Tag Archives: God

Suiting Up For Battle

Ephesians 6:12 For we WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Our enemy is an ancient foe, one who manifested himself in the Garden of Eden as a crafty beast of the field, a serpent. Again, our battle is not against flesh and blood. The serpent was not a serpent, though it looked like a serpent to Adam and Eve. The serpent was a possessed creature, possessed of an angelic being named Lucifer, Satan, the Devil (Revelation 12:9). In the end God will imprison that old serpent (Revelation 20:2), and will ultimately cast it into hell. Our Lord Jesus said:

Matthew 25:41 (LSB) {God} will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS

There will come a day when Satan and the fallen angels will be cast into a Lake of Fire forever, a day when God will re-create the earth without sin and sinners. But until that day, Satan “our Adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We have no ability within ourselves to do battle with a spiritual being like a fallen angel. We cannot, within our own abilities, wrestle with satanic forces and win. It is impossible. But our Lord Jesus said: Continue reading

Posted in Ephesians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Worst Employer

I get most of my news off of the Internet, not the legacy media. The legacy media (NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, FOX) long ago stopped reporting just the news, and began reporting opinion and trying to push it off on the public as news. There is a reason for this, and it has nothing to do with flesh and blood. It has to do with Satan. As we’ve studied before, the Bible tells the children of God:

Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) we WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, but against PRINCIPALITIES, against POWERS, against the RULERS OF THE DARKNESS of this world, against SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS in high places.

We are in the middle of an angelic conflict, and what is fantastic is that most people who profess to be Christian have no idea this is going on. I heard a comedian joking to an audience that “when I was a kid, they taught critical thinking”. Thankfully they don’t do that anymore.

And they don’t. The devil and the fallen angels of this world work with “philosophy and vain or empty deceit, following man made tradition and not Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Our enemy is NOT flesh and blood. When Lucifer led a rebellion of a third of the angels from Heaven against God (Revelation 12:4), and he was cast out of Heaven to this earth, he has made it his priority to do everything he can to destroy humanity. It was this same Lucifer who, as “that Old Serpent” appeared in the Garden of Eden to tempt Adam and Eve (Revelation 12:9). When the Messiah came into the world through a virgin and the Holy Spirit, it was Lucifer who led Herod to kill that Christ Child (Revelation 12:4, 6; Matthew 2:3, 14-16). When Herod could not find Jesus (for Joseph was led to carry his family to Egypt), he… Continue reading

Posted in Romans, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The “L” Word

I saw a young lady the other day “deconstructing” her faith on Youtube. This is a new and popular thing to do among so called “young ex-Christians”, some Christian music artists who’ve made millions singing about Jesus. This young lady was saying “I thought I was a Christian. I made myself a Christian, but now I’ve changed my mind.”. She said:

“I got saved (mocking voice on saved) when in a very vulnerable position. I was struggling with alcohol, drugs, you know. That’s how I got in. When I came to the faith, I was like, the prime Christian. I was the Christian on fire. My whole congregation, I lit a flame up under their —es. They loved to see me coming. I can’t tell you how many times I went up in front of the Church, because you had to do that if you were found out in sin. … I would show up on my pastor’s porch and tell him I had sex with somebody. Then I would stand in front of the congregation, and confess my sin.”

The girl was never saved. Her testimony was all about I. In one short statement about her faith, she never spoke about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, but about I. This young lady was never born again. She was a repeat fornicator. How can I say with assurance that she was never saved? Because Jesus spoke of such people.

Mechanics of Salvation: Jesus explained the mechanics of salvation in His parable of the Sower, also called the Parable of the Soils. It’s found in three Gospels:

Matthew 13:3-23
Mark 4:1-20
Luke 8:4-15

In this parable Jesus talks about the Sower sowing the seed of the Gospel. As the Sower sowed, some seed fell on the packed down path (Matthew 13:4). Other seed fell on rocky ground (Matthew 13:5-6). Yet other seed fell among thorns (Matthew 13:7). But the seed that fell on good soil, it PRODUCED fruit (Matthew 13:8).

