Do Not Let Your Heart Be Troubled

1″Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
John 14:1 (NIV)

The above verse is a part of Jesus’ farewell message to his disciples. I believe those words are for us as well. In this article, I am going to look deep into the meaning and explore ways to use it for our prosperity.

Jesus began by telling us not to let our hearts be troubled. He simply means we should not allow ourselves to get worried and think negative. There are many things around us that we do not have direct physical control. None of us has the direct physical ability to stop earthquakes, typhoon, terrorism, economic recession or any other major disasters from happening. However, this does not mean we must allow them to get into our minds and lead us into the state of hopelessness. We can choose to think positive, talk positive and fill our hearts with hope even if we are physically in a bad situation right now.

This is the same message we see repeated in the Bible. A Christian life is a life of hope. Our calling as Christians is to live our lives in hope and joy at all times, both good and bad. We may not always have direct control over the situation around us but we always have direct control over all our thoughts. It is through our thoughts that we can change our situations from bad to good. This is the core message that Jesus was trying to get to us.

The next question is how not to let our hearts be troubled? The answer is in the second part of the verse. “Trust in God; trust also in me.” Jesus asked us to trust in him. Again, what is that? If you have been attending a religious church, the phase “trust in God” is as meaningless as “God bless you” or “hi”. Those religious people who are under the bondage of theology can never get rid of the perverse idea that God is a sadist.

According to the theology infested minds, trusting in God can mean believing that God can do perverted things like making people poor, infecting them with diseases, creating disasters or giving them thorns in the flesh to show his sufficient grace. So, it is important to note that when Jesus tell us to trust in him in John 14:1, he is referring to God and him as who they are. They are not sadists. God is good. Being good is the opposite of being a sadist.

Trusting in God means believing that God is on our side no matter what happens or how impossible the situation appears to be. We believe that our God is both able and willing to help us to overcome all our troubles and give us all the victories we desire. Our role as believers is to believe. It is only when you truly believe this, you will be able to be filled with hope regardless of what the circumstances say. Your heart will not be troubled. Instead, it will be filled with hope and joy.

Through the heart of hope and joy, we are in position to receive the blessing from God to overcome all our troubles. Our lack will turn into abundance, sickness into health and failures into success. God has prepared his abundant prosperity for you. Are you willing to take them? Can you believe that? Will you not let your heart be troubled? Can you trust in Jesus? Your decision will determine your prosperity.

This is the will of God for all believers.

Characteristics Of A Good Shepherd

14″I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:14-15 (NIV)

I posted an article on Jesus as our good shepherd yesterday. As I reflect on it, I find that there are a lot more stuff that I have missed out. So, in this article, I will share more of the characteristics of Jesus who is our good shepherd. In order to help you to understand better, I am going to use a commercial model in my explanation.

Let us assume that you have a lot of money and you want to invest in the wool production industry. You bought 100 sheep and hire a shepherd to take care of them. Ask yourself this question: What type of person do I want to hire to be the shepherd to my sheep?

In this model, I assume that you are not a sadist. You have no intention to do sadistic things to your sheep to show them your sufficient grace. You want your sheep to live comfortable, have enough to eat, drink and even multiply their population so that you can make more money.

As for me, I will lay out the following conditions to the person I want to hire as the shepherd to my sheep:
1. Must place the sheep as the highest priority.
2. Make sure no sheep lack in good food or clean water.
3. All forms of illness of the sheep must be treated immediately.
4. The sheep must not be harmed in any way.

Must place the sheep as the highest priority.
The flock of sheep is my asset. The shepherd is the person I hire to take care of them. So, I expect the shepherd to treat my sheep as his boss. The priority of the flock must always be above the priority of the shepherd. If I ever find out that the shepherd places his own interest above the interest of the flock, I will sack him immediately.

A shepherd may appear as the leader or a king to his flock of sheep but in reality he is a their servant. His priority is always to serve their needs. When he brings them out, he must choose the best place for his sheep, not for himself. This is his responsibility.

How does Jesus fit in this role? Jesus may be the Almighty Son of the Living God. He may be above all creation. However, if he really wants to be our good shepherd as he promised in the Bible, he must do what all good shepherds do, serve us and put us at a higher priority than his own. No wonder, Jesus is also known as the servant king.

As our good shepherd, Jesus thinks of us as his highest priority. As long as he is in this role, we are his bosses. Jesus must care for us more than he cared for himself. He has proven that at the Cross. Our role as his sheep is to follow him and trust that he will do his job. So, no matter what problems you are facing right now, do not be shy to go to the shepherd. Let him do his job as your shepherd to help you. He has the solution for all our problems. The question here is, are you willing to trust in him?

