…because…
–Pastor Ward Clinton
The God of Father Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob loves us. The god of Abraham and Ismael does not love; he does not even love the most ardent follower of Mohammad. When the Koran says that allah is as close as your jugular, that is a threat borne of hatred for humanity.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Know Jesus, Know Heaven
Don’t like it? Call 1-800- TEL-LGOD …and talk to someone who cares.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Time to wake up and be prepared.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
One of the seemingly easiest ways to excuse our sins is to judge others. It is not wrong to exercise judgment but we must start with ourselves. Only too frequently we are guilty of the sins we think we see in others but that is not necessarily always the case. We need prayer and love if we are to perform “eye surgery” on our brothers and sisters. We must judge them the way we want them to judge us.
Lightfoot said, “Cast out the little sin that is in thy hand: to which he answered, cast out the great sin that is in thine. So they could not reprove because they were all sinners.” Thus we see how great a calamity was cast upon Christendom by Calvin because he revived that antinomian spirit that said that we all sin all the time because we are only a sinner saved by grace and can never rise beyond that low-level of spirituality this side of heaven. But Jesus commanded “Sin not,” and He knows full well how to help us live blameless before God.
We know that sacred things are liable to be abused by profane persons. It should really come as no surprise, then, when they use and misuse the sacred text to attack us in order to inflict pain or intimidate us into being silent at the very time we should not be. God does not give permission to the Christian to be silent; He has commanded us to be watchmen, holy watchmen, alert and sounding the alarm for the enemy of our soul is near at hand.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
We cannot just allow [our moral values] to be frittered away because we’re unwilling to defend them. This, i think, is absolutely critical …our moral values will sustain us. Our values as a civilization, our religious values, will sustain us because they are civil values; they are tolerant values, and this, it seems to me, is the kind of thing that will enable all of us to pull together and sustain whatever efforts it takes to resist this attack on us. –Mort Zuckerman
–Pastor Ward Clinton
Don’t be bamboozled, they are not “refugees” they are invaders with malicious intent.
Keep your powder dry, you will need it. Prior to that point in time when it will be needed we all need to be praying for a great revival to happen within all the Christian churches throughout America and that it would spill out into the streets in such a fashion as to spark a brand new Great Awakening such as sparked the founding of this nation as an independent country that has been mostly a force for good in this sin-darkened world. Holiness unto God needs to be our watchword, now more than ever.
–Pastor Ward Clinton
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
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
pastorwardclinton 