"THINK ON THESE THINGS--VIRTUES"
HEADLINE: I Proverbs 3:5-6; (5) "TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART: AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING." (6) "IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATH." Psalm 119:128: "THEREFORE I ESTEEM ALL THY PRECEPTS CONCERNING ALL THINGS TO BE RIGHT AND I HATE EVERY FALSE WAY.
What will follow is a series which will serve as a self grading mirror for you. We do not give out grades covering the subject matter. Study of these materials is a private love affair between you and the angels of God according to this word, Exodus 16:15-18; John 6:48-50; Philippians 2:12; James 1:22-25. Measure yourself against the qualities which God delights in to determine if you please Him in your ways, Matthew 7:2; Romans 8:6-8. Pleasing God is necessary if you want Him to give you Wisdom, James 1, 5, because He will reward us according to our works, Luke 16:10-13. Therefore, we hope that you will let the following virtues become a part of your pleasant battle clothes for Lord, Luke 8:46-48; Philippians 4:8; II Peter 1:5-11.
FAITH, Virtue 1
1. Definition: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," Hebrews 11:1. For example, we believe in God whom we have not seen, and this belief is the "substance" of our hope and "evidence" in our hearts that God is real. But God has left more evidence of His existence than mere faith in the unseen things. Can you name a few?
2. A man cannot buy faith, go to school or bible school for faith. Faith is a gift from God I Corinthians 12:4,9.
3. Too many people take beliefs in false doctrines and traditions and commandments of men and call that erroneous belief faith, but it is not faith but evidence of satanic deceit and bondage, Matthew 15:3,7-9; John 8:31-36. Many ministers are like Pharisees, deceived by Satan on the scriptures, Luke 11:44-46,52; I Timothy 4:1-2; II Timothy 3:7. What prophecies teach us that the churches will be under satanic leadership until judgment day? Daniel 7:21-22, 8:9-13, 12:9-10; Revelation 13:1-4. Can these prophecies be broken because they astonish us and make us wish we are not among those snared saints? Psalm 119:128; John 10:35. Is there a warning in this to every one who reads it concerning denominations? Psalm 19:7-11.
4. Paul was a denomination man, a Pharisee, who thought he could go to school to learn of God, Acts 22:3-4, 23:6. Paul had FALSE FAITH in Pharisees' doctrine ,and instead of having knowledge of God, he had knowledge of Satanic deceits, Matthew 11:27, 23:15-27; Philippians 3:4-6. So, you cannot go to men 's school to learn from men not called by God. No certificate or degree from a school is proof that you are wise. When did Paul get true faith? Acts 9:4-5,16. Was it necessary for him to drop the beliefs on the scriptures, the deceptions the Pharisees taught him? Philippians 3:8-9. Must you be ready to do the same thing as we go along? Proverbs 17:16; Matthew 11:27, 15:9, 16:6,17.
5. God could not find a man of understanding through whom He could pardon the world! Isaiah 59:15-16, 63:5; Jeremiah 5:1-9. Therefore, He sent Jesus, the right hand of power, armed with true faith to be our perfect example of faith to follow, Isaiah 53:5-6,11.
6. Since the saints are to be under satanic power until judgment day (Daniel 7:21-22), we cannot rely on faith in men! Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 18:7-8. Only Jesus had the true faith that pleased God! Revelation 14:12. That faith can only come as a gift from God, I Corinthians 12:4,9; Ephesians 2:8. You cannot possibly get Jesus' faith unless God gives it to you, Matthew 11:27; John 6:65.
7. Pray and ask God for the same faith that Jesus had, Matthew 7:7-8.
CONTINENCE, SELF- RESTRAINT, Virtue 2
1. Self- restraint is necessary because devils are going about possessing men's bodies like we procure food and water, Psalm 14:1-4, 52:4; Ephesians 6:12; I Peter 5:8.
2. Devils do not like being outside men's bodies because it means falling in starvation and thirst, and therefore, they use deceit and sin as a means of getting back inside, Matthew 12:43-45; John 10:1-2.