Make sure no sheep lack in good food or clean water.
Food and water are the basic necessity as well as material prosperity for sheep. When it comes to material riches, sheep only knows grass and water. It is the shepherd’s responsibility to ensure that his flock will never be hungry or thirsty. Otherwise, the flock may become weak and sick. The shepherd will lose his job. In short, the shepherd must ensure the prosperity of his flock at all times.

As our shepherd, it is also Jesus’ responsibility to make sure we his flock will never live in lack. As Jesus’ flock, we have the right to prosper in every area of our lives including politically incorrect areas like having a lot of money. Throughout the Bible, we can read that we believers are supposed to be rich. The Bible never said anything about “rich minus money” or “blessing minus health and wealth”. Those phrases are not from God but the invention of theologians who are nothing more than messengers of Satan from hell.

Being rich and healthy is our right as the flocks of Jesus. All sheep owners (except the perverted ones) want their sheep to be able to eat and drink as much as they want. It is the responsibility of shepherds to ensure that if they want to keep their jobs.

So, never hesitate to ask Jesus to give you a lot of money unless you don’t think he is fit for his job. The theologians will surely object to this truth but who cares? Jesus is our shepherd, not they.

All forms of illness of the sheep must be treated immediately.
It is the responsibility of the shepherd to ensure the good health of his flocks. If any sheep falls ill, the shepherd must treat it immediately or he would have failed in his job.

One of the common heresies among religious Christians is God make people sick for some reasons. I have shared before a story on my brother-in-law being hospitalized. My wife and I visited him. When we reached his bed, I saw a group of people surrounding him to pray for him. I can still remember that after the prayer, a lady in the group said “Maybe God wants you to rest more.” In other words, this lady accused God for creating disease to help people to rest. Do you believe that?

Put yourself in the position of the sheep owner again. One day, when you were inspecting your flocks, you found some sheep looking weak and sick. You asked the shepherd on their condition. The shepherd told you that he intentionally made them sick to give them rest. How will you respond? As for me, I will sack that scum immediately and sue him for intentionally causing illness to my sheep.

What if Jesus made us sick for any reasons? He will be sacked immediately. Ask yourself this question. Is Jesus still your shepherd? If he still is, then you can be sure that he will never make you sick. If you are sick, it is job to do his best to make you well. Do you believe that? Will you trust in him?

The sheep must not be harmed in any way
It is the shepherd’s responsibility to protect his flock from all harms. It makes no different whether the threat is in the form of predators, thieves or natural disasters. Failure to do that is to fail as a shepherd.

What does this mean to us, as Jesus’ flocks? We are completely protected from all harms. We do not have to worry over the uncertainties in this world. The good shepherd is watching over us. We can live in peace and confidence no matter where we are and what happened in this world.

Just as shepherds are not allowed to make their flock sick, they are also not allowed to create disasters for their sheep as the judgement for their sins. I don’t think you want to hire a shepherd who does that. As I have mentioned in my previous articles, the idea of disasters being the judgement of God is nothing more than a perversion from the theologians with the intention to squeeze money from the scientifically challenged public.

Jesus will never sink to such level.

Conclusion
Jesus is not our shepherd by name only. He intends to do the job of a good shepherd in our lives. However, he will never force us to follow him. We have a choice on whether to follow or ignore him. Whatever choice we make, we will face the consequences that come with it.

The Good Shepherd

14″I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
John 10:14-15 (NIV)

It is common for Christians to acknowledge Jesus as our shepherd. Even the perverse churches that are infected by the lies of theology do that. So, the idea of having Jesus as our shepherd is not a problem among us. The main problem is the term “good” that is attached to the title “shepherd”. Jesus is not just our shepherd, he is our good shepherd. What does that mean?

In one of my articles, I have pasted a long passage on the meaning of “good” from the dictionary. I don’t think I want to do that again, as it will be a waste of space. Suffice to say that good means good. The meaning of this term in the Bible is the same as the dictionary. In other words, it means what it means.

As our good shepherd, Jesus is committed to bring us good things like good health, abundant wealth and all the success we desire. He will never do perverted things to us like giving us thorns in the flesh to show us his sufficient grace.

I suspect the main reason for many Christians who are struggling today is they do not know that Jesus is their good shepherd. They must have been deceived by the theologians like I once was. When I was in my first church, I was deceived into thinking that God is only interested in 2 things:
1. Getting me to go for missions.
2. Asking me for money.

This is why I treated God as though he is a plague. I thank God for setting me free from such lies.

We need to constantly remind ourselves that Jesus is our good shepherd and he means what he said. His priority is our benefits and welfare, not in getting us to be missionaries or ask for our money. Those preachers who used high pressure and manipulative tactics (like those my first church) to get us to go for missions or give money to the church, did not speak for God. They spoke on behalf of the demonic spirit from hell. Never trust them at all.

After telling us he is our good shepherd, Jesus continued to tell us that as his sheep, we know him. How much do we know him? Verse 15 tells us that we know Jesus as much as Jesus and the Father know each other. This means we know him very intimately.

