The Old Paths

Are we living at the end of the age? I have come to realize that many people have no real concept within their thinking that reveals that they are living lives that reflect a belief that we are in the end of this present age. This is true as well of those who claim to be professing Christians.

You know there just has to be a generation of people living at the time of those things prophesied from the pages of the Bible. All of prophecy concerning the end of this age is going to be fulfilled, and very much possibly in our lifetimes.

The things that will be found in this message may very well shake the theology of those who are it‘s readers. I must speak what I believe to be the Truth, whether anyone would accept it or not, that your blood would not be upon my hands. (Ezekiel 3:17-21) The Lord spoke through Isaiah (Isaiah 58:1) and said that God's ministers are to cry aloud, spare no one, and show God's people their sins. But unfortunately many don't want their sins revealed, the truth is an offense unto them.

It is a sure thing that we are all on a path leading somewhere. This is most certainly true in both the physical and spiritual realms. I've always enjoyed sitting down with those that are my elders, and listen to the stories from their past. I can get a glimpse of the paths that they have taken down through their years. Their stories are not always good, because at times they went down a way that caused them great sorrow, and then there are times they found great joy.

I can look at my own paths and those close to me, and realize that every action I've taken over the years not only changed the path that I was on, but also at times would actually affect others that I had come into contact with. Sometimes for the good and sometimes I must sadly admit for the bad.

There are many things that can have an affect upon a person's life paths. Things like your family, your life as a child, where you grew up, where you went to school. How about where you have worked, whether you are single, married or even divorced?

How about things like having children, a death in the family or of a friend, if you've ever been injured or seriously ill, bad debts, friendships, clashes with the law, or even bad habits, all of which have effected you and those close to you.

Friends, there are also spiritual paths that we take, that very much affect our physical lives and play a governing role in every decision and choice that we will make. Spiritually and physically, whether we like it or not, all these things make up our being and shape our lives, and are a part of who we are today.

It is certain, that while on your spiritual walk, you will encounter alternate paths that intersect with the one you are on. Many times they appear as great forks in the road, as though they were foreordained to be mysteriously set there as ominous choices for each of us to make.

1st Kings 18:21 "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt you between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him....."

When the fork in the road appears, we must make a choice. We cannot just sit there forever trying to decide between two opinions, which way to go and you cannot accept every way. Jesus once said that we are either with Him or against Him. This message could very well be one of those forks in the road for you. But all of us can be sure that there will come up choices in your life wherein you will have to decide whether to be for what Jesus stands for or against what He stands for.

Joshua 24:14,15 "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve you the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

There it is, a fork in the Road. "Choose this day who you will serve." And all through your life, the Lord God will allow choices to come before you, and no matter what the choice, it stills boils down to choosing who it is that you are going to serve.

Are we going to go on to another level with God? God will put the choices before you, and if we choose the right way, our relationship with the Lord will go on into another realm that we have not known of before.

Can we all have the resolve about us as did Joshua and answer up to each choice that we will decide to serve the Lord? We should take this into thought, considering the adversary of our faith is Satan, who wants to get our minds on paths that have not been laid down by our creator. The majority of mankind are on a path contrary to the creator. This includes many who claim to be Christian.

Now many people don't believe that most of the things written in the older writings of the Bible pertain to New Testament Christians. Let's see the Truth of this matter, for without a proper foundational understanding, a person will not see certain scriptures as important to their walk with God. This causes them to miss out on some very fundamental doctrinal issues which then affects their path.

Romans 15:4 "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning...."

Now my brother in the Lord, the apostle Paul, tells us that the things that were written before his time were written for our learning. Now that brings up the question, what were those things that were written before Paul's time? It could not be the newer writings of Matthew through Revelation, for those books were yet in the process of being written during Paul's time, so it is obvious therefore that Paul was speaking of the books from Genesis to Malachi.

What I'm showing you is vital in having a proper understanding of the Word of God. There are several keys to understanding scripture, and as I’ve learned each one of these keys, the picture of the plan of God suddenly became so much greater than I had ever known it before in my life. Some of you may already know these keys, and have found the greatness and majesty of our God is more and more to be honored as you understand the vastness and yet the simplicity of His plan.

1st Corinthians 10:11 "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon who the ends of the world are come."

What a tremendous verse of scripture! We see here that the things that happened to ancient Israel, were written down as a warning for each of us, to not fall into the same state of disobedience as they did, and take great notice in the last part of verse 11, that this advice is specifically written for those who would be living at the very end, the very last days of the age, and that I believe is speaking of you and I!

Now there are many other scriptures that are significant keys to understanding, but suffice it to say, we must go back and observe what happened to ancient Israel. It is a must that we learn from their mistakes, learn about what they reaped due to their sowing of disobedience, for it all took place and was written down for a people who would be living at the very end of this present age. It was all written down for our admonition, and for our warning. If we don't learn from their downfall, we are going to repeat their mistakes.

Let's just take the godly advice given unto us by the apostle Paul as he was speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and go back and look at what took place, for it was written for our learning.

Jeremiah 18:15 Now this is Jesus speaking through Jeremiah before He came in the human form. "Because my people (now who's people are these? God's people, and this is to be speaking to us then spiritually as well if we consider ourselves Christians, as a warning) Because my people has forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths in a way not cast up....."

You see the choices will not always be as clear cut as was our example from Joshua. The enemy is very subtle, and don't you think for a moment that in the thousands of years since Joshua's or Elijah's or Jeremiah's time, that Satan the enemy has not learned a few new tricks.

He will many times make every fork in the road to seemingly be proper and righteous. We must be on guard, we must be watchful and sober, and above all we must know the Word of God so that we will be able to stand in the evil day and thus make the right choices when called upon to do so, that we would not stumble from the ancient paths as did Israel of old.

Oh how many have stumbled from the right path! Oh how many have burned incense to vanity. To burn incense to vanity is speaking of false worship and prayers that God will not hear due to a lifestyle that will not acknowledge the true God by not doing what He says to do. It is with much sadness, but according to the Word of God, many precious individuals, people who consider themselves Christian, have turned down one of these Satan inspired alternate paths.

