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Cultivate Ministries Newsletter
August 2008

P.O. Box 526
Florissant, CO 80816
Phone 719-630-1222

www.cultivateministries.org

Greetings in Jesus!

Let me start out as I must by saying how deeply I appreciate those of you who help keep this ministry going through your prayers and support. Really!

Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

I know what you're thinking... but Jim, we're not under the Law. We're under grace! We're saved by grace alone, through faith alone!

Of course we are! Don't worry, I'm not getting legalistic here. Just want to point out the bigger picture on something. Bible prophecy teaches us there will be a great falling away in the last days. Have you seen this happening? Today, 80 to 90 % of those who make a decision for Christ fall away from fellowship with other Christians within the first year. In fact, many go back to just the way they were before they got saved. I would use the word "backslide" as many Christians do, but the word is found nowhere in the New Testament. Let's just say, 80-90% of those seeds that were sown fell either on stony ground or amongst thistles. They never bore fruit.

Question: so what's wrong with the Gospel? Well of course, nothing! That is unless we're not preaching all of it. Let's see how Jesus did it.

In Mark 10:17, there's this man who comes running up to Jesus, gets on his knees and asks, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" When was the last time you had someone run up to you like this?

Anyway, it's interesting how Jesus dealt with the situation. First, let's look at what Jesus didn't say. He didn't say, "well, my friend, you have a God-shaped hole in your heart that only I can fill. Now in a while I'm going to die on a cross for your sins, so if you'll just bow your head and close your eyes, and ask me to come into your heart, I'll forgive your sins and make your life happy and prosperous, and you'll go to heaven when you die."

No, Jesus dealt with this altogether differently. The first thing Jesus did was ask him a question. "Why do you call me good? There is no one good but One, and that is God." He was correcting this man's understanding of what "good" was. And then he pointed him to some of the Ten Commandments. He told him "You know the Commandments, Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not murder, honor your father and your mother. " And the man said to Jesus that he kept all those Commandments since his youth. And then Jesus pointed him to the essence of the First and Second Commandments and told him "there's one thing you still lack. Go and sell all you have and give to the poor. Then you'll have treasure in Heaven. Then come follow me." Jesus pointed out to this man that his god was his money and possessions. And sure enough, the man went away very sad.

Now what was Jesus doing? This surely isn't the salvation message we hear preached today. Jesus didn't talk to him about love or grace at all. Maybe Jesus hadn't taken the friendship evangelism course.

What Jesus did here was to put into practice a principle that was extremely effective and necessary to prepare the heart of an unrepentant sinner to the whole gospel. This is a principle that's been used by men of faith down through the ages, like Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, John Wesley, Luther, and George Whitefield, and it's so powerful once you understand and apply it.

Why do we not see this practiced today? Could it be that the god of this world, Satan, has gotten way with something here? Could this be Hell's Best Kept Secret?

In Psalm 19:7, it says the Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. What's perfect and converts the soul? The Law of the Lord! Most people don't believe they've broken any of God's laws. They need to have these pointed out to them. Many don't realize they need to be saved because they're still trusting that if their "good" is better than their "bad", things will weigh out in the long run and they'll go to heaven.

Example: If you're trying to witness to someone and you come right out and say you have good news for him and the good news is that Jesus died for his sins, it's going to sound like foolishness to him. And he's going to be defensive because you're implying that he's a sinful, bad person. The Bible teaches this. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that are perishing. As far as this person is thinking, there's many people far worse than he is, so he should be okay. But if you take the time to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and open up the divine Law, the Ten Commandments, and then show him precisely what he's done wrong first, that he's actually angered God by violating His Law, then when he becomes convinced that he is guilty of breaking God's Law and is a transgressor, then and only then can the good news of a way of being forgiven by grace not sound foolish to him. It won't be offensive at all! It will be the power of God unto Salvation! Make sense?

Now with that thought in mind, let's take a look at Romans 3:19: "Now we know that what things so ever the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." So this is one function of God's Law, to stop the mouths of sinners trying to justify themselves, stop the mouth of a person saying, "I'm a good person," and leave them and all others guilty before God.

Next verse: "Therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin."

