This message is directed to those who are professing Christian.

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23

It has taken me 40 years to gradually realize that sin is not only hated by God but very bad for us. And even after 40 years, I still have to fight bad behavior that keeps plaguing me. And because of this, it makes it very hard for me to write this. I do not feel qualified to be the one who explains what the Bible says about this subject because, in many ways, I feel like I fail to live up to how the bible says we need to act. However, due to His incredible grace He has granted me in overcoming so many things, I realize that He wants me to still warn you of the dangers of making peace with your sins. I have seen too many Christians destroyed by their repeated sinful behavior.

He loves us but He hates sin. He knows how it destroys His children and sin caused Him to allow His son to be put to death on the cross to save us. God’s grace was not given to us to casually go our own way without any concern over our sinful behavior.

In this passage in Numbers, Israel went 40 years in the wilderness because of their rebellion against God. They missed the blessing God had for them because they would not forsake their sin. A whole generation missed entering the promised land.

God takes it more seriously than we do. He gets angry about it.

And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. Numbers 32:13

This does not mean He still does not love His people. Of course He still loves us. Just like we get angry at our kids, so does He. However, we cannot expect that we can get away with it forever. He is long-suffering but there is a point in time that we will have to account for unrepentant sin.

We think we can continue in our sins but unless we get an understanding that we need a healthy fear of God, a very frightening thing will happen to us. At some God appointed time, He may remove His presence from us. I have seen this happen.

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Judges 16:20

Samson was a mighty man of God that refused to forsake his sin. God removed His presence from him, and Samson did not realize it. If it happened to him, it can happen to you. I personally have witnessed this occur to men of God with large ministries who get caught up in sin and lose the anointing of the Holy Spirit but continue to preach like nothing was wrong. And many followers, including myself, are slow to recognize that something is wrong until they get exposed.

We must fight our sins and not compromise. We have to become determined to conquer our evil thoughts and behavior. No matter how many times we fail, we must be determined to stop bad behavior. This is a decision all believers need to do if they truly love God.

This is what is so amazing about King David in the bible. He screwed up pretty bad. He committed adultery but also had her husband killed. But when the prophet Nathan confronted him, he repented. He did not try to excuse it, but faced it. Psalms 51 is the most powerful example of a man committed to turning away from his sins and receiving God’s forgiveness. He was not just sorry, he repented and begged God not to take His presence away from him. Take a look at what David said when he recognized how he sinned.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!  Psalms 51:2

Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.  Psalms 51:11

What troubles me is what I see in the church today. Many make excuses for their sin rather than to determine never to sin again. The world has a right to call us hypocrites when we casually treat people poorly and act like it’s no big deal.

If you struggle with repeated sins, study Psalms 51. Read it, pray it till the power of God gives you the ability to repent. If you are a believer, you do not want to lose His presence. And understand, it could happen to you without even realizing it!

The first thing you must do is to quit making excuses for the bad, sinful behavior and acknowledge that what you did was wrong. Most of us immediately try to defend ourselves and start comparing ourselves with how someone else acted. We try to explain away our wrongs by faulting others for what they did wrong first. We play the blame game. When you just admit you did wrong, you will resolve any situation much quicker. It does not matter what anyone else did. You do not have to give anyone the power over you to make you do something wrong. I don’t care what they did, you don’t have to sin too. Acknowledge your sin.

Do you realize how much quicker an argument between two married people would dissolve if this was done? I’m not talking about admitting you did something you did not do, I’m talking about putting a stop to Satan’s plan to bring chaos and destruction. Just put a stop to the devil’s plan by acknowledging you screwed up. Forget about what they did before you. Forget about whether they misunderstood you as it doesn’t matter either. You just need to take charge and stop any further destruction. This is what makes a true man or woman of God who has decided to allow God to sanctify them by removing sinful behavior.

Secondly, as a believer, we need to understand we should never rely on ourselves to do the right thing. In our flesh, we are sinners. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and empower us to do the right thing.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

If you are a believer, you must recognize that we have the Holy Spirit who is our great helper, so let Him help. Paul tells us:

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:17

Remember, Jesus knows how weak our flesh is as He lived as a man, not just As God. He was both God and man. One of the great mysteries of the gospel. He was tempted in all the ways we are, yet He did not sin. He is our example and we must keep pursuing to be more like Him. Striving to improve your character is a path that we should all take until the day we die. He wants to prepare us to be empowered to be His witness and end our walk on earth ready for eternity.