I believe it is true that most of these people started out on the right path, with pure and honest intentions. They are so often still honest and good hearted in their beliefs. Unfortunately though, false teachers, false doctrines, and slumbering shepherds, adversely affected their path, and wrong choices were made. The Word of God will put a person on a righteous path, if they will be open minded enough to believe that the Lord says what He means, and therefore He must mean what He says.

So how do we ensure that we remain on the right path? Proverbs 4:25-27 "Let your eyes look right on, and let your eyelids look straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove your foot from evil"

Brethren, we must keep our minds fixed upon the word of God, and let everything else fade away in importance in comparison. We must fix our spiritual eyes straight ahead, not wavering to the right or the left, not looking or even desiring the things of this old world that are at our sides, but look only upon that righteous path that is set before us. It reminds me of the old side blinders that they put on the horses, to where the only thing in view was what was straight ahead of them so that they would not be distracted.

Not only does the Word of God establish the right path, but the Word also gives us directional signage along the way to help us in choosing the right way, rather than turning down a wrong way.

Now I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but there have been times when I would be trying to put something together without looking at the instructions that came with it. After fighting around with it for far too long, I'd finally get out the instructions, suddenly realizing that I've put something together out of order, and I would have to take it all back apart and start over. If I had only started out right by looking at the manufacture's instructions, it would have made the project much quicker and a lot less of a headache.

You know, God made us, He is our manufacturer. We are not a completed project yet, we are still to be aiming toward perfection. Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier on all of us, if we would just get out the instructions of our manufacturer and get things right the first time?

Unfortunately, many times we find out that we have gone down the wrong path, and we have to turn around and go back and go down the other way realizing that if we had just paid a little closer attention to the instructions or the directions we would be a lot farther down the right path than what we now are.

There is a problem though, that has arisen, which can be traced Biblically and historically all the way back to the time of the death of the early apostles. Our brother in the Lord, the apostle Paul was very concerned about this problem, and thus he gave us strong words of warning. Now Paul had called together the leaders of the Church of Ephesus to give them a farewell admonishment.

Acts 20:28-31 "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He has purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."

Paul was so very concerned about the false ministers who would infiltrate the Church after his death. It is as though the false teachers under Satan's deception would run on ahead to the signs that were pointed down the right path, and change them to point down a wrong way. That reminds me of the old cartoons that I used to watch as a child, wherein the bad guys would change the road signs to try and foil the good guys and they would go off a cliff or something.

But the false prophets would come in undercover, they have a great disguise. 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

You see this is an undercover operation. Now the Apostle Paul was not talking about the Buddhists or the Hindus or the Muslims or any other of the false religions of the world, we are talking about religious organizations who name the name of Jesus among them.

You must understand that there is much deception going on right now, in this present time, and it's being done in the name of Jesus! Satan, as well as the fallen Angels and Demons, are pulling off a great deception in the name of Jesus. There are false ministers, and false brethren who are within the Churches propagating false teachings. Satan is the great counterfeiter.

He has counterfeited God's commandments with the traditions and commandments of men. He has substituted God's Holydays with Halloween, Christmas, Easter and so forth which have pagan origins, yet are candy coated with Christian stories. He has substituted God's Sabbath day with the day of the Sun, the Sunday.

You cannot find a single instance in the pages of your Bible wherein God ever sanctified, ever set apart for holy use any of the religious holidays man has set up, including Sunday. The only time that the day we call Sunday would ever be considered a Holyday in the scriptures, is when one of God's annual Sabbaths just happens to fall on the 1st day of the week. You tell me then, are the days that the world and the worldly Church has set up as holy, are they then commandments of God, or are they commandments of man deceived by Satan the devil? (Mark 7:6-9,13)

2nd Corinthians 11:1-4 "Would to God you could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent (that's Satan the devil) beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaching another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him."

Here we see that Satan the great counterfeiter would use His false teachers to deceive the flocks into accepting another Jesus, another Spirit and another gospel, which Paul had not been teaching of. Most of the Churches are teaching about another gospel, that speaks of another Jesus who through another Spirit allows sin to continue within it's followers, and yet claims that they are still in a right relationship with God.

Here shortly we are going to find out what the meaning of sin is, but before we do so, let me ask a couple of simple questions. If the Holy Spirit would allow a lifestyle of sin to exist within a Church, would that Church be Holy? I don't think so. I don't think that that Spirit is the Holy Spirit then either if it is saying that it's Ok to go ahead and sin. It is another Spirit.

If the Holy Spirit would allow a lifestyle of sin to exist within us, where then is repentance? I honestly believe that most people just do not know what repentance is, and if you don't repent when your day of salvation comes, you will perish. That's what Jesus said in Luke chapter 13. But there is another Jesus out there, he is a counterfeit, and the false Jesus does not teach repentance of sins. The true Holy Spirit will never say that it is ok to sin. NEVER!!!! We must be on guard, we must be physically and spiritually sober in order not to be deceived, for the greatest deception of the ages is yet before us.

We have learned that Satan has his own ministers within the Churches. They will be teaching false doctrines. They will be preaching a false Jesus, a false gospel, and they have a false spirit that allows a lifestyle of sin within individuals. Let's get a better glimpse of these ministers, let's find out a little bit more about them, and what it is that they are really doing.

Jude verse 4 "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

Oh this is so important for all of us to understand. Your very salvation is at risk for following after the great counterfeit. And yet the greatest counterfeit is yet ahead of us, will some of us fall for him? If we are falling for the counterfeit now, there is no reason to believe that we won't fall for him in the future as well. We must beware.

Jude tells us here that these men would creep into the Churches. They would come in unawares, Why? Because they are counterfeits, they are in disguise, they are undercover agents of Satan the devil whether they know it or not, and I believe that most do not know it, but some I feel do know who they are and what their purpose is. These are ungodly men. They are not godly, they do not stand for righteousness, yet they are in the Churches each Sunday preaching false doctrines, and Jude tells us that they were ordained to do this.

God allows the false teachers to come among us, for He is testing you. The Lord God wants to know how you will react to false doctrines. You see many are called, but few are chosen. Many are called, but only a few will remain faithful and not follow after the counterfeits.

