must lead people to the Lord?"

Jesus spoke to His DISCIPLES and said:

"And Jesus came and spake unto THEM, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go YE therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)

No doubt here! Jesus gives His authority, His power, to His disciples to GO out and teach all nations about Him. This means nothing other than making those nations His disciples, His students. If you call yourself a disciple of the Lord, then that Great Commission is applicable to you to this day. "But is it not something that just the pastors, or preachers, or evangelists, or elders or deacons can do?" No, it isn't, it is an instruction to ALL His disciples. So, if you have given your heart and your life to our Lord, Jesus Christ, YOU are COMMISSIONED to lead other people to the Lord.

Second question: "WHAT must we do with those people?"

Jesus said:

"Go ye therefore, and TEACH all nations..."

Clearly, "all nations" means nothing other than ALL NATIONS, notwithstanding their race, color or creed. So we must teach all those nations to become disciples or students of Jesus Christ.

"...baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..."

This very clear instruction and all that baptism entails, will be discussed in the following chapter.

"...Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..."

This means we, as His disciples, must teach those new disciples ALL the things He has commanded us to do.

Some of the things He commanded us from the Scriptures concerning eternal life, and receiving that eternal life are the following:

"But as many as RECEIVED him, to THEM gave he power to become the SONS of God, even to them that believe on his name..." (John 1:12)

Yes, we must teach all nations to RECEIVE Him, after which they will also receive the power to become sons (children) of God. This is clearly something that every single individual must do for himself. Nobody can do it on somebody else's behalf. Your parents can't do it for you, your brother or sister can't, and neither can your friends or family.

But HOW do we RECEIVE Him and through that, eternal life?

"That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9,10)

Let us look at these verses, line upon line, in order to see what it really means.

"That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy MOUTH..."

This means that we cannot see our religion as a "private" thing that cannot be talked about. No, we must SPEAK it with our mouths, we must TALK about it, and we must CONFESS it. What must we confess?

"...the LORD JESUS,..."

Yes! We must confess the one and only Lord and King, Jesus Christ!

"...and shalt BELIEVE in thine HEART..."

Then we must BELIEVE something in our hearts. What must we believe?

"...that God hath RAISED him from the dead,..."

We must believe that GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD! This is the one and only thing that sets our religion apart from any other in the world. Our God is the only God on earth that had an only begotten son who was killed and then RAISED from the dead. No other religion in the world has a deity which was killed and then raised from the dead. That is why it is very important that we must believe that God has raised Him from the dead and we must confess this fact with our mouths. And what will be the result if we so believe and confess?

"...thou SHALT be saved."

My belief and confession will result in my being saved! But if I look at the last part of this next sentence, I see that BOTH my believing in my heart and my confession with my mouth make up the grounds for righteousness and salvation.

"For with the HEART man BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the MOUTH CONFESSION is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9,10)

So, keeping this very clear instruction in mind the question remains: "HOW DO I lead someone to the Lord, Jesus Christ?"

It is very easy. I have to lead such a person in a short prayer similar to the following:

"Our Heavenly Father, I understand and now CONFESS that I am a sinner. I understand that the Bible says if I confess my sin, You are true and righteous and that You will forgive my sins. So I confess all my wrong thoughts, wrong words and wrong deeds as sin and I ask you to please forgive me. I REPENT of all my sins Lord. Lord, I confirm that I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ came to earth and died on a cross for my sins. I also BELIEVE that You raised Him from the dead. So now I make a conscious decision to stop living in sin and to RECEIVE the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord, my King, my Redeemer and my Savior. Thank You Lord Jesus that I know that I may now also be called a child of God. Amen."

It is as easy as that to lead someone to the Lord. Don't let anybody tell you it can't be that easy. The things of the gospel of Jesus Christ are exactly that easy! Even Jesus told us so:

"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." (Luke 10:21)

Do you see? God has HIDDEN these things from the "wise and prudent", and has revealed them to "babes", to little children, including "little children" in faith. So clearly the things of the gospel are actually very easy to understand. We must just become like little children concerning all these things.

"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, EXCEPT ye be converted (changed), and BECOME AS LITTLE CHILDREN, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:2-4)

Yes my friend, if you are a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, YOU can also lead sinners to the Lord. Please go and do so because Jesus' following words reverberate to this day and are still just as true:

"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:37,38)

Go work in the harvest as God's labourer my friend!

4. HOW DO I BAPTIZE PEOPLE? (Back to top)

In many church denominations, and for many years, baptism has been a huge point of argument and division. Millions of Christians were even persecuted and killed by the Roman Catholic Church because they had themselves baptized as adults in contravention of the false Roman Catholic Church view of infant baptism. However, we must all realize one thing – baptism has nothing to do with what any CHURCH says, but about what the BIBLE says. Jesus Himself warned us about this when He said:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." (Matthew 22:29)

This is the problem with most of us who call ourselves Christians. We err because we don't know the Scriptures. We all want or expect the pastor or preacher to read the scriptures on our behalf and then explain it to us. It is time to move past that view. We must get to the place where WE read our Scriptures ourselves, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truths contained therein, to us. Then we will get to the place where we will read the following things for ourselves, and understand it as it is written:

Jesus gives the following very clear instruction:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING THEM in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost..." (Matthew 28:19)

Look at this! The FIRST thing we must do after TEACHING people to become Jesus Christ's disciples, is to baptize them. A baby cannot be "taught" before he is baptized so clearly this is only applicable to adults. What does the word "baptism" in its root form actually mean?

Strong's Dictionary (G907) – "baptize" - "... to make whelmed (that is, FULLY WET); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism: - baptist, baptize, WASH."

In no infant baptism is the baby made "fully wet", or "washed". So infants are not "baptized" at all, they are actually merely blessed and consecrated unto the Lord on a specific day. On that day the PARENTS of the baby enter into a covenant with the Lord to raise their child according to His statutes. The child does not have the faculty to make any decision of its own.

What example does Jesus Himself give us?

"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, TO BE BAPTIZED of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." (Matthew 3:13-15)

Jesus, as our eldest Brother, walks into the water and lets Himself be baptized. And what does He say concerning His baptism? "...for thus it becometh US to fulfil all righteousness." This is also applicable to US to this day. By having ourselves baptized, we fulfill all righteousness in our own lives.

But what does the baptism actually mean? Are there more than one baptisms? In the physical, we have only one baptism, as we see below. In the spiritual we also get the additional baptism in or with the Holy Spirit which I discuss in the next chapter. This is the reason why I say that an infant is not actually "baptized" and that is why we must all receive that "one baptism" when we are grown.

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

So, if Jesus tells us we must fulfill all righteousness by being baptized, and we read that there is only ONE baptism, we must look at some examples of people being baptized after realizing the truth hereof.

"And ALL the people that heard him, AND the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers REJECTED THE COUNSEL OF GOD against themselves, being NOT baptized of him." (Luke 7:29,30)

From this verse we see that the people who heard Jesus speaking directly to their hearts, JUSTIFIED GOD, by letting themselves be baptized. Only the "theologians" of their time REJECTED God's will by NOT having themselves baptized. To this day, the same principle applies. If we wish to justify God, we should also have ourselves baptized after realizing that Jesus speaks to our hearts too. Jesus cannot speak to an infant's heart, so the choice in this matter of baptism is clearly only available to adults.

The question also is: WHEN may I be baptized? We find the answer in the history of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, IF THOU BELIEVEST WITH ALL THINE HEART, THOU MAYEST. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him." (Acts 8:36-38)

Very clearly from this, we see that, if we believe with all our hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, WE MAY BE BAPTIZED. An infant cannot believe that with all his heart, so this is only applicable to adults. We also see a further confirmation of the fact that we must be baptized, in the words of Peter on the day of Pentecost:

"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and BE BAPTIZED EVERY ONE OF YOU in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:37,38)

From this verse I understand that EVERY ONE of us must BE BAPTIZED in the name of Jesus Christ! What for? For the remission of sins! An infant has no sins to be forgiven, so this is clearly not applicable to an infant. An infant can also not "REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED". The final confirmation to me WHY we should be baptized as adults, I find in the following verses:

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are BURIED WITH HIM BY BAPTISM into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3,4)

Yes! WE must get baptized so that we may be "buried" with Him into death. And when we get raised up out of the water, it is symbolical of Jesus being raised from the dead. This means my "old life" and all the wrong things I did, get washed away in the water, and I can then start a new life in Christ. So, true baptism is effectively a BURIAL. And a baby does not have an old live that has to be buried. This fact is also confirmed in Colossians 2:12:

"Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

Another question that is often raised is: "WHO may baptize people?" The answer is plain – ANY baptized disciple of Jesus Christ. And obviously all His disciples were all personally baptized themselves. We find this answer that His disciples were the ones baptizing people in John 4:1,2:

"When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples..."

Then comes the question that was asked of Paul, and today is asked of you, the reader:

"And now why tarriest thou? ARISE, and BE BAPTIZED, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16)

An infant cannot ARISE and BE baptized. An infant does not have any sins that must be washed away and an infant cannot call on the Name of the Lord during baptism. Very clearly then, baptism is something that every adult believer must go through if we want to follow the example that Jesus Himself gave us. Did Jesus Himself baptize people? Yes, He did:

"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized." (John 3:22)

So Jesus Himself was baptized as an adult and He also baptized people who became His disciples. That means Jesus practiced what He preached! This is my example if I call myself a believer to this day, seeing as Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers (and sisters). That means that I must be baptized as an adult (as Jesus was), and I must teach others to become His disciples (which He did), whereupon I must also baptize them (which He did) as soon as possible.

Now the question: "HOW do I baptize someone?"

There is no specific example or ritual in the Bible, but I personally like to do the following:

I enter the water with the person to be baptized. This can be in a swimming pool, a river, or the ocean. In some instances I have also baptized people in their own baths, in which instance I just kneel next to the bath.

I pray a prayer asking the Lord's blessing over all present.

I ask the person whether he/she understands the real meaning of the baptism as explained in this chapter, and I ask the person to declare their personal faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I also ask the person as to who convinced him to have himself baptized - people, or the Holy Spirit? If the person states that he or she was convicted by the Holy Spirit, I proceed with the baptism.

Upon confirmation that he understands what the true baptism is all about, and that he is not doing it to please any people, but only as a step of obedience to God's Word, I hold my hand over their noses and I say: "I now baptize you in the Name of the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit."

Then I press the person over backward (or forward) into the water, ensuring that he/she is totally submerged for a few seconds then I pull him/her back up again. Some people prefer to submerge a person three times. Again, there is no specific instruction in the Bible concerning this.

After that I lay hands on the person and pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this I find in Luke 3:21, 22: "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." I personally believe that in that specific moment God also reveals every man or woman who let themselves be baptized like Jesus, as His "beloved son" or daughter in whom He is well pleased and that He also wishes them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit too. I discuss the baptism in the Holy Spirit in more detail in the next chapter.

And that is all. A small thing in the physical realm taking only a few minutes, but a huge thing in the spiritual realm. If it wasn't important in the spiritual realm, why do we get so much opposition from families, friends and some church people when we decide to follow directly in Jesus' footsteps by having ourselves baptized too? And just as a point of interest, confirming that baptism is also deemed as very important from the point of view of the kingdom of darkness, is the fact that a Muslim that gets converted to Christ and then has himself baptized MUST be killed according to the Muslim belief system. And a satanist that gets out of satanism and has himself baptized is never allowed to get back into satanism. If the one true baptism did not have any real spiritual value why then these extremes from the kingdom of darkness?

5. HOW DO I GET BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT? (Back to top)

I read the following wonderful promise in the Bible:

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it SHALL be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more SHALL your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:9-13)

What I read in the first place is that a person who wishes to be baptized in the Holy Spirit must ASK to be so baptized.

What I have learned since coming to know the Lord on a more intimate personal level, is that there are two specific "places" or "spiritual moments" that I must get to on my road with the Lord. The first "place" or "moment" is when I receive the Lord as my Redeemer and Savior at which moment I also receive the Holy Spirit. The second "place" or spiritual "moment" that I must get to is that of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. These are two very definite but SEPARATE "places" or "moments" that I must get to in my walk with God. In some people's lives they happen on the same day. For example, a person gives his or her life to the Lord thereby receiving the Holy Spirit and a few moments later someone lays hands on him and prays for his infilling or baptism in the Holy Spirit.

In most other people's lives it happens years apart. In my personal life it happened twenty four years apart. I was twelve years old when I first accepted our Lord Jesus Christ and received the Holy Spirit and I was thirty six years old – in 1999 - when somebody laid hands on me and prayed for me for the baptism with the Holy Spirit. However my life is not any good example to prove this point.

But would you accept Jesus' life as a good example of this? Look at the following verses as confirmation of the fact that there were also two very definite separate instances in His life of having received the Holy Spirit and being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

"And the child grew, and waxed STRONG IN SPIRIT, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." (Luke 2:40)

This verse we read shortly before Jesus was left behind in the synagogue as a twelve year old. And what do we see? That he already had the Holy Spirit working strongly within Him. So people tell me: "Tiaan so what, He was Jesus, of course He had the Holy Spirit within Him!" No, no, no! We must realize that at that time Jesus was just a HUMAN child with the Holy Spirit of God within Him, the same way that we are HUMAN children with the Holy Spirit of God within us.

But then, when He was THIRTY years old, in other words eighteen years later, we read:

"Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove UPON HIM, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21,22)

Why did the Holy Spirit have to "descend" UPON Him if He already had the Holy Spirit WITHIN Him? It is just another confirmation that it refers to two very clear separate moments that we must get to in our walk with God. And Jesus Himself also had to have BOTH these moments in His life here on earth.

We must also learn from this that Jesus did not start His ministry before that SECOND moment in His life, namely His baptism in the Holy Spirit. He did not preach any sermon, nor heal any sick, nor cast out any demons, nor raise any dead before His baptism in water AND in the Holy Spirit. It is thus very clear that these two baptisms (water and spirit) are both a very definite requirement if anybody wants to be equipped to be able to minister to the body of Christ.

Now let us look at the disciples as confirmation of these two different moments in their walk of faith:

"And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost..." (John 20:22)

This is shortly before Jesus ascended to heaven. What does He do? He breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. However did He immediately send them out to go and minister to the world? No. What did they have to do then?

"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)

The answer is that they had to WAIT in the city until something happened. What was that something? They had to wait to be "endued with power from on high". And what was that "power" they had to WAIT for?

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

So, they had to wait to be baptized in the Holy Spirit! But still they had already received the Holy Spirit when Jesus breathed on them initially. What do we learn from this? It is another confirmation that there are two separate moments that we have to get to in our walk of faith. The first moment is that of receiving the Holy Spirit and the second moment that of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

I find a third example of this fact in the following verses:

"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." (Acts 19:1-6)

I see here that Paul found certain BELIEVING DISCIPLES in Ephesus, which means that they had already received the Holy Spirit. Yet they did not even know that the Holy Spirit existed! Then what happens? Paul laid hands on them whereupon they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

So the one way of being baptized in the Holy Spirit is to ask someone to lay hands on you and pray for the infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit can also be received by just being in unity with God and asking Him to endue you with that "power from on high", the same way the first disciples waited in unity for that infilling:

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)

Note that there was no laying on of hands here. I have a number of testimonies of people who were alone on the road, or at home, or in a strange hotel room, who were baptized in the Holy Spirit when they ASKED the Lord to do so.

The question is: Have YOU ever been baptized in the Holy Spirit yet? If not, are you willing to ask Him to do so? As to how you may baptize somebody else in the Holy Spirit, you can only do so if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit yourself.

Remember the Bible says that Jesus is the one who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

"John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire..." (Luke 3:16)

So then you just lay your hands on such a person and pray a prayer similar to this one:

"Lord Jesus your Word says that you will give us the Holy Spirit when we ask. Your word also says that if we ask for bread you will not give us a stone. Your word further states that You are the one who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Therefore Lord Jesus, I now pray for .... to be baptized in your Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord, that You are true to Your Word. Amen."

Just beware that satan will try to deceive you especially in such an important matter as the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Some of the deceptions include certain theological issues that keep many Christians from ever getting to the place where they want to ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

One of the theological issues is the question regarding the speaking in tongues. Many people say the speaking in tongues is the ONLY sign of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. I am sorry but I cannot agree with that point of view. The reason for my point of view I find in the words of Acts 1:8:

"But ye shall receive POWER, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..."

Take note of the fact that the Bible says you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. It does not say you will receive the speaking in tongues when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. However, the speaking in tongues is ONE of the manifestations – one of the gifts - of that power of the Holy Spirit when you have been so baptized. I know of many Christians who were baptized with the Holy Spirit but were told that they must stop doing what they were doing because they don't speak in tongues yet.

Meanwhile they were already praying for the sick and casting out demons like Jesus did after His baptism, in the power of the Holy Spirit. A friend of mine was even told point-blank that he was going to hell because he does not speak in tongues. I have seen too many Christians being hurt by other Christians who have no knowledge regarding this aspect and then leaving their churches because of being so hurt. They really had a passion to work for Jesus and were on fire for Him.

But then they were accosted by other Christians and told that because they did not speak in tongues yet they were not baptized with the Holy Spirit, even though they were already doing the things Jesus did after His personal baptism with the Holy Spirit. What did this cause? That their passion to work for Christ was dampened and eventually they either left their churches or just sat down and fell away from the church as a whole. And satan laughed....

I do agree that it is a wonderful thing to be able to speak in tongues, but you should not feel guilty if you don't speak in tongues yet. However don't stop asking Jesus for that wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit.

