SIGNS & WONDERS            “WORTH CONSIDERING”        11/18/22

Preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable]. 2 Tim. 4:2-4.

Frankly, If the Holy Spirit shows up with signs and wonders that’s all the certification that is needed by me that Jesus is alive, well and doing business as usual.   But if no supernatural, if no confirmation from the Holy Spirit then something is wrong as the Gospel came both in words and in power. Jesus came as in Isaiah 61, Luke 4 to love and heal and deliver sinners, and I am all for it. So if a person is really a Friend (Lover) of God then real signs and wonders are going to follow. So we who  really love HIM and are in obedience to HIM should be in the process of learning to do what HE did..   2 Tim.3:5

Mark 16:17-20:  These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.” So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord was working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed.]

Matt. 17:19-20:  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why could we not drive it out?” He answered, “Because of your little faith [your lack of trust and confidence in the power of God]; for I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [a]if you have [living] faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and [if it is God’s will] it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

John 17:20:  “I do not pray for these alone [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for [all] those who [will ever] believe and trust in Me through their message, that they all may be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, So that the world may believe [without any doubt] that You sent Me.  I have given to them the glory (power) and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one, just as We are one;  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to Me [as Your gift to Me], may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory (power) which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  “O just and righteous Father, although the world has not known You and has never acknowledged You [and the revelation of Your mercy], yet I have always known You; and these [believers] know [without any doubt] that You sent Me;  and I have made Your name known to them, and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them [overwhelming their heart], and I [may be] in them.”

In humility we need to learn how to work together to do what Jesus did.   When we get it right, then God’s Power will flow and the world will know without any doubt that we have been sent by God.   I am still working on getting it right,  but the power is beginning to start to flow again just a little as we here are getting closer to Jesus.  Otherwise it is just words and more words and the world is full of words already.  Jesus told us to follow HIM and to teach what HE taught,  Matt.28:20.   This is obviously in what HE taught.  If we can not do it, then in humility we need to find out why and grow up in HIM in all things,

 Eph.4:11-16 it is obvious.  And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct],  [and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church];  until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ [manifesting His spiritual completeness and exercising our spiritual gifts in unity].  So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit].  But speaking the truth in love [in all things—both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head—Christ.   From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up [a]in [unselfish] love.

We will never become what God created us to be till we take HIM at HIS simple WORD and in humility admit to where we are and how much we need HIM for HES work to be completed in us.   He can not do it without our will,  and we can not do it without humility, obedience and HIS power.   Acts 5:16,   They were all healed and set free.   HIS Church needs power,  not just words.

There is but ONE Church of Christ Jesus as LORD (Master).
All who Love, Honor & Obey HIM are eternal members

The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t…live in dread of what frightens them. Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life…. He will keep you safe.”  Isaiah 8:11–14, NLT
    
Don’t Think Like Everyone Else     (    Received this morning from a church in Texas.)
Ken, negative news is all around us—how frightening the sickness is, how bad the economy is, what’s coming in the future. If you dwell on that, you’re going to end up afraid, worried, and panicked, thinking you’re not going to make it. It’s a negative cycle that keeps drawing in more fear, more worry, and more defeat. It weakens you and drains your strength, your energy, and your passion.   Today’s Scripture warns us to not think like everyone else. Negative thinking is contagious. When other people are afraid, worried, and negative, you have to be on the offensive and say, “No, I know my God is still on the throne. I will outlast whatever comes against me. I have strength in Christ for all things.” At the start of the day, you need to set your mind for victory. Don’t let just any thoughts play. You have to purposefully think power thoughts, victory thoughts, abundance thoughts, can-do thoughts. Keep honoring God, and He will defeat your enemies and keep you safe.
    
A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You that no weapon formed against me shall prosper because You are the guardian of my soul. Thank You that I can set my mind for victory today and not be afraid of what frightens and worries other people. I declare that I will not think like everyone else. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Ken’s Notes,
As I woke up this morning, the Holy Spirit started talking to me about the Power of God and how very difficult it was to get souls to understand how God’s Power works and why the church of today is so weak concerning knowing about or how to enjoy the Power of God.   Our vain traditions have moved us from being a very powerful representative of God’s Power to mostly, if not all, just words about Power.   So I felt the words from Texas confirmed what the Holy Spirit wanted me to write.

