Repent and Believe Podcast w/ Cynthia Smalls

Glory be to God!

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: How easily people are deceived in these last days! And if the sleeping religious church folk don't wake up and repent, they gonna perish! It's like, one moment they’re serving God, and the next moment, they’re walking away from Jesus! The enemy sweeps them into his arms of deceit! Because the True Church of Jesus Christ, the ecclesia, the called out ones, oh, we are wide awake and awaiting for our Bridegroom! We are not, by Holy Spirit and God's grace, "tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything for personal profit!" Study Ephesians 4:17. We are like the five wise virgins who kept oil in their lamps and were ready to go when the Bridegroom arrives!

DON'T BE SEDUCED OUT OF YOUR SALVATION BY THE DEVIL! WE ARE WARNED:

💥 "But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning]" (1 Timothy 4).

Beloved, living in gross spiritual darkness is not normal! From Genesis to Revelation, living in gross darkness will put you on the fast track to a burning , as you await Final Judgment! People Are Easily Deceived! The Bible warns of the seducing spirits in these latter times. In insidious ways, seducing spirits disguise themselves, they reveal the will of the devil, making people think it’s the will of God!! Seducing devils tell half-truths to seduce and they influence people they’ve seduced, to tell other people half-truths!

To seduce is to persuade one to disloyalty. Demons persuade people to be disloyal when it comes to the truth, to God, to His Spirit, His love, His grace. Seducing spirits work through people. Just as the Holy Spirit works for good through people, seducing spirits work for destruction through people! Be careful; people can seduce you without you realizing what is happening to you. Guard what goes into your ears, what you hear. Listen to the truth; listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying and turn away from anything against the Spirit whether it’s on television, radio, or coming out of a person’s mouth!!

Beloved, TEST EVERY SPIRIT, so we can discern these wolves in sheep's clothing! Why? For, "They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them" (1 John 4:5).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: Discerning the times when the days are evil. Also discussing the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how we can increase our spiritual discernment/awareness because these days are dark; and wickedness and evil and sin are abounding more and more with each passing day "by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit]" (study Ephesians 4)! That is why we must stay in the Word of God, gleaning and learning from Holy Spirit and not grieve Him while in sanctification - to make the story short...keeping ourselves out of willful, deliberate, blatant, habitual, perpetual sin, as not to become "children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine" (v. 14).

Jesus rebuked His generation for not discerning the times; and Paul admonishes us to know the times in Romans 13:11-14. "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

**God bless you Sister Toya Cook, I misspoke your name in the podcast, my apologies 🥰! Love you sis thank you for tuning in! Glory be to God!

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: THERE IS NO REVIVAL WITHOUT REPENTANCE! As children of God, we must have biblical spiritual discernment so that we are not carried away by every wind of shifting doctrine, especially as we see what's going on at Asbury University in Kentucky, USA, about a "Revival" taking place that is being labeled as a "Move of God!" We need to discern if this is, in fact, a Holy Spirit-willed revival. Because, the Bible does not speak of a revival when the people are still in blatant willful sin (study 1 Chronicles 7:14)! But it does talk about dark perilous times ahead in 2 Timothy 3:1, "But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come." Not to mention, the great falling away/apostasy, the Great rebellion as recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 happening right before Jesus returns! Many professing Christians are being deceived by man-driven "revivals" without exercising any spiritual discernment, AT ALL! How much more will they be deceived when the Antichrist shows up and they believe it is Jesus because of Satan's enacted signs and wonders?!

Discernment is the ability to properly discriminate or make determinations. It is related to wisdom. As followers of Jesus, we know that God is the ultimate "fact checker!" God gave us the Bible to explain ultimate truth and righteousness. We need to spend time in it regularly and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom we need to navigate the vast array of voices in our day and know which are of God and which are of the devil! Proverbs 3:13 says, “Blessed is the one who has found wisdom, and the one who obtains understanding.”

Let us all exercise the wisdom that God gives us through His Holy Spirit "So that we are no longer children [spiritually immature], tossed back and forth [like ships on a stormy sea] and carried about by every wind of [shifting] doctrine, by the cunning and trickery of [unscrupulous] men, by the deceitful scheming of people ready to do anything [for personal profit]" (Ephesians 4).

💥 Hebrews 5:14 "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: there's help for the condemning heart! Our God is merciful and gracious and He forgives us when we sin! God's plan for salvation was manifested in human form. The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and died, but He rose again on the third day, conquering sin and death and opening the way to eternal life for all who would believe in Him!

Beloved, I am here today to encourage you to stop condemning yourself if you have sinned! Rather go to Jesus in sincere repentance and let Him cleanse you and going forward, walk in obedience! We do not live a life that is characterized by sin, but when we miss the mark, we do have an Advocate in Heaven and He is not looking to condemn His children, but to give us more grace to walk out our sanctification process! We don't get it all right on the first day of being saved, but we walk in the newness of life! We have been given His Holy Spirit to sanctify us, to keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life, and to glorify Jesus!

So stop beating yourself up, go to God and continue to be righteous in His sight and work out your own salvation! Be encouraged!

