Jesus was not OF this world

Jesus' Truths-

1Jn 2:15-17  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1Jn 5:4,5  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Joh 15:18, 19  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Rom 12:1-3  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Eph 2:2-8  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

Jas 4:4-8  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

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The world.

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Joh 17:1-26;18:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.   Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I PRAY NOT FOR THE WORLD, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.   Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.  And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.

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Jesus was and is NOT of this world.

Jesus did NOT pray for this world.

We like to imagine Jesus praying for the world, but that just wasn't true.  Jesus prayed for THOSE which God the Father gave Him. Jesus prayed for THOSE who believe on Him through the words of THOSE God the Father gave Him.

First and foremost we are taught the manner of praying by our Savior- remember?

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

FATHER GOD IN HEAVEN.

HOLY IS YOUR NAME.

YOUR KINGDOM COME.

YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.

GIVE US OUR DAILY SUSTENANCE IN ALL THINGS.

FORGIVE US AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS.

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION TO THE PLACE OF DESPAIR.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

THINE IS THE KINGDOM.

THINE IS THE POWER.

THINE IS THE GLORY FOREVER.

AMEN.

Mat 5:44  …pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The flesh wars against the spirit

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

We discussed yesterday a bit about the filthiness of our flesh read more--

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Works of the flesh-- 

Adultery.

Fornication.

Uncleanness.

Lasciviousness.

Idolatry.

Witchcraft.

Hatred.

Variance.

Emulations.

Wrath.

Strife.

Seditions.

Heresies.

Envyings.

Murders.

Drunkenness.

Revellings.

And all that can be put into any of those categories. 

Do you SEE?!  The flesh rules us in so many ways. We want control of ourselves and yet that control we take is filled with the flesh.  We indulge ourselves, our flesh and we say we are allowed because we are in control. Yes, we've drawn lines and some of those lines are blurred. We say murder is going too far, but strife is fine. We say adultery and fornication are okay, but hatred is not. We say witchcraft is acceptable, but sedition is not. We pick and choose our flesh indulgences and we do that making it acceptable by telling ourselves that we …NOT GOD… are in control of ourselves.

The flesh wars against the spirit and it corrupts our spirit when we allow it to.

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Let us CLEANSE ourselves.    We have to be willing to be cleaned. We can't cling to the filth and expect to appear clean.  No one can hold onto their filth and expect to be clean. If we clench our fists, cover our filthy bodies, the cleansing water will NOT penetrate what we are refusing to expose. God will NOT force clean us, He will NOT put a power washer hose on us ripping into our filthy flesh, using the force of the water to abuse us into letting Him cleanse us.  We have to be WILLING to be cleaned. We need to desire cleansing. We need to comprehend that even while the flesh lusts will give us TEMPORARY pleasures that life - true life is so much more than TEMPORARY pleasure, temporary good times. How many of us lament good times in the past, even though we KNOW they are of the flesh, the filthy flesh? How many of us cling to the flesh pleasures over sacrifice? For some horrific reason we've got it drilled into our minds that we are entitled to good times- flesh filthy good times. And I'm not talking JUST about sex, but all the various flesh filth we've talked about, you don't have to be indulging in sexual activities to be covered in flesh filth. A pious, hate-filled, virginal prude is just as filthy as the worst fornicator. Indulging in anything ungodly is wrong. We must repent, we must seek forgiveness.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Php 3:13  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,

Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Php 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

We must press towards the mark for the prize! We must NOT give up as sin surrounds us covering us in its filth trying to suffocate us into acceptance, drown us into submission.

Cleanse us LORD we would be cleaned by YOU!

Cleanse us.

By Your amazing, wondrous grace!

In the name of Jesus Christ our LORD, now and forever, AMEN.

Do we join in with the world, do we laugh along with the world? Are we of the world?

Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof

From earlier- 'Do you see? Do you comprehend? If we choose to live for our flesh fulfillment we will die and never have a heaven home.  We THROUGH the SPIRIT can mortify the deeds of our bodies!  THROUGH the SPIRIT. We aren't expected to do this on our own but through the SPIRIT.'

We are told to PUT ON the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

We are told MAKE NOT PROVISION FOR THE FLESH TO FULFIL THE LUSTS.

So, how do we put on the Lord Jesus Christ?

Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Eph 4:20  But ye have not so learned Christ;

Eph 4:21  If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Eph 4:25  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

Eph 4:26  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Eph 4:27  Neither give place to the devil.

Eph 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Col 3:8  But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Col 3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him

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When we are baptized into Christ we are saying we are PUTTING ON CHRIST- we want to be Christ's.