Jesus was careful to explain the parable to His disciples, but NOT TO THE CROWD. Only those who were in a COVENANT RELATIONSHIP with Him heard the explanation. Why? Why did Jesus speak in parables? I’ve heard preachers mistakenly say “to make it easier to understand”. But Jesus explained this:… Continue reading

Posted in Sermons Preached, topical | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Right Place, Right Time

Proverbs 27:8 As a bird that WANDERETH {nāḏaḏ} from her nest, so is a man that WANDERETH {nāḏaḏ} from his place.

Word Study: The word translated “WANDERETH” is the Greek nāḏaḏ, which means to “stray, retreat from the safety of, to be chased from”. The safest place for a bird to be is in its nest. It is when the bird leaves its nest to seek food or freedom that it is subject to being attacked by a bird of prey. God even gave a special provision in the Law:

Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (LSB) If A BIRD’S NEST happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you SHALL NOT TAKE THE MOTHER WITH THE YOUNG; 7 you shall surely LET THE MOTHER GO, and TAKE THE YOUNG FOR YOURSELF, that it may be well with you and that YOU MAY PROLONG YOUR DAYS.

If you came upon a bird sitting on her eggs, it was acceptable to take the eggs for food – but not to kill the mother. The nest was a place of safety. How does this relate to the man? In the Bible, there are times when the relationship we have with our God is poetically expressed, as if God is a Mother Bird and we are the chicks. This is particularly found in the Psalms: Continue reading

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Be Strong In The Lord

I love a good steak. When you’re getting a good steak from the store, the best steaks come not from the the part of the cow where the muscles are, but from areas on the cow that are not exercised. Muscle makes tough meat. The more it works, the tougher it is to eat! I’ve heard about a type of cow called Wagu Beef (Kuroge). The Wagu beef is fed a specialized diet. It is kept in clean, calm, stress free environments with ample space, good water, nice shade. The cow is fed only the best grain feed, beer or red wine to stimulate its appetite, and everything is done to keep the animal happy and rested. The more it works, the tougher it is to eat. The animal is kept in a pristine state – until the day of slaughter. When killed, the animal feels no pain during the process. The cow is petted until one day – surprise – it becomes Wagu! Sold for up to $300 per pound, in the end its nothing but food.

We often complain about trials and tribulations (like this winter storm we just went through”. Sometimes the complaining is accusatory. I’ve heard people say,

“If God is such a good God, why do we have trials and tribulation? Why is life so often tough?”

Trials and tribulations drive us into the arms of God. I hope you prayed frequently during the storms, asking that God be glorified as this fallen world buffeted us. I know I did. I learned how to pray in a hospital with a shattered led. Trials and tribulations make us stronger. Our Lord Jesus said in His ministry: Continue reading

Posted in Ephesians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hungry For God

Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

The Bible has a lot of prohibitions against bragging. The person who loves to brag on their own accomplishments, their great feats, is in a very dangerous position. Goliath mocked David, and boasted:

1 Samuel 17:44 Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field.

Goliath filled himself with himself, with his own power, with his own prowess. David on the other hand emptied himself. Rather than boast back to Goliath, he bragged on the power of God in him:

1 Samuel 17:45-47 (LSB) David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF YAHWEH of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have reproached. [46] This day YAHWEH WILL DELIVER YOU INTO MY HANDS, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the camp of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, [47] and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh does not save by sword or by spear; for THE BATTLE IS YAHWEH’S, and He will give you into our hands.”

Goliath’s power and size were given to him by God. That which we have, be it beauty, or wit, or charisma, or power, the station we occupy in life, these all come from the hands of God. “Pride goes before destruction” we are told in Proverbs 16:18. “When pride comes, then comes disgrace” notes Proverbs 11:2. If you have been given great gifts, give God the praise, not yourself. … Continue reading

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Deceiver, The Lāhâ (Pronounced law-hah’)

Proverbs 26:18-19 As a MAD MAN {Lāhâ} who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, 19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?

