Dear Friends. The end of my stay in California is in sight and I have a feeling that I might never be back here , I am kind of melancholic because California is such a beautiful state and I made several friends here . The lord has laid it on my heart to move closer to my Children and Grandchildren in the Eastern part of our country. Therefore On May 5 I hope to start driving back to Cincinnati and then to Virginia. My son Johan lives in Harrisonburg and most likely I will live close by there. Tonight he had a prayer request for some friends whom I also know. Chris and Phillip . She is pregnant and they have detected a heart abnormality in the baby boy. He might also have other problems. They are conducting more test right now. Please pray for that couple and their unborn baby.
I most likely will not send you any more E mails until I get to Cincinatti with my daughter Judy there. Hopefully , by May 10. Please pray also for me, it is a long drive . Greetings in Jesus's precious name Johannes
Friday, April 28, 2006
Presumption
PRESUMPTUOUS.
PRESUMPTUOUS is an interesting word, which is used only twice in the KJ Bible. [Pslm 19:13 and 2Peter2:10] It comes from the verb to presume and in that form it appears 3 more times, Deut18:20, Es7:5 and Numb 14:14 . PRESUMPTUOUSLY is used 6 more times and I would encourage you to use a Young's or a Strong's dictionary to look them all up. Because , it seems that our Heavenly Father does not like it and is warning strongly against it .
The Webster dictionary seems to say that it is not always bad to presume something, although it can be. My own definition would be :
Acting on or saying things on the basis of our own conclusions, which are not always correct.
In Pslm.19 verse 13 King David, a man after God's own heart prays " Keep Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me, then I shall be upright and shall be innocent of the great transgression" The Lord is pointing out here some very important things and we should take a close look at this .
First of all , the multiple word sins is used and talked about as them . This indicates to me that presumptuous sins can be the cause and the root of many sins, Secondly , notice that it can have dominion over us . Thirdly, it is saying then that we can not be upright, unless we are free from presumptuous sins, which is the cause of great transgressions.
In 2 Peter2:10 our Lord sheds some more light upon presumptuous sins. Talking about the " unjust ' in verse 9, God says in verse 10 " But chiefly them walking after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities."
Notice here that it has to do with walking after[or in] the flesh. And not walking in the Spirit as we are told to do . When I combine lust and uncleanness in my mind, I think of wrong and bad sexual behavior. Then it gives a picture of selfwilled [selfish] peoples who are very rebellious, despise government and badmouth dignities. It is certainly a clear picture of what is going on now in these last days !
You might think that these presumptuous sins only concern bad and unbelieving people. But notice that David a man honored by God prayed for this type of sins .I have concluded that God's Warning against Presumptuous sins is very much directed to people who think themselves to be very spiritual. For instance one like myself. Specially people who have been given the gift of prophecy .
Because it is very easy to be deceived in thinking that you always know what God is saying and know what He want you to say . But pride and your own heart is deceiving you .
In Deut.18:20 and 22 the Lord speaks about presumptuous prophets and warns the people against them. Even to day Prophets remain prone to speaking in the flesh and therefore we must judge their prophecies. It is clear that God hates presumptuous sins because they are rooted in pride and cause many other kinds of sin.The unbeliever commits this sin when he concludes that there is no God. God calls the fools .Pslm. 11;11
The believers are also prone to commit this sin because of our pride and the tendency to feel that we are better and more advanced than others
To have the Fear of the Lord and the practice of humility is a strong antidote for presumptuous sin and let us pray the prayer of King David often,
'Lord keep this servant from presumptuous sins " Amen !
PRESUMPTUOUS is an interesting word, which is used only twice in the KJ Bible. [Pslm 19:13 and 2Peter2:10] It comes from the verb to presume and in that form it appears 3 more times, Deut18:20, Es7:5 and Numb 14:14 . PRESUMPTUOUSLY is used 6 more times and I would encourage you to use a Young's or a Strong's dictionary to look them all up. Because , it seems that our Heavenly Father does not like it and is warning strongly against it .
The Webster dictionary seems to say that it is not always bad to presume something, although it can be. My own definition would be :
Acting on or saying things on the basis of our own conclusions, which are not always correct.
In Pslm.19 verse 13 King David, a man after God's own heart prays " Keep Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me, then I shall be upright and shall be innocent of the great transgression" The Lord is pointing out here some very important things and we should take a close look at this .
First of all , the multiple word sins is used and talked about as them . This indicates to me that presumptuous sins can be the cause and the root of many sins, Secondly , notice that it can have dominion over us . Thirdly, it is saying then that we can not be upright, unless we are free from presumptuous sins, which is the cause of great transgressions.
