……………SOME CHRISTIANS aren’t AS GOOD for GOD…..because they aren’t KILLERS…(part TWO) ……….PEOPLE SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH GOD…..IN OLD, NEW TESTAMENT, OR EVEN TODAY’S CHRISTIANS AND CHURCHES………………HE is STILL GOD…..and to be LOVED…and FEARED…….LIVES and OUR DESTINY is at STAKE……………. …………Acts 5: 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men………WE AS CHRISTIANS TODAY should OBEY GOD, rather than humans, friends, family and what’s popular as well……………………. …………….So GENERATION J, we are TALKING about Joshua, one of the greatest WARRIOR, GENERALS in the bible for GOD. Joshua is actually a ‘type’ or small sample of a JESUS, in human form…..FIGHTING FOR US, HIS PEOPLE………………We talked about MISTAKING BEING NICE….as ALWAYS something of GOD that is needed, desired or that brings GLORY to GOD. It doesn’t. SOMETIMES people just feel YOU, I, WE are nice….but REALLY NAÏVE, and SOFT in areas where WE need to DEMONSTRATE, FIRM LOVE, or where we need to DESTROY something that will DESTROY people of GOD and future generations……………….WE showed in the bible where Samuel, a prophet KILLED………..(1rst Samuel 15: 32-33)……..We also showed were another great prophet, Elijah KILLED. (1rst Kings 18: 39-40)…………..And by the way, Abraham another prophet, man of GOD, killed or at least did WAR to get back what was taken from his nephew and from a city. So Abraham trained his servants in his house and went to WAR, and won. (Genesis 14: 13-16) …………………………………………..DOING WAR for GOD’S KINGDOM in a spiritual way, destroying idol gods and even rebuking kings and people who don’t do right…THAT IS OUR JOB as CHRISTIANS and the CHURCH and CHURCHES……….Abraham rebuked kings. Isaac rebuked kings. If people STRONGLY disobey GOD….we should TELL them GOD is not pleased………………………….. …………..IT IS PART OF OUR JOB. We can’t just be ‘nice’ and ‘mind our own business’ all the time. WE MUST USE WISDOM, and make sure GOD is telling us. We can’t be prideful, or arrogant, or ONLY say what benefits US. And we can’t be HAVING a whole bunch of sins OURSELVES that hurt people. But in order to REALLY MINISTER to SOCIETY, and be GATE KEEPERS…we must see when satan is using people, whether they know it or not, and SPEAK to, about, around, or sometimes AGAINST what they say that CONTRADICTS the bible and hurt them and others……………………….Elisha had a servant. Elisha, NOT Elijah. They are two different prophets. Elisha served Elijah. Elijah died, or went to heaven in a chariot, and Elisha took his place. Elisha did a miracle for an important man named Naaman. Naaman wanted to ‘BLESS’ Elisha. Elisha said, NO…….GOD told me not to take NOTHING from you………… THIS MEANS at times, GOD wants us to SHOW THE WORLD AND PEOPLE…..money, stuff, whatever, NOTHING means MORE to us than OBEYING GOD….even if it gets us behind in something we want, or if we get persecuted. OBEYING GOD is what WE are called to do. NOT obey humans, trends, or popular culture that’s AGAINST GOD, ignoring GOD, and putting SOMETHING ahead of GOD to be WORSHIPPED or more important than it is…… …But Elisha servant Gehazi SNEAKILY chased after the man Naaman and asked for ‘STUFF’, Elisha knew it. GOD had told him. And Elisha pronounced a life time curse of LEPROSY on that Gehazi. Can we blame Elisha the HOLY PROPHET of GOD? No….BLAME the man Gehazi for disobeying GOD’S will, and BLAME GOD too. GOD is showing US, for future blessings….TO NOT go after STUFF HE don’t want us to have…… Read …..(2nd Kings 5: 25-27) 25 He went in and stood before his master. Elisha said, Where have you been, Gehazi? He said, Your servant went nowhere…..26 Elisha said to him, Did not my spirit go with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money, garments, olive orchards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, menservants, and maidservants?......27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to you and to your offspring forever. And Gehazi went from his presence a leper as white as snow. ……Back to Joshua. WE don’t really see Joshua making ANY big sins against GOD. He’s not taking bribes. His household is in order. HE’S fighting and organizing GOD’S people. He doesn’t seem to have a bunch of wives. ……… ……A lot of people in the bible we see OF GOD…but have a few or some BAD FAULTS…….we don’t really see that with Joshua. PERHAPS he had SEEN too much from Moses, the people who died in his generation and even of the enemies. HE SEEMS to know, OBEDIENCE with GOD….is all that matters and what will get his people BLESSED…..Even the elders who out live him are blessed. (Joshua 24: 15-31) Some words of Joshua…….Joshua 24: 15 serve ye the LORD….15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD……more words of Joshua……Joshua 24: 19-24 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins……20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good……..21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD………..22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses…….23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel…..24 