In the footsteps of Jesus E-Book

Edir Macedo

• Herausgeber: Unipro
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 167

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

How can we find the way? Since the world began people have always looked for a way out of their problems - often without success. Many have claimed they have the 'solution' to all life's problems and promise to bring hapiness and meaning to life. However, when confronted with this very same questions, the Lord Jesus answered firmly, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life". "In The Footsteps of Jesus" is an easy-to-read book that will not only help people find their way out of their problems, but also teach them how to get the most out of life. And most importantly, how to live forever.

Leseprobe

M141

Macedo, Edir, Bishop, 1945

In the footsteps of Jesus (e-pub) / Bishop Edir Macedo ; translated by Renato Cardoso and Sandra Gouvêa. 2nd ed. - Rio de Janeiro: Unipro, 2018.

Translation from: ‘Nos passos de Jesus’.

ISBN 978-85-7140-844-9

1. Christian life - Pentecostal writers. 2. Cardoso, Renato, translation. 3. Gouvêa, Sandra, translation.

I. Title.

CDD-248.4

COPYRIGHT UNIPRO © 2006 UNIPRO EDITORA

GENERAL COORDINATION: Renato Cardoso

GENERAL DIRECTOR: A. Lobato

EDITOR: Mauro Rocha

TEXT LAYOUT: Handerson R. Theodoro and Chris Buddy

ENGLISH VERSION: Renato Cardoso and Sandra Gouvêa

EDITING: David Higginbotham

COVER: Chris Buddy

COVER: Chris Buddy

CONVERSION TO EPUB: CumbucaStudio

_____________________________

No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means.

Transgressors wil be prosecuted according to the law.

Scripture quotations in this publication are from

The New King James Version, property of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Rio de Janeiro

Estrada Adhemar Bebiano, 3.610

Inhaúma – CEP: 20766-720

Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

[email protected]

www.unipro.com.br

Index

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

1 – The origin of chaos

2 – Ten steps to salvation

3 – Knowledge of the Word

4 – Prayer

5 – Forgiveness

6 – Submission

7 – Discretion

8 – Fasting

9 – Tithes and offerings

10 – The origin of the Lord’s Supper

11 – Baptism in water

12 – The Holy Spirit

13 – Baptism in the Holy Spirit

14 – The fruit of the Holy Spirit

15 – Demons and tongues

16 – The gifts of the Holy Spirit

To my loving sister Elcywho planted the Seed in our hearts.

Foreword ForewordForeword

This book played an important part in my conversion when I first read it in 1986. Back then, I knew as much about Jesus as a dentist knows about maritime biology – next to nothing. I was sincere in my desire to follow the Lord, but many questions and doubts made me stumble along the way. What I learned in this book helped me find answers; it also gave me practical teachings that I could immediately apply to my life. The foundation it laid in my heart was key to my spiritual growth, and up to this day I continue to apply the principles and advice that I found in this book.

As you read this, some of you will find yourselves in a situation very similar to mine. You are new to the faith; you have recently begun to attend the church and have been amazed at how little you really know about correctly following Jesus. You want to understand the things of God, but you want to do it right. You want to follow the Lord Jesus very closely and therefore need true, honest, reliable advice from someone who knows.

But some of you are not new to Christianity. You have been following the Lord Jesus for a number of years and may be wondering whether this book will teach you anything you don’t already know. There’s a chance that it won’t, but most probably it will. Some of the things that you will read here are meant to correct, revealing a more effective way of using faith. Be humble and you will learn. Read this book prayerfully, practise what you read, and watch your faith be revived.

Whichever the case, I have no doubt that you will benefit so much from this book that you will find it hard not to pass this copy on to a friend after you’re done with it.

May your feet be strong and steady until your journey is complete! “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13).

Bishop Renato Cardoso

Introduction Introduction

The purpose of this book is to prepare men and women for the spiritual battle that began when they first started believing, and which will continue until the return of the Great King and Lord Jesus Christ.

We have tried to write in straightforward terms so that every reader will be edified on the Rock, and empowered to build up others whom the Lord sends their way as they progress in the greatest goal of life: winning souls for God.

Each one of us has received talents from God – some more than others. But sooner or later, we will be asked to give an account of what we have done with them.

There is a long standing need in the Work of God for workers who are prepared to answer the call to sow the Word in people’s hearts. Our Lord Jesus said to His disciples: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37)

Almost two thousand years after those words were spoken, His Church still has the very same need as it considers the vastness of the world, and how few workers are willing to do the Work of God!