The most important discovery in this life is the revelation that God loves you and invites you to experience a relationship with Him. However, many are separated from God wondering:

• Can God hear my prayers?
• Does God even care about me?
• How can I believe in God with all the evil in this world?

The separation you feel can be removed, allowing you to experience a relationship with God that will completely change your life. When the separation is removed you will know, without a doubt, that God is real and deeply cares about you.

So, what has caused this separation from God? Sin. Our sin has separated us from God. Initially you may think, “I’m not so bad, so how could that be?”

This is common thinking. We do not understand how horrible sin is. God is holy and righteous and cannot allow sin to enter His presence. He hates sin because He sees the destruction it causes. Sin is the root cause of everything wrong in this world. Sin has caused divorce, wars, child abuse, murder, drug addiction, rape, and the list goes on and on.

While you may not understand the severity of your sin, it has caused the division you have with God. You can even make light of it and compare yourself to others to lessen your guilt, but thinking you are better than someone else does not remove your sin.

This is what God said about sin as He spoke through his prophet Isaiah:

^[A]but your iniquities have made a separation
    between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
    so that he does not hear.

While God desires unity with His creation, He wants us to choose Him and His ways without being forced to. He created us with the ability to choose right and wrong, and we constantly choose our own way over His. He knew this would happen, so He predetermined a way to remove sin from those who were willing to change.

It is not enough for you to say that you believe in God; you must be known by Him. You may ask, doesn’t God know who I am? After all, He’s God. The Bible is clear about our sinfulness and standing before God:

^[B]For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

We are guilty and there is no excusing our sins, no matter how little or infrequent they may be. Sin separates us from the holy standard of God.

Most people rationalize if there is a heaven, they probably lived a good enough life to get into it. Often, they base this upon how good they are compared to others. After all, most of us are trying to live a decent life and be a good person. The truth is you are not a good person. Think about it, you cannot even go through one day without sinning.

The standard for getting into heaven is not based upon a comparison standard, it’s based upon God’s standard. His standard requires perfection.

Jesus said:

^[C]“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Perfection? How can that be? It can’t, without sin being paid for and removed.

^[D]For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

We have redemption from sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the price for our sins, so we don’t have to. Accepting Christ includes a decision to repent from your sins, which means turning away from them. You turn over your sins to Jesus Christ. He takes them upon Himself, and they are completely paid for. Past, present, and future.

^[E]“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

What can be worse than standing before God and hearing: ”I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” Think carefully about this… there is a possibility that you could spend eternity separated from God. The reality of rejecting Jesus’ payment for sins will leave the responsibility on us: living eternity separated from God.

^[F]“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

^[G]”But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

This group above describes all of us. Don’t lie to yourself and act like you have never worshiped something more than God or you’ve never lied. Be honest about who you really are. Jesus did not tiptoe around things when He called the ones ordered to depart from Him “evildoers.” This describes those who never get convicted of the sinful way they live. These people did “good” things in God’s name but He still never knew them. This is why comparing yourself to others is pointless, the only standard is how Jesus says we must live.

We can’t make excuses for bad behavior; we must admit our sin and stop making peace with it. You must be determined to stop bad behavior.

If you want to explain away your own sin and would rather be self-deceived, you don’t need to read any further. But if you know something is wrong, then keep reading.

There are three steps you will need to take where you can experience His presence and realize that He knows who you are.

1. First, you must acknowledge that you are a sinner and have fallen short of God’s standards.
2. Secondly, you must understand that your sins need to be removed to have your relationship with God restored. Only Jesus can remove sins. He chose to have our sins placed on Him as He died on the cross. He paid for your sins so that you don’t have to.
3. Thirdly, you must commit your life to Christ and surrender to Him. You make the decision to start living the way He wants you to. This part of repentance, where you decide to completely change directions. It is not an emotional decision but rather a determination of your will to start living for Him. It is the best decision you will ever make.

These steps will require you to give up your pride and acknowledge that the way you have lived your life was wrong. Humbling yourself could be the hardest obstacle.