If you're going through a period of doubting whether God can really forgive you for a sin that you're incredibly ashamed of, let these Bible verses refresh your memory of the nature of His forgiveness and how accessible it is to each and every one of us:

Psalm 32:1-2 - Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

Isaiah 1:18 - "Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Corinthians 5:18-19 - All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Isaiah 43:25 - I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Be encouraged!

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort today's message of Luke 3:8-9 succinctly: "8 Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]"... 9 "Even now the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.”

💥 Parable of the Fig Tree - Luke 13

6 "Then He began telling them this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find any; 7 so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground [depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight]?’ 8 But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, [just] one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.’” Amen!

The lesson for the individual is that borrowed time is not permanent! God’s patience has a limit. In the above parable, the vineyard owner grants another year of life to the tree. In the same way, God in His mercy grants us another day, another hour, another breath. Christ stands at the door of each man’s heart knocking and seeking to gain entrance and requiring repentance from sin. But if there is no fruit, no repentance, His patience will come to an end, and the fruitless, unrepentant individual will be cut down. We all live on borrowed time; judgment is near.

That is why the prophet Isaiah wrote, "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

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💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: How Do We Resist Sin in this PRESENT EVIL AGE? As children of the Most High God, we are eternally blessed to have His Word on the matter: "6 But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].” 7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. 9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose]" (James 4).

This is exactly how we live in this present evil age, pressing evermore into our Savior, Jesus Christ, who willingly went to the cross on our behalf, dying for our sins and rose the 3rd day! With contrite hearts, we live humble repentant changed lives that represent our appreciation and gratitude for our salvation! Verse 6 in the above text, is the epitome of the born-again, Spirit-filled life of every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ!

There are two times in the Gospels when Jesus tells people to “go and sin no more.” One is after He healed the man by the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:14) and the other is after He rescued the woman caught in adultery from getting stoned to death (John 8:11). The Bible describes sin as something that must be fought, fled from, and confessed and repented of. As the Spirit works in our lives, we experience grace and become convicted of sin. Jesus calls us to “repent and believe in the gospel” in order that we may turn away from our sin and turn to God for forgiveness (Mark 2:15). As David writes in Psalm 51:3, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” Sin is not something we can hide from God, but should be confessed regularly to other believers and to our Heavenly Father (James 5:16). As we turn from sin and put our faith in the gospel, the joy of our salvation is restored (Psalm 51:12)!

We fight sin through the power of God’s Word. Both applying the Scriptures to our lives daily and clinging to them as we take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5, Ephesians 6:10-20). We discipline ourselves to study the Bible with diligence and fight against temptation as Jesus did in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). Not in order to puff ourselves up with more biblical facts but for a greater experience of grace and truth, and to grow in the knowledge and love of God (John 1:1-14)!

Sin is with us as a constant in the world, but God’s voice is within us. And because He is love, this daily quest to turn and repent of sin is a lifelong renewing. It’s an ongoing relationship, offered by the One who reconciles with our heavenly Father. The Word of God tells us, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Follow me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: God took out His wrath on Christ instead of on sinners. Now anyone who places his faith and trust in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour from sin, will receive the forgiveness of sins, and the wrath of God will never again come down upon that one because Christ bore God's wrath on that believer's behalf. Why? Because Christ satisfied the holy, righteous demands of God against sin. Now, through the death of Christ, a holy God and sinful men can meet (be reconciled) and God can have fellowship with men.

Never let us forget, God’s wrath comes from His holy character and is thus a just anger. His wrath is a response to ungodly or unrighteous actions. God’s wrath is His reply to violations of His law and the denial of His Lordship. Rejecting God as Redeemer and Creator, brings about His divine wrath! In both testaments, the teaching of Scripture is clear that God is justly angry at sin and evil. That He expresses His wrath against sin and sinners is also the consistent teaching of the Bible. Believers are those who do not have the wrath of God abiding on them, and the reason is because Jesus took that wrath on the cross, He absorbed the curse. This is PROPITIATION; not only the forgiveness of sin, but forgiveness because God’s wrath is satisfied. The close link between sin and God’s wrath, demonstrates that when God forgives sin, it is because of an offering that satisfies His just wrath against sin. To deny this is part of propitiation, is to go against the witness of both testaments.

The whole counsel of God includes some things that are difficult to hear—the fact that we are dead in sin and deserving of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:1–3) coupled with the fact that we cannot save ourselves through works of the Law (Ephesians 2:8–9)! The gospel is a call to REPENTANCE and FAITH. Believers will face persecution (John 16:33) and likely be considered foolish because of the great Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! But none of these things can dissuade us from preaching it anyway!! This is why both the Father and the Son calls men everywhere to repent: FOR A DAY OF JUDGMENT HAS BEEN SET AND CHRIST JESUS HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS THE JUDGE TO JUDGE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS THE INHABITED WORLD! (Study Acts 17:30-31, Luke 13:1-9).

