YE SHALL LIVE AND NEVER DIE. philip Psy.D. vermaak

strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. ⁴I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. Genesis 6:5 ⁵And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Since the beginning of time this has been God’s problem with man, not so much the sin, but the mind of man from which sinful actions are birthed. This is emphasised in Genesis 8:21 ¹And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. There are no exclusions or exceptions.

      The believer is taught and in fact commanded to renew the mind by the word of God in Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Unfortunately many believers are so single minded that they cannot even make up their minds to want to change and believe God that the life we are living is meant to be far more fulfilling and blessed than we can ever think or imagine. Only then will we begin to discover what that “perfect” will of God is. Six thousand years of man’s teachings, unbelief, doctrines, theories, theologies and eschatology have now all been crammed into the mind to erode our thoughts and faith. Enshrouded in doubt and unbelief we have become prey to every new doctrine believing that something new will breakout on the horizon bringing with it new found hope and encouragement. Yet with each new wave of hope comes greater trial and error and ultimately failure, while the word of truth stands firm forever.

      The plan of the enemy Satan is to sow confusion and set all the forces of darkness, which are very real, against the body of believers so that the word of God would have limited effect in the lives of the believer binding the mind. More often than not even the church is used as a pawn in this onslaught, hence we see so frequently the word being preached without power. This leaves the body wilting and fading because of the lack of the truth being taught. The manna being fed is yesterday’s, full of worms and rotten, no man can survive on such a diet. The seed cannot germinate in unbelief, unfertile soil, no matter how much water you pour onto it. In Luke 8:4-11 ⁴And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: ⁵A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. ⁶And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. ⁸And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. ⁹And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? ¹⁰And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. ¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Jesus teaches the importance of the word in the daily life of the believer, He also said the Kingdom of God is like sowing and reaping, note verse ¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

      I believe that the mind of man will decide what kind of ground or type of soil the seed is being sown into. Jesus speaking of Moses in John 5:47 said ⁴⁷But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? So the faith by which we receive the word will work out in our daily lives, we see this in the lives of people around about us; some are stronger in one area maybe prayer life, others in a different area of life. My bible tells me that I have the mind of Christ in 1Corinthians 2:16, ¹⁶For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. I believe that every word of God is seed for sowing and therefore ¹³I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13. In Romans 14:23 we are taught that whatever is not of faith, is sin, ²³And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. This refers to the mind and imagination, our thoughts and deeds.

      If one were to analyse carefully the state of the modern day church, both mainline and “Pentecostal” one would find a church waiting to die in poverty and iniquity. This is totally the opposite from what Jesus said in John 3:16. ¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What is wrong and who is the liar? It’s not Jesus; it has to be the “church”. Jesus had much to say about religion in Mathew’s gospel chapter 24, it is time for the believer to realise that religion is an abomination in the eyes of God. Sadly most Pentecostal churches are no different from the mainline churches, they are merely a more liberated type of religion, twice as dead denying the power of God. God is a God of power and love, holiness and righteousness. These qualities are not what the church is made of today, the truth is not being preached, but rather the truth is being compromised. Stay with me and I will prove it in God’s word.

      God cannot be mocked; the present day structures of church have failed the communities they serve so miserably. The church and its members are a dying breed fed up of being served stale fast foods for a fast buck. It is high time for the fruit to be dished up, the fruit of life so that the church can live the abundant life. You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.