Lampstand Ministry

In July 2015, a voice from beyond death delivered a warning, a warning that could only be heard though the 7th gift of the Holy Spirit. Read now. No paywall. thelampstands.com/discernmen…

Many who call themselves Christians have chosen to ignore the Greatest Commandment - choosing instead to replace it entirely with the 2nd greatest. They prefer to unreservedly love THE WORLD with all of their hearts, minds, and souls while refusing to recognize that you cannot know HOW to love your neighbor in a Christian context unless you first Love the Lord.... ....and the Lord commands us to OBEY His commandments, to TELL our neighbor when they are sinning their way to the pit of hell, and to REJECT SIN in all of its forms.... including those that are popular. Matt 7:21, 22:34; John 14:15; and Ezek 3:18-21

“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4 Conversely, the inverse is also true: Those who serve the Lord make themselves an enemy of the world – for the world loves rebellion and despises those who have chosen to serve our eternal and ever-living God. As it was in the time of the prophets, so also it is now: “I hear the whisperings of many, ‘Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!’ All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. ‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail and take our vengeance upon him.’ But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.” Jer 20: 10-11

In the Book of Exodus, the Lord said to the Israelites: “Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” (Ex:19) This is OUR heritage by adoption through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: “But YOU are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1Pet2:9) Carlos Romulu, a Philippine general who fought against Japan in WW2 once said: “Never forget, Americans, that yours is a spiritual country. Yes, I know you’re a practical people. Like others, I’ve marveled at your factories, your skyscrapers, and your arsenals. But underlying everything else is the fact that America began as a God-loving, God-fearing, God-worshipping people.” Remember the words spoken by the Lord: “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land,” (2Chr7:14). Seek the Lord while there is still time… For the Lord is Good, the Lord is Just, the Lord is All.

Living in our modern world without God is a lot like the following analogy: Imagine you were born blind. You have never seen anything with your eyes. You don't even know what the idea of sight truly means, because to you - "seeing" means touching and knowing what the shape of something is by feeling it. Now imagine you have lived your whole life in a house without windows. You don't miss the windows because you can't see. You spend your life in contact with people who love you but the majority of them are also blind. You also have something called television that you know is a plastic box that transmits people's voices from far away. You can't feel the people or things that you hear on TV so there is nothing that you can "see" there - only hear. You hear many things from TV. Occasionally you hear talk of something outside of what you know that is called the Sun, but usually the television talks about things that you are familiar with - things that are physical and can be touched, tasted and held in your hands. You also hear many different things from the people who live with you - both from other blind people and also from a few unusual people who say they have something called "sight." The people who can see will occasionally talk to you of this "sun" and tell you how wonderful it is. They tell you how there would be no life on earth without the sun. They tell you the sun provides light and warmth to the earth and all who live upon it. Most of your friends and family are as blind as you are. They reply that there is no light and that warmth comes from things that people have made. On one, or maybe even two, occasions you hesitantly step outside of the house only to discover that it is cold and wet. No warmth. No weird phenomenon called "light." Just more dark: with the added discomfort of being cold and wet and lonely. Even worse, many of the blind who live with you criticize you for believing in the "sun fairytale" enough to actually walk out of the safety and reality of the house. Clearly there is no such thing as a sun. Clearly it could not be felt or "seen" so therefore it cannot be real - it is only something in the mind of those who have this strange delusional thing called "sight." Increasingly, there are far more blind people in the house than those with "sight." This is welcomed by many of your fellow blind people who claim that people are becoming more "enlightened" and giving up on delusions of the past. Yet, you feel the need within you for something more than what you know. So, you begin seeking out new physical experiences in your environment in an attempt to fill that need. Your fellow blind seem to enjoy these things and actively encourage you to try them. They expect you to try them. These things distract you for a season, but the need remains unfulfilled. Worse, many of these experiences cause pain, regret and lasting physical and emotional damage. Then one day a visitor comes to the house. He knocks at the door. You think someone else will answer - so at first, you ignore it. But the knock comes again. You vaguely say, "Isn't someone going to answer that?" But no one does. So, the knock comes yet again. Finally, becoming impatient, you make your way to the door to see what the noise is about. You don't recognize the voice that calls your name. You reach out to touch the face so you can "see" who it is; but your hands feel nothing but air. Frustrated at the bad joke, you slam the door and go back to what you were doing. Days, months and years pass and there are no more knocks. Then one day you are hurt by something or someone in the house and the knock comes again. This time when you open the door, you stop and listen to the voice. The voice asks you to give up everything in the house behind you and walk with Him. You tell him you can't see. You tell him that you're afraid. You tell him that it is cold and lonely outside, and you don't even know who He is. He tells you to trust in Him and walk forward into the light. Behind you is all you know and have done. The darkness and the pain. The uncertainty and regret. What do you have to lose? You walk forward. You are still blind, so you see nothing, but suddenly you drop to your knees and cry out with joy as you feel the warmth of the sun. It is like nothing you have ever experienced. It erases the doubt and pain and gives you a warmth and fullness of being that is beyond description. He who has led you there gives you the promise that one day you will see the sun. But for now, it must be enough to feel. You still don't know what it means to see. But now you have felt the light and know that it is true. You also know that you must convince those who live with you to trust the guiding voice of He who was sent to lead us. To trust Him enough to step outside into the light. Christ is He who was sent to lead all of us into the light. In a world shrouded in blindness we must have the courage to walk forward with Him into the light and to carry that message to all those who still wait inside the darkness. Mat 4:16 "The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." Mat 5:15 "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Mat 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