^[H]But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Many people don’t even understand that pride is a sin. Your pride wants you to believe you can fix yourself, but you can’t. Even with surrendering your life you will need to see that you need the Holy Spirit to succeed. When Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, preached his first sermon this is what happened:

^[I]Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This perfectly showcases being known by God. They repent, are baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. The separation from God is removed and the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. This is what Jesus called being born again.

^[J]Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The time when the Holy Spirit comes inside you is when you know, without any doubt, that you belong to Jesus Christ. The separation is removed. When the Holy Spirit enters your life, it is life changing. You now are able to hear His voice. It is not just your conscious you hear, but His voice and it is distinctive and overpowering.

^[K]My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (boldness is my emphasis).

This is how we know that God knows who we are. When we are convicted of our sins and desire to be cleansed from their destructive ways, the Holy Spirit is bringing us to a place where we can be set free from the bondage of sin. Don’t stay in bondage to that which will eventually destroy you. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ. You may have tried over and over again to be a better person, but you’ve always failed. This is because you need His help.

As Jesus was dying on the cross He cried out,

^[L]…”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus, with our sins placed on Him, separated from His Father, felt the separation that sin causes as God the Father was forced to look away. How horrible that must have felt, and still He did this out of love for each one of us.

The only reason why God would say to you ‘I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers’ is because you never decided to give up your sins. As Jesus died on the cross, he took our sins with him. The work has been done. All you have to do is recognizing your sins were the reason the perfect Son of God died on the cross and repent asking Him to forgive you. Surrender to Jesus Christ and let Him pay for your sins and remove them.

The really great news is that Jesus’ last words before dying on the cross were not “why have you forsaken me” but rather

^[M]He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

When he cried out “it is finished” he was referring to our sins being paid for. It is finished meant the debt was paid.

The salvation experience must include that Jesus Christ enters your life where He begins to change the way you live. No more lawless living. This does not mean you stop sinning all at once, but you begin the journey of allowing him to change you, one day at a time.

Has this happened to you? If not, it can right now. Just repent of your sins, ask him to forgive you and commit your life to Him. Then you can start this new journey by committing to do what He says.

And please do not take this moment and resist because this is the most important decision you could ever make. This is where your pride may kick in and you may start rationalizing that you are okay because you believe in God. It is not about whether you believe in God or not.

^[N]Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Demons believe in God. Demons tremble because they know what lies in their future. They are separated from God with no hope of salvation. They made their choice. You are being given the opportunity to be restored to your Creator. No more excuses.

When you make this decision to give your life to Jesus Christ, you are raised from the dead just like Jesus was. This moment becomes the beginning of your new life. You can experience a new life where you have God’s peace and purpose.

Do not take this decision lightly. This is a choice everyone must make.

^[O]…Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

^[P]“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Give your life to Him today. Today can be the day you are known by God.

^A Isaiah 59:2 English Standard Version
^B Romans 3:23 New Living Translation
^C Matthew 5:48 English Standard Version
^D Romans 6:23 New Living Translation
^E Matthew 7:21-23 New International Version
^F John 8:24 New International Version
^G Revelation 21:8 English Standard Version
^H James 4:6 New American Standard Bible
^I Acts 2:37-38 New Living Translation
^J John 3:3 Holman Christian Standard Bible
^K John 10:27 English Standard Version
^L Mark 15:34 New International Version
^M John 19:30 New American Standard Bible
^N James 2:19 King James Version
^O 2 Corinthians 6:2 New Living Translation
^P Matthew 7:24 New American Standard Bible

Photo by Eunice Lituañas on Unsplash

When I had my heart attack in 2017 and four machines kept me alive, God visited me in the intensive care unit. He spoke that He was not done with me. It would take six months to recover, including learning how to walk again. I’ve since learned doctors gave me a 1% chance of surviving the heart attack, but here I am, He brought me back.

In past three years I have viewed life and my commitment to God differently. I am more driven to do what He tells me to do. As I have spent time seeking Him, He has revealed sins in my life that I never realized. I largely thought I was okay, but He has opened my eyes to many things that need to change.

The realization of sin can be a painful process, but it is an opportunity for repentance which brings us closer with the Lord. In my personal repentance I am much more aware of His mercy and immeasurable love. He has refocused me as His witness, calling me to warn others as we head towards a time of chaos that will shake the whole world.

That time is remarkably close.

