Death does not discriminate nor does it show any restraints with saints or sinners; it takes and it takes and it keeps on taking; without giving back. We know that this is the end of the matter for all of us. BUT how we live in this life now will have an implication on where our eternity will be!

Most days when our daughter comes home from school I ask her, “how was your day, did you have a good day?”

To all parents, we are concerned with the dangers found in this world, as we let our children go off into this world; even if it is only going to school. We pray that our children will come home at the end of the day safe-and-sound. We are well aware that some children never get home. God has the same feelings.

My cousin, Thomas Touhey, USA, said, “You are always a blink of an eye or the twitch of a heart away from your life being changed forever. It could be a million dollar lottery or the loss of your most precious loved one. So, act in such a way that no matter what happens, you can rejoice, or know you have nothing to regret.”

We all face death at some point in time. In the twinkling of an eye our life can stop or could I say it can be taken away. At that moment the Bible says we have two destinations depending on what we have chosen in this life. Heaven or Hell!

We need to live the Word of God letting it be our ammunition to fight a good fight.

At a certain time

1 Corinthians 15:52 -58 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.  (KJV)

• In a moment – an appointed time that we do not know
• In the twinkling of an eye – all of a sudden
• at the last trumpet, – It is an appointed time that will hear if it is too late or not.
• for the trumpet shall sound – a certainty that everyone will hear the last call
• and the dead shall be raised incorruptible – this resurrection into an eternal state
• and – in addition
• we shall be changed – the result of the resurrection is a spiritual being to live in eternity
• Death is swallowed up in victory – is only for the repentant Christian
• The sting of death is sin – the sinners realisation that there is a punishment for sin
• victory through our Lord Jesus Christ – rejoicing of the repentant sinner who has become a saint in this life
• 58 Therefore, – In addition encouragement to stay strong in the Faith in Jesus

If your motivation is to be popular, rich or powerful in the way the world see it then you will most likely compromise many times to get there and end up in hell.

Many may go to church when it suits them and they all want to get to heaven, but when the final trumpet call comes, sadly because some still wanting to live in their sin too, the outcome will be of disappointment. Many want to break the commandments of God. Some may say it’s not a big thing as everyone else is doing it; so it must be OK to do it. Well it’s not! We must all stand before God one day.

The judgement seat of God is not a trial, but a place of receiving a reward or penalty. Life now is the trial.

The judgement from God is not based on the number of people doing any one thing; but on whether it is in accordance with God’s Word. God has written His Word to warn us on what we should not do and what we can do. There is much more about ‘can do’ than ‘cannot do’ in the Bible.

If you want to lie, cheat, steal, hate and commit immorality or simple go against God’s Word; then you are in sin. Don’t wait for God’s judgement in heaven! Do it NOW, by comparing the trend in the world or the Church to the Word of God. Any doubts don’t move.

There is no sliding rule on sin. That means a small sin is the same as a big sin in the penalty by our Holy God. Remember this one thing; there is no right of appeal in heaven; you are going there or not. No middle ground!

If your position is to serve Jesus with a holy and righteous life; then you will have the power, popularity and riches’ that He wants you to have; then compromise is a dirty word.

The danger of compromise

Compromise with the Word of God leads to more compromising and deception, trickery, dishonesty and cheating which are all sinful and after death we either will find ourselves in the eternal presence of God or in an eternal separation.

Revelation 2:12 -17 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write: He who has the sharp sword with two edges says these things.  13 I know your works, and where you live, even where Satan’s seat is . And you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith, even in those days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. 15 So you also have those who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent! But if not I will come to you quickly, and will fight with them by the sword of My mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give to him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows except he who receives it. (MKJV)

The sharp sword with two edges means; to divide, segregate and separate. It can be worded this way, “Sheep to one side and goats to the other”.

Some say that sin is Ok, but WE should not trust anyone with our eternal destination! It is our choice and our freewill at work. Don’t give your eternal rite to your eternal destination to another. If you do you may end up in hell because of some preacher manipulation of the Word of God. Take responsibility! We need to check in the Bible to find if a trend in the world or the Church is OK. If there is any conflict with some Scriptures, Old or New Testament, for me, I would stick to the Scripture and not the trends. If you go with a trend you need to know that it is 100% safe in evidence from Scripture. You would not want to be found testing God by saying that the pastor said it’s OK when it conflicts with Scripture.