Another theological issue regarding the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the fact that people are told they shouldn't ask to be baptized with the Holy Spirit as they will then receive a demon spirit! How can this ever be possible to believe when we read Jesus' own words in Luke 11:9-13:

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

If a son shall ask BREAD of any of you that is a father, will he give him a STONE?

or if he ask a FISH, will he for a fish give him a SERPENT?

Or if he shall ask an EGG, will he offer him a SCORPION?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: HOW MUCH MORE shall your heavenly Father GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT to them that ASK him?" (Luke 11:9-13)

Here Jesus confirms the fact that even a human father will NOT give his son a stone if he asks for bread or a serpent if he asks him for a fish, nor a scorpion if he asks him for an egg. What then makes us think that our Heavenly Father will even ALLOW a demon spirit to get close to us when we stand before HIM and ask HIM to baptize us with HIS HOLY SPIRIT? Is our God so powerless that if you ask Him for the Holy Spirit that He cannot stop a demon spirit from entering your life in that moment? NO!

The fact is that satan has stopped thousands of Christians over the years to ask for the baptism with the Holy Spirit just because they were AFRAID that they would receive a demon spirit! And where does FEAR come from?

"For God hath NOT GIVEN US the spirit of fear..." (2 Timothy 1:7)

So if God did not give us a spirit of fear, where did that "fear" come from that withheld so many Christians to be asked to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? From satan himself! He knows the Bible better than any Christian and he knows that the moment a Christian gets baptized with the Holy Spirit, that he will do exactly the same things Jesus did, like healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, etcetera.

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7,8)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do SHALL HE DO ALSO; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12)

Satan knows these verses so he knows you will be able to do exactly those things Jesus did the moment that you too, become baptized with the Holy Spirit. So he teaches some Christians to whisper into other Christians' ears that they shouldn't ask for the baptism with the Holy Spirit because they will then receive a demon spirit. And suddenly those Christians become AFRAID and they immediately sit down, thus becoming ineffective in God's Kingdom. Just because they listened to a lie.

It is true that spirits are transferred by the laying on of hands, including demon spirits and also the Holy Spirit. But that is no reason to be AFRAID to ask the Lord to baptize you with His Holy Spirit! If you want to be cautious about somebody laying hands on you, then just pray and ask the Lord to baptize you Himself, or ask the person praying for you not to touch you while he is praying for you. That way there is no "danger" or "fear" that any demon spirit may be transferred to you.

Another theological issue is the so-called "slain in the Spirit", or people falling down when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit. Christians argue that there are no Scriptures confirming the fact that people fell down backwards in the Bible. There are a number of verses in the Bible stating that people fell flat on their faces when they were confronted with the glory of the Lord, or when angels appeared to them. However I also read the following verses in the Bible:

"And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD." (1 Kings 8:10,11)

"It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God." (2 Chronicles 5:13,14)

There is no indication in these verses whether the priests fell over forwards, backwards or sideways. During my time in ministry I have experienced people falling forwards, backwards, sideways and also straight down when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. I have also experienced people starting to laugh, or cry or just staying upright when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. What actually happens is that every single human body reacts differently to a touch by God's Holy Spirit. SOME fall down, some start to laugh, some start to cry, some feel nothing but a few weeks later they are busy in the streets praying for the sick, casting out demons and preaching with gusto. What happened to them? They were baptized with the Holy Spirit!

However, satan quickly whispers another lie into Christians' minds by saying things like: "Mmm, he fell down when he got baptized with the Holy Spirit and you didn't, so YOU are NOT baptized with the Holy Spirit!" That's another lie! It has nothing to do with the falling down. The BIBLE says if you ask to be so baptized, you will be baptized and that it is it! The Bible does NOT say you WILL fall down, or that you WILL laugh or that you WILL cry, or whatever.

What the Bible DOES say is that if you ask, you will receive:

"And I say unto you, ASK, and it SHALL be given you... HOW MUCH MORE shall your heavenly Father GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT to them that ASK him?" (Luke 11:9+13)

So if you asked the Lord to baptize you with the Holy Spirit – He did! It does not matter what you experienced physically in that moment. You asked – He gave!

If you haven't asked yet - are you now willing to ASK, and then to go and teach other people to also ask to be so equipped by the Holy Spirit?

6. HOW DO I CAPTURE MY THOUGHTS TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST? (Back to top)

The Bible clearly states:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

The question is always raised: "But HOW do I bring my thoughts into captivity?" It is something I must practice to do. I must exercise this, as I exercise myself in a gymnasium.

"But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and EXERCISE thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (1 Timothy 4:7,8)

I have received testimonies from other Christians confirming that the following ways of capturing their thoughts to the obedience of Christ, does work in their lives. I can also personally testify to the success thereof.

Firstly, if satan puts a negative or wrong thought into my mind, I immediately put a gospel CD into my radio and start to praise and worship the Lord to the words of the song/s on the CD. Alternatively, I immediately begin to hum or sing a well-known hymn or gospel song and this expels those negative thoughts that have entered my mind. The song I sing also glorifies the Lord, so in this manner I capture my thoughts to the obedience of Christ.

The other way of capturing my thoughts to the obedience of Christ, is by immediately concentrating on other, more positive, thoughts. It is a well-known fact that we can not think more than one thought at a time. So, for example, if a thought enters my mind that starts to make me feel negative or brings a feeling of heaviness or depression, I physically discard that thought and I concentrate on positive thoughts about my wife, my children, or something good that has happened to me the previous few days.

I have also found that it works to concentrate on beautiful nature around me when some bad or negative thoughts enter my mind. When such a negative thought enters my mind, I immediately look at a beautiful flower, or tree, or mountains around me and then I physically SAY OUT LOUD: "Lord, just look at the beautiful nature you have given us. I glorify and exalt Your Name for this beautiful flower, or that beautiful tree, or those beautiful mountains!" If necessary I do it over and over and over a few times. And suddenly I find the negative thought has completely vanished. In some instances I have even praised and thanked Him for rocks, or grains of sand, because they were all made by Him.

We must remember that satan and his demons do also put thoughts into our minds and that is why we must learn to capture our thoughts to the obedience of Christ. The moment I realize this fact, it becomes clear that we are in a spiritual war and much of this war is fought in our minds.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)

We cannot "wrestle" physically against satan's demon spirits, so where and how do we "wrestle" with them? Well, for one, most definitely in our minds, where they put those wrong or negative thoughts, which we must then learn to take captive to the obedience of Christ.

7. HOW DO I LIVE A HOLY LIFE? (Back to top)

The Word of the Lord states:

"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you." (Leviticus 20:7,8)

"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15,16)

So what constitutes a "holy life"? Definitely not by walking on the street with a Bible under the arm and a stern face.

A holy life is a life totally consecrated to the Lord. A life totally sold on Jesus. It is a person living a life knowing that he can still make mistakes from time to time, but who stands up after every mistake, immediately confesses his sin, wipes the mud from his face and walks on, glorifying Jesus.

Many people tell me: "But Tiaan, I can't live a holy life it's impossible!" No, it is not impossible. Jesus would not have said: "Be ye holy for I am holy" if He did not think that we would not be able to do so. How does He know that we can live holy lives? The answer is simple. He created us! So He knows exactly what His creation is able to do.

The only thing He requires from us is to become obedient to His Word and just DO what He says. If His Word states that we should watch our language, it means we must watch our language. If His Word states that we should forgive those that have hurt us, it means we must forgive them. If His Word states that we must speak life and not death with our mouths, it means we must speak life and not death. Friend, it's not that difficult to understand, is it? That which the Bible tells us to desist from, we must so desist.

The problem is that most of us do not read our own Bibles and do not WANT to read our own Bibles because we are NOT WILLING to stop doing the things WE like to do. We are not willing to become 100% obedient to the Word. And that is a choice we make. That is also one of the reasons why we think we can't live holy lives, because we really don't WANT TO!

So where do we learn HOW to live such holy lives? In the Bible! We HAVE to start to READ our own Bibles and we must also ask the Holy Spirit to lead us into His truths concerning living holy lives. Then we must start to BE OBEDIENT to what we read because, remember:

"For we write NONE other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end..." (2 Corinthians 1:13)

So if I read:

"... (B)ut now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. Don't lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator..." (Colossians 3:8-10)

What does it mean other than EXACTLY what is written there? This means I must "put away", yes, I must STOP my anger, wrath, malice, slander and shameful speaking. I must also STOP lying to people around me. If the Bible says...:

"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4:8)

Then it means that we must DRAW NEAR to God, it means we must CLEANSE our hands of sin and it means we must PURIFY our hearts! That's what the Bible says, that's what it means and THAT IS WHAT I MUST DO! In that way I will be becoming more and more holy. But if I feel I cannot do it in my own power, I must ensure that I ask the Holy Spirit to help me, because the Bible is clear:

"ASK, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For EVERYONE WHO ASKS RECEIVES. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7,8)

Have you ASKED God to help you live a more holy life yet? But I repeat we can only enter into true victory regarding these things contained in the Bible, if we are in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So if you haven't invited Him into your life yet, won't you quickly pray the prayer I quoted in Chapter 3 above?

In this manner we will start to live more and more holy lives the way Jesus wants us to. However it is a daily process which becomes a way of life of falling and immediately standing up and eventually becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

8. HOW DO I TAKE UP AND EXERCISE MY SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY? HOW DO I CAST OUT DEMONS? (Back to top)

Most Christians today don't even know what their spiritual authority really is, or that they do have such authority or if they do know this, they don't always necessarily know how they should exercise that authority. The first problem is that most people don't realize that we are really living in a daily spiritual war, as can be seen very clearly from the following texts:

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:11,12)

Firstly we must realize who Paul is speaking to here.

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, TO THE SAINTS which are at Ephesus, and TO THE FAITHFUL in Christ Jesus:..." (Ephesians 1:1)

So, Paul is directing himself to the saints and the faithful in Jesus Christ. If we call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ today, that means we are also saints and part of the "faithful in Christ Jesus". And it is to these saints and faithful followers that Paul says that they are wrestling against demon spirits. For too long Christians have thought that they cannot have demons spirits in their lives. If this was true, why did Paul tell the "saints" and "faithful in Christ Jesus" that THEY are not WRESTLING against flesh and blood but that THEY are WRESTLING against DEMON SPIRITS in the air?

It is time that the children of God realize that THEY are in this spiritual war in which they are attacked by demon spirits and for this war they need to put on their whole armour as Ephesians 6:12-18 states.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints..."

When does a soldier PUT ON his armour? Obviously when he is on his way to go and wage war. But look closely at those texts again, WHO do we fight against? Against spiritual principalities, powers, rulers and demon spirits in high places. Now HOW do we fight against such spiritual entities?

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds..." (2 Corinthians 10:3,4)

From this text we see very clearly that we are NOT fighting a war of the flesh, but a spiritual war, so our weapons cannot be physical weapons. The weapons we use are from God Himself and are mighty spiritual weapons that can help us pull down any strongholds satan and his demons have built in our lives. A stronghold, according to the dictionary, is a place that has been made strongly defensible, in other words, a refuge or fortification. In this manner addiction can be a stronghold in our lives, and so can unforgiveness, or bitterness, or rejection. These strongholds are all brought into our lives by these demon spirits from satan. I describe these spirits and their ways of attack in more detail in my book: "Passion for God" and also my book and DVD both entitled: "Identify the Lie".

Fortunately the Bible does not leave us in an unclear position as to what we should DO about these demons and strongholds in our lives:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

From this text we see that there is one CONDITION, one COMMAND and one PROMISE contained in the wording thereof. First, the condition: - I must SUBMIT myself to God. Second, the command: - I must RESIST the devil. Third, the promise: - then the devil WILL FLEE from me! So many people don't understand this, as many Christians don't believe that we as Christians can become demon OPPRESSED. Please understand that a Christian can NEVER become demon POSSESSED, because demon possession refers to being possessed in spirit, soul AND body. A Christian's spirit belongs to God. But a Christian CAN become demon OPPRESSED in his soul and body. My soul is my will, my intellect and my emotions.

For example, when we refuse to forgive someone in contradiction to Jesus' very clear instructions to forgive, we allow satan through his demon of unforgiveness to obtain a legal right in our lives. The Bible clearly states:

"Neither GIVE place to the devil." (Ephesians 4:27)

This means that WE are the ones GIVING PLACE to the devil and his demons by being disobedient to Jesus Christ and His instructions as contained in the Bible by DOING the wrong things and by ALLOWING the wrong things in my life. Fellow Christians, it really is very urgent and high time to realize that we are in a spiritual WAR against satan and his demons.

"For WE wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)

As I said earlier, the only way to fight this war is through the spiritual authority we have in Jesus Christ as our weapons are not carnal but mighty through God to pull down strongholds. And WHO is in that war? WE are!

But to return to James 4:7 and the promise contained therein. Why will the devil flee from me? I must never be so arrogant as to think that satan flees from myself in my fleshly body! No! The reason he will flee from me, is BECAUSE I HAVE JESUS CHRIST WITHIN ME!

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is HE THAT IS IN YOU, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

That's it! That is the answer! Satan will flee from me because I have Jesus Christ within me. But I can only have Jesus Christ within me if I have received Him as I wrote in Chapter 3. So when I rebuke satan and command him and his demon spirits to flee from me, they don't flee from me in the flesh, but they flee FROM JESUS CHRIST WITHIN ME! But even though Jesus Christ is within me, what is the instruction we receive from the apostle Peter, under guidance of the Holy Spirit?

"Be SOBER, be VIGILANT; because YOUR ADVERSARY the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith..." (1 Peter 5:8,9)

Clearly then, even though we may have Jesus Christ within us, we are still commanded to be SOBER and VIGILANT. Why? It is because OUR enemy, the devil, walks about seeking whom he may devour. Take heed of the fact that the devil is OUR adversary. Many people think he is God's adversary. That is not true. God does not even deem satan worthy enough to fight against him. God sends another ANGEL (Michael) to fight against the devil and throw him down. No, he is OUR adversary and that is why WE must be sober and vigilant and that is why WE must resist him steadfast in the faith. Too many people pray like this: "Lord, I am your child, please remove the devil and his demons from me!" That is not what the Bible says. The Bible is clear that I must submit myself to God, that I must resist the devil, that I must be sober and vigilant and that I must resist him steadfast in the faith. Who must do this? God? No, I am the one who must do this. How? In the power and authority I have in the knowledge that Jesus Christ lives within me and that I may use that authority in His Kingdom.

Immediately then the question arises: "Steadfast in what faith?" That is easy to answer when I look at the following verse:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils..." (Mark 16:17)

Yes! I must be steadfast in the faith that I am also a believer, and just because I am one of "them that believe", that I also DO HAVE the authority to also cast out satan and his demons. But we shouldn't miss the instruction: "In my name.." That means we cannot exercise any authority in the spiritual dimension if it is not in the Name of Jesus Christ. And I will only have this authority if I am in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if I have received Him as my Savior and Redeemer.

If I am not in such a personal relationship with Him, I am in danger of encountering the same problem as the seven sons of Sceva did. Let's read what happened to them:

"Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." (Acts 19:13-16)

From their words we can see that they had no personal relationship with Jesus Himself, but only wanted to use His Name as a kind of "magic wand" to rebuke this demon. And you can see for yourself what the result of that mistake was. The Name of Jesus Christ is not something that can be used as a kind of "magic wand". Friend, you must realize that spiritual authority is found ONLY in a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

If you wonder why you don't have such authority even though you may have been a "church-goer" for many years, don't be alarmed, the same thing happened to me. I was never taught about the spiritual authority we have against satan and his demon spirits. Only eight years ago at the time of this writing, did I really enter into a deeper personal intimate relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, and only then did I start to read all the verses I quoted above. I immediately stopped blaming the preacher or pastor for "not teaching me these things" and I asked the Lord to FORGIVE ME for not reading MY own Scriptures.

You see, suddenly I realized I WAS THE ONE that had to DO what the Bible says in these verses. I could not hide behind my reverend and what he did or did not teach me, any longer! So I allowed the Holy Spirit to teach me HOW to fight this spiritual war, in the light of James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8,9 and Mark 16:17 which I quoted above. In short, I started to DO the following and I still do so to this day:

The moment I realize that there is a certain problem in my life, albeit aggression, unforgiveness, lust, addiction, or whatever, I immediately SUBMIT myself to God by CONFESSING that problem, iniquity or sin, whatever it may be.

Then I take up my authority and I RESIST the devil, by rebuking the demon spirit of aggression, lust, addiction, or whatever it may be that is attacking me at that time. I do the rebuking out loud, because remember that satan and his demons cannot read our thoughts, so they have to hear what we say.

Then I request the Holy Spirit to fill me with His fullness, so that the demon spirits will not be able to get another hold in my life even though the Bible states clearly in Matthew 12:43-45 that they will try to return.

Lastly I accept the confirmation from God's Word in the verses I referred to, that those demons HAVE FLED from me and I thank Jesus for that fact.

In this manner I personally walk in my full spiritual authority on a daily basis. But in the same manner I can also help anybody else who requests help to be set free from demon spirits in his or her life. In such an instance I DO the following:

Firstly I ensure that that person has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into his life, or that he confesses the Lord Jesus Christ as His King, Savior and Redeemer. If he has not done so yet, I lead him in a prayer as set out in Chapter 3 above.

Then I let such a person forgive anybody who may have hurt him in his life. Forgiveness is always the key, according to Luke 6:37 and as I explain in more detail in my book: "Forgive! Why should I?"

Thereafter I lead such a person in a prayer similar to the one I quote at the end of this chapter, to resist and rebuke the devil and his specific demon spirits in his or her own life.