Here is an important point to note. Jesus had never said we must get to know him. He said we know him. The second part of John 10:14 and the first part of John 10:15 are a statement of fact, not a commandment. However, I am not surprise if there are theologians who turned them into another of their theological commandment.

Some may ask, “What does that mean? What if I tell you that I don’t know Jesus even after I have become a Christian? Am I disqualified from salvation?”

The answer is, no you are still saved. Your mind may not know Jesus but your spirit does. When we first believed in Jesus, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit as a deposit to guarantee our salvation. The Holy Spirit interacts only with our spirit. So, our spirits know everything we need to know about Jesus. We only need to get our minds (meaning our souls) to get in line with our spirits. This involves listening to faith messages, reading faith literatures and thinking faith thoughts.

Once our minds know what our spirits know about Jesus, we will finally know the truth and the truth will set us free. We will know that theology is nothing but lies from the pit of hell. We will not be afraid when we hear some crackpots saying that God will judge us by sending earthquakes, tsunami, plagues, typhoon, floods, economic crisis, terrorism or any perverted things because we believe our God is not a pervert.

Don’t you think it is a good life to believe that our God is for us and not against us? This is the result of knowing the real Jesus.

Verse 15 ends with Jesus telling us that he is even willing to die for us. He did not ask for the reverse. Never trust anyone who tells you that you must die for Jesus. If death is really necessary, Jesus will do it himself.

In case there are people with suicidal thoughts reading this article, I want to remind you that if your death can solve whatever problems you are facing right now, Jesus will be willing to do that for you. In fact, Jesus had already died for you. All your problems are as good as gone when you turn to Jesus for solution. Your suicide is no longer necessary because Jesus has done it for you. Just remember, he is a good shepherd.

The Light Of Life

12When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NIV)

In the above verse, Jesus spoke on himself being our light. As long as we choose to follow him, we will never walk in darkness because we have him as our light of life. What does that mean? I will explain the true meaning of these words in this article.

Jesus began by proclaiming himself as the light of the world. He even gave a guarantee that anyone who chose to follow him will never walk in darkness. The first thing that comes to me is the freedom to choose. You may have noticed in this verse and every where else in the Bible that Jesus had never resorted to the theologians’ way of blackmailing people into following him. In the above verse, Jesus did not promise to give darkness to those who refused to follow him. He only promised light to those who do.

So, what will happen to those who refused to follow Jesus? The answer is nothing. There is no penalty for those who choose to reject Jesus in their lives. They just will not get the benefits that come from Jesus, which is the light of life.

This is the basic foundation of Jesus’ teachings that is ignored in churches that are infested by the lies of theology. Those who are infected by the lies of theology can never understand the truth that God will never do bad things to those who choose not to believe in Jesus. They will remain where they are and continue moving on the path that they are on right now in accordance with the Newton’s First Law of Motion:

“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.”

Jesus is the external force that can change our state of motion. He does that by being our light and shows us the right way. As a result, we don’t have to grope in the dark. We can see what is ahead of us.

Please note also that even after we have chosen to have Jesus as our light of life, we are still free to make our own choices. The purpose of light is to illuminate our surroundings. Light can never force us to do anything.

I have lamps in my house. When it gets dark, I switch them on. When the light is on, I can see everything in my house. I don’t have to grope my way around and risk stumbling. Based on my experience with light, both natural and artificial, I notice one important factor. It never instructs me or forces me to do anything.

If I feel thirsty, I will go to get water to drink. The light shows me where to get water. It never instructs me to drink. I have never asked the light’s permission for anything. As far as I can remember, I have only used light as my helper to get what I want. I have never enslaved myself to it.

Jesus told me he is the light of my life. What does that mean? It works the same way with other lights that I have used. I use this light of my life to help me to get everything I want, including the politically incorrect money.

At this point, I am sure those who are infected by the lies of theology will accuse me of blasphemy. Let me share more of my “blasphemous” acts.

 When I feel thirsty, I drink water. I have never asked for God’s permission nor have I checked on whether it is doctrinally correct to drink water.

 When I feel like going to the toilet to pass motion, I go to the toilet. I have never asked for God’s permission nor have I checked on whether it is doctrinally correct to go to the toilet.

 When I am hungry, I eat. I have never asked for God’s permission nor have I checked on whether it is doctrinally correct to eat.

 When I am sick, I visit a doctor. I have never asked for God’s permission nor have I checked on whether it is doctrinally correct to visit a doctor.

 When the light bulb in my house is burnt, I change the light bulb. I have never asked for God’s permission nor have I checked on whether it is doctrinally correct to change light bulbs.

This is my question to my accusers: Have you committed the above “blasphemous” acts?

