Wednesday, November 14, 2012

FALL 2012 VOICES OF PRAISE SOLO AUDITION RESULTS







LORD I LIVE                                         DUANE PITT
HEAVEN ON MY MIND                      FLOYCE KILBY & MICHAEL MANSFIELD
MY LIFE IS IN YOUR HANDS           PASTOR CHAD
THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD      ELLIE WHITE
GLORIFY YOUR NAME                     CYNTHIA HARRIS & DUANE PITT
RAIN ON US                                         MATT PARMER
EXCITED ABOUT JESUS                   LEONA FARMER
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS                    MICHAEL MANSFIELD
MY DELIVERER                                  TWANEESA MALLORY
GREATER                                             JERICA COVINGTON
DO IT LORD                                         PASTOR CHAD
ONLY A LOOK                                    REV. ROGER POWELL
HOLY ARE YOU LORD                     CONNARD WILLIAMS & TINA STANDIFER
JESUS I LOVE YOU                            FAYE WILLIAMS
I WILL RISE                                          PASTOR CHAD

AMAZING LOVE...A CHRISTMAS MUSICAL!



JOIN OUR VERY OWN SOUTH METRO VOICES OF PRAISE 
FOR A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS MUSICAL CELEBRATION FEATURING THE MUSIC OF BROOKLYN TABERNACLE AND FEATURED SOLOISTS.

SUNDAY - DECEMBER 16TH - 9AM & 11AM

Monday, October 1, 2012

Jesus Is Coming Soon!





Maranatha!

What a privilege we have of knowing Christ the Creator as our personal Lord and Savior and soon coming King! What an honor we have of serving him on the earth in our worship. Truly - it is a foretaste of heaven when we will worship and serve Him continually in an everlasting life of worship. 

What a powerful time in the Lord's presence yesterday as well! I have such anticipation of the Lord's soon return. For those who know Him it is a hopeful time -- not a dreadful time. 

Jesus foretells that his coming will take place as a thief in the night when He will comes to "snatch" his church away. It will be in a moment when you do not expect and will happen in the blink of an eye. The Word of the Lord warns us that it will be as it was in the days of Lot and of Noah when evil was pervasive and everyone was going about as normal eating, drinking, and living their lives without any acknowledgement or fear of God. In both stories, if you will remember, Lot and Noah were both taken out of the way (a picture of the rapture) before sudden destruction and the full judgment of God came upon the earth. 

Most biblical scholars believe that the church will be raptured prior to the great tribulation. This does not mean we will not see trouble on the earth. Clearly we will witness great distress (wars, rumors of wars, famine, and pestilences) in the earth. We see these things occurring every day in the news! All of these troubles are described in Matthew 24 but the Lord will appear coming in clouds of glory for his church to catch us away before the worst devastations come upon the earth. Praise the Lord! 

I believe the Spirit is reminding us once again to be serious about our commitment to Christ and to get ready for Jesus is coming back for a bride without spot or blemish. Bible scholars are in agreement that no other prophecies need to be fulfilled before the coming of the Lord and the rapture of the church. The fact of the matter is he could come at any moment. The question is will we be like the wise virgins who were ready or the unwise virgins who were not? Nothing we enjoy or love in this life compares to Christ and what we shall be when we shall see Him for we shall be like Him. 

v. 3 - Let us then be true and faithful trusting serving every day. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the toils of life repay. (When We All Get To Heaven) 

Thanks and may wherever you go and whatever you do today become a place for His Holy presence to dwell for you are the temple of the Holy Ghost. 

Until He Comes,

Pastor Chad Stafford 
South Metro Ministries

This Week's Schedule - October 1-7, 2012


This coming Sunday's service, October 7th, is on planningcenter now so please check it out at your convenience -- especially the new praise song "Great I Am". I believe this powerful song will bless you and inspire your personal worship this week. We will prepare this song for Sunday. 