“Pentecost: a Christian feast on the seventh Sunday after Easter commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.” Websters If you have never experienced the joy of the Holy Spirit – do not be deceived by those who claim that it is an “intangible gift” that is transmitted through a “water baptism.” The reality of Pentecost is alive and well today for all who choose to turn to the Lord in Spirit and Truth. It does not come in water or oil. It comes from God. (Acts 10:44-48 & 11:11-17) I can assure you that it is NOT intangible. I have never met any doctor or scientist who would argue that physical pain is “intangible.” Neither is the joy of the Holy Spirit and the gifts that it provides as the Lord wills. It is as undeniable today as it was at the first Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago. If you have not yet experienced the indescribable joy of the Holy Spirit of our Living God – turn away from all that is offensive to the Lord and when you feel the void that remains - seek the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul, and He will fill you with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Matt 7:21-23, Rev 3:16, Rom: 6, 1Cor 5:9-13, 1Cor 6:9-11, 2Peter2:1-22, Jude:1-24. “For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; To another diverse kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man individually as he will. (1Cor 12: 7-11)”

Among many Christians today there remains even now the spirit of the Sadducees - who rejected the resurrection of the dead, rejected belief in the angels and the immortality of human souls, and refused to accept the reality of the afterlife. Christianity is NOT nihilism. The Bible is clear that THERE IS NO DEATH. Only a transition of our spirit from the flesh back to the Lord and His judgement. Do not be deceived by those who would lead you astray – for our God is a LIVING God and all are alive to Him. Seek HIM while there is still time. 1 Samuel 28: The spirit of Samuel returned to speak to Saul. Luke 16: 19-21: The spirits of the “dead” converse with Abraham. Matt 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36: The “dead” return and speak with Christ in full view of the Apostles. Matt 22: 29-33, Mark 12: 24-27, Luke 20: 37-38: Jesus tells the Sadducees that our God is not God of the dead, but of the living - and all are alive to Him. Luke 23:39-43: Jesus tells the man next to him on the cross that they will be together in paradise that very night.

The modern phenomenon of professed Christians fearing to judge between good and evil is a symptom of biblical illiteracy – and when a God-fearing man or woman DOES speak out against evil, they are assailed by quotes taken out of context: “Judge not least you be judged.” “All have sinned.” “Love your neighbor.” Jesus didn’t tell us not to Judge between good and evil. He told us not to be hypocrites: we are to repent and turn away from our sins before we are to call out evil in society. Mat 7:1-5 Paul’s admonishment that all have fallen short and sinned was to inform formerly Jewish Christians that they are not to reject formerly Pagan Christians because the Jews themselves committed many of the sins in their history that they were using as an excuse to exclude the formerly pagan members of the Christian community (Rom 3:1-31). He goes on to say vehemently that we are NOT to continue in sin and that those who live in sin are slaves to sin and those who serve Christ are obedient to God (Rom 6:1-23). Peter graphically illustrates this in his second letter by stating that those who turn to the Lord and then return to sin are like “dogs returning to their own vomit” (2 Peter 2:1-22) Jesus said clearly that the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. That is the first and greatest commandment. One cannot begin to love one’s neighbor as God intends unless one first commits oneself to the Lord by repenting – turning away from sin – and being born again through total commitment to the Lord. Then we can discern HOW to love our neighbor which does NOT include acceptance of sin and deliberate refusal to rightly judge the difference between good and evil….and one cannot discern what is good or evil unless one knows the word of the Lord which is given in the Holy Bible. “For man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Mat 4:4)

The ancients called everything above the earth - both the sky and what we call space - "heaven." "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." Rev 12: 7-9

When the wealthy young man came to Jesus asking “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life,” Jesus answered by saying “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” To some, this may seem contradictory – as Christ mentioned in numerous places that He and the Father are one, and the Bible makes clear that He was without sin. But Jesus was not claiming that he was sinning against God, he was making it clear that God is the DEFINITION of good and that we can only define what “good” is through the WORD OF GOD - which further means that the definition of evil is all that is opposed to the LAWS OF GOD. This becomes clear when Jesus goes on to tell the man that to attain eternal life he must obey the Commandments of God – to which he replies that he had observed all of these since he was a child. Jesus looked at him, and loved him – saying “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” At that saying the man’s countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had many possessions. If he had done as Jesus asked him – then that man’s name would be known to us today as one of the apostles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. More importantly, his place in heaven would have been assured. But he was unable to turn away from his worldliness, so we only know him as a parable and a warning to not allow worldly desires to come between ourselves and the Lord. Do not be deceived by those who seek to ignore the Commandments of God in favor of following their own lusts. Mankind does not get to define what is “good.” Only God is good. Matt 19:16-30 Mark 10:17-31

It is estimated that roughly 5% of the adult population in the United States has been “legally entrapped” into providing elderly care... What happens when the gears of entrapment are set into motion by evil that has been shunned? Read Now. No Paywall. thelampstands.com/discernmen…

There can NEVER be "blessings" for immorality. To affirm sin is to lead the sinner astray. Jesus didn't say - "go and sin again," He said: "GO AND SIN NO MORE." (John 8:11) It is also unconscionable for a Christian leader to elevate government policies as "more important moral issues" than the laws of God. There is an increasingly obvious lean in Church leadership towards SOCIALISM... which has proven many times over that it is incompatible with Christianity. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6: 9-11

This shouldn't even be a question. 20 years ago, no-one would have believed that sterilization and mutilation of CHILDREN would even be discussed - much less PAID FOR by our own government. 😪😠 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." Matt 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2

💯 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." Matt 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2 👇This is a sermon from Pastor Loran Livingston of Central Church in Charlotte NC. Powerful Preaching 🔥- the same SHOULD be heard from every pulpit in America. Why isn't it?? 😠