3. False faith in erroneous doctrine does not free men from possession, but obedience to the word of truth will cause God to smile on you and cast devils outside the body, Matthew 15:3-9; John 8:31-36.
4. Devils use temptations in bad situations as a means of pressuring us to do their will so they can get inside the body, Matthew 4:1-3. Notice how Satan took advantage of Jesus' hunger to tempt him. God never tempts us with evil, but He will allow demons to try us so that we have opportunity to "show off" His glorious righteousness in us, Psalm 50:15; Matthew 5:15-16; James 1:13-16.
5. We are instructed to abstain from the appearance of evil and not to yield to temptations to break the golden rule or any law of God, Romans 6:12-16; I Thessalonians 5:22. If you continue and repeat sins, devils will enter in and dwell in your body, Matthew 12:45; I John 3:4-8. You cannot make demons leave from inside your body on your own power, Matthew 12:28-29; John 8:36. You must call on the Almighty, and Jesus, and the Holy Ghost.
6. We are instructed to refrain from providing the flesh with things to satisfy our lusts, Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16-21, 6:8; I John 2:15-17. This means you will be possessed by a corrupt spirit, Romans 7:15-25. We are taught to separate from those who love sin, II Corinthians 6:14-18.
7. We are told not to use self-restraint for the purpose of hiding wisdom which could be of value to one in need, Psalm 40:9-11; Matthew 5:14-16. The story of the good Samaritan is an example of a man spiritually wounded and sin sick, Isaiah 1:2-6. The wine to pour is the Word of God, John 6:53,63, and the oil is the word of rebuke, Psalm 141:5; II Timothy 3:16-17. Never use self-restraint in being a good Samaritan, James 2:15-16.
8. We are instructed to use self- restraint when it comes to vain conversation, telling lying and wicked jokes, and speaking evil of one another, Ephesians 2:1-3, 5:3-4; James 4:11; I Peter 1:15. Search yourself and see that you get these things out of your daily life if you have not done so.
POWER, Virtue 3
1. Power belongs to God only, and Satan does not have any, Psalm 62:11; Matthew 28:18. Demons must beg God to allow them to do harm to obedient children who have God's protection, Genesis 32:24-28; Job 1:6-12; Psalm 91:1-4; Ephesians 6:12. God allows Satan to have a certain amount of power when the devil tries us. Disobedient children are left to devils' mercy, Proverbs 12:10,12; Ephesians 2:2; II Timothy 2:26.
2. Paul described preaching the true gospel as the power of God, I Corinthians 1:18. The Word of God is one means to gaining God's power, I Corinthians 2:4-7.
3. Surrendering to Jesus and the Holy Ghost, the right and left hands of God's throne power, is another way of receiving their power, Isaiah 27:5; Matthew 12:21-30; John 16:7-11.
4. Our whole life is by the power of God, II Corinthians l3:4.
5. Only the power of God can free you from sin, Matthew 12:28-29; John 8:36.
6. Power over devils is a gift from the throne, and you must go there to get it, Luke 10:19; John 14:6; Revelation 2:26-27.
7. Prayers power is the way to avoid temptation, Luke 22:40-46. If you want less trouble from devils, spend much time talking to God, and He will bless you with overcoming power, Psalm 50:14-15.
8. Power to understand the scriptures comes from God, Matthew 25:14-15; Luke 24:44-45; James 1:5; Revelation 5:1-5. If you lack this power, be wise and take advantage of it in a true man sent from God.
PATIENCE, Virtue 4
1. Patience can be described as worry-free waiting. We need it, because devils cause anxiety and give us false hasty solutions to our problems in times of stress, Proverbs 1:2, 14:29, 21:5; Isaiah 28:16.
2. Patience in you is made to "stand out and shine" in the heat of trial, James 1:2-4. The length of time your patience stands out under pressures from demons gives God time to boast about His righteousness in you to the very face of devils, Job 2:1-6. When you stand against whatever demons throw at you for whatever length of time, God is greatly glorified in you before the wicked generation of devils, Isaiah 43:1,7; II Corinthians 10:14; James 5:7-11.
