​A very popular saying implies every person alive is a child of God.  As much as this sentiment aims to make everyone feel equal or a part of God’s kingdom, this saying is not biblically true.  John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”  This verse reflects only those who choose to be born again through Jesus Christ are children of God.  Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”  This verse, written to a church, displays it is through their faith and salvation that they are children of God.  1 John 3:1 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”  John is confirming God calls those who are born again His children and pours out His love upon them.  Those who do not belong to God through saving faith in Jesus Christ belong to the world and not God.  Being a child of God is only for those who have repented of their sins by asking Jesus to forgive them, turning away from their sins, and turning toward God.  The danger of the ideology of everyone being a child of God creates a false connection with God.  This leads those who do not know the Word of God to not repent or have a proper relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Christians cannot be led by their emotions and give an unbiblical response to those they feel sorry for or give false hope.  Everyone must be born again.  John 3:3 says, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Jesus’ own words even combat the false idea that everyone who lives on the earth is a child of God.  Children of God will have an inheritance as joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17).  Again, this inheritance only comes through the process of salvation.  Romans 8:14 says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”  To be led by the Spirit of God, a person must have a connection with God due to the difference between the world’s spirit and the Holy Spirit.  The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit, nor can it know Him (1 Corinthians 2:12-14; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:5-9).  God’s children must live holy and clean before God but also witness and evangelize to allow others to become children of God (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 10:14-15; Matthew 5:16; Romans 10:9-10).  The goal of every Christian should be to get as many people to give their lives to Jesus Christ in salvation as they can before their life is finished.  Christians must endeavor to overcome this problematic saying by converting those who are not born again so more people become children of God.  For anyone reading this who is not currently a child of God, the process is made simple for anyone desiring to do so.  Talk to Jesus verbally in the same manner as talking to someone close by because He is.  Ask Jesus to forgive the sins committed in your life because of your faith that He died as the Son of God for those sins for your forgiveness of them, and He rose again to life.  For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org.  

​With the modern culture of everything being about self, getting what one can get, and mistreating those who do not allow selfish tendencies, the demonic spirit of hoarding has become more powerful than ever.  The word hoard is defined as a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away; to collect and often hide away a supply, to accumulate; to keep to oneself.  This spirit seeks to gain all it can and not let anything go (Luke 12:15).  The objects accumulated can be things but also people.  When a person does this it is evident their heart is in their treasure of people or things.  Where a person’s treasure is, there is where their heart is also (Luke 12:34).  People, especially Christians, should not have a hoarding mentality but an ability to let go of objects designed to only last for a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; James 5:1-3).  The inability to let go of things reflects a heart associating emotions with those things as opposed to looking to God as the healer of hearts (Psalm 147:3; Exodus 15:26; Psalm 34:18; Isaiah 41:10).  This type of spirit talks people into holding onto things within their homes, making conditions unliveable, as some TV shows display.  In contrast, in other people, it may not make conditions unliveable, but does create a bad testimony of how unkept a person’s life can become.  For others, this spirit teaches to hoard the Word of God and not share the Gospel with anyone, denying salvation to take place.  If pastors allow this demon to operate in their lives, the church becomes about gathering people instead of helping those already within the congregation.  In every scenario, this hoarding spirit finds the broken area of a person’s life and gains power by accumulating other objects (1 John 2:15; Matthew 16:26).  The deception of accumulation bringing happiness or joy is the core of this spirit’s grip.  Jesus Christ is the source of joy that people are looking for (1 Timothy 6:6-8).  He does not give peace as the world gives but real peace (John 14:27; Colossians 3:15).  Christians cannot serve God and flesh (Matthew 6:24).  When Christians allow this demon to function in their lives, they are missing the opportunity to be powerful soldiers in the army of God.  Christians should be allowing the Word and Spirit of God to change not only their minds by being renewed but by pruning things to allow new growth (Romans 12:1-2; John 15:1-8).  Refusing to change or hoarding things or people can be a rebellious act against God’s commands.  Mankind was created to worship God in spirit and truth, so a hoarding spirit entices to focus on other objects rather than the main purpose for being created (Hebrews 13:16; Matthew 19:21; John 4:24).  This hoarding spirit must be overcome by Christians to not lose sight of their mission.  Jesus Christ gave the command to make disciples and preach the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8).  Even making disciples is not a command to hoard people but to train them in the things of God so that they may also fulfill the Great Commission (Colossians 3:1-2; Luke 6:38).  May Christians not allow this hoarding spirit to function in their lives but obtain victory by being who God plans for them to be, fulfill the purpose God has for them, and find their peace and joy within God as opposed to accumulating things or people.  For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org. 

