The Word of God w/Rev. Essie 040809

Rev. Esther R. Scott New Birth Ministries revessie@yahoo.com April 7, 2009 L. "Thou shalt not have no other gods before me." Exodus 20 Ten Commandments. A. God is a jealous God. Exodus 20:1-3 1. God said that He is the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt. B. Verses 4-5 No graven images of anything in Heaven or Earth. 1. Egyptians had many graven images. Many gods as well such as Isis and Ra. We still have idols today. Ie., pictures of Jesus. Was Jesus white or black? Jesus was an Edenic Jew, He was neither black nor white, which made him brown-skinned and most likely He sported a thick beard as was the custom of the Priests at that time. a. Isaiah 50:6 Christ tells us how they 'plucked' his beard from His face. 1. Made to be a disgraceful move upon His being. 2. They still 'pluck the beard' of Priests and ministers today. 2. Statues, etc. a. Act 17:29 "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:..." b. 1 Corinthians 3:11-14 (Please read. Very important.) a. Where is your spiritual foundation found? Is it in Christ Jesus or wood, hay or stubble? II. Paul's ministry at Ephesus A. See the book of Ephesians. They were a very rich city that worshipped aGoddess named "Diana." She was many-breasted and was a goddess of sex, perversion and money. i. Can you imagine the Apostle Paul teaching these rich people to stop worshipping money? His ministry was probably not extremely welcomed. How bold are you to preach/teach the truth? Can you doit? Paul was not a financial burden to Christians as preachers seem to be today. Everything is money, money, money. (Woe to the false shepherds.) a. When Malcolm X taught against the teachings of Muhammed the killer stood up in the room and said, "Get your hand out of my pocket!" This was a sign that Malcolm was ruining the Muslims game. This is why he died. This is probably how they felt about Paul as well. He ruined their fun, all the while telling the truth about their greed and incorrect statutes and ways and means of living. b. In Ephesians 4:17-24, Paul is telling them to forsake sin. B. Micah in Judges 17: 5 had a house of gods. He and his mother burned gold and silver to make what is called "teraphim" (statues.) Israel began to sin against God. In Chapter 20, they lost 40,000 in battle. (20:6 lewdness and folly in Israel.) Closing statement: If your Cross, Statue, Necklace or Picture is magic to you and brings about some sort of change in your life, you've acquired and idol and satan is using it to rob you of your faith in Jesus alone! Remember that whatever the enemy gives you is ONLY temporary. You will have to pay for it later. Jesus paid the price for us, we owe nothing. Rev Essie Scott 724-745-8589