In Isaiah 61 the prophesy is that God would come to earth in Power,   In Luke 4:18-21 we find that Jesus  fulfilled  that prophesy concerning God’s loving Power.   In Acts 5:16 we find that same Power of God invested in HIS CHURCH to the point that every one who came to Jerusalem to Church were healed and delivered.   In fact Paul tells Timothy in 2 Tim.3:5 that if a church has no power to avoid that church and go someplace else where there is God’s Power.   Frankly here in Kona, I really don’t know where to go to find GOD” POWER among GOD’s people as I see it in the New Testament.   More like none at all or only hit or miss and even sometimes mixed with deceit to make a show that looks like God’s power.   With the pushing of folks over and the miss use of tongues without interpretation in the church, 1 Cor.14:26-33.   Yet Paul tells us clearly the speaking in prophesy with understanding is better than thousands of words in tongues.  1 Cor.14.  And that the real proof of being filled with the Holy Spirit is the use of GOD’s  POWER to make Jesus known as LORD & KING.   So it is very obvious to me as I read the Holy Scriptures that God deeply loves every soul of HIS creation and wants the very best for all of us.  But for us to be able to grow up and be like HIM, Gen 1:26, HE had to give us free will.  God is LOVE and love must have free will as otherwise we would just be robots.  And a family of robots is not what our Creator God is up to.   He is in the process of creating a real family in HIS image and likeness.  And He is enjoying the process and  HE is never in a hurry as with HIM time does not exist. So how do we get back to Luke 4:18-21 and enter into what Jesus came to do as we come to be in HIM to be able to do as He did?

1.    Are we really in HIM or are we really still in our old Adamic ego prideful selves only trying to look like HIM but really not changing anything to be like HIM.  This is incomplete REPENTANCE.  God would violate your free will to try to change you if not up for it..  You would then become only a robot but not family.  This is not what God is about.  Our Creator God is into building a family who really loves Him and wants to be righteous and with HIM.

2.    Family with our Creator God is a spiritual unity and not biological unity.  Ideally,  great to be both.  But the spiritual is the connection not the biological.   I hope all my biological family get to be born from above and find their way into the family of God. but up to each of them.

3.    There are many words that we use to share the knowledge of the Kingdom of God but do we know God’s meaning for: Love, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Unity, Honor, Repentance, Forgiveness ?  All words in the New Testament of importance but do we really know what God thoughts are by these words?  Or have we altered the meaning to mean what we are comfortable in what we mean by them?  Do we really love our neighbor as ourselves with Agape Love.   The kind of love that Jesus had for the guys driving nails in HIS feet.   Do we really have heart faith so as to begin to learn to move mountains?  Where the mountains really begin to be moved and we are not walking is presumption or empty head words.

4.    Or Humility, do we really have the humility to read John 17:20-26 and become part of the cure and not part of the problem of disunity?  My last paper was on Unity, take a look if really up for it.   This is a major factor concerning the lack of power in HIS church.  Humility is experiencing a desire to want to find God’s Truth above all else and to walk it out.  Humility is not self serving, but GOD serving.  It wants to find God’s Truth more that protecting it’s self serving,  prideful ego or self righteousness.  Humility is learning to be selfless like Jesus as he shared the Kingdom of God with the woman at the well,  John 4:6.

There is so much available on this subject in the New Testament as Jesus came and received the Power to change us and anyone who is interested.  Rev. 22:17.   Of course God already knows those who will respond to HIS Love in Christ Jesus, but we don’t.  So in time it is still up to us as to living with God in Light or living with ourselves in Darkness.  Jesus gave the Church the Power that was given to HIM, John 17:22, Matt. 28:18-20.  So we need to find and restore that GOD Power so that the world can see and honor Christ Jesus as high and lifted up and draw all of God’s Elect to HIM.   If your soul lives out eternity in total darkness, it will be because you made that choice to be there.  The Creator God will only be giving new eternal bodies to those who  want to really live with HIM in loving peace, joy and power and are willing to repent or change, to be able to fit in.   He is not going to allow pride and rebellion on earth to mess up HIS universe for eternity like it has this planet in time.   God gave Adam authority to rule,  we have the story of what happened.

The Word of God, is normally understood to be the Holy Bible by most Christians.   Some believe that every word is anointed and directly from God.  Others feel it contains the Word  or Truth of God as originally written but that the Truth of God comes to surface as you consider all of the prophetical writings on the same subject.  And also some see the Bible as just another book on spiritual stuff like  the Qur’an or any other book.  The present Pope seems to feel this way.