I will be sending you reminders about this week's rehearsals, but in the meantime, make a mental note of the following: 

Wednesday praise team and choir rehearsals - normal schedule 
Wednesday 8:30 band rehearsal - cancelled / we will rehearse Saturday 
IMPORTANT: Saturday, Oct. 6th, praise team and band training sessions - 10am-3pm (Praise team - 10-noon / Lunch - 12-1pm / Band - 1-3pm). 




Thursday, August 23, 2012

THIS WEEK'S CHOIR ANNOUNCEMENTS!



Choir dress this Sunday, August 26th is red, black, and white.

Parking for the choir is available along the campus side drive and in back parking lot (watch the mud)!

Robe cleaning fees are due this Sunday, August 26th.  There are about 5 choir members that still need to turn in their fee.

This Sunday is the final recruitment day for Voices of Praise so pray for God to send us those that should be part of the ministry and help us spread the word!

Jesus At The Center by Israel Houghton



Check out this upcoming worship song for next Sunday!  Another great song by Israel Houghton.  Jesus be the center...for it's all about you!!!

http://www.ccli.com/CCLITV/Default.aspx?v=c75ea403-b4a0-49e5-b255-3055413e63e2

Copy and paste URL to your browser or simply highlight link and right click and hit go to URL.

Fall Voices of Praise Choir Clinic - September 7-8th


This event is for Voices of Praise members.  BBQ fellowship @ the Moore manor from 7-9pm.  Bring your families for a relaxing time of great food and fellowship.  Children welcome.  No childcare provided.

Come back Saturday morning from 9am-3pm for a power-packed day of new music learning, worship teaching, and skill training!!  Lunch and childcare is provided.

Coming this Fall 2012...A South Metro Ministries Christmas Musical!



Coming this Fall 2012...A Brooklyn Tabernacle Christmas! Well...kind of...the music will be the same but as much as I enjoy the BTC we will not be calling the musical the above "ABTC", so do not worry.  Instead, the musical will be called "A South Metro Ministries Christmas" featuring The Voices of Praise.

Be sure to be at our upcoming choir clinic on Saturday, September 8th to preview this inspiring gospel Christmas musical and to receive your practice and study CD's!  Merry Christmas early!!

http://wordmusic.com/a-brooklyn-tabernacle-christmas.html

Copy and paste the above URL link to your browser or simply highlight link, right click your mouse, and hit "Go to URL..."

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Freedom to Change (Accepting God's Grace and Walking in the Spirit Turns our Have-to's into Want-to's!)


Someone said, “God is in the business of turning our have-to’s into want to’s.  God wants us to realize
His love and acceptance for us is not due to our own self-effort but solely because of unmerited grace.
Understanding and living by this truth will cause us to “want to” follow His word and embrace His commands, not as a response to an expected “code of conduct” but as a response to His love and acceptance for us.   It’s not that we “have to”, we now “want to” love him with all of our heart, soul, and strength.  To the person walking in the knowledge of His grace it is no longer a ‘head’ matter, but rather a ‘heart’ matter.   Our attitude should be one of ‘wanting’ to know Him, wanting to serve Him, and wanting to please Him.  This is true love!  We want to obey Him because we understand that He unconditionally loves and accepts us, therefore we want to demonstrate our love for Him.  As the beloved of God, we are now set free to walk as Jesus walked.  (1 John 3)   By grace, we are liberated into the life of love that can and is willing to endure whatever the cost so that others may come to understand God’s love for them.  

The Apostle Paul said, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty!”  The liberty he is speaking of
here is not freedom to do what we want, how we want, and when we want—but it is the freedom to
change!  The Spirit of liberty gives us the freedom and power to do what HE wants, how HE wants, and when HE wants.  Freedom to truly change!   This is radically different from the way the world around us lives.  The world is enslaved to the power of sin over their lives.  They are under the dominion of Satan, controlled by the sinful nature, and they are powerless to change on their own.  But thanks be to God who gives us the victory! He has set free those who call upon His name, broken the power of sin and the control of our sinful nature, and He has replaced the spirit of the world with His Spirit turning our 'have-to's' into 'want-to's'.


