Commandments of Jesus Christ to His Disciples, With Ministry or Without Ministry #13

Commandments of Jesus Christ to His Disciples, With Ministry or Without Ministry #13. Abundant blessings, Pastor Francisco Gómez greets you. We continue our teaching series called Called to Be a Disciple. Today we continue with teaching number 13, titled Commandments Our Lord Jesus Christ Gave to His Disciples, With Ministry and Without Ministry. […]

Abundant blessings, Pastor Francisco Gómez greets you. We continue our teaching series, Called to Be a Disciple. Today we continue with teaching number 13, titled Commandments Our Lord Jesus Christ Gave to His Disciples, With Ministry and Without Ministry.

Today we'll be talking, sharing some scriptures where we'll look at various commandments the Lord gave to those of us who are part of His body, who are His disciples, who gather together. These are some commandments in different areas—some for those who have a ministry, but much of what we'll be sharing is also for the sheep, for everyone who is part of the congregation. In this series, in this part of the series, we've been talking about different areas of the commandments our Lord Jesus Christ gave to His disciples.

The Lord gave many commandments. A commandment is an order, something He wants us to keep—instructions. We'll first be reading from 1—

Peter 5:5: Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Here this passage commands the younger to submit to the elders, and all to be clothed with humility—humility. That's a key word. In this process we must be humble.

The Lord is merciful and He gives grace to the humble, but we all fail, we all make mistakes, we all sin. So what do we have to boast about, what do we have to boast about? In truth, we can do nothing by our own strength.

Every good gift, everything that is good—if there is anything good in us, it's because the Lord put it there, because He is good. There is nothing good apart from Him.

So humility means knowing that we depend on Him. If we want to bear good fruit, we must humble ourselves. Even to understand His word, we have that limitation as human beings.

Even the true word of God, the true revelation, we cannot receive without humility, because we cannot truly understand the word of God just by our own intelligence alone. No. Whoever the Lord grants it to, whoever He reveals His word to, that person can understand it.

But in order for that revelation to reach us, we must be humble of heart—whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

2 Timothy 2:2: And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Here the Lord is commanding—here Paul was speaking, but the Lord through Paul was telling Timothy that what he had learned, he should then also share with other worthy men, men fit and qualified to teach.

So the point is that here we are commanded to make more disciples, we are commanded to keep persevering in sharing that message with others, because we are light in the midst of darkness. This world is under darkness; only when we lack revelation do we fail to understand and fail to see that truly everything, no matter what country, what place, is under the evil one—there is so much darkness. We are light if we know the truth, and the Lord wants us to share that light—only that we seek out other qualified people to share the message with, so that they too will go and share the message with others, and we keep persevering, reaching more souls, bringing light and freedom to more people.

Acts 20:28: Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. This is a command for those of us who have a calling as pastors, some who will be in charge of a congregation—it commands us to take heed of the flock. The flock is the sheep; the flock is those people who are seeking the Lord and who receive the word through us.

We are to take care of those the Lord has purchased with His blood—that is, those who come to church and repent are being purchased. The devil often, when I minister freedom and deliverance to people, says, 'This person belongs to me, why do you want to take her—or him—from me? He belongs to me,' because everyone who has not repented belongs to the devil. But the Lord purchased us from sin—we all belonged to the devil at some point, but the Lord paid the price of blood for us. Those of us who repent, who receive Him, He paid for that spiritual debt, and with His blood He purchased us.

That's why the word says here, watch over them, take care of the flock, whom the Lord purchased at the price of blood.

Hebrews 13:17: Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. This speaks to those who gather in church, that they submit to their pastors, because if we are truly pastors, the true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep; if we are truly true pastors, we are taking care of the sheep, and we take care of the souls of the sheep.

Here the word says be submissive to them, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. If the sheep become rebellious and disobedient, that complicates the work, because we're watching over their souls—spiritual predators want to devour them, want to kill them, they want your souls to be lost. And the pastors the Lord uses, if we are true pastors, we take care of the sheep, we fight those spiritual predators who are demons, so that they leave in peace the sheep the Lord has placed under our care.