Have any of you fallen for the devil's lies? If so this may very well be your day of salvation. Do not neglect the urging of the true Holy Spirit, for it may not pass by this way again. in your life. But let's just look at the main theme of what these false teachers are bringing forth, and you should be able to spot this teaching in almost every Church today.

Jude tells us that these ungodly men will be turning the Grace of God into lasciviousness. Now because they are doing this, that is why they are ungodly men, and because of it they are denying Christ as their Lord, and if you are listening to them, you are as well denying the Christ. He's not your Lord if you adhere to what these men are teaching.

Forgive me if what I have just said is an offense unto you. I love everyone who is reading this teaching, and I love you enough to speak the Word that it might cut you deep to your innermost thoughts and intents of your hearts.

These false teachers are turning God's grace into lasciviousness. What in the world does lasciviousness mean. Whatever it means, you will also find it as one of the works of the flesh in Galatians chapter 5, and if we are living a lifestyle that is entangled in the works of the flesh, Paul tells you there in Galatians 5, that you will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Whatever this word lasciviousness means, it is very serious, and we must repent of it, or we will not inherit the kingdom of God. Your very salvation may be hinged upon understanding what Jude 4 is telling us as a warning not to fall for what these slick preachers are spilling out each week.

The word lasciviousness is #766 in the Greek section of the Strong's concordance, from which we can have a better understanding of it's original meaning before it was translated into the English language.

It means licentiousness. Ok what does that big long word mean? This word has within it the root word license. Now we know what license means. It is a permit, or a means of permission to be allowed to do something that previously without that license you could not do. It means that you are at liberty or at freedom to do whatever it was beforehand you could not lawfully do. Every week this is being done. Practically every time I turn on a "Christian," TV or Radio Broadcast I hear it being done.

They are turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. They are teaching that since we are under grace, we have been given liberty from that old law of God. They teach that grace has set them free from the law. That my friends, is the greatest false doctrine being taught today from the pulpits in the Sunday Churches, and I am sad to say, but it has already invaded the true Church of God, and many of them have fallen away into apostasy as well. Yes it is the greatest false doctrine. Why do I say that? Because it is a lie from the devil himself. It is his way of keeping mankind living in sin.

Maybe we are at a good point to find out what sin is. After all if anyone reading this teaching actually believes the devil's lie that through grace you are freed from the law, let's just find out what you are really believing.

1st John 3:4 "Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."

There it is, the meaning of sin. Sin = Breaking God's law. So if anyone believes that by grace you are freed from the law, don't you realize what you are really saying? You are saying then that you have been given permission, you have been given a license, a permit to sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, and then ah go ahead let's just go sin some more! It is lasciviousness, it is a work of the flesh, it is a Christ denying doctrine according to the Word of God.

There are many wolves in sheep's clothing among the flocks, and their disguise has worked very well, for they are devouring those who are not on guard for their souls.

Let's look at just a couple more scriptures that relate to this subject of the false and the counterfeits before we move on with this message.

We really do need to nail this thing down, so that you will not be able to go away without understanding what is going on under Satan's deception.

Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Now the Church is many times symbolized as sheep. If these false prophets come to us in sheep's clothing, what is that telling us? It tells us that they will be in the Churches, undercover, disguised, in order to bring on the deception. Jesus tells us to beware of these individuals. We are to be on the watch, but how? He goes on then in the next few verses and tells us that we can pick them out by their fruit.

By their lifestyle we should be able to know whether they are of God or not. Are they still living within the works of the flesh? Do they adhere to the Christ denying doctrine that since we are under grace we are at liberty to disregard the law of God, and live a life of disobedience? If so, watch out!

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven...........................

Now just because we call Jesus our Lord, that does not mean that He is the Lord of our lives. It is only those who are doing the will of the Father, and just plain common sense tells us that we would not be doing the will of the Father if we are disobeying Him.

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:46 that He is not our Lord if we will not obey Him. In fact according to Acts 5:32, without obeying God, He will not even give us of His Holy Spirit. That is very serious, do we really have ears to hear?

The word "Lord" means the controller, the authority and the master in ones life. If we will not allow Jesus to be the authority and master of our lives, we have no business whatsoever in calling Him our Lord, for He is not, we have then fallen for another Jesus.

Matthew 7:22 "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?

Many people will say, Lord we have prophesied in your name, we have even cast out devils in your name, and we have done all these great acts of charity and good works all in your name. Please notice that Jesus does not deny that these people have done this. He does not deny that they have actually cast out devils, have had their great miracle services, healings have occurred, have given to good causes to help those in need, have actually preached and prophesied in His name, have openly manifested the gifts of the Spirit. Yes they have done many wonderful things in His Name, yet there is something missing in their lives that will deny them entrance into the kingdom of God.

Matthew 7:23 "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity."

Even though they have done these great and marvelous and miraculous things, even though they call Jesus their Lord, which means that they think that they are Christians, they are honest in their intent, but Jesus says that He never knew them.

He never knew them, He never, never, never knew them, and why? He says that they are workers of iniquity. The word "iniquity" is #'s 458 and 459 in the Greek section of the Strong's concordance and it literally means "transgressor of the law."

It does not matter how many good works we have under our belt, it doesn't matter how often we have praised His name, it doesn't matter how often we have manifested the gifts of the Spirit, cast out devils, prophesied, none of it matters a one bit, if we are living a lifestyle of disobedience to the commandments of the Lord our God. I'm greatly saddened to have to say these things, but it is the truth, it is the Word of God, and it cuts, for it is sharper than a two edged sword.

Now don't go away thinking that I don't think that we should be doing good works, and prophesying, and casting out demons out of people's lives, for we are to be doing these things as we are called upon to do so, but to be in a covenant relationship with Christ, we must keep His commandments, otherwise we are still living in sin, we have not repented.

1st Samuel 15:22 tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. Now I realize that Samuel was talking about the sacrificial system. It would have been better for the ancient Israelites to have just obeyed God. If they had done so there would not have been a need for the sacrificial and ceremonial laws to come into existence. In our day, we are to give our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God, bringing forth good works and praises unto Him. But yet, it is still better that we would just obey our God which is the basis for the everlasting covenant.

