Greetings to our Brethren, Friends, and Co-Workers in Forest City, N.C., Ashburn,
VA., Sugar Land, TX., and Fayetteville, N.C. ── along with all our readers and
listeners from around the world! Welcome! Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ
Online Ministries.
I’m taking some time to write articles related to repentance, the kingdom of God, and one I've just completed, titled “Sign of the Times.” And, as always, if
you are moved by God’s Spirit to help us here at the ministry to proclaim the Gospel
Message,
please
message
me
on
our
Facebook
page:
https://www.facebook.com/LeonardJohnson01/. And, I’ll be sure to get back to you.
God Bless!
Once again, WHY IS IT that this world, as a whole, has not heard the gospel of Jesus
Christ, but a gospel about Christ? Let us today ── and we have several articles on
this subject ── go through God’s living word to see WHAT gospel our Lord Jesus
Christ did preach. What He taught His disciples, and the new customs of which He
preached.
Our Master and Elder Brother Jesus Christ came to proclaim the kingdom of God,
which is the government of God. The LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God,
which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ). Truly, the
rulership of God over us and our lives. And, it’s not just, as so many say, just “over
our hearts.” They like to make an emotional sort of thing over this rulership that truly
robs it of its real meaning.
So, our Lord Jesus called unto Himself twelve disciples together ── and by-the-by,
He had chosen them. They hadn’t looked in the want ads or on Craigslist through
the “jobs” section, looking for a job. The majority of the apostles were fishermen,
including Andrew, Peter, James, and John. These men were skilled in the art of
fishing, earning their living from the abundant waters of the Sea of Galilee. Our Lord
Jesus called them away from their jobs, saying, “’ Come, follow Me, and I will make
you fishers of men’” And, they forsook everything ── their jobs, and in many cases
their family and friends. They all followed Him.
Well… our Lord Jesus went about all the cities and towns teaching in their
synagogues ── what gospel message? The kingdom of God. “’ The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” And He
called unto Himself His twelve disciples and sent them forth – to do what? To
proclaim the kingdom of God, and to “ ...‘make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20) teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you; ...’” He also told them not to “ ...‘go
into the way of the Gentiles, and not to enter a city of the Samaritans.’” “’ But to go
rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” – Matthew 10:5-6. Preaching, “’ THE
KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.’” So, these ‘lost sheep’ were not the Jews that
were there in Judah, but were rather the lost sheep of the TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL
who had eventually migrated clear across to Europe by that time.
Notice verse 16 ── He was sending them out among the wolves. He was showing
them that the grave condition of the world then, as they preached the Word of God,
the Truth of God, and the Plan of God, was a good deal like it is going to be in the
latter days.
In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples had asked Him, “’ Tell us, when will these
things be? …’” ── talking about the complete destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem, which did happen in 70 AD. “ …’ And what will be the sign of Your
coming, and of the end of the age?’” – Matthew 24:3. And He proceeded to describe
certain things to watch for – verses 4-29.
It was the gospel of the kingdom of God, as taught by our Lord Jesus through God the Father, that the disciples came to preach (John 12:49); it wasn’t of their own making ──
of Peter, Andrew, Matthew, John, James, and the others. It was certainly not any of
the doing of the Apostle Paul that our Lord Jesus called him, because he had no
intention ── no desire ── traveling to Damascus to persecute the brethren, having
been struck down and blinded. Choosing him to be His vessel to bear His name
before the Gentiles. And, having to greatly suffer for His name’s sake.
It also wasn’t my will that the LORD God revealed the Word of God, the Truth of
God, and the Plan of God to me, and to go and proclaim this same gospel Message
to you today. I wasn’t forced ── the LORD God chose me (cf. Matthew 6:10). And,
when God revealed to me that it was His will, I answered the call.
So, the disciples had asked Him how they could know when the end of the age would
come, and what would be the sign of His Second Coming. First, He explained to them
that there would come false ministers and false prophets ── but that wouldn’t be
the end of the age, only the beginning. And this did begin to occur around 50 AD.
And it got these false ministers and prophets some great prestige throughout the
world ── some going onto a type of celebrity status. But what did all of them
preach? They preached about Christ, they preached that “Jesus is the Christ.” They
all preached a different gospel message, which is not another. They either denied
or were ignorant of the Message that God the Father sent unto this world, by Jesus
Christ our Lord.