In other words, true pastors fight, guard—we're like sentinels the Lord posts, soldiers, to watch over those He has called by name. Romans 16:17-18: Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

Here the word commands us to be careful with those who hold another doctrine, because it says they come to cause divisions and stumbling blocks. The word also says, and avoid them—that we keep away from those who have another doctrine. They sometimes come with flattering words, like a pat on the back, with soft words, but their purpose—sometimes they don't even know what they're doing, they're demons—their purpose is to try to get the soul bound and to cause a stumbling block, and for those who are naive—a person who lacks spiritual discernment, who needs more revelation—with flattering, pretty words that are sometimes pleasant to the flesh but carry no discernment, no spiritual understanding, the devil snares them in the spirit so their soul stumbles. Yes, we have to be careful; the word commands it. Everything the Lord says is good, but some of these words, unless one meditates on them more and keeps filling up with more truth, are a bit hard to understand, because the devil will say, put the thought, 'What difference is there between this brother and that brother, or this brother and that other one?' But the truth is it isn't like that—not everyone is a brother, not everyone is a brother. There are religious people—the Pharisees, for example, can represent this kind of person—who, with flattering, pretty, persuasive words, may come to some of you who are already disciples of the Lord, but if you aren't yet firm in the faith, if you still lack discernment, more revelation, more understanding, they'll come at you on some topic, strategically designed by the devil, on a subject where you lack understanding, but they'll come with persuasive-sounding words to sow discord, to see if you'll stumble. Therefore the word commands that those who hold other doctrines, we must be careful of them—those with another doctrine—so that if they speak with us, we're better equipped for it, and, in my case, I don't even know that much about speaking, because the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. Those who hold another doctrine—since they are not true disciples of the Lord—are without spiritual fruit; they're just talking, wasting time, they're not healing people, they're not setting them free, so they do nothing—they go preach maybe twice a week, or three times, for an hour or two, that's all the time they invest; the other seven days, the rest of the day, they're doing nothing but talking, watching TV—they're useless, without fruit. So, in my own case, I serve Christ, training souls, setting them free, I labor hard, every day, many hours, every day, because I don't like wasting time, and the word commands that we not avoid contention—I do have time for everyone who holds another doctrine, because let them come, let's seek the true God in prayer, and let's see who serves the true God—not with man's words, but for good—whoever serves the true God, because the true God answers by fire, the Holy Spirit is a consuming fire. If anyone holds another doctrine and wants to serve the true God, let them come and let's pray for one another, and we'll see which of the two serves the God of Elijah, the God of Jacob, of Abraham, and of Isaac—the true God answers by fire, the true God is a consuming fire, and darkness cannot stand the light. The demons, the demons submit to the authority the Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples—that's the best way to look at it: instead of contending, instead of wasting time talking, we should invest the time in praying, and through prayer the devil is exposed; through prayer, whoever has a false spirit, a spirit of deception, apostasy, lies, falsehood, a false new birth, and any other evil that's there, gets exposed, because darkness cannot stand the light.

Philippians 3:2: Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! This is a strong passage—I'm reading the word of God—it's very important—so that people can say, 'Look how bad that pastor is, calling other pastors dogs.' But it isn't me—the word of God says, beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers. Dogs, evil workers—these are hired shepherds, who just go around preaching, for the wrong reasons. The word says, in Revelation, that the dogs will remain outside. Another passage says, do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine. These words are more spiritual than physical. On occasion, when I've prayed, some people have had visions of certain pastors, and in the spirit, when they look at them, they see them preaching, suddenly, in their church, but they have the face of a dog—they look like the pastor, but in the spirit they have, it's like a dog-man. I know many of you have seen something about the Egyptians, who had dog gods, for example—the dog god, a man, like a man, but with the face of a dog; the cat god, a man, a man, but with the face of a cat. Notice how it's like that, but with the features of the people they represent physically here—that's how many pastors look in the spirit, because they're deceived, they think they've been born again, but they're not regenerated, they're still in the fallen nature because of sin, because they had a false birth, because they received false doctrines, and they're not disciples of Jesus Christ yet. If they're not regenerated, in the spirit they're like a likeness of those demons—practically they're preaching, and physically they look normal, but in the spirit, if someone sees it, they run out of that church, because they look like dogs. I'm giving you a bit of revelation here—these words, beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, this is a command from God: watch out. In short, don't open your ears to just anyone, because someone has a microphone and speaks, and has a Bible in hand—because not everyone is a pastor. Those dogs are spiritual predators; physically they tell you nice words, words that don't expose real sin, that don't bring conviction leading to true repentance, and much less will lead someone to truly become disciples of God. And the word says, beware of them, be careful, don't listen to them, use caution. It calls them mutilators of the body—mutilators; if you know what it means for a person to mutilate the body, it's a person who cuts it into pieces. In short, if you open your ears to pastors who aren't true disciples of Christ, you will be spiritually mutilated.

