Acts 21:17-24. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
Beloved, always remember that God your loving Father has your interest at heart. He is all out to fulfil His good thoughts towards you. They shall surely be fulfilled in Jesus name.
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
For this to happen there are things you must resolve to be doing and there are things you must determinedly avoid.
The one thing you must be doing for God’s good thoughts to be fulfilled in your life, is to always seek for His guidance, before doing anything.
2 Chronicles 26:5. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.
Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Psalms 32:8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Whenever you seek Him for guidance and direction on any issue, you will surely profit from it and avoid costly mistake.
Isaiah 48:17-18. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
In addition, He will always direct your steps and guide you from sliding into avoidable calamities. This shall be your portion in Jesus name.
Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
On the other hand, the one thing you must determinedly not do, is to be heeding or seeking counsel of men without knowledge of God that can make you to err.
Proverbs 19:27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
Jeremiah 23:32. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Because of the consequences of this, God warned the children of Israel, not to harken to the counsel of such people, whoever they are or whatever they claim to be. This same warning is coming to you, so that, you do not fall into errors and avoidable mistakes that can even jeopardise your eternal wellbeing. This shall not be your portion in Jesus name.
Deuteronomy 13:1-5. If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
SEE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SUFFERED A GREAT SETBACK AND EVEN LOST THE LAND OF THEIR INHERITANCE, BY LISTEN TO SUCH MEN, WITHOUT ASKING COUNSEL OR GUIDANCE FROM THE LORD.
The good Lord shall help you not to fall a victim of this kind of situation in Jesus name.
Joshua 9:3-18 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.
Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Don’t forsake the Lord and never ask counsel from men without the knowledge of God that can make you err.
Dearly beloved, Jesus Christ our Lord during His earthly ministry was the eyes to His followers. He did everything to ensure they were guided from being lost apart from son of perdition, that discountenance His wise counsels.
John 17:12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
When He was going back to heaven, He assured them that, the Comforter like Him, shall come and ensure their steps were directed rightly.
John 14:26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Beloved some brethren have suffered very costly mistakes in life, just taking counsel from some so called ministers of God. See , whoever counsel you, no matter their standing, still make efforts to confirm whatever they said from scriptures and from the blessed Holy Spirit, the great gift Jesus gave all believers.
Now a time came when Moses the great deliverer was doing something that could affect His health and even the welfare of the children of Israel. His father in law counselled him, but still encouraged Him to check up with God, before using his counsel . THIS ALSO MUST
BE YOUR OWN LIFESTYLE. WHOEVER COUNSELS YOU, STILL CHECK UP FROM GOD THROUGH THE BLESSED HOLY SPIRIT AND THE SCRIPTURES, THE VALIDITY OF THE COUNSEL.
Exodus 18:19-23. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
WHEN YOU DO THIS, YOU AVOID RECEIVING COUNSEL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE FROM ANYONE AND EVERYONE, NO MATTER THEIR SPIRITUAL STANDING.
Job 38:2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
Job 42:3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Dearly beloved the genesis of the suffering of Paul the great apostle at Jerusalem was because, He received counsel from James and other elders in Jerusalem, without checking up from the blessed Holy Spirit, whether the counsel was right.
If Paul could make this great mistake, you also could do same. Make sure after anyone irrespective of their spiritual standing has counselled you, check the scriptures and the blessed Holy Spirit, yourself. See the mistake of the great apostle and avoid it.
Acts 21:17-24. And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
What the elders counselled Paul to do and he did accordingly , the blessed Holy Spirit had revealed to him prior to this time to preach to others, on several occasions not to be doing.
Galatians 5:1-4 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Do not allow the spiritual standing of any man to intimidate you. Check up any counsel given by anyone from the scriptures and from the blessed Holy Spirit. It shall be well with you in Jesus name.
THE DANGER OF RECEIVING THE GUIDANCE OF MEN IN PLACE OF THE PROMISED GIFT OF HOLY SPIRIT FROM JESUS CHRIST, TO BELIEVERS OF ALL AGES AND YOU. CHAPTER TWENTY ONE OF ACTS.
Friend, the rapture is dawning. The end time is here. You must be prepared. Your earnest desire to partake shall come to pass in Jesus name. Watch out for ministers that can mislead you and cause you to err and miss this great imminent event. This shall not be your portion in Jesus name.
James 1:16. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
If you err, the consequence is costly and painful.
Hebrews 3:10-11. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Ungrounded ministers according to the scriptures can make anyone err. You shall not err in Jesus name.
Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed
Jeremiah 23:13. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
Micah 3:5. Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.
During the earthly ministry of our Lord, the Sanhedrin then ,made majority of the Jews to err, because they rejected the counsel of God and multitude followed them.
Luke 7:30.But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
IF YOU MUST BE PART OF THE RAPTURE, YOU MUST BE OBEDIENT TO THE LORD IN ALL THINGS.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Revelation 3:10-11. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Jesus our Lord is coming for a glorious church. Brethren that are living godly lifestyle through grace.
Ephesians 5:25-27. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Titus 2:11-14. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Members of graceless church living ungodly lifestyle shall be abysmally disappointed. You shall not be disappointed in Jesus name. The buck stop with you. Come out of graceless church and associate with glorious church. The good Lord shall help you to be wise unto salvation in Jesus name.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Do not err. Do not be presumptuous. Check up with the blessed Holy Spirit. Examine yourself. Where do you belong at present and you profess to be preparing for the dawning rapture. Are you in a glorious or graceless church?
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