We have an adversary out there, who is hell bent on destroying you and I, and keeping us deceived and he has done his job well. Revelation 12 tells us that Satan has deceived the whole world. That's every man, woman and child that has ever drawn breath. We must come out of that deception according to Revelation 18:4 once it is revealed to us, and if not you will perish.

Rest assured that the deception that has been cast upon all of us, will at one time or another in your life, if not in the age to come, will be revealed to you. If God owes anything at all to mankind, it is that He will give everyone and opportunity for salvation, for He is just not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. He is rich in mercy.

He will give you that opportunity, don't let it pass you by when you realize that He has removed the blinders from your eyes, for if the blinders are removed, and you can see your sins, and yet you will not repent, you are still under the law. You are still under the penalty of breaking the law of God, and that penalty is death.

Deuteronomy 13:1-4 "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder................

Now that sounds good doesn't it? All through the Bible there has arisen prophets and dreamers who by God has given unto the people of God signs and wonders, and so it still is to be occurring in our time. But let's see what verse 2 has to say. ............And the sign or the wonder come to pass.......................

Now most within the Churches today teach that the real test of a prophet is whether or not what he says comes to pass or not. Ok, to go on then in verse 2, we find out that this prophet speaks a thing that actually comes to pass right before your eyes. Oh this must be a man of God. He speaks things in advance of when it really happens. He must be a true prophet, and a true minister of God, and by the thousands members of today's Churches crop to see and hear what these men have to say. This is the lying signs and wonders of Matthew 24. They are signs and wonders through which the masses are being deceived.

Verse 2 again then of Deut. 13 ..........And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them.............................

Now the ministers of Satan will not come right out and tell you to go worship Baal, or Ashtoreth, or Tammuz. Many times they will hook you with the signs and wonders, the great miracles, the slick talking preachers, the great false unity movements of today that are not based upon God's Word.

Let me say something real quick about these big unity crusades going on all over the world. Now you listen to me very carefully, it is real easy to have unity if you don't stand for anything. And if you don't stand for nothing, you will fall for anything. If you don't stand for the Truth, you will fall for deception.

If we overlook the true sound doctrines of God's Word for the sake of unity among all the Churches, we are denying Christ, who desires unity, but not through a denial of what His Word says. Otherwise we would be just a big bunch of unified sinners. The deception is very great.

No, even if these ministers will come along and show forth signs and wonders. If they prophesy things and those things do come to pass or if people are even healed under their ministry, yet if at the same time they preach disobedience to God's commandments, then they are telling you to go off after other gods. They are saying it is Ok to sin. They are false ministers.

If they tell you to keep the pagan religious holidays, to keep Sunday, to eat unclean meats and so forth, then they are not telling you to obey the real Jesus. It's another Jesus, other gods, it is Satan the devil that they are telling you to serve. A true minister will always tell you to obey the one true and living God.

Verse 3.........You shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proves you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him."

Wow! If a minister would preach to us that we don't have to keep the Sabbath day holy from sunset Friday night to sunset Saturday night, or to disregard any of God's commandments and go ahead and keep the traditions of man, even if they show forth great signs and wonders, we are not to listen to those men.

But you see there in verse 3 that God will allow false brethren to come in among us to prove whether we really love the Lord. Are we going to follow after their false teachings, or are we going to obey God and keep His commandments? Did you know that obeying God shows whether we really know Him? Did you know that when we are obeying God it proves that we really love Him?

We are about to see a very simple statement made by Jesus, that everyone of us must fess up to. Before turning to this passage, just ask yourself, do I love Jesus? Jesus makes this vital statement to you. He says in John 14:15 "If you love me, keep my commandments."

Drop down to verse 21 "He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me.......................................

One of the proofs that we love Jesus is that we are keeping His commandments, and if you are not keeping His commandments you need to repent for you are still living in your sins. Sin is the transgression of the law, you must repent of breaking the law of God.

Now while still living in this flesh, we will not be able to keep the law to perfection, and thus there is the grace of God. But let's don't turn the grace of God into a license to live in sin. Grace is not having God's permission to break His commandments. The Law shows us what sin is. Grace through Messiah provides the remedy!

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Through Grace the death penalty has been suspended, we are on probation right now. We are to get it right from this point on, and through the indwelling Spirit, not the other spirit that many are receiving, we can live lives victoriously over sin. It doesn't mean that we will never from that point on ever sin again, but it does mean that we won't have a lifestyle of continually living in sin. I used to break the Sabbath 52 times a year. Every week would role by and I would transgress the law. It was my lifestyle to sin each week.

The sacrifice of Christ on that old pagan cross set me free from the bondage of the law of sin. It did not set me free to break the law of God, otherwise I would be back in bondage to sin again, and I would be counting the shed blood of Christ a vain thing. Jesus came to set us free from the hold of sin. He did not come to give us permission to live in sin.

We must repent, we must change our mind and turn from a lifestyle of lawlessness, and after baptism, we will be filled with the true Holy Spirit who will enable you to live a righteous life. And if along the way you slip up, and you realized that you have sinned against God, then there is grace, there is forgiveness through Christ.

There is coming a great time of judgment upon this world and it's inhabitants, and the reason for it all is very simple. If you have never heard this before, you are about to come to an understanding of just how serious disobeying God really is.

Isaiah 24:1 "Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof..........................Verses 19 & 20.........The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.......................

This is an end time prophecy. These things are yet in our future. There are coming events upon this planet and this world system that are so cataclysmic in proportions, that mankind has never in his past nor again in his future experienced anything so horrendous .

This will surpass the time of the Noatic flood and when the earth was divided in the days of Peleg. There are coming earthquakes so great that the Bible tells us that every island and every mountain will be moved out of their places. The great earthquake that just hit Japan will be dwarfed by what is coming. Some of the islands may just disappear beneath the water! There are coming impacts from asteroids and other events that will knock this planet out of it's normal orbit.

Now I have been accused of speaking fear upon the lives of people through such talk, but I will not apologize for the Word of God. If this brings fear upon you, then take it up with Isaiah and Jeremiah and the apostle John for these are words spoken through them. Take it up with Jesus for this is His inspired Word.