Dear saints, check up on the preacher, not based on your feelings, but looking into the Word of God.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (MKJV)

Acts 20:30 Also men shall arise from your own selves, speaking perverse things in order to draw disciples away after them. (MKJV)

1 Timothy 4:1-2 But the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons,  2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, being seared in their own conscience, (MKJV)

Ephesians 4:13-15 And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit. 15 But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ; (MKJV)

It is better to stand on the Rock of righteousness and holiness alone, than on the quicksand of compromise with a multitude going to hell.

Ephesians 4:22 For you ought to put off the old man (according to your way of living before) who is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, (MKJV)

Dr. Ian Traill

Are we totally separated or estranged from God?

If you are reading this, and you are, then you are physically alive, but that does not mean you are necessarily spiritually alive to the things of God, nor does it mean you are totally separated from God. At least you are reading a Christian’s post so you are pretty close.

I believe that the Bible should bring HOPE and not condemnation, but if you are outside of Christ then you should read John 3:16-18 and see what your inaction or action will bring you.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. (MKJV)

Verse 16 is unconditional

Verse 17 is the disclaimer

Verse 18 verifies salvation is conditional

Where in the Bible does it say we are totally separated from God?

Are we totally separated from God?

If we are separated or estranged are we still God’s creation?

Before answering these questions please allow me to explain some perspectives.

Augustine the Catholic teacher wanted people to feel totally inadequate in dealing with their own sin and therefore it was easier for the Church and Government of the day to enforce control and manipulation on the people for their own gain.

Augustine wanted to create a distance between man and God so that the Church of the day could place itself between man and God to fulfil the antichrist role. The Church assumed the position of God on earth to have the power to forgive sins through the implementation of teachings which led to more control such as: penance, purgatory and indulgences. His teaching brought about the pinnacle of abuse in the Church with the condemnation of children and the unborn through the lack of understanding of growing and gaining of the knowledge of righteousness and sin.

In my King James Bible, I found the word separate 33 times separation 26 times, separated 33 times and separating only 1 time.  In most of these applications the significance of separate is with dividing or selection a group or camp of allegiance.

The closest verse which uses the word SEPARATED from God because of SIN is found in Isaiah 59:1-2.

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (KJV)

Please note the Scripture above starts with, “LORD’S hand is not shortened” thus indicating He is near.

The next part says, “that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear” in this sense the, “IT” is referring to God’s body part and not Him as a person. Thus indicating He is all powerful and can save a sinner.

Then he says, “and your sins have hid his face from you” only indicating that the sinner has a spiritual blindness.

The final section of this verse is where it says; “that He will not hear” indicates without repentance you cannot make supplication to God. This is confirmed when it is read in context with the whole chapter of Isaiah 59.  Isaiah 59 is all about deliverance, salvation and the interaction of the Israelites with God.

In the following two Scriptures we see the same concept. Please note the use of the words being aliens, strangers, and alienated from the life of God, thus having a spiritual blindness.

Ephesians2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world (KJV)

Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (KJV)

To fully understand our condition weather saved or unsaved, we need to realize the parameters of God.

Omnipresent – Our God the one true and living God being everywhere.

Omnipotent – Our God the one true and living God who has unlimited power, being all-powerful nothing is impossible for Him.

Omniscient –  God is eternal ALL knowing, understanding all things past, present, and future. He knows the motives of our hearts.

Immutable – Our God is stable, changeless, perpetual, never changing or varying; unchangeable, He is not capable or susceptible of change or able to lie. Because He permanently exists in eternity, He shows no partiality. His Word or the judgments are set in eternity. He is a just God.

Infinite – God is seen in all of creation, but He is not creation… He is the creator and He has no limits. He is absolute supreme authority and His love endures forever. He has no beginning and He has no end. He lives in eternity, He is boundless. He is infinite power with infinite wisdom. He created all things. He is endless, unconfined, countless, incalculable, interminable, inexhaustible, bottomless, unfathomable, without end, limitless, tremendous, immense, having no limit, and immeasurable.

