John
1:1-5 NKJV In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was
made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
1. Darkness does not comprehend: Matthew 6 22-23 NKJV The lamp of the body is the
eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness, how great is
that darkness! Is our eye healthy, a
generous person or is our eye stingy, that of an Ebenezer Scrooge?
2. Darkness
in wicked males or wicked females: Proverbs 2:11-13 NKJV Discretion will
preserve you; understanding will keep you, 12 to deliver you from the way of
evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the
paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness;
3. God
gives wisdom through His words, and as we are storing them up, it stores us up
for success
4. Success is a competence: Proverbs
8:14 NKJV Counsel
is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding. I have strength.
5. The Holy Spirit and the Son of God
mediate wisdom’s qualities to you and to me who choose to walk with God daily!
Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom
& understanding, the Spirit of counsel & might, the Spirit of knowledge
& of the fear of the LORD. 1 Cor. 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ
Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God----& righteousness & sanctification &
redemption ---
Without
Him: Nothing was Made…Colossians 1:15-18 NKJV 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in
heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities (rulers)
or powers (authorities). All things
were created through Him and for Him 17 And He is before all things, and in Him
all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the
preeminence.
1. The visible Jesus represented the
invisible God
2. Jesus is Supreme…His supremacy is
over all creation/ He sustains it!
Heb. 1:1-4 NKJV God, who at various times & in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 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; 3 who being the brightness of His glory & the express image of His person, & upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purge our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Sin is
darkness. It separates man from the light of God. But men love darkness. We saw
this in the angels who left their proper domain, and have now a place in chains
under darkness for the judgment day.
Zechariah 8:16 These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to the neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
The True
Speaks to the neighbor…… Acknowledges Jesus Christ as the only way to
salvation---right relationship with God.
2 Cor. 4: 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of
darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:17-19 For He received from
God the Father honor & glory when such a voice came to Him from the
Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 we
heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy
mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to
heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns & the
morning star rises in your hearts.
1. Jesus brought light to reveal error when
darkness had appeared through sin
2. The word confirmed for salvation, healing
& deliverance…to live for God by faith in obedience to Him: John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth & the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me. It is the walk of faith in Him! Having Jesus, is sinning no more
Jude 6-9
……….6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own
abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of
the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar
manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone
after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of
eternal fire. 8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject
authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he
disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling
accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" …..Jude is attacking
false prophets, and thus men and demons are interwoven in the context. He
indicts these false prophets for three sins:
1. Lust: They defile the flesh, allowing a feeling to take them over the edge into sin.
2. Rebellion: They flout authority in general, but primarily that of Christ. It is hidden in the Greek, but the word authority is really "lordship." It normally refers to Christ and His lordship over us.
3. Disrespect or disregard of spirit beings.
This third sin is interesting because he is saying that it is not that these false prophets will not talk about Satan, but their speech is gratuitous, despising, or denigrating of angelic powers. Their preaching suggests that these demons are not something Christians need to be concerned about. They side-step the issue.
Why would they do that? Because a false spirit is leading them, so they downgrade the existence and powers of demons through their preaching. This is clearly seen in Protestant Christianity, especially the mainline denominations have gone to the point that they almost universally agree that Satan, the Devil and his demons do not really exist. It shows how successful the demons have been in their deceptions.
On the other hand, there are evangelical or Pentecostal groups who talk about demons and Satan in a flippant, dismissive way: "Oh, we're going to put down the Devil tonight!" What they are doing in reality is that they are putting Satan into a position where they seem to have power over him. BUT, they are so deceived. The truth in regard to Satan is somewhere in between. The true church of God will have that truth, and they will understand that, yes, Satan is, he is powerful, but because of God, they do have power over him in that they can reject him and his deceptions. ( Jesus saw him fall from heaven.) Jude is giving us signs to look for in the preaching of false ministers. They will denigrate Satan and his demons, there will be indications of lusts, and they will flout the authority of Jesus Christ.
Sin of
darkness is rampant today as it was in the day of Jude. You can see that on any
television commercial. They call nudity good and dresses well as racist. They
call men women and have them displayed anywhere. Tatoos are revealed on faces,
arms and other places. Saw a man from Florida who had a design on his face :
you could only see his eyes revealed when staring at another. They dress for work and look like they are
going to the beach( shorts and all)! Homes are unaffordable for those just
starting their families. You refuse to
go the hospital because the prices will wreck your finances or else it is 150
people ahead of you who have overdosed on drugs or someone from another getting
free stuff like health care. ( Saw this when entering hospital two years ago!)
Now hearing
of those men of Hollywood who chose to use adrenochrome and that kills. You
must take it from the person with adrenal glands , but the person dies when
adrenals are removed. So sad our nation is set on drugging itself to death.