But all of the catastrophic events that are about to occur upon this world are all going to take place because of three very simple things.

Look at Isaiah 24 now and verse 5.......The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because (and now we are about to find out why all of this is about to take place) because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."

There it is, there is the reason for the tremendous occurrences just over our horizon, and I believe possibly within most of our lifetimes. It's all because mankind as a whole are living in sin, they are transgressing God's laws, they have changed the ordinance, and that is the ordinance of the Sabbath days, and have broken the everlasting covenant.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that obeying God is not necessary for salvation. Jesus forgave us of our sins that were in our past according to Romans 3:25 and now we remain in a justified state through the power of the Holy Spirit by obedience to the Word of God according to Romans 2:13. Always living a repentant life as the Spirit reveals wherein we have sinned. Trusting in Christ to always be there as our advocate with the Father, ready and willing to forgive us wherein we fall short as He sees the honest repentant heart within us.

Yes, this old world and it's inhabitants and especially those who are of Israelitish heritage are fixen to go through the time of Jacob's trouble. Satan will pour out his wrath upon the Israel (spiritual as well as physical) of God.

Disobedience will eventually bring a destructive state upon this world. How dare do the false ministers preach that the law is done away in Christ. It is instead the penalty for breaking that law has been done away in Christ, for we are under grace for a period of time. We are on probation for our transgressions, let's don't blow it.

Now it must be understood that the grievous wolves in sheep's clothing are not to be totally at fault for deceiving and being deceived, for those who have believed their teachings also share in the burden of guilt, as well as do those who were to be overseers of the flocks, if they were not taking heed and watching out.

Maybe a story would help to explain what I'm trying to say. Several years back, I was working for an interpretive tour business. My job at one time required me to evaluate the interpreters information that they were giving out to our guests.

While observing one of our first year employees, I found that she was giving out false information. When I asked her where she had received such nonsense, her response was from another interpreter, who by the way had worked for us for several years, so by now he should have been fairly knowledgeable of what he should be saying. So I went to ask him and to my surprise, I got the same response from him, but who he got it from, was no longer working for us. It became obvious to me that somewhere in the past, someone had just made up a collection of stories, and passed them on to unsuspecting new interpreters as the truth. As years went by, those stories or lies, became the truth to anyone who would receive them without question.

So it is today in the Churches, for many years ago all kinds of false teachings or lies entered in among the flocks, and now since such a long time has passed, these lies have become the gospel truth to anyone who would receive them without question.

There have been large Churches built upon a foundation of lies or have had their true foundation changed, all because the people listened to false teachings and never questioned where these teachings came from. Therefore the people share in the guilt along with the false teachers, for they should have looked into what it is that they have accepted as truth.

It is amazing how much one little lie can change the way we go about things. One little lie told by someone and then believed by others can and does affect or change the paths that we take. To me then, a believer in a lie is just as accountable, as is the one who started the lie in the first place, for they are responsible to see if what they believe stands in the light of the Word of God. We must prove all things.

Knowing that Satan and his team has changed the signage along the pathway of life, it became vital that we become truth seekers to locate wherein we might have left the right path and have turned down a path that was not established by the one true Lord and creator.

Now this is not a simple task, for many of the path changes took place so many centuries ago that without some investigation it was not an easy thing to find the beginnings of false teachings. So we have to compare those teachings with the Word of God.

Most of this worlds inhabitants are so far down the wrong path now as a people and as a nation and even as a Church, that they cannot see the beginnings of the path that they are now on. They only see what is real to them at a moment in time, and thus believe that at this moment in their little reality, the path that they are on is the legitimate, true path of righteousness. All of us at one time or another have capitulated our thinking, our will and direction to the decree or the edicts of others.

In reality, we should be surrendering our whole being to the one true and living God, not to others and their various traditions and interpretations of God's ways, for many of those ways had been changed when they had submitted to those before them who had also fallen for the same changes long beforehand.

What is it that I'm trying to declare by saying these things? I'm stating, that it does not matter who you are, how old you may be, or where you've been churched, we are all at the mercy of what others have voiced in our lives.

So what is the remedy for our predicament? I most certainly remember when I was in that condition. I so wanted to know the truth upon everything that I had been led to believe. Praise God, that He saw that my heart was honest toward Him, and thus He began a process within me, a process that should be going on within all of us.

Romans 12:1,2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

It is a necessity that we must have our minds renewed. We are not to be conformed to the things of this world, but we are to be transformed, and transformed means to change or to be remade.

I remember when my boys were young, they had these little toys that were called transformers. By twisting them around you could eventually change it to something totally different from what it originally was. But how can we be transformed? It is by the renewing of our minds, and why? So that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

To bring it all home, the renewing of your mind is a continual process as you put off the old man with the lust of the flesh, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.

Whether you recognize it or not, your minds are going to be affected, by the very act of reading these words. By the grace of God and prayerfully for our good we hope. That is why I don't take it as a light thing to teach the oracles of God unto you.

Now you may not remember every word or phrase that may be used, but your mind will be affected. I'm not trying to alarm or intimidate you by saying such things, I'm just attempting to help you understand how easy it is for our paths and our minds to be altered for the good or for the bad, even when we are not at all conscious of an alteration taking place.

Everyone has been subdued, for good or evil, and this everyone includes our ancestors, and our ancestor's ancestors. Now, everyone of us are affecting those that are around us, and if time continues, our descendants to come. But I feel that time is about to be cut short.

Whole nations of peoples have risen and fallen dependent upon the paths and choices that they have taken, or those that they should have taken. Individually and as whole, the pathways that we walk upon have very serious repercussions. They echo from the past with a weighty burden placed upon us here in the present, as to where each of us will walk in the near future.

So where is our starting point on examining the path that each of us are on. There is something that each of us has to do through the Spirit of Truth to start the process of coming into a knowledge of God's ways, after repentance.

1st Thessalonians 5:21 "Prove all things...."

Once the process of the renewal of our minds begin, according to the verse we read in Romans 12:2 that through that process we would be made able then to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Through the Spirit of God we must have a desire to look into everything that we have been taught over the years to see whether or not it is true.