1John 3:4 tells us "sin is transgression of the Law". This is the Biblical definition of sin! Romans 7:7 says, " I had not known sin but by the Law."

So why aren't we using the Law? The Ten Commandments? What Paul was saying here was "I wouldn't have even known what sin is except what the Law had told me." In Galatians 3:24 it says, "Wherefore the Law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Guess what! Nothing has changed!

The Law is still the schoolteacher to bring people to salvation through Jesus Christ. We must first convince people that they have broken God's Law before they can get saved. Because of the watered-down, incomplete Gospel being preached in this late hour we are seeing so few saved, and those that go through this shallow experience of being saved may not have really gotten saved at all. Only God knows!

You see, the Law doesn't help people, it only leaves them helpless. The Law doesn't justify us, the Law just leaves us guilty, which is exactly what's needed! We are not saved by the Law, we are saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone. In Christ alone. The Law is like a mirror that shows how filthy and dirty we are before the Lord, so we will go and wash through the faith in Jesus Christ.

The tragedy of what I call "modern evangelism" started taking place around the turn of the last century, about the same time most cults under the name "Christianity" started showing up. For some reason, the Law was no longer being connected to grace and salvation. We stopped preaching the Law, and therefore a false gospel came into place. Modern evangelism found another way to get sinners to respond to the gospel.

Here's what they chose - the promise of life-enhancement. The gospel degenerated into "Jesus Christ will give you love, joy, peace, happiness, and lasting fulfillment." But that's not what Jesus promised. What did Jesus would tell us would happen to us? Temptation, trials and persecution. There are also those who trust in their riches. The bible tells us that riches are worthless on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

No one has a righteousness of their own. But this needs to be pointed out first.

Let's say I come up to you, and I tell you that you are dying of a rare disease. But I tell you not to worry, because I've sold my house and bought you this very expensive medicine. I give you the bottle and say, "Because I love you I did this for you." You probably think I was crazy! You don't recognize you have any disease at all! Why would you appreciate the bottle of medicine? You wouldn't!

But if I came to you and said, "I think I see the same symptoms as a friend of mine had, which killed him." I convince you to go see the doctor,. As soon as you enter his office, he, too, sees some dangerous symptoms and wants to run some tests. You agree. The next day the doctor calls you and says, " after running every test needed, sure enough, you do have this rare disease, and unless you can come up with $200,000 for the medicine, you'll be dead in less than a week".

Now if I come to you and tell you I've sold my house and bought the medicine because I love you and I give it to you, only then would you appreciate it. You're not going to despise my sacrifice, you would thank me, and you would take it and you would appreciate it with great thanksgiving!

Sadly, we have preached the cure without first convincing people of the disease. We've preached a gospel of grace without first convincing people through the Law that they're transgressors and as a result there's millions of people in this country who've got this watered down gospel, and therefore the seed was never planted in good soil, so it it either dried up and died or was choked with thistles and died.

1 Timothy 1:8 says this: "But we know that the Law is good, if a man use it lawfully". Now if the Law is used unlawfully, that's bad because it can turn into legalism. This is what happens in many cults, and now also in many Christian churches as well. So what was the Law designed for? The following verse tell us " The Law was not made for righteous man but for lawless and disobedient." Sinners. It even lists the sinners – the ungodly, the unholy, adulterers, perverts, murderers, liars.

Look, if we're going to lead an atheist to Christ, we have to have a knowledge of the issues. But we don't need to get stuck in intellectual arguments with him because even if we win the argument intellectually, he still must surrender his heart the the Lord of the Universe.

What we need to do is give him the Ten Commandments, and take that 2-edged sword of the Word of God, and plunge it into his heart and let his own conscience bleed him of his false notion that he's a good person, so he sees his need of God's forgiveness.

If you want to lead a Jew to Christ, lay the Law on him. If you want to lead a Muslim to Christ, give him the Law of Moses. They accept Moses as a prophet. The Ten Commandments - the Law - works on anyone. Think of the woman caught in the act of adultery. Violation of the 7th Commandment. The Law called for her blood. She found herself between a rock and a hard place. She had nowhere to turn but to throw herself at the feet of Jesus for mercy. And that's exactly what the Law does! It condemns!