I have done many other things without asking for God’s permission nor checked whether they are doctrinally correct. However, that does not mean I am not following Jesus. I used the light of Jesus and the common sense he gave me when I make those choices. In doing so, I am living in accordance with the will of God. I am the true follower of Jesus.

This is the true meaning following Jesus. The choice to follow Jesus comes with the immediate benefit of having him as our light of life. This light shows us the truth on everything around us. When we know the truth, the truth will set us free. After we are set free, we can do anything and have everything we want. This includes the freedom to ask for politically incorrect things like health and wealth.

However, that does not mean it is wrong to ask for God’s guidance on whether certain decisions are right or wrong. It is a good practice to avoid unnecessary troubles. However, we need to understand that, God will only give us advice. He will never force us to obey his advice. It us up to us individually to decide on whether to obey or disobey him.

Welcome to Jesus’ light.

Sanctified By The Truth

17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:17 (NIV)

The above is a part of Jesus’ prayers for believers before he faced the Cross. We can also say that this is his wish for all Christians. Jesus wished for all believers to be sanctified but the truth. What does it mean? If you have been attended religious churches, you would have been misled into thinking the word “sanctify” as some sort of ritual. The truth is, it is not. To sanctify is simply to improve, up-grade or become better. Jesus prayed for us Christians to improve ourselves in the truth.

What then is the truth? The second part of the verse says God’s word is the truth. The Bible (which is God’s word) is truth. Please note that Jesus did not say the world we can see around us is the truth. He said God’s word is truth. Why is that so? What happens around the world do not always conform with what the Bible says. Our role as believers is to believe and act as though the Bible is true even if the world around us tells us the opposite. This is called faith.

When I first started this blog, I was so naïve that I thought I could convince the religious Christians that the Gospel of Jesus Christ includes the blessing of material wealth and physical health by quoting Bible verses to them. Now, I know it was a futile attempt. No matter how many Bible verses they can read, they can only think of the following:
1. Isolated verses that imply God loves poverty and sickness after some creative interpretations.
2. The existence of Christians who are currently poor and sick.

In other words, those religious Christians who have been poisoned by the lies of theology can only see the negative events as truth and not the Bible. In their minds, as long as one Christian is sick or poor, then God’s promises of health and wealth are no longer valid. They will proceed to help to save God’s face by changing the meanings of the Bible to fit their negative views such as, sometimes it is the will of God to make believers poor and sick to show them his love.

I dare you to test this out yourself. Try to quote Bible verses that promise health or wealth to Christians who attend religious churches. I can tell how they will respond. They will either give you different meanings to the verses you have quoted or they will say, “Yes, but.” And followed by examples of Christians who are poor and sick both in the Bible and the real world.

I put up the above to show that most Christians have stopped believing Bible as the truth. In their minds, the world is the truth and meanings of the Bible must be changed to conform to the world around them. They are no longer sanctified with the truth. Not only that, they are quick to persecute us (Christians who are sanctified with the truth) with labels like “prosperity gospel” as though we have believed in a different gospel.

The real issue here is what is your choice? What is the source of your truth? The world around you, or the Bible? If you choose the world as your source of truth, your life can never be stable, let alone be prosperous. The economy can go up and down. Rich and powerful banks and insurance company can go bankrupt. Plagues had happened and may continue to happen. Terrorists can bomb anywhere and at anytime. How are you going to live in such an unreliable world?

I truly sympathize with people like that. As for me, I refuse to be in their situation. I choose to believe in the Word of God. I choose to be sanctified with the truth that is found in the Bible. I am convinced that the greatest will of my God is for me to prosper and be in health as my soul prospers.

I can see myself having a lot of money and live like a king even in the worst economy. I can see myself living in great health even in the worst plague. My desire is to prosper in every area in my life and I will achieve them because I know who is on my side. I believe I will triumph over every trouble and cast every mountain that stands in my way to the sea because I am sanctified with the truth in God’s Word.

In the above paragraph, I refer only to myself because I can only decide for myself. I cannot decide for you. You have to decide for yourself. Are you willing to be sanctified with the truth in God’s Word?

Jesus’ Expensive Clothes

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24 So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.
John 19:23-24 (NLT)

The above passage describes what happened to Jesus’ belongings after he was crucified. The soldiers in charged of guarding Jesus were fighting for it. They were so concerned over the potential damage on Jesus’ clothes that they settled for a peaceful means of drawing lots for it.

What does this event tells us? Jesus must have worn expensive clothes when he was arrested. It is very unlikely for Jesus to dress at his best when he was waiting to be arrested. So, we must conclude that those clothes were his casual wear. Ask yourself this question. Supposed you throw out a piece of your casual wear clothes (like a T shirt) to a group of soldiers, will they bother to draw lots over it?

This event tells us that Jesus was so rich that even his casual wear was very expensive, at least expensive enough for the soldiers of the mighty Roman Empire to draw lots for it.

