Tag: al kitab ul muqaddas

Know Jesus and Know Heaven …

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Whenever He was in Capernaum, Jesus probably routinely resided at Peter’s house.

Having completed His preaching tour of the Galilean Synagogues Jesus now returns to Capernaum and probably to the house of Peter.  The news of His return spread quickly so that in practically no time at all a crowd had filled the house to capacity and spilled out into the street.

To the western mindset this thing about digging through the roof sounds like major vandalism to the house but in all actuality it wasn’t.  The house had a flat roof and there was a stairway leading up to the roof.  A family could relax up there in the cool of the evening.  After the four had let their friend down through the hole they had made and Jesus had done His thing the five probably repaired the roof, perhaps leaving it in better shape than before their arrival.  The four friends had encountered a major obstacle and could have given up and said, “Well we’ll try again another day,” but they didn’t let the problems overwhelm them, they looked for and found a solution.

Injil Markus 2:2  And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

2:3  And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

2:4  And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

2:5  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

2:6  But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

2:7  Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God only?

In Jewish theology even the Messiah could not forgive sins and therefore they were sure that Jesus was committing shirk.  However if He really is who He claimed to be then disbelieving in Messiah Jesus is the worst type of shirk of all.  Al-Masihu-Isa (Jesus) is kalimat Allah and wadjih (worthy of esteem in this world and the next) according to the Quran.

2:8  And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

2:9  Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

Since they believed and were quite certain that a person’s sins had to be forgiven before they could be healed Jesus has chosen to force them to engage their brains.  One of the purposes of the miracles Jesus did was to prove to the people precisely who this holy one of God, Jesus, truly is.  He is the promised Messiah.  There is no other like Him.

2:10  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

2:11  “I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”

2:12  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Jesus saw their faith, He may have smiled as he looked at a faith strong enough to overcome the obstacles and then He looked at the Scribes – the ones who should have had faith and He couldn’t help but be annoyed by those Scribes.  Now, in part, these fellows were doing their job; they were scrutinizing this itinerant Rabbi to make sure his teaching was okay.  But these were sitting there watching for what they considered to be the slightest mistake so they could blow it all out of proportion rather than allowing themselves to be moved by the working of God which they were privileged to see happening right before their very eyes.

The religious leadership made a connection between sin and disease, not entirely unfounded, but they were a bit misguided.  To them a sick man was a man who had sinned.  They had already heard Jesus preach; they had already seen Jesus heal.  Still they seemed quite unmoved by all that they had seen and heard.  Now, understand this, Jesus won’t allow anyone to remain neutral towards Him.  You will be either for Him or against Him, your choice.  If you choose wrongly, you will ultimately pay dearly for your choice.  Know Jesus, Know Heaven.

He has decided to up the ante, therefore he said, “Child your sins are forgiven.”  He has just challenged them head on with that phrase.  They were of the belief that the sin had to be forgiven before one could be healed.  But anyone is capable of saying “your sins are forgiven” and how can it be proven whether the statement was effective or not?  Now on the other hand, to tell the man to get up and walk would demonstrate then and there the authority, effectiveness, and reliability of His word.  Therefore in the tenth verse Jesus lets them know they have to make a choice to either believe in Him or disbelieve.  He has hoisted these experts in the law on their own petard.  It is on their own traditions and stated beliefs this man could not be cured unless he was forgiven.

In effect Jesus has said, “you say I have no right to forgive sins?  You believe that if this man is sick, he is a sinner and cannot be cured until he is forgiven?  Okay, then, watch this!”  Jesus spoke the word and the man was cured, therefore he must be forgiven and Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sin must be true.  And a lot of eyewitnesses were there who couldn’t help but to laugh at their dilemma and to praise the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He loves you and wants you to know who He is, and He asks you to live for Him.