I had this great big long list of things. I told the Lord, here is all that I believe, help me to know whether it is so or not.

By the way, I want you to realize that we are leaky vessels, and that we are very hard headed. It's hard to get the Truth into us, but it is so easy for it to leak out. So the Lord prepares messages to be given as a refreshing for us. We continually need a refresher course on things that we had already proven beforehand.

So we must have, as a prerequisite in our understanding of spiritual things, a renewal of our minds that we would prove all things, and brethren, that process has yet to cease within any of us, even those who are many years my elder in the faith of our fathers.

John 8:28,29 ".......Jesus said unto them, when you have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things. And He that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone; for I do always those things that please Him."

Now the Father had not left Jesus alone and all because Jesus always did those things that were pleasing unto Him. It sounds to me that in order to have a proper, intimate and close relationship with our Lord, as Jesus had with the Father, we must do those things that are pleasing unto Him. So how do we know how or what things are pleasing unto the Father? Is there something that we can look at or imitate so we can know how to be pleasing unto God?

1st Peter 2:21 "For even hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:..............."

Christ pleased the Father in all ways, He is our example to understand how to please the Father as well.

The word, "example" is #5261 in the Greek section of the Strong's concordance and it literally means to "copy for imitation." You see in order to be pleasing to the Father, we have Christ as our example and we are to copy all of His moves, we are to imitate Jesus. Jesus is the Word of God, and the Word of God is our instruction manual.

We should therefore follow His steps, for we know beyond a doubt that He knew the right path to be on. I believe that I want to be hot on His heals, shouldn't we all! Even if that path might mean persecution or even suffering for the Name of Christ.

Let's find another witness of scripture that deals with Christ, our example. Brethren, God made us all different, we are not a bunch of clones of each other physically, but I believe that He wants us to be spiritual reproductions of Jesus who was the express image of the Father.

1st John 2:6 "He that says he abides in Him (speaking of Jesus) ought himself also so to walk, even as He (Jesus) walked."

Now we know that Jesus logged a lot of miles on His tired, sand worn feet, but this verse is not talking about us going over to the Middle East and walking over the same routes that Jesus took while living among mankind. We have already learned that we should follow the steps of Jesus as our example, therefore to walk as He walked means that we do as He left for us as an example. Now remember, Jesus always did those things that were pleasing unto the Father, and then left for us an example to do the same so to be pleasing unto Him as well.

1st John 3:22 "....Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him,..... (Now if I may add, as long as what we ask is within the will of God at that moment in our lives because there are times when we ask Him for something and He bluntly answers with a big no) But we receive, going on then in verse 22, ...."because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight..........

Now when we read that whatever we ask, we will receive, that speaks to me of a relationship. It shows me that we must have an intimate close relationship with God. Remember Jesus said that the Father had not left Him alone because He always did those things that were pleasing in His sight. That is a relationship.

It's all because we do those things that are pleasing in His sight, just as Jesus did as our example, and what is it that we can do that would be pleasing in His sight? He tells us there in verse 22, it is because we keep His commandments. Now we are to walk as Jesus walked if we claim that we are abiding in Him. And the way that He walked was always pleasing unto the Father.

So did Jesus keep the commandments or did He disregard the law? Was Jesus disobedient? If He was disobedient, would that rebellious attitude be pleasing unto the Father? If we are rebellious would that be pleasing unto the Father? I think not.

2nd Corinthians 5:21 "For He (the Father) has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin..."

Jesus knew no sin. He was sinless, and as we have already seen earlier in this message that according to 1st John 3:4, Sin is the transgression of the law. Since Jesus knew no sin, we know then that He never transgressed the law. If He sinned even once in His human life, He would not have qualified for that perfect unspotted sacrificial lamb, He would have needed a Savior to die for His sins as well. Praise God though, for Jesus was obedient. But did you know that He had to learn obedience?

Why would Jesus need to learn to obey? You would think that since He had the Spirit without measure, He wouldn't need to learn anything. But the reason is really quite simple if we just think about it for a moment.

Jesus never had the need to obey because it was never within Him to ever disobey. But suddenly, He took upon Himself flesh and blood, He became as one of us, and therefore along with that the temptation to sin. Now before that time He was never even tempted with sin, and thus He had to learn to be obedient, and He is our example.

Hebrews 5:8,9 "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him;......"

You see even though Jesus was the Son of God, He had to learn from experience what it was like to obey, even if obeying meant that He would have to suffer. Brethren, He always did those things that were pleasing unto the Father, and thus He was obedient, no matter what the circumstance.

Let's go back to 1st John 3:22-24 He is our example, we are to be a copy cat of Jesus, so to be renewed in our minds, so to prove all things by the Spirit of God, so to walk as He walked on a path of obedience so to be pleasing unto the Father.

1st John 3:22-24 "Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, (WHY) because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he that keeps His commandments dwells in Him and He in him. And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us."

He that keeps His commandments dwells in Him. The word "dwells" means to abide. Remember if we are going to say that we are abiding in Him we had better walk even as He walked. Jesus kept the commandments, He is our example, therefore we are to keep His commandments as well and when we do we are abiding in Him, and guess - what - else? We are then pleasing unto the Father!

So if we are found to be pleasing unto the Father, do we have a part to play in the end time drama that is unfolding so rapidly before us? Is there a place in God's plan for those who are abiding in Christ and are obeying the Word of Truth without compromise?

Let's see then just what the Lord has in store for those who will remain faithful unto Him and endure unto the end. 2nd Corinthians 5:18,19 ".......all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Praise God, for through the great sacrifice made by our Lord and Savior Jesus our Messiah, and our faith in that sacrifice to remove our sins we are reconciled back to the Father. God was in Christ in order to reconcile the world back to Him. And now He has committed unto us, those who are pleasing unto the Him, the Word of reconciliation.

#2643 from the Strong's concordance the word "reconciliation," means a restoration to divine favor. Through Christ our relationship with the Father has been restored, and now He has entrusted unto those who remain faithful here in the end time, and yet even more so after we have been given our immortal bodies to teach the restoration message eventually to all the rest of mankind, once the blinders are removed from their eyes in the age to come.