I tell you, my friends, I warn you today by the authority of Jesus Christ, you had
better WAKE UP! Because it surely is later than you might think. This is a work of
God. And though several of our dearest of friends have come to be offended, and
have betrayed me, and have come to hate me ── this is still a work of God Almighty!
“’ He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’” Time is shortly approaching when the
LORD God will send a famine upon the land ── a famine of hearing this gospel
Message. This word of the Eternal One that God the Father sent by our Lord Jesus
Christ.
He Sent Out His Disciples
Notice the 11th chapter of Matthew ──
“Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that
He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.” – vs. 1.
So, our Lord Jesus departed, and the twelve went on their way. The Apostle Mark’s
account picks up, notice the 12th verse of Mark 6 ──
“So they went out and preached that people should repent.”
And where did they go unto? The lost sheep of the house of Israel. What did they
preach? Did they preach, “All you need to do is give your heart to the Lord, and you
will be saved”? Was it, “Just accept the Lord Jesus”? Was it, “There are no works
unto salvation”? Or, one that I heard being spewed by Oprah Winfrey, “Jesus isn’t
the only way”?
Well… all these are what they’re preaching to you today. Those are the messages
you are receiving today. Our Lord Jesus said that many false ministers and false
prophets – and even false teachers – would go throughout the world and deceive
people, that they would go out saying that Jesus is the Christ, but they would be
deceiving people with their messages. And, you have been hearing these messages
since birth. Those, and many more surely, are what you’ve been hearing throughout
the world, through this so-called Christianity.
The disciples went out preaching what our Lord Jesus had instructed them, and what
I’ve been covering with you here ── they went out preaching that men should
repent. And, to repent, is to firstly acknowledge you have been wrong. Repent is to
turn around and begin living your life God’s Way. But, repent of what? SIN. What is
sin? It’s the transgression of God’s Law, summed up in the Ten Commandments
(Exodus 20:1-17). The LORD God is Supreme Ruler! Yet, They created man a Free Moral Agent. And God’s purpose is to reproduce Himself. Each and every human
being had to be a free, independent entity with a mind of their own. Which means that even God cannot and will not control your mind.
The LORD God ordained it that way, and the LORD God planned it that way. O, They
could have created it another way ── that (and although some philosophers and
scientists are arguing now amongst themselves) of a robot or AI, which has no free
will. But, none of that was according to Their purpose; we were created to each have
our own mind. GOD will not, as they like to say, cram His religion down your throat.
You are free to make your own decisions.
And, on that note, Satan the Devil cannot make you do anything you are not willing
to do. He can, however, dial his transmitter that transmits waves of adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like to your mind. Because the LORD God has
decreed that Satan the Devil may tempt us up to a point. But we are free to walk
away (James 4:7).
Surrender to God
Mankind, since the very beginning, has had a spirit of enmity against God ── a
deep-seated dislike or ill will, with even hatred or hostility ── a spirit of lawlessness, because mankind’s mind is not subject to the Law of God, nor indeed
can be – cf. Romans 8:7. Mankind has rejected the holy and righteous Law and rule of the LORD God.
When His disciples journeyed, teaching that all men are to repent, they meant to repent
of man’s transgressions against the spiritual Law of God, and of their spirit of enmity
against God. Because, if a person is to submit to the rule of God, it MUST be done
voluntarily. If the LORD God is to rule your mind and heart, your life, the LORD
God will only do it with your consent ── you, and you alone, must make that
decision. THAT IS THE VERY FIRST THING THAT YOU MUST DO TO BE
SAVED! The blood of our Savior Jesus Christ can have no effect whatsoever on you until you ── of your own accord ── repent. And, have earnestly decided to wholly
surrender unto the LORD God and to let Them rule your life, your mind, your spirit,
and every thought.
On that very day ── when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, 31 AD ── when
these men from every nation under heaven had asked, “Men and brethren, what shall
we do?” they had been cut to the heart. They had heard the impassioned Spirit-inspired preaching of the Apostle Peter and had cried out, ‘What is the Way of
salvation?’ Notice that he didn’t answer, ‘Well… you don’t have to do anything
except just accept Christ, receive Him, and go and rejoice ── because, you’re
already saved.’ I say, Nay Nay!