3. I do not like undergoing trials because of the pressure that comes in them. But now that I understand what God is doing when we stand up, I can undergo demonic pressures much more easily, II Thessalonians 1:4-5. Now that we are created and formed for God's glory, we know that He wants us to undergo trials that we might shine, Matthew 5:15; Romans 12:1; I Corinthians 4:9; Hebrews 12:1-5. Since it is God's will that we undergo trials, we can now understand the meaning of these two Scriptures, Isaiah 48:10-11; Malachi 3:3. All this takes time and endurance which we call patience so that the precious qualifies of God might sparkle in you before men and angels. The more trials you undergo and endure, the more God is glorified in you, the angrier devils get because you teach them that they have no excuse for sin, Romans 1; I Peter 4:12-16:l8-21.
4. Patience is a necessary quality especially when we get in heaven. There will be times when God will have His children appear before Him in the New World, but every man will not be called at once. We must admit that God is so attractive that every one will not want to go to his mansion from God's presence, but God is a God of order. Therefore, we must have patience because God has billions of children, and it might take an eternity between the times He will personally call us for another visit, John 16:33; Hebrews 10:27-35; Revelation 7:9-14.
SIMPLICITY, Virtue 5
1. Simplicity means that something is easy to do. This is a virtue because God makes things easy as it is written about that quality in Christ, Matthew 11:28-30, 23:2-4; Luke 11:52.
2. Satan and devils make the commandment seem complex and hard, Genesis 3:17-19. Now the field or ground is your body of dust where the word or seed which makes your bread is sown, Matthew 13:18-23,37-40. We know that thorns are demons put in us by Satan, but there is another scripture that shows us that every time we see briars and thorns in the scripture, they are code words meaning demons, II Samuel 23:6-7.
3. Men not called by God or given the keys of knowledge by Jesus must be careful when they read the bible because of the briars and thorns who twist the meanings of the scriptures in teaching you while you read. Men do not have power to understand the Word of God, Isaiah 29:10-14, 40:13-14,28. God vested the key of knowledge in one being put in flesh and that was Jesus, Revelation 5:1-5. Only men appointed by God can touch the Holy Bread which is the Word of God, and Jesus will give them the key of knowledge, Exodus 30:25,30; Psalm 89:20; Matthew 12:3-4. Since demons have given those not appointed to the priesthood thoughts that they can understand the bible, they have touched the Holy Shew bread, and many false doctrines, church denominations, and muddy waters have resulted. God personally elects spiritual Levites as He picked the prophets and as Jesus personally selected his apostles and Paul, Numbers 12:5-9. I am not saying do not read the bible, I am saying beware of briars and thorns since the Word is also every man's manna, John 6:49-51,63.
4. We are told to be simple when it comes to evil, Romans 16:17-20.
5. We are to avoid a simple mind when it comes to ignorance of satanic devices, Proverbs 1:20-23, 8:1-10.
6. Some men are simply too wise in the wisdom of devils, Ezekiel 3:17, 28:2; Luke 16:8; Romans 10:14-15; I Corinthians 1:21, 3:18.
7. Godly simplicity is not hasty, proud, or false wisdom, but it is an expression of humility, I Peter 5:6-7.
INNOCENCE, Virtue 6
1. Innocence means not guilty. We must avoid being guilty of trespass against God and men, Matthew 22:35-40.
2. God's wrath is against devils who are guilty of attacking us, Genesis 15:13-14; Exodus 34:5-7; Isaiah 14:12,21-22; John 16:7,11; Romans 1:18-21; II Timothy 2:26; Hebrews 2:15.
3. If we trespass against God or man, we must repent when we find nut about it that God might forgive us and make us innocent again, Matthew 5:23-24, 6:14-15, 18:15-17. You must USE YOUR POWER TO FORGIVE SINS! Matthew 6:14-15, 9:6-8.