His Name is God – His name is for Him alone and no one has the right to call themselves God.

We know that on the cross Jesus was so filled by sin, pain and the ills of creation, realizing that He became the first man to feel totally separated from God. It is remarkable that man has not experienced this state as yet. Even those who have died in the past have not experienced total separation. Total separation is reserved for the judgment at the second resurrection where all who have rejected God will go into hell to spend an eternity without the light of God.

Calvinists and Armenians believe in the total depravity[1] of man, but total means total. If that is the case can anyone be heard by God in a prayer of revelation of the need of God and repentance? No we are not totally separated because of sin.

Man is deeply lost or estranged and spiritually unaware of God being near to Him, but in the spiritual sickness of sin with an unwillingness to repent. However, as man has deposited or a possibility to repent in him at varying levels of faith, based on the fact that man was created in God’s image and after His likeness. God did not withdraw His image and likeness nor the awareness of eternity from man at the fall, even though man had become corrupted. Thus we still have hope.

Our revelation in the working of God in us and around us will help in our defence, victory and our advancement as we walk and serve an all powerful God.

To answer my first question: Where in the Bible does it say we are totally separated from God?

No where! Not while we have breath and God is everywhere.

Having just read the parameters of God we cannot say we are totally separated from God while a person still has breath in the lungs to repent.

The second question: Are we totally separated from God?

No! Not while we have breath.

Again knowing the parameters of God and having a breath to say we are sorry for our sins means our estranged relationship can be repaired.

To say we are totally separated from God because of our sins is an incorrect understanding of Scriptures. “Totally,” is an extreme or absolute term! Man is not totally depraved and does have some glimmer of hope to respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, thus the synergy of Scripture is maintained.

If we are separated or estranged are we still God’s creation?

Yes we are still His creation, His children but we may be in rebellion.

The gift from God of salvation through Jesus is set in eternity but not everyone will respond to the call to repent.

How can any Christian believe that an Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Immutable, Infinite, God can be separated from His creation? It’s not possible!

God is involved in all parts of His creation.

While we are still alive we are not totally separated from God, but we may be alienated or estranged. God is still the Father of all, but our lines of communication are out of order, as if it were like we are trying to see through a thick fog. God the father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are the repairers of our lines of communication, but at some point we need to repent for full restoration to take place.

It is through our sins we are alienated, estranged from God, but NOT totally separated from God. The only separation that we can be in is the camp of the sinners or the righteous.

2 Chronicles 7: 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (KJV)

God is still near; waiting for our repentance and this will invoke all the dynamics of the Kingdom of God to open your eyes to see Him all around you.

When we read Psalms 139 7-17 we find God is near the sinner too.

Psalm 139:7-17 Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? 8 If I go up into Heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the furthest parts of the sea; 10 even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light around me.  12 Yea, the darkness does not hide from You; but the night shines as the day; as is the darkness, so is the light to You. 13 For You have possessed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother’s womb.  14 I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are marvelous and my soul knows it very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret and skillfully formed in the lowest parts of the earth.  16 Your eyes saw my embryo; and in Your book all my members were written, the days they were formed, and not one was among them.  17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  (MKJV)

Remember; total means just that; and if you use that word then are you totally sure there are no Scriptures that contradict your position of understanding?

We need to bring hope to people by saying, “God knew you were going to sin and now you need to take responsibility for that and repent.”

Repentance invokes or appropriates the power of the blood of Jesus.
God had judged sin at the beginning of time.
The verdict on sin is that it has no place with Him in eternity.
Sin with the lack of repentance sentences a person to hell.
Adam was put out of the Garden because he did not repent.
God did not turn His back on Adam or us.
Sin is the spiritual sickness of mankind; but the medicine is repentance, and the cure is Jesus.
Sin is in the spirit realm not in the physical, although it is in the physical realm where we may see its outworking.
Repentance is stronger than sin.

In the end if a person does not repent the outcome is not heaven.

Dr . Ian Traill

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[1]Cottrell, J,  What About Those Who Reject Total Depravity? http://arminiantoday.com/tag/total-depravity

There are some who identify with Arminians who reject total depravity. Most of those who reject total depravity would not claim to be Arminian. For instance, F. Lagard Smith who wrote the book, Troubling Questions for Calvinists…and the Rest of Us, rejects total depravity but does not claim Arminianism either since Arminians hold to a form of total depravity much like the Calvinistic view.

The question then arises, should we accept those who reject total depravity as taught by John Calvin or James Arminius? While Arminius was not in full agreement with Calvin or total depravity (with regard to the loss of free will), Arminius did teach the traditional Augustine view that we are born depraved. Arminius would not doubt agree that we are born sinful and that our only hope is the grace of God to move upon us for salvation.

Hello to all our brothers and sisters who are reading this message.

We are drawing to the close of the year 2016 and as normal we look forward to the future as we see the Lord Jesus doing His handy work.

We know as Christians that there are many problems in the world and we can be weighed down by looking at them; when we should be looking at the answers to them all. “Jesus”

I want to encourage you to not to focus on the problems of the world or the apostate church but be focused on the lost souls going the hell and the answer that lies in Jesus. Let us be busy about the Fathers work.

The harvest is vast and ready; it is time for us to bring it in. It can be done by us all doing our little bit. Please look at this short clip of our children coming to the Lord. . https://youtu.be/0B1HfvcEPC0

Our Traillblazer Tony Smits Bible College is doing well in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, China and other places too. In the New Year some of them will be holding graduations, so please pray for them. God bless them all. We want to say thank you to Ps. Tony and Barbra for all your support and direction over the years as we chip away at the work of the harvest.

Here in China we are seeing peopled saved every week and the shortage of Bible still weighs on us; but the Lord has been faithful and sent helping people from all over the world. We were sent a gift from a church only last week and we were able to to buy two boxes of Bibles. A church in Newcastle, Australia is sending us new and old Bibles for the children who are coming to the Lord. This week more than 70 came to the Lord. If you would like to send a Bible please do so. Our team of teachers are doing a great job, but the Children’s Bibles are really very helpful. https://traillblazer.com/support-our-mission/

We have other supporters and churches that send us financial gifts which is surely a blessing to us so that we can do more. Thank you to all of our supporters and we pray you will be blessed in 2017 as you have been a blessing in 2016.

In HIS hands Ian and the team in China with all of our love

God moves through faith and through the faithful steward. God welcomes the faithful servant into heaven with these words “enter in good and faithful servant”.

Matthew 25: 21″His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’<sup>:</sup>22 “The man with the two talents also came. `Master,’ he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (NIV)

God responds, as I have stated, to faithfulness in his stewards, but what makes a faithful servant?

The practical steps of a faithful servant

Matthew 7:23 – You don’t want to hear this

Matthew 25:14 -30 – Which one do you want to be?

Acts 14:8-28 – We should learn from Paul and Barnabas what a faithful servant of Christ, will face and the cost

What is it that I must do to be a faithful servant?

A faithful servant:

1. Will point people to Jesus the living God

2.     Gives glory to God for what God has done in him or her; and what God doing through him or her.

3.     Perseveres with proclaiming the Gospel in spite of persecution

4.     When trials in the Christian life come upon others, he or she will encourage and strengthen the brethren

5.     Is a supporter of Godly leadership, by showing accountability, responsibility and submissive to the vision and the leadership

6.     Is one who is a disciple of a mentor and makes disciples of others

7.     Takes time to spend with the Lord in Prayer.

 You can do it I believe in you and Jesus does too.

Why are we getting so many new people in our fellowship here in China?

Let me explain something very simple.

After Jesus paid the price on the Cross for the sins of man, He appeared to His disciples, giving them the Great Commission, as found in Matthew 28:18-20. It is here we see Jesus commanding His followers to go into all the world, to MAKE DISCIPLES of nations and to baptize all who believe in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He told them to go and make disciples, baptising them in His teaching, thus having dominion by the principle of multiplication. It is the making of Disciples which is the fundamental operative action we need to take. Too many come to Christ and sit at the base of the Cross undisciplined.

The Great Commission came at the end of Jesus earthly ministry, following His death and resurrection and is a pinnacle of the transference of His ministry to His disciples to take the Gospel to the world.  The mandate Jesus left His disciples had a profound effect on their lives and many lives, after them. As He passed on the anointing so they also passed it on, even up until this very day.

