"Kudos to Satan"
Let's give it up for the successful achievement of the Adversary, the Dragon, Satan, that ole Serpent, the Devil.
This morning, I don't know if I was in the body or out of the body, in the Spirit or merely in Stephen. I do know I was in bed and I believe I was in the middle of a radio interview being questioned about Jesus. It was during that interview that I realized how successful Satan has been in either confusing or hiding vital issues concerning Jesus, especially where the ministry and deity of Jesus is concerned.
The Apostle Paul wrote of some who would come preaching "another Jesus and or another gospel:"
"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Gal. 1:8
"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."
I Cor. 11:4
Paul's prophecy has come to pass. The fulfillment of his prophecy is at least twofold in scope. First, there is a Jesus being preached whose primary purpose in the church is material blessing and prosperity. The Jesus of the gospels never preached such a message. In fact, Jesus preached the opposite where material issues are concerned. Jesus promised a cross, the badge of suffering, a message that has mysteriously disappeared from mainstream Christian pulpits.
"If any man be my disciple let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." The name-it claim-it vein of preaching has taken front and center stage. I am constantly amazed as I listen to preachers and teachers take an innocuous text (where blessing and prosperity is concerned) and before the message has run its course, somewhere, somehow, the track of the message finds a way to switch to the Blessing & Prosperity line.
Sometimes I hear so much of a particular message such as the blessing and prosperity message, that I am moved to take another look at the scriptures to
make sure, as Paul said, I had not run in vain. Looking at the prayer requests of Paul, however, I find that he never prayed for the material prosperity of the saints, but his prayers centered on his converts growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
To the Romans:
" For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established." Ro. 1:11
And..to the Corinthians:
"That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge." I Cor 1:5
And.to the Colossians..
"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;" Col. 1:9
I could go on but I think those verses are sufficient to get the point across. True blessings and prosperity are spiritual and not carnal.
The second phase of the twofold scope concerns the ministry and identity of Jesus. Let me explain. One can preach about Jesus and never come close to the intended purpose of why the biblical stories about Jesus were written. Again, I blame the Adversary. Much of the preaching about Jesus is focused on the 'what', 'where', 'why', 'how', and 'when' of Jesus' ministry and while such preaching may be entertaining (aren't all of Satan's programs?) they fall far short of truly revealing the scriptural Jesus. How? They miss the 'Who' of Jesus.
When Jesus went to trial, both before the Jews and Pontius Pilate, the issue of his case had nothing to do with any criminal acts, the key question asked by both Caiphas and Pilate were directed at the identity of Jesus. Specifically, "Art thou the Christ?" When Jesus finally condescended to respond to their question with a "thou sayest" answer, the Council accused him of blasphemy and delivered him over to Pilate. When Pilate wrote the official crucifixion accusation that was affixed to the cross of Christ he wrote: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." That notation infuriated the Jews and they demanded to have it changed, a change that Pilate would not grant. Pilate came to the knowledge that the man in his court was indeed, a King whose Father was actually responsible for the power Pilate held. The sad note and final blow of the Enemy was that in spite of Pilate's conviction regarding Jesus, he still sent him away to be crucified. I have read some apocryphal books about the life of Pilate after the trial. The overall impression I gathered was that Pilate's life was never the same. And so it is with anyone who has had a close encounter with the God/Man, Jesus. No one who heard Jesus or saw his works left his presence with a neutral attitude.
I invite you today to perform your own trial of Jesus. You, too will come to the same conclusion Pilate came to when he said, "I find no fault in him." But don't make the mistake Pilate made, let Jesus live---in you.
To
read more current revelations from Pastor Steve, check out his book published
September of 2017 on Amazon.com. It
gives crucial revelations about the rapture, strong delusion and the Lie.
https://smile.amazon.com/Gods-Final-Secret-Stephen-Benton/dp/1976338476/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509271792&sr=1-1&keywords=god%27s+final+secret+by+stephen+benton
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