4. If we have to suffer, let us be innocent victims, Psalm 44:22; I Peter 2:19-25, 4:15-16.
5. We are called upon to be like Christ in this life, Isaiah 53:7-9,11-12; Romans 8:18-22; I Peter 4:1.
CHASTITY, Virtue 7
1. Chastity means being free from lasciviousness. Lascivious is defined by the AMERICAN COLLEGE DICTIONARY means INCITING TO LUST. Women and men are used as simple-minded ignorant dupes by devils to cause weaker ones to lust sexually. In this matter devils take advantage of our bodily members to incite weak ones to lust. Thus, devils want women's breasts, legs, shape, and even their sexual organ to be as exposed as possible to a glance of the eye. Thus, tight dresses and mini- dresses, tight-fitting pants, hot pants, low bust-line blouses and dresses, bathing suits, wearing no brassieres, and any clothes that reveal the figure are part of Satan's program to make women lascivious so devils can get at men. This was revealed in these scriptures, Ezekiel 16:6-18,25-43, 23:1-22,38-44. Notice that in Ezekiel 23:40 one device Satan uses is make- up like mascara, and jewelry. This is how a Christian should dress, I Timothy 2:9-12; I Peter 3:2-6. Man-catching by satanic means, more than ever, winds up in broken marriages, not joined by God. Fancy clothes for men and women for the purpose of eye -catching and sex appeal was mentioned against men and women in Ezekiel 23:12-15 (and this means lusting for other men on the walls of your mind for "greater climaxes" while in bed with your husband) and in Ezekiel 16:15-16. For men tight-fitting clothes exposing the shape of their sexual organ is used by devils to snare women into sexual lust.
2. What scriptures show that demons are directing dress designers in to setting styles, Ezekiel 27:24-25; Revelation 18:2,7-16. Babylon is Satan's wife who rules over the nations as revealed in Revelation 17:1-6,15. Female demons are called the daughters of Babylon in Isaiah, and you must note that they are mothers of devils, and all of them have been living the eternal life, Psalm 58:3-6; Isaiah 47:1-8; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 13:14. There is a difference between demons who are fully intelligent at birth and a human baby which can only cry.
3. We are commanded to avoid physical and spiritual adultery and fornication, Matthew 5:27-32, 19:7-12; I Corinthians 6:18-20, 7:8-15.
CHEERFULNESS, Virtue 8
1. God does not like sorrow, and therefore, He plans to take all of it away, Isaiah 35:10; Revelation 21:1,4.
2. Joy is a pleasant virtue, and it is part of God's personality. He is cheerful and has surrounded Himself with it, Matthew 25:19-23; Luke 15:20-24.
3. Grumblers are not pleasing to God, Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 30:15; I Corinthians 10:10-12.
4. We are to try and take suffering cheerfully, especially in trials because God is boasting us off before devils, Matthew 5:11-12; I Peter 4:12-16.
5. In giving we are to do it with a pure heart of love without grudging, Deuteronomy 15:7-11; II Corinthians 9:7-9.
6. We are to rejoice at all times because of our salvation, Luke 2:10,14; John 16:22-24,33.
TRUTH, Virtue 9
1. No word but the Word of Cod is defined as truth, John 17:17. Therefore, we cannot live but by every word that came from the mouth of God, Matthew 4:4.
2. The ten commandments, Exodus 20:1-17, the word of the Holy Ghost through the prophets and apostles, II Peter 1:19-21, and the word of Jesus, John 6:53,63 is what we must live by, Ephesians 2:20.
3. Jesus taught that no part of the word is done away until everything is finished, Matthew 5:18-19. All things are not fulfilled, so those saying the Old Testament is done away or fulfilled do lie. The Old Testament is full of prophecy not yet fulfilled including prophecy of the New Heaven and the New Earth for you. Common sense on that one point can show you how many have erred in the Holy Bread of God (mysteries).