​God has methods for doing things the way He wants them done.  Throughout the Bible, some people chose to do things how they wanted to, and it cost them for their disobedience and rebellion.  There were two men, Nadab and Abihu, who brought strange fire to God’s altar, and God’s fire came down and devoured them to their death (Leviticus 10:1-2).  In the New Testament, some men crept in secretly among churches, saying God’s grace allows people to live immoral lives, describing the permission to bring strange flesh (Jude 3-7).  There is also a biblical warning not to be misled by strange doctrines (Hebrews 13:9).  In each scenario, strange things are trying to infiltrate the methods or manner of how God’s people worship or live for Him.  The word strange is defined as profane, wrong, unworthy, unsanctified, irreverent, or lacking proper respect or seriousness.  In today’s time, the same mindset or spirit of bringing strange things before God still exists.  People bring strange fire by bringing methods of worship to God’s house, the local church, that does not align with His holiness or how He desires services to be conducted.  This same strangeness can also be reflected in the lack of seriousness of how God is taken within His house.  Strange flesh is permitting sinful passions and affections to be incorporated within church services or activities that are a product of flesh and not God’s leading or instruction.  Strange doctrines are accepting beliefs that are contrary to the Word of God and how God establishes righteousness with Him.  When sin is allowed within the pastors and preachers, sinners find it easier to attend their churches due to the strange fire, strange flesh, and strange doctrines that are permitted within the congregation.  Even the unspoken sins will draw people to a social gathering because deep cries out to deep (Psalm 42:7).  Some may believe this only applies to God and a believer, but this applies to whatever the deep within someone is crying out to the deep in another.  Like spirits will draw close to like spirits.  This can be a good thing or a bad thing.  Although these strange things are permitted in some churches, some Christians allow these strange things in their lives.  This should not be how God’s people live.  God’s people are to be holy, clean, and living epistles before everyone inside the church and outside the church (2 Corinthians 7:1; Psalm 51:10; Isaiah 1:16; James 4:8; 1 Corinthians 3:16).  When people cannot tell the difference between the world’s methods and a church’s methods, strange things have been brought in, diluting the things of God.  God’s people are to be sanctified, which reflects a separation from the world and set apart for God’s own use (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Timothy 2:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:3).  Christians must be Christ-like in honoring God, living clean, living holy, and being a living sacrifice unto God as the least they can do (Romans 12:1-2).  If Christians do not live righteously, what are they saved from?  If Christians do not live for God, who do they serve and live for?  God’s people are not to live for themselves but live in obedience to God.  Obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22; Proverbs 21:3; Romans 6:16; Jeremiah 7:21-23).  May Christians not allow strange fire, strange flesh, or strange doctrines to enter into their lives and do everything unto God as well as by His methods (Colossians 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).  For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org.  

​Dr. Lester Sumrall has been quoted as saying, “If you’re not winning souls or training saints, what you are doing is worthless.”  This is, of course, a reference to the Great Commission Jesus Christ gave His disciples.  Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.  Amen.”  When churches or Christians begin to add various other activities to Christianity, those activities that do not win souls or train saints are worthless.  Christians are not called to entertain people, market the church, or make friends with the whole community.  Churches and Christians are called to get people born again who are not part of the body of Christ and make disciples by training how to live the Word of God.  Even in Acts 1:8, Jesus says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  When culture becomes more evident in churches than this commission given by the Son of God, the focus has changed from God-ordained to man-ordained motives.  Christians must refocus on what is truly important to God and the mission He has established for every church and every Christian to complete on the earth.  Entertainment, social justice, and other culturally relevant activities do not build the kingdom of God but distract from the purpose of the Great Commission.  The pastors and preachers who give in to this ideology become teachers itching the ears of the people rather than obeying God (2 Timothy 4:2-4; Jeremiah 5:30-31).  The people who grow accustomed to this type of entertainment Christianity, grow dull in heart, have ears that no longer hear, and have eyes that no longer see (Matthew 13:15; 2 Timothy 3:1-17; Zechariah 7:11; Isaiah 30:9-11).  Although this type of Christianity is easier, it is not the genuine Christianity God established through Jesus Christ.  One could say this easier Christianity is worthless because it does not fulfill the mandate of God (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).  The current times reflect the last days within the Bible, and it is more vital now than ever to be ready for the return of Jesus Christ.  The entertainment culture of today’s time is designed by the spiritual enemies to not only distract the heart and mind in natural life but also to make its way into the churches to distract from being trained as true disciples of Jesus Christ, changing the world with the Gospel and holy lifestyles.  When Christianity becomes about individuals, the spiritual enemy wins.  This is the same situation Peter found himself in when walking on the water towards Jesus (Matthew 14:27-33).  When Christians began to recognize the storms meant to distract, the spiritual enemy had to have a new plan to hinder God’s people in their relationship with God.  The new plan came with diverting from winning souls and training saints.  Christians must get back to fulfilling the Great Commission and taking the saying of Dr. Lester Sumrall that if it does not win souls to Jesus Christ or train disciples, it is worthless and does not need to be conducted.  For more information about Abundant Grace Church, visit agcsparta.org.