Word Study: Last week we learned about the meddler, who sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong. The meddler “meddles with strife that doesn’t belong to him”. The Bible warns that this is like “taking a passing dog by the ears”. He brings his own punishment on himself. But this week we look at the “MAD MAN” or the Lāhâ, “the arsonist or person who loves to see things burn, or to make others weary or faint”. The Lāhâ is not self destructive, but loves to start trouble. The Lāhâ is described only one other time in the Scripture, in the Book of Genesis during the time of Joseph. The Scripture says:

Genesis 47:13 (KJV) And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan FAINTED {Lāhâ} by reason of the famine. Continue reading

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Respect Is Right

As Paul comes to the end of his letter to the Church at Ephesus, he addresses the children first. There are only TWO TIMES in the New Testament that children are DIRECTLY ADDRESSED. It is here,

Ephesians 6:1 CHILDREN, OBEY {hypakouō} your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

And in …

Colossians 3:20 CHILDREN, OBEY {hypakouō} your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

In the ancient world children were seen as incomplete persons, and in many cases were regarded as not fully human. In the Roman world, the father had the right to EXPOSE children to the elements, often unto death. Children were often sold as slaves. Disobedient children were executed.

The early Church would often rescue children that were cast out of their Roman homes because they were illegitimate or disabled. An early Christian teaching called the Didache stated:

“You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill what is begotten.”

God’s people are to value children. Though children had no rights while in the home, God commanded His people:… Continue reading

Posted in Ephesians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Steps To Peace With God

It’s all about mind control. Social Media is big business. In 2025 Social Media brought in $307-341 billion in annual revenue. The Facebook and Instagram platforms made $160 billion. The YouTube platform generated $36 billion. Those “free” services that you use are not free. They sell advertising – but they also sell your information. Do you know why you get scammers calling you, trying to get you to get the “New” Medicare Card, or telling you “This is Transunion Credit, and you owe $$$$ for tolls on the New Jersey turnpike”? It’s because these Social Media platforms have sold your information (name, address, likes, dislikes, etc) to bad actors who will rob you if they can.

I recently enlisted the aid of a company called Cloaked because I was being covered up by scammers and salespeople. Cloaked found 1340 records with my information on the Internet – and removed them. They’re still looking, and still finding data breaches.

If the fallen world can control your mind, they can control your wealth, your health, your political sympathies, even your religious persuasion.

The devil is into mind control – and he’s found a great tool in media. The devil blinds our minds the the Gospel of Christ:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NKJV) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. Continue reading

Posted in Philippians, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What NOT To Find In A Christian

In the King James text, the word SLOTHFUL or SLUGGARD (Hebrew ʿāṣēl, “a sluggard, one who is lazy) is found 14 times in the Book of Proverbs – and never in a good way. The word ʿāṣēl refers to the person who idles away the gift of life that God has given them. We aren’t talking about those who occasionally take a rest, for God established a Biblical Sabbath where we are to rest ourselves, and focus upon our Savior and Lord. Life is a gift from God: “GOD GIVES TO ALL LIFE, and BREATH, and ALL THINGS” (Acts 17:25). The soul of man is made by God. The Prophet Job wrote:

Job 33:4 The SPIRIT OF GOD HATH MADE ME, and the BREATH OF THE ALMIGHTY HATH GIVEN ME LIFE.

Our God is the One Who kills, and makes alive (Deuteronomy 32:39). He is “the FOUNTAIN OF LIFE” (Psalm 36:9). God does not give us life so that we can squander it. The man on his deathbed knows how precious every minute is. No man dies wanting one more dollar, one more acre, one more thing, one more social media follower, one more truck or car. The one on his deathbed wants one more minute of quality life, one more breath without pain and suffering, one more good day.

We realize how precious life is when we reach the end of our race. When we leave HERE, we go to Him Who made us. We will be judged for damnation, or be judged for what we did for Him before continuing His Presence forever (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

God never made us immune to work. When God put Adam in the perfect Garden of Eden, He gave him the command “Tend My garden, and guard it” (Genesis 2:15). Had Adam spent more time DOING what God said rather than JUDGING what God said, we would all still be in Paradise this very day. Continue reading

Posted in Proverbs, Sermons Preached | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment