Demonstration of the Power of God

Acts 13:4-12
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.They travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun. Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

God always uses weak, despised and lowly vessels in the eyes of the world to demonstrate His power on earth. Elymas the sorcerer assumed that with the powers of witchcraft and sorcery he had with the help of the Devil, he was powerful and lived an illusion thinking he was invincible. The apostle Paul rebuked that overgrown child of the Devil for trusting in evil powers and imagining that he was more powerful than God. When you are a child of the Devil, thats how you would feel- lofty and arrogant. You will speak with overwheening pride and you will think you are always right even when you know you deserve punishment of the highest kind.

Here,Elymas had one of his six senses, only one, his sight taken away with just a word spoken at him by Paul and he had to be led by someone from then on. He would not be able to mislead anyone else anymore, like he had been doing all this while- with his 'blind leading the blind' cock-sure attitude. Have some fear of God, before God decides to demonstrate His power for everyone to see and know that He is God and He rules on earth and not the Devil. Watch it, you are giving the glory to that wrong person! But, there was another sorcerer by the name of Simon who was different.
Learn what had happened to him below in this scripture passsage below.

Acts 8:9-13
Today's New International Version (TNIV)
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

You need to repent from all your evil ways like Simon the Sorcerer and follow Christ instead.Here is another passage for you.

Ezekiel 18:30-32
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall.Rid yourselves of all the offences you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

The Animals Outside Noah's Ark

Matthew 24:37-39
New International Version (NIV)
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Everything went on as normal until the door of Noah's Ark was SHUT. Once the door to the Ark was shut, even the human beings locked outside of the Ark were 'downgraded' to the status of the animals outside. Man and animal outside the Ark became equal in status as they died with the same fate- a meaningless and useless death with no one to mourn or bury them. Even the animals chosen by the righteous Noah and brought into the Ark on God's instruction were higher in status than the wicked men and women locked outside the Ark. The animals were spared because of Noah and for Noah after the floods have come and gone.

Until the locking of the door of the Ark, everything went about as normal.
Thats how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything will appear normal but once the door is shut, suddenly, your fate will be reduced to that of an animal, if you are caught without Christformation in you.
You will die a useless death. Inside Noah's Ark, even the animals were valued higher than humans locked outside the Ark. It will be too late to claim you are humans created in God's image with a conscience because your conscience was as good as dead when you were warned, like in Noah's days.

Why were those swept away by the floods no better than the animals in the Ark? Sin is the answer. You may want to continue in your sins even after you have been seriously warned of it's consequences but remember that it will not be God's fault. It will be your own fault for you have been warned thoroughly prior to the shutting of the door. Like it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man.You will be reduced to the fate of an animal, dying a useless death.

If man and animal died the same useless death, it would have been better if man would have just been born as an animal. Is the Lord Jesus Christ wrong in saying this statement below?

Matthew 7:6
New International Version (NIV)
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Sometimes, is it worth warning those who would prefer to die a useless death as an animal? There are some who live like this, as their conscience are dead as in animals. They just cannot differentiate between right and wrong no matter how loud you shout at them, at the top of your voice. In the days of Noah,"they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away".But, Noah preached and warned them without fail for 120 years.He did that faithfully but they laughed at his preaching as they had shut their ears to his warnings. This is how it is going to be too! Well, you have been warned that some would prefer just to live as animals do and die an animal's death. For an example just read these verses below.

Luke 13:31-33
New International Version (NIV)
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

The Lord Jesus Christ likened Herod, the evil ruler of Israel to a 'fox'. The Lord Jesus was not afraid of a mere 'fox' because He created all the animals with His Father in Heaven and He knows how far can a 'fox' go with it's threat to kill. A 'fox' is cunning,full of trickery and wierd with it's vicious behaviour. It gets it's prey effectively in the dark and nobody would know that the fox had done the killing. But here, the Lord Jesus Christ says, go and tell that Herod (fox),"I know who he is. He cannot hide from me and I know all his evil deeds. He can hide from mere men but he cannot hide from Me". A Fox is known for this type of cunning behaviour.We see another example here of an animal outside Noah's Ark and think of why God justly needed to wash them away with the flood. It will be the same at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what happened to that 'fox' Herod. Read this passage below and be warned of God's power demonstrated here.