God is going to allow this shaking so that our sins will be exposed for what they are: evil.  Our sin separates us from the One True God who wants us to repent from such evil, so we can be restored to Him. That is what He desires.

Two keywords that will help you make it through what’s coming: repentance and mercy.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

1 John‬ ‭1:8-10‬

You might read that passage again carefully.

The exposure of sin throughout America will be a gradual process that will grow with the power of Almighty God behind it. He is doing this to allow His church the time to repent in order to avoid great pain. He is merciful beyond our understanding.

The first step towards salvation is seeing sin in our lives. We must recognize it as evil and stop entertaining it.

For too long there has been a cloud of demonic influence covering up our national sins. The cloud keeps us from seeing how far from God’s presence we have become. He is changing that and you can see it firsthand through the events of the day that are uniting believers in prayers of repentance and in spiritual warfare against the demonic strongholds Satan has used to divide our country.

The remnant church has been praying for the salvation of America, and God has heard our prayers.

Hidden sins will be revealed soon. There will be no way to cover them up as judgement is delivered to America in the coming days. The cloud of deception will be removed so that all can see the truth. This is the only key to saving America; we must see sin as evil. Once the Holy Spirit exposes it, we will need to repent from embracing it.

We must repent now and turn from any sins that we have made peace with. It is our only hope.

There will be many that repent, and God will use laborers to carry His Gospel to them. If you are a believer, repentance needs to include our lack of concern for unbelievers.  We have played church games and do not take evangelism seriously. We act like we are doing God’s work when many of us never talk to the lost about their souls. Ask the Lord to give you a love for the lost. Will you do this?

The key to whether we survive what is coming is repentance. Repentance can bring restoration and the mercy of God. Those who are broken and saddened over our sins will find His mercy. While those who shake their fist at God’s righteousness will be exposed and seen for what they are. There will be no one left to defend their arrogance and pride.

I believe it will appear that America is done with as tragedies mount throughout our nation. It is going to look like we cannot recover, but if we repent He will use His servants to rebuild.

The thought of massive chaos, violence, and destruction can be very frightening. However, there is no need to fear because as you repent, your sins are placed on the cross with Christ. Repentance acknowledges Christ’s payment for sin and gives you the peace of God. His peace will be with you no matter what you face and your eyes will be opened to how merciful He is.

We all deserve His judgement but instead He shows His children mercy.

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭45:22

Your life does not need to end in disaster

“And the angel said, “don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here ! He is risen from the dead ! Look this is where they laid his body. Now, go tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” Mark 16:6-7 NLT

Why do you think the messenger, when he told these three women to go tell the disciples, added “including Peter ?” Wasn’t he one of Jesus disciples? Or was it possible that Peter had assumed he lost the privilege of being called one of his disciples? After all, he had just betrayed and denied Jesus three times. He had failed Jesus and acted like he never knew him.

Just maybe this messenger knew that Peter would really need a little extra encouragement that Jesus still considered Peter one of his disciples. Even though he denied Jesus, Jesus was not going to deny him.

Have you ever thought about the fact that at this point in time there was not much difference between what Judas did and what Peter did? They both betrayed him.

They both failed Jesus. The difference is how they responded to what they did. We need to understand that we all have failed Jesus. What are we going to do about it?

Have you ever thought about the fact that if Judas had repented, he could have been the most powerful disciple of all ?

These two disciples took what they had done and decided to do two very different things. One repented and was filled with the Holy Spirit and the other stayed condemned and ended up dying a horrible death.

Satan’s goal is get us to the place of despair where we will give up and die. He takes the truth and twists it where we make the decision that we are horrible and deserve nothing good. We see this with how many people decide to commit suicide or go on a rampage and commit mass murders. This is his plan, this is his goal.

The truth is we are failures and we do mess up. But the rest of the story is that Jesus rose from the grave in order that we can to ! You don’t have to stay in your despair, you can allow Jesus to raise you from the dead, just like he did Peter.

The key is, as you become sorry for how you have failed, you reach out to Jesus and ask Him to help you succeed. This is the whole purpose to Jesus telling the disciples to wait around til you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot succeed without His help. The good news is all you have to do to get His help is to ask for it ! “For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 Nasb

We need to remember who we have living inside us! “You dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

You need to put the past behind and go forward in the power of His Spirit. The best is yet to come!