Just what is that restoration message, and when will it really begin in it's full intensity? Brethren this stuff gets real exciting when we realize what a great and awesome God we have, and that He has a mighty plan all worked out, and that plan includes you and I as an intricate part of what He is fixen to do, if we will only repent and remain faithful, overcoming sin in our lives daily by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:19-21 "Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began."

Here we can plainly see by perfectly plain words that Jesus will not come back until the times of restitution of all things that the Lord had spoken through His prophets since the world began. The word restitution in our text from Acts 3 comes from #605 and #600 in the Strong's concordance and it means "to restore again."

It is a process of restoration, it is a process of reconciliation, it is a process of bringing mankind back into a proper relationship that is pleasing unto the Father. I also looked up the word “restoration” in the Webster's dictionary and I found that it has two meanings that both apply to what we are looking at in this teaching. It means "the act of returning to an original state or condition" & "the act of giving anything back to an owner."

Now as we go through the next few verses of scripture, keep in mind the meaning of the word restoration. The act of returning to an original state or condition and giving anything back to an owner.

Revelation 11:15 "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever"

This is a verbal declaration of the kingdom of Satan and the hold that he has over mankind being transferred to the kingdom of our Lord. This finds it's literal visible fulfillment later on in chapters such as in Revelation 19 and 20

Now the Lord had already declared that all power had been given unto Him during His earthly ministry in Matthew 28:18, showing us that any power that Satan now holds, he only holds by the authority of Christ, but the complete and literal fulfillment of His words will not take place until He returns and puts down all rebellion, finding it's finale with Satan the great rebel being cast into the lake of fire.

The transference of the kingdoms is yet future, since we know that Satan is declared to be the god or prince of this world, and he has yet to be destroyed at this present time. He is still ruling through wicked individuals the kingdoms of this world.

Satan and his demonically controlled world governments and religious institutions are very obviously still in control, therefore the kingdoms of this world have yet to become the kingdoms of our Lord in a literal sense, although in reality it is a done deal.

1st Corinthians 15:24-28 "Then comes the end, when He (Jesus) shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He has put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."

Here we see that at the end, the Lord will deliver the kingdom back to it's original owner, which was a definition of the word "restoration." Christ must first put down all rule, authority and power that is contrary to His righteous way. This process of restoring the kingdom to it's original owner will last throughout the millennium as Christ along with you and I, if we overcome sin and remain faithful, will rule the nations with a rod of iron, and it will all culminate with the destruction of the last enemy death, according to Revelation 20:14, and the scripture here in 1st Cor. 15 that we've just read.

The whole process of restoring things back to their original condition is all purposed to be, in order for all things to be presented back to it's original owner, God the Father, and in the same condition as it was in before sin and rebellion entered creation, which is the final picture in the Bible.

When this restoration process comes to pass, with the exception of a final rebellion by Satan described in Revelation 20:7-10, the world will finally desire to walk in God's ways and in His paths.

Micah 4:1,2 "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, come, and let us go up to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His Paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

What a wonderful picture the Word is showing us through the prophet Micah. Micah was one of the prophets, and he was speaking of the times of restitution of all things from Acts 3. Now the time setting is after the Lord has returned and He is in the process of putting down all rebellion and restoring the creation back to it's original state.

Notice how excited these people seem to be in this verse about going up to the Lord's house and to have Him speak of His ways and to be walking in His paths! The end result according to our verse is that many people and nations will be walking in His paths. It must be concluded then, that the Lord's paths are quite closely linked to His Word and His law according to this verse in Micah.

Brethren all of us, all of mankind must allow the Lord to circumcise our hearts, to cut away any hostility we might have toward His law. And I want you to know that I'm sorry if this teaching is so sharp but I will not apologize that the Word of God is so sharp. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and it cuts deep. I realize that it hurts to be cut upon, yet we must allow the Word to cut on us, and cut out anything that stands against the pure unadulterated Truth.

It all boils down to the simple choice of whether we are going to obey God or not. To the simple choice of choosing this day who we will serve. To the simple choice of making the right decisions when we come to a fork in the road, which path to take.

Jeremiah 6:16-19 "Thus says the Lord, stand you in the ways, and see, and ask for the Old Paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, we will not hearken. Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth: Behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, (now why is God going to allow evil to come upon the fruit of their thoughts?) because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it."

According to Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8, the Lord does not change, He is the same yesterday today and forever, and we have already discovered that the things that were written aforetime were written for our learning, and this being so, these verses out of Jeremiah are as relevant for mankind today as it ever was, and this is Jesus the living Christ speaking these words through Jeremiah.

He was the one through which the created things were made. Jesus, before His human birth was the one who breathed life into Adam, & shut the door on the great ark in Noah's time. He was the one who led Israel out of Egyptian bondage, a symbol of mankind coming out of sin. Jesus was the one who thundered His law from Mt. Sinai, and then came as sin's sacrifice to die for our transgressions of His law, and then fills us with His Spirit that we might overcome sin. He was the one who spoke through the prophets, and so much of their message is for our day. We must take heed to what the Lord is speaking through Jeremiah.

The Lord tells the people to stand in the ways and desire the old paths. Why? Because if we do, we will find the good way, and if we walk in these old paths, we will find rest for our souls! It must be so deplorable and grievous to the Lord, for the people of Jeremiah's time as well as those of today, put their thumb to their nose, and say we will not walk in these ways or follow those old paths.

The Lord will put His watchmen among the people, who are keepers of the Lord's charge, who warn and plead with the people over their condition. They snub their nose in the face of God's watchmen as well, and say we will not listen to your watchmen's warning either! They will not walk in God's ways, nor take heed to the warning that is delivered through His watchmen. They have chosen to walk down a path not laid down by the Lord. They have chosen who it is that they will serve.

If you would back up and look at verse 15 of Jeremiah 6, you'll find that these people are not even ashamed of their abominable disobedience, They think it's ok to sin, to disobey the commandments of Jesus, why they don't even blush!

If they continue in their rebellion after the warning message has gone out to them, their minds will eventually have an alteration take place. The Lord calls the other inhabitants of the world, and all the earth and His congregation as a witness to what He will do to this people who will not hearken unto His ways nor walk in His paths.