As someone has poignantly observed:  We don’t walk in the Spirit by overcoming the flesh, we overcome the flesh by walking in the Spirit.  When we walk in the Spirit our focus is upon Christ - not self.  When we walk in the Spirit we do not focus on how we can defeat the flesh, instead, we focus upon the ONE who already overcame sin and gave us the power to walk in His victory.  The key is Christ, for apart from Him we can do nothing but through Christ we can do all things!  When we walk in the Spirit our attitude is focused on the joy and privilege of serving Him rather than the drudgery of religious duty and obligations.  What am I saying?  I am saying that when we walk in the Spirit our have-to's become want-to's!!!  We now want to walk blamelessly before God - we now want to offer Him an offering in righteousness - we now want to offer our bodies as instruments of righteousness and as living sacrifices - we now want to joyfully serve and obey Him - we now want to make sacrifices of the flesh to bring Him greater glory and honor - we now want to serve and help someone in need - we now want to put an end to sinful addictions - we now want to attempt to love our enemies!  Christ will turn your have to's into want to's if you will just accept His grace and free gift of love every single day.  Let us make it our goal, therefore, to walk in the Spirit (of grace) daily so we can extend this grace to others and live to glorify God rather than please the flesh and gratify the desires of our base sinful nature.  God has so much more for us.  Let us live up to our calling in Christ Jesus!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Check Out the New SMM Worship Arts Website!




You will be able to find the following worship arts ministry information on our new website:

Welcome from Pastor Chad
Choir recruitment information
List of all SMM Worship Arts Ministries
SMMWA Facebook page
Worship Arts Ministry Blog link
Ministry Calendar
Ministry Photos
Pastor Chad's writings (devotional, worship, ministry, and theology)
Children's music resources
Membership link (ministry applications, questionnaire, and planning center)

Just log on to www.planningcenteronline.com today!

New Voices of Praise Logo!

This past Spring 2012 the sanctuary choir elected to change its name to "Voices of Praise" to which we have followed with the development of a choir logo.  Here is the attractive new logo along with the symbolic meaning behind the gold crown of praise.


VOP LOGO SYMBOLISM & MEANING

The theme and spirit of this logo is very simply "Jesus, We Crown You With Praise"!!!

The Voices of Praise logo represents...

1) Presence of God 
2) Purity and Holiness
3) Unified Purpose
4) Prayer and Kingdom Authority
5) Power of God
6) Glorious Praise

1) PRESENCE:  This year's (2012) new Voices of Praise logo (was originally designed in 2004) speaks to the importance of a new chapter and new beginning in the life and ministry of the Voices of Praise.  It speaks that unified praise and worship is the purpose and power of our ministry.  Why the power behind our ministry?  Because the power of God is where the Presence of God is and the Presence of God is where the Praise of God is!  As a praise and worship choir, our hearts are to be set apart for God's glory and our spiritual unity combined with our sincere and anointed praise and worship invites the AWESOME presence of God!

2) PURITY:  The color gold speaks of the purity and beauty of the holiness of God and the kind of worship he desires from those who worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  Hence, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" (Ps. 29:2; 96:9).  This speaks to the fact that God calls us as worshippers to be  (1 Pet. 2:9) “a holy priesthood…to show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  Malachi 3:3 indicates that God is particular about the kind of worship he receives from the leaders of worship (Levites):  "He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness."  We are indeed called to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”.  

3) PURPOSE:  In a word..."UNITY" OR "ONENESS".  The three joined-together figures represent the Holy Trinity and the perfect spiritual unity that they share.  Notice that the crown and the united worshippers are inseparable and almost indistinguishable from one another.  These three distinct persons, they are joined together in glorifying God and in accomplishing His unified kingdom purposes throughout all of creation.  Hence, the Triune God-head is the supreme model for unity within the Body of Christ -- therefore, you and me! (John 17:21-22)   Jesus prayed that we would be ONE that the world may come to know that the Father and the Son are One.  We are separate and uniquely distinctive from each other yet perfectly joined together with a common purpose.  The three figures also symbolically represent united voices perfectly joined together in uplifted praise to the Father!  

4) PRAYER:  The three figures join together to make a 'crown'.  The crown speaks of power, rule, authority, and kingdom advancement.  Hence, let our ministry prayer be "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy name; Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  The crown speaks of our sincere conviction that God has anointed and appointed us to be His praise ambassadors (royalty, i.e., "royal priesthood" that shows forth His praise) and to minister under His authority and His power both at home and outside the four walls of the church and even around the world!  The crown of glory speaks of our sincere prayer that God’s kingdom would come and be established in and through our united ministry of worship wherever the Lord sends us out to minister.  Apart from His presence and anointing we can do nothing of any kingdom value…but through Christ we can do all things!   

5) POWER:  In scripture, the power of God is closely associated with the glory of God.  Therefore, the crown also symbolizes the glory of God that comes down through sincere praise and worship to set captives free -- that is to save, sanctify, heal, and deliver those held in bondage or captivity to their sin or circumstances.  God inhabits the praises of (Zion) His people.  The crown of glory, therefore, symbolizes God coming down in the midst of our praise to make for himself a resting place.  2 Chronicles 6:41 declares, "Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your 'might'.  May your 'priests', LORD God, be clothed with 'salvation', may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness." We believe that as we praise and worship the Father, lifting up His Son Jesus Christ, He inhabits our praises, draws men unto Him pouring out His Spirit, healing the sick, setting captives free, releasing the prisoner from darkness, and placing a garment of praise upon those with a spirit of heaviness.  

6) PRAISE: Finally, the choir ministry logo speaks to the fact that the Voices of Praise has been called to make His praise glorious!  Our God is worthy of the highest praise.  The most common word for praise in the Old Testament is “hallal” which means to shine, make a boast, revel, dance, and to clamor foolishly before the Lord.  The choir is a ministry of His presence that is called to shine (hallal), declare, and show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!  We desire to show forth (or shine) His glory, to make His praise glorious, and to sing the glory of His Name!  Hallel 'u' Yah!  

Jesus, we crown You with praise!  This is the symbolic meaning of the Voices of Praise ministry logo.


Pastor Chad Stafford, August 20, 2012


Monday, May 21, 2012

Upcoming Worship Arts Ministry News & Events!

Julian Drive Leading SMM in Worship:  Join us Sunday, July 1st as Julian Drive leads South Metro Ministries in worship during both morning worship services.


Father's Day Men's Choir:  We are looking forward to our men leading us in worship on Father's Day!  We are looking for a few good men to join us for the Father's Day Men's Choir which is open to all fathers and sons age 12 and up.  Our goal is to have as many men and young men as we had ladies in the Mother's Day Choir, so please sign up by Sunday, June 3rd in the foyer!  Sign up dates are May 27th and June 3rd.  Rehearsals will take place on Wednesdays, June 6 & 13th.  The men's choir will lead in worship on Father's Day, June 17th for both services!  Sign up this week men of God!!

Upcoming Senior Adult Worship!  Coming up on June 10th our senior adult choir called the South Metro Heritage Singers will be leading the congregation in songs of our heritage.  Make plans to join us for this exciting morning at 9 & 11am!

Sanctuary Choir Sabbatical:  The Voices of Praise (sanctuary choir) will be off for several weeks  starting June 6 going thru July 8.  During this period the choir will not rehearse or sing on Sundays.  However, the worship team will continue to rehearse and lead worship during this period.  This is a period of rest for a very busy ten months of choral work, also a reprieve as we prepare for another full year of ministry.  Rest well and come back refreshed and ready to prepare for summer revival and fall recruitment coming up in August!


Memorial Day Recognition: This coming Sunday, May 27th, we will be recognizing the fallen heroes in our "Freedom Isn't Free" recognition service.  Make plans to join us at 9 & 11am!  The ROTC color guard from East Coweta High School will be joining us.  We will also feature patriotic music such as God Bless The USA.

