WHERE DOES JESUS RANK IN YOUR LIFE? by Stephen Benton

THE PASTOR'S PEN

WHERE DOES JESUS RANK IN YOUR LIFE?

by Stephen Benton

                I take time out in bible class to read some news articles. I share key information with you from the internet because this event commonly called, "the Rapture" is a real event and I am not in the "wait and see" camp.

            When I was in high school I was a shoe salesman in Ohio.  My boss once told me that most people will take more time selecting a pair of shoes than they will to buy a new car.  He was right. The same is true regarding salvation.  I am amazed at how non-committal people can be where their eternal salvation is concerned but how committed they are to the affairs of this world.  I shouldn't be amazed though because Jesus pointed out that same enigma in the parable of the Sower when he mentioned the seed that fell among thorns.

            "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."  Matthew 13:22

            Those two elements: the care of this world, and making a living, will cost many who are professing salvation to lose possession of heaven.  The thorny seed dwellers are those who are saved but who become unfruitful.

            I told you about the individual who once worshiped with us but would not make the sacrifice to save himself and his family by driving to Los Angeles at least once a week.  The ironic part of that situation is that this same individual will drive to Los Angeles five days a week to meet the needs of this temporary life but does not see the necessity of making the same trip to meet the needs and requirements of eternity.  There are going to be some sad souls come the day of the rapture.  They think just because they know about the Rapture they are going.  WRONG!  Along with the rapture message came the warning to intensify your attendance in Church and your study of God's word.  God was not joking when he said that.  And anyone who did not and does not take him seriously regarding that matter will fall victim to the strong delusion and the lie, God will guarantee it!

            Christianity and discipleship has always been an issue of completely belonging to Jesus Christ and it is not without its costs.  He said the following:

            "And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned and said unto them,                                                     

 if any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.                                    

 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."               

Luke 14:25 ,26

            First of all, Jesus is telling us that he must be first and above any and all family relationships.  Too often I hear excused from individuals not being able to attend church because of a family commitment.  That reminds me of another situation Jesus encountered after inviting a man to follow him, the man said that he first had to go bury his father.

            "And he said unto another, Follow me.  But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.                                                                                                                                                                       Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.             And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.                                                                                                                         
 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."   Luke 9:59-62

            Being human, I naturally hurt when I see potential candidates for salvation miss their window of opportunity but my inner man, equipped with spiritual understanding, assures me that such individuals are not fit for the kingdom of God, i.e., God has no use for the partially committed.  He has no use for the individual who cannot recognize and does not desire to meet the full measure that God demands from his disciples.  In both of the situations above the individual said, "Let me first go..."  Too many have the wrong first in their lives.  God is behind first.  Salvation is second to first.  Eternal life is after first.  There have been many occasions when I have invited someone to come to church and after saying "yes," they always had something to do first.  Most of the time they never made it beyond first.
            What's first in your life?  I can tell you this, that which receives most of your time, energy, thought, and money is first.  My use of the word most is not restricted to mere quantity but quality as well.  It's time to destroy these idols in our lives.

            One cannot truly call himself or herself a follower of Christ who lets anything hinder them from the minimal obligation of simply being in attendance at a service where God has promised that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he too, will be there.  Reason would dictate that just that promise alone, the requirement of only two or three necessary for insuring God's own presence in the meeting, would serve as sufficient motivation to be there.  The mindset should be, God doesn't have the necessary number to be there, it won't be because of me.  You must make yourself a committee of one in order to guarantee God's command of not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together and more as we see the day (of the rapture) approaching.  (Hebrews 10:25)

            It's time we ask ourselves, what am I really saying to God when I know He is speaking based on knowing His voice, and I am not hearing or reading?  I think that if I were God, no excuse would be deemed acceptable at this point in time.  Further, if I were God, I'm not sure if I would take someone to heaven to be with me eternally when they could not make the "cares of this world" secondary to Him and the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.  A tithe of hours in a week is at least 16 hours.  Don't be deceived, if you are not meeting with God in his word hearing a message from a true prophet of God, for at least 4 hours a week,  the easiest of responsibilities in this day, you are not giving him at least that much time in private. You cannot be realistic about going to heaven to be in the presence of God forever.  That individual is not fit for the kingdom of God.  The person who puts family relationships before God will eventually get exactly what they have been pursuing here on earth: an eternity with family and friends outside of the presence of the LORD.  God will not be second, he will be first or not at all.  He went on record in the Old Testament by telling us that  his name is JEALOUS, why provoke him? (Exodus 34:14)