–Pastor Ward Clinton

Jesus did Miracles, Muhammad could not

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Injil Markus 1:40  And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

1:41  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

1:42  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

1:43  And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

1:44  And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

The sacrifices were to be evidence that the cure was real and that Jesus had respect for the law, the real law of God as opposed to the man-made traditions which were really a corruption to God’s law.  The healing was also a testimony to Jesus’ divine power, since the religious leadership believed that only God could cure leprosy (see 2nd Kings 5:1-14)

1:45  But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

In the Injil (New Testament) there is no disease regarded with more terror and pity than leprosy.  When Jesus sent out the Twelve he commanded them “Heal the sick, cleanse lepers.”  Thereby he demonstrates that God has compassion on men and women.  (Matt 18:8)  The fate of the leper in that day was truly hard.  There were some other skin diseases which were mistakenly classified as leprosy such as ringworm or psoriasis and when they went away there was a prescribed ritual to go through to be declared “clean.”

The leprous person could not come closer than a stone’s throw to a non-leprous person and if they did people would typically react in fear and drive them back with stones.  From Peter’s recorded perspective it appears the leper came closer than allowed but it is also likely he actually did not, only coming as close as he could before falling to his knees and making his plea.  Whether he came closer than allowed by law or stopped short isn’t important; what is important is that Jesus cared enough to reach out and tenderly touch the untouchable one as well as completely cure.  It was a demonstration of the one true God’s compassion; if we will only approach and humbly request He will bridge the remaining gap because He longs to establish/restore the fellowship that has been broken by the barrier of sin between an unholy being and the thrice Holy God.

Many a man on the face of this planet ignorantly and arrogantly thinks he will be able to approach God and plead the case that he himself is not so bad as some of his fellows and for that reason alone he must be allowed into heaven.  Many a man thinks that so long as his good deeds outweigh his bad deeds then he must be accepted but that also is a corrupt teaching from sinful man.  Sadly, he will be met with justice rather than mercy because he has chosen to act in pride rather than humility.  It is only those who by faith apply to Christ Jesus for mercy and grace who will find that He is quite willing and capable of providing the mercy and grace they need and seek and he will bring them into the presence of the one true God.

Jesus then sent the man to go fulfill the prescribed ritual.  We need not see this man as failing to obey, for he probably completed the task assigned except that he simply could not keep silent for the joy of deliverance.  How can a sin-sick soul that comprehends the cure which has been effected by the power of such a gracious, loving God (yes, the one true God really does have compassion on us) be silent regarding the cure?

–Pastor Ward Clinton

Isa expels demons, Imams Can’t

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1:34  And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

The demons knew and understood Him to be the Messiah, the one true and holy Messiah; Isa, Al-Masih, is kalimat-Allah and wadjih according to the Quran and for that reason they were powerless against Isa.

Many that were possessed with devils – Dr. Lightfoot gives two sound reasons why Judea, in our Lord’s time, abounded with demoniacs. First, Because they were then advanced to the very height of impiety. See what Josephus, their own historian, says of them: There was not (said he) a nation under heaven more wicked than they were. See on Rom_1:1 (note). Secondly, Because they were then strongly addicted to magic, and so, as it were, invited evil spirits to be familiar with them. It seems strange to find men at this distance of time questioning the truth of that which neither scribes nor Pharisees then doubted; nor did they ever object against the pretensions of Christ and his apostles to cast them out. And, if the whole business of demonism had been only a vulgar error, (as “wise” men now tell us), what a fine opportunity had the “wise” men then, to unmask the whole matter, and thus pour contempt on the pretensions of our blessed Lord and his followers, who held it to be one proof of their Divine mission, that demons were subject to them! – Adam Clarke

It has been said, “Build a better mousetrap and the public will beat a path to your doorstep even if you live in the wilderness.”  Unfortunately the crowds were only coming because they wanted something; unfortunately the crowds only thought they were coming to see a wondrous physician; fortunately the crowds were coming.

Sadly, for one prayer that goes up to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in days of prosperity ten thousand go up in times of adversity.  Only prayers to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are of any value, prayers to any other god are useless.

    Try Jesus, if you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back.

   Many a man who has never prayed when the sun was shining begins to pray when the cold winds come.  So many people regard religion as belonging “to the ambulance corps and not to the firing-line of life.”  Therefore religion, to them, is merely a crisis affair.  Only when life has gotten into a mess do they begin to remember God, but it is in the sunshine times that we need to polish the communication lines so that when the darkness settles over us we don’t suddenly find ourselves trying to figure out how to establish a connection.  God is not someone to be sought only in the day of misfortune; He is someone to be loved and remembered every day of our lives.