And to be Christ's we will learn from Christ.  When we put On Christ we are putting OFF other things-

We are PUTTING OFF…

…our former conversation, corrupt according to our deceitful lusts.

We must be renewed in THE SPIRIT of our mind.

We must put on the NEW MAN- which after God is created in righteousness and TRUE holiness.

When we do this- we are PUTTING AWAY…

Lying.

Letting our anger cause us to sin.

Giving place to the devil.

Stealing.

We are PUTTING OFF…

Anger.

Wrath.

Malice.

Blasphemy.

Filthy communication.

Do we get the picture? Do we understand?  Our lives change when we are Christ's. We DO NOT fit in with the WORLD. We are NOT supposed to fit in with the WORLD. We are not supposed to want to fit in. Yet how often do we laugh at off color jokes? How often do we instigate them? How often are we right there joining the backbiting, the gossip, the anger, the wrath, the malice, the blasphemy, that filthy communication… HOW OFTEN!?!? 

How often are we far from putting away the very things we need to put away?

God HELP US! We see, we know, and we need the HOLY SPIRIT to be in us doing all for us that we cannot do! And what we can do, by the grace of our God may we do it! Please, Lord, please!!!!!!!!

More tomorrow by the grace and mercy of our LORD, our Savior, Jesus Christ!!! Now and forever…AMEN.

Heaven Home

1Pe 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul

Fleshly lusts. What wars against your soul? What temporary pleasures do you seek? If we are STRANGERS and PILGRIMS we should comprehend that we are actively SEARCHING, actively EXPECTING a new home, a place we belong where we will no longer be strangers and pilgrims.  This new home we seek as Christ followers is in HEAVEN, and we know BIBLICALLY we will not attain heaven until our Savior returns.  When He returns the DEAD in Christ will rise to meet Him in the air along with those few living in Christ when He returns.  We must live our lives, our ENTIRE lives seeking heaven, preparing for heaven. And we are told in this verse above that we should ABSTAIN from anything (fleshly lusts) which will WAR AGAINST our souls. Anything that impedes our heaven search should be abstained from.  Easier said than done though because we find temporary pleasure in the fleshly lusts and count that worth any costs, even the cost of our heaven home.  All too often we trade away our future for temporary indulgence. Esau did it with his birthright.  You might say that he was legitimately hungry, starving even, and so it was worth it to him to live. But he regretted that decision greatly. He knew he wasn't at the point of death, just very, very hungry and wanting to sate that hunger. We need to think of and remember this as well…

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Do you see? Do you comprehend? If we choose to live for our flesh fulfillment we will die and never have a heaven home.  We THROUGH the SPIRIT can mortify the deeds of our bodies!  THROUGH the SPIRIT. We aren't expected to do this on our own but through the SPIRIT.

More on this later tonight, by the grace of God!

War against the flesh

1Pe 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

2Ti 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

More tomorrow on all this…by the will and GRACE of God.

Denied Heaven

Luk 13:24  Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Imagine it… you want to enter into the strait gate, you desire heaven, you desire God and so you seek to enter in at that strait gate to be in heaven with God and you are DENIED entrance.

DENIED HEAVEN.

Will we be among the MANY seeking to enter heaven only to be turned away?

We've been taught that anyone and everyone who wants to get into heaven will get into heaven, but how can that be true if we read and believe Jesus' words in Luke 13:24- Many will seek to enter in and shall not be able?  Many will SEEK to enter and SHALL NOT BE ABLE.  We have to STOP believing that heaven is a guarantee. The masses, the great masses of Christians are NOT truly Christ followers and will NOT be known by Christ when He returns for His followers. Forget about those who outright say they don't believe in God, and those who believe in a god but not God the Father and Jesus His Son. Forget about those who choose NOT to believe altogether, we KNOW they will not be Christ followers because of their blatant choice. Think about Christians, those you align with as Christ followers. MANY will NOT enter into heaven. MANY are not known by Jesus and there has to be a reason for that, doesn't there?

Who among us is STRIVING to enter in at the strait gate? STRIVING to enter.

Luk 13:25  When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

Luk 13:26  Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

Luk 13:27  But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

The door is shut.

We begin to stand outside the door.

We begin to knock on that door. We want in.

We shout, 'Lord, Lord, OPEN UNTO US!'

And all we hear is…

"I KNOW YOU NOT WHEN YE ARE"

And we say…

"We have eaten and drunk in thy presence! You taught in our streets!"

And He will reply…

"I tell you, I KNOW YOU NOT when ye are…. DEPART FROM ME, ALL YE WORKERS OF INIQUITY."