1 Timothy 3:1-7: This is a faithful saying: if a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence; for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

These are the qualifications the Lord commands, in general, for a person who is going to be a pastor of a church. We're in difficult times, and I know that by the grace of God there will indeed be many who perhaps didn't live a life of much sin in the past, but most of us are different—most of us do have sin. I'd say that in this day and age, unless someone is very young and grew up in an exemplary family, the great majority have committed various sins, some more than others. Even for those who haven't sinned, the devil still tries to discredit them, and in this time more than ever, because it's the end time—the word says that a man's enemies will be those of his own household, that they will hand disciples over, even to death. So this is a faithful saying, like all the others, but I do want to add just a bit of caution—I'll speak more about this in a future teaching. I know many men and women have committed—well, everyone in the world has sinned—but some have committed more serious sins, and the devil torments many men over it. I know they have a calling, and I've had some of those I've ministered to, because they committed a serious sin, feel a burden of conscience over things that happened in the past—and certainly things happened that are unpleasant, that ideally would never have happened, but they already happened. And if the Lord forgives you, who can condemn you? So if you repent from the heart, if you receive true doctrine, the right thing is to accept the forgiveness God gives you and serve with joy and with love, and even with more enthusiasm—as the Lord said about the woman who had committed a great deal of sin, of whom they said, if he knew who was touching him, because she was like a prostitute, he wouldn't let her touch him, wash his feet. I say to you: who will love more, the one who has sinned more, or the one who has sinned less? Well, let's be like that prostitute—if we've sinned much, then even more love for the Lord, more faithfulness to Him because of His mercy. Therefore, do not let the devil condemn whom God justifies. If the Lord forgave you, serve God—serve with joy, but serve with faith, serve in obedience, set apart from all evil, and serve. Nothing is going to happen—you can do it.

1 Timothy 3:8-13: Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Here it's giving some of the instructions for those who want to serve as deacons—women can obviously also be deaconesses, and here it lists some of the qualifications: that they not be gossips, not slanderers, that they be submissive, obedient, only that they be faithful in everything; the men also, that they be honest, prudent, that they not have several wives, only one wife.

