Living Hope Fellowship Church...Sermons From the Pastor
RETURN
TO GOD
by Pastor Kevin Badgley
Good day friends. How many out there believe that God's Word is still true? In God's Word He says, "For I am the LORD, I change not. . . ." (Malachi 3:6) Now, if you believe that God does not change, then that means his Word does not change. If God's Word doesn’t change then what he says in his Word is still true today! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
I’m going to read to you out of God's Word and preach to you that you might believe God's Word and be redeemed from the curse of the law that has come upon the land. In Revelation Chapter 2, Jesus is talking to a church. One of the facets in which the church world can get caught up is in foolishness and vain things. He warns them all along the line and then He mentions one of the features the church should take on in these last days. It is one that they had taken on before. In Revelation 2:4-5, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Jesus is talking to the Church. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Now beloved, that’s a hard saying. Jesus was talking to the Church. He said to return to your first love. Return and begin to do the first works again. The Church world today is not doing what the first church did. I’ll say it again; the church today is not doing what the first church in the book of Acts was doing. Signs are not following them that believe, devils are not cast out, sin is not condemned, judgements are not falling on those who lie to a man or woman of God like they did when they lied to Peter. What about all the other things that went on in the early church of God's power and anointing falling upon His people who were living holiness and a straight line to heaven?
We don’t see these things today in the church because they’re not walking in holiness and a straight line to Heaven. Jesus began to warn them even a few years after the church had begun that they were getting away from their first love. Jesus is supposed to be our first love. Many people turn away from the Word of God. They compromise, they water down, and they give another interpretation. They read other interpretations of God’s Word so they can get away from the hard line truth of God's Word and not have to perform the doing of it! That doesn’t make it of any less effect as far as judgement is concerned in their life.
God's Word is true. In Jeremiah 5:25-31 God’s talking to His people, not to sinners. God is talking to the Church. "Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich." Don’t you see this in the church world today? It goes on to say that they are fat and they shine. They are popular! "They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?"
Beloved, these are awesome words from the Word of God. This Word is still true and these words are still in effect today. We know that it is not out of date. It’s not prophecy fulfilled in its completeness as of yet, but is rather warning us of the things that come upon human minds, bodies, souls, and spirits when they backslide away from the deep and holy things of God, get into worldliness, and into world churchiness. These are warnings that God gave to His first people and they still are in effect today to His people now.
Men haven’t got different devices on how to sin. Men haven’t got different devices on how to go to Heaven. Sin is the same as it was before and the means by which to make heaven is still the same as it was before. God has not changed and neither has the devil; neither has mankind's heart which is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. What do we see then? We see that the church world is filled with many wicked men. They are preaching to the people a smooth gospel. The sad thing about it is what God says in Jeremiah 5:31, ". . . and my people love to have it so."
These people come in one accord together; they’ll go in with anything. If you believe with anything, you’ll fall for anything. God is wanting His people to come out from among them (see 2 Corinthians 6:17). He wants His people to be set free from the sin of religion and of the world. Satan successfully mixes flesh and the world with religion and sends a spirit that will make men think that they are going to make it all right because (they think) "it’s just weakness on their part and God understands." God does not tolerate this.
Matthew 15:14 says, ". . . And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." That means they will go to hell together! I don’t care who they are, or how much you respect them, or how big their ministry is, if you’re following somebody out there who is not preaching a hard line against sin you will go to hell with them. You are following one who is bound of the devil and is not free himself.
When I speak of a hard line against sin I’m not talking about someone who just says, "If you don’t believe the way I do, you’ll go to hell." I’m talking about someone who is preaching according to God's Word what sin is and how to get free of it. If someone is delivered, then they are going to preach deliverance. If someone is healed, they’re going to preach healing. If someone is saved and sanctified, they’re going to preach salvation and sanctification. If they’re not, they are hypocrites, because they’ve not experienced the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible decrees in Revelation Chapter 12 that the brethren overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Now if the word of someone’s testimony is a lie, then that one is not overcoming the devil. They are inviting him in and they are bringing damnation not only upon themselves, but those about them that hear and believe them.
