Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself Or God

Acts 16:16-31, “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

I woke up today and started to become a bit frustrated. I got frustrating because since 2015 Google has been censoring my website articles, reducing my web traffic by 85%. I began to complain to God, asking Him if I am wasting my time. I became frustrated realizing that all my labors are being cast aside and countered by Google, rendered ineffective for no other reason than they don't like what I am preaching! But then the indwelling Holy Spirit reminded me of a Scripture passage we learned about in church last Sunday. By the way, everyone needs to attend a local Bible-believing church. Amen!

I thought about our text passage from Acts 16:16-31. The disciples were doing something good—they were soulwinning, preaching the Gospel to the lost. When a woman who had been exploited by wicked men because of her soothsaying abilities got saved, she was no longer of use to them. Consequently, those wicked men were able to convince the local ungodly authorities to have the disciples arrested, beaten stripped of their clothes and thrown into prison! Think about that. The local authorities didn't care about the afflicted woman who had been exploited by wicked men. No, they only cared about the pimps who used her! Unbelievable!!! We see that type of wickedness much today in America. It doesn't matter that preachers are getting people saved and lives are being changed for good, big tech social media companies are censoring God-fearing preachers who tell THE TRUTH.

As I pondered this matter of Google censoring my ministry by 85%, the Lord comforted my heart. His blessed Holy Spirit told me not to be so hard on myself or Him. I'm not the first preacher who has been censored...lol. Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan (1628-1688) was locked up in prison for 12 years for preaching the Gospel. Contrary to the demonic health, wealth and prosperity preaching of Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joseph Prince, Joel Osteen and Pat Robertson, the Bible says in Hebrews 11:37b that some Christians were “SAWN ASUNDER” for their faith!!! 2nd Timothy 3:12 guarantees that if you live godly in Christ Jesus, YOU WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION!!!

As I pondered these easily forgotten truths in the Bible, I thanked God for using a broken humble sinner like me to help reach others as an ambassador of God (2nd Corinthians 5:18-21). Acts 17:32, “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.” I love that Bible verse! As the Apostle Paul preached the truth unto the men at Athens, Greece, some mocked him while others listened attentively with curiosity. They even asked Paul to explain it to them again!!!

The Lord encouraged my soul today concerning being censored by Google. The disciples were also censored. They were physically assaulted, beaten and thrown into prison. I heard a beautiful and very needful sermon last night by Pastor Steven Anderson called: “ONLY ONE VIEWPOINT IS ALLOWED.” Please listen to this message! The video is now safely on the BannedPreaching website, because YouTube banned it! It is a crying shame that a website would even have to exist called, “BannedPreaching.” I love Pastor Steven Anderson as my dear brother in Christ and that he is a faithful truth-teller!

In the preceding needful sermon Brother Anderson wisely explains that the Devil doesn't want people to get saved. The Bible teaches this in 2nd Corinthians 4:3-4. Satan blinds men's minds, lest they see the truth of the Gospel and be converted into the Kingdom of God. It is for this reason that Satan doesn't want people to hear the message of preachers like myself and Pastor Anderson. We are VOICES for God. John 12:17, “The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.” Amen! I love that.

The Pharisees were plotting to silence the blessed Savior, but the more they tried the more popular Jesus became! Therefore, I know that if God be for me, no man can stop my preaching!!! Google can continue to censor my ministry, but God is still on His throne. Wicked men censored, banned and persecuted the disciples of Jesus. In John 15:19 Jesus exhorts every believer to keep in mind that if the world hated Him, so also will they hate us as His disciples!!! John 7:7 says the world cannot hate us as believer; but rather, they hate Jesus because through the Word of God He testified against the wickedness of the world, and they despise that (John 3:20). 

So please don't be too hard on yourself or God dear saint of God, when persecution comes, because the world persecuted our dear Savior. The world nailed Him to a cross. I read a great quote today on social media...

“A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.” —Adlai Ewing Stevenson, 23rd U.S. Vice President

Jesus spoke THE TRUTH, for which the world nailed God to a cross! 2nd Corinthians 5:19, “To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” God was in Christ, as we just read (1st Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9 - All Scriptures references are only to the inspired King James Bible). The Godhead indwelt the fleshly body of the man Jesus (John 1:1-3, 14). What a great God and Savior!!!