We can see Jesus’ life on earth as an example for us. Jesus was never sick. We can never read in the Bible where Jesus got sick and had to visit a doctor. Instead, Jesus was the doctor for many who were sick. Jesus had perfect health when he was on earth.

Jesus was also very rich. His family received boxes of gold even before he reached the age of 2. When Jesus started his ministry, he never had to take a part-time job or ask anyone for money. He financed his own ministry. He must have a lot of money in order for him to do so. Even when he was crucified, the soldiers were drawing lots for his casual wear.

You may have noticed that the passage never mentioned Jesus’ money. Do you know why? Jesus never carried his money by himself. He had a disciple named Judas to carry his wallet for him. Are you rich enough to have someone else to carry your wallet for you?

What can we learn from Jesus’ life when he walked on earth? Remember, Jesus was setting an example for us. It is quite obvious that, God wants his people to live in good health and plenty of wealth while we are still on earth. The Bible never says we can only be rich and healthy in heaven. Our salvation does not begin when we die and go to heaven. Our salvation began the moment we believed in Jesus and became Christians. A Christian life is a life that is abundant in all things. All things include things that cannot be proven as well as things that can be proven like health and wealth.

Theologians and doctrine worshippers are very skeptical on the faithfulness of God. They have no problem with us wanting to live abundant lives as long as our abundance consists of things that cannot be proven objectively like joy, peace and treasures in heaven. However, when we cover the abundance of things that can be proven like health and wealth, they will get very angry as though God is unable to fulfill his promises.

Thank God for he is not a theologian. Our God is not afraid of promising prosperity that can be physically proven like health and wealth. Our God dares to promise us a lot of money. Jesus himself set an example of living in perfect health and abundance of wealth. Jesus wore expensive clothes. The question here is, do you dare to believe in him?

Knowing this truth will definitely set us free. We don’t have to live our lives trying to get rich or trying to make God to give us a lot of money because we are convinced beyond doubt that it is the greatest wish of God for us to prosper and be in health as our souls prosper. All we need to do is to believe in the faithfulness of our God and obey his words. It is not difficult to obey God when you truly believe that he is on your side and everything he does is always for your good.

Here is a disclaimer. When I say “good”, I am referring to the dictionary version, not the theological perversion. Theologians can define “good” as God doing perverted things to you like making you poor and sick for his “good” will. Such perversion comes from theology, not the Bible.

God wants us to live our lives everyday with positive expectations on good things happening to us. Every day when you wake up, confess that this is the day the Lord has made especially for you. You will see the manifestation of your prosperity today. When you open the mail box, expect a check inside. (This does not apply to those mails or emails that tells you that you have won lotteries you did not buy or somebody in Nigeria wanting to transfer money into your account.)

In short, live life with positive expectations. Expect good things, everyday in you life. If the good things do not come today, expect again tomorrow. If they don’t come tomorrow, expect again the next day. There is no end of tomorrow for those who have eternal lives. God wants us to live rich and he has done everything he could to make it happen. Our role is to agree with him and submit to his plan.

Live long and prosper.

Jesus Has Overcome The World

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NLT)

I remember a story told by Jerry Savelle on his experience in the early part of his ministry. He was invited to preach in a church. He preached on the hope of God. Suddenly, he was interrupted by an old man in the congregation. The old man stood up and told him that Jesus said we have many trials and sorrows on earth. Was the old man right? The answer is yes. The above verse does say that but that is not Jesus’ full message.

The above example basically sums up the way the theologians and doctrine worshippers read the Bible. Their intention is to find the most negative words in the page and make them the context for the whole Bible. So, when they read John 16:33, they only remember the part on “you will have many trials and sorrows” and forget about the rest. Each time they came across positive messages on the blessings of God (like the articles in this blog), they will think of the “many trials and sorrows” in John 16:33. Do you want to be one of them? Suit yourself.

In this article, I am going to explain the full meaning of the above verse. It is a part of the conclusion of Jesus’ goodbye message to his disciples. I have written a few articles on Jesus’ earlier message. You can read about them by scrolling down the page of this blog.

The verse begins with Jesus telling his disciples the purpose of his message to them. He wanted them to have peace. What is peace? In English, it does not mean much but in Hebrew it has a deeper meaning. Peace is called shalom in Hebrew. Let us see what shalom is.

Strong’s Concordance 7965 – Hebrew Shalom ….. A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.

Shalom basically covers everything good, including prosperity. Health and wealth are not dirty words because they are a part of shalom. So, we should not be ashamed of desiring shalom to come into our lives. Jesus has made it clear that his words are for our shalom. So, if you want to have shalom, read the Bible and if you don’t, don’t read the Bible.

