Returning to your First Love?

In order to return, you must recognize that you have turned away.

You have turned away from a conscious faith.

A conscious faith involves obedience to the Word of God, faithfulness and love.

Many have faith, but they do not have a serious commitment with the Lord.

They treat Him like a lover.

When they are in trouble, they pray.

When they feel like it, they go to church to fulfill an obligation.

Occasionally, they read the Bible.

But they are so lazy that they do not meditate on what they read.

Soon, they get sleepy and give up.

To the sons of Jacob, He said:

"Since the days of your fathers you have turned away from My Word.

Return to Me and I will return to you.

How shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!

How have we robbed You?

In tithes and offerings."

Tithes symbolize faithfulness. They are the first 10%, the firstfruits.

Offerings symbolize love. They are to be given voluntarily and spontaneously.

When tithes and offerings are not presented to the Lord, it shows a lack of faithfulness and love on the behalf of His servant.

This enables the devourer to take control of the thief’s life.
Are they Christians? Theoretically, yes.

But in practice, they have nothing to do with the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

It is impossible to return to your First Love without honoring the Lord with your first fruits and offerings.

The law of tithes and offerings came before the Law of Moses and the Lord Jesus never revoked it. Genesis 14:20, Matthew 23:23

To be continued...

Spiritual Pedophilia

Head, Tail, or Eternal Damnation

The LORD Almighty promised to make His people the head and not the tail.

This does not mean that everyone will be the head.

Those who are the head, believe.

Those who believe, receive His revelation.

Those who receive His revelation are considered His little ones.

His little ones are obedient to His Word.

It is not by force or violence that Promises are fulfilled, but through the Spirit of God that serves those who serve Him in obedience.

Only His obedient servants will be made rulers over many things.

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord,”Matthew 25.21.

In order to be made the head, you must serve the Lord and unconditionally obey His direction.

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail. You shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today and are careful to observe them,”Deuteronomy 28.13.

Can a disobedient servant receive honor?

If the disobedient receive dishonor, imagine what the rebellious will receive!

The parable of the talents shows us the destiny of the wicked servant. Matthew 25.14

Is it fair that the Lord entrusts His promises to unfaithful servants?

Is it possible for faithful and obedient servants to receive dishonor from the Lord of Justice?

Called, but not chosen

Most of those who consider themselves Christians were called, but unfortunately, not chosen.

They received biblical information, but the Almighty did not reveal Himself to them.

Peter is an example of this. After declaring that Jesus was the Messiah, the Lord said to him:

“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven,” Matthew 16.17.

The Lord leaves no doubt about the difference between those who are informed by flesh and blood, and those who have received a revelation from the Spirit of God.

On another occasion the Lord said:

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” John 3.6.

This is another way of describing the difference between those who are formed by the flesh and those who are formed by the Spirit of God.

Flesh has to do with human nature and the resources available to it. On the other hand, the Spirit has to do with the Divine nature.

Those who are not chosen do not possess His image because they are not born of the Holy Spirit.

This is why they find it very difficult to keep the flame of faith burning bright.

They receive the theory from the Word of God, but are unable to materialize it because they do not have a spiritual nature.

But the chosen have a spiritual nature.  This is why the more battles they face, the stronger they become, and the more the quality of their faith improves.

The more intense the persecution, the more unfair the injustice, the bigger the trials — the greater the victory here on Earth.

As a personal testimony:  the more we are excluded and humiliated for the sake of our Lord, the greater glory we receive from Him.

However, be extremely careful with your “BRETHREN”!...

Lord of the Fallen – Part 3

When we speak about people who fell away from the presence of God, we automatically think about those who frequently came to church. They were members, assistants, auxiliary pastors or pastors, and for one reason or another, left the Church and are now in the world. However, the fallen can be divided into three categories, as you can see below:

Fallen away from birth: These are the people we mentioned in the previous message. They were saved as children because of their innocence, but once they reached the age where they understood right from wrong, they turned away into the world of the fallen (read: Lord of the Fallen - Part 2).

Fallen away from the Church: They had faith in the Lord Jesus, reaped the benefits of knowing Him, such as being healed, receiving a miracle, becoming prosperous or being delivered, but they were never born of God. Therefore, influenced by the circumstances, such as: trials, deserts, persecutions, etc. they were driven away from the Lord Jesus and the Church by their emotions, and plunged back into the world again.

Fallen away inside the Church: They are lost inside the Lord’s house. They have not physically left the Church, but they are like the church in Sardis: "...I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God," Revelation 3.1-2.

There are people in the Church that participate in everything, but inside, they are far from God because they are living in hidden sin. They must think that God is not Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent.

Assistants, when Jesus said, "...Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity," Luke 13.27, He was not speaking to those who are outside in the world. He was speaking to those who are inside His house.

God bless you.

Bishop Sergio Correia

How to cut off bad roots

How to cut off bad roots

You have identified the root of your problem. Very good. Now, how do you cut it off? That's the question many have been asking.

By definition, cutting is an aggressive act. Even a smooth, razor-sharp, small cut will cause some injury. Cutting means something sharp penetrates something else and makes an opening, an incision, or wound. In other words, it's an intrusive, forceful move that alters the original state of a body or thing. In the case of living creatures, it can even kill them.

Cutting off a root, therefore, is a forceful act of your will. You can't wish a bad root away. You have to be ruthless, aggressive, and razor-sharp in your determination to cut it off. What is the axe you can use for it? It's often what hurts that root the most.

Humbleness is the axe to cut off pride.
Generosity is the axe to cut off greed.
Self-control is the axe to cut off anger, excesses, and addictions.
Diligence is the axe to cut off sloth.
Kindness is the axe to cut off selfishness.
Courage is the axe to cut off fear.
Sincerity is the axe to cut off hypocrisy.
A pact with God is the axe to cut off demons and curses.

Do you catch the drift?
To cut off a root, you must hit it where it hurts, with what hurts it the most, and repeat the process until it's gone.

Painful. Hard work. Certainly not overnight. 

But effective.

The Greatest Revelation

Miracles were performed.

The power of God, which is faith, was magnificently manifested.

Nevertheless, some did not believe.

And why didn’t they believe?

Faith had not been revealed to them, Isaiah 53.1.

And why hadn’t it been revealed?

Because they were wise and prudent. They believed wisdom and education preclude faith.

In their opinion, faith was for the ignorant and illiterate.

However, for God, faith is a revelation to His little ones.

Who are His little ones?

They are adults who become like children after receiving the teachings of the Word of God.

They are truly humble in spirit.

Who reveals to them the power of God, the arm of the Lord or faith?

The Spirit of God.

How does God see those who do not believe?

Jesus calls them a faithless and perverse generation.

Is there salvation for them?

As long as they remain wise and prudent in their own eyes, they will not receive faith.

And without faith, there is no salvation.

“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight,” Luke 10.21.