Then we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to baptize that person with His fullness.

Lastly I teach that person to go and take up his own authority, READ the Bible daily, be part of a strong church or cell-group that understands our spiritual warfare and to go and DO what I explained in the previous paragraph on what I personally do when I am alone and the attacks come.

Can it really be this easy? Yes, I believe that it is, if I look at James 4:7 again:

"SUBMIT yourselves therefore to God. RESIST the devil, and he WILL flee from you." (James 4:7)

From this verse I clearly see the promise that the devil WILL flee from me. I see no "maybe" contained in the wording thereof.

I can personally recommend the following prayer or shorter variants thereof as the Spirit may lead you, to be used in any such instance:

PRAYER

"Father, I come to You now in the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ. I thank You that Your Word states that if I confess my sins, You are faithful and just (1 John 1:9) and that You remove them from me as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). So I come to You now and I confess each and every sin that I have committed to this day. Whether they were wrong thoughts, wrong words or wrong deeds, Father You know them all. I also confess all my sexual immorality prior to marriage and/or outside of marriage as sin.

(Should the Holy Spirit lead you as such, also name all the other sins He reminds you of, out loud).

I place all my sins before Your throne today and I beg You to please forgive me now.

Thank You Lord that Your Word says You do forgive me now and that You will remember my sins and iniquities no more (Hebrews 8:12 and Hebrews 10:17). With gratitude and thankfulness I accept Your forgiveness and so I can confess with my mouth – to the world and also to satan and his powers – that I believe in Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead and that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is my King, my Lord, my Savior, my Redeemer and my Friend (Romans 10:9, 10). Thank You Lord Jesus for that!

Father, Your Word says that if I forgive I can be forgiven (Luke 6:37), but if I don't forgive I may not receive forgiveness (Matthew 6:15). Lord, I know now that I have just received forgiveness from You (again), so I have no right, and no reason, not to WANT to forgive any other person. However, I may not be able to do this in my own power Lord, so I beg of You to give me Your power and to help me forgive, not in my own power but in Yours.

I refuse to allow satan any further legal right in my life through any unforgiveness, and I choose to break with every bad thing from my past. I choose to put my past behind me and to enter a hope and a future filled with God.

So I come to You now and I forgive all my ancestors for anything they may have said or anything they did which caused any curses, iniquities or adulteries to come upon me. I take them all off my back today, wash them clean in the blood of Jesus and place them all before Your throne.

I also forgive my father and mother (or stepmother/stepfather) for anything they did or did not do, which has hurt me or disappointed me, or has left me feeling rejected, unwanted, unworthy or a failure. I take them both off my back now, wash them clean in Jesus' blood and I place them before Your throne. I pray that You will bless them all now, wherever they may be.

I further forgive my brothers and/or sisters (or step-brothers/step-sisters) and their husbands/wives. I forgive them for anything they said or did which may have hurt me or disappointed me. I break the chains of darkness that bound them to my back and take them off my back one by one, I wash them all clean in the blood of Jesus Christ and I put them before Your throne. I pray that You will bless them all abundantly Father, in their marriages, relationships and businesses, in Jesus' Name.

I also choose to release and forgive all my old school friends and teachers at school who teased me, bullied me or rejected me in any manner. I forgive each one of them individually and I take them all off my back today. I wash them all clean in the blood of Jesus and I leave them before Your throne. My prayer is that, wherever they may be today, that they will all know You as a loving Father and merciful God.

Now I come and I forgive all my previous sex-partners. You know who they were Lord, male or female. I forgive them all for their individual share in the spiritual onslaught on my body, my life and my marriage. I break every ungodly soul-tie I have with each one of them and take them all off my back now. I wash them clean in Jesus' blood and I put them all before Your throne as You died for each one of them too. I pray that You will bless them all, that their marriages and children may be blessed and that they will all know You as a loving Father and merciful God.

I further choose to forgive every person, male or female who has ever molested me in any manner whatsoever. I refuse to allow satan any further legal right to hold that which has happened against me. He has bound me long enough and I now choose to sever the ties of bitterness, hate and unforgiveness by forgiving and releasing each and every one of them for what they did to my body. I take them off my back individually and I place them all before Your throne today. I also choose to go one step further and to bless them from the bottom of my heart with the best of God's blessings.

I also forgive the rest of my family, friends, in-laws or colleagues who have hurt me, disappointed me or stabbed me in the back in any manner. You know who they were Lord and You know what they did to me as You were there every time. I now forgive each one of them for all words or deeds that caused me hurt and I take them off my back to put them before your throne. I pray that You will bless them all and that they will all walk the road with You.

Now I forgive all my children (or stepchildren) for anything they said or did that has hurt me or disappointed me. They are my children Father and You have blessed me with them, for which I thank You. I take them off my back too, I wash them in Jesus' blood and I put them before Your throne. I pray that You will bless my children and that they will walk the road of life with You as a loving Father and a merciful God.

Now I deliberately choose to forgive my husband / wife (or ex-husband / ex-wife) for everything he / she did against me that has hurt me or has disappointed me during our marriage. I forgive him / her completely in the same manner that Jesus forgave me, take him / her off my back, wash him / her clean in the blood of Jesus Christ and put him / her before Your throne. He / she is my husband / wife Lord Jesus, You gave him / her to me and You do not make mistakes. We are the ones making so many mistakes in our lives and marriages for which I ask your forgiveness. I now take myself, my husband / wife and my children and I pray us all under the protection of the blood of Christ as a family unit. I put our whole family before Your throne as a unit and I now declare, like Joshua of old: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!"

Lord, as I take these heavy burdens off my back now to put it before Your throne, I choose to leave them there for ever. I CHOOSE never to pick it up again as I now wish to only take up Jesus' yoke, as the Bible clearly states that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

That is why I can now forgive and release myself. I forgive myself from the depths of my heart for all these old feelings of guilt and all the negative words and thoughts I had about myself as a result of mistakes I made, wrong decisions taken and wrong deeds that I did. I take myself off my back now, wash myself clean in the blood of Jesus Christ and put myself before your throne at the place where I can see myself standing today, pure, washed clean by Jesus' blood.

And then Father, I forgive You today, for all the times I blamed You for the things that went wrong in my life. I know today that it wasn't You Lord, but satan's lies in my life. So I pray that You will forgive me for blaming You wrongly. Thank You Lord that I may know that You do forgive me for that as well.

Father, Your Word says that satan was overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of the testimony of the saints (Revelation 12:11). My testimony is: I am a blood-washed child of Jesus Christ. I was crowned with honor and glory (Psalm 8:6) and am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me (Romans 8:37). I am a prince / princess of God, because my Father is the King of the universe. You have called me by my name, I am Yours (Isaiah 43:1).

Your Word also states that I have the power to tread on serpents and scorpions (satan and his demons) (Luke 10:19); that if I submit myself to You and rebuke the devil that he will flee from me (James 4:7). Therefore Lord I now submit myself to You – my thoughts, my body, my life, my relationships with my children, spouse, friends, family and colleagues. Everything I have and everything I am I now submit to You. I take up the authority I have in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ, even though it may be for the first time in my life. I know now that I do have the authority to be able to now say to satan and his demons:

Satan, you and all your demon spirits who have made my life hell to this day, it is finished now. I am also under the blood of Jesus Christ and I now remove any legal rights you may think you have in my thoughts, my body, my life, my marriage, my relationship with my family, friends, colleagues or in any other area of my life or my body.

I now break your chains and declare your works null and void. I break your holds on my life and I command you to leave me today and to go to the dry waterless places the Bible speaks of. You will not stay in this town, you will not enter any other people and you will not enter any animals.

Satan, you will disappear now and you will take with you all your different spirits:

Spirit of LIES, you have lied to me enough and you have used me enough to lie to others. I have met the Truth personally. His Name is Jesus Christ and there is no more place for lies in my life. I break your chains of lies and I command you to leave me now, in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

Spirit of FEAR I break all your chains and I destroy any form of FEAR in my life - FEAR of the dark, FEAR of people, FEAR of rejection, FEAR about my finances, FEAR about my future, FEAR about my health, FEAR about my marriage, FEAR about my children's future. Satan, it is written that God has not given me a spirit of FEAR, but of love, power and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7) and that is how I choose to live from this very moment, it is also written that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). I do have that perfect love, because Jesus Christ lives within me (Galatians 2:20). So, spirit of FEAR, I break your chains and I cast you out of my life, in Jesus Name!

Spirit of AGGRESSION, I am a prince / princess of God and have just submitted myself to God. There is no more place for irritation, short-temperedness or AGGRESSION in my life. I break your chains, rebuke you and command you to leave my life, in Jesus Name!

Spirit of REBELLION, you have tried to bring me into rebellion against people around me – and also against God - from my childhood days. However, I am a prince / princess of God and have submitted myself to God today. There is no more place for any form of rebellion in my life and I break your chains now. Disappear from my life in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirit of UNFORGIVENESS you have heard me forgive everybody who have hurt me. I will also keep on forgiving people who hurt me as indicated to me by my Lord Jesus Christ. Because I have forgiven everybody, the Bible states that I am free (Luke 6:37). You have no legal right in my life anymore so I declare your chains to be broken and I command you to leave me in Jesus Name!

Spirit of BITTERNESS, there is no place for any kind of bitterness in my life. That is why I have forgiven everybody and will keep on forgiving everybody after today. I break your chains now and rebuke you in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirit of HEAVINESS, it is written that the joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). I choose to live in that joy from this moment, notwithstanding my circumstances. There is no more place for heaviness or dejection in my life and I break your chains. Leave me in Jesus Name!

Spirit of DEPRESSION, you have no legal right in my life anymore. You try to pull me into that black hole but I refuse to allow you any further place in my life. I have already broken the chains of the spirit of FEAR and have already commanded him to leave my life. Now I break your chains of DEPRESSION in the Name of Jesus Christ and command you to leave my life too!

Spirits of SUICIDE, DEATH and the DEAF & DUMB SPIRIT, the three of you tried to steal my life but God has protected me. I have work to do as a prophet for the nations. It is written that I am blessed with a long life and I choose to live my long life in order to honor God and to free other people from your bondages. So I break your chains of suicidal thoughts, death and of the DEAF & DUMB SPIRIT. Leave, in Jesus Name!

Spirit of REJECTION you have been with me since my childhood days and you tell me that I don't fit in anywhere. The Bible states that I DO belong to the body of Christ and the family of Christ. I am not a reject and I break your chains, in Jesus Name!

Spirit of UNWORTHINESS, you tell me that I am not good enough. It is written that I was crowned with honor and glory (Psalm 8:5) and that I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ who loves me (Romans 8:37). I am NOT unworthy and I break your chains now, leave me in Jesus Name!

Spirit of FAILURE and fear of failure, it is written that God sees me as a success story and that is all that is important. I am NOT a failure and I don't have to fear any failure. I rebuke you and command you to leave me now, in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirits of LUST, ADULTERY and PERVERSION, my body is holy and belongs to God and to my spouse inside of marriage and to nobody else. You have also heard me break the ungodly soul-ties in my life so you have no legal right in my thoughts, life or body anymore. I break your chains and command you to leave my thoughts, my body and my private parts in Jesus Name!

Spirit of BONDAGE and ADDICTIONS, you have bound my body long enough with different types of addictions. Whether it was smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling, sex, pornography, gluttony or whatever other form of addiction, it is finished now. I refuse to be bound any longer as it is written that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I refuse to allow you the right to defile my temple any longer. I don't want to do any of those things any longer and I now break your chains and holds on my thoughts, my body, my mouth, my taste-buds, my throat, my lungs and my intestines and I command you to leave me in Jesus Name!

Spirit of MANIPULATION, you have manipulated me through other people for many years and you have also used me to manipulate other people. I now declare your seed to be dried up in my life. I have submitted myself to God and will now only let myself be controlled by His Word. I break your chains of MANIPULATION now, leave my life in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirit of DECEPTION, you have deceived me long enough about who I really am IN CHRIST. I have taken up my authority in Christ today. I now know that I really am a prince / princess of God, with all the authority of the King of the universe within me. You will not deceive me ever again and I break your chains, leave me in Jesus Name!

Spirit of JEALOUSY, you have no legal right in my life. I break your chains and exchange it for the love of Christ. Leave my life, my body and my thoughts in Jesus Name!

Spirit of PRIDE AND HAUGHTINESS you have no legal right in my life because it is written that PRIDE AND HAUGHTINESS is an abomination in God's eyes. I want to be humble like my Jesus so I break your chains and rebuke you in the Name of Jesus Christ! Leave my life in Jesus Name!

Spirit of FREEMASONRY I declare all your curses in my life to be null and void, in the Name of Jesus Christ. I renounce all rituals and oaths taken by any of my ancestors and I also renounce every principality of FREEMASONRY in Jesus' Name. I break every chain of FREEMASONRY in whatsoever form, in the Name of Jesus Christ! You will all leave me now in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

Spirit of SLANDER, you cause me to swear and curse. It is written that my mouth will only be used to glorify God and build up people, not break them down. So I break your chains of slander around my thoughts, my mind and my mouth in Jesus Name!

I now break all CURSES spoken over me by any person and I declare them null and void in the Name of Jesus. I forgive each and every one of those people, whoever they may be and whatever they may have said. I also break every chain that any demon spirit may have bound around my life as a result of those curses, in Jesus Name!

I also break any BLOODLINE CURSE which may have entered my life through any sins or iniquities in my family-line. I declare them all null and void, in Jesus Name! Whether they were curses of sicknesses or disease, aggression, adultery, addictions or whatever, I break all those curses and rebuke any demon spirits that may have brought any of these curses into my life, in the Name of Jesus Christ!

MAMMON, and the spirit of POVERTY, you have no legal right in my life or my finances. God is my Source, my Provider and He is the more than enough God. I serve Him, I don't serve you. I rebuke you both and break your chains around my thoughts, life and finances in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirit of INFIRMITY I break your chains around my body because it is written that by the stripes of Jesus I was healed. (Isaiah 53:5). Furthermore, you have heard me forgive everybody who have hurt me and I have already broken the chains of UNFORGIVENESS, BITTERNESS and REBELLION in my life. Therefore I break your chains in my body and cast you out of my life and body, in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirit of RELIGION, you want me to doubt the power of the Word of God and the truth contained therein. I have met the Truth personally. His Name is Jesus Christ and there is no more place for doubt in my life. I rebuke you and cast you out of my life and thoughts in Jesus Name!

Spirits of ERROR, LAZINESS and MIND CONTROL, the three of you want to control my thoughts and the way I concentrate when I want to read the Bible, pray, or sit in church. You will not stop me from concentrating on God or His Word ever again. I break all your chains in my mind and body, rebuke you and cast you out of my thoughts, mind and life in the Name of Jesus Christ!

Spirits of HATE and RACISM, you have made me negative towards people of other races for long enough. The Bible says I am a prophet for all the nations, so I break your chains of hate and racism and I exchange it for the love of Jesus. You will both leave me now, in Jesus Name!

Spirits of the OCCULT, DIVINATION and WITCHCRAFT, none of you have any legal right in my life anymore, as a result of any occultic thing or occultic game that me or my ancestors may have participated in. I have submitted myself to God and I know it is written that those things are an abomination to the Lord. I break all your chains in my life, leave me now in Jesus' Name!

Spirit of the ANTICHRIST, you have tried to pull me away from God and wanted me to renounce God. I renounce you now as I have submitted my whole life to God. I rebuke you and cast you out of my life in Jesus' Name!

LORD JESUS, thank You for the blood on the cross which purifies me and washes me clean, and which has just freed me from all the chains and bondages in my life. I make it my own today Lord that, because I have submitted myself to God and have resisted the devil through this prayer, they are now fleeing from me as your Word is very clear about this (James 4:7). Therefore I now pray Lord Jesus that Your blood will flow through me and burn away anything that is not from You, and heal anything that may still be broken in my life.

HOLY SPIRIT, I pray that You will fill me now with Your power from on high, because Lord, I can't do anything and I don't want to do anything, without your power. Please fill my house (body) with Your Holy Spirit, in order to ensure that the unclean spirits which I have now cast out will not find any place to live if they return, as stated in Your Word (Matthew 12:43-45).

FATHER, I pray that You will personally teach me from Your Word and that You will give me a new hunger for Your Word. I want to read the Bible like never before Father, and I ask You to reveal it to me like never before. Please teach me how to stay and live in Your spiritual authority against satan and his demon spirits.

I thank You FATHER that I may know and believe today that, in this very moment I am pure and free before Your holy throne, in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ! Amen."

9. HOW DO I GIVE MY TITHES AND FINANCES TO THE LORD? (Back to top)

Many children of God don't realize that they must also submit ALL their finances to our Lord Jesus. From the Bible we learn that we should not rob God and that we should give our tithes.

A "tithe" is one-tenth of our income.

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:8-10)

Some people believe that these specific verses in the Bible are only applicable to the priests of that day. I don't really agree, as I very clearly see it says: "...even this whole nation" has robbed Him, not just the priests. Even should it be applicable to the priests, I read from the Bible that WE are also a holy priesthood today, so even then it is still applicable to us all.

"But YE ARE a chosen generation, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light..." (1 Peter 2:9)

Those verses in Malachi are the only place in the Bible where God asks us to "prove" Him about something, in other words, to test Him about this matter of our tithes and finances. Satan tells people that if they do give their tithes they will not be able to get through the rest of the month with their income. In that way he can keep us disobedient to God's Word so that we may not experience the full blessings God wants us to have.

