THE LAST DAY MESSENGER
THE LANDMARKS IN OUR LIVES
By Reverend Ona Bogart February 1, 2009 Study # 36
Israel strayed away from the commandments of God time after time. They constantly made excuses as to why they were ravished by the Enemy. They were a People that could not seem to continue to be consistent in their walk and service to the Lord, and especially after the death of each one of their leaders.
They fell away after the death of Joshua, and we read that Joshua finally said to them before his death, “If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”, Joshua 24:15.
God is still dealing with Christians in this day, and saying, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
3. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”, Psalms 14: 1-3.
We can certainly agree with this statement by David, “They are all together become filthy”.
There is so much sex and violence in this day. It is almost impossible to find something on television to watch, and we are thrown into this same atmosphere even as we go to shop for groceries or just get out in public. Children and Adults alike use vile language and wear almost nothing to cover up their nakedness.
As I watched the News the other day, the commentator said those that are dating expect to have sexual relations on their very first date. And that brings along this exhortation from
Psalms 74:9 “We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.”
How long from what? How long from the time when there were a People that at the very least tried to uphold the morals standards and speech that they were taught in the time past. Those were the land Marks in the years not too long ago, and the instructions that Moses gave to the People that He was leading, before He died, Deuteronomy 19:14 “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.”
Deuteronomy 27:17 “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor’s landmark.” Cursed be he that removeth his neighhbor’s landmarks? That would have to apply to most of the world today. There are laws on the books that make us susceptive to crimes against us if we preach the Word of God without conditions. It is called “hate crimes”.
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Job 24:1, 2 “Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not
see his days?
2.Some remove the landmarks: they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.”
We have to hold on to our landmarks that we have seen and learned years ago. It seems that most of the people of this day are not continuing to teach their children and others of their landmarks. Most of the churches that I have visited of late, no longer have what used to be known as Sunday School. Not only do they not have Sunday School for the adults, but there is no Sunday School for the children.
Those that are growing up in the times that we are now living, often have never been instructed in the ways of old. We have fallen back to the Scripture that says, “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6, but God said in Deuteronomy 12:8, “Ye
shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.”
Solomon said in Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the END thereof are the ways of death.” So in that case, not only do we not see our landmarks of old, but we do not teach them to our children. We see no examples of the fulfillment of the following Scripture, “Children obey your parents.”
We have been warned by Paul in his letter to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 3:1 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2. For men shall be lovers of their ownselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5. Having a form of godliness , but denying the power there from such turn away.
6. For of this sort are they, which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7. EVER LEARNING but NEVER ABLE to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Perilous times shall not only come, they are already here. People are shown to be lovers of themselves, because everything is about ME and what I want and what makes ME happy. There was a time when courtesy was adhered to by both parents and children, but now even in the grocery stores, children run into you and never say “excuse me”.
“Without natural affection,” we see and read about this every day: parents kill their children, children kill their children and their parents: babies are born and thrown in the garbage with no sorrow for their life, etc.
Paul said, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” We have Christians today that totally reject the plain words of the Prophets and of our forefathers. I see Christians today with tattoos on their bodies, in fact all over their bodies, and Moses wrote in
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Leviticus 19:28 “Ye shall NOT make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any MARKS upon you: I am the Lord.”
These instructions have been disregarded and once again we see that every one does what is right in his own eyes, but God said in Deuteronomy 12:8, Ye SHALL NOT DO after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.”
So once again we see a people with a FORM of godliness but we deny the POWER of the Holy Ghost, providing we ever had the Holy Ghost, and on and on it goes.
Then Paul goes on to add: “For of this Sort, are they which creep into houses, and lead captive SILLY women laden with sins, led astray with divers lusts. Different Lusts, and there are plenty of those women and men, around in this time of the last days, and they NEVER come to the understanding of the TRUTH, and the sad part is that they never learn.
Job 24:1, 2 “Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
2.Some remove the landmarks: they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.”
We have to hold on to our landmarks that we have seen and learned years ago. The Pastors and Evangelists of this hour, are preaching things that were taught years ago, and not studying the Bible for themselves. Daniel said that in the End Days knowledge would increase, but we see and hear some of the same ridiculous interpretations that have been taken for granted for years and years.
WHERE THERE IS NO VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Solomon, the One that was given the greatest understanding and knowledge of all that was before Him, wrote many things that are hard to comprehend, but this statement, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” is certainly true both in the natural and in the Spiritual.
The people in the Pentecostal Churches today are perishing because they have lost their landmarks of long ago, and the things that we used to expect when the services began only happen now and then and in some churches not at all. Our vision has become small and concentrated on only one event, The Coming of the Lord. That is only a small portionof the things that must come to pass before the Coming of the Lord, actually the appearingof the Lord, Hebrews 9:28.
Jesus Himself, speaking to the disciples says in Matthew 16:13-20 “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
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15. He saith unto them But whom say ye that I am?
16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God
17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18. And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19. And I will give unto thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
20. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man, that he was Jesus the Christ.”
The ministers of today are preaching that everything in the Bible has been fulfilled, and that Jesus could come at any moment. Where is there anyone that can bind the powers that are on this earth or in heaven today?
Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, and yet the ministers go on preaching that everything is finished and Jesus could come at any moment. So either Jesus misspoke or really didn’t know the truth or the ministers of this hour are preaching a doctrine that is false.
The GATES OF HELL ARE STILL PREVAILING AGAINST THE CHURCHES OF TODAY. THERE IS NONE THAT HAS REACHED THE FULL STATURE OF JESUS CHRIST! THERE IS NO ONE IN THE WORLD TODAY THAT HAS THE POWER TO FORGIVE SIN.
THE CATHOLICS SAY, AND BELIEVE, THAT THE PRIESTS CAN FORGIVE SINS, BUT JESUS SAYS, CALL NO MAN ON EARTH FATHER! Matthew 23:9.
With this information, then what has happened to our LANDMARKS? Were the OLD TIME MINISTERS WRONG? IF NOT then why have we turned from the LIGHT TO DARKNESS?
Matthew 5:17,18 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all he fulfilled.”
Luke 16:17 “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
17. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.”
It is surely time that we Christians who have know and still know the truth, begin to come out of the darkness that we have allowed the Devil to deceive us with, and take a stand for the light that Jesus left for us to follow.