In the next sentence, Jesus told us that here on earth we will have many trials and sorrows. Theologians and doctrine worshippers love this part. In their minds, this is the full message of the Gospel. God gives us trials and sorrows to show us his love, sufficient grace and trials to test our faith. It is God’s will for you to be sick, poor and fail in every area of your life. It does not matter to God how much you are suffering as long as you obey the right doctrines like the rest of the doctrine worshippers. God also causes disasters to create trials and sorrows. When you see many people died in disasters, do not be surprised because it is God’s will to fulfil his promise of many trials and sorrows.

This is basically how perverse theology has become. Is theology right? Let us read the third sentence to find out.

“But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

There is a “but” here. Sure, there will always be many trials and sorrows in this world but Jesus has overcome the world. What has that got to do with us? If you are a Christian, Jesus is in you through the presence of the Holy Spirit. The moment we believed in Jesus, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. We become the temples of God. Have you ever wonder why we Christians don’t go to temples? The answer is we are the temples. Each of us is a complete temple that comes with the permanent presence of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus said he has overcome the world, it also means we Christians have overcome the world because we have his permanent presence in us.

What does this mean? This simply means we have the means to overcome the many trials and sorrows we will face in this world. Do you have many trials and sorrows today? If you live long enough, you are practically guaranteed with them but that is not all. Trials and sorrows are just the natural products of this world. In order to overcome them, we have to overcome their source, which is the world. Jesus has done that and he is in us.

As a result, we have what it takes to overcome the trials and sorrows that we are facing now or will face in the future. No matter how big or seemingly impossible your troubles are, don’t give up. You have what it takes to overcome them. Jesus has promised that and he does not lie. All you need to do is to turn to him for advice on how to use the powers he has given to you.

Let me put this in another way. Jesus is not the Superman who will come to rescue you from a burning building. You are the Superman. You just need to learn on how to use your super powers. Jesus is the one who is capable of teaching you on how to do so. Turn to him and learn from him. Soon, you will have full mastery of your super powers. You will not only be able to save yourself from a burning building, you can save others as well.

Welcome Superman to Planet Earth.

Your Grief Will Suddenly Turn To Wonderful Joy

20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.
21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.
22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.
24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
John 16:20-24 (NLT)

We have come to the next part of Jesus’ farewell message. Here is the bad news. The disciples were going to weep and mourn while the world was going to rejoice when Jesus faced the Cross. That certainly sounds bad.

Jesus compared this with a woman suffering the pains of labor. Those pains are real but they don’t last forever. Once the baby is born her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. This means that the sorrows of the disciples would not last for long. Their sorrows would turn into joy soon.

There are sorrows in this world. There are still many things that do not work in the way we want them to work. When we have setbacks in our lives, it is easy to feel sorrow. However, Jesus has promised that he will turn them to joy.

22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
John 16:22 (NLT)

The joy that Jesus gives us is everlasting. No one can take them away from us. What type of joy is this. The next 2 verses will explain in detail on this joy.

Now, if I am to stop here with the promise of joy from Jesus, I will not incur the wrath of the theologians. After all, I only mentioned joy. Joy is not health and wealth. So, it is not a dirty word to them. The word “joy” by itself can be quite subjective. It cannot be proven right or wrong. It can be easily faked. No wonder the theologians are quite tolerant to this word. They will never accuse you as a joy preacher for preaching joy.

Unfortunately for them, I am not going to stop here. I am moving on to the next 2 verses that must be among the most hated verse by the theologians. Here we go.

23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.
24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
John 16:23-24 (NLT)

This is another truth that the theologians cannot stand. So, the joy that was promised by Jesus refers to us getting everything we want from God. Jesus promised us that we can ask the Father directly on anything we want in his name and we will get them. Shocking? That is the truth.

I want to analyze deeper into these 2 verses. First, it implies that we Christians have the right to choose and decide on what we want. There is no limitation on what we want. Jesus never said we can ask for everything except health and wealth. We have the freedom to choose and to decide what we want. So, do be shy. We do not need to ask permission from anyone especially the theologians or the doctrine worshippers. What do you want? Do you want a lot of money? Ask God for a lot of money to come to your life. Do want to have good health? Ask God to give you good health. Do you want to have a mate in life? Ask God to give you one. There is no limit on what we can ask.

I remember once I shared that I want to be rich to help the poor. Some people questioned my intention and wondered whether my real intention is to live like a king. My reply is so what? Why can’t I want to live like a king? The Bible never says I cannot live like a king. If I want to live like a king, all I have to do is to ask the Father in Jesus’ name and he will grant my request. I don’t have to use helping to poor as an excuse to be rich.

We Christians are not drones. Being Christians does not mean we have lost our individuality and have no more personal desires. We still have our own desires. I love Star Trek. In Star Trek, there is a race known as the Borg. The Borg consist of billions of people of various species who have linked their minds into one big collective mind. This big collective mind controls every individual of the race. Each person is just like a body part to the collective whole. They have no individuality and no personal desires. Their only greeting message is “We are the Borgs. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.”