And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. ………….And this is what happened as a result of Joshua’s life….Joshua 24: 28-31 28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance…..29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old…..30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash……31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel……………………………….. …………..PEOPLE AROUND YOU CAN SEE GOD IN YOU, WITH YOU, THE RESULTS, AND YOU HAVE INFLUENCE OVER THEM TO CAUSE THEM TO WANT TO LIVE FOR GOD AS WELL. Do not believe satan’s lie that YOUR LIFE doesn’t count or matter and that YOUR LIFE. Has NO control over others. IF YOU HAVE JESUS in you, following HIM, obeying HIM, and DOING HIS WORK, using HIS WORDS, and building HIS KINGDOM…..humans can see. LAST three things………LOOK at what Rahab says about Joshua’s GOD…………………. ………….Rahab’s words to spies sent into Jericho by Joshua…………..Joshua 2: 9-11 8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;….9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you…..10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed……11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath………….YOU, I, WE don’t have to be perfect. Joshua and that Generation were NOT perfect. BUT in IMPORTANT things they OBEYED GOD, USED FAITH, and were AGGRESSIVE. Not just to ‘get things’ MORE IMPORTANTLY GOD was using them to SHOW PEOPLE….HIMSELF…so in time, HUMANS would want HIM. Who wouldn’t want GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, GOD THE HOLY GHOS?................ ………………TWO……………….Maybe this was another REASON Joshua was so FAITHFUL, CAREFUL and OBEDIENT to GOD…………(Joshua 5: 13-15) Joshua either came in contact with an ANGEL, or perhaps GOD himself, JESUS before JESUS was in the NEW TESTAMENT…..but it , the amplified bible capitalizes the word MAN………..look at this. …………….13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a Man stood near him with His drawn sword in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are you for us or for our adversaries?.....14 And He said, No [neither], but as Prince of the Lord’s host have I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant?....15 And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, [a]Loose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so………. …………The MAN has his sword drawn, INDICATING his PURPOSE is WAR, and not to PLAY or be NICE…but to BATTLE if necessary. And the MAN tells Joshua, “I’m not on YOUR side or AGAINST YOU. It’s NOT about YOU. This is about ME, obeying…….as a PRINCE OF THE LORD. “ Sometimes we want to be friends or enemies with people or take sides. WHEN really the ONLY SIDE we should be on is GOD’S side. IF SOMEONE is on GOD’S side, WE should be on their side. If they are on satan’s side, WE should be AGAINST them. IT’S NOTHING PERSONAL or EMOTIONAL….strictly BUSINESS FOR GOD, that will HELP GOD’S KINGDOM, HIS PEOPLE…and yes a WORLD of people who need to KNOW GOD….period………………..And the MAN tells Joshua to take off his shoes, for THE GROUND is HOLY. That is the same thing GOD had told Moses. WHEN GOD wants to USE YOU….that GROUND. THOSE WORDS HE SPEAKS, THE BUSINESS HE HAS FOR YOU….IS HOLY, OF GOD, and to be taken SERIOUS. Life and death is involved. And YOUR DESTINY, HERITAGE, INHERITANCE, BLESSINGS, POWER, AND REPUTATION. Sometimes it’s NOT a time to play or do what we want, when GOD IS USING us. ……………………………. ……..LAST thing……THIS shows you HOW serious GOD is. And Joshua in OBEYING GOD…….Almost EVERY time Joshua and the people went to BATTLE….they won. THEY WON. THEY WON. One time they LOST…badly. Joshua goes to GOD and falls on his face to plead, beg, ASK GOD why. ISN’T IT STRANGE that Joshua doesn’t TAKE defeat as NORMAL or SOMETHING GOOD, or INEVITABLE? Joshua KNOWS…….they should WIN, WIN, WIN….and when they don’t, HE asks GOD why……….THAT IS WHAT WE SHOULD DO. We should WIN…….and if not, HAVE WE SINNED? IS THIS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE? WHAT IS GOING ON……………GOD tells Joshua, “THE FAULT IS NOT MINES. YOU lost because of something ONE of you all did. YOU took something CURSED I TOLD you not too. GO FIND THE SIN, and the PERSON, and DEAL with them……………. ………….As much as we LOVE people….if they DO things that CAUSE many to die…….THEY must DIE. No…not naturally. DON’T kill nobody. BUT REBUKE them, and do what YOU CAN to let them know, NOT ACCEPTABLE, and OTHER LIVES ARE involved. Even in New Testament…..the HOLY SPIRIT seems harsh. A man and his wife Ananias and Saphira lied….and they both died. (Acts 5: 4-11) AND this was NEW TESTAMENT….after JESUS…..still GOD allowed people to die….JESUS LOVE, and being part of a church or not……….WOW….so mean…BUT….IT WAS GOD’S WILL, and Peter is the one who actually said the WORDS of their death. Wow….YOU mean an Apostle of GOD caused death? No…..the two people caused their death, and GOD…and Peter simply OBEYED THE HOLY SPIRIT. Let’s NOT blame Peter………..BLAME GOD……GOD doesn’t ALWAYS play with us, ESPECIALLY at critical times. ……………….. ………….So Joshua and the people got defeated and Joshua went to pray to GOD on his face…..