For this reason we have written this book, which we hope will give its readers both greater ability and spiritual discernment to develop in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and His holy will: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

The author

1

The origin of chaos

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Genesis 1:1,2

We hope that this book helps you understand why so many people in this world suffer – and cause others to suffer – and how they can find the way out of their problems. In addition, we want to awaken your faith so that you may take advantage of your rights before God the Father, through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the work and grace of the Holy Spirit.

In the first two verses of Genesis, we find what appears to be a contradiction. The first verse says that God created the heavens and the earth, and the second says that the earth was without form and void. The obvious question is: How could God have created something without form and void? And if so, why? What could His purpose have been?

In reality, the heavens and the earth were as perfect as God Himself when they were first created. That is obvious, since God is not a man, and the work of His hands cannot possibly have flaws or defects. He is limitless; He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. “For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven.” (Psalms 148:13)

Under no circumstances will we ever find any flaw in Him, for it is written:

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counsellor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?”

Isaiah 40:12-18

These few verses give only a vague idea of who God really is. Our minds will never be able to grasp the entirety of His Majesty, Power and Glory because our understanding is extremely limited. That is why we sincerely believe that when God created the heavens and the earth they were as perfect as He is.

The events described in the second verse of Genesis must have happened millions of years after the creation of the heavens and the earth. In the interim, the fall of Lucifer occurred, which Ezekiel describes with propriety:

“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”

Ezekiel 28:11-19

The fall of Lucifer (which means ‘full of light’) took place between the first and second verses of Genesis, as the prophet Ezekiel describes it. Lucifer was cast down, creating total chaos on earth and making it without form and void.

Note that in the second verse Moses does not say that the heavens were without form and void, but only the earth. That is because the evil cherub and all his followers had been expelled from the heavens. They became the devil (one who separates) and his demons. That is why the heavens remained as they were created while the earth was transformed.

What happened to the earth also happened to man:

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Genesis 1:26,27

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)As the earth was created perfect, so was man. Adam was not missing an eye nor did he suffer from any illness. He was created in the image and likeness of the Almighty, and was perfect in every way. Just as Satan (the Hebrew word for ‘enemy’) entered the earth and made it without form and void, he also entered the life of Adam and Eve. He seduced them in such a way that they stopped listening to God’s Word and started listening to his demonic voice.

That is when the great tragedy, chaos and emptiness of humankind began. Man’s rebellion against God meant submission to Satan. God is light, order and discipline. Evil, sin and darkness cannot abide with Him. That is why He had no choice but to do to man what He had done to Lucifer: banish him from His presence.

Nature had cooperated with man up to that moment, for he did not have to sweat to eat the fruit of the earth. On the contrary, the earth freely and naturally produced all that man needed because man and earth were siblings by divine creation. But then nature rebelled against man, because man had risen up against its Creator. And today we see how hard man has to struggle to earn his daily bread from the earth, often without success, at times devoured by hunger, misery and misfortune.

Powerless, shrouded in religion, immersed in science, educated and elegant, the world is ruled by satanic principles. Beneath its false appearance is a boiling cauldron of national and international ambition, commercial rivalry, and tears veiled by a smile.

Satan and his hierarchy of evil (Daniel 10:13, Ephesians 6:12) are the invisible agents and the actual force behind the power-hungry, behind the evil minds of dictators and anyone else who uses his temporal power to do evil. Endless wars, death, the shedding of innocent blood and violence accompany them wherever they go.

In the satanic organisation, Satan presides over the fallen spirits that followed him in his first rebellion. His servants give him allegiance and undisputed authority.

When these spirits decided to follow Satan instead of remaining loyal to their Creator, they were irreversibly given over to evil and abandoned in their error. They are in total agreement with their prince and voluntarily offer him service, fulfilling their various duties in a highly organised kingdom (Matthew 12:25). Their initial decision forever bound them to Satan’s evil programme and to their inevitable condemnation.

Though Satan’s knowledge is both vast and supernatural, it is not a holy or saving knowledge. His demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), but having been given over to evil, they never seek forgiveness and cleansing. They have a clear knowledge that Jesus is Lord of the spiritual world, but this recognition does not involve either a faith that can save or voluntary submission. They respect Christ (Mark 3:11), yet that respect does not derive from a holy communion with Him, but rather from the reluctant surrender of an inferior will to a superior one, with hatred and resentment.