Earthquakes are rampant here but no one talks about it. You might feel a tremor
but keep it to yourself. Yet, those with names like Mt. Adams and Mt. Ranier
are rumbling daily with their exhaust of gas clouds! Of the week of September
13, 2026 836 earthquakes in California and Nevada. The homeless outlook is
serious indeed. It is a significant number of the homeless who are drug
addicts. In New York, public urination has become an extremely common sight. It
was back in July of this year that a very popular streamer known as Sneako who
created quite a stir when he stated loudly with a boldness in his heart that
New York City is now “the Islamic Republic of New York-istan. ( He wants the
whole world to be under Islamic law.)
Closer to
our home, we still find higher gas prices than our neighbors to the East unless
they are near an Interstate corridor. Our gas was at $4.19 for years while
Biden was in office. But since the Iran conflict we are closer now to $6.00 a
gallon. We are told the war with Iran brought up our gas: no it did not, it was
already too high!
Weakened without Christ Jesus: Ephesians
2:11-13 NKJV 11 Therefore remember that
you, once Gentiles in the flesh---who are called the Un-circumcision by what is
called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands---12 that at that time you
were without Christ, being aliens from the common-wealth of Israel and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the
world.
1. We
were estranged from our Creator our Father
2. Were
without a Savior, living in futility and hopelessness
Believing Power Demonstrates Strength: Ephesians 1:18-19 Amplified Bible 18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light; so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones), 19 And [ so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength.
1. Strength
of God is in us who believe
2. That
strength is demonstrated through us when our eyes for seeing is flooded with
His light
3. That
is our hearts must be filled with His thoughts, His ways and plan
Ability and Freedom: Galatians 5:5-9 Amplified Bible 5 For we, [not relying on the Law but] through the [Holy] Spirit’s [help], by faith anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God [our conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us to hope. 6 For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor un-circumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love. 7 You are running your race nobly. Who has interfered in (hindered and stopped you from ) heeding and following the Truth? 8 This [evil] persuasion is not from Him Who called you [Who invited you to freedom in Christ]. 9 A little leaven ( a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump [it perverts the whole conception of faith or misleads the whole church].
1. Faith
perverted is evil persuasion
2. It
is not of God for God is of truth, energized and expressed through love
3. By
the Holy Spirit, we are to anticipate and wait for the blessing when conforming
to God’s will in our thoughts, our actions that results with hope in our heart
2 Thessalonians 3:5-6 Amplified Bible 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into [realizing and showing] the love of God and into the steadfastness and patience of Christ and in waiting for His return. 6 Now we charge you, brethren, in the name of and on the authority of the our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) that you withdraw and keep away from every brother (fellow believer) who is slack in the performance of duty and is disorderly, living as a shirker and not walking in accord with the traditions and instructions that you have received from us.
2 Corinthians 4: 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:17-19 For He received from God the Father honor & glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns & the morning star rises in your hearts.
Darkness is confusion, error, and everything false. It has
nothing to do with light. Jesus brought light to reveal error when darkness had
appeared through sin! The word confirmed
for salvation, healing & deliverance…to live for God by faith in obedience
to Him: John 14:6 NKJV 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth & the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. It is the walk of faith in Him! Having Jesus, is sinning no more! And no more
darkness appears!
WE are told this in Amos
2:6-8
(6) Thus
says the LORD: " For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,
I will not
turn away its punishment,
Because
they sell the righteous for silver,
And the
poor for a pair of sandals.
(7) They
pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And pervert
the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl,
To defile
My holy name.
(8) They
lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the
condemned in the house of their god.
This is part of God's indictment of Israel forty years before its fall. At the time, Israel had regained some of its former glory under the able, though idolatrous, leadership of Jeroboam II, who had regained some of its lost territory and reinvigorated its economy. God's warning through Amos, however, is that material prosperity cloaks the ugly and rotten inner core, which was the true state of Israel's relationship with God. Thus, he concludes that the nation is doomed to fall to its enemies, and its people will die or shuffle off to foreign lands as slaves—and soon.
God concentrates on social injustices like exploiting the poor and weak, perverting justice, abusing sexuality, encouraging addictions, and trampling the sacred. This indicates that such societal ills reveal the "heart of darkness" hidden by a façade of religiosity and prosperity, much as exists today in modern America. A society that reaches the point of merely adorning the façade rather than changing the heart is taking its last gasp.
Surely we
see this today in this nation once under God’s rule. They use whatever lie or
person who can help them WIN! They want all the rule, all the money and for all
time indeed!
This is the punishment Amos foresees for the corrupt in Israel: Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; your land shall be divided by survey line; you shall die in a defiled land; and Israel shall surely be led away captive from his own land (Amos 7:17).
What a horrible end this is for this nation of Israel—but a just one in the eyes of God. It cannot be far off for those of nation who have chosen themselves to be “god”!
For us Christians who are spiritually counter-culture, we need to realize the rapidity of the decline and the probability that persecution will increase. People who know and hide their hypocrisy will strike out at those who expose it by their very presence. To face the bleak future of this nation, we need to remain "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10), because our "might" will not suffice. This requires us to renew our relationship with God day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16) and strengthen it by growth (John 15:8; 2 Peter 3:18). As Paul says, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17). Amen!
Teaching at: Voice of Prayer
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