Differences between the 4 Gospels explained

As a young believer it concerned me

that the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John differ from each
other. I had been taught that the Bible is the Word of God and I
could not understand how there could be differences between the four
gospels. To my mind, if it was the Word of God then there should not
be any differences between the four gospels because God does not
speak with four tongues.

What I did not understand was that the
four gospels were written by four different writers, who gave account
of what happened when Jesus came. These four books were written after
the events, from the testimony and witnesses of some who walked with
Jesus and also from the eyewitnesses that heard Jesus speak and saw
what happened during that time. To better understand this we read the
first verses of the gospel of Luke, who was also the author of the
book of Acts. The gospel of Luke was addressed to a certain
Theophilus. He wrote Luke 1:1-4:”  1Inasmuch as many have
undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among
us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the
beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3it seemed
fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from
the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order,
most excellent Theophilus; 4so that you may know the exact truth
about the things you have been taught.” He then goes on to write
the rest of the gospel of Luke. The same man, Luke also wrote the
book of Acts, We read his introduction in Acts 1:1-5 “ 1The
first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to
do and teach, 2until the day when He was taken up to
heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the
apostles whom He had chosen. 3To these He also presented Himself
alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to
them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things
concerning the kingdom of God. 4Gathering them together, He
commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the
Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of
from Me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” He then goes on to
write the rest of the book of Acts. Note that He writes in Luke 1:2,3
“just as they were handed down to us by those who from the
beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3it seemed
fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from
the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order,
most excellent Theophilus;” Thus was written and preserved for us
the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, written by Luke, not by God.

In the same way the other three gospels
Matthew, Mark and John were written, but by no means was everything
that Jesus said and did recorded and written down in the Bible, like
so many Bible scholars and preachers allege. The writer of the gospel
of John writes in John 21: 24,25”This is the disciple who is
testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that
his testimony is true. 25And there are also many other things
which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that
even the world itself would not contain the books that would be
written.” Jesus also said to His disciples:” 12“I have
many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13“But
when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He
hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to
come. 14“He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will
disclose it to you. 15“All things that the Father
has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will
disclose it to you.”John 16:12-15.

Jesus was talking about the Holy
Spirit, that was promised, and was given on the day of Pentecost,
that we read about also in the book of Acts 1 and 2. After Jesus
ascended to heaven the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ was given to
guide those who believe in Jesus and who obey His words, repent and
be baptized in water. The Holy Spirit will guide every Spirit filled
believer into all truth.

The words of Jesus are the words of
eternal life, to those who believe in Him and obey His commands and
teachings. They were recorded by four different people so that we
have four witnesses that confirm and verify the birth, acts, miracles
and words of Jesus. These writings lead us to faith in Jesus, but we
must take action and put works to our faith, obey Jesus, then He will
reveal Himself to us as real and we will know Him for real. He will
give of His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, in us to lead and guide us.
Jesus promised this as also recorded in John 14:21“He who has My
commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves
Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose
Myself to him.”

We can study the scriptures to learn
about Jesus and His commands, which we have to obey to have eternal
live. But that is not enough, we have to obey Jesus, repent and be
baptized, seek Him in prayer and live according to His commands, then
He will baptize us in the Holy Spirit. He will guide and teach us in
all things, through His Spirit but we have to follow and obey Him and
stay with Him until the end to have eternal life.

May Jesus bless you.

Holy Spirit Guidance Clarified

The kingdom of God is of a different REALM, it is in a different DIMENSION
from the physical that we
experience around us and the only way that we can KNOW what is
happening in the kingdom of God and what God is doing is if we HEAR
from Him, if we are led by the Holy Spirit.

The only way that we can function as
the body of Christ is if we are guided by the Holy Spirit, if we
receive our instructions and guidance from the Head, Jesus Christ
Himself. "Those who are led by the Spirit of God they are the
sons of God."

I often get asked how the Holy Spirit
guides a disciple. and I want to share with you from my experience
what I have been taught by the Holy Spirit.

In clarifying this subject I want to
answer these questions. Firstly: WHAT does the Holy Spirit tell us?

The Holy Spirit gives us CLEAR GUIDANCE
and INSTRUCTION. When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, you KNOW exactly
what you need to do and you understand, He gives you INSTRUCTION.

The Holy Spirit also REBUKES us . The
Holy Spirit has rebuked me and CORRECTED me harshly when I went
wrong.

The Holy Spirit also gives us
REVELATION of the UNKNOWN, of lies that people tell us. He tells us
the TRUTH about circumstances. He lets us KNOW the TRUTH.

The Holy Spirit also commands us to
action. He SENDS us to do certain things and He tells us exactly
where to go, to whom to go and what we have to go and DO there. The
Holy Spirit guidance is always CLEAR. You KNOW that it comes from
HIM. There is no doubt in your mind whatsoever WHO spoke to you and
WHO is sending you. It is not a FEELING, it is not just an URGE. It
is a FIRM DIRECT GUIDANCE. You KNOW for sure.