1 Timothy 5:17-20: Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer is worthy of his wages.' Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. Here there are several commands for the church. First it says here that the elders who rule well are to be counted worthy of double honor—this speaks of those who serve especially in preaching and teaching. If they're serving Christ, and if they're serving full-time, as they should be, serving Christ, if they're truly working in that area, then the word says they should essentially be given, so to speak, a double salary—that is, they should be given enough money to be able to keep serving, because if they're serving God all day, well, they have to eat, they have to pay bills, they have to pay the electric bill, whether they have to walk or drive, they have to buy gas—in short, those who are serving need to receive income that lets them cover their expenses and live. And then the word says, for the Scripture says, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain, and the laborer is worthy of his wages—because muzzling the ox that treads the grain, if there's a person serving God full-time, in holiness, who is genuinely saving souls, who is being useful—muzzling them means that if that person isn't given a salary, if that person doesn't have income that lets them pay their bills, then that person is going to have to go get a job, and we're putting a muzzle on them. In other words, that person who is useful and who could keep saving souls is going to have to go work for lack of income—which is putting a muzzle on them, because they won't be able to do this work anymore, since they'll have to go work for the world. So the laborer is worthy of his wages—we are laborers. Unfortunately many people who attend church don't see those of us who serve the way I do, and the way others in this church do—serving all day, day and night—they see it as if someone is practically on vacation. There are people who, even seeing, for example, that I've now been at this seven years—it hasn't happened recently, but in the recent past, not long ago, it has happened at times—people ask me, 'Pastor, do you work?' But they see that I serve God and them, 10, 12, 14, 16 hours every day, seven days a week, and they ask me, 'Pastor, do you work?' As if, in short, preaching, teaching people, isn't work. But people who work at a school work less than we do, and they're considered to be working, while we teach and it's as if we're not working. And then also, those of us who are, like me, healers—we heal people of mental illnesses, of emotional illnesses—we practically do the work of psychologists, and better than psychologists, because people who can't even be helped by psychologists, we help them. We heal people of cancer, of tumors, of diabetes, of arthritis, of pain—we practically do every kind of medical work, and supposedly we don't work. But that's the deceiving devil—it's as if what belongs to God, what we do in faith, in love, in obedience, because we're not charging a fee for doing it, it's as if supposedly we're not working. But what we actually give is more than a job, because it's so valuable that not even with money could you buy it. What you truly receive through God's true servants is priceless—money can't buy it. For example, in this church people are healed who sometimes had 10 years, 15, 20 years with a chronic, incurable illness, with tormenting things like depression, people who suddenly had childhood trauma and are now 30, 40, 50, 60 years old and even more, and since they were little boys or girls they had trauma, had wounds, unforgiveness, were unhappy, in a bad way in many ways—and here they are healed completely. Considering the work we do, how could the devil make anyone believe we're not working? The word says, the laborer is worthy of his wages—that is, we are giving you a service, with love and joy, in faith, in obedience. Freely we have received, freely we give—and for those who are served, likewise, freely they receive, freely they give, because if we charged, like some shameless people out there do, they couldn't pay. Really, how much could someone pay to be healed of something they'd had for 40 years, on which doctors already spent money and were never able to heal? How much would they be able to pay? Someone is prayed for over their heart and is healed of a condition that required open-heart surgery—how much does that surgery cost? They really can't pay us. But the word says the church should be supported, because the laborer is worthy of his wages. Everyone who serves the church full-time, all of them, should have support that lets them live, and they are worthy, because the word says they are worthy of their wages. Our employer is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Woe to those who don't repent and think that what we do in serving the Lord isn't service, or that we don't work. We have a great King, and truly the King is King of kings, and He will judge those who dishonor Him. It's a dishonor to God to think that those of us who serve full-time for souls, for you—we don't only heal the body, we save the souls of those who listen to us—it's discrediting, it's a dishonor to our employer, Jesus Christ, for anyone to think that way. The laborer is worthy of his wages. Here the word also commands us not to receive an accusation against an elder unless it's from two or three witnesses, because the devil twists a person's mind in the church, and then they're going to accuse one of the pastors of something, and many times it's the devil—those of you here in this church are going to see, well, you've already realized, and you'll see more clearly, how the devil twists people's minds, plants a false reality in them, and from there, false accusations and things that never happened—but in their mind it did happen. The devil does something like a form of schizophrenia to them, in which they see something happening that never happened—unless it's by two or three witnesses, don't receive an accusation. Then it says, those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. That is, if in this day and age people are so fragile that if they're corrected in front of everyone, they feel like they're practically being killed—but the word commands it, everything God commands is good. He says that those who persist in sin, after being admonished once or twice, should be rebuked before everyone, so that the rest will also fear. It's a command from God—it's like the way we should, the way we ought to proceed in the church; the Lord is giving an instruction manual for how we should operate in the church. Titus 2:2-10: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. Here we're given instructions for the older women, for the young men—the older ladies are told to teach the younger women to be faithful, discreet, chaste, submissive, obedient, to respect their husbands, to submit to their husbands. We're to exhort the young men to be discreet as well, to be obedient, not talking back, not rebellious.

These are instructions the word gives us, commandments for how we should proceed in certain situations in the church. 1 Thessalonians 5:12: And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

This is basically for everyone who attends church, and also for those of us who serve: that we recognize those who labor among you—that is, those who work, see, they work. Serving the church is a job, it really is a job—if we do it with love, it's hard, full-time work, and almost endless, because the need is so great that we could work 24 hours and practically never finish; there's always work to be done. If we're serving God in a place like this, where there's so much to do, we have a full-time job, and if possible, double time. But the word commands us to recognize those who serve, and also to respect those who admonish, and to hold them in high esteem and love because of their work.