The disciples had been profoundly impacted by Jesus’ arrest, His death on the cross, His resurrection, and followed by His miraculous appearances in physical form for forty days. They had witnessed Him preaching, doing many miracles and they had seen Him ascending. They were totally convinced of His Messiah-ship. But it was not until after Pentecost that their lives were set upon a journey of proclamation (John 21: 24-25).

Jesus commanded His followers to go into all the world to make disciples in all nations. He commanded us to baptize all who believe in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus coming up spoke to them, saying, All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you. And behold, *I* am with you all the days, until the completion of the age. (DARBY)

It is assumed that we are to make Christians. Christians is only mentioned three times in the New Testament, where disciple is mentioned 269 times. Thus we may conclude that making disciples it a much greater mandate, but you can only make disciple from believers.

Jesus’ instructions are

1. Get Believers
2. Make Disciples
3. Baptise them
4. Teach them

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to all the creation.16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.17 And miraculous signs will follow to those believing these things: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak new tongues; (MKJV)

Jesus is saying in Mark, that His disciples were to go into the entire world and preach good news. If Jesus is telling the truth, which He is, He is commanding all of His disciples to evangelise the world with the main focus to disciple them.  Therefore you, I, and every other believer (the church) are called to evangelise and make disciples. We are to let our light shine.

The whole purpose of missions is an attitude to reproduce and multiply and to take dominion.

Our world is going through many changes and these changes establish a new set of trends, which need to be understood in relationship to our mission. The Church still has the same Biblical mandate as set out by God and Jesus Christ “to go into all the world and make disciples, baptising in the teaching of Christ”. Nothing has changed.

Discipleship

Discipleship is a central issue after salvation for the individuals, and a key component with building a person and a cross-cultural church. The detailed importance of such a program will play a part in the longevity and effectiveness of any group of people. It will also bring major benefits to the new convert, which should be a major priority after the glorification of God. It is after the encounter with God that solidification in the faith is required through Discipleship.

A Disciple is a Scholar

The word disciple is sometimes applied to the followers of John the Baptist (Matthew. 9:14), and of the Pharisees (Matthew. 22:16), but principally to the followers of Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who believes His doctrine, rests on His sacrifice, imbibes (drinks) His Spirit, and imitates His example (Matthew. 10:24; Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 6:69). He is a learner, a pupil, a follower and a beginner who moves towards maturity, encouraged by a mentor.

Discipleship means Mentoring Agreement

We need to look at the topic discipleship in more depth so that we, as believers can find the power of God growing in our life. Also we should look at “Mentoring Agreement” or making a covenant-type agreement with a senior person in the faith, and the power of such agreement (Hebrews 13:17). Notable mentoring relationships in the Bible are Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, David and Solomon, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy, Naomi and Ruth, Deborah and Barak, Elizabeth and Mary and Jesus and His disciples. Following is a list of some Scriptures that demonstrate the need to be willing to come under a more experienced person and the Word of God for the benefit of the younger person in the Lord (Deuteronomy 34:9, Philippians 1:1-30, Titus 2:3-5, Psalm 71:18, Psalm 145:4, Ruth 1:1-22, 1 Chronicles 2:1-55, Psalm 127:1, John 3:1-36, John 10:10, Romans 1:1-32, Proverbs 22:6, 1 and John 2:1-29)

Some have become Christians and have started studying the Word of God, without coming to a place of power in their own lives, because they have not come under Godly leadership in some form of mentoring with the whole aim on being a disciple, which is quiet strange when we consider the command of Jesus to make disciples.

The purpose of our mission is to obey the Great Commission with a heartfelt unction and an attitude to reproduce and multiply and to take dominion.

The repentance pray is the easy part, Discipleship cost everything, but the reward is great.

For leaders, when your disciples are making disciples then you have done your job.

By Dr. Ian Traill

Ten Christian Foundational Studies Lessons 1 to 10

https://books.google.com/books?id=A6QZCAAAQBAJ&dq=Ten+Christian+Foundational+Studies+for+new+converts&source=gbs_navlinks_s