Tag Archives: Render unto Caesar

Don’t Do as the Romans Do When in Rome

Deuteronomy 18:9

When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

In this day and age to do as others in their environment, you tend to mock after your surroundings. If everyone around you is drinking, everyone around just to be a part try it and they get hooked. When in Rome do as the Romans. Don’t do as the Romans do. This statement is truly spoken of someone who is a part of this sinful world. Know this, that any time you take the thoughts, views, or lifestyles of another person, you will reap the consequences or in other words you will reap the same consequences or reward or judgement of that action. So if you take the sins of or the burden or the sins of someone else upon yourself, you will reap the same consequences that that other individual will reap.

Matthew 7:2

…and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Deuteronomy 18:1

The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance

This goes for the Pastors, Ministers, Elders…the Lord is saying don’t look for an inheritance. Don’t worry about owning anything having anything because I will provide for you. Now in this day and age, they are all concerned about having a steady flow of income for their so called needs. Its seems as though no one wants to trust in the Lord and wait on the Lord. If you trust in the Lord He shall renew your strength (Isaiah 40:31). Don’t worry about having or possessing things, God will be your portion. That is what He’s telling the Levites, the priests, the tribe of Levi. Men and Women of God today are so concerned about getting a dollar bill. That is why they go around pimping the Lord and pimping the saints because they want to make money. There are very few pastors who wrote books, Christian writers who wrote books and gave them away free. Most put a price tag to something that is supposed to deliver them from their situation. But it comes with a price tag. That is almost prevalent of everything in this world today. You can’t get nothing for free in the US. Everything has a price tag. You know you need to drive your car back and forth, so they charge you gas. The one’s who own the gas companies stick a price to everything. And then if they feel like when they need more money or less money, they will create a shortage to raise the price of gas. Now the men and women of God writing these books are doing somewhat the same thing. I have a Word of God for you for $7.95. Now if its a Word of God for the people of God it should be free. The Bible tells us that they sold all that they had and gave so that none would have lack. But most today in the Church, pastors, leaders, bishops apostles, today, all say, I’m not going to have lack because I will make you pay for it. You ask them to speak at your ministry, and they send paperwork ahead of them stating that they will not do anything probono, and states that before they come and minister to you and your people, upon average they will ask for $3,000-$5,000. If you cannot pay, they are not coming. That is why they whether you to contact them instead of them contacting you. If you contact them, its out of your pocket, if they contact you its out of their pocket. I’m truly against pimping the Word of God that they said comes from God. The Word of god said that there is never a price for the Word of God.

Deuteronomy 18:4

The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

The first of all you make and do goes to the priest first, then after that, whatever you have after its for you to sell or whatever the case may be. But the priest should get his first because he is not working. The Lord is their inheritance. You will provide for them. If they aren’t taken care of, you aren’t talking care of Me.

Deuteronomy 18:5

For the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever.

He has given that because they own nothing. Now in this day and age, most elders and bishops and priest don’t have anything. Most of the people of the Church complain of where every dollar is going, granted some take advantage. Some say they will not pay their dues anymore, but those very same people will go out and buy a lottery ticket or an expensive dinner, or go out and frivolously take that money to have a good old partying time, and won’t be concerned about where it went to. But the very moment that they fall into need, they don’t have money to pay for their bills or transportation, food, their knocking on the door of the Church saying, I gave you x number of dollars, and I want food, money, and I want you to pay my bills. In other words what I’m saying is this they gave their money on the pretext that they could get it back later, as though the Church was a bank. They weren’t giving to the Church to help the ministry go forth, but they were giving so the church could hold on to it so they could get it back without reservation. The Lord is not a part of that situation of their life in that respect. He will blow on their finances. They figure if they gave the church $10,000 last year, and when they come back and need to get something that costs $5,000-$6,000 the church better give it. Now they went and gave the lottery people and gave them $50,000 over a period of time. Do they go back to the lottery people and demand their money? What mindset is taking place. And I’m taking about the so called “I’m in the church” folks. What kind of mindset is that? Can they go to the local store where they got the lottery ticket and say I’m hungry, can you give me some food and pay my bills? They look at the Church as being a genie bank. Now granted, we know that some ministries have abused their people, lied to their people, stole from their people, with the whole intention to get rich gain. Not mentioning any names, the whole point was is that they bought multi-million dollar homes, cars, boats, planes. Now, those things a frivolous. They have nothing to do with spreading the Word of God. Well I need a plane so I can get to my destination on time. Well take a plane, a public transportation plane to save the ministry money. You don’t need a hundred thousand dollar plane. Never once did you read in the Word of God did Paul have a chauffeur, that pulled his donkey, or any of the disciples being carted around. What is it this day that we have to drive around in the latest vehicle, finest of clothes, shoes, living in the finest of homes? What is it? None of the disciples or apostles or men of God back then did it. But people who are in the Church see this and they’re saying that the Church is taking their money. Those individuals should look a little closer and realize pay your tithes, give your offering. That is all God is requiring of you. He’s not requiring that you give an abundance of money, He is concerned that your brother has nothing and you have all this. He wants us to share, when our brothers don’t have give. Don’t put a clause on it. If you know, and this is for Pastors. If you have a word from God for the people of God, it should not come at a price. Its supposed to be free. Because all that you do is suppose to be for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

1 Peter 5:2-3

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.

This goes right back to what I said in Deuteronomy 18:9-11, the main verse we were alluding to.

Deuteronomy 18:9-13

When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.

The Lord doesn’t want you to have any part of these. But there are pastors and leaders who delve into these. You have some Pastors who are masons, and masons worship the devil. You can’t be a mason and a Child of God, you will either love the one and hate the other one, or hate the one and love the other one. You cannot be a mason, freemason, bound mason or whatever you want to call it and be a man of God or Child of God. They are totally opposite. But you say you like the benefits, you like to walk around and have some power, wear the ring…any society that has secrets is not of God, or that meets in the shadows or dead of night, that talks about forbidden things that the Word of God talks against is not of God. If you are a man of God, your portion is God, your life is God. It can’t be your life is mason and God. But you say you were a mason before coming to God. You can get out of masonry. So I’m saying to you when you cross over from the world and came into the House of God to be a Child of God. Whatever was in the world stays in the world. Whatever mindset, ritual, believing pattern with any group you had don’t bring in the House of God, it is an abomination. And the Lord doesn’t use abomination lightly. So as you cross over from the world and into the Church as a laity, the Bible says by leaving those things:

Philippians 3:13-14

 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

We have to remember one thing in this walk. When God told them not to take upon themselves not to take on the abomination of the world. He’s telling the Church the same thing. Leave the world in the world, and leave the Church in the Church. Render unto Cesar Caesar’s and unto God God’s. Leave that world in the world. Now that we’re in the Church now, seek those things that are from on high. Don’t seek those things in the world and justify getting rich off of your working members. You are trying to make a star out of yourself, that is a sin and an abomination to God. Your inheritances lie with God, not with man. Don’t go around saying you have this or that, giving your own-self an inheritance in this world. If you are dedicating your life to God, then He shall make a way for you. Sometimes, you know, it seems like we want to equate ourselves, we came out of the world, and getting into the Church we still want to have the same things. Open your eyes, listen with your ears what God is saying to the Church. Be in the world but not of the world. Amen.