(Joshua 7: 7-13) 7 Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all only to give us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan!....8 O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned to flee before their enemies!....9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?....10 The Lord said to Joshua, Get up! Why do you lie thus upon your face?.....11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. They have taken some of the things devoted [for destruction]; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own baggage…..12 That is why the Israelites could not stand before their enemies, but fled before them; they are accursed and have become devoted [for destruction]. I will cease to be with you unless you destroy the accursed [devoted] things among you………13 Up, sanctify (set apart for a holy purpose) the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: There are accursed things in the midst of you, O Israel. You can not stand before your enemies until you take away from among you the things devoted [to destruction]………….. ……….SO Joshua is blessed, and the people. YET GOD let them get SLAUGHTERED by their enemy and said, IT’S because they took something CURSED. And I WON’T let YOU all win ANY MORE wars, until you FIND out WHO did it. ALL OF Israel will be cursed……..WOW….GOD is going to punish ALL OF ISRAEL because of one man? YEP….to SHOW ALL OF Israel when they get TEMPTED to take CURSED things…it affects….THEM ALL…………………..WHEN YOU, I, WE….our LIVES, CURSES….affect MANY. YOUR, AND MY OWN LIFE. It affects OUR FAMILY. IT can affect our MINISTRY, CHURCH, perhaps even city and many in the KINGDOM OF GOD. GOD may have called for YOU to be a GREAT LEADER….and if YOU don’t obey HIM….it affects ALL HE wanted YOU to affect. ONE PERSON does, CAN make a HUGE difference BAD or GOOD…….. …………….They found the man from Israel (and his whole family) ….THEY may have knonw he took the stuff…His name was Achan……READ what happened………..(Joshua 7: 16-26) 16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 He brought near the family of Judah, and the family of the Zerahites was taken; and he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken……18 He brought near his household man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken…..19 And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession to Him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me……20 And Achan answered Joshua, In truth, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this have I done:….21 When I saw among the spoils an attractive mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath…..22 So Joshua sent messengers, who ran to the tent, and behold, the spoil was hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath…..23 And they took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and laid them out before the Lord……24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan son of Zerah, and the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them to the Valley of Achor…..25 And Joshua said, Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him and those with him with stones, and afterward burned their bodies with fire……..26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor or Troubling to this day…….. ……………….So Joshua and the people of Israel were told to STONE the man and his WHOLE family, and not even KEEP none of their stuff. STONE the man, his family , all their sheep, cattle, and stuff….BURY them all UNDER ROCKS………Wow…………THAT IS SEVERE, MEAN, HARSH, and DOESN’T seem like GOD or GOD’S people………… …………..NO WE don’t kill physically, NO ONE. ……………………………………….but if GOD says PUT AWAY SIN….OR stop doing something, or don’t take upon ourselves a CURSE or idol god……WE better listen. OLD, or NEW TESTAMENT………………..how many things HAPPEN in our LIVES, because we SECRETLY did something CURSED, and NEVER ACCEPTED JESUS or asked for FORGIVENESS. And even if we do, GOD still may let us suffer the consequences of our sins and choices for a while………………….. ………….DOING GOD’S WILL, doesn’t always make us NICE…….LOOKING……but we get BLESSED FOR BEING OBEDIENT…………………………like me…..I FEEL GOD told me to talk about JESUS obviously, and the WORD and PRAYER and PEOPLE of GOD. I also feel GOD wants me personally to speak well of HIS UNIVERSAL CHURCH, and CHURCHES….it may not make sense to some. It may seem HARSH, or DUMB, or POINTLESS……..but I HAVE MY ORDERS…………WHAT ORDERS DO YOU HAVE FROM GOD, that may HURT feelings of someone? I THINK YOU, I, WE better OBEY GOD, RATHER than humans, our own desires , the world or Popular culture and peer pressure. IT’S BETTER TO JUST OBEY GOD…………………………….
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 21:14:21 +0000
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