In 2 Peter2:10 our Lord sheds some more light upon presumptuous sins. Talking about the " unjust ' in verse 9, God says in verse 10 " But chiefly them walking after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities."
Notice here that it has to do with walking after[or in] the flesh. And not walking in the Spirit as we are told to do . When I combine lust and uncleanness in my mind, I think of wrong and bad sexual behavior. Then it gives a picture of selfwilled [selfish] peoples who are very rebellious, despise government and badmouth dignities. It is certainly a clear picture of what is going on now in these last days !
You might think that these presumptuous sins only concern bad and unbelieving people. But notice that David a man honored by God prayed for this type of sins .I have concluded that God's Warning against Presumptuous sins is very much directed to people who think themselves to be very spiritual. For instance one like myself. Specially people who have been given the gift of prophecy .
Because it is very easy to be deceived in thinking that you always know what God is saying and know what He want you to say . But pride and your own heart is deceiving you .
In Deut.18:20 and 22 the Lord speaks about presumptuous prophets and warns the people against them. Even to day Prophets remain prone to speaking in the flesh and therefore we must judge their prophecies. It is clear that God hates presumptuous sins because they are rooted in pride and cause many other kinds of sin.The unbeliever commits this sin when he concludes that there is no God. God calls the fools .Pslm. 11;11
The believers are also prone to commit this sin because of our pride and the tendency to feel that we are better and more advanced than others
To have the Fear of the Lord and the practice of humility is a strong antidote for presumptuous sin and let us pray the prayer of King David often,
'Lord keep this servant from presumptuous sins " Amen !
Thursday, April 20, 2006
TENACITY
TENACITY
Although this word tenacity is not in the King James Bible, it describes the concept of steadfastness. One of Webster's definitions is : "not easily pulled apart"
God's Word makes it very clear that God himself has this attribute in the greatest way and likes to see it also in His children. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to encourage you to develop and show this character trait.
Another English word, which appears only one time in the KJ. New Testament is "perseverance". Eph. 6:18 talks about persistent prayer with supplication [humbleness]. Overall, this subject of tenacity is used many times in the Bible. Under different words, like Steadfastness, stand or hold fast, endure, continue, etc.
I want to focus in on the concept of enduring because it is mentioned so many times and links tenacity with suffering and hardship. Webster states the following definition;
" To remain firm under suffering, hardship and misfortune, without yielding " .
There is no doubt about the fact that Christians also have to suffer in this world and Philippians 1: 29 states, "For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake" " is given " sounds to me that it is considered to be a privilege to suffer.
To live the Christian live is not a bed of roses. Our heavenly Father will chastise us in order that we will grow more into the likeness of His son Jesus Christ.[ Hebr. 12:5-11}, verse 7 states that God expects us to endure. When we follow a desire that God planted in our Hearts, but experience suffering, most of the times God is testing and developing our tenacity. He wants us to have some starch.
However when we follow our own desire without consulting Him, we also will surely suffer tribulations. It then means that the Lord is trying to stop us. In that case our so called tenacity is actually sinful stubbornness and the result will be extended tribulations.
So if you do experience sufferings, tribulations and chastisements or hardships, ask your self and God if you are following your own fleshly desires, which are not given by God. The required action then is to stop at once. But if your hearts desires are Godly and given to you by God, no matter how much and what kind of hardship and sufferings you endure, obey 1Cor. 15:58. " Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.For as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord"
Mathew 24:13 says" But he that endures until the end shall be saved." Beloved, the end is getting close. And 2Tim. 4:5 says "but watch thou in all things, endure afflictions , do the work of an evangelist, make full prove of thy ministry". I close with James 5:11 ".Behold we count them happy which endure ".
Johannes G. Weiss
Although this word tenacity is not in the King James Bible, it describes the concept of steadfastness. One of Webster's definitions is : "not easily pulled apart"
God's Word makes it very clear that God himself has this attribute in the greatest way and likes to see it also in His children. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to encourage you to develop and show this character trait.
Another English word, which appears only one time in the KJ. New Testament is "perseverance". Eph. 6:18 talks about persistent prayer with supplication [humbleness]. Overall, this subject of tenacity is used many times in the Bible. Under different words, like Steadfastness, stand or hold fast, endure, continue, etc.
I want to focus in on the concept of enduring because it is mentioned so many times and links tenacity with suffering and hardship. Webster states the following definition;
" To remain firm under suffering, hardship and misfortune, without yielding " .
There is no doubt about the fact that Christians also have to suffer in this world and Philippians 1: 29 states, "For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake" " is given " sounds to me that it is considered to be a privilege to suffer.