I also saw something beautiful on the BannedPreaching website, which is that you can DOWNLOAD THEIR ENTIRE WEBSITE'S CONTENT with just one click (you will need 770 GB of free hardrive disk space. That's almost a terabyte!!! You can buy a 5 TB USB hardrive on Amazon fairly inexpensive. I have that exact hardrive which I use on my laptop.

Dear reader, we are on the winning side in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37). Bible prophecy is history written in advance. We are blessed to read in the Bible about events that haven't even happened yet, in past tense. How awesome is that!!! Despite our problems, pain, burdens and heartaches in this temporary world, we already KNOW that Christ has won the war and we are on His side by the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Everything that Christ has accomplished is only by His precious blood which was shed on Calvary's cross and sprinkled upon the heavenly Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). THANK YOU JESUS!!!

So don't be too hard on yourself oh saint of God! The world WILL despise and hate you. Jesus said they WILL deliver us up to the courts to be prosecuted as saints. In fact, Jesus foretells of the time when Christian will be martyred for their faith. Matthew 24:9, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.” How are we supposed to respond to that? John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Keep your head high oh Christian, and let God's love shine on your face for Him!!!

Now, I'm not talking about the fake apostate Hillsong church today with their sycophantic worship! Those yardbirds are a disgrace if ever there was one. Their gospel message is intentionally vague, welcoming and affirming sodomites in their unrepentant state, calling them righteous children of God. Hillsong's greedy leaders deliberately blur the lines between truth and lies, between righteousness and unrighteousness, between saved and unsaved. As the churches become more worldly, so is the world becoming more churchy! Proverbs 24:24-25, “He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.”

I'm talking about genuine Bible Christendom. Jesus warned in John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Have you been BORN-AGAIN dear reader? That is the $64,000 question. You were born the first time from your mother's womb. That is the birth by water (flesh) which Jesus speaks of in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Some corrupt preachers errantly teach that the “water” in John 3:5 refers to water baptism. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Here we see that “water” and “flesh” are synonymous. You and I spent 9 months forming in our mother's water bag (i.e., born of water) in her womb. This is the first (physical) birth).

Now there is a second birth by the Spirit (i.e., God's Holy Spirit). God desires to save all humanity (2nd Peter 3:9). I don't care how vile, wicked and contemptible you may be or think of yourself, God loves you oh sinner and He wants to save you, so says the Scripture:

Romans 5:6-9, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” 

Christ died for THE UNGODLY (you, me and all mankind). We are all wicked sinners (Romans 3:10-23). There is NONE righteous, no not one. Ecclesiastes 7:20, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” There is a penalty for our sins, which is DEATH (Romans 6:23). The Bible speaks of a “second death” (Revelation 21:8b), which is eternal separation of our body, soul and spirit from God in a Lake of Fire and Brimstone, being tormented by God in fire forever and ever without rest (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 20:11-15). That is the BAD NEWS!

The GOOD NEWS is that God loves you friend. In fact, God loves you so much that He was willing to die for you! God came down to earth, born of a virgin as a man. Jesus lived a sinless life. He was crucified on a cross for our sins, paying our debt of sin that we simply could not afford to pay. If we were to pay for our sins, we would have to be punished in the fires of Hell forever!!! That may be difficult to accept, but it is what the Bible teaches. Don't try to figure God out dear friend, just trust His Word that He has recorded. John 5:39-40, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” If you simply come to Jesus as a guilty sinner, BELIEVING that He is the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of God, receiving His sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, and believing that Christ was buried but is risen from the dead, YOU ARE SAVED!!!

The very second that you put your FAITH (trust, confidence, rest) in Jesus Christ, God performs a supernatural miracle by which you are instantly made a born-again child of God. God's Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. THIS IS THE NEW BIRTH!!! God is born in you! Isn't that beautiful? Sure it is. When you were born the first time (physically), you were born into God's creation; but when you get born for the second time (spiritually), God is born into you! 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

I hope you enjoyed learning those Bible truths. I always enjoy teaching them! As a born-again child of God I greatly desire to preach the truth of the Gospel to get more people saved. So it greatly frustrates me when the Devil's crowd censors the truth. The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 1:18 that THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS IS FOLLISHNESS TO THEM THAT BELIEVE NOT!!! 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” I wish the owners of Google believed the Gospel, but they don't, so to them it is foolish. It is so easy to be saved! Pastor Anderson preached a great sermon recently called, what else: "SALVATION IS EASY." I encourage you to listen to it. God bless you dear reader (and you sincerely are dear to this humble Gospel preacher). THANK YOU for reading my blogs! I love you with God's unconditional love.