Ministers of Jesus Christ
Church of The Lord Jesus Christ
Assemblies of The Apostolic Faith
Atlanta, Georgia - USA
Apostle Dennis G. Smith, Pastor and Spiritual Overseer

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APOSTLE'S MESSAGE


 Date: January 17, 2021

To all the Saints of God,

     Grace and peace be unto all the Saints of God around the World.  As this Coronavirus Pandemic continues, we are continually reminding the Saints of God that we are obeying the magistrates and following the guideline of the health and governmental authorities for the safety of all people. 

      Health authorities and governmental officials continue to strongly encourage people to wear face coverings in public and use social distancing, wash your hands, and get tested to help stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  In some places wearing face mask is mandatory in all indoor and outdoor public spaces. 

      As of January 7, 2021, the City of Atlanta, Georgia remains in Phase I of the Reopening Plan due to the increasing spread of the coronavirus.   Throughout the State of Georgia businesses must continue to operate with social distancing and sanitation rules to keep customers and employees safe.  Covid-19 vaccinations are available and distributed under phase 1A+ plan in Georgia. The vaccine is in limited supply and currently offered to health care workers, first responders, individuals ages 65 and older and their caregivers, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, law enforcement officers and firefighters.

      We are continuing online service through Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube.   Baptism and prayer service are available using social distancing and personal protective equipment.

       As we obey the Magistrates, we have complete faith that God will continue to hear our prayers and provide a way for us through these uncertain times.

  Romans 13:2-4 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

 TITUS 3:1-2 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

  This week’s encouraging words of growth focuses on: 

Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (part 1)
 By Apostle Dennis G. Smith

John 3:14 – 3:18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

      The central context or simple theme of the gospel of salvation is the grace given to all men by the love of God to all those who believe.  Notice that the grace is given freely because of God’s unconditional love but the salvation received is conditioned on man’s belief in Jesus Christ.  In other words, God loves all people without them doing anything to earn his love, so he gave all men the chance to be saved if they believe in God in the flesh as son known to us as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  If a person does not believe in God, he is eternally lost or separated from God.

 John 3:1 - 3   There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

      This discussion at Jerusalem is between Jesus and Nicodemus, who is a "ruler of the Jews" and acknowledges that Jesus is a teacher who came from God because of the miracles that he performed.  But it should be apparent that he was concerned about the Kingdom of God from the answers given by Jesus Christ.  Our Lord Jesus told him that it was necessary for a man to be born again before he could "see the kingdom of God".  And this is where many of the people get misled today when they say that baptism in water and the Holy Ghost with the sign of tongue is unnecessary.  Those of us who believe in all that our Lord Jesus and his Apostles taught should see this attempt to discredit what our Lord Jesus said as hypocrisy or deception by the devil.

 John 3:4 - 7 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

      Most people will readily recognize in Nicodemus’s response that he immediately associated being born again with birth from a woman.  But Jesus was speaking of the unseen inward change in man produced by the repentant heart and receiving the Holy Ghost that is revealed on the outside only by the actions and results from the Spiritual or thought process change on the inside of man. 

      When one truly believes they begin to do the things that reflect what they believe.  We can hear the sound in the receipt of the Holy Ghost, we can see the change in conduct or behavior, but we cannot see the indwelling Spirit where it come from or where it goes.  But we can see the Kingdom of God in all true believers in the actions or signs that follow them in the things that they do.  This conflict and battle against doing the righteous things that reflect what we believe which many of the tares which dwell among the Body of Christ constantly promote.  Because they have not been born again, they cannot see the Kingdom of God and propose all sorts of debates, argumentative statements, and so-called scientific theories to deny the truth.  They are forever learning and not able to come to the knowledge of truth because they are really professors and not believers. They teach a version of salvation based on mental faith alone without any actions. But Jesus clearly teaches that those born of the Spirit will produce righteous actions and results.  

      In other words, if they truly believe, then they will obey the commands of Jesus Christ and not even imply that anything that he commanded is unnecessary.  Trying to twist the biblical word whosoever recorded in John 3:16 to say that it must save someone about to drown in the ocean after a shipwreck is clear satanic deception used to get people to not be baptized.  While some say that baptism is unnecessary to speak against the baptism of newborn babies which is clearly unscriptural, they should realize that the point of belief and obedience should settle the mind of any parent about the salvation of babies.  Babies have no need for baptism at birth until they reach the point of belief and obedience because the Lord Jesus said to suffer the little children to come.  Most people know that whosoever means exactly what it says contextually that all people have the right to believe and obey the command of Jesus Christ and receive salvation.