He says that because these people will not listen to His words, or to His law, but instead reject it without even blushing over the things they do, that He will bring evil upon the fruit of their thoughts!

I had read that verse out of Jeremiah many times, but one day several years ago, the Lord quickened verse 19 to me as never before. When I read the phrase, "God will bring evil upon the fruit of their thoughts," my spirit jumped within me and 2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12 immediately came to my mind. Could this be speaking of the same thing? Could the strong delusion spoken of in 2nd Thessalonians be the evil upon the fruit of a person's thoughts? I do believe that it is a very serious thing to reject the Lord's Word, His law, and His truth, after we or anyone has had the blinders removed, and can see their sins, and yet will not repent of breaking the commandments of our Lord and Savior Jesus the living Christ.

The Lord's advice is to seek His ways, and to desire the Old Paths. There are people who at one time were in the faith, yet they later blatantly flaunted their rejection of the Lord's ways. It could be that such a strong delusion had affected the fruit of their thoughts, and so much so, that they justify their abominable ways, mocking the true worship of God, and all along they are not ashamed, nor do they blush, nor are they sorry, nor is repentance found among them any longer.

Such a dire state of being for those who choose not to walk in the ways laid down by the creator. No longer do they seem to be competent in their thinking, for their minds are becoming reprobate, as they choose to follow their own ways, that seem so right to them. Proverbs 14:12 says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

When we go down a path that is contrary to God's ways, we are not trusting in the Lord, but in our own understanding. We are following a path that seems right to us, but it can lead to death and destruction.

Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

Aren't you glad that old Solomon desired above anything else that God would give him wisdom? These verses here in proverbs are words of wisdom are they not? And they are great nuggets of truth for each of us to learn of.

Brethren, let's trust in the Lord, not in our own understanding, for our own understanding may seem so right to us, but the way thereof may be the way of destruction. Let's abide in Christ, let's be attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Let's acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. In all our ways we must put Him first and foremost in our lives, and if we do so, He will direct your paths.

He will keep you on the right path. He will give you the proper discernment so that you will not walk in a wrong way. His Word will be as a light unto your path to keep you on the narrow way. If we will only put Him first in our lives and acknowledge him in all our ways.

Let us not be rebellious in our ways. Let's don't brake the covenant that has been made between the Lord and each of us. For there are a great many people who have made a breach of contract concerning the covenant of God.

Isaiah 30:9-13 "......this is a rebellious people, lying children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, see not; and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy one of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly at an instant."

Here we find that when a people will not listen to the law of the Lord, they are considered as lying rebels in the sight of God. These people do not want God's watchmen, who see and hear from the Lord, to preach the right ways of God.

They want smooth things and lies preached to them. This does not mean that they will be openly asking for lies to be preached to them. It means that the things that they desire to hear and live by are based upon lies in the sight of the Lord God.

They don't know that their worship is based upon lies, but God knows it, and so does His watchmen. But they don't want God's men to preach on the Sabbath days, the keeping of God's righteous laws and so forth. That is the right things spoken of there in verse 10.

Instead they want non-corrective easy messages preached. That's the smooth things of verse 10. They want preached to them grace without obedience, Sunday keeping, pagan holidays and so forth. Don't we realize that that is the deceits there in verse 10.

Then in verse 11, we see God's view of what these people are doing by not listening to Him or His watchmen and instead are desiring smooth messages filled with lies. Verse 11 is God speaking as to how He feels about what these rebels are saying unto Him or His ministers by their rebellious attitudes.

They're saying, get out of the way God! We will not listen to you or your ministers, just get you out of the way! We're not going to follow your path, we've got our own path, and by so doing this, they are essentially causing God to cease from before them.

To go on then in verses 12 & 13, we find the Lord says that because they despise His words and His warnings, but instead continue in their rebellion, and stay in such rebellion even after being warned, destruction is instead in their path. Verse 13 states that because of their iniquity, their lawlessness, their rejection of the Lord's ways, a great breach will occur.

Not only does this breach represent a collapse of their spiritual lives, it also represents a breach of contract between God and anyone who would find themselves in this same condition. A great separation takes place for a sinful disobedient lifestyle will separate us from God. Isaiah 59:1,2 tells us so.

This brings us back to a full circle. Our lives must be pleasing unto God in order for that close intimate relationship to be. But what is the answer for the world? What is the solution for all that plagues mankind? What can remove the curse?

Remember we have read today that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling or restoring the world back to Him. It is by Jesus can the breach between man and God can be repaired. But if you remember as well that God has committed or entrusted unto us the ministry of reconciliation. He is preparing us to rule and reign with the Christ in His government to come.

You are in training right now in the ways of God that you might, under the authority of Christ, restore the knowledge of God's ways to all of mankind. The ministry of restoration has been committed unto us in this present time and even more so in the kingdom when we will administer the truth, if you are found faithful and overcoming as a member of the Church of the living God.

Isaiah 58:12-14 "They that shall be of you shall build the old waste places: You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be call, The Repairer of the breach. The Restorer of paths to dwell in. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holyday; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it."

This is a part of the same restitution or restoration of all things from Acts chapter 3, and since through Christ we have been given the ministry of restoration to be kings and judges and priests in the Kingdom under Christ, we are being used and we will be used as a repairer of the breach and as a restorer of Godly paths to dwell in.

God predestined that a people would be used to point mankind to the Christ, to make repairs to their foundation by pointing them to Christ, and then showing them the way saying this is the way walk you in it. They will be showing the people the Old Paths that they might walk in them and find the good way, and rest for their souls.

Brethren God is in the business of restoration. He fixes things. He restores things and makes them new again. He declares it in Revelation 21:5 by saying "Behold I make all things new."

Jesus is doing that with certain people right now, and He will use those individuals as part of His plan to make a repair to the breach, to fix the foundations, to put down rebellion, to restore anew the old and ancient paths, that one day & I deeply believe this, that aside from those rebels who just will not repent, the majority of all of mankind will finally, finally, be as Jesus is, pleasing unto the Father. Good Lord, I ask that you would quicken that day!

The Old Paths Restoration Ministry

PO Box 247

Marengo, IN 47140

www.theoldpaths.net