We Christians are not like that. We have our desires and no one has the right to tell us what we can or cannot think and want. What do you want? What do you like? What are your desires? You have the full right to decide on them.

Secondly, we use Jesus’ name in our prayer requests. This is like putting Jesus’ signature into our prayers. When God the Father receives our prayers, he will see Jesus’ name on it. Our prayers is Jesus’ prayers. Do you think the Father will ever say no to Jesus’ prayers? If he does, the whole Trinity will collapse. This means God can never say “no” to any of our prayers.

You can never find anywhere in the Bible on God saying “no” to a Christian’s prayers. God’s answer to our prayers is always “yes”. This should give us confidence that our God will always give us what we want. So, ask God for anything you want in Jesus’ name and you will surely get them.

How about Christians who ask and don’t receive? My answer is I don’t know. As far as I am concern, I will make use of this truth to get what I want in life. I am not going to ask God only after every Christian on earth has successfully received what they ask God for in prayers. I am not interested to be the last Christian to be rich.

In Verse 24, Jesus encouraged his disciples to ask God for everything they want and he told them the reason behind God’s generosity.

24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
John 16:24 (NLT)

He wants them to have abundant of joy. This tells us what is God’s highest priority for us. He wants us to have abundant joy. When I was in my religious church, I thought God’s highest priority for me is for me to go for mission and give money to the church. The above verse tells me otherwise.

God wants us to be joyful. If you want God to be happy, be happy yourself. When you are happy, he is happy. When you pray, ask God for things that will make you happy. As you do, visualize yourself living in the life when you have what you ask for. Feel the joy within you. You will have what you want.

The Final Role Of The Holy Spirit

12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.
15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’
John 16:12-15 (NLT)

This article continues from the topic I have started yesterday. Jesus was explaining the arrival of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not here for vacation. Neither is he here to boss us around and make us suffer to satisfy his sadistic purpose. The Holy Spirit is not a sadist. He has specific missions in mind and his intention is to fulfill them. There are basically 2 parts in his mission. The first is to the world and the second is to us, Christians.

In the earlier article, I have shown you the first part of the Holy Spirit role, which is to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. The recipients of these convictions are the people of the world, in other words non-Christians. These convictions are not for Christians. Christians can never be convicted by the Holy Spirit at all because it is not his job description to do so.

In this article, we shall look at the second portion of the Holy Spirit’s role on earth. This role is only for us Christians. You may have noticed that I have added the word “final” in the title of this article. My purpose is to emphasize to you that there is no other addition to the roles of the Holy Spirit. This means you will not wake up one day and be told that the Holy Spirit has taken up a new role of being God’s Inquisitor whose role is to punish you each time you make a wrong move or think a wrong thought. That can never happen.

Let me get straight to the point. The second and the final role of the Holy Spirit is to guide us, Christians in all truth. This sounds simple but it can be easily manipulated. If you have heard this passage being preached in a religious church, I am sure they will twist it to fit their theology. I am going to explain this role in detail in order to reveal the truth that will set you free.

The first term I want to emphasize is the term “guide”. The Holy Spirit guides us in all truth. This implies the Holy Spirit’s role is purely in an advisory and passive role. He guide, not force. In other words, the Holy Spirit’s mandate and role is only in telling us what we should and should not do. He does not have the right to force us to obey him. So, if you are smart and want to have the best prosperity in life, you should obey every word from the Holy Spirit. At the same time you can also choose not to obey him and there is nothing he can do about it because his role is purely as our guide. He does not have the right to enforce our obedience or to punish us.

If we get into trouble when we disobey the Holy Spirit, it is not his fault. He did not cause the troubles. Let me give you an example. Let us assume that you are interested in smoking. The Holy Spirit will advise you not to smoke. You can choose to ignore him and take up the habit of smoking. A few years later, your health suffers and you have lung cancer. When that happens, it is wrong to say that the Holy Spirit gives you lung cancer to punish you for disobeying him when he told you not to smoke. The Holy Spirit did not give you that lung cancer. The lung cancer was caused by the nicotine in the cigarretes. The Holy Spirit has nothing to do with it.

The second emphasis I want to make is “all truth”. What is that? In the subsequent verses, we can read that it means everything from the Father. So, as Christians, we have access to all knowledge in this universe. If that is the case, why have not become encyclopedias yet? The answer is, we do not have that sort of capability to store so much knowledge. We are not designed as data storing machines. Our role here is to choose what type of knowledge or truth we want and the Holy Spirit will reveal them to us. That is all.