 John 3:8 - 14 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?   And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

      Our Lord speaks of himself coming from Heaven which most people understand as the throne of the unseen Spirit of God since God is present everywhere.  How do we know this?  Because the natural body of the Lord Jesus Christ came from Mary his mother as a result of the moving of the unseen Holy Ghost upon her, not the seen actions of any man.  So, in this one statement we can see the actions of this invisible Heavenly kingdom.  While there are those who do not believe this and will constantly debate this principle you should see clearly that his is exactly what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said when he spoke of heavenly things and the salvation of those who believed in him.  We cannot see the wind, but we can hear its sounds and see the result or actions caused by the wind.  And if you cannot accept as true the earthly invisible things how will you believe the heavenly invisible things.  

      Most people see heaven only as the sky leading into outer space and do not recognize heaven as a part of the Godly invisible spiritual realm.  This is why they cannot see the Kingdom of God.  This is also why people cannot see that they will go to hell if they live a life of unforgiven sin because they cannot see this realm of punishment even though our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ taught us about hell.  Most only see this as a parable about the final punishment and debate or disagree about its existence.  But when we can believe the teaching of Jesus Christ, we now know of the existence of the place of condemnation. While it is true that the bible speak of the visible earth passing away with fervent heat and burning up, most people only see dead bodies laying in graves and do not recognize that man is also an invisible human spirit.

 Luke 16:19 - 30 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.  And he said, Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

     You must now also recognize that the Lord Jesus spoke of the condemnation of those that do not believe in him. There is simply no need to debate about hell, when hell was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is where the tare, those opposed to the Apostle’s doctrine and opposition to he truth comes to light.  They will present things in opposition to living a Holy lifestyle while they promise you salvation or liberty.  They will come to you in sheep clothing and appear harmless in many cases having much knowledge, they will appear as angels of light, they have written many books and have large followings, but they are blind and cannot see the Kingdom of God.  If a person has the compacity to believe in Jesus Christ, then they also have the capacity to reject or not believe in Jesus Christ and bring upon themselves eternal condemnation and damnation.  Since salvation is based on belief and obedience and condemnation is based on unbelief, rejection, and disobedience this would rule out infants until they reach the point of understanding this and they would be suffered to come as stated by the Lord Jesus Christ.

     From this you should now see that we are speaking of a visible and invisible Church in which people become a part of by being born again or the New Birth. To be a member of the invisible church requires faith in Jesus Christ, obedience to Jesus Christ and His gospel all that he taught and commanded.

 Luke 6:46 - 49 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:   He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

      After hearing the sermon from Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, they asked the question, “What shall we do?”  Then Apostle Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”  He did not mention someone about to drown in the ocean after a shipwreck.  Neither did he bring up the thief on the cross who died before the birthday of the Church, but he spoke in belief and obedience to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life (John 6:47).

  We continue with a Message from Apostle S. McDowell Shelton …. Unbelief ……… 

UNBELIEF part I

By Bishop S. McDowell Shelton

   John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

     Some people just take this scripture to mean only one thing. They feel that as long as they believe that Jesus Christ is God, they are all right. You have to believe that He is that God who is able to keep you from falling.  You have to believe that He is that God who is going to change your mortal bodies.  He is going to catch you away.  You have to believe that He is that God who has commanded you through His word, through His Apostles, through His prophets that you must walk uprightly before Him all the days of your life.  You have believe everything about Him.  You have to believe that He is that God who said, "I am the Lord that healeth thee, that healeth all thy diseases. (See Psalms 103:3)   You have to believe not only that He is God, but that he is, a rewarder of them that diligently him;" (Hebrews 11:6) 

     There were many who were overthrown in the wilderness and did not make it because of their unbelief.  The scripture says,

  Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

 Believing is one of the hardest jobs that you will ever have to do.   Do you know that if a man did not believe that he would be able to find work, he would never leave home.  There are different graduations of beliefs; however, you have to get a total belief in the power and in the grace of God. 

      Some people never feel forgiven because they do not believe (even after they have confessed and forsaken) that their sins are really forgiven. They carry this burden of guilt until it begins to affect their minds and their personalities.  One must certainly believe that his sins are remitted after he baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.  There is no overt process where you can see your sins jump out and disappear in the water.  But by faith in the Word, your sins are remitted.  After you get an understanding of the Word you will know that all the sins that you committed up to this time were forgiven you.  Because of this understanding and you are able to walk in a new life and continue on in a new strength living above sin.