    The god of Ishmael does not love you; The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob loves you.

   Although the recognition of one’s failure to come to Him during the sunny time should not be allowed to hinder the seeking of Him in the dark time – it is just so much better, so much wiser, and so much safer to remember Him in the sunny time when one may be assured of finding Him.

And healed all that were sick – Not a soul did the Lord Jesus ever reject, who came to him soliciting his aid. Need any sinner despair who comes to him, conscious of his spiritual malady, to be healed by his merciful hand? – Adam Clarke

Need any Muslim despair who comes to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  He loves you and wants you to know who Jesus really is; Jesus is the holy one of God who knows the true path to eternal life.

Injil Markus 1:35  And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Away from the disciples and other distractions, He started His day in private communication with the one true God.

Injil Markus 1:36  And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.

1:37  And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

1:38  And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

Simon Peter, upon finding Him, tells Jesus that people are starting to gather at his house again.  Jesus informs Simon Peter that the gospel message must be taken to other towns also.  His message is not to be confined to a single area, no matter how well received in that place.  This would also give the people a chance to more carefully consider the gracious words they have already heard Al-Masihu-Isa speak unto them.  As regards prayer; prayer doesn’t do our work for us; prayer strengthens us for the work that must be done.

–Pastor Ward Clinton

Messiah’s teaching is amazing

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Injil Markus frequently reports the amazement that Messiah’s teaching and actions produced.  The Scribes tended to teach the words of other teachers and the traditions of men.  Part of what was happening with the teaching from Jesus was that He was teaching Scripture, not from the Mishna or some other tradition of men; He was teaching them what God said and meant, not what some famous Rabbi of bygone days had said that perhaps God had really meant.  When a man teaches that a Hadith or a fitnah supersedes or abrogates something in the Quran is he not claiming the Quran is mistaken or corrupted?  Furthermore, because the Koran says the al kitab ul muqaddas is not corrupted, then whenever an Imam teaches something contrary to the Al kitab ul muqaddas he is acting exactly like the Rabbis who were opposing Messiah and he is not one iota less corrupt than they were.  I have already offered the testimony of Muslim scholars and Muhammad himself regarding the Holy Bible’s accuracy in a previous post.

Injil Markus 1:23  And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

1:24  Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

1:25  And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

1:26  And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

It was the demons who cried out.  Demonic possession tends to torment and destroy those who are created in God’s image, but the demon recognized that Messiah was a powerful adversary capable of destroying all the forces and schemes of jinn and Shaytan.  The phrase, “The holy one of God,” was perhaps used by the demons in accordance with the occultist belief that the precise use of a person’s name might give a certain amount of leverage against him but most definitely they have recognized the divine origin of Jesus.  Thereby they were saying in effect, “These foolish humans may not know who You are or the love the one true God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has for them, but we know who You are and we know what will happen to all of Your enemies.”

1:27  And they [the people] were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

1:28  And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

The whole subject of demons [jinn] is a difficult one, but no more so than the problem of the devil.  The devil is an unclean spirit, because he has lost all the purity of his former nature, therefore he acts in direct opposition to the Holy Spirit of God, and by his suggestions defiles the spirits of men.  There are many in our assemblies who quietly attend under merely formal teachers; but if the Lord comes with faithful ministers and holy doctrine then, by his convincing spirit, they are ready to say, like this man, What have we to do with thee!   That jinn was terrified that it was going to be sent to the place of punishment before the set time and knew that Jesus had the authority to send him there.  By the way, your Imam does not have that authority; if you have a loved one whom you wish to have freed from demon possession you will have to find a Christian who has been given that authority.  That is just one of the reasons that it is not wise to harass the followers of the Holy one of God.

No “disorder” could enable a man to know Jesus to be the Holy One of God.  The jinn wants to have nothing to do with Jesus, for he despairs of being saved by him, and dreads being destroyed by him.  Consider whose language they speak, who say to the Almighty, “Depart from us”.  This unclean spirit hated and dreaded Christ Jesus, because he knew him to be the Holy One of the one true God; for the carnal mind is enmity against God, especially against His holiness.  People who cannot stand to attend a Bible-believing/Bible-teaching Church here on earth should not expect to be able to tolerate Heaven where the one true God abides forever.