Now you might be thinking, well, Jim, you can't just go around condemning people. The truth is, they're condemned already. John 3:18 says "he that does not believe is condemned already".

Let's say you wake up in the morning and you realize your table needs dusting so you clean it. There's no more dust. But then, you draw back the curtain and let the morning sunlight in. What do you see on the table? Dust! What do you see in the air? Dust! Did the light cause the dust? No, it merely exposed the dust. We just need to draw back the curtains and let the light of God's Law shine on a person's heart, and he will see himself for what he is.

The Bible says the commandment is a lamp and the Law is light. That's why Paul said, by the Law is the knowledge of sin. That's why he said by the commandment, sin became exceedingly sinful. We need to use the Ten Commandments!

Try this sometime. You're talking to someone you want to see saved. Ask them, "Do you think you're a pretty good person?" They'll probably say something like, "Yeah, I suppose so, I haven't killed anyone."

Then ask them, "Do you keep the Ten Commandments?" After they answer, then ask, "Have you ever told a lie?" If they're honest at all, they're going to say yes. It might take a little prompting, "You know, even a little white lie to keep from hurting someone."

After they admit they've lied, ask them, "What does that make you?" The obvious answer is "a liar".

After this is established ask them, have you ever stolen anything? If they say no, remind them they've just admitted they're a liar. Then say, "You know, something small, cheated on your taxes, anything ever." They'll probably admit they have stolen something before. Then ask them, and this really works well with a guy, have you ever committed adultery? If he says no, remind him that Jesus said that if a man lusts over a woman in his heart he's already committed adultery. Every man has done this, so he'll have to admit to it.

"So by your own admission you've told me you're a lying thieving adulterer, and that's only three of the Commandments! You still have 7 looking at you!"

Then ask, "If you died tomorrow, where do you think you'd go, heaven or hell?" They'll probably say heaven. Ask why. They'll probably say, "Because God is forgiving, so he'll let me into heaven." Then bring up our civil court. Tell them, "You've been arrested, you're before a judge, and you've been caught and convicted of lying, stealing, and adultery. This is a just judge. Do you think he's just going to let you go? The evidence is on your head!"

Or you can use the first and great commandment, to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. So much that your love for your mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, your family, even your own life, is to be like hatred compared to your love and devotion for God. Can you see how the Law of God convicts?

If you'd like to really see how using the Ten Commandments is the only way to correctly and scripturally reach people for Christ, I suggest you see the new DVD entitled Hell's Best Kept Secret by Kirk Cameron. You might remember Kirk best as Mike Seaver on the the TV show Growing Pains. Kirk had some growing pains of his own and got radically saved, and is now leading multitudes of people to Christ. And yes, he uses the Ten Commandments to do it. It's available for a gift of any amount this month.

Aspartame: The Sweet Poison…

How many people do you know who have one or more of the following problems – fibromyalgia, lupus, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, brain cancer, diabetes, depression, poor equilibrium, mood changes, severe menstrual cramps or menstrual changes, vision problems, diarrhea, seizures, short term memory loss – what was that? Short term memory loss, chronic fatigue, weakness, sleeping problems, hives, changes in heart rate, itching, numbness, local swelling, difficulty in breathing, headaches.

There are actually over 90 different symptoms all stemming from one poison out there that millions of Americans are taking into their bodies every single day. I'm talking about aspartame. Now, aspartame has only been around since 1983, but now it's used as a sugar substitute in almost every diet drink and in many other things. So if aspartame is all that bad, then why is it still on the market, and how did it get past the FDA (Food & Drug Administration)? Could there be a New World Order tie here?

There is a plan to reduce the population of this planet to only 20% of what it is now.

It is interesting that brain cancer has grown by leaps and bounds since 1983 when aspartame was introduced. In 1984,6,900,000 pounds of aspartame were consumed by Americans, This rate more than doubled by 1986 to 14,400,000 pounds, and continued to climb through the '90s. It was fully marketed for soft drinks by July – August 1983. Six months later, in early 1984, the brain tumor rate jumped 10% in the United States, diabetes jumped 30%, and brain lymphoma jumped 60%! In the FDA's own publications, by 1988 80% of complaints about food additives that were volunteered to the FDA had to do with aspartame products. OVER 80%!!