And truly we will be HORRIFIED… won't we?  This is what we'll do…

Luk 13:28  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

WEEPING.

GNASHING OF TEETH.

All when we realize that we have been left out of heaven when we BELIEVED we were going to be allowed in.  Called by our Savior- 'workers of iniquity'!

I DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT OF HEAVEN!

PLEASE, Father, please… we don't want to be left out! We want you to KNOW us. We don't want to be workers of iniquity! Help us! Save us from ourselves! Teach us how to STRIVE to enter in at the strait gate! Teach us how to believe! Teach us all we need to know to be YOURS! We would be YOURS! We would have you rid us of all our evil, all the wickedness in us! Cleanse us! Create in us new hearts! Renew right spirits with us! 

Stone and Bread, Water and Wine.

1Pe 2:3  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

1Pe 2:4  To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1Pe 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

1Pe 2:7  Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

1Pe 2:8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Isa 28:16  Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone

Mat 16:18 …and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

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Christ- a living stone.

Christ- the chief corner stone.

Christ- the Rock.

Is Jesus, was Jesus before His resurrection a REAL rock, a REAL stone? Or were these symbolisms given to Him?  Seriously. Would ANYONE truly believe that Jesus before He took on flesh, or after He took on flesh was ever a rock?  No. However He is a Spiritual Rock.

Spiritual Rock. We can comprehend that, can't we? We know that song- 'The Solid Rock.'  With the lyrics-  'On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.'  We also know this parable of Christ's-

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

A house built upon solid rock- a surety from rain, flood, and wind, much more so than one who has a house built upon sand.  This is an example, this is an analogy, this is telling us something, giving us a message.  If you know someone who is like a fox- you might believe they are wily. If you know someone you might call a snake, you'd believe they were bad, cunning, hurtful.  If you hear someone is like a teddy bear, you'd believe they were sweet and cuddly. We give descriptions of people ALL the time and it's not hard to comprehend.

Christ was NEVER, and is NEVER, and will NEVER be a real rock in the sense of this…

In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals or mineraloids. For example, the common rock granite is a combination of the quartz, feldspar and biotite minerals. The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock.

Rocks have been used by mankind throughout history. From the Stone Age, rocks have been used for tools. The minerals and metals found in rocks have been essential to human civilization.[1]

Three major groups of rocks are defined: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The scientific study of rocks is called petrology, which is an essential component of geology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_(geology)

And now that we've determined that even though our Savior has been called a rock, He was not a literal rock.  Just as our Savior is called the Bread of life, He is not and never will be literal bread in any way.  When I cling to the solid rock that is Christ, I'm clinging to Christ, not stone.  When I partake of the Lord's Supper, I am NOT eating Christ transformed into bread, that's LUDICROUS. I am eating bread that has taken on the SYMBOLISM, the SPIRITUAL SYMBOLISM of Christ's body that He gave for us to give us salvation.  Eating that symbolic bread and drinking symbolic wine because our Savior wants us to do this in REMBRANCE of Him this is  what it's all about.  When we take the symbolism away from the entire thing and begin to believe our Savior wants us to literally eat His literal flesh we have gone beyond reality into another realm of false belief. A god that calls on his people to eat literal flesh is monstrous.  Where is the difference in cannibalism and believing you are eating literal flesh?  There is none. You KNOW you are eating BREAD, and that bread is NOT transformed into flesh, it is SPIRITUALLY SYMBOLIC, the power is in the symbolism.  When we read into things that are not there we are twisting God's truths, and when we twist His truths we are on false ground and that ground belongs to Satan.

And while Christ is symbolically living water, and He wants us to drink His symbolic blood, it is NOT literal in either instance.  We are being TAUGHT something and that something is Christ is our Sustainer, Christ is our Sacrifice and we ACCEPT Him as such.  We are NOT being taught to eat literal flesh or drink literal blood and we will never be taught that, never. 

I know there are religions which believe the bread and wine are transformed by Christ so they are truly eating His flesh and drinking His blood, but this is a GREAT misconception, and truly there is NO reason to believe in the literal application of such, it does NOTHING to draw you closer to Christ, nothing.  In fact it is more injurious  to believe that Christ is being killed anew every time someone partakes of the Lord's Supper. To believe that ANY man has power to turn bread into Christ's flesh is completely and utterly ludicrous.