The Holy Spirit also CLARIFIES many
things that we do not understand. He clarifies the meaning of
scripture. There are many interpretations of scripture that come from
the minds of men.

Why are there so many different
interpretations? It is because they do not come from the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH who will guide us into all
TRUTH, He will tell us the TRUTH and there is only ONE TRUTH. If you
have heard from Jesus Christ then you have heard the TRUTH. Don't
listen to other people, don't trust other people because then you
will be deceived. You have to trust the Holy Spirit and He will guide
you into ALL TRUTH.

People want to know HOW the Holy Spirit
speaks. The Holy Spirit speaks in many different ways. He is
UNPREDICTABLE, UNPRESCRIBEABLE and INDEFINABLE. He speaks AS HE
PLEASES, and those who are TUNED IN, who SEEK Him, they will HEAR
Him.

He sometimes speaks in a VOICE, you
HEAR it in your SPIRIT. You hear it LOUD AND CLEAR. Sometimes He
shouts and although other people might not hear it, you have heard it
it and you experience it.

He also speaks in DREAMS. Not all
dreams are from the Holy Spirit but when the Holy Spirit speaks to us
in a dream, we will UNDERSTAND that it comes from Him. We have to
PRAY about all dreams. If we are not sure about anything we must PRAY
and the Holy Spirit will give us CONFIRMATION and CLARIFICATION.

Don't run to other people. If Jesus
speaks to you, go back to HIM. We have to be led by the Holy Spirit,
not by other people and their interpretations. We have ONE TEACHER
and that is Jesus Christ, He GUIDES us by His SPIRIT. Don't find
yourself some other teachers, you WILL be deceived. Go to Jesus and
STAY WITH HIM and He will guide and teach you.

The Holy Spirit sometimes IMPLANTS, He
just GIVES you WISDOM that you KNOW, does not come from yourself. You
might be in a situation that you do not know what to do. It might be
in a relationship with other people, it might be a work situation. In
all things we have to ask wisdom from God who gives to all men
freely. Maybe you do not know what to answer somebody who asks you
something. In your heart PRAY and say:"Lord what must I say"
and He imparts WISDOM, He puts WISDOM in you in that moment He puts
the words in you mind, in your heart, IMPLANTED wisdom, IMPLANTED
WORD OF GOD, if we ASK Him and if we TRUST Him.

The Holy Spirit also speaks to us
through SICKNESS and CIRCUMSTANCES. Nothing happens without reason
in the life of a child of God. If we follow Jesus Christ we belong to
Him, He is our LIFE. He GUIDES OUR FOOTSTEPS. If we get sick or if
things do not work out the way that we planned, if God destroys our
plans then we have to go and pray and ask Jesus WHY. "Lord why
am I sick? Lord why do my plans not work out? What is the message?"
Jesus Christ speaks to us through ALL THINGS. all things are His
servants. The Holy Spirit uses all things to speak to us but it is
for us to ALWAYS go back to Him, always ASK, always SUBMIT ourselves
to Him and He will give us GUIDANCE and UNDERSTANDING.

The Holy Spirit gives us UNDERSTANDING.
There are many things that we do not understand in this world. There
are many things that we might not understand, what Jesus said or what
is written in the Bible BUT UNDERSTANDING of the TRUTH comes from the
Holy Spirit.

One night I clearly heard these
words:"1 John 5:20," It was not a verse that I had
memorized or knew what was written there. I read it:

"And we know that the Son of
God has come, and has given us UNDERSTANDING so that
we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is
true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God and eternal life."

He gives us UNDERSTANDING of things
that people marvel about, things that are hidden to the world and
hidden to everybody else.

What is the REQUIREMENT to HEAR from
the Holy Spirit, to follow His guidance? 

We have to be ABSOLUTELY SERIOUS and
WILLING to do the will of God. We have to be EAGER to follow and OBEY
Jesus Christ and above all we have to TRUST Him.

If we do not TRUST Him we will waver
and if we waver we are like the surf of the sea, the waves of the sea
tossed to an fro, UNSTABLE. Our TRUST in Jesus and the Holy Spirit
must be absolutely UNWAVERING, and we must OBEY Him. If we disobey
Him, if we doubt Him, then we can not please Him. Without faith it is
impossible to please God. If we are UNSURE we must ASK Him to
CONFIRM, to speak to us again. But we have to trust HIM and nobody
else.

Jesus said that every branch in Him
that does not bear fruit will get CUT OFF AND BURNED. The only way
that we can be fruitful in the kingdom of God is if we follow and
obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have to receive our
instruction and guidance from the HEAD, Jesus Christ or else we
cannot function in the Body of Christ.

Those who are led by the Spirit of God
they are the sons of God.

Do not look to other people. Do not
seek their advice. go to Jesus. seek Him with all your heart, ASK HIM
and He will guide you. Obey Him and He will TEACH you. Do not look
for examples from other people. Receive your guidance form Jesus
Christ Himself. Remember, we have to follow Jesus Christ and not
other people. Jesus Christ is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE. We
have ONE Teacher, ONE Master, ONE Lord, ONE King of His Kingdom whom
we have to serve if we want eternal life and that is Jesus Christ ,
nobody else. Seek Jesus, seek the Holy Spirit guidance . He will
teach you and He will guide you into all truth.