Titus 3:9-11: But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

This is a strong word—it's like, there are like two commands here. One is that we're commanded to avoid it—almost what I said at the beginning, because those who hold false doctrine, who especially come from the line of the Pharisees, they like to argue, they like to waste a lot of time talking, and those of us who are really serving—much of the service we do, spending a lot of time talking becomes a waste of time; they're making us waste time. We shouldn't waste time, because it makes us unproductive. They don't go around healing people, or setting them free, for example, so they have a lot of time to talk, because they're not doing anything—they're without fruit, and the fruit they claim to be bearing is bad fruit. So the word commands us to avoid contentions, because they don't bear fruit—it's like, it's a waste of time. We want to bear fruit; there are people in need, we have to pray for them, we have to do things that are fruitful. But then it says, reject a divisive man, those who cause divisions in the church, after the first and second admonition—that is, be patient. This also includes women; this word isn't just for men, this word is also for women—men and women who cause divisions, after one admonition and another, the word commands, reject them. And it's good to understand this, because out of love for souls, we're in apostasy, and there are many chains, we are a bit more patient with what gets revealed and with things people sometimes do that are totally inappropriate. But if one does what the word says, one is not sinning. If I, as a pastor, or any pastor, does what the word says, he is not sinning—it's a command from God. Here the Lord isn't just giving suggestions, it's like He's not just giving guidance to whoever wants to follow it—the word clearly says, whoever sins, admonish him, but if he keeps sinning, admonish him again—but after one, two, or three admonitions, and the person keeps doing the same thing, the word says reject him—that is, remove him from the church. That's the command. It's like that other passage that says those who don't bear fruit and are taking up space—after one, two, or three years and they bear no fruit, cut them off, and they go into the fire—that is, they are condemning themselves. Here it says, reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person has become warped, and sins, and stands condemned by his own judgment. It's a strong statement, because it speaks of condemnation—that is, those who devote themselves to sinning, to rebelling, and already suppose they don't get it, don't understand, and keep sinning, and sinning, and sinning, all while claiming to know the truth—supposedly they already think they know the truth, but with a corrupted mind, a twisted mind, a depraved mind, they oppose the truth. They're like the Pharisees, who believed—or thought they knew the truth, but wanted to—they killed the value of life, because it was allowed, and they put it in all their paths—they believed they knew the truth, but they persecuted the disciples, and killed the disciples, or threw them in prison. So there are people like that; sometimes they go to church, but there's no genuine repentance, and their mind is not renewed, and if the mind isn't renewed, they see things twisted, and they settle into that position. After several admonitions, the word commands that we reject them, after several admonitions. Romans 12:6-8: Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Here, you see, it's giving commands—it's not just talking about gifts, because there are different gifts—here it's calling us to different areas of service, different gifts. So each person, according to the perfect will of God, in a church—if they're not truly disciples of Jesus Christ, if they don't have gifts, they're going to receive—some will receive a gift of prophecy, others of discernment, others will receive different gifts, according to the grace of God for each one and His perfect will. Here the word commands us that, according to what we've received, the gift we've received, we put it to use in service to the work, for the edification of the church. The work for the church doesn't belong to the pastor alone—no, all of us, according to what the Lord has given us, spiritually and physically, we serve God, we look to do our part for the advance of the kingdom of heaven on earth, to reach more souls. United, we are more than conquerors; when we all put together, in unity, what the Lord has given us—those gifts, the talents, even our finances—each one should contribute according to their ability. When each one contributes according to what the Lord has placed in their heart, and according to how the Lord has blessed them, according to the gifts they've received, and puts it to use, then there's more edification in the church, more clarity, more growth, more souls are blessed.

2 John 1:9-11: Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

Here is a strong word, because what fellowship is there between darkness and light? These are some of the words people want to understand better, to grasp why the Lord says so clearly that if anyone holds a different doctrine, we shouldn't even receive them into our house, so as not to share in their sins—because holding a false doctrine is sin. That's also why the Lord says in His word that on that day many will say, 'Lord, Lord, in Your name I did many things—I healed, I set people free, I prophesied, I prayed, I taught, I gave offerings, I tithed, I gave to the poor'—and the Lord will say to them, 'Depart from Me, you who practiced lawlessness, I never knew you.' In short, whatever you did, you weren't doing it for Me, you weren't doing it guided by My Spirit. So, when there's a false doctrine, there's another spirit—there's a spirit of error, a spirit of deception—and the devil, well, sometimes he gives you something that supposedly looks good, but through it he's actually trying to bind the soul. So we don't want anything that comes from the devil, even if it looks good, because it comes to bind the soul, it comes for death, not for life. It's like going to a witch to be healed—there are witches who supposedly heal. I've heard—people have come to me for ministry and said, 'Pastor, I went to a witch and she healed me of such-and-such thing five or six years ago, before I knew God,' and according to their testimony, with the ritual the witch performed, they were healed. So witches do heal, but when I minister to them, they had received more demons. It's practically that the devil healed an arm, a pain in an arm, through some diabolical scheme, so that later—in short—he could practically cut off the arm. In other words, he gives you something, but then, through that little bit he gave you, he wants five times more back—he is a liar. So we don't want anything, we don't want anything that comes from the wicked, from what comes out of darkness.