Graduation Recognition:  This past Sunday we recognized the 2012 graduates.  The choir sang "Find Your Wings" by Mark Harris and ministered "I Feel The Joy" prior to the message.  A great morning of worship!

Mother's Day Ladies Choir:  On Mother's Day we had a 70 voice ladies choir that did a fantastic job under the direction of Dr. Valerie Mathura!  Thanks to all the mothers and daughters who participated -- can't wait 'til next year!!


Praise Devotional by Derek Prince

All Creatures Praise the Lord

Psalm 115:17-18
The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence; but as for us, we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forever. Praise the Lord! NASB

The Bible exhorts every area of creation and every kind of creature to praise the Lord. The Bible exhorts the heavens, the earth, the sea, the forests, the rocks. There is nothing that should not praise the Lord.

It speaks about all kinds of creatures – flying creatures, creatures in the sea, crawling creatures, cattle, wild beasts. It speaks about all the states of the human race – kings, princes, young men, old men, maidens, children – all are exhorted to praise the Lord.

In fact, there’s only just one category of people that do not praise the Lord. Do you know who that is? The dead. Only the dead do not praise the Lord.

My dear friend, if you do not praise the Lord, do you know what your problem is? You are one of the dead. Not necessarily physically dead, but spiritually dead. Come alive. Begin to praise the Lord. The more you praise the Lord, the more joy and spiritual life you’ll experience. Begin to praise Him right now.


- Derek Prince

Monday, April 30, 2012

Thanks to Senior Adult Choir and Ladies Choir Members!

Thanks to the forty seniors that came out last night to our first senior adult choir rehearsal!  A great time of food, fellowship, and singing the oldies!  Also, we are very excited about the 75+ ladies who have signed up for our Mothers Day Ladies Choir ... it will be a great morning of worship as you lead us!  Can't wait!!!  Happy Mother's Day in advance to all our ladies!!!!

Sincerely yours,

Pastor Chad

Exciting Worship Arts Ministry News! (May 2012)

I am excited to announce news about our Jr. Talent Choir results at the recent North Georgia Jr. Talent Choir Competition.  I am also excited to announce the formation of our new senior adult choir, and the Mother's Day ladies choir, the new name for our sanctuary choir, and the release of our new worship arts ministry web page!


Jr. Talent Competition:  I am very pleased and excited to announce that our middle school choir received a superior rating at the recent North Georgia Jr. Talent Competition on Saturday, April 21, 2012!  Our students competed and were winners, several receiving superior ratings in a number of categories, including bible memorization, bible teaching, solo instrumental, vocal solo, art/crafts/sculpture, and choral.  Thanks to all the kids, parents, and their wonderful director (my wife), Philana Stafford, who did a fantastic job!


Senior Adult Choir: The new senior adult choir, called The South Metro Heritage Singers, met for the first time Sunday evening, April 29, 2012 with approximately 40 in attendance.  It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and gospel singing!  This newly formed choir will be leading the church in worship on Sunday, June 10, 2012 in both morning services featuring songs of our heritage including gospel hymns and convention songs. 
Mother's Day Choir: We just concluded recruitment for the newly formed Mother's Day Ladies Choir which will be comprised of mothers and daughters.  This group of almost 80 registered singers will lead us in worship Sunday, May 13, 2012 in both morning services.


Sanctuary Choir New Name: After months of deliberation I am pleased to announce as of May 1, 2012, the new name for the adult sanctuary choir which sings each Sunday morning and leads our congregational worship, is The South Metro Voices of Praise! This fitting new name will be used for events, concerts, web information, promotion, and recruitment. 
NEW Worship Arts Ministry Web Page Coming Soon!  We have been working on the development of a new worship arts ministry page that will provide more information about the ministries and how to get involved as well as helpful resources which will include access to planning center, the new worship arts ministry facebook page, as well as the worship arts ministry blog.  The new ministry web page will be released in May 2012!




THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST - A New Testament Survey by Pastor Chad


THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST by Pastor Chad Stafford

In a world where many believe that Christ was just a good man but not a deity, it is more important than ever that Christians understand what they believe and Who they worship.  As Lee Strobel argues in The Case for Christ, Jesus Christ was either a liar, lunatic, or Lord.  Based upon the clear biblical record of both the Old and New Testaments, numerous witnesses to the resurrection, 2000 years of the gates of hell not prevailing against his church, as well as our personal knowledge of him as  Savior, Redeemer, and Lord, we believe and are fully persuaded that He alone is the Son of God and thus fully divine in his essence.

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2  He was with God in the beginning.
3  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The ‘Word’ here is Jesus Christ himself and God (theos) is supreme divinity, therefore, if the ‘Word was God’ (v.1), then Jesus Christ is (Theos) or supreme divinity.  How could Jesus have the power to create all things in heaven and earth, including humanity, if he were not co-equal and co-existent with God (Theos) or the One who is in total essence… Supreme Divinity?   

Divinity – to be of, from, or like God; God or divine being; superhuman; more than humanly excellent; holy, sanctified, saintly, heavenly.

Mt. 26:63 "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."
64  "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
66  What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.

The Pharisees could not take Jesus’s admission of being the Son of God.   To them it was a blasphemous statement even though Divine Truth was literally standing before them.  This is ultimately why they killed him…because He claimed to be the Son of God.

Mark 1:1  The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2  It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"--
3  "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord (kurios), make straight paths for him.'"

2962. kurios, koo'-ree-os; from  kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by impl. Mr. (as a respectful title):--God, Lord, master, Sir.

Notice this title is interchangeable with God and is designated for someone with supreme authority.  This speaks to His divinity.

Mark 3:11  Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son (huios) of God (theos)."

5207. huios, hwee-os'; appar. a prim. word; a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immed., remote or fig. kinship:--child, foal, son.

2316. theos, theh'-os; of uncert. affin.; a deity, espec. (with G3588) the supreme Divinity; fig. a magistrate; by Heb. very:--X exceeding, God, god [-ly, -ward].

It is not possible to be the child or son of supreme Divinity – God Himself --  and not possess that same essence of Divinity and supremacy at a DNA level.   Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  It is a mystery but nevertheless the proclaimed truth of the Word of God.  We have to believe and embrace this truth by faith in God’s Word.



Luke 1:34  "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35  The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2  He was with God in the beginning.
3  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The ‘Word’ here is Jesus Christ himself and God (theos) is supreme divinity, therefore, if the ‘Word was God’ (v.1), then Jesus Christ is (Theos) or supreme divinity.  How could Jesus have the power to create all things in heaven and earth, including humanity, if he were not co-equal and co-existent with God (Theos) or the One who is in total essence… Supreme Divinity?   

Divinity – to be of, from, or like God; God or divine being; superhuman; more than humanly excellent; holy, sanctified, saintly, heavenly.

John 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!...
34  I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."…
36  When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
37  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

John 3:16  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Jn. 5:18  For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
19  Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
20  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
21  For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
22  Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
23  that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24  "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
25  I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
26  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.
27  And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28  "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice
29  and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

The Pharisees even recognized that Jesus’ claim as the Son of God was the same as saying that he possessed divinity, therefore making him equal with God.  (v.18)  People who refuse to acknowledge this simple fact of Jesus’ claim to be Divine or equal with God, not only demonstrate their ignorance of the Word of God, but their outright refusal to believe what they can clearly read for themselves in the Word of God.  This goes beyond ignorance to a demonstration of unbelief, disobedience, and rebellion.  At the heart of it is rebellion which is as witchcraft, the Bible says.  Their evil hearts have caused them to be seduced by evil spirits therefore leading them to further deception and the embrace of blasphemous doctrines of demons. 