Many people use the argument that tithes are not applicable to us any longer, as it was a part of the "Law" and that we are not under the "law" any longer. This is also not true, as the giving of tithes was NEVER part of the law God gave His children. Abram gave a tithe of the war spoils he had to Melchizedek approximately 430 years BEFORE the people of Israel received the law through Moses.

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he (Abram) gave him (Melchizedek) tithes of all." (Genesis 14:18-20)

Look closely now, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and he was the priest of the most high God. Who is he a "type" of? Firstly Salem means "peace". So Melchizedek was the king of "peace". Secondly the Bible states that Jesus is our high priest according to the "order of Melchizedek".

"The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4)

This text refers to Jesus Christ Himself. All this tells me that Abram gave his tithes to the "King of Peace". Who is the "Prince of Peace" according to the Bible? Jesus Christ our Lord! So when we give our tithes, we give them to Jesus Christ and not to the "church". That means we must always ask Him to lead us as to how and where we should give our tithes.

You will read from the verses in Malachi that we should bring the tithes into the "storehouse". Again many people argue that "the storehouse" ONLY means the specific church where we worship. Again I don't really agree, because I know that the Lord's "storehouse" most definitely does not refer to physical church buildings. The revelation I received from Him regarding this, is that His "storehouse" refers to any place where SOULS are being won for His Kingdom and brought into His Kingdom. Should your church be ACTIVE in winning souls for the Lord, and if you really receive spiritual food there, then by all means give all of your tithes to them, so that they can use it to good effect to win even more souls to the Lord, albeit by missionary outreaches, or whatever.

But if your church has not won a new soul for the Lord in years, you must really pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you must give your tithes. It must always be in ministries, organizations or places where the Lord's "storehouse" of new souls is enlarged.

If we read the verses in Malachi in more detail, we see that we have robbed God "in tithes AND OFFERINGS". What are the "offerings" then? That is what we call "sowing". These are the amounts that you bless other people with, OVER AND ABOVE your tithes. From the Bible it is clear that we must look after the Strangers, the Orphans and the Widows. Look at the first letter of those three words, and you will see that they spell "S.O.W". The TITHES belong to the Lord, as we will see in the next paragraph, but our OFFERINGS are to help other people who are not as blessed as we are. And here it is very important to trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit as to who I must give my offerings to. It can be either people who suffer financially, or organizations that help people who so suffer.

What most people also don't realize is that our tithes are HOLY unto the Lord.

"And ALL the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is HOLY unto the LORD." (Leviticus 27:30)

"And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be HOLY unto the LORD." (Leviticus 27:32)

"Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of ALL thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." (Proverbs 3:9,10)

In your and my life, "the seed of the land"; "fruit of the tree"; "the herd"; "the flock" etcetera, all refer to our income and the increase in our assets. And according to these verses they are all: "...HOLY unto the Lord". How come? Because He is the one who has blessed us therewith in the first place! Since I started giving the Lord my full tithe, things started happening in my personal finances, and the blessings I received, just as the Bible says.

It really is a paradigm shift (change of mindset) to start to accept that one tenth of your income does not even BELONG to you. It belongs to God to use as He wishes to win more souls for the "storehouse" of His Kingdom. In actual Biblical fact EVERYTHING belongs to God, but He is willing to bless us if we only return one tenth of what already belongs to Him, to Him. He is NOT after our money, He is after our hearts and to see whether we are willing to be OBEDIENT to Him and to rely on Him and trust in Him, one hundred percent.

Many people who own companies, and who really walk a path of radical obedience to God, have testimonies about receiving more blessings after starting to give their tithes on their company's income as well. It's worth remembering that the company is also a legal "person" and if I belong to the Lord, obviously my company and its finances also belong to Him and are subject to His instructions.

A last thought to keep in mind is that tithes are brought EVERY MONTH because most of us receive a monthly income. That is why Proverbs 3:9,10 states: "...the firstfruits of ALL thine increase". If every church and church member will only become radically obedient to the Lord and His Word also regarding our finances and the giving of tithes, no church or religious organization will ever be in need or lack any finances to do the Lord's work and win souls for Jesus. Of course it means that each specific church must ALSO give its tithes for the work of the Lord. It is not just the church members who must do so, seeing as the church (as an organization) itself is also a legal "person" subject to the Lord's Biblical principles.

The next question people invariably ask is: "Do I give my tithe on my gross income, or my nett income?" If you become obedient to the Lord, in your personal relationship with Him, His Holy Spirit will lead you in answering this question. In the Bible I read:

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man ACCORDING AS HE PURPOSETH in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:6,7)

Therefore, you must give as you decide in your heart. And give cheerfully, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Friend, are you willing to "prove" the Lord herein, and to trust Him to be obedient to His own Word?

I have.

And true to His Word, He blesses me immensely!

10. HOW DO I PRAY FOR THE SICK? (Back to top)

Today we get many Christians trying to allege that we don't pray for the sick anymore, as that is something that ended in the time of Jesus and the apostles. That is not what I read in the following verses:

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:7,8)

Jesus Himself is speaking in this verse. And what does He tell His disciples to go and do? "Heal the sick"! Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Then this is most definitely also applicable to you today! Many people are too afraid to go and pray for someone for healing, because they are afraid that they will be disappointed if that person doesn't get healed. It's got nothing to do with you or I if that person doesn't heal, because we are not the healers, Jesus Christ is! All He wants is members of His body who are willing to be obedient to Him and who will go out and just lay their hands on the sick. That is what Jesus did when He walked on this earth and that is what He wants us to do.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12)

Please don't let anyone deceive you into thinking that the Lord may have changed His mind about these things since the time when Jesus was on earth. No, He is still the same, as we can see from the following verses:

"For I am the LORD, I change NOT..." (Malachi 3:6)

"Jesus Christ THE SAME yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)

So, if Jesus said: "heal the sick" yesterday, He is still saying the same thing today and will keep on saying that until He returns. And if you are willing, what is going to start to happen around you? You will get to work and a person will come to you and say: "Oooh my head hurts!" or: "My knee has been troubling me for a month now!" What will you do then? Send him to get an aspirin, or pray for him for healing then and there? Or will you tell him: "Don't worry I'll pray for you tonight!" By that time his headache will either be gone or his knee worse and you will have forgotten to pray in any case. No, the right thing is to pray for his head or his knee then and there! That is what God expects us to do.

And there is no need for long intricate prayers. When Moses' sister was hit with leprosy, look at Moses' prayer for her:

"And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee." (Numbers 12:13)

Clearly this is not a very long or difficult prayer. Why do we think it is? Because satan lies to us to try and stop us from becoming obedient to the Word.

The Lord knows your heart and will listen to your prayer when you just say: "Lord, this person's head (or knee, or whatever...) hurts. The Bible says by the stripes of Jesus we were healed. So Lord, I pray that you will heal him now in Jesus Name. Thank you for the healing Father. Amen."

That is all it takes. Are you willing to GO and DO just that?

11. HOW (AND WHY) DO I ANOINT PEOPLE AND THINGS? (Back to top)

The first question I always hear when discussing the anointing of people or inanimate objects, is: "But why would you want to anoint something?" I find a very clear answer in the following text:

"...and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt ANOINT IT, TO SANCTIFY IT." (Exodus 29:36)

There is the answer. Things are anointed to SANCTIFY it. That means to CONSECRATE it and to hallow it unto the Lord. This includes both objects AND people.

"And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and ANOINT the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. And thou shalt ANOINT the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. And thou shalt ANOINT the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons... and ANOINT HIM, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt bring his sons, ... And thou shalt ANOINT THEM, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office..." (Exodus 40:9-15)

From this we learn that physical items in the tabernacle and human beings were so anointed. Should people wish to argue that it was only applicable to the temple or altar back then or that only the kings, priests or prophets of Biblical times were anointed, they should also read the following verses:

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)

If my body is a temple of God today and belongs to God that means everything I own (my belongings; my "camp") also belongs to God.

"For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy..." (Deuteronomy 23:14)

From this verse I see that even my "camp" must be holy. That means anything that I posses must be holy. And what did we read earlier?

"...and thou shalt ANOINT IT, TO SANCTIFY IT." (Exodus 29:36)

That means I MAY also anoint my belongings to sanctify it. This includes everything I have – my house, car, clothes, computer equipment, furniture, kitchen equipment and everything else.

Concerning the argument that only the kings, priests or prophets of the Biblical times were anointed, please read:

"But YE are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation..." (1 Peter 2:9)

"And hast made US unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Revelations 5:10)

"Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained THEE a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4,5)

So we may most definitely also anoint human beings that are kings, priests and prophets for our Lord TODAY.

However, we must realize at all times that there is NO POWER in the anointing oil as such. Anointing oil is only a SYMBOL of the Holy Spirit or the blood of Jesus. There is also no OBLIGATION in the Bible to anoint anything or anyone. It is something that the Holy Spirit will lead you in. Sometimes you will feel the urging of the Holy Spirit to anoint your house or even your car or your children, your husband or anybody that you want to pray for. At other times you will just pray for them without using any anointing oil.

This also includes anointing people who may be ill, according to James 5:14,15:

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, ANOINTING him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

In Biblical times, certain oils were physically used as medicines. However the anointing oil that is used when someone is sick today is only seen as a symbol of God's healing power through His Holy Spirit. In the same manner we sometimes pray for the sick after anointing them with oil, and at other times we just pray without using any oil.

The Holy Spirit will lead us in every specific instance – if we are just willing to listen.

12. HOW DO I PRAY? (Back to top)

Many people don't realize that praying is not a difficult matter but simply a "conversation" with our Heavenly Father. Someone once said: "I don't spend hours in prayer, but I never let an hour pass without praying". That explains it all. Prayer is a continuous speaking to our Father, enjoying His presence and the privilege of just belonging to Him. And in any case He already knows what we need even before we ask.

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father KNOWETH what things ye have need of, BEFORE YE ASK him." (Matthew 6:7,8)

So many people always have a fear of praying, because they have been told that they are praying "incorrectly". This steals their candour to even try to pray. I do not believe that we can pray "incorrectly", because I read in this verse that I have a wonderful Heavenly Father who already knows the things I need even before I ask Him. As I already said, prayer is nothing other than a conversation with our Heavenly Father.

Did you have to receive lessons before you could have a conversation with your earthly father? Or was it something that actually came naturally? Why do we think we have to be "taught" to speak to our Heavenly Father "correctly"? Especially when He says that He already knows what we need even before we ask? That means our prayers must also flow naturally from our intimate relationship with God.

The Bible is also clear that we do not have to be afraid to come before God's throne:

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15)

Because He is our loving Heavenly Father, and because He knows what we need, He wants us to come BOLDLY before His throne with any requests we may have.

Another wonderful thing to take note of is that the Holy Spirit Himself prays on my behalf if I don't know how, or what, to pray:

"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26,27)

Do you see? The Holy Spirit "makes intercession" (that means He prays) FOR US. And how does He do this? He does it: "ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD". Wonderful! Can the Holy Spirit pray "incorrectly"? Most definitely not! So, if I don't know how, or what to pray, I ask the Holy Spirit to pray on my behalf and then I physically SHUT UP and I trust the Holy Spirit to pray the correct things that I need, on my behalf.

But when I do want to pray, I am in the privileged position that our wonderful Lord Jesus has already given us a model prayer to pray:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:9-13)

In short I can see from this model prayer that I first have to glorify our Heavenly Father in my personal prayers. Then I may boldly come before His throne to request that which I may need physically or spiritually on a daily basis. I also see that I must forgive anybody who may have transgressed against me so that I may ask the Father to also forgive me. I must also ask the Father to keep me and mine from the evil attacks by satan and his demons. I further see that I must ask the Lord to let His Kingdom come, which is all about living in His full authority in His Kingdom here on earth. I discuss this aspect in full detail on my DVD entitled: "Kingdom=Authority" and in another one of my books: "Watchmen on the Walls".

If you aren't always sure and may wonder what other things to pray about, just read your Bible:

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and PRAY for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you..." (Matthew 5:44)

So I must pray for the people who persecute me...

"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; PRAY ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:37,38)

I must pray that the Lord raises up more people to go and work in His fields, winning souls for His Kingdom...

"Watch and PRAY, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41)

I must pray that I don't enter into temptation and that satan does not pull me away due to my flesh being weak...
"Is any among you afflicted? let him PRAY." (James 5:13)

If I suffer anything, I must pray to the Lord to help me...

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them PRAY over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." (James 5:14,15)

I see that I must pray for the sick, or have someone come and pray for me if I am sick...

"Confess your faults one to another, and PRAY one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)

I further see that I must pray for other people around me, so that we may all receive healing of whatever there may be that causes problems in our lives.

"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he PRAYED for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before." (Job 42:10)

From this verse I see that Job's bad situation changed when he prayed for his friends, so I learn that I must also pray for my friends... And when we read the Bible we will learn there are lots and lots of other verses about what, or who, I must pray for. However it doesn't mean that we have to pray for all of these things every day, but the Holy Spirit will lead me when to pray for what if I am just willing to listen to His voice in my life.

But for how long should we pray? We find the answer in the following verse:

"Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Remember what that person said: "I don't spend hours in prayer, but I never let an hour pass without praying". That is what it means to "pray without ceasing"...

I must also learn that a prayer is not just something that I throw into the air and then hope that I "hit the target" therewith. The Bible is clear that I must pray in faith and that I must BELIEVE when I pray:

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24)

But it is important that we should realize that it does not mean that I may pray for a five million dollar house in Beverly Hills to impress my friends with. Then the following verse will be applicable:

"Ye ask (pray), and receive not, because ye ask (pray) amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:3)

That means we must also learn to start to pray "according to the will of God", the same way that the Holy Spirit prays for me when I don't know how or what to pray. And we have a very good example in the model prayer Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:9-13 which I quoted earlier.

Sometimes though, it is necessary to separate yourself from the "rat race" and go to a quiet place to pray, just as Jesus did. If He had to do so, how much more should we as His disciples?

"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone." (Matthew 14:23)

"And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray." (Mark 6:46)

Ensure that you make time to spend some "alone" time with God, even if it is only once a day, once a week or once a month. Many Christians have a place they call their "prayer room" in their homes, or a "prayer corner" in their gardens, just for this purpose.

Another question is always whether we should pray with our eyes closed, or while kneeling or while lying down? I don't see anything in the Bible to indicate that we should pray with our eyes closed, or necessarily while kneeling down, although kneeling is definitely a position of humility before our Lord.

But one thing that I do know is that we DO NOT pray with the palms of our hands pressed together before our faces! That is the way Hindus, Buddhists and even some Satanists pray. The Bible states that we should NOT learn the way of the heathen:

"Thus saith the LORD, Learn NOT the way of the heathen..." (Jeremiah 10:2)

How then, do God's children pray?

"For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and SPREAD FORTH HIS HANDS toward heaven..." (2 Chronicles 6:13)

Look at that! Here I see that Solomon kneels down and then LIFTS UP ("spread forth") his hands towards heaven.

"And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and SPREAD OUT MY HANDS unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God..." (Ezra 9:5,6)

Ezra does exactly the same as Solomon, and all this tells me that God's children pray DIFFERENTLY than the rest of the world. Why? Because we are a SET-APART people! We are not conformed to the rest of the world:

"And be NOT conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2)

Read the following verses with me, as further confirmation that we DO NOT pray with our hands pressed together in front of our faces:

"Hear the voice of my supplications (prayers), when I cry unto thee, when I LIFT UP MY HANDS toward thy holy oracle." (Psalm 28:2)

"Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS as the evening sacrifice." (Psalm 141:2)

"Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: LIFT UP THY HANDS toward him for the life of thy young children..." (Lamentations 2:19)

"I will therefore that men pray every where, LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS, without wrath and doubting." (1 Timothy 2:8)

From all this I also realize why satan cause so many Christians today not to be willing to LIFT UP their hands past their ears while they are singing, or praising the Lord, or in any other circumstance... It is because he knows that when we do that, WE ARE ALSO ACTUALLY PRAYING!

So dear friend, stop being afraid to SPEAK to your loving Heavenly Father. He most definitely does not sit in heaven saying: "No, my precious child, you have not prayed "correctly", you have not used the correct words, so I am not listening to you..." Have these conversations without ceasing, daily, wherever you are, whatever you are busy with. Enjoy your conversations with Him and come BOLDLY before His throne of grace.

But of course that includes repenting of the things you know you should repent of... and not doing them any longer...

13. FAITH. HOW DO I BELIEVE? (Back to top)

Because we all grew up in a world of so-called scientific "breakthroughs" and humanistic points of view, many people struggle to believe, or to have faith, in Jesus Christ. People always want to SEE, before they will believe. On the other hand, the Bible teaches us the following about faith:

"Now faith is the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT SEEN." (Hebrews 11:1)

Clearly from this I read that God is actually saying: "Believe, and I will show you" while the world says: "Show me and I will believe". But who is really in charge? Is it God, or the world? Are we going to stand before the world's throne of judgment one day, or before God's throne? Is God going to be impressed if we tell Him one day: "But Lord, I wanted to be like the world and only believed what I could see!" Then I am quite certain He will quote you the following verse from His own Word:

"But WITHOUT FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

So the fact that I wanted to SEE before I believed, will not impress God if I try to use that argument. No! If I return to Hebrews 11:1 I will see that faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things not yet seen! How can that be? Easy. Because I BELIEVE in the things contained in God's Word, it becomes so real to me that I have no more doubt in my mind regarding any of these things and it all becomes PROOF ("evidence") to me that those things which I have not yet seen, like heaven and eternal life, is an absolute REALITY! I don't have to SEE any of those things to BELIEVE that they exist. No, I BELIEVE my Heavenly Father's Word just as it is written and it gives me something ("substance") to hold on to, to look forward to, no matter what happens in the physical realm around me on a daily basis.

