Taskmasters

If you are familiar with my site, you will know that I started it 2 years and 9 months ago because I was asked to read a book called ‘Heaven is so Real’ by ministers I highly regarded. After reading it, the Holy Spirit led me to write an in-depth rebuttal to it that is now read by tens of thousands of people all over the world. This rebuttal proves that the book is not what it claims to be.

Here it is almost 3 years later and I am amazed of what God has turned this site into and how it has been able to cover the vast array of issues that people seek the answers to and the tough subjects that are covered. I am also thankful for the people I have been able to help by leading them to the truth of the deceptions of the book ‘Heaven is so Real’ that started the ball rolling. But I feel I have left a quite large stone unturned. I have come across countless people who have reported that they felt depression after reading the book ‘Heaven is so Real’ and many other so-called Christian books. I must apologize that I never really gave it much in-depth thought concerning this. Now that I have studied the matter, I would like to share what the Holy Spirit reveals from the Word of God. I believe the key lies in the following Scripture that concludes the Book of Revelation and the Bible. I also believe that these verses not only apply to the Book of Revelation, but the whole Bible:

• For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18, 19 NKJV)

I want to concentrate on those who add to the Gospel message because there is much more cunning involved, rather than the more obvious of those who try to skirt Jesus. I believe those who add can be likened to the taskmasters of old who put unnecessary burdens on people and depress their victims. Look at the followings Scriptures:

• Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage— in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. (Exodus 1:11, 14 NKJV)
• And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Exodus 3:7, 8 NKJV)
• “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. (Matthew 23:2, 4 NLT)

But look what the early Church decided upon:

• “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for (trouble or burden) the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.” (Acts 15:19-21 NLT)

The importance, Jesus taught us, lies in making sure that we are free of both sin and fear along with having a sound mind with abundant life and knowing the truth:

• Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:31-36 NLT)
• Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)
• The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)
• For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV)

But what happens is people are deceived by taskmasters when they are not firmly grounded in the Word of God. They are deceived whenever someone uses lots of Scripture and claims how much they love Jesus as is the case with ‘Heaven is so Real’ and Choo Thomas. I compare it to a sugar high. After consuming you get a rush, but somewhere down the line you get slammed and depressed.

Satan is the biggest taskmaster of all. Study carefully how he tried to lead Jesus astray in Matthew 4 by using Scripture and saying, “If you are the Son of God, do this and that.”

We must beware and protect ourself from any Christian labeled book, church or minister who adds to the Gospel. Beware especially of any church that not only promotes ‘Heaven is so Real’, but also promotes the book ‘Under Cover’ by John Bevere. This is a one-two punch. ‘Under Cover’ demands a harmful complete obedience to church leaders while ‘Heaven is so Real’ warns of the consequences of not adhering to this man-made gospel. You can find the rebuttals to both of these books under the ‘Index of Posts’ at the top of this site.

Probably the biggest area of abuse concerns financial contributions. That is because so many of the modern day churches have become more financial institutions than they are a church. Choo Thomas tells us that those who do not tithe will not make heaven. Her, like all taskmasters have ways of placing a fear into their victims that they may not make heaven if they do not contribute enough because they use the ploy ‘everything is for Jesus’. When in reality it comes down to the taskmaster’s vision that needs to be met and not that of our Lord’s. But look what Jesus said:

• But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. (Matthew 6:3, 4 NKJV)

Yes we are to most definitely support our local church financially, but it must stem from our love of Jesus, and not what any legalistic preaching or book burdens us with. Otherwise this puts us under a cruel taskmaster which is contrary to the Gospel:

• You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT)

Why does someone like Choo Thomas write a book like ‘Heaven is so Real’? Maybe it was like Ananias and Sapphira which could of been for recognition and attention so that people would think what great Christians they were:

• But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:1-4 NKJV)

Or in Choo Thomas’ case, it could of been so people could see how close she was to Jesus that He would write a book thru her. All this despite the fact it is adding to the Bible and salvation by grace. I guess the Bible just was not good enough. This is straight from her:

• Choo Thomas claims: “Heaven is so Real is our Lord Jesus’ end time book. He spent countless hours with me for this book. He only used my body to write this book. He wants all believers and unbelievers to read it and prepare for His coming. He told me, ‘My daughter, Choo Nam, I am your Lord, and I want to talk to you. You have been My special daughter for a long time.’ He said, He is letting people know what it takes to enter His Kingdom, through this book. Pastors, please read each and every page of this book very seriously for you and your loved ones and believe everything in this book, as it is written, and as you prepare for our Lord’s soon coming and also please promote this book.“

In conclusion:

Please do not confuse conviction with being under a taskmaster. The Holy Spirit uses conviction to get our attention to correct something amiss in our life after which we will feel restored joy in our life. Whereas, taskmasters place a burden on us that will eventually bring depression that will be hard to shake. Make no mistake, sin must be dealt with. It cannot be swept under the rug. There truly is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned. But, at the same time we can never become legalistic and add a list of requirements to the simple salvation message.

The best advice is to devour the Word of God and stick with that diet. This is what Jesus told Satan, the greatest taskmaster of all:

• “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:4 NKJV)

May you always come to the truth (only in Jesus) and ‘The Truth’ will set you free!

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