Aspartame affects protein synthesis and DNA. The toxin slowly accumulates in the body, and is especially bad in conjunction with carbohydrates. It decreases the availability of tryptophan, a major building block for serotonin, which is very important for a variety of functions.

Now some people who have taken NutraSweet say it doesn't affect them at all. They are more resistant to the more toxic effects at first. But they are still receiving these toxins, and in time will produce obvious diseases as well.

Some people can be expected to break out in a rash or have a headache the first time they take aspartame. But others who have taken it long-term eventually have high levels of toxicity and come down with major problems. A majority of people at first will have one of a number of symptoms. Because aspartame is a poison that affects protein synthesis, because it affects how the synapses operate in the brain, and because it affects DNA, aspartame can affect numerous organs so you can get a lot of different symptoms that seem unconnected.

Looking at the list of symptoms submitted to the FDA, most of them were neurological or in some way connected to the nervous system. Many people have a problem thinking. They feel like they're walking around in a cloud or a fog. It's a sub chronic level. It's not like you go out and drink a bottle of methanol (wood-grain alcohol). What happens is a slow accumulation of toxins within the body that start to disrupt the normal activity of the brain and the systems that are controlled by the brain itself. All kinds of symptoms can occur with aspartame, so you need to look at the chemistry. But without getting too technical, it clearly has an impact on what are called biogenic amines. These are neurotransmitters in the brain. We've known for a long time that when you take in a lot of aspartame in conjunction with carbohydrates, you will decrease the availability of l-tryptophan which is the building block for serotonin, a very important neurotransmitter needed for mood regulation in a variety of functions.

Aspartame is a chemical, it is not a natural product. 50% of the aspartame molecule breaks down into phenylalanine. 40% breaks down into aspartic acid. The other 10% becomes free methyl alcohol, or methanol, or wood alcohol, which is poison – a REAL POISON.

Aspartame goes under other names, such as Equal and NutraSweet. Multitudes are putting this into coffee, tea, and other foods to replace sugar – thinking to prevent diabetes when they are actually getting diabetes even faster by using it.

It's in sugar-free KoolAid, and Crystal Light, and generic brands of the same. People are losing eyesight and limbs because of this, and also their vocal cords, short term memory. Slurring of speech can occur.

The good news is that many, after getting off of aspartame, recover quickly. Some within 24 hours. They lost many of the symptoms.

However, many who had gotten off of aspartame later backslid and tried it again. Most had many of the symptoms all over again - oftentimes within minutes or hours. Many have tested themselves, 5, 10, 15 times, again and again, and almost all experience the same symptoms over and over. A definite cause and effect!

But then there's also been many who got off of aspartame and stayed off, who later learned the long term effects gave them long term problems – some irreversible. When the body metabolizes - breaks down - aspartame, you end up with a small amount of methanol which is wood alcohol, that in turn is broken down into formaldehyde, and you cannot get rid of it. The body stores this. Very toxic! Formaldehyde is embalming fluid - it's okay for dead people but not for the living!

So how is aspartame legally accepted as a food additive? The FDA which is supposed to be the watchdog of American safety, whom we have empowered to protect the American public against dangerous food additives and drugs, has repeatedly reviewed all of the data which has been forthcoming from hundreds of studies about aspartame. After fully knowing what this poison would do to the American public, they approved it anyway. One of the first studies back in 1970 was a 52-week study with monkeys. Seven monkeys were fed aspartame with milk, which acts as a buffer, just as buffered aspirin works with people to help the stomach deal with aspirin. Even with this buffer of milk, 5 of the monkeys had seizures and one died!

Now it's not all the FDA's fault. There's the FDA, and there's the policy people. These policy people can overrule the FDA. Who are these policy people? And is there big business involved? The plot thickens, but basically the FDA hired the owner of a fox to guard the henhouse.

The common denominator in all of this of course is money, which buys people, politics, and deception.