God wants us to return to the first love and to the old paths. Jeremiah 6:16 talks about it, "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein." God was talking about His people. He wasn’t talking about the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Moabites, or somebody else; He was talking about Israel, his chosen people.
He is still talking to His people today, the Church. God wants to deliver the church, but the church doesn’t want deliverance. They like their sin. God wants to set the church free by sending preachers they may not respect to tell them the truth and let the truth stand on its on merit rather than in the reputation of the preacher that told them. Many people today are following men who have a reputation rather than a walk with Jesus Christ. They talk about Christ, but they don’t know Christ. They talk about Holiness, but they do not move in holiness and tell others how to obtain unto it by the Word of God and by the Spirit of the living God.
These move in a fashion, but people follow their fashion rather than the Spirit of God. They are cursed with an anti-Christ spirit and it’s moving them on deeper to be ready for the hands and open arms of the Anti-Christ which is about to appear on the scene. Beloved, this is not radical preaching. This is nothing more than telling you what the Word of God says. Jesus said to return to your first love.
Your first love has not been God; it has been things. Many times people come to a religion and end up returning to their first love, but that love wasn’t God. Their first love was lust, or money, or perversion, or fornication, or all the things that mankind can get into. Religion doesn’t set you free, it makes you return to sin. In a real experience with Jesus Christ you will run into the power of the Almighty God.
If a person is yielded and wanting something from God, and is wanting a real, honest walk with God, that one will return to their first love; that first love must be Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Hallelujah! He’s the only one who can set you free. In John 14:6 it says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
If you don’t go to Jesus according to God's Word, then you are not going to Jesus. You are going to another Jesus, an anti-Christ Jesus, one that will lead you down a primrose path to hell. God said to return to your first love, Christ Jesus. If your first love is not Christ then you’re not saved, and you need to get saved right now. You need to get delivered right now. I don’t care how many times you’ve been to the altar, or how many preachers you’ve sat under, or how many years you’ve "learned." The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:7 that some are, "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
The Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." They want to hear a certain thing, but they don’t want to live the way that God has ordained. Jesus told them about it in his day and he is telling us today about vain worship. Mark 7:7 says, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." They are worshiping him, but they are teaching as the Word of God the things they made up themselves.
Because people wouldn’t accept the Word of God, they modified it to where it would be "more acceptable" and bring more people into the church house, more people into the ministry, and more offerings into the storehouse. They promise prosperity all the way, yet they are worshiping God in vain. The horrible thing about it is that the multitudes who are following them are also worshiping God in vain. They’ll never see God, except for His judgement.
Jesus is talking to us also as he says in Mark 7:9, "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." Men today have argued with me about different things in the Word of God. I can quote scripture to them as the anointing of the Lord is present, and yet they will full well reject the commandment of God so that they can keep their own lifestyle and their own tradition. The anointing of the Lord is here even right now as you listen to this message. You know it is the truth because it is coming straight out of the Word of God.
Some will reject the commandment of God so they can continue to go to the same dead beat, lukewarm church. Some will go to a "dancing and prancing" church that offers up praises, but never renounces the devil, never pleads the blood, never walks in holiness, and the people just dance around and make a vain show! This is one of the reasons why people reject the commandment of God, so they can keep their own tradition. Today, beloved, if you are hearing this anywhere, I believe God to set you free.
Satan, loose them in Jesus name. I command you by the blood of the Lamb. God, set every captive free. Today, don’t harden your heart when you hear this word. God is wanting you to return unto Him. If you’re not sure that you ever really had Him, then you need to get on your face right now while the conviction of God is upon you and say, "God, help me, deliver me, set me free from religion first, and from my wickedness also and that I might come to God, in Jesus’ name." That’s all you’ve got to do.
Psalm 51 is an excellent chapter on how to be delivered and how to get the right spirit before the Lord, that then men might be saved and converted unto the Lord. Today, beloved, don’t harden your heart. Hear what God is saying to his people. Return to God. Come to God, and get out of tradition.
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