But faith is much more than that, because it is only through faith that we can understand that the worlds (planets, etc.) were created by the word of God:

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Hebrews 11:3)

In Easton's Bible Dictionary we read the following definition of Faith:

"Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Philippians 1:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests...

Faith is the result of teaching (Romans 10:14-17). Knowledge is an essential element in all faith, and is sometimes spoken of as an equivalent to faith (John 10:38; 1 John 2:3). Yet the two are distinguished in this respect, that faith includes in it assent, which is an act of the will in addition to the act of the understanding. Assent to the truth is of the essence of faith, and the ultimate ground on which our assent to any revealed truth rests is the veracity of God...

This trust and reliance is of the essence of faith. By faith the believer directly and immediately appropriates Christ as his own. Faith in its direct act makes Christ ours. It is not a work which God graciously accepts instead of perfect obedience, but is only the hand by which we take hold of the person and work of our Redeemer as the only ground of our salvation...

The warrant or ground of faith is the divine testimony, not the reasonableness of what God says, but the simple fact that he says it. Faith rests immediately on, "Thus saith the Lord." But in order to this faith the veracity, sincerity, and truth of God must be owned and appreciated, together with his unchangeableness."

In Webster's 18:28 Bible Dictionary I read:

"FAITH, n. [Latin. fides, fido, to trust; Greek. to persuade, to draw towards any thing, to conciliate; to believe, to obey...]

1. Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth. I have strong faith or no faith in the testimony of a witness, or in what a historian narrates.

2. The assent of the mind to the truth of a proposition advanced by another; belief, or probable evidence of any kind.

3. In theology, the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ, founded on the testimony of the sacred writers, is called historical or speculative faith; a faith little distinguished from the belief of the existence and achievements of Alexander or of Cesar.

4. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation."

Now that we have these very clear definitions of what faith is, let's look at the Bible itself to see what faith can bring to bear in normal people's lives:

"Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you." (Matthew 9:29)

Here Jesus heals two blind men through the strength of their faith. They BELIEVED that He could heal them of their blindness and that faith caused them to see physically. The same type of physical healings also happen to our day because of people's faith. In the same way our spiritual eyes can be opened to the truths contained in God's Word if we are only willing to BELIEVE what is written therein. If we read further in the Word we will see that God is so merciful unto us, He does not even require truck-loads of faith from us:

"And Jesus said unto them...for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and NOTHING shall be impossible unto you." (Matthew 17:20)

Apparently a mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, so I think it is very possible for every human being to be able to muster up enough faith to compare to a mustard seed! And just look what you will then be able to do! NOTHING will be impossible to you! Would you be so kind as to define "nothing" for me? If the Bible states that nothing will be impossible unto you, that is EXACTLY what it means. But it is because we don't have faith in the Word of God that we can't get to a place of believing what is written here.

The whole key to our faith is found in the following verse:

"And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God." (Mark 11:22)

"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21)

That's it! That is what we must have faith in in the first place. Actually not "what", but WHO! God HIMSELF! Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ! This is precisely what humanism, evolutionists and secularism are trying to do by taking God and Jesus Christ OUT OF everything. For if God does not exist what else is there to believe in but our own selves and what WE can do or what WE can accomplish? And suddenly in his own mind, man becomes a god unto himself. And when he becomes such a god unto himself, he either refuses to believe, or he struggles to believe. That is why the Bible is also clear that we must DIE to our own selves if we wish to follow Jesus:

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?" (Luke 9:23-25)

It is clear from the Bible that my faith must NOT BE in the wisdom of men, but only in the power of God! As long as we follow the humanistic and secularist views of the world we will not experience the power of God through our faith in Him.

"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:5)

The moment that I start to get my own SELF out of the way and start to BELIEVE and to walk in this faith, I will also start to receive healing of certain things in my life, albeit physically, emotionally or spiritually.

"And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." (Luke 8:48)

Through faith I will also be able to do great wonders and miracles:

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people." (Acts 6:8)

My faith and other Christians' faith around me will cause God's church to multiply and grow here on earth:

"And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily." (Acts 16:5)

The moment faith becomes a reality to you too you will find that it also becomes a way of life.

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)

It is also our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross that justifies us and brings salvation:

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28)

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1,2)

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16)

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

Look at this last verse again: By GRACE we are saved – through FAITH! So I BELIEVE that I am justified by what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross at Calvary and I make it my own, thereby receiving Him as my Savior and Redeemer. Then by His GRACE He saves me because of the fact that I believe in something He did centuries ago, something which I did not witness, in other words: "the EVIDENCE of things NOT seen". That means I can't WORK out my own salvation nor DO ANYTHING to be saved other than what I explained in Chapter 3 and in Chapter 15 regarding Romans 10:9,10. I must just BELIEVE in what Jesus did for me, I must have FAITH in what He did, although I did not witness it myself, and that FAITH brings me SALVATION and eternal life! Awesome God!

What is actually the most awesome thing for me to learn is that I become a CHILD OF GOD by faith in Christ Jesus!

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26)

Can there be anything more wonderful than to be known as a CHILD OF GOD? I don't think so!

Another very important aspect to take note of is that I must hear the Word of God so that my faith can grow. That means I must ensure that I get to places like my church or cell-group or other Christian meetings where the Word of God is spoken so that I can HEAR the Word of God, thereby growing my faith:

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

The moment my faith grows like that by the hearing of the Word of God, I will be rooted and grounded in the same love that Jesus Christ had for this world. Why? Because He will be the One who dwells in my heart by faith:

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love..." (Ephesians 3:17)

What is also important to note is that faith is a SHIELD which protects me against the attacks of satan and his demon spirits. But it will only so protect me if I know who I am in Christ and if I BELIEVE the Word of God and have FAITH in what it says I will be able to do with that shield:

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." (Ephesians 6:16)

Faith is also something which I must cling to and live in until the day that I die, so that I will also be able to say, like Paul:

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7,8)

If I so keep the faith until the day I die, I will also receive a crown of righteousness from our Heavenly Father. But do take notice of the fact that Paul says he has KEPT the faith. It is not always easy to keep the faith because of all the false ideologies, deceits and other lies satan brings in through humanism or any other false philosophies. Look at the following warning in the Bible regarding human philosophies:

"BEWARE lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

Remember, it is only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that we will be able to stand against these attacks from the world.

So then: How do I believe?

I make a definite decision with my own free will to BELIEVE what the Word of God says, just because I BELIEVE that HE IS GOD, that HE EXISTS that He is TRUE to His Word and that everything in the Bible happened EXACTLY as He SAYS it did. I also CHOOSE to BELIEVE that the things He says will still happen in future, WILL HAPPEN exactly as it is written in the Bible! I hold on to that "substance" of things hoped for and the "evidence of things not seen" no matter what the rest of the world around me may say. That is HOW I believe!

14. HOW DO I PRAISE AND WORSHIP THE LORD? (Back to top)

When we look at the original Hebrew in which the Old Testament was written, we find the following words used in different passages in the Bible, which all denote praise to the Lord:

YADAH – To praise God with outstretched hands. We get this word in the original text of Psalm 63:4: "Thus will I bless (YADAH) thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name." Or also in Psalm 134:2: "Lift up your hands (YADAH) in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD."

TOWDAH – Also means to praise God with outstretched hands, but it includes a further element, namely: in worship, reverence, exaltation, and acknowledgement. This word we find in the original text of Psalm 50:23: "Whoso offereth praise (TOWDAH) glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God."

ZAMAR – Means: "to touch the strings" and is used in the Bible every time reference is made to "instrumental worship" for example the words of Psalm 150:3-5, which I have already quoted earlier: "PRAISE HIM (ZAMAR) with the sound of the trumpet: PRAISE HIM (ZAMAR) with the psaltery and harp. PRAISE HIM (ZAMAR) with the timbrel and dance: PRAISE HIM (ZAMAR) with stringed instruments and organs. PRAISE HIM (ZAMAR) upon the loud cymbals: PRAISE HIM (ZAMAR) upon the high sounding cymbals."

SHABACH – Means to praise God with a shout and a loud voice. We see this word in Psalm 63:3: "Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise (SCHABACH) thee."

TEHILLAH – Means praise from the spirit, from the heart of the believer, but also to sing, to worship! This is specifically the kind of worship God inhabits, as I wrote earlier in Psalm 22:3: "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises (TEHILLAH) of Israel."

These words indicating praise and worship are used repetitively in the Bible. Their use just confirms how wonderful it really is to praise and worship our Lord and King. It also shows what a fantastic privilege we have to be able to so praise and worship Him with ABANDON.

In Hebrew we also get the word "HALLAL", from which the word "Hallelujah" is derived, which means: "to be clear, to shine, to show, to celebrate, to boast", and the word "BARAK", which is sometimes translated as: "to praise, or to bow before God in a prayerful attitude", or sometimes: "to praise God with the expectation to receive something." Looking at all this I cannot help but think that the old Israelites had something in their praise and worship of God, which we just don't have today. They LIVED, SHOUTED and TRUMPETED FORTH the words that they used in their praise and intimate worship of God. And all that just because He was such a reality to them.

Shall we start with the history of king David, as written in 2 Samuel 6:12-23 as an example of how God should actually be praised by His true followers. We will look at it verse by verse, LINE UPON LINE, in order to try and understand it a little clearer.

"And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness."

The dictionary defines "gladness" also as: "joyful, joyous, happy, merry". So obviously when we are busy with God, it is something to be JOYFUL about. Why? Because the JOY of the Lord is our STRENGTH the Bible says.

"Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

So, if satan can steal our JOY, he steals our STRENGTH! In my DVD entitled: "Identify the Lie", I explain how he does this through his spirits of heaviness, depression, suicide and others.

But let's go back to king David...

"And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod."

I believe David was certainly the greatest king Israel ever had – to this day – and look how he conducted himself before the Lord. He "danced with all his might"! Now what would constitute dancing "with all your might"? Do you think it is one foot tapping a slow rhythm on the ground? No it most definitely means something completely different, but let us read further.

"So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet."

When I read this verse, I immediately recall that sport stadium again, filled with people shouting and many of them blowing different kinds of trumpets. Then I also recall those same people the following morning in different churches, not moving a muscle before the Lord. Not only that, some people even judge other people who do so praise and worship God with joy and gladness. Or they condemn people who blow ram's horns at meetings. But this is also nothing new, if we look at the way David's own wife judged him for his conduct.

"And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart... And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!"

The tragedy of it all is that even to this very day some Christians "despise" other Christians in their hearts for dancing or leaping or shouting before the Lord. Just like Michal was very sarcastic towards David, as can be seen in the above scripture, many of today's Christians also make sarcastic comments about such other Christians who move under the guidance of the Holy Spirit at that specific moment. From the Bible however, we see that David wasn't perturbed by his wife's tirade.

"And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD."

Definitely not the "normal" way today's Christians would behave. Unfortunately most followers of Christ today are more concerned about what the people may think or say about them, than about God's personal smile of approval. Interestingly they don't mind what the people may think about them when they sometimes behave like drunken animals in certain sport stadiums. But they are só worried about what those same people may think about them at church! This, in contrast to the words of Galatians 1:10:

"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."

God enjoys it when His children "play" before Him and glorify Him through their praise and worship. Why should this be so? I think it is because the Bible very clearly declares that this is where He LIVES!

"But thou art holy, O thou that INHABITEST the PRAISES of Israel." (Psalm 22:3)

Wow! God INHABITS our praises! He lives in our PRAISES! So, He doesn't live in our mumblings, murmuring, or rebellion. Do we ever stop to think why this would be so? May it just be because He delights Himself about US? Please read Zephaniah 3:17 with me:

"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

Have you ever seen this passage in the Bible? Did you know that it even existed? That God Himself, the Creator of heaven and earth, our Heavenly Father, the Almighty, omniscient, omnipotent, awesome GOD, REJOICES over you and I with JOY, that He SINGS over us in His joy! Why would satan try to keep this passage hidden from us? Because he knows that if we realize this wonderful fact we will not be able to do anything else but to do exactly the same in return... by REJOICING over Him with JOY and by SINGING to Him in our joy!

I personally believe it is because so many children of God have not yet read this beautiful verse in the Bible that they personally struggle to break through into that place of exuberant praise and worship to our mighty Father and Creator God.

With their arms thrown high into the air... also in church... Not just at the sport stadium.

15. HOW CAN I BE SURE OF MY PERSONAL SALVATION? (Back to top)

This is a question that even Christians who have been serving the Lord for years, ask from time to time. The reason for this doubt lies first in the lies and deceit that satan brings in their minds. And some of these lies from satan include that we can never KNOW whether we have eternal life, we must just TRY to live good lives and then HOPE that God will have mercy on us. That is not what I read in the following verse:

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:13)

Do you see? You may KNOW that you have eternal life! But what is the first condition for that? Read with me: "...you that BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God..." That means I must be a BELIEVER in Jesus Christ, in other words I must be saved.

And how do I become saved? I already covered this in Chapter 3 above, but we do find the answer in the following verses:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou SHALT be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9,10)

So if I confess the Lord Jesus Christ with my mouth, and believe that God has raised Him from the dead, I WILL be saved. There is no "may" or "maybe" contained in this sentence. I don't have to have any doubt about my salvation any longer.

The following verse also confirms the fact that if I BELIEVE in Jesus Christ, that I HAVE everlasting life:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me HATH EVERLASTING LIFE." (John 6:47)

Again, there is no "maybe" in this verse. Let me ask you then, dear reader: "Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you believe that He died and that God has raised Him from the dead? Do you confess Him with your mouth, in other words, do you speak about Jesus to the people around you?"

If you do these things, then you may be certain of your personal salvation!

16. HOW DO I VIEW MODERN DAY "PROPHETS" AND PROPHECIES SPOKEN OVER MY LIFE? (Back to top)

I have seen, and heard of many Christians getting hurt and losing all they have, just because they have built their whole future on what some or other "prophet" told them. And unfortunately the testimonies of those who have been hurt in this way cause many other Christians to be very negative about prophecies and modern day prophets. Again our problem lies in the fact that we err because WE don't know the Scriptures. But let us first look at some definitions of what a prophecy really is.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines it as follows:

"PROPH'ECY, n. [Greek. to foretell, before and to tell. This ought to be written prophesy.] A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come. As God only knows future events with certainty, no being but God or some person informed by him, can utter a real prophecy. The prophecies recorded in Scripture, when fulfilled, afford most convincing evidence of the divine original of the Scriptures, as those who uttered the prophecies could not have foreknown the events predicted without supernatural instruction. 2 Peter 1."

Easton's Bible Dictionary defines it as follows:

"Prophecy: Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a "miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, discern, or conjecture."

What I have learned in my personal life is that there are most definitely wonderful prophets of God in our day, who really hear the voice of the Lord and who only prophesy over other people if they are one hundred percent sure that they have heard from the Lord.

But yes, the Bible is also clear that there will be false prophets too. That is why we as God's children must learn to discern between the two. And the only way that we will be able to discern this, is if we really start to know the Scriptures.

There are certain very definite warnings in the Bible regarding prophets and prophecies and we are all supposed to do what the Bible says:

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

So we have to "try the spirits". That means we have to test the things those prophets told us, according to the Word. How will we know if such a person is a true prophet of God or not? The answer is found in the following verses:

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." (Matthew 7:15-18)

That is the answer! We must learn to look at the "fruits" such a "prophet" bears in his her or her life. The test is also not just whether such a "prophet" does great signs and wonders, because the Bible also warns against that:

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24)

What do we learn from this? That the "fruits" of a true prophet is not the great "signs and wonders" that he or she does, but obviously then whether the prophecies he or she speaks eventually shows to be true and really confirm God's plan for a specific person.

What should we do if we receive a prophecy then? First we must learn that a prophecy will always either confirm something which the Lord has already been softly speaking to us about, or will warn us about some impending attacks from satan and his demons or will specify certain future plans the Lord has for us. But in any one of these cases, I must first "shelf" the prophecy for a while and go back to the Lord and ask Him to confirm the truth of that prophecy. As time goes by, I will then look back and see where the spoken prophecy came to pass in my life. Then I will know that it really was from God.

The mistake that many people make is to latch onto that prophecy as if their lives depended on it and then they sit and wait for it to come to pass. Unfortunately the Lord's time is not always our time and so, when it takes "too long" for that prophecy to come to pass in their eyes, these people fall away and become angry with God. Instead, they should blame themselves for building their whole hope and future on that prophecy without first "trying" that spirit in the first place, or speaking to the Lord themselves about that prophecy. Because if they did they would have received confirmation from the Holy Spirit through any of the ways I explained in Chapter 2 above, either that the prophecy was not from Him, or that they should be patient and wait on the Lord for the prophecy to come to pass.

We learn from the Bible that the office of prophet was instituted by God Himself:

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:28)

"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..." (Ephesians 4:11,12)

But even though the "office" of prophet was instituted by God, the gift of prophecy can manifest through any child of God and are we taught to all actually seek after the gift of prophecy.

"Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy." (1 Corinthians 14:1)

I see from this that the gift of prophecy is a spiritual gift that I must desire and follow after. So very obviously then it is not a negative gift but something that is to be desired. In my personal life I only had the privilege a few times to experience the gift of prophesy flowing through me and what makes it even more awesome, is when such a person that I prophesied over later confirmed the truth of what I said. I can vouch for the fact that it is truly a spiritual gift to be desired. But be warned that it is not something to play with, as it can either build or destroy somebody's future.