To live the Christian live is not a bed of roses. Our heavenly Father will chastise us in order that we will grow more into the likeness of His son Jesus Christ.[ Hebr. 12:5-11}, verse 7 states that God expects us to endure. When we follow a desire that God planted in our Hearts, but experience suffering, most of the times God is testing and developing our tenacity. He wants us to have some starch.
However when we follow our own desire without consulting Him, we also will surely suffer tribulations. It then means that the Lord is trying to stop us. In that case our so called tenacity is actually sinful stubbornness and the result will be extended tribulations.
So if you do experience sufferings, tribulations and chastisements or hardships, ask your self and God if you are following your own fleshly desires, which are not given by God. The required action then is to stop at once. But if your hearts desires are Godly and given to you by God, no matter how much and what kind of hardship and sufferings you endure, obey 1Cor. 15:58. " Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.For as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord"
Mathew 24:13 says" But he that endures until the end shall be saved." Beloved, the end is getting close. And 2Tim. 4:5 says "but watch thou in all things, endure afflictions , do the work of an evangelist, make full prove of thy ministry". I close with James 5:11 ".Behold we count them happy which endure ".
Johannes G. Weiss
Friday, March 17, 2006
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The baptism with the Holy Spirit
Acts 17:11 in the NIV Bible tells us how to be of a more noble character in God's sight. If that is a desire of our heart we should examine the scriptures daily in order to determine what we hear is true and according to God's Word .
I am inviting you all here to do this with me again on the most important subject of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
This occurrence which was going to happen was so important to Jesus that He spent His last words on earth to tell us about it.[Acts 1:8] Naming this happening "the baptism with the Holy Spirit " in Acts 1:4/5, He actually repeated the words of John the Baptist, which we can find in 3 Gospels.[Math 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16] He already had told us in Luke 24:29 that He was going to send that which the Father had promised.
Does the baptism with the Holy Spirit pertain to the salvation of a person?
Definitely not! Clearly Jesus said it would give the believing Apostles power to be witnesses for him in the whole world. The message was directed to the Apostles He had chosen already.[Acts 1:3]. They were already born again believers and even had received the Holy Spirit when Jesus had breathed on them.[John 20:22] I believe that Jesus breathed on them to confirm the beginning of the New Covenant, which had started when He had shed His Blood on Calvary. 1Cor 11:25].There needed to be a transition because they were saved under the old covenant.
We must understand that there are at least two dimensions of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus speaking about The Holy Spirit said in John 14:17 " for He lives WITH you but shall be IN you." The parable of the 10 virgins also indicate that there are two dimensions or volumes of the Holy Spirit. Enough to make it until eternal live with Jesus on the end or not enough and insufficient to endure until the end.
I understand from this that when you are born again through the work of the Holy Spirit, He comes to live WITH you. But when you are baptized with the holy spirit He will be living IN you and empower you to be an effective witness.
To be an effective witness also entails that we will be able to live a more Godly life,
The world must see that our witnessing is backed up by our own lives. They must see Christ in us ! We must practice what we preach. This becomes possible through the Baptism with the Holy Spirit who will sanctify us.The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is truly a life changing experience! The 120 believers, who were obedient to Jesus command to wait for it in Jerusalem, are the best proof of this. They reached the then know world with the gospel in an amazing short time. From a cowering bunch of people they turned into convincing witnesses
almost at once !
I can testify to the same experience. Although I was born again when I was 14 years old, during world war 2, in Holland, I was only a nominal bench warming Christian until 1970 when I and my whole family were baptized with the Holy Spirit.It changed our lives entirely and we became effective witnesses in the utter most part of the world. The Holy Spirit gave use amazing power to evangelize and the Lord established many churches in the remote areas of the Philippines. They are bearing more fruit even today, as the Lord allowed me to observe during my last trip there in 2005. Praise God !
Jesus also referred to the baptism with the Holy Spirit as " the promise of the Father" Probably indicating Joel 2:28. He had also mentioned the promise in Luke 24:49.
We should ask ourselves and other Christians also, have you received the Holy Spirit? Some 19 years after the day of Pentecost, Paul did ask that question in Ephesus to some disciples he had met there.[Acts 19:2] It is a very important question.
If the answer is negative or I do not know, You must conclude that The baptism with the Holy Spirit has not happened to you as yet. Because if it did happen, you will know it. Because it does change your entire life! Are you a believer in Jesus Christ ? Then He wants you to obey him and wait for the promise of the Father. Acts 8 is definite proof that you can be a believer for a while and not have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans believed in Jesus and were water baptized but had to wait till Peter and John came from Jerusalem later on. Any way the 120 followers of Jesus had to wait also for a while. So did the disciples in Ephesus
The sad case is that today there are thousands and thousands of believers who never have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and either think that they are, or do not feel a need for it .Some of them confuse the salvation experience with the Holy Spirit baptism. Others feel not worthy of it. What is required to receive it ? Jesus said " come unto me if you are thirsty" So you only need to believe and be thirsty enough to ask for it.[Jon 7:37/39] That is a prayer request The Lord certainly will answer according to 1John 5 verse 14 and 15.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of Him "
Yours truly, In Christ Johannes
PS. If any one wants to more details what happened to the Weiss family when we were baptized with the Holy Spirit, Let me know and I will send you my complete testimony.