2 Timothy 2:22-26: Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. Here in that passage, it lays out that we all have to work a little harder—it commands us to be, well, first it commands us to keep away from youthful lusts, from all those distractions, but then it says that servants—and this includes the women who are serving the church as well, all of us who serve—that we be gentle toward everyone, that we be able to teach, patient. Yes, we have to be patient in the sense that, well, people want to hit us, and we bless them; they curse us, we help them; they hate us, we love them. It's like, up to a certain point, one has to restrain oneself and suffer out of love for others.

In that area I know many of us have had weaknesses—when people come and turn against us, especially when they do it unjustly, with completely disrespectful behavior, sometimes many of us haven't been patient, we haven't been long-suffering, we get frustrated, we don't want to listen to those accusations, or those insults, or those lies, or all the wickedness they're expressing toward us in those moments. But the word commands us to be patient, able to teach—but what does it say next? That with gentleness we should correct those who oppose. They often oppose themselves, but the word commands us to correct them with gentleness. Sometimes we've failed at that—we haven't been gentle in correcting those who are opposing themselves. But it says, if perhaps God will grant them repentance, so that they may come to know the truth—because they're opposing themselves, and we don't want to help them get out of that error and deception so that they may live, so that they may be healed, so that they may be free. But because of the deception, the devil makes them oppose us; the word commands us to correct them with gentleness, with patience, being long-suffering, because that same person—sometimes they're family members—we want to bring them out of the error so they can live, because we don't want them to die. But they don't know that they're dead in sin. So, since they're deceived, the devil makes them turn against us, attack us, criticize us, slander us, blaspheme against us, mistreat us, abuse us, harass us, accuse us, hate us—but here we have to be patient, long-suffering, and exhort and correct them in love. But then the final part of the passage says, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will—that's what's happening with those who oppose themselves and who hate us: they're captive, they're bound by the devil. But if we conduct ourselves with gentleness, with patience, with love, and correct them, and endure—that is, we have to bear all that mistreatment—perhaps the Lord will grant them repentance so their soul won't be lost, and they'll escape the snare of the devil. 1 Timothy 6:10-11: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Here it doesn't say we have to go seek money—no, we have to seek righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Those are the fruits, fruits that allow us to bring God to a greater level and reach so many more souls.

This is the word I had to share with you today. May the Lord bless you. Thank you for your attention, for listening to me, until next time.

Order it now—our book is available in English and Spanish, Digital and Print.

Coming Soon: Our Book Will Be Published—subscribe to be notified when it's available.

Subscribe to be notified of new posts.

Categories

• Blog
• Teachings
• Prayers
• Biblical Prayers
• Verses

Subscribe so you don't miss any of our YouTube broadcasts

Recent Posts

• Deliverance from Autism | Spiritual Warfare PDF
• Prayers from the Old Testament
• Exposing End-Time Apostasy – No Need for Spiritual Warfare: Apostasy in the Christian Church. #9
• Exposing End-Time Apostasy: Doctrines of Demons. #8
• Exposing End-Time Apostasy: False Baptisms in the Christian Church. #7

Support Us — Your offering helps change lives all over the world and for eternity. Thank you for your contribution.

SHARE THIS POST

Pastor Francisco Gomez

Thank you for reading our posts. It is our greatest desire that you be edified and blessed. Greetings in the name of our entire congregation, Jesus King of Kings.

Keep Reading

Deliverance from Autism | Spiritual Warfare PDF

Prayers from the Old Testament

Exposing End-Time Apostasy – No Need for Spiritual Warfare: Apostasy in the Christian Church. #9

Exposing End-Time Apostasy: Doctrines of Demons. #8