The actions of demonically oppressed people teach us that in some cases demons possess them for purposes of sensual gratification and other impure behaviours. This explains the pleasure that people feel in baring their bodies (Luke 8:27), entertaining evil thoughts and wandering around impure places like graves and burial grounds.

The vicious and vile nature of demons became evident when they revealed their desire to be sent into the swine (Mark 5:13), and when they encouraged free love with the purpose of destroying the morals of an orderly society (Romans 1:24).

In addition to their superhuman intelligence and corrupt morals, they have astonishing powers. They have power over the human body to cause:

Dumbness (Matthew 9:32,33)

Blindness (Matthew 12:22)

Madness (Luke 8:26-36)

Suicidal thoughts (Mark 9:22)

Physical illnesses (Mark 9:18)

And all sorts of physical disabilities (Luke 13:11-17)

There is no reason to believe that the devil and his angels have ceased their work since the apostles’ days. The apostle John wrote that “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19)

The original text conveys the idea that “the whole world is asleep under the sleep of the evil one”. According to our Lord Jesus Christ, Satan is like a father to those who belong to him. However, he is a merciless father (John 8:44). Satan is also recognised as king and god of this world. His kingdom is a kingdom of darkness and death (Hebrews 2:14; Jude 1:9). An evil spiritual kingdom that works in the children of disobedience, blinding the eyes of their understanding so they will not see the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:2,3; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; 1 John 3:10; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Acts 26:18).

The devil continues to exert control over unbelievers just as he did over Adam when he sinned. Man’s sin and Satan’s dominion over man are thus inextricably linked (1 John 3:8). Unbelief and its terrible punishment of eternal condemnation (Mark 16:16) are the consequences of Satan’s wicked work in man (Ephesians 2:1,2; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Matthew 13:25). Those who refuse to believe in the Gospel act on Satan’s command, who keeps them under his power (Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:13). Denying the existence of demons is itself a consequence of the devil’s work in the human heart (2 Corinthians 11:14).

THEACCUSERAGAINST THE CHURCHOF JESUS CHRIST

The main purpose of Satan is to oppose God’s will. The Bible refers to him as:

Adversary (Job 1:6-9; Matthew 13:39; Zechariah 3:1; 1 Peter 5:8)

Devil, “accuser” (Genesis 3:1,5; Job 1:9-l1; 2:4,5; Revelation 12:10)

Original sin occurred when Satan’s will interfered with God’s will, and resulted in the exaltation of himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2 Thessalonians 2:4). From Abel’s murder to the killing of innocent children by Herod, we clearly see Satan’s relentless hatred of the promised seed and his antagonism towards the Messiah of God and the divine purpose to be fulfilled in Him.

We can see the dogged resistance of Satan and his demons to God’s plans and purposes in Christ when he personally appeared to tempt the Lord Jesus in the wilderness.

We can also see it in the disturbances he caused in various places, working to frustrate Jesus’ public ministry, such as: Judas’s betrayal, Peter’s denial, and the unbelievable blindness of the Jewish leaders. The same thing can also be seen in Church history, and will continue up until the last and terrible confrontation between God and demons at Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16).

In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus spoke about the weeds sown by the devil (Matthew 13:38,39), which the apostle Peter also warned us about in 1 Peter 5:8.

Satan’s fury is specifically aimed at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ:

His demons seek to destroy it by all possible means (Matthew 16:18)

They try to impede listeners from accepting God’s Word (Luke 8:12)

They spread false doctrines (Matthew 13:25; 1 Timothy 4:1)

They incite persecution against the Kingdom of God (Revelation 12:7)

No doubt, most of the work is carried out by his messengers and servants – demons. Since Satan is not omnipotent, omnipresent or omniscient, he has to delegate his destructive mission to demons. They, in turn, afflict humankind, altering people’s minds through demonic possession (Mark 1:23-27; 5:1-20).

An eternal condemnation of everlasting fire is prepared for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41). This is the terrible punishment that the demons were pleading with Jesus about, saying: “Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29) “What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us?” (Mark 1:24)

Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, his place of eternal condemnation, and will be tormented there, day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10).

Satan’s demonic partners who collaborated with him in his mission to deceive humankind, will no doubt suffer the same fate at the same time. Every wicked spirit will appear before the white throne for judgement, and will be cast into the eternal flames of Gehenna (Revelation 20:11-15).