4. No part of any scripture can be done away by opinion or interpretation, but the sun only can melt or refine scriptural manna; Exodus 16:16-21; Psalm 19:4-5; John 1:1, 6:51; Revelation 5:4-5. Therefore, the Word of scripture must redefine or explain scripture without words of opinion, or interpretation of men which devils influence, Isaiah 28:9-10, 55:8-9.
5. We are commanded to speak truthfully at all times because God hates guile, deceit, and lying, Psalm 101; Proverbs 12:22; I Peter 3:10. "Little white lies" are black and dirty and so are lying jokes. See that you stay away from them.
UNDERSTANDING, Virtue 10
1. Understanding is one of the greatest virtues we can have because it is the building blocks of reason, Proverbs 4:7. Understanding is the opposite of blindness because it is the light which opens the spiritual eyes, Luke 11:26-33. Knowing in part is not best as Paul described in I Corinthians 13:8-12, because when one knows in part, he is like the blind man whose eyes Jesus opened in part. But when understanding came, he was able to see clearly, Mark 8:22-25.
2. "Knowing" part or partial knowledge must not be held tightly so that it can be left for the full light, Matthew 7:3-5; I Corinthians 13:9-10.
3 Understanding of anything good can only come from God, Proverbs 8:12-14, 21:30. Ask God for it, Luke 11:5-13.
4. To give understanding, we must reprove each other righteously without restraint, Psalm 141:5; Proverbs 19:25.
5. First we must understand our faults, and the Word of God serves as our mirror, II Corinthians 2:17,18; James 1:22-25.
6. When we do not understand our faults, God can show them to us, Psalm 19:12; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Philippians 3:11-15.
CONCORD, Virtue 11
1. All men are brethren, and God desires that we get along well together inspire of harassment from demons who control some of us, Romans 6:5-9; I Corinthians 12:12-27; II Corinthians 5:14; Ephesians 5:29-30; Hebrews 2:10-15.
2. Unity is so precious in God's eyesight that He likened it to the oneness that man and wife should have, Psalm 133; John 17:21-23; Ephesians 5:24-32.
3. We are to get along with our brethren still captured by demons and not to despise them because they cannot get free, Matthew 11:19, 21:31-32; Luke 18:9-14; Romans 12:9-21; Galatians 6:1-3; I Timothy 2:3-6. God does plan to free every one of His captured children in due time, Isaiah 18:1-4,7, 49:24-25, God commanded us to love each man as we love Him for "Oneness", Matthew 22:4-37Q, John 12:49, 17:23; I John 4:20.
4. When we show the love of unity, we can then get along well with God, Matthew 25:35-40; Romans 8:5-8; Philippians 2:1-16.
CHARITY, Virtue 12
1. This is the last virtue, but if it is in the heart, it has the power to cover sins, I Corinthians 13; II Corinthians 8:9; I Peter 4:8.
2. Charity is the perfect fast in God's eyesight, Isaiah 58.
3. Let your charity be done in quiet and privately for the glory of God, Matthew 6:1-4.
HOPE ON THE WAY
It is to New Jerusalem the hope of all God's Saints
Through weary lands the path now leads. But we shall never faint
For in the distance we can see bright glory and our goal
And we'll attain it, yes we will, by God's help manifold.
And as we struggle on the way with serpents in our wake
And worldly cares try like unseen snares our hope in God to break,
It is nearer then to God we press; our faith in him abides.
Then serpents hold and cares untold retreat like ebbing tides.
Before us is an open road; to travel it we must
Herein no dogs or fools do err; this path is for the just
To lead us on through friendly toil for we still cling to God's hand
'Til cares of the world behind us lie and we embark in Beulah Land.
And there the new Jerusalem will settle like a Bride
With Christ the waiting Bridegroom and his Saints next to hisside.
And we with our mighty king shall reign in truth and righteousness
Where without are dogs and sorcerers who divining lies profess.
O it is the New Jerusalem, the substance of our faith,
Our unseen evidence of joy to take hold on each Saint.
And my heart within burns and glows with radiant joy profound
When I think of the salvation that God's Saints have found!