1:34  And he healed many that were sick of [various] diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

The demons knew and understood Him to be the Messiah, the one true and holy Messiah; Isa, Al-Masih, is kalimat-Allah and wadjih according to the Quran and for that reason they were powerless against Jesus.

When Jesus The Christ by his grace delivers souls out of the hands of Satan, it is not without tumult in the soul; for that spiteful enemy will disquiet those whom he cannot destroy. This put all who saw it to considering, “What is this new doctrine?”  A work as great often is worked now, yet men treat it with contempt and neglect, endangering their own soul.  If this were not so, the conversion of a notorious wicked man to a sober, righteous, and godly life, by the preaching about a loving, holy Savior, should cause many to ask, What doctrine is this?  Will he do such a work for me?

–Pastor Ward Clinton

Time for an Awakening

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Obama the enemy agent

Barry is not an inept President; he is an enemy agent. – worldparliament-gov.org

All the Toyota trucks ISIS have in their possession are courtesy of BHO.  They would not have enough equipment to put up much of a fight, let alone expand their sphere of influence, if BHO had not created them, and then armed them with all the modern equipment.  BHO is a treasonous Nation of Islam type of Moslem.

Barak Hussein Obama/Frank Marshall Davis, Jr/Barry Sotero, whoever he is, is a traitor or domestic enemy to the USA and that is by his own choice.  He has been somewhat of a success in his actions to undermine and destroy America; if he intended to do good for America then he has been a horrendous failure.  Either way, he is the worst President America has ever had.

Pray for America

Now is the time for all Christians to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves because we live among those who would tear us apart and destroy us if we are not careful, therefore let us put on the whole armor of God and engage in the battle.

–Pastor Ward Clinton

The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still speaks

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Jesus preached the good news of peace (Ephesians 6:15)  The penalty of being a fallen human being is to have a split personality.  In fallen human nature the beast and the angel are strangely intermingled.   Man’s trouble has always been that he is haunted both by sin and saintliness.  Robert Burns said, regarding himself, “My life reminded me of a ruined Temple.  What strength, what proportion in some parts!  What unsightly gaps, what prostrate ruins in others.”  The coming of Messiah Jesus brings forth the cure for that disintegrated personality and enables victory over the warring self through being conquered and completely consecrated by The Christ.

Jesus preached the good news of God’s promise (Ephesians 3:6).  It is true that men have always tended to think of God as a God of threats rather than a God of promises.  Look at the way some say the God of the Old Testament was mean – it demonstrates they still fail to understand who God is.  If you have eyes to see and understand, the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob shows His mercy and loving-kindness even in the Torah.  God’s grace (i.e. unmerited divine favor) is demonstrated in that portion of The Book, it is just much harder to see than it is in the latter portion which begins with the Gospel (Injil) accounts.

Jesus preached the good news of immortality (2nd Timothy 1:10).  To the pagan and the Sadducees alike, life was the road to death; man was characteristically a dying man; but Jesus came with the good news that through Him we are on the way to life.  Interestingly enough, the pagans that did believe in an afterlife had a rather dark view of what it amounts to.  I have to admit that I am not too impressed with what the followers of Mohammad believe regarding the afterlife either.  That is primarily because the god of the Koran doesn’t seem very trustworthy.  But, of course, disbelievers in Messiah Jesus, as revealed in the Holy Bible, should have a dark view of what the afterlife will be like for them.  The fact of the matter is that there was a time when you were not, but now there will never be a time will you will no longer be.  Therefore, embrace, make friends with, the holy one of the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because, if you do not, this earth is as close as you will ever get to Heaven.

Jesus preached the good news (Ephesians 1:13) of salvation.  Salvation is not simply liberation from penalty and escape from the consequences of past sin; it is the power to live life victoriously and to conquer sin.  That makes the message of Messiah good news indeed.  It is a shame that most followers of Jesus do not live and walk in the full victory of life available to them.

Jesus preached the good news of Repentance.  Unfortunately, repentance is not as easy as we tend to think.  The Greek word metanoia literally means a change of mind.  That is part of the reason a new follower of Isa has such a difficult time trying to walk in holiness of heart and life; he knows he is a new creature, but he still has the old habits and needs help.  Of course, it does not help when the tradition of certain men gets in the way by suggesting that it cannot be done.  As for traditions, the earliest hadiths are only the result of traditions, nothing more, and created by men over a hundred years after Muhammad.