We choose from the menu on what we want to know and the Holy Spirit will guide us to it. We are the clients here. The Holy Spirit’s role is not to boss us around but to serve us as our guide to the infinite truth that our God has for us. What do you want to know? Do you want to now how to make a lot of money so that you can live like a king? Ask the Holy Spirit and he will guide us to your objectives. If you are smart you will obey him. If you choose not to obey, you are on your own. The Holy Spirit will not do perverted things to you.

This concludes the roles of the Holy Spirit. These roles are confined into specific areas as I have explained in these 2 articles. There is no other. The Holy Spirit will never step out of line and abuse his power. That can never happen. So, the lesson for us here is the Holy Spirit is our friend. He is not our enemy. He is not our taskmaster. He will never force us not threatened us to do anything we don’t want to do, no matter how “holy” these things are. He will never do perverted things to us under any pretext, may it be “sufficient grace” or “trials”. He is not a pervert.

My objective is to help you to see the Holy Spirit as the person he truly is. He is our friend. He is always on our side. He is our helper. What do you want? Ask him to help you to get them. Do you want good health, long life, fruitful relationship, successful career and lots of money? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He will do his job.

The Roles Of The Holy Spirit

5 “But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.
6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you.
7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.
10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.
11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
John 16:5-11 (NLT)

In the above passage, Jesus revealed to his disciples on the event that would take place after he left. The Holy Spirit would arrive and do his job. Jesus had even moved on further to describe the roles which the Holy Spirit will play in our lives. I can assure you that the Holy Spirit described by Jesus in the above verse is totally different from the “Holy Spirit” being preached in religious churches.

Let us begin. From Verse 5 to Verse 7, Jesus basically said that he had to go in order for the Advocate to come. The Advocate is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has 3 jobs to do. They are:
1. convicts the world of its sin
2. convicts the world of God’s righteousness
3. convicts the world of the coming judgment.

If you have ever been to religious churches, you will have a very negative impression on the above roles. I am not surprise if some theologians used the above verses advance their own theology and proclaim judgement to those who refuse to submit to their lies. Unfortunately for them, I am going to reveal the truth of the above verses. The explanations in this article will set you free from the lies of theology.

First, let us look into the role of convicting the world of its sin. Let me ask you this. Who is being convicted here? The answer is the world, not believers. The Bible does not say anything about the Holy Spirit convicting Christians of our sins. No matter how much we sin or live in sin, the Holy Spirit will never convict us of our sins. The reason is simply because it is not his job. His job is to convict the world, not us. So, when you hear Christians saying that they had been convicted by the Holy Spirit, they are not telling the truth. Their conviction may be real but the Holy Spirit is not the one responsible for it. The above passage is the proof.

Having said that, this does not mean Christians can sin with joy and peace. This is impossible because we Christians have been born again into another species. Since we are born of God we belong to the species of god. We are gods. The nature of gods is holiness, not sin. So when we are living in sin, we are living in an environment that is alien to our species. We will not feel good. We will not have joy and peace, let alone prosperity. So, when we sin and feel bad about it, the bad feelings were not caused by the Holy Spirit. It is caused by our own godliness. The incompatibility between our godliness and the sinful environment that we are in causes us not to feel good. Do not confuse this as a conviction from the Holy Spirit.

The next question is what sin? Does it refer to the 10 Commandments? The answer is no. Verse 9 tells us the answer.

9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.
John 16:9(NLT)

The sin here specifically refers to the world’s refusal to believe in Jesus. That is all. This has nothing to do with Christians because first we are not the world and second, we believe in Jesus. So, we Christians can never be convicted by the Holy Spirit for our sins.

The second role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of God’s righteousness. What is that? Verse 10 tells us the answer.

10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.
John 16:10 (NLT)

Righteousness is not a result of the things we do. It is the result of what Jesus has done.

The third role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of the coming judgment. This must be one of the most abused verse. Theologians love this verse. Each time there is a disaster like earthquake, storm, bush fire and terrorist attack, they will be prompt to pronounce it as the result God’s judgement. God caused planes to ram into buildings to judge the nation for banning school prayers or God set fire to bushes because of the nation’s policy on abortion. Of course, most of us have some basic intelligence not to fall for that but there are still some crackpots who really believe that disasters are the judgement of God.

Are they right? Did the theologians tell the truth? Does the term “coming judgement” refer to the disasters we have today? If it doesn’t, what does “coming judgement” really means? Let Verse 11 tells us the answer.

11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
John 16:11 (NLT)

The “judgement” here is for the ruler of this world. Who is that? His name is Satan who also happens to be the first theologian. He is the god of theology. The judgement here is neither for Christians nor non Christians. It is for the Theologian, otherwise known as Satan. The god of theology has been judged. This is the truth.

The above passage is not exhaustive on the roles of the Holy Spirit. There are more in the subsequent verses, which I will cover in future articles. The only thing I want to assure you is that the Holy Spirit is our friend, not our enemies. God gave us the Holy Spirit for our prosperity. The Holy Spirit is not Gestapo.