Read the following carefully- while it may seem boring perhaps or too doctrinal, or wordy, or whatever, please take the time to read it… you'll understand why I just said 'To believe that ANY man has power to turn bread into Christ's flesh is completely and utterly ludicrous.' When you read the following and comprehend what priest ACTUALLY and TRULY believe they are doing, you will be horrified to think that any man can believe this way. IT IS NOT Biblical, it is a tradition of man that it being taught to be a command of God when it is not- and Jesus had this to say about doing that - Mat_15:9  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

(In another section on the "Importance of the Priestly Office," de Liguori writes:

The dignity of the priest is estimated from the exalted nature of his offices. Priests are chosen by God to manage on earth all his concerns and interests. "Divine," says St. Cyril of Alexandria, "are the offices confided to the priest." St. Ambrose has called the priestly office a divine profession. A priest is a minister destined by God to be a public ambassador of the whole Church, to honor him, and to obtain graces for all the faithful. The entire Church cannot give to God as much honor, nor obtain so many graces, as a single priest by celebrating a single Mass; for the greatest honor that the whole Church without priests could give to God would consist in offering to him in sacrifice the lives of all men. But of what value are the lives of all men compared with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is a sacrifice of infinite value? What are all men before God but a little dust? . . . Thus, by the celebration of a single Mass, in which he offers Jesus Christ in sacrifice, a priest gives greater honor to the Lord, than if all men by dying for God offered to him the sacrifice of their lives. By a single Mass, he gives greater honor to God than all the angels and saints, along with the Blessed Virgin Mary have given or shall give to him; for their worship cannot be of infinite value, like that which the priest celebrating on the altar offers to God. (pp. 24-25))

(WHG-In justification of the assumption that the sacrifice of the Mass is superior to the Virgin Mary, de Liguori quotes St. Bernadine of Sienna as addressing Mary: "Holy Virgin, excuse me, for I speak not against thee: for the Lord has raised the priesthood above thee." Then he summarizes Bernadine's reasoning:

(The saint assigns the reason of the superiority of the priesthood over Mary; she conceived Jesus Christ only once; but by consecrating the Eucharist, the priest, as it were, conceives him as often as he wishes, so that if the person of the Redeemer had not yet been in the world, the priest, by pronouncing the words of consecration, would produce this great person of a Man-God. "0 wonderful dignity of the priests," cries out St. Augustine, "in their hands, as in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the Son of God becomes incarnate." Hence priests are called the parents of Jesus Christ: such is the title that St. Bernard gives them, for they are the active cause by which he is made to exist really in the consecrated Host.

Thus the priest may, in a certain manner, be called the creator of his Creator, since by saying the words of consecration, he creates, as it were, Jesus in the sacrament, by giving him a sacramental existence, and produces him as a victim to be offered to the eternal Father. As in creating the world it was sufficient for God to have said, Let it be made, and it was created - He spoke, and they were made, - so it is sufficient for the priest to say, "Hoc est corpus meum," and behold the bread is no longer bread, but the body of Jesus Christ. "The power of the priest," says St. Bernadine of Sienna, "is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread requires as much power as the creation of the world." And St. Augustine has written, "0 venerable sanctity of the hands! 0 happy function of the priest! He that created (if I may say so) gave me the power to create him; and he that created me is himself created by me!" As the Word of God created heaven and earth, so, says St. Jerome, the words of the priest create Jesus Christ. (pp. 32-33).)

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Do you understand now? Do you see how insane it is to believe as they believe? Man believing they can CREATE GOD?! It's truly deluded thinking, deluded believing and so many believe this to be real! 

When I partake of the Lord's Supper- I know by the power of the Holy Spirit, my actions by eating the bread and drinking the wine, are symbolic IN REMEMBRANCE of Christ's ultimate sacrifice for me. I must seek forgiveness, repenting before I eat and drink in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice, comprehending that HE died to offer me SALVATION. His ministry was all about repenting, being baptized and living newly born spiritually unto Him. And we have to constantly seek to repent, to ask for forgiveness, to believe we are saved by the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Jesus did NOT want us to forget, Jesus wanted to institute a new rite to commemorate His sacrifice and He did so very plainly telling us this--

Luk 22:17  And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:

Luk 22:18  For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

Luk 22:19  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Luk 22:20  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

This do in REMEMBRANCE of ME.

And by His own words He said- 'I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come.'  THE FRUIT OF THE VINE- Jesus comprehended it was WINE -NOT REAL BlOOD that they were drinking! He was giving them SPIRITUAL SYMBOLS, not making them drink real blood and eat real flesh.

The false doctrines of many churches, not just the Catholic, are numerous and by the grace of God may we NOT be caught up in their deception so that we think we are doing God's will, but we are really do the will of Satan.

Save us LORD, protect us, keep us from evil all by YOUR POWER!

In the name of our Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Amen.