For the follower of Jesus, the Messiah, the trial that may lay ahead is never as strong as the power behind.  The children of the world (disbelievers in the holy one of God) have no such guarantee.  He, Jesus, is “wadjih” (worthy of esteem in this world and the next), according to the Quran.  The Quran also says Isa is kalimat Allah.

Pray to the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who sees, hears, and still speaks to us today and longs to demonstrate His great love.

–Pastor Ward Clinton

The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob speaks

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Injil Markus 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

The Messiah, Jesus, came to set up the kingdom of God among men so that we might be brought into willing subjection to it, and therefore might find salvation in it, and He presented, through the preaching of this gospel, a power going along with it.  It did not go along with traditional thought that men had invented to claim what the kingdom of God would look like when it arrived but it was in accordance with His rule book, the Holy Bible.

The descendants of Father Abraham, have to get right in accordance with the Messiah’s teaching which was in line with the prophets of old but not necessarily in line with the Oral Law and popular Rabbis old who had been adding their own points of view into the mix in the same way Imams do today.  Imams today are adding their own unauthorized opinions to the word of God and then trying to tell their followers that they must not question what they have been told; not only is that taqqiya, what they are doing is shirk of the most evil kind.

Jesus came preaching the good news regarding the kingdom of God.  Unfortunately, it does not appear that the people were as fully aware that the time for the arrival of the promised Messiah, the holy one from God, had come as they really should have been.  They had the sure and accurately preserved word of God and of their prophets but they were not as well versed in them or the signs of the times as they could have and should have been.

They were hoping for Messiah to come in a way differently than the manner in which He came and with a different message.  Muslims have the same problem the people back then had, they are following the traditions of men and ignoring the voice of the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Sorry, but the hadiths and fitnahs were written many, many years after when the Quran was supposedly written and they are only man’s words.  Those who put their trust in them will be very disappointed when Jesus, The Messiah, returns.

Jesus was preaching the good news of truth, “You have heard, but I say,” He said over and over again.  It other words He told them and people of our day that it is time to stop with your man-made traditions and get back to what the Word of God actually says.

Jesus preached the good news of hope.  (Col 1:21-23)  The ancient world was a pessimistic world; in some ways our world is a quite pessimistic one as well.  Seneca spoke of “Our helplessness in necessary things.”  In their struggles for goodness men were defeated.  The coming of Jesus brings hope to the hopeless heart.

The optimist says the cup is half full.  The pessimist says the cup is half empty.  The pragmatist says the cup is too big for the job.  Today, because of Jesus, the child of God (the true Christian) can say, “My cup runneth over.”

–Pastor Ward Clinton

The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Speaks

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John had quite likely lost track of his cousin during his own scholarly and Godly pursuits.  On the other hand he may even have tried to recruit Him into the Essenes because he had always known there was something very special about his younger cousin although he did not know precisely what it was.  Perhaps he was still hoping that his cousin would leave the carpenter shop and join him in preparing the path for the mighty Messiah who would manifest miracles and whom he knew was due to arrive at almost at any time now.  Perhaps Jesus (Isa) had even gone out to hear John preach a time or two.

John’s message of preparation also pointed to something much better than mere water baptism because the Messiah was coming and the Messiah has the ability to baptize people with the Spirit of God.  Water can cleanse the outside only but the Spirit of the one true God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can cleanse our innermost being.  John’s goal was to get people turned around from the path they were on and redirected towards the one who was greater than he; the one whom all men, without exception, need.  Remember this, the teachings that Isa will return show that we really need to know who Isa is and what He taught and expects from each one of us according to the Holy Bible.

Injil Markus 1:9  And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Jesus probably began His public ministry 27AD, when He was approximately 30 years of age.  As far as we know, he had spent most of his life in Nazareth.  Jesus approached the water where John was preaching and baptizing and perhaps John thought for a brief moment “Cool, here comes my cousin, perhaps he’ll consent to being part of my ministry preparing everyone for the arrival of The Messiah.”  Mark does not relate the brief exchange that took place between the two, which is something which was left to another gospel writer to tell us more about.  But suddenly John recognizes who Jesus really is because the God revealed the truth to him and he exclaims “I need to be baptized by You.”  And John begins telling his own followers, “Follow Jesus, He is the one I have been prophesying and preaching about.  Jesus is the Holy One of God.”