Satan would like to, if possible, rewrite Christian history by compromising, defaming, and destroying the essence of who Jesus is as the Son of the Living God who was sent to die for our sins that we may have eternal life.  If he were successful to that end, then a great lie would be propagated upon the masses and many would be damned to an eternity without God and Christ.  If Satan could destroy the divinity of Christ and Jesus’ reputation as the true Messiah, Redeemer of mankind, Creator of all things, and Son of the Living God, then he could destroy the people’s hope in him as the one and only true Savior of mankind.  If he could destroy mankind’s hope in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, then Satan and his legions would have free reign to propagate their lies and deceptions upon the earth thus destroying God’s plan for mankind while taking great throngs to hell with him forever.  Satan would consider this a great victory in his battle against God. However, we know that many are being saved in these last days and the gates of hell will not prevail against His church!
   
Satan hates mankind because God loves mankind who has been created in his own image.  Mankind is a constant reminder of his own lofty fall from glory.  Satan wants to destroy mankind because God wants to save mankind.   Satan is using these tactics to wage his global war of rebellion against God himself.  Humanity means nothing to him – we are only collateral damage along the way and the spoils of the great spiritual war that he is waging against God the Father and His Son, the creator of all things including mankind.

John 8:58
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, xbefore Abraham was, yI AM.”
59 Then zthey took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, agoing 7through the midst of them, and so passed by.
It is clear in this passage that Jesus is claiming to be from eternity and was indeed God, thus making him more important than the most revered Hebrew of all, Abraham, the father of the Israelites.


Jn. 11:25  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
26  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27  "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

Jn. 19:7  The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

One more proof that Jesus’ claim to divinity is what led to his murder by the God-haters.

Jn. 20:30  Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
29   But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus had superhuman powers that enabled him to perform miraculous signs and wonders while on the earth.  He received his power from God himself because He was the Son of God and had divine authority to do supernatural exploits so that He may be glorified and draw all men to Him.

Rom 1:1  Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God--
2  the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
3  regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
4  and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

The further proof of Jesus’ divinity is that he was resurrected from the dead by the Spirit of God just as he said he would.  Paul refers to him as ‘our Lord’. 

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Paul proclaims the key to salvation from sin and death is confession that “Jesus is Lord” and believing that God (theos) raised him from the dead.

1 Cor. 15: 17  (entire chapter) And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  19  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

Paul admits here that if Christ was not raised from the dead then Christianity is a sham, we are still in our sins, and there is no hope for true salvation.  The resurrection is important because it is proof of His divinity and his equality with God.  If he were not God then he would just be a man as we are and therefore could not die for our sins, thus cleansing us and giving us eternal life.  He could only give eternal life because he was eternal life incarnate.  He came to this world from eternity as Son of God and went back to the Father in eternity as Son of God/Son of Man.  He left this earth and was seated on a throne beside the Father where he is today and will judge the peoples of the earth with righteousness in the future.  Yes, Jesus is God and He reigns!

2 Cor. 4:3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Gal. 1:6  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--
7  which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
9  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10  Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11  I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.
12  I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul makes it clear that to preach any other gospel other than what we see in the Word of God and what Paul preached is to write essentially your own eternal death sentence.  He said, “let them be eternally condemned”!  Strong words.  People everywhere are tampering with the word of God trying to make it say what their evil hearts want it to say.  Even preachers are compromising the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to please people and draw great crowds.  The tragedy is that they don’t realize that to tamper with the Word of the Living God is to potentially damn their own souls.   Salvation comes by believing the Word of God.   If the Word of God is altered or distorted from its original meaning how can one know or believe the Truth?  How can one know the Truth, much less experience the promised freedom from knowing the Truth, if one believes a counterfeit gospel not recorded or preached in the Word of God?  We must study to show ourselves approved in these last days lest even the very elect be deceived. God meant what he said and said what he meant and he will not tolerate those who try to distort the true meaning and essence of salvation because the to humanity's redemption and eternal destiny is at stake.  Let us be faithful to preach and believe the Word and gospel according to Jesus Christ.