May Jesus bless you.

Salvation is not just a PROCEDURE

Salvation is not a procedure, a
methodology, a series of steps that you follow and then you have the
HOPE of eternal life. Salvation is about being a NEW CREATURE, being
BORN AGAIN of the Spirit of God, becoming a child of God, being
entirely renewed inside, to come into relationship and communion with
the Living God and then to follow and obey Him, to live our lives to
please Him. It is a LIVE RELATIONSHIP of a Child of God with his
Creator God, with his Father.

We need to be BORN AGAIN to be children
of God. We cannot just follow a series of steps and then pronounce
ourselves as born again or as children of God. If you are not RENEWED
inside, if you are not utterly changed to become a child of God then
you do not KNOW Him and you do not have the HOPE of salvation. The
only way that we can have salvation is through the gospel of Jesus
Christ, OBEYING His words, His commands. Jesus commanded that we
REPENT and turn from our evil ways, that we OBEY HIM, that we commit
ourselves to become HIS disciples, HIS followers and to do His will.
We must turn away from our previous lifestyle, we must turn away from
sin and from self-gratification and COMMIT to OBEY God, to live a
life that is pleasing to God.

If we approach Jesus Christ with a
contrite heart, bow down on our knees, submit ourselves to Him,
humble ourselves before Him and plead Him forgiveness of our past
sins, our previous selfish lifestyle and we commit ourselves to
obedience to Him, He will forgive our past sins that we committed in
ignorance and He will accept us as children of God. He will make us
NEW INSIDE but then we have to OBEY Him, go after Him. We have to be
baptized in water, in obedience to Jesus Christ as a confession of
our faith and our commitment to Him as a token of the washing off of
our sins and the death of our previous lifestyle, to emerge from that
water a new person that is committed to serve God. If we commit to
serve Jesus, if we accept Jesus and we repent from our wicked ways
and we are baptized in water then He promised us the most wonderful
GIFT, His very PRESENCE, His Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to be
with us at all times for eternity so that we can live IN HIS
PRESENCE, that we can be taught and guided by Him, that we can be
children of God in this world, that we can SEE the kingdom of God and
receive REVELATION from Jesus Christ, to know God, to know Jesus
Christ for REAL.

The Holy Spirit was first given on the
day of Pentecost. It was poured out on those who had repented and who
had been baptized in water and who were earnestly expecting, SEEKING
that infilling with the presence of God. He poured out His Spirit on
them, they started speaking in other tongues as all those would also
do who believed as result of their preaching and who also obeyed
Jesus Christ, who also were baptized in water. They also received the
Holy Spirit as the first believers did. The gift is promised to us as
well, the presence of God in and with us. Without the Holy Spirit we
cannot experience the presence of God, we cannot know Jesus Christ.
As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:14:”Those who are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

We cannot follow Jesus Christ if we are
not PERMEATED with His Spirit, if we are not LED by His Spirit, if we
are not guided, directed and willingly follow the guidance of the
Holy Spirit we cannot be pleasing to God, we cannot serve the purpose
for which He made us and called us to be servants of the kingdom of
God and to become HEIRS of the kingdom of God IF we endure with Him
until the end. IF we as OBEDIENT CHILDREN keep on serving and
following Jesus Christ, doing the will of our Father until the end we
will inherit His kingdom.

Most believers are not born again. Very
few have received the Holy Spirit and of those who received the Holy
Spirit very FEW follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Very few will
enter into the kingdom of God and do the will of God because most
believers have no relationship with God. They listen to preachers and
other people. The listen to videos and they read the books of other
people who profess to know God but they have got no knowledge of God
because they are not following God, they do not know Jesus Christ.

We are witnesses of Jesus. I know
Jesus, I follow Him and therefor I come to you and I implore you, I
say: Friend, get to know Jesus Christ. Seek Him with all your heart,
be baptized in water. Seek the infilling with the Holy Spirit. Seek
the guidance of the Holy Spirit and FOLLOW that guidance. LISTEN to
Jesus. Don't listen to people. Be guided by the Holy Spirit and SERVE
the kingdom of God. That is what He is calling you for and that is
what He has called me for. It is to be SONS OF GOD who do the will of
God.

Have you been born again of the Spirit
of God? Have you become a child of God and are you doing the will of
God? Are you following Jesus Christ? Have you become part of the
kingdom of God? Or are you just like most believers DECEIVED because
they don't know God, they don't know Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ is
the WAY. Get to KNOW Him. Seek His Spirit, seek His guidance. Follow
Him and OBEY Him and He will guide you into all truth. He will teach
you all you need to know and you will bear the fruit, you will do the
works that He prepared for you to do.

Jesus is calling YOU. Will you respond?
Will you go after Him or will you turn away and regret it for
eternity?

May Jesus bless you.