The Apostle Peter answered, “’ Repent [SURRENDER TO GOD], and let every one
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; …” – Acts
2:38.
And, I want you to be aware that you cannot be properly baptized until you believe
── with all your heart, mind, and spirit. Because I want you to notice, when the
Evangelist Philip had been sent out by an angel of the Lord to the travelling
Ethiopian eunuch, who had asked, “’ See, here is water. What hinders me from being
baptized?’” Philip’s response was, “’ If you believe with all your heart, you may.’” – Acts 8:36, 37. So, the Ethiopian eunuch had already repented, so Philip was
teaching him that he must believe. As the Apostle Paul speaks of in the Book of
Hebrews ──
“ … for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6.
The Prophet Isaiah ── one of God’s prophets of whom the Church of God is founded
and built upon ── because, in the Book of Ephesians you’ll see that the Church is
built on the foundation of the prophets, the apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself – the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). And so the Prophet Isaiah helps
show us the Way to salvation.
So, all the early apostles journeyed out preaching the gospel from the Old Testament,
because that was all they had. And, here it is ── here is the Way of salvation as the
Prophet Isaiah was inspired to record for us ──
“Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.”
FIRST AND FOREMOST, you have to seek the LORD God if you are ever going to
find Them. Because, it isn’t, that all you need to do is go through some kind of human
ritual – some kind of church service, shedding tears, showing the congregation that
you are “righteous” by going to the front of the pews and using a kneeler, with your
hands clasped together in a prayer ── and then wake up the following day and never
give it another thought, a type of anterograde amnesia.
I have asked several people ── one being a 15-year-old grand-niece ── what did
you do when you ‘gave your heart to the Lord’? And she answered, ‘I don’t know,
my step-grandmother wanted me to be baptized.” It didn’t mean a thing ── it was
just something she did to stop her step-grandmother from harping on her. My dear
friends, it gets so much deeper than any of that.
How are you going to find the LORD God? “Let the wicked forsake his way, And
the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him RETURN to the LORD, And He will
have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” – Isaiah 55:6-7. You must forsake your way. You’ll have to forsake your wrong way that ── as
my wife has famously said to me, “being bad feels so good!” ── Well… the way
you love and cherish, the way that you think is right.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” – Proverbs
16:25.
The LORD God will give you a pardon when you forsake your way ── and you sin
no more. A sinner is one who transgresses the Law of God.
The Lord looketh on the heart
Truly, the LORD God will not hear a sinner. Notice the Book of Romans, chapter 8
──
“So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Romans 8:8.
The LORD God looks on the heart ── and a repentant man’s heart is no longer a
sinner. But, he isn’t in a saved condition yet. He must be justified. He must still be
reconciled to God the Father. He has to be justified, because his past sins are still
hanging over his head and separating him from God and from God’s Spirit. The Law
of God has come over him, and he is UNDER LAW, because he broke the Law ──
and the penalty is death.
But here is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He took our sins upon Himself and
paid the ultimate penalty for us. And He will give us ── not a piece of paper in the
mail ── but an absolute stamp of forgiveness. Paid In Full. And He paid it by giving
His life instead of ours. By His blood – and His blood was His life.
… and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
So, the disciples journeyed out preaching that all men should repent ── which
means to surrender unto the LORD God. What else? Well… you have to accept that
our Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. What else? There is another thing, but
it is the LORD God that does this. Because the LORD God promises. The gift of
the Holy Spirit. He places within you THE LOVE OF GOD SHED ABROAD IN
YOUR HEART. And God’s Spirit doesn’t stay stagnant within you. It must move,
it must flow out from you like rivers of living waters. In OBEDIENCE, IN
REVERENCE, IN THE WORSHIP OF SPIRIT AND TRUTH, IN RESPECT!
That’s how you love the LORD God! “’ If you love Me, keep My commandments.’” – John 14:15.
Now I have a sermon for you to watch. “God’s Master Plan – From the Beginning.”
It’s an important sermon; it pulls back the curtain that is in front of you and helps
show you that the LORD God is working out a Plan down here below!
Until next time, this is Leonard V Johnson saying, “God Speed.”
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