So ensure at all times that you heed the voice of the Holy Spirit when you experience the urge to "prophesy" over someone.

17. HOW DO I, OR MAY I, SPEAK TO THE ANGELS? (Back to top)

You can enter any bookshop in the world today and you will be confronted with books like: "How to meet your guardian angel"; "How to speak to your angels"; "Healing by the angels"; "Messages from your angels"; "Angel Numbers"; "Receive your blessings from your angels" etc. Can there be any truth to these books? Can we speak to the angels today? In the Bible we do read that many of the Biblical figures were visited by angels and also spoke to those angels.

But in none of those instances do we read that they asked or commanded the angels to heal them or to protect them or whatever else. Those angels came to them and delivered certain messages from God and those people spoke to those angels regarding those messages from God. But nowhere in the Bible do I read of any healing coming through and angel or being done by an angel. And according to my Bible, all blessings come from God and God alone.

According to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionary, the definition for the word "angel" is as follows: "The Hebrew word is: "mal'âk" – "mal-awk" - From an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God, that is, an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher): - ambassador, angel, king, messenger. The Greek word is: "aggelos" – "ang'-el-os" - From ἀγγέλλω aggellō (probably derived from G71; compare G34; to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an "angel"; by implication a pastor: \- angel, messenger."

According to the King James Concordance the total KJV Bible occurrences of "MALAWK" is: 212 and the total KJV Bible occurrences of "ANGELOS" is: 185. That gives us a total of 397 occurrences or references to angels. There can therefore clearly not be any doubt that angels are very important beings in God's Word.

If we look at the above-mentioned definitions we cannot but realize that angels do have certain "jobs" according to the Bible. They are deputies, messengers, ambassadors and bringers of tidings.

The Bible states as follows:

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14)

From this verse we see that they are "ministering spirits" for us who are the "heirs of salvation". That means they are sent by God to minister unto us, to help us in certain situations. But it is important to see WHO instructs the angels, according to the Bible:

"Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For HE (the LORD) shall give HIS angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Psalm 91:9-12)

We see here that the LORD is the one who instructs His angels about us. WE do not instruct or order about God's angels. We speak to the Creator and He will give one part of His creation (the angels) the instruction to protect, or help another part of His creation (us). Obviously when He sends them to us and they speak to us, we may converse with them. But we do not order them around.

The Bible is also clear that they excel in strength and that they do His commandments, listening to the voice of His Word. Please take note that they don't do OUR commandments or listen to OUR word.

"Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do HIS commandments, hearkening unto the voice of HIS word." (Psalm 103:20)

We also read in the Bible that His angels are spirits and flames of fire.

"And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." (Hebrews 1:7)

This means that all those small, half-naked baby cherubim that we see in homes or in churches are NOT symbols of God's angels. They all come from the Roman and Greek mythologies and are symbols of IDOLS which God says we may not HAVE in our homes.

"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt HAVE no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2,3)

Most of the books I referred to in the first paragraph of this chapter, also depict the angels as female. Nowhere in the Bible do we read of any female angels. All God's angels in the Bible are male. The female angel however, is a very common symbol in the mythologies, the occult and also Freemasonry. The only reference we have in the Bible to females with wings we find in Zechariah 5:9:

"Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out TWO WOMEN, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork..."

People then quickly say: "Look at that! Obviously that verse refers to female angels!"

No, it doesn't. In the passage this verse is taken from we see an angel speaking with Zechariah and showing him certain visions concerning Israel when he suddenly sees the two women with the wings like a stork. From this passage we learn that they are just a vision of impending judgment on the nation of Israel who will be exiled and taken to the land of Shinar, which is Chaldea or Babylon.

It is also important to note that they had wings: "like the wings of a stork". Storks have white wings with a black edge. God's angels' wings do NOT have black edges! It is also interesting to note that movies and television mostly depict angels as female as well. Why would this be? Because it is all aimed at casting doubt on the infallible Word of God.

18. HOW DO I "DIE TO MY SELF"? (Back to top)

Not many Christians are willing to accept that if we truly wish to follow our Lord Jesus, we have to die to our own "selves".

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny HIMSELF, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

Look at this. I must take up my cross DAILY. So, dying to my own "self" is not something that I have to do once in a while as a Christian, no it is something I must do daily. Many people think the "cross" Jesus referred to is some kind of physical cross, but it isn't. The "cross" that He refers to is the dying to the "self". Why would He want us to die to our selves? Because God wants us to be humble the way that Jesus was humble. Why? Because that is where God lives:

"For thus saith the high and lofty One... whose name is Holy; I DWELL in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and HUMBLE spirit, to revive the spirit of the HUMBLE, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15)

If I am willing to die to my self on a daily basis I will have the most wonderful times with our Heavenly Father. However, if I am not willing to become so humble and to die to myself, that means I am proud and haughty and the Bible warns against such pride.

"PRIDE goeth before DESTRUCTION, and an HAUGHTY SPIRIT before a FALL." (Proverbs 16:18)

That means if I am proud and haughty, I will be destroyed and come to a fall. And who will withstand me if I am proud?

"Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with HUMILITY: for GOD RESISTETH THE PROUD, and GIVETH GRACE to the HUMBLE. HUMBLE yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that HE MAY EXALT YOU in due time..." (1 Peter 5:5-6)

Just look at that! God Himself resists the proud! Friend do you want to take the chance that God Himself will resist you if you are not willing to become obedient to His Word and die to yourself on a daily basis? Why would God be against pride do you think? Because pride and haughtiness is what caused satan to be thrown from heaven. We can also read in the Bible what pride cost king Nebuchadnezzar:

"The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of MY power, and for the honour of MY majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will."

If I also tend to argue in this manner concerning my own life, it might very easily be that I may also be thrown down to eat grass. Physical grass? No, spiritual grass, spiritual dryness with no spiritual nutritional value to me. And for how long will I eat such dry spiritual grass? Let's see when king Nebuchadnezzar stopped eating his grass:

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation..." (Daniel 4:34)

From this it is very clear that his "understanding" returned to him only when he lifted up his eyes to heaven, to God. The same principle still applies to us today. Only when we turn our eyes to our Heavenly Father does our "understanding" return to us and we also start to bless and praise the most High God, in the same way that king Nebuchadnezzar did. But what had to happen to that king first? He had to DIE to his SELF! It is an appropriation of the knowledge that without God I am NOTHING and if I only want to depend on my own power and abilities I will get nowhere fast.

But you see, this message of "taking up the cross" of dying to the "self" is not proclaimed very widely in the world today. The reason for that being the fact that we live in a time of "humanism", secularism and "human-rights" where the "self" always has to be the best or the biggest or the most competent or the richest or the most clever. That is why it is so difficult for today's "modern" humans and I do include today's Christians, to really learn to die to the "self". Today I always want to be right, also in MY church, I always want to be in control and I want to force MY views upon everyone around me. That is NOT what God's Word teaches us dear friend! And if it is not how God wants us to act, who does it come from then? There is only one answer, from satan!

Look at the warning in the Bible concerning this:

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For _men shall be lovers of their own selves , covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)_

Please read the following poem by Bill Britton and then ask yourself whether you are presently "making the grade" yet:

DYING TO SELF – BILL BRITTON

When YOU are FORGOTTEN, or NEGLECTED, or PURPOSELY set at naught,

And DON'T sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight,

But your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed,

Your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed,

And you refuse to let anger rise in your heart,

Or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF

When you lovingly and patiently bear ANY disorder, ANY irregularity,

ANY impunctuality, or ANY annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility ... and endure it,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF

When you are content with ANY food, ANY offering, ANY raiment, ANY climate, ANY society, ANY solitude, ANY interruption, by the will of God,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation,

Or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation,

When you can truly love to be unknown,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met,

And can honestly rejoice with him in spirit

and feel NO envy NOR question God,

While your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF

When you can receive correction and reproof

From one of less stature than yourself,

And can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly,

Finding NO rebellion or resentment rising up in your heart,

THAT IS DYING TO SELF....

Ouch! So what should we do if we do not make the grade yet? We should ask the Holy Spirit to teach us all to really lay down our own "selves". And as I said at the beginning of this chapter, we must do it daily.

If I don't know how, I pray and I ask the Holy Spirit to lead me. But then I must also know that I have to be in an intimate personal relationship with God as one of His children.

19. HOW (AND WHY) DO I FAST? (Back to top)

Many Christians wonder about the practice of "fasting", whether Christians should fast, or why they should fast in the first place. What is fasting all about?

Personally I see fasting as:

(1) a sacrifice of one kind or another,

(2) of withholding my body from certain things that it is used to

(3) for certain periods of time

(4) for certain specific reasons,

(4.1) like seeking the face of God in order to come closer to Him,

(4.2) or beseeching Him for an answer to certain things that you may be praying for.

In Easton's Bible Dictionary I find the following explanation on the fast or the practice of fasting in Biblical times:

"The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Leviticus 23:26-32. It is called "the fast" (Acts 27:9).

The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old Testament is in Zechariah 7:1-7 and Zechariah 8:19, from which it appears that during their captivity the Jews observed four annual fasts.

(1) The fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded

(2) The fast of the fifth month, kept on the ninth of Ab to commemorate the burning of the city and temple.

(3) The fast of the seventh month, kept on the third of Tisri, the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah.

(4) The fast of the tenth month, to commemorate the beginning of the siege of the holy city by Nebuchadnezzar.

There was in addition to these the fast appointed by Esther (Esther 4:16).

Public national fasts on account of sin or to supplicate divine favour were sometimes held.

(1) 1 Samuel 7:6;

(2) 2 Chronicles 20:3;

(3) Jeremiah 36:6-10;

(4) Nehemiah 9:1.

There were also local fasts.

(1) Judges 20:26;

(2) 2 Samuel 1:12;

(3) 1 Samuel 31:13;

(4) 1 Kings 21:9-12;

(5) Ezra 8:21-23;

(6) Jonah 3:5-9.

There are many instances of private occasional fasting (1Samuel 1:7; 1Samuel 20:34; 2Samuel 3:35; 2Samuel 12:16; 1Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Nehemiah 1:4; Daniel 10:2, Daniel 10:3). Moses fasted forty days (Exodus 24:18; Exodus 34:28), and so also did Elijah (1Kings 19:8). Our Lord fasted forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2).

In the lapse of time the practice of fasting was lamentably abused (Isaiah 58:4; Jeremiah 14:12; Zechariah 7:5). Our Lord rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocritical pretenses in fasting (Matthew 6:16). He himself appointed no fast. The early Christians, however, observed the ordinary fasts according to the law of their fathers (Acts 13:3; Acts 14:23; 2 Corinthians 6:5)."

Let us look at some of those verses about the practice of fasting and examples of the different reasons why the people in those times fasted.

We read about fasting being practiced when David's baby becomes sick and we see David fasting for the child's healing.

"David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth." (2 Samuel 12:16)

The child still died even though David fasted, so we learn from this that fasting is not something we can try and manipulate God with. It does not mean if we do fast for something that we will necessarily always get what WE want.

We also read that the nation of Judah sometimes fasted when there was impending danger of attack by other nations.

"Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD." (2 Chronicles 20:2-4)

The people also fasted to confess or repent of their sins.

"And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them." (Jonah 3:4,5)

"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession" (Daniel 9:3-4)

"Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD..." (Joel 1:13,14)

"Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2:12,13)

The Lord was also sought through fasting for traveling mercies or safety on the road.

"Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." (Ezra 8:21)

In the book of Esther we read that queen Esther proclaimed a three day fast for the Lord's favour when she had to go and see the king without being called to his chamber, something which could have cost her life.

"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)

From these verses we can see that fasting was part of the people of Israel's way of daily life. They understood that it was a way of coming before the Lord and seeking the Lord's face or beseeching Him for certain answers. In other words it is actually also a way of praying.

But how does the Lord see fasting? How does He want us to do when we fast? Or how does He want us to fast? Actually, DOES HE (still) want us to fast today? From the following verses I read that God is not always interested in the "self-centered" ways that we fast.

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

IS NOT THIS THE FAST THAT I HAVE CHOSEN? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." (Isaiah 58:1-11)

From these words I see that God never meant the fast to be self-centered and only to glorify ourselves or to get what "we" want. I see that my fasting should be much more that that. It should also be centered on helping OTHERS while I am busy with my fast. It is not just about fasting so that I can get something out of that. It is also about fasting so that my faith gets to a point of maturity where I can do the things God wants me to do as explained in the words of these verses.

I also see in the Bible that fasting should be a time of joy and gladness and not always of tears.

"And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace." (Zechariah 8:18,19)

The Bible is also clear that I am not supposed to walk about with a long, sad face while I am fasting.

"Moreover WHEN ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; THAT THOU APPEAR NOT UNTO MEN TO FAST, BUT UNTO THY FATHER WHICH IS IN SECRET: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:16-18)

Unfortunately many people believe that they should "suffer" by fasting but Jesus Himself said it should not be that way. Fasting is clearly a matter between you and the Lord for which He will reward you. But do note that Jesus uses the words: "...WHEN ye fast..." confirming the fact that His disciples WILL fast.

The question remains: "Do we (still) have to fast as Jesus' disciples today?" I find part of the answer in the above-mentioned verses and the rest of the answer in the following words of Jesus:

"Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and THEN SHALL THEY FAST." (Matthew 9:14,15)

From this passage I learn that the Pharisees and John's disciples fasted OFTEN, but Jesus' disciples did not. That means Jesus did not see it as an obligation or any law. However He did confirm that His disciples WOULD fast after He had left them. The answer is therefore clear that there will still be times that we as Jesus' disciples today WILL fast for various matters.

One of the reasons for fasting is in some circumstances of spiritual warfare or deliverance.

"And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:18-21)

From this we learn that certain demon spirits will only be cast out if we have fasted and prayed about it first.

We should also learn that the appointment of spiritual leaders is an important matter that actually requires praying AND fasting.

"And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." (Acts 14:23)

How many churches in our modern day really do this when they have to appoint new leaders? I also served on certain church committees where we nominated and appointed new elders just because of their financial standing in the community or their managerial competence in the business world. There was most definitely no question of fasting and praying about it. We had no clue what we were doing because we did not know our Scriptures.

It is also interesting to learn that we can fast from a variety of things in our lives, even including sex. The words "due benevolence" in the following verses refer to the "conjugal duty" in another word, sex.

"Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency." (1 Corinthians 7:1-5)

This clearly means that there may be times that Jesus' married disciples will fast even from their conjugal duty. But the very clear warning is that it must be by mutual consent and only for a time, where-after they must immediately come together again so that satan does not tempt them.

From the Bible we learn that there were/are different ways of fasting. Jesus and Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights without food OR water. The only way they were able to do this is because they were supernaturally kept alive by God. No other human being has ever been able to do this again as our bodies need water on a regular basis otherwise it dies.

Most people only fast from food AND water for a day or two, thereafter their bodies immediately need water. Many Christians prefer to fast from all food and only drink water on a regular basis. I even have testimonies of people fasting only on water for forty days but this is very dangerous. It must not be attempted if your health is not very good and unless you really know that the Lord has spoken to you and given you such an instruction because then He will empower you to do so.

Another way of fasting is by fasting only from meat and other rich foods. This is called a "Daniel's fast". The reason why it is called a Daniel's fast is found in the words of the following verses:

"And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? ... Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse." (Daniel 1:5-16)

"Pulse: The Hebrew expresses any vegetable grown from seeds, that is, vegetable food in general". (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary)

In the same way we may fast from either coffee, or sweets, or whatever else may be important to our bodies. What then happens is the moment you experience pangs of hunger for that specific commodity it reminds you of the specific matter that you are fasting and/or praying for and in that immediate moment you pray again and speak to the Lord about that matter.

Some people fast one specific day of every week for a specific matter for example for their children's salvation or their future or for a deeper spiritual walk with God, or whatever else the Lord has put on their minds. Other people fast only when the Lord gives them the command to do so. Then they fast for the specific number of days the Lord commands them to, whether it's for a day only or for weeks at a time. It all depends on the Lord Himself.

I repeat dear friend that fasting is not an obligation or a law but I do experience it as a very definite part of the road of obedience and deeper spiritual growth in our Lord Jesus Christ.

20. HOW DO I "SURRENDER ALL"? WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO SURRENDER ALL? (Back to top)

There are quite a number of spiritual songs that we as Christians sing that contain the words: "I surrender all"... And most Christians sing along with gusto. But do we always really understand what we are actually saying or singing?

Remember the words of Proverbs 18:21:

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

What happens is that we stand in church on the Sabbath day and we sing: "I surrender all to you Lord Jesus..." Then we go home and the next morning I receive notice at work that my position in the company has been declared redundant. And immediately I am up in arms, also against God... "Lord, what are you doing!" In the meantime it might be that the Lord has decided that He wants to send me to another town to be a light for the people there. Or it may be that satan said to himself: "Okay Christian I hear what you are singing, so let's see if you can stand on what you say!" Did I not sing just the day before that I had surrendered ALL? Does ALL not include my job as well? And my marriage? And my children? And my finances?

I learned this the hard way when I had to stand next to my stepdaughter's grave a few years ago. Because of the ministry the Lord has been using us in the past number of years I have really learned the hard way what those words mean. One of the first things I learned is that satan really hates us with an intense passion. Especially when I started to write books and produce DVD's on messages from God's Word as contained in the Bible. In one of the books titled: "God is not in the killing business" I also explained the fact that it wasn't God that killed our loved ones, but satan himself. That intensified his attacks on me and my family immensely, including killing my stepdaughter through heart failure and I really learned the hard truth contained in the following verses:

"Yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL SUFFER PERSECUTION." (2 Timothy 3:12)

If you read slowly you will see this verse states that if we wish to live godly in Christ Jesus that we WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION. This sentence does not contain the words: "may" or "maybe". That "persecution" takes many different forms. It may either be through family or friends pushing us away or church people reproaching or rebuking us, or through satan attacking our finances or bodies with sicknesses. Let no man or woman ever tell you that if you give your live to Christ that it will only be moonshine and roses or glory days for you. That is just not true! Take very good note of the words of this verse however.