Before I became a Christian in 1955 I felt that there must be a heaven and hell,   I was not ready to say that there was no God as no one can say that logically unless they know all that is knowable.  But my Cosmic Glue theology was what I collected over the years for myself.  It allowed  me to do what ever I wanted to do and really not needing to change, if I didn’t get caught hurting someone.   My theory was that when you died it was a soul migration to be with folks like yourself.   And I was somewhere in the middle so would be with souls like me and that would be OK as from my perspective I was a pretty nice guy at 23 with 1 ½ kids and working hard at paying the bills.  Of course this philosophy had no solid justification at all in fact.  I concocted it all by myself.  And it seems like most folks today also take the freedom to make up their own philosophy for their lives.   The Golden Rule does get some subjective consideration within limits.  But basically we are telling our Creator to accept what we have made up for ourselves as being HIS Truth?

So then comes along Moses, the Bible, Jesus, Peter James, John and Paul to tell us that there are really absolutes, spiritually, just as there are physically in our known world.  So the Bible has become the most published of books but probably the least read and understood.  So in this blog I will try to help you understand how to find God’s Truth in your Holy Bible.  First off most try to start reading in the beginning not knowing some guide lines.   The Old Testament contains history and truth but they are buried in hundreds of words.  Jesus came to give us the simple version of God’s Truth.  So I recommend starting with the Gospel of John as a good starting point.   John wrote his account of the Good News about Jesus as an old man about 95 AD.   And he had a good overview of the life of Jesus and the Early Church.  Then we need to read Acts as to what our church today is supposed to be like.   And after that the Book of Romans that Paul wrote to the Church in Rom as to fine tuning some very important doctrines of God’s Truth.  Those 3 writings contain the bones of the Christian Faith on which all else will easily be joined into in developing the Body of Christ..

So for me the Truth of God as contained in the Holy Bible works for me.  Over the years I have witnessed hundreds of souls being set free and finding a new life in Christ Jesus as LORD.   I have seen and been apart of many being healed and delivered from demons.  It was not of me, but the collective faith of those who came together in love.  And when the message went out in the solid Truth as the Word of God and many were in faith to believe then the Holy Spirit was free to confirm with mighty signs and wonders like as in Act 5:17.  In my first 13 years of “church” experience I was taught that this no longer happened.  Of course, without faith, in that church nothing much did happen.  More like a social club meeting of some kind.   But in 1968 I found out that the Bible still worked if you knew the guide lines and returned to what the Holy Spirit taught in the beginning.

So how to find the guide lines.   You know that if you find out God’s Truth and reject it and refuse to change that God’s Truth will be a point of judgment for you in the resurrection.  So if you are not interested in changing at all.   You need to stop here.  As the first words from the mouth of St. Peter at Pentecost, and it is the same for today, was,  “REPENT” or change.  We must all change from being the self centered, rebellious, unloving, prideful, children of Adam to asking God to make us in HIS image and likeness as in Gen.1:26.  This is God’s will for us but HE has given us a free will and HE can not make us change.  HE can only help us change when and  if we want to change.

So if you are still with me, the key for the understanding of the Bible is found in the writings of the prophet Isaiah 28:9-20.  The key verses being 11-13, “Indeed, the Lord will teach this people [in a more humiliating way]  By [men with] stammering lips and a foreign tongue,  He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,” And, “This is the resting place,” yet they would not listen. Therefore the word of the Lord to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]:  “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,  Rule upon rule, rule upon rule, Here a little, there a little.” That they may go and stumble backward, and be broken, ensnared, and taken captive.

So notice here that the same Truth to one gives  rest and a resting place but if ignored becomes a snare and causes those who reject God’s Truth to be broken.   In 2 Tim.3:15-17 we find these words concerning the Holy Scriptures, “and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the [a] child of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So the way I seek to find God’s Truth for more freedom starts off with a quest in a given subject that I want to know more about.  I use the convenience of “Bible Gateway” which gives me about 35 different translations and a Greek to English translation as well.   Then I take all of the scriptures on the same subject and move them around each other until they fit together like in  a puzzle..  Then I ask the Holy Spirit to help me  find the foundations of what HE is trying to teach with that Truth of God.  And I am finding that much of the traditions of today were added and are not allowing the Holy Spirit to move in power to confirm God’s Truth.  I asked a Christian the other day if they knew what the fruit, gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit were and they had no idea.  Jesus had and taught about them yet they knew nothing about any of them.  Do you know why you were created and what your Creator has designed for you to do in your very short time on earth.  Is your time spent on being comfortable or in living for God?  It is the “Word of God” in context, written as a love letter from God to help us figure this out.  If you need any help, please feel free to get back to me.