Acts 12:20-24
New King James Version (NKJV)
Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.
But the word of God grew and multiplied.

The moral of the true story of Herod? An animal that was larger in size,power and viciousness was eaten by a small,frail and weak worm and the 'fox' died after being eaten by the worm. Have some fear of God! An animal destroys another 'animal' with the help of an angel of God.Beware!

The Evil Ruler Threatens the Prophet of God

Threatening the prophet of God is the same as threatening God.For that matter, threatening anyone who belongs to the Living God will amount to threatening and challenging His strength and might.

Nahum 3:1-7
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
Woe to the city of blood, full of lies,full of plunder, never without victims! The crack of whips, the clatter of wheels, galloping horses and jolting chariots!
Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many casualties,
piles of dead, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses—
all because of the wanton lust of a harlot, alluring, the mistress of sorceries,
who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
“I am against you,” declares the LORD Almighty. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame.
I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. All who see you will flee from you and say, ‘Nineveh is in ruins—who will mourn for her?’ Where can I find anyone to comfort you?”

Your strength will either come from God or the Devil on this earth. You will get your strength from the Divine power or the other,the Evil power. If you have continual strength to do evil on earth, that would mean you have sought the strength from the Devil, the Evil One.Divine power does good to all mankind and there are no miseries attached to it.This power and authority was placed on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Devil was defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth through His resurrection from the dead. He conquered death for all mankind, especially for those who would believe in Him. Death was always used as the Devil's weapon against man.He succeeded in bringing death to Adam and Eve.He brought along the fear of death.Men who do not fear God will fear death.Now he is seeking to bring second death to all mankind who are subjected to him.Those who seek the strength from the Evil One to do evil that brings misery to mankind will in the end be in ruins like Nineveh always.

Psalm 94:20
New International Version (NIV)
Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?

This Time Babylon Will Surely Fall.

Revelation 18:1-3
New International Version (NIV)
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted:
“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

If we were to recall Babylon, we will remember Nebuchadnezzar-the proud king who became insane, who ate grass like a cow as a punishment from God.Daniel foretold him, "your kingdom will fall" and it surely did! When we mention Babylon we remember 'Babel'. The proud people, who were filled with evil intentions of their hearts and were finally scattered forever by God.They could never ever come together again to do evil on earth.

Just who is this Babylon now?

Revelation 17:4-6
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
The woman was dressed in purple and bright red. She was gleaming with gold, jewels and pearls. In her hand she held a golden cup filled with things that God hates. It was filled with her terrible, dirty sins. 5 Here is the name that was written on her forehead.

Mystery,

the great city of Babylon

the Mother of Prostitutes

the Mother of everything on earth that God hates

1) "..a golden cup filled with things that God hates"
2) "..the Mother of everything on earth that God hates"

We have been living a lie of the Devil all this while that God does not hate anything in this world.That God accepts everything as they are. That's a lie of the Devil. God hates 'Babylon' who is the Mother of everything that God hates because she has a golden cup filled with things that God hates. We have been told a lie that God does not hate anything on this earth. Wake up!

The Kingdom of Darkness is a Very Confused Kingdom

Mark 3:24-26
New International Version (NIV)

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.

No evil unity will stand.It will fall.It's an unity of planning and doing evil together.We have an example of this unity that God scattered forever in the Old Testament.

Genesis 11:1-9
New International Version (NIV)
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Watch out for the Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod

Mark 8:14-21
New International Version (NIV)
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

What is hypocrisy? Hypocrisy is promoting God to others but personally obeying the sinful nature of the Devil in you only.Watch out for such people, says the Lord Jesus Christ...OR... it could also be the promoting of the sinful nature of the Devil in the name of God.

Jeremiah 22:13-17
New International Version (NIV)
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor.
He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’
so he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red.
“Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD. “But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”