I learn from this that if I do not yet suffer persecution for my faith then I am not yet living "godly in Christ Jesus" and should I examine my walk of faith very closely to ascertain why I am not yet so persecuted. That means I have to pray and ask the Lord what I am doing wrong that makes satan leave me alone. Persecution is a given fact of live if I really live a godly life of faith in Christ Jesus.

What will happen is that you will experience a wonderful, awesome ADVENTURE with our King and Lord, Jesus Christ when you really live radically obedient to His Word! But it is NOT an easy road, as we will also see in the following verses:

"Blessed are ye, when MEN SHALL HATE YOU, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." (Luke 6:22,23)

I see that men WILL hate me, WILL push me away from their company, and WILL reproach me when I really choose for Jesus. The interesting thing to note however is that the Bible states I am BLESSED when these things happen to me and that I should REJOICE in that day! How can that be possible? It is because my reward will be great in HEAVEN! We are all taught by satan to concentrate on the things of the here and now (on earth) and they seem so important to us that we don't realize that there is SO much more that waits in heaven for us who choose for Jesus. The temporary physical becomes much too important to us than the eternal spiritual and that is our problem today.

But if we really start to concentrate on the eternal spiritual, certain things WILL DEFINITELY happen to us here on earth. We WILL go through trials and tribulations:

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning THE FIERY TRIAL WHICH IS TO TRY YOU, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." (1 Peter 4:12-14)

We WILL experience different ways of suffering:

"Yet if any man SUFFER as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." (1 Peter 4:16)

The world WILL hate us and WILL persecute us in the same manner they hated and persecuted Jesus.

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore THE WORLD HATETH YOU. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, THEY WILL ALSO PERSECUTE YOU; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me." (John 15:18-21)

What makes us modern day Christians think that these principles don't apply to us anymore? Jesus Himself said we WILL be hated and we WILL be persecuted just because they did the same to Him. Why do we find it strange then when these things start to happen to us? Do we think we are better than Jesus that it should not happen to us? Jesus states it as a given fact of life if I choose to follow Him.

Jesus also said that we WILL be hated by ALL men for His Name's sake:

"And YE SHALL BE HATED OF ALL MEN for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:22)

Obviously "ALL MEN" includes some of our own family members, or even people that we go to church with. Just look at the following verses as confirmation of this fact:

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." (Matthew 10:34-36)

"Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." (Micah 7:5-7)

But it doesn't matter what my family may think, say or do to me, I find solace in the last sentence of that passage: "Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." The moment I choose to walk the road of life with Jesus, it doesn't matter what people say or think of me anymore, I just want to know what God thinks or says of me.

"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10)

Too many Christians want to be "people pleasers". Look what that may cause – that they may not be servants of Christ! I personally decided to only try to please God with my whole life.

I must also learn that even church people WILL reproach me when I really wish to walk a road of obedience to the Word of God.

"For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company." (Psalms 55:12-14)

"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me." (John 16:1-3)

Remember, this is Jesus Christ Himself speaking here! It sounds almost preposterous to think that church people, other Christians, will reproach me if I just wish to be obedient to God's Word. And is it really possible that Christians will put other Christians out of their churches ("synagogues") and even KILL them? Jesus Himself said so. We unfortunately have thousands of testimonies throughout the world of this very thing happening to Christians. They go to church for years but one day they have a radical encounter with the living Christ. This causes them to become just as radical as the apostle Paul became when he met the Lord on the road to Damascus.

Suddenly they are not "acceptable" to the other Christians in their church any longer and eventually are put out of their churches because they are suddenly deemed to be "in rebellion". The only thing that really happened is that they were pulled out of their "comfort zones" by God Himself and do not fit into the "traditions" of their church any longer.

But we find the answer to everything in the last few words of Matthew 10:22 that I quoted earlier: "...but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Endurance already implies that there must be some perseverance in hard times. However many Christians are not willing to "endureth to the end" and therefore quickly fall away or backslide when the trials and/or tribulations in their lives start. They sing along with gusto: "I surrender all..." but the moment the persecutions start they refuse, or fail to "endureth to the end".

Friend, are you still willing to: "surrender all" and to:"endureth to the end" if it may cost you EVERYTHING you have or own? REALLY? My personal: "I surrender all" included having to bury my stepdaughter whom I loved very much, but I have the wonderful hope and knowledge that I will one day see her again, as she had also chosen Jesus in her life. So even though satan tried to stop me by killing someone I loved, I am still enduring to the end and will NOT stop believing in Jesus Christ for one moment. Your: "I surrender all" may cost you your business or your relationship with your family or your "position" in your community or among your friends. And friend, please realize that if you "surrender all" it doesn't mean that God is always the one "taking away" those things from you but also satan who will be trying to shake your faith in order to stop you from really growing in the Lord. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to endure to the end?

I believe that you can do it, especially when you turn your eyes to the eternal spiritual rewards you will one day receive in heaven. Those rewards more than make up for any trials and/or tribulations we have to go through on this temporary earth. But although heaven is the eventual goal, we also have certain instructions form our Lord Jesus to live in full authority in His Kingdom here on earth now, while we are still alive. I explain this in more detail in my book and DVD entitled: "Kingdom=Authority" and in my book titled: "Watchmen on the walls". However I will only be able to do all that I if am sure of the fact that I am a child of God who lives in a personal intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

21. HOW DO I VIEW THE NATION OF ISRAEL (JEWS) TODAY? (Back to top)

Seeing that there are still some people today who argue that we are ALL physical heirs of Abraham, and therefore literally still ethnical Jews from the twelve tribes of Israel, I would like to refer you to a few verses, of which Romans 9:6-18 are some of the most distinct. Verse 24 especially defines:

"...For they are NOT all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham...That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. (Who then, are the "children of the promise"?) ... even US whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles..."

Firstly, do take note that "Israel" in the Bible definitely ALSO refers to the church of Jesus Christ in the spiritual. But in the natural it most definitely still refers to the physical nation of Israel too. With "church" I certainly don't refer to the church building and/or the specific denomination that you currently belong to. I mean the true, spiritual church, the "church of the firstborn", the church of Jesus Christ, because that is the only church to actually ever belong to. On what do I base this, you ask? It is very clearly stated in Hebrews 12:22-23:

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and THE CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN..."

Without a doubt this is the only TRUE church that anyone of us can ever belong to and that I personally want to belong to.

However, in solving this issue, let us take a look at the three words: "Hebrew", "Jew" and "Israel/ite". "Israel" is a word created by God, as opposed to "Jew" and "Hebrew", which are both man-made words. To confirm this I firstly refer to the words of Genesis 10:21:

"...Also to Shem, the father of all the children of EBER..."

The word Hebrew is denoted from Eber and includes all descendants of Eber. It was chosen by a human. The word "Jew" is also a human word. In Esther 2:5 we find this word mentioned for the first time in the Bible.

"In Shushan the citadel was there a certain JEW whose name was Mordecai..."

After the exile of Israel's tribes the word was used to refer to all descendants of the tribe of Judah. Therefore it is also a human word. But "Israel"... now "Israel" is a word chosen by God Himself! How can I say that? Well, do take a look at Genesis 32:24-32, where we read about the nightlong struggle between Jacob and God. In verse 28 God says:

"And He (God) said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."

You will also notice in the story that God touched Jacob's hip joint when He could not gain the victory over him. Jacob's hip became disjointed, resulting in Jacob's (Israel's) permanent limping thereafter. What exactly happened to Jacob here? "Jacob" means one who undermines, a deceiver, a blunderer, one who schemes. Therefore he is an image of the old person of the flesh lurking in each of us before our personal meeting with God. Then God asks Jacob: "What is your name?". In that sentence He actually asked Jacob: "What is your nature?". What, indeed, had been his nature? An underminer, deceiver, blunderer, schemer... My dear friend, what is YOUR name (nature) in the spiritual at this very moment? Are you still a Jacob, or have you changed to Israel yet?

But what happens when he struggles with God and gains victory? He becomes "Israel". In other words, he becomes a new, spiritual person, an "overcomer", a winner, a conqueror, a prince of God! Even in this well-known story from the Old Testament it becomes clear that each of us must have a PERSONAL, face- to face meeting with God. Not in the physical but in the spiritual.

But first something has to happen to me... "What is that something?" Something in me must break, like Jacob's hip joint was smitten to cause him to walk "differently". Yes, my heart of stone must break before God to enable Him to take it and replace it with a heart of flesh and blood. Then I have to lay down my old nature and become a new, SPIRITUAL person, a SPIRITUAL Israelite! Then what happens to me? I too, then begin to walk "differently". Why? Because I have become a NEW, different person after that meeting with God, and cannot help but walk "differently", and LIVE differently.

Have you noticed what verse 31 has to say?

"...The sun rose on him..."

God's light (His sun) went up for this new person, Israel. In the same way God's light (His sun = His SON) rises over you and I when we part with the old person of the flesh and start walking differently after our personal meeting with God. Everyone who has had a personal meeting with God becomes a SPIRITUAL Israelite. Not in a physical, bodily, literal, ethnic or cultural manner! In the physical the Jews in the nation of Israel still exist today and there are certain very definite prophesies regarding them in the Bible. Christ's coming enabled us who used to be part of the "Gentiles; heathens" to become new creations and to become a spiritual unit, His church, His spiritual Israel. Galatians 6:15-16 clearly states:

"For in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, BUT A NEW CREATION. And may as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, AND UPON THE ISRAEL OF GOD!"

This "Israel of God" refers to both, God's church, His spiritual church of unity, the "church of the firstborn", of Jesus Christ, AND the nation of Israel, because He is the cornerstone on which that TRUE church is built. Look at the distinct manner in which Ephesians 2:19-22 expresses this:

"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

Is this "building" merely a physical, brick- and mortar building? Definitely not! The building that is referred to is the spiritual church of Christ, of which He is the head and the chief cornerstone. If we decide to walk with Him we become part of the same "building" spiritually. What a wonderful thing to know! The same promises that were made to the nation of Israel now also become applicable to us as His spiritual church.

Romans 4:17-18 refers to the promise to Abraham and clearly stipulates:

"As it is written, I have made you (Abraham) a father of many nations (Regardless of their skin color) ...who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations (Again regardless of their skin color), according to what was spoken, So shall your descendants be."

"By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants AS the stars of the heaven...In your seed ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED, because you have obeyed My voice." (Genesis 22:16-18)

WOW!!! What a PROMISE! Did you know that astronomers have found that the solar system is still progressively expanding? What was the promise to Abraham? Your descendants will multiply "as the stars"! What is happening to Abraham's descendants to this day? They are multiplying daily! PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY! Therefore Abraham is physically the natural father of many nations, but even more important, he is the spiritual father of ONE spiritual nation, the church of Jesus Christ, growing from ALL those physical nations. What was the reason for this? The promise made to Abraham. Which promise? The promise of the coming of Christ! This promise was not made to different "seeds", no, only to ONE seed, as stipulated in Galatians 3:16:

"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say: And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your Seed, who is Christ."

The promise of Jesus Christ is therefore NOT made to many "seeds" of different ethnic nations, but to only ONE nation, namely the TRUE church of Jesus Christ, the church that walks by FAITH and nothing else. Neither by laws, nor by traditions, nor by dogmas, nor by doctrines, only by FAITH!

This point is distinctly illustrated in Galatians 3:7- 9 where Paul says:

"Therefore know that only those WHO ARE OF FAITH are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations (on earth) shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."

At the same time verse 14 pulls it through to Christ by stipulating:

"...that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we (who are also Gentiles) might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

Therefore, if we are of faith (in other words, if we believe), WE ARE ALSO CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM! Does it refer to physical, ethnic children in our instance? Most definitely not. But it does refer to us as his spiritual children. What further assurance for this fact do we receive in the Bible? Do look at Galatians 3:28-29 again:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Wonderful! I praise the Lord that I (and I am most definitely not a Jew) may also be Abraham's heir!

But I also praise God for the physical Jews and for the nation of Israel! For if it wasn't for their existence Jesus would not have come to earth and I would have had no promise of salvation. Jesus Himself confirmed this fact:

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews." (John 4:21,22)

Very clearly then Jesus confirms that if it weren't for the Jews there would not have been salvation. Why is this? Because Jesus was born from the Jews.

Romans 3:29-30 describes it even more clearly to anyone who might still be doubtful that we who are not ethnical Jews may also share in His promise:

"Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also (the "Gentiles" include you and I, and people of other races who are not ethnical Jews), since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith."

The "circumcised" refers to the physical Jews who circumcise themselves according to Moses' law to this day, while the "uncircumcised" refers to all of us who are part of the "Gentiles". Just look closely at what these verses tell us: God will justify the Jews BY faith and He will justify the Gentiles THROUGH faith. The point that should not be missed is that BOTH the physical and spiritual children of God will be justified, even though it may be done in different ways.

He is God, He is Sovereign, He chose the Jews as His people and the rules that are applicable to them as a physical nation are defined by God and God alone.

In Romans 9:25-26 we read another confirmation that even we who were not known as "His people" may now be called this:

"As He says also in Hosea: I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not My people, there they shall be called sons of the living God."

It is also distinctly mentioned in Ephesians 4:4- 6:

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of ALL, who is above ALL, and through ALL, and in you ALL."

I repeat the words of Galatians 3:28-29 to conclude this aspect:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are ALL one in CHRIST. And if you are Christ's, then you (everyone who has chosen Jesus Christ) are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

Therefore I have no doubt that we who were/are Gentiles are NOT ethnic JEWS, but indeed SPIRITUAL Israelites, only because the Israel referred to in the Bible is also God's total, true church in the world. Just as the Israelites had to move out of Egypt into a new Canaan, we as God's true church have to move OUT OF a WORLDLY Egypt and move into a SPIRITUAL Canaan, a spiritual promised land.

Romans 8:14 and 17 clearly states:

"For AS MANY as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God...and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..."

Do you see? "...AS MANY as..." means EVERYONE who is led by the Spirit. Not only a geographical or ethnic group of people. What does being heirs with Christ mean for us? Let us see what Hebrews 1:2 has to say:

"...has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of ALL THINGS, through whom also He made the worlds."

Jesus Christ, the Son, has been APPOINTED as heir of ALL that had been made. And what does that mean to us? We are FELLOW HEIRS of ALL that! We "...WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD..." have been appointed in that position by God Himself! Wow, what a wonderful thing to know, don't you agree? But, did you notice that there is a very specific condition attached to this - "...who are led by the Spirit of God..."? Are you led in that way yet my dear friend?

According to Funk & Wagnall's New Practical Standard Dictionary, "appointed" also means "To name or select (a person for a position)" or "To ordain, as by decree, command..." God Himself has ordained Christ as heir AND LAWFUL OWNER of all and therefore we, His spiritual children, are fellow-heirs and fellow-owners of that "all" that belongs to Jesus Christ. Thank you, THANK YOU Lord!

Another verse that proves that we who are of the Gentiles are not physical Jews is found in Romans 2:28-29:

"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that OF THE HEART, IN THE SPIRIT, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."

We must take extreme care not to be tempted or blinded into believing erroneous doctrines. There is only one truth and that truth is JESUS CHRIST! Any person, church, denomination, dogma or tradition that does not preach only the truth of Jesus Christ and His church, is false! IN Him ALL things of the gospel are contained.

Confirmation of the fact that we are spiritual children of Abraham's and therefore spiritual Israelites is also found in Galatians 3:7:

"Therefore know that ONLY THOSE who are of faith are sons of Abraham."

Why? Because Abraham also believed. Faith is the only thing which delights God. God is not delighted with doctrines, traditions and dogmas! Abraham already believed (in other words, he had faith) several centuries before the law of Moses came. Accordingly the law came a long time AFTER faith. Four hundred and thirty years later actually. But why did it come? So that people could be shown their sins. Do you notice that Abraham himself was neither a Jew nor an Israelite? How can I say that? Because Abraham walked the earth LONG before Jacob's struggle with God, and Israelites were only brought forth after THAT encounter Jacob had with God. Thus the promise of Jesus Christ had been made to Abraham centuries before the "Jews" came. Contrary to popular belief in some religious circles, the promise of Jesus Christ is therefore not ONLY applicable to Jews but also to us Gentiles who also choose for Jesus.

Let us now take another look at the words of Genesis 22: 18:

"In your seed ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

These words certainly don't say: "...in your seed ONLY the Jews shall be blessed..."

I am eternally grateful towards God that I may also be a child of the promise, and that His fantastic truth has set me free from the rule of sin and death so that I may also be blessed in Jesus!

But BE WARNED! See how Galatians 4:28-29 explains it:

"Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now."

In this verse the Bible confirms once more the fact that, as in Jesus' time, the rigid, traditional, "doctrine-following" worldly church will persecute the true church of the Spirit. My dear friend, where would you prefer to be? Safely part of the worldly, or part of the TRUE, (persecuted) exciting, spiritual church? The choice is yours.

After having read these verses I don't think there can be any doubt anymore that all of us who were/are Gentiles and who chose for Jesus are now also part of His eternal spiritual church. But that is enough concerning us.

What about the physical Jews and the nation of Israel today?