1:10  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

1:11  And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

For those who have eyes to see something very important has been revealed.

John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance intended for those who were sorry for their sins and desired to express their determination to be completely done with them.  What did such a baptism have to do with Jesus?  Wasn’t He the sinless one and therefore such a baptism would be irrelevant and unnecessary in His case?  Short answer, yes.

Jesus took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh in that although He was perfectly pure and unspotted, He chose to be washed as if He had been polluted.  Therefore for our sake He sanctified Himself so that we also might be sanctified and be baptized with Him.  Jesus was and is the holy one from the one true God and He gave us the pattern of living the one true God desires to see reflected in each one of us.

1:12  And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

1:13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

“As soon as” He was baptized there was a voice from Heaven affirming Him and then He went into the wilderness for a period of time.  Matthew and Luke expand upon that wilderness experience but the Gospel of Jesus according to Mark marches on without even pausing for a breath.

John’s heraldic ministry was now wrapping up and it had accomplished much of that which it was supposed to.  Better results would have been nice but there was a resistance to his message.  Unfortunately that is the old, old story in that so many oppose God and His true messengers.  Fortunately, however, some do pay attention and obey.  So John exits the stage and the main feature begins because the long-awaited mighty messiah who manifests miracles is taking center stage.

1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

The good news from, as well as about the one true God, the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He was calling for a change of heart and lifestyle.  He also had the message that the one true God actually cares about and loves us enough to send Isa (PBUH) to us to demonstrate that fact.  He is still trying to communicate that message to any who will stop and listen today.

–Pastor Ward Clinton

Messiah Jesus is the true path

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Rather than the attire of the religious leadership of that day, John showed up wearing clothing similar to the prophets of old and with similar, in many ways, mannerisms.  Now it had been several centuries since the last prophet so the people took notice and they were flocking out to see and hear the one true God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s special messenger.

It is clear that the ministry of John was quite effective because the people flocked out to listen to him and submit to his call for baptism.  He was living his message 24/7.  He was not one of the Sabbath day saints that shed his saintliness during the rest of the week when it might interfere with his “secular” business dealings.  He was not one of those who, after saying his prayers, would engage in activities that would not be approved by the Messiah as revealed in the Holy Bible and honorably spoken of by the Quran.  Messiah Jesus is the holy one of the one true God who is the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

John told people things that they knew in their innermost being that God desires of all of us and he had the voice of authenticity closely coupled to consistency.

The people, interestingly enough, also had a saying “If Israel would only keep the law of God perfectly for one day the kingdom of God would come.”  So when John recommended real repentance he was confronting them all with a decision that they already knew, within their innermost being, they ought to make.  The law of the God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is found in the al kitab ul muqaddas and it is clarified by Jesus in the Injil.  If Muslims would follow Messiah’s law, even if for only one day then true peace would reign throughout the world because Messiah’s law is the law of life.

Injil Markus 1:7  And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

This is, of course, the Messiah for whom John was preparing the people to receive, Jesus of Nazareth who was born in Bethlehem and was the Messiah, the holy one sent by the one true God to show us the true path of righteousness.  Although His followers have made mistakes, Messiah never did.

John was a humble person who was quietly being in alignment with the character of God.  It is quite safe to say, he was not illiterate as some have tried to suggest.  His credentials included being an Essene – those are the people who are responsible for what we call “The Dead Sea Scrolls.”

John had somehow avoided being indoctrinated into the Pharisaic mindset and stayed true to the message God desired that he should bring.  Still, John felt himself unworthy of even the lowest position in the Messiah’s Kingdom.  It is an interesting fact of life that the most eminent of saints of the one true God tend to be the most humble.

It is when we recognize our need of the one true God’s divine light and His empowerment that He begins to pour out on us that which we need to more fully act accurately on His behalf in this world.  The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is close, not to hurt or harm us but because He truly cares about us.  The one true God loves you and wants you to know that, which is why He sent Messiah.

–Pastor Ward Clinton