      The minute a person stops believing, the next thing he is to do is sin.  A man who stops believing look for him to steal, to lie, etc., because if he does not believe that he can make it with the grace of God, he will get his money by any means.  If he does not believe that by telling the truth and continuing on that path, he will be able to maintain what he has, then he will tell any lie to survive.  Belief has to be renewed every day.  It must a total thing.

   Hebrews 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

      Not only do they believe not, but they become hitter and hostile because of unbelief.  When a husband loses faith in his wife, he becomes hostile and bitter.  When a wife loses faith in her husband, she becomes very bitter.  Many murders have been committed because of unbelief.

     It is quite possible to know that a thing is right to do and yet not have the strength or belief to do it.  Did you know that?  There are many things that people are doing, and they know it is wrong; but their strength or belief that they can actually stop it is small.  For instance, people in adultery do not have enough belief that they can really live and continue on without having this second husband or wife.  In the case of fornication, single people feel they cannot do without their boyfriend or girlfriend.  Many women would be here, in this Church, but they do not believe that they could keep their husbands and put on a long dress.

 Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

 You have to exhort one another. That means this: If your faith is stronger than your brother's, do not take your faith and smother him.  Everybody does not have faith.  You have to receive those weak in faith.  Just do not let them tell you all about their doubtful disputations. 

      Most folks who talk a lot of faith in one area, when it comes to something else, they are just as weak in faith.  They can believe God for one thing, yet they cannot believe God to find solutions to their problems.  They can believe God that He is going to raise the dead, but they cannot believe that God is going to make their present situation better.  To me, this is really ironical.  You have to believe God for everything: not only for your health or for your resurrection—for sure those who do not have faith can forget about resurrecting.  How are you going to believe that God is going to bring you back in a moment in a twinkling of an eye, after the skin worms have your body?  How can you unless you die in faith?  This faith must continue on. When you die in faith, you die believing that is going to bring you back.

 1Corinthians 15:51 - 53 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

  Die answering this question: "If a man die, shall he live again?"  You should be able to say, “Yes, I will live again.”

 JOB19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:  JOB19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:

1John 3:2 - 3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

 You see, I have become too far advanced to let people put their superstitions and their unscriptural beliefs on me.  Let me go on record saying that I believe God in all things at any time, any place.  I believe it like the Bible and not like anybody wants to make me believe.  Folks try to put things on me that I cannot find in the scripture.  Whenever it is in the scripture (and just like it is in the scripture), then I believe it.

      Some people declare they have more faith than I have, but we are going to see.  I have an enduring faith with which I can hold out. You do not always hear me blowing a horn; however, I have something that is going to last. It is going to outlast the horn blowers.  It is going to outlast the gainsayers. It is going to outlast the talkers of faith because I have something that is not only going to take me through this life, it is going to take me through the life to come.

 We will continue these messages in part 2……...

 May the Lord Bless you and Keep you and eternally hold you in the center of his will, may he open your understanding that you will come to know that you must repent of your sins and be baptized by immersion in water in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, then continue in prayer, tarrying until you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with the sign following speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives you utterances.  Then you must leave the principles of the doctrine and go on to perfection overcoming the love of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and continue steadfastly in the Apostle’s Doctrine remembering always that he that endures until the End, the same shall be saved.  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who is God Almighty. Amen

 With perfect love,
Apostle Dennis G. Smith

 Present Guidelines for Individuals and Businesses in Phase 1:

·        Stay home except for essential trips.

·        Wear face coverings in public

·        Frequent hand washing

·        Social distancing followed and enforced where practical.

·        To-go and delivery orders from restaurants.

·        Continue practicing teleworking.

·        Frequent cleaning of public and high touch areas

 

 Social Distancing guidelines:

When to Wear a Mask:

Those who are staying home and have no close contact with people who are infected with COIVID-19 do not need a mask most of the time. However, wearing a nonmedical or homemade mask may be helpful in certain situations or for certain populations. Wear a Mask when:

Because homemade masks protect everyone else from the droplets created by the wearer, it is important that as many people as possible wear these masks when leaving their homes. This helps prevent those who may be infectious but are only mildly symptomatic or not symptomatic from spreading the virus to others in the community.

Everyone should remember the phrase: “My mask protects you; your mask protects me.” By increasing the overall number of people who are containing their coughs, sneezes, and other droplets, it will help us control the overall spread of the virus.