Friend, our Lord has blessed you with intellect and I pray that you will use that now. Many Christians and even well-known spiritual leaders teach that since the beginning of the church-era there are no further specific plans or promises regarding the Jews or Israel. I'm sorry but I personally can't agree with that point of view at all.

That means I must believe that God – who NEVER changes according to the Bible – sits in heaven saying something like: "Well I wrote scores of prophecies regarding my people Israel which were all fulfilled to the LETTER. Oh well, but since the cross of my Son I have now changed my mind and will not let any of the other prophecies regarding their role in the end-times become fulfilled! Their role has now been taken over by the church as a whole." I'm sorry but I can't believe this scenario at all.

So what does the Bible teach about things that still have to be fulfilled regarding the physical Israel? And what do we who are part of His spiritual church have to do with or about them? First we must take note of the fact that God Himself chose Israel as His nation. He could just as well have chosen the Assyrians, Egyptians or Phoenicians, but HE CHOSE THE JEWS. They are His to do with as HE pleases and we have no say in that matter.

"And they shall put MY NAME upon the children of Israel; and I will BLESS THEM." (Numbers 6:27)

There can be no doubt, GOD'S NAME is upon the children of Israel and that is why He will bless them - because of His Name. This verse was written centuries before the cross of Jesus so it most definitely does NOT refer to the spiritual church that I wrote of earlier. And I don't think anybody who has just a little knowledge of the history of Israel can ever deny that they are truly a blessed people no matter where in the world they are. Why would that be? Because God is always true to His Word especially regarding His own people.

"Be ye mindful always of HIS COVENANT; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an EVERLASTING covenant, Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not MINE ANOINTED, and do my prophets no harm." (1 Chronicles 16:15-22)

This passage reminds us to always be mindful of the covenant GOD made with His people, which is an EVERLASTING covenant. Can "everlasting" mean anything other than FOR EVER? Many people argue that there are lots of passages in the Bible where God says that He is sorry about His covenant and that He will punish them severely, which He also did on a regular basis. However as the Bible is clear that God NEVER changes and that He is ALWAYS the same that means that "everlasting" covenant He made with His people still covers the Jews of today. They are still HIS ANOINTED to this day!

And many an individual and many a nation can attest to the truth of the words: "And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; He suffered (allowed) no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not MINE ANOINTED, and do my prophets no harm." Though the Jews were persecuted, hated and killed by the millions, the people who did that to them always paid the price. Just ask Hitler, for example. Why would this be so?

Because God is always true to His Word especially regarding His own people.

"And ye (Israel) shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be MINE." (Leviticus 20:26)

This is just another confirmation of the fact that the Lord has consecrated and set aside Israel as His own people.

The following passage also confirms that God chose the site where Solomon's temple was built IN JERUSALEM for Himself so that His Name may be there FOR EVER and He says that His heart will be there ETERNALLY.

"And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now HAVE I CHOSEN and sanctified this house, that MY NAME BE THERE FOR EVER: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there PERPETUALLY (eternally)." (2 Chronicles 7:12-16)

So even though the physical temple of Jerusalem has been gone for centuries anybody who has ever been to Jerusalem can't do anything but agree that the Lord's Name is still there to this day. Why is this so? Because when God says something He doesn't ever recall His words. The words He speaks will accomplish that which He sent it to.

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall NOT return unto me void, but it SHALL ACCOMPLISH that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11)

The following passage also confirms that He called the nation of Israel by their name and that He has redeemed them and that they ARE HIS. And at the end of this passage we read the prophecy that is being fulfilled to this day, where God promises that He will bring back His people to the country of Israel no matter where in the world they may be. This prophecy is physically being fulfilled even while I am writing this sentence. Since 1948 when Israel became a nation again for the first time in centuries, the Jews have been returning to Israel PHYSICALLY from the north, east, south and west. Is it a coincidence? Or is it God just confirming the truth and infallibility of His Word? I know it is!

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; THOU ART MINE. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I WILL BRING THY SEED from the EAST, and gather thee from the WEST; I will say to the NORTH, Give up; and to the SOUTH, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth..." (Isaiah 43:1-6)

The following passage also confirms this fact that God has made and everlasting covenant with His people, the Jews of Israel and even though He punished them from time to time over the ages, His covenant will still stay effective to the end of time.

"Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath;

and I will bring them again UNTO THIS PLACE, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

And they shall be MY PEOPLE, and I will be their God:

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

And I will make an EVERLASTING COVENANT with them,

that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good,

and I will PLANT THEM IN THIS LAND assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 32:26-44)

All this confirms that which God is doing in the nation of Israel even to this very day. The following verse confirms the fact that Israel in the Bible refers to BOTH the ethnical Jews and His spiritual church. How can I say that? Just read this verse with me.

"The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace." (Psalms 29:11)

The first part of this verse, which I high-lighted is applicable to both His physical and spiritual people as He gives physical strength to both the Jews through all the trials and tribulations they have experienced over the centuries and also to us as His spiritual people. But the second part of that verse can only refer to His spiritual church because the Jews and/or Israel have never been blessed with physical peace for any but short little periods of time between kings who served the Lord and thereby brought peace to the nation for a few years at a time. Anybody who knows anything about Israel's history knows that it is a history which is written in war, not peace. That is why even the following verse sounds a bit strange to the untrained spiritual ear:

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee." (Psalms 122:6)

How can we pray for the peace of Jerusalem when everybody knows that there will never be physical peace in Jerusalem until Jesus returns again? Don't miss the PROMISE in that verse! If we learn to pray for the inner peace of the people of Jerusalem, even in the midst of the constant wars they are in, WE who pray for them will prosper! That peace we must pray for is therefore not a physical peace but a spiritual inner peace through all the hardships they have to endure. And clearly this can not refer to the new spiritual Jerusalem of the book of Revelation, because that heavenly city will have eternal Godly peace as a result of God Himself dwelling in it. We therefore don't have to pray for THAT Jerusalem. This is another clear confirmation that the physical Jerusalem is still a very important place in God's eternal plans and that we cannot just wish the Jews and/or Israel from the face of planet.

Friend I think you can see that God still has plans with the ethnic Jews in the physical nation of Israel. There is one outstanding prophecy which I most certainly believe will still happen because I have never heard of or seen this happen anywhere in the world. Please read with me:

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it SHALL COME TO PASS, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even SHALL TAKE HOLD OF THE SKIRT OF HIM THAT IS A JEW, SAYING, WE WILL GO WITH YOU: for we have heard that God is with you." (Zechariah 8:23)

Nothing like this has ever happened in the world so most definitely it still lies in the future. And it can't refer to any spiritual members of God's church, because His spiritual church does not just consist of Jews as I explained earlier. So this prophecy still has to come to pass, which I personally have no doubt in my mind will happen JUST AS IT IS WRITTEN.

Everybody who preach against the Biblical promises and outstanding prophecies regarding the physical nation of Israel had better take note of this verse as I foresee that even some of THEM may experience that day when THEY will take hold of the skirt of a JEW and say to him: "I want to go with you for I have (ALSO EVENTUALLY) heard that God is with your people to this day!" Remember God said His Word will not return to Him void. So although this prophecy is still outstanding today it will most definitely also become fulfilled like ALL the others that were written in the Bible.

Friend, if you want to receive another blessing from the Lord, learn to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the people of Israel, the Jews on a daily basis.

22. HOW WILL OUR REWARDS IN HEAVEN BE DETERMINED? (Back to top)

Many Christians wonder about the fact whether there will be different rewards in heaven. The longer I walk the road with our Lord, the more I am coming to believe that there are.

Going to heaven is, in itself the first and most wonderful reward. According to me, all who have made a choice for Jesus Christ will be going to heaven, no matter whether they gave their lives to the Lord eighty years ago, or ten minutes before they died. They will all get the same reward – heaven. I get the confirmation of this fact from the following well-known parable which Jesus told:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen." (Matthew 20:1-16)

God has "agreed" with all of us who choose to "work" for Him, to give us all heaven as our reward. But as it is His to give, He is righteous and fair and gives the same reward to all who chose to go and work in His "vineyard", whether they chose to do so many years ago, or just a few days ago. And those who worked in Hs "vineyard" for many years cannot murmur against Him because He chooses to give the same reward to those who have only worked for a few days or even a few minutes. The best example of such a "worker" that received the same reward just MINUTES after repenting of his wrong life, is the murderer that hung next to Jesus on the cross. So there can be no doubt, heaven is the wonderful reward of ALL the "workers" who "agreed" to work in God's "vineyard", no matter whether they agreed to do so "early in the morning" or late in the afternoon.

BUT... Think clearly now... Do you think that murderer that died on the cross next to Jesus, received the same rewards as the apostle Paul? Both of them went to heaven but I am quite sure when I look at the rest of the verses I quote in this chapter that they received different rewards when they got there. I truly believe the moment we all get to heaven, that there will be different rewards for the things we did here on earth. Let us look at a number of passages in the Bible which confirm this fact.

We see in the Bible that there will be a day that every man's "works" will be tested by fire. I believe that is the day we will all appear before the Lord's throne of judgment. What will happen there?

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for THE DAY shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)

This passage tells me that we must all build on the foundation that was laid, Jesus Christ. Every one of us choose through our lives HOW we want to build on that foundation, either by using spiritual GOLD, or SILVER, or PRECIOUS STONES, or WOOD, or HAY or STUBBLE. I personally believe we build with gold, silver or precious stones if we DO everything the Bible requires of us in total obedience to God's Word. We build with wood, hay or stubble if we DO NOT do all that the Bible says. What will happen in "that day"? Everyone's "work" will be tested by God's fire! And if someone built on wood, hay or stubble it will be burnt away according to this passage in the Bible and they will "suffer loss". Now what will be that "loss" that they will suffer? It will be the fact that they will not receive the same rewards than those who have built on gold, silver or precious stones. Yet we read very clearly that they will STILL BE SAVED, which means they will still be going to heaven!

What different types of rewards will we find in heaven then? First we must realize that from God's point of view there is most definitely a difference between those Christians who build with gold, silver and precious stones and those who build with wood, hay or stubble. The first three can be seen as "overcomers" who did "endureth to the end" as I wrote earlier. Most definitely the last three can not be seen as "overcomers". What will be the "overcomer's" rewards?

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Revelations 2:7)

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." (Revelations 2:17)

"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelations 2:26-29)

"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelations 3:5,6)

"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelations 3:12,13)

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelations 3:20-22)

Isn't all this AWESOME? The "overcomers" will receive all these wonderful rewards, while the others will "suffer loss" while still being saved, "yet so as by fire".

From the following parable told by Jesus we learn that we must at all times ensure that we are ready for His return as our "Bridegroom". But this is not all we learn from this well-known parable. We also learn that there are different rewards in that the five wise virgins were allowed into the marriage feast but they were still not the bride, because in the old Jewish tradition the bridegroom always went to pick up his bride at her father's house and then brought her to the marriage feast. So clearly the five "wise virgins" were "marriage guests" waiting for the Bridegroom to return with the bride, but they were not the bride.

"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 25:1-13)

Again this parable indicates the different "rewards" we will receive in heaven. Those that have built on gold, silver or precious stones will be part of the "bride" or "overcomers", while the others at the marriage feast, will also be judged according to their works. The following well-known parable also confirms the fact that God will hand out different rewards to His faithful followers in accordance with what they did here on earth and how they built on the "foundation" that was laid in their lives, namely Jesus Christ.

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:14-30)

Do you see? Depending on what you did with that which Jesus entrusted you with, will determine the rewards you will receive in heaven. We know that it refers to heaven because we see that the "unprofitable servant", the one that did not choose for Jesus was cast "into outer darkness", most definitely a reference to hell. This parable gives us the same confirmation as the following well-known parable.

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him." (Luke 19:11-27)

None of us can know who will get which rewards, as that lies only in the hands of God Himself. However we should all ask the Lord to lead us to that place of becoming "overcomers" and "bride" and we must know it is going to cost a price and not many people are willing to pay that price as it will mean they will have to stop doing some of the fleshly things they have become so accustomed to and like so much.

What will determine these different rewards then? We find the answer in the following verses:

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:11,12)

"Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." (Luke 6:22,23)

Those who were reviled, persecuted, reproached, hated and spoken falsely of will definitely receive great reward.

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:1-4)

Those that give alms in secret will be rewarded openly by the Father. Where? In heaven one day.

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:5,6)

Those who pray earnestly in secret will be rewarded openly by our Heavenly Father. No doubt also in heaven because only in heaven will those present there really appreciate what that person's earnest prayers in secret accomplished in some people's lives.

"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:16-21)

Christians who do not make a show when they fast and do so secretly will also be rewarded openly by our Heavenly Father. Again I believe only in heaven, as only in heaven will those who are present there really acknowledge what that person's fasting accomplished in the spiritual realm.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matthew 16:24-27)

Christians who have really died to their own "selves" as I wrote in chapter 18 above, will also receive their rewards according to their works.

"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." (Luke 6:35)

Those who learn to love their enemies, do good and lend without expecting anything back in contrast with the worldly way of hating your enemies, being as bad as possible and no lending if there is no return interest, will have great reward in heaven.

We have no doubt that only God will determine the degree of that reward. And each reward will be according to each person's own labour.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:23,24)

"So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his OWN reward according to his OWN labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." (1 Corinthians 3:7-9)

"Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelations 11:17,18)

"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelations 22:11-13)

I don't think any person, after having read all these scriptures can still have any doubt that there will be different rewards in heaven. What should this knowledge cause in our lives? That we will ensure that we do every little thing we can insomuch as it may be possible to grow to that place where we will be "overcomers" and part of Jesus' "bride". Is it possible? Yes it is! That is why God had it written down for us so that we may learn that we can't "rest on our laurels" while we are here on earth. We are not on a vacation while here on earth! We have very clear things to do before we go, as the Bible teaches us.

In my mind's eye I can see some of the Christians in heaven sitting on the throne next to Jesus, some standing and worshiping before the throne or close to it, while others are walking in the beautiful gardens. They are all in heaven but they are enjoying different rewards. The wonderful thing is that there will be no envy in heaven at all. So the person in heaven's gardens will not envy the others sitting on the throne or those worshiping right before the throne because they will know that God Himself rewarded them for what they did here on earth. Yes we will all love each other with a glorious Godly love that will contain no envy at all.

I also see something similar in the Bible's discussion on the way the temple and tabernacle were initially built. They had the fore-court, the holy place and the holy of holies. We also read in the Bible that people will bear fruit thirty-fold, sixty-fold and hundredfold. In the same manner I believe the "fore-court" Christians will be in the gardens in heaven, the "holy place" Christians will be worshiping before the throne or close to the throne, while the "holy of holies" Christians will sit on the throne. The "thirty-fold" Christians will be in the gardens, the "sixty-fold" Christians will worship before the throne or close to the throne and the "hundredfold" Christians will sit on the throne next to Jesus.

Friend, I know for most people it is good enough to just make it to heaven. But I do think that is the wrong point of view to have because I believe you will want to kick yourself once you get to heaven and you realize what you have missed THERE by not ensuring that you are building on gold, or silver or precious stones in your walk of faith HERE on earth.

Wouldn't you also like to sit on the throne right next to Jesus?

You can you know, but then you have to start by entering into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And after that you must ask Him to lead you to grow in spiritual maturity so that you will also one day hear the words:

"Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a FEW THINGS, I will make thee RULER OVER MANY THINGS: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

My dear friend, even though I may not know you I want to ask you: Have you ever entered into a personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ? If not, why don't you pray the following prayer right now? It doesn't matter whether you have been a church-goer for many years, but have never realized you must make a personal decision. This is your chance. It may be the last lifeline cast to you in a fast-sinking world. And please pray this prayer out loud, so that satan and his demon spirits, especially the spirit of religion that I wrote about earlier, can hear you make a definite choice for Jesus Christ.

"Heavenly Father, I come to you in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Lord, I realize I have never personally asked You to enter into my life, I have never opened the door of my heart to you. And all this time You have been patiently knocking Lord. I confess today that I am a sinner worthy of death. But I also confess that I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ became flesh and died on the cross so that I may be freed from eternal death. So I come to You now and I confess all my sins Lord. All my wrong words, wrong thoughts and wrong deeds. You know them all Lord and I ask your forgiveness for them all. Thank You that I may know that You do forgive me now. I accept Your remission of my sins with gratitude Father, and I now confess that I hereby accept Jesus Christ as my Lord, my King, my Redeemer, my Savior and my Friend. Please teach me from this day onward how to live in a personal relationship with You. Renew my mind regarding all the things contained in the Bible Lord, and teach me to start to praise and worship You the way You want me to. Thank You Lord Jesus that I may now call myself a child of the living God in all eternity. I praise Your Holy Name! Amen."

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All the italics, underlining and highlights of Bible texts and other sources quoted, are those of the author.

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All the glory, honor and worship from now until eternity is due only to God the Father, YAHWEH, my one and only true Daddy, to Jesus Christ, His only Son, YESHUA HA MASCHIACH and to the Holy Spirit, RUACH HA KODESH, who lives inside me and every CHILD of God! Hallelujah, I glorify and praise the Name of JESUS CHRIST!

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About the Author: (Back to top)

Tiaan Gildenhuys has been in full-time ministry as an evangelist across denominational borders throughout South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Malawi since 2003. He has published 12 books in English and 21 books in Afrikaans and approximately 60 DVD's with different messages from the Bible.

To view or purchase any of this author's other material, feel free to visit his official website: http://www.oicb.co.za and check out "Shop tiaan".

Should you like to correspond with this author, feel free to send an e-mail to: mailto:tg@oicb.co.za