Written by Pastor Stephen Benton in

THE WEEKLY WORD OF THE HOUSE OF GOOD NEWS

To read more current revelations from Pastor Steve, check out his book published September of 2017 on Amazon.com

                 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

HOW DO WE GET TO HEAVEN; BY GRACE OR OUR WORKS? by Stephen Benton

THE PASTOR'S PEN

HOW DO WE GET TO HEAVEN; BY GRACE OR OUR WORKS?

by Stephen Benton

                Let's go back to the scripture in Luke 14:28-33
            " For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?    
             Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,                                                                                                                                                  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.                                                                      Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?                                                                                                                                                             Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."

            In this segment Jesus makes it clear that discipleship requires some careful forethought.  I have a problem with preachers who try to convince someone to get saved the first time they meet the person.  My philosophy is let them come for a few Sundays and give them time to make up their minds about following Christ.  It is not a frivolous decision or one to be entered into lightly.  Salvation is free.  You can come without money but if you expect to lay hold to eternal life, it will cost you.  What is heaven worth?  What is it worth not to ever grow old?  What is it worth to not ever have another pain, hurt or sorrow?  What is it worth to be in the presence of God forever?
            This morning I expect to go into the book of Philippians and focus on the following verse unless the Holy Ghost dictates otherwise.
            "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."   Phil. 3:14
            This entire contest, starting at verse one, picks up the theme of the bible class regarding the flesh and the saw.  The Church has always been plagued with those who preach legalism as an addition to salvation and as I pointed out in the class in Galatians, that the children of the bondwoman (the law) always persecute the children of the free woman (promise.)  When they unleash their persecution on you, you can always count on them to point out something external about you that they consider to be a violation, usually in accordance with their own personal law.  The merging of legalism with salvation by faith negates the message of salvation by grace through faith.  Either Jesus paid the full price of redemption or else we have been left with a balance that we must work off through fleshly effort.  Salvation by grace does not give one a license to sin.  It should motivate one to put off the sins of the flesh because of the unmerited favor of God's bestowal of righteousness without works based solely on one's faith.

            We cannot trust the works of the flesh with one iota of our salvation because the flesh has been proven to be untrustworthy.  Paul states that fact clearly in verse three:

            "For we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."        

            God himself made a definitive statement about flesh in Genesis, chapter six.
            "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh."
            Man being flesh was reason enough for God to destroy him because the flesh cannot be rehabilitated, perfected, improved or anything else positive.  God determined to drown all flesh the first time and the next time he destroys it the job will be done with fire.  Don't expect the flesh to cooperate with the Holy Ghost within you.  We are engaged in a trench warfare; hand to hand combat, the Spirit warring against the flesh.

            Paul told us that he was in the business of pressing toward the mark, bearing down on the goal, pursuing on for the prize of the call from above of God which is in Christ Jesus.  May God clearly elucidate this truth to you from His word this morning.

Written by Pastor Stephen Benton in

THE WEEKLY WORD OF THE HOUSE OF GOOD NEWS

To read more current revelations from Pastor Steve, check out his book published September of 2017 on Amazon.com

                 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

THE INSTRUCTION OF JEREMIAH by Stephen Benton (Part 2 of "GOD'S MARVELOUS WORK"

THE PASTOR'S PEN

THE INSTRUCTION OF JEREMIAH
by Stephen Benton

While journeying through the book of Jeremiah, I was constantly amazed at the number and severity of clashes that Jeremiah had with false prophets.  I also paid attention this time to the fact that although Jeremiah declared nothing but what God had given to him, his message was not believed or accepted.  There are even some situations in the book where the people went to Jeremiah requesting that he speak to the Lord on their behalf, promising that they would accept any message the Lord would send by him.  When Jeremiah prayed to God and received a message from God, the people then accused him of delivering a false message.  Throughout the book Jeremiah is accused of treason, of undermining  the morale of the nation and of being a false prophet.  Again and again is cast into prison and taken from one prison to another.

The problem that existed in Jeremiah's day, the same that exists today, are prophets to whom the Lord has not spoken standing up saying that they have a message from the Lord.  In chapter two and verse eight God gives an overall summary of the state of the ministry during the days of Jeremiah:

            " The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit."