.
Acts 17:11 in the NIV Bible tells us how to be of a more noble character in God's sight. If that is a desire of our heart we should examine the scriptures daily in order to determine what we hear is true and according to God's Word .
I am inviting you all here to do this with me again on the most important subject of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.
This occurrence which was going to happen was so important to Jesus that He spent His last words on earth to tell us about it.[Acts 1:8] Naming this happening "the baptism with the Holy Spirit " in Acts 1:4/5, He actually repeated the words of John the Baptist, which we can find in 3 Gospels.[Math 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16] He already had told us in Luke 24:29 that He was going to send that which the Father had promised.
Does the baptism with the Holy Spirit pertain to the salvation of a person?
Definitely not! Clearly Jesus said it would give the believing Apostles power to be witnesses for him in the whole world. The message was directed to the Apostles He had chosen already.[Acts 1:3]. They were already born again believers and even had received the Holy Spirit when Jesus had breathed on them.[John 20:22] I believe that Jesus breathed on them to confirm the beginning of the New Covenant, which had started when He had shed His Blood on Calvary. 1Cor 11:25].There needed to be a transition because they were saved under the old covenant.
We must understand that there are at least two dimensions of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus speaking about The Holy Spirit said in John 14:17 " for He lives WITH you but shall be IN you." The parable of the 10 virgins also indicate that there are two dimensions or volumes of the Holy Spirit. Enough to make it until eternal live with Jesus on the end or not enough and insufficient to endure until the end.
I understand from this that when you are born again through the work of the Holy Spirit, He comes to live WITH you. But when you are baptized with the holy spirit He will be living IN you and empower you to be an effective witness.
To be an effective witness also entails that we will be able to live a more Godly life,
The world must see that our witnessing is backed up by our own lives. They must see Christ in us ! We must practice what we preach. This becomes possible through the Baptism with the Holy Spirit who will sanctify us.The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is truly a life changing experience! The 120 believers, who were obedient to Jesus command to wait for it in Jerusalem, are the best proof of this. They reached the then know world with the gospel in an amazing short time. From a cowering bunch of people they turned into convincing witnesses
almost at once !
I can testify to the same experience. Although I was born again when I was 14 years old, during world war 2, in Holland, I was only a nominal bench warming Christian until 1970 when I and my whole family were baptized with the Holy Spirit.It changed our lives entirely and we became effective witnesses in the utter most part of the world. The Holy Spirit gave use amazing power to evangelize and the Lord established many churches in the remote areas of the Philippines. They are bearing more fruit even today, as the Lord allowed me to observe during my last trip there in 2005. Praise God !
Jesus also referred to the baptism with the Holy Spirit as " the promise of the Father" Probably indicating Joel 2:28. He had also mentioned the promise in Luke 24:49.
We should ask ourselves and other Christians also, have you received the Holy Spirit? Some 19 years after the day of Pentecost, Paul did ask that question in Ephesus to some disciples he had met there.[Acts 19:2] It is a very important question.
If the answer is negative or I do not know, You must conclude that The baptism with the Holy Spirit has not happened to you as yet. Because if it did happen, you will know it. Because it does change your entire life! Are you a believer in Jesus Christ ? Then He wants you to obey him and wait for the promise of the Father. Acts 8 is definite proof that you can be a believer for a while and not have been baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans believed in Jesus and were water baptized but had to wait till Peter and John came from Jerusalem later on. Any way the 120 followers of Jesus had to wait also for a while. So did the disciples in Ephesus
The sad case is that today there are thousands and thousands of believers who never have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and either think that they are, or do not feel a need for it .Some of them confuse the salvation experience with the Holy Spirit baptism. Others feel not worthy of it. What is required to receive it ? Jesus said " come unto me if you are thirsty" So you only need to believe and be thirsty enough to ask for it.[Jon 7:37/39] That is a prayer request The Lord certainly will answer according to 1John 5 verse 14 and 15.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask, we know that we have what we ask of Him "
Yours truly, In Christ Johannes
PS. If any one wants to more details what happened to the Weiss family when we were baptized with the Holy Spirit, Let me know and I will send you my complete testimony.
.
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