So, in response to today's topic, Would a loving God justly pour out His wrath on the wicked? The answer is: ABSOLUTELY YES! Listen, the greatest expression of God’s love is communicated to us in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 5:8 proclaims the same message: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We can see from these verses that it is God’s greatest desire that we join Him in His eternal home, Heaven. He has made the way possible by paying the price for our sins. He loves us because He chose to as an act of His will. Love forgives. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God’s love is in no sense in conflict with His holiness, righteousness, justice, or even His wrath. ALL OF God’s attributes are in PERFECT HARMONY. Everything God does is loving, just as everything He does is just and right. God is the perfect example of true love. Amazingly, God has given those who receive His Son Jesus as their personal Savior, the ability to love as He does, through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1, 23-24). Salvation comes through repentance and we live lives in appreciation of what our Savior has done for us: SATISFYING GOD'S WRATH SO WE DON'T END UP IN A BURNING LAKE FOR ETERNITY! THAT'S LOVE AND JUSTICE!!

Amen!

Glory be to God!

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Follow me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I exhort: Take Your Salvation SERIOUSLY! Scripture is unanimous: born-again sons and daughters of the Most High God, have a moral obligation to conduct and live our lives as Christ lived when He walked this Earth: in OBEDIENCE to the Father, as "the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him" (study Luke 3:22).

Beloved, let us be uber, super, clear that as children of God, washed and forgiven by the shed blood of Jesus, who died for our sins on the cross and rose the third day, sealed by His Holy Spirit, we walk in the "newness of life!" We live changed lives now that we are in Christ Jesus! No longer do we practice sin as a lifestyle! We put away all worldliness, lust, and evil desires! We long to please our heavenly Father! Christ has promised that the man who endures until the end (whether we go by the way of the grave or His return) shall be saved (study Matthew 24:13), He will give us eternal life!! Scripture says, "Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. 3 For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3).

Therefore, "We have an obligation, but not to our flesh [our human nature, our worldliness, our sinful capacity], to live according to the [impulses of the] flesh [our nature without the Holy Spirit]— 13 for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever. 14 For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8). BE SET FREE! SIN IS NO LONGER YOUR MASTER! WE FOLLOW, LISTEN, AND OBEY JESUS CHRIST!

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Follow me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I discuss: We can't play games with our salvation as we see the Day of Christ's return fastly approaching! When the bible says be separate from the world, what does that mean to you? How are you any different than all the people you are around?

I open up the podcast sharing a post from a brother in Christ who asks the Christian some poignant questions about the validity of their faith. Because it looks like they are still part and parcel of the "world," but are claiming the Name. As you will hear, every battle cry of the backsliding believer who wants this world and Jesus too when they lament in self-deception, "who are you to judge me?" "You're not showing love!" "You don't sound like a Christian!"

We will also be taking a look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 as well as Romans chapters 1 and 2. The Bible tells us to avoid people who are:

"lovers of self [narcissistic, self-focused], lovers of money [impelled by greed], boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane, 3 [and they will be] unloving [devoid of natural human affection, calloused and inhumane], irreconcilable, malicious gossips, devoid of self-control [intemperate, immoral], brutal, haters of good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of [sensual] pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [outward] godliness (religion), although they have denied its power [for their conduct nullifies their claim of faith]. Avoid such people and keep far away from them." (2 Tim. 3).

The Bible also sets us straight about judging reprobates if we too are in sin, for who are we to judge: "Therefore you have no excuse or justification, everyone of you who [hypocritically] judges and condemns others; for in passing judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, because you who judge [from a position of arrogance or self-righteousness] are habitually practicing the very same things [which you denounce]." Romans 2:1.

Lest we forget: 6 "He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 7 He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. 8 But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness" (Romans 2).

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!

Glory be to God!

** 🙋🏾‍♀️ STAY TUNED UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS EPISODE! ** 🚩TUNE IN EVERY 2 TO 3 DAYS FOR NEW EPISODES! Follow me on Facebook under AuntCynthia Whitaker. 😊

💥 Join me today on the podcast (link below) as I read: A SOLILOQUY OF DEMONIC DOCTRINES! The devil knows his time is short (Revelation 20:10) and he is doing everything to take God's people down with him who refuses to study the Word of God for themselves! He is able to do this because when we don't know the truth of God's Word, we will be easily led by his ungodly teachings!

In today's episode, I read a soliloquy of demonic doctrines that Satan uses to manipulate and deceive masses to question the teachings of God! The Bible teaches us in Genesis 3:1-4 that, "...the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! "

Satan questioned the teaching of God, and, as they continued to talk, he substituted his own teaching for God’s. Satan has continued to use deception, doubt, and subtlety to lead people astray. Satan is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), and the doctrines taught by his demons through the agency of willing human accomplices, continue to separate people from God and His blessing to this day!

Satan knows how to manipulate the unlearned, and that is why the doctrines of demons are so effective. We can identify the doctrines of demons by immersing ourselves in the truth. We must read and study our Bibles. When we know what God says on any given subject, then any deviation from that teaching will send up a red flag. When we are in tune with God’s Word, aberrations from that keynote will ring hollow and off-key.

Amen! 🎯 REPENT and BELIEVE and TURN back to God!