And in chapter five:
            " A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;                                                              
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" Jer.5:30-31

And in chapter 14:
            " Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed." Jer. 14:13-15

God is going to get these false prophets. The question oftentimes put before me is, what about those innocent people who did not know?  Understand something about God: God always makes the message of his true prophets known.  The people then have the choice of following the message of the true prophet or following the prophets who promise them blessings and prosperity.  Once that knowledge is given, the people themselves are as responsible as the prophets themselves. Note the next verse: (Jer.14:16)

            " And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them."

The people who listen to a false prophet will not escape the judgment of the Lord.  The wickedness that God will pour upon them is their wickedness in pursuing the message of false prophets when they knew that there was a prophet of the Lord in their midst. What is God's advice to such people?

            " Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
            They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you..."     Jer.23:16-17
            " I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.                                                                                                         
          But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings...."            Jer. 23:21-22

            "... I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed."     Jer. 23:25

This is the day of the dreaming prophets. This is the day when preachers, teachers, and pastors will get up in front of their congregations and denounce the word of the Lord coming through the true prophets by simply telling their congregations that the words of the true prophets are not true.  Their denunciation never has scriptural support.  They will use phrases such as, the Lord did not tell them such and such. And what did God say? "and my people love to have it so." Jer. 5:31

God sent a message announcing the day of his coming but that message was opposed by those who said that the Lord told them to build a building, thus indicating that the message announcing the arrival of the Lord could not be true.  They blatantly speak what they call the words of the Lord when, in fact, God has not spoken to them.  They talk about dreams and visions that the Lord gave them, dreams and visions that will not and cannot be supported by the word of God.

The message of the time of the Rapture was given to me initially in May of 1994.  That seemed like a very early announcement to me. I have come to understand why it was given so early because of the many changes we have gone through and because of the additional information God has continued to give us right up to this present day.  But the early announcement is echoed in the scriptures also.  In Jeremiah I came across a passage found eleven times in that book that goes pretty much as follows:

            " 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." Jer. 32:33

Notice the part rising up early, God says that he taught them.  The message of the Rapture was first taught to God's people.  The book, "1997...at the last trump." is a teaching book.  Yet the people of God turned their back to the message and refused to face it; they did not have an ear to hear instruction from the Lord.  God gave the earliest of warnings and now that  [ all the dates have passed there are none who are willing to even discuss the subject.  And the prophets who are not the Lord's are telling people not to listen to the prophet who is the Lord's. They told their congregations not to pay attention to that message. They told their people that the Lord was coming soon but not that soon.  They told their people that they would not be lost if they did not believe the message.  I've got news for them and their people, they will both be lost because they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord to receive instruction.  "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches." Rev. 3:6

There is a passage in Matthew that is relevant to this present Church Age:

           

            " Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?    And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Mt. 7:22-23

That passage used to give me fits in understanding it.  I could not understand how prophets and preachers and healers could prophesy, cast out devils, and do wonderful works in the name of Jesus and not be known by Jesus.  We now understand how this can be.  Satan himself, the ace deceiver, has been and is accomplishing these works himself.  Jesus said, "depart from me ye that work iniquity."  Their works are the works of iniquity, that same spirit of iniquity that Paul said "doth already work" in his day. (2 Thess. 2:3)

Call to mind the words of Jesus about Satan casting out Satan and causing the fall of his kingdom.  If that be the case, why would Satan use his power to cast out devils?  The answer is, he doesn't.  The casting out of devils is itself one of the most deceptive masterpieces performed by Satan.  Devils aren't being cast out.  They are simply acting like they have been in order to pull off the illusion that the prophets doing the work are called of God. 
As I watch the superstars such as Benny Hinn, I cannot overlook the fact that when they touch people, they cause them to fall out.  The term is "slain in the Spirit." It should be called: slain in a spirit.  See the difference?  All one has to do is compare the works of the prophets with the works of Jesus.  There is not one example of Jesus laying hands on someone with the result being that person falling out!  Jesus did, however, raise a lot of people up.  Jesus said that we could recognize false prophets by their fruit.

Many have heard the sayings of Jesus but never did them.  They turned their backs to him and hid their face. Don't be swayed by those who act as if the Rapture is not imminent.  That party has been around since the days of Jeremiah.  They say that they are pro the word of the Lord but when the word of the Lord comes, they turn a deaf ear.
There is no new message saints.  The same truth applies today: "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit has to say to the Churches."  The message of the Spirit has never catered to the majority and it has never met the approval of the masses of the prophets.  Hold fast to God's word.  He that shall come will come and will not be a day late!

Written in the THE WEEKLY WORD OF THE HOUSE OF GOOD NEWS

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