TRADITIONS        “WORTH CONSIDERING”         10/20/22

Have you ever wondered why your church experience is not the same as found in the “Book Of Acts?”   I did, but I was taught in my little church of 1955 that those days were over and not needed any more due to having the Bible.   For me, then, that was am OK answer but I did not know my Bible very well and the guy had letters after his name so, what do I know?   Then I was taught that there was no more supernatural like in Mark because all of the apostles had died in the 1st century.  And the power was only given to them???  That also did not float very high in the water of faith for me.  So I spent 13 years in a little box church even teaching this stuff because I supported the lack of power in the so called church.   Like my computer right now, I could write and put things together but the web is down now so all I have is words but no power.  So, for now,   I am stuck in a word processing mode with no way to get to Bible Gateway or send this note to you. or any up-dates of what is going on in the world today.   So our experience may be a long way from what our Loving Creator has designed us for, 2 Tim.3:5….  (This is a prophecy of apostle Paul for the “latter days.”  Seems like we are now entering those days ?….)

I have attended and been a member of about 20 different denominations or churches and yet saw no power of the Holy Spirit like Acts 5:16 in the New Testament or had any teachings of what was needed to change in order for the Holy Spirit to be free to confirm the word of God with signs following.  Actually, I did not realize that the message of those  ministries  was edited of all that they did not know or have.  So that they looked OK in sharing only what they knew.  An edited gospel that approved of what they were teaching, Rev.3:14-22.   Never heard a sermon on 2 Tim. 5:16.   Was told that Mark 16:16 was good, but then very little taught about Mark 16:17-20 about the signs following (That is Supernatural Signs Following.)  “Signs” is mentioned over 83 time in the Bible, but from 1955 till 1968,  nothing but words.

But then the Holy Spirit got me and I use to think nothing of driving to Santa Ana / Costa  for Mesa from my home in Oregon to experience the Holy Spirit in a real way.  Loved to watch HIM fix people,  Isa. 61,  Luke 4:17-21.   And Jesus gave this power to HIS Church (John 17:20-26),   (Matt. 28:18-20),  (Mark 16:16)  but we are still learning as to how to make  it work,  2 Tim.3:5.  We have a lot of vain (prideful) traditions  that keep the Word of God from being powerful.  Even Jesus could not help much with the folks in his home town due to there vain traditions.  “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”  The supernatural works with “a Jesus kind of faith.”  Faith works in a knowing dimension.  We have to learn to make it all work with HIS kind of faith in loving righteousness and a total commitment to unity.  Heb. 11…..  “

is the substance and evidence of things hoped for and not yet seen.

So let’s read some of the “Signs” scriptures together and see how many vain (prideful) traditions we can find and toss.   The more we can find and destroy, he more that the Holy Spirit will be able to confirm God’s Truth with POWER and set captives free.  Makes my day to get rid of the chains and bondage of the enemy that hold us back from enjoying the Lord’s Kingdom.   Jesus told us that HE would give us the TRUTH and that the TRUTH would set us free.  We need to get on a hunt for HIS TRUTH to set ourselves and others free.  For me, I limit the search to the Word of God as found in the confirming context of the 66 writings of our Bible  as being carefully selected as being without poison.  I have found a few translational issues but easy to correct.  I feel the King James has the least translational leanings one way or the other and that the Amplified is a great help along with the Greek in using Bible Gateway to really get into God’s Truth for me.  So what does the Bible say about finding God’s Truth?    I go back to Isaiah 28:10-13.   “For He (God) says, ‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Rule upon rule, rule upon rule, Here a little, there a little  Indeed, the Lord will teach this people [in a more humiliating way] By [men with] stammering lips and a foreign tongue,  He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,” And, “This is the resting place,” yet they would not listen. Therefore the word of the Lord to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]: “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Rule upon rule, rule upon rule, Here a little, there a little.”  That they may go and stumble backward,” So if you don’t learn by humility to listen,   you will not make it.  In another place Jesus puts it this way: “He replied, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture],  ‘These people honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. ‘They worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense],  Teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].’ You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”  

Apostle Paul puts it this way to Timothy: “And how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage] so that the [a] man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  2 Tim.3:15-17.  David shared this with us: “Your word I have treasured and stored in my heart, That I may not sin against You.  Blessed and reverently praised are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts And [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts].” Psalms 119: 9-16

Jesus shared this with HIS Disciples:   “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments….”The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him]….” “If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.”  John 14:13-15:10

Yours, in HIS great Love and wonderful Grace and Mercy,   Ken<><   www.OhanaChurch.Life