You just read this article, and you must know someone who is using aspartame. But it is hard to convince many without the proper tool. We now have a DVD available, entitled Aspartame the Sweet Poison. If you'd like a copy it's available this month for a gift of any amount.

Is there a sweetener on the market that does not hurt you? Yes! They have been trying to get this product passed by the FDA for years, and the FDA has over and over refused them. This should tell you it is safe for the body!

The product is called Stevia. It's the leaves of a plant. It grows in South and Central America, and can be found in some grocery stores and in almost all health food stores. Be sure to tell your friends about it!

The History of American Education…

It’s summertime but soon the kids will be going back to schools and, as usual, as lambs to the slaughter. Maybe you know someone who has kids soon to go back to school and you know the importance of how much better it is to have them home schooled. Maybe, it’s your kids. People come up with all kinds of excuses as to why they can’t get their kids out of the schools. It’s against the Law… Hogwash! It’s not! I’m too busy to home school. 2.5 hours of home schooling equals all day in the public school. And they not only learn much more, but are not subject to New World Order teachings. I can’t afford it. You can’t afford not to. How much are your children worth to you? I don’t feel qualified. God feels you’re qualified. That’s why He gave them to you. Plus, today you can obtain all kinds of Christian materials for home schooling. Much of it is free off of the internet! Maybe you need more information. Recently, I aired the audio portion of a DVD entitled: The History of American Education. It’s a Christian film. If you’d like a copy, it’s available for a gift of any amount this month.

Catholics and Christians: What’s the Difference?

Well to start off, Christians have the assurance of their salvation and Catholics can only hope they will not have to spend too much time in purgatory paying off their sins. Way too many Christians won’t even try to lead a Catholic into salvation either because they think they’re already saved or because they don’t want to offend them. Or sometimes both. Recently, I aired something that shows the vast differences between the two. It’s the audio portion of the DVD entitled: Catholics and Evangelicals: How Different Are We? by ex- Catholic Mike Gendron. If you’d like a copy of this DVD, it’s available for a gift of any amount this month.

Truth Rising…

Well, it looks like Alex Jones did it again! A new film! Did you know that New York City is in a police state? That common Americans are being stopped and searched as terrorists? Even if they’re riding their bicycle down the street? Did you know that multitudes of firemen and other rescue workers from the 9-11 event have either already died from toxic dust or are dying, yet they are being denied medical help? This film exposes such New World Order leaders as David Rockefeller, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Alan Greenspan, John McCain, and many others as they are actually confronted! It also includes interviews with Jesse Ventura, Martin Sheen, and Willie Nelson - who came right out and stated he was in Las Vegas during a building implosion as well as in New York City during the 9-11 event and saw no differences between these implosions! Truth is rising, exposing the New World Order. If you’d like a copy of this new DVD, Truth Rising, It’s available for a gift of any amount this month.

As usual, do feel free to make copies of anything offered here and share with others in this late hour!

COMPASS INTERNATIONAL… NEW CONFERENCE!

It’s coming up on September 13th at the Colorado Community Church located at 3651 South Colorado Blvd. Englewood, CO 80113.

Call today for more information and reservations!

1-800-977-2177 or go to www.compass.org

Ending Note and Prayer Request…

For years now, I have had other radio stations wanting to get the Cultivate broadcast on, but time after time I have had to turn them down due to a lack of finances. Recently, I was contacted by another program director, Doug Martin, who used to be the station manager of KKIM in Albuquerque, NM years ago who also wants the Cultivate broadcast on two of their stations in Arizona. The main one is in Tucson. This was a situation of two stations for the price of one. After researching their current programming, I saw the need for this ministry in that area so I agreed. The first broadcast begins on August 4th with Hell’s Best Kept Secret with Kirk Cameron. Now logically, this seemed illogical to me to do this at a time shortly before what looks like a coming financial collapse of this nation. After all, how am I going to pay for this? So my prayer request is this… Please pray the finances come in. Please pray for my health and that I will be able to continue with an uncompromising stand. Right up to the time of our blessed hope, the rapture of the Church which cannot be that far off now. Thank you ever so much!

 

 

Yours because His:
Jim

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