No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—I tell you if you tell people truth they will get offended. If you don’t tell people truth they will get offended. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. You just can’t please people. 

Listen, Christians must not forbear speaking the truth, for fear of offending others.… Jesus proclaimed truth more than any other person on the planet. He offended people, divided crowds, made people uptight, and enraged the masses more than any other person on the planet. His words always produced a strong reaction, and he always caused division. The message He proclaimed always provoked people, irritated people, challenged people, and offended people.

Know that proclaiming truth will always alienate people, always upset people, and always offend people. How can this not be the response? When we preach the gospel that Jesus and the disciples preached, we should expect to get the same reaction that Jesus and the disciples got. Jesus was crucified for his efforts, and the disciples were persecuted, jailed and killed. So how can we expect to get any less of a reception if we faithfully and fully proclaim the biblical gospel fearlessly and boldly as Jesus and his early followers did?

As He said to me, “It is not your job to make the message acceptable; it’s your job to make the truth available.” I’m here to tell you the truth, without stutter, stammer, apology, or equivocation no matter how uncomfortable that may be. God message was clear, “PREACH THE WORD! “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up they voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”[Isaiah 58:1]… reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine [2 Timothy 4:2].

Yeah some would say “if you preach like that, you might offend somebody.  It’s not “might”—you will offend somebody. You will upset somebody. They’ll call you harsh, they’ll call you narrow minded, arrogant, they’ll call you mean-spirited, and they’ll call you intolerant [John 15:21].  But Scripture is clear about how we are to respond when the very foundations of the Christian faith are under attack: our duty is to contend, not compromise.

You know on one occasion, after Jesus taught about how the Pharisees had abused God’s Word, His apostles came to him and said, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” [Matthew 15:11]. It is almost as if the apostles thought like many people today. They seemed to be indicating that because Jesus had offended the Pharisees, then He should stop teaching those ideas or change His message. Jesus, however, thought nothing of the sort. He knew that His message offended the Pharisees because of the hardness of their hearts, not because of the way the message was delivered. Jesus understood that the hearts of the Pharisees needed changing, not His message or even the way He delivered it. He responded to His apostles by saying, “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind” [Matthew 15:14]. Their offense was misplaced. They were blind to the truth. They should not have been offended at Jesus’ message. Jesus’ message was the truth that God had sent to set them free [John 8:32].

Man is a sinner and the more he is reminded of that disposition, the better are his chances of repenting and receiving Salvation. That is my goal in preaching and teaching the Word of God. I do not think about ‘Preaching Hard’ or ‘Preaching Soft’.  God gives me a message based on His Biblical truth and I deliver it to the listener the way He has blessed me to deliver it.

Unfaltering convictions: truth, the mission, and the calling given by God that is not altered by time, people, opinions, or circumstances.

“As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak” [1 King 22: 14].

“Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” [Acts 20:26-27]

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Don’t you see what the enemy is doing in your life?  He has you so bound up that you think that the way it is, is the way it will always be. The devil is a liar! Do yourself a favor and emancipate yourself from the devil. Understand that his mission is to kill, steal and destroy. He doesn’t care nothing about you! He wants to keep you bound, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually because He knows that if you ever realize the potential God has placed in you, and if you ever wake up from your slumber, you will turn this world upside down and he does not want that. But I say to Hell with the devil! Free yourself from the restraint, control, and power of him knowing that he is already a defeated foe. His legal authority was neutralized by the finished work of Christ on the cross [Colossians 2:15]. Take your stand and tell the devil to Hell with you!

You see, as a believer you need not fear Satan but realize and exercise the authority which God has given you over him. You have the right to use the authority of the name of Jesus to repel and drive Satan out of your territory and to break his grip over spiritual strongholds [2 Corinthians 10:4]. Just as Jesus and the early apostles did, command Satan to leave [Mark 16:17]. Have an Angela Bassett Moment: [Waiting to Exhale] and go certifiably nuts … “Get your shat, get your shat, and get out! Screw me for not leaving your behind sooner!” That’s right! Let him know that he has been given a pink slip and his termination date is on the calendar when he will once-and-for-all be cast down to the most intense of judgments [Revelation 20:10].

You see, Christ made a promise in the first sermon he ever preached that fulfilled the sacred revelation given to the Prophet Isaiah that He has come to open the prison door, release the captives and proclaim freedom in every corner of our lives. Christians should not be in bondage or captive to anything as Christ became the great rescuer of all those who are bound by the chains of captivity. Jesus comes to set you free today. And if you really want to be free, the devil that has had you locked up and shackled will have to lose you today by the power of Jesus Christ.

Decide today to deal the death blow to an enemy that has been plaguing your life, breathing down your neck, making your life miserable. Decide today to put something that has been over your head, under your feet. You and I never have to fall prey to the devil! If we can shut every door, close every window, and seal every place in our lives through which the enemy would try to access us, we can prevent him from getting into the middle of our affairs.

 I tell you, don’t give place to the devil [Ephesians 4:27]. Know that you have been given authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome ALL the power of the enemy… [Luke 10:19]. “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” [Galatians 5:1]. Trust in the truth of God’s Word. It is finished!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—That’s right! Your rejection of the gospel will be inexcusable. You have heard the gospel. Your unbelief is not out of ignorance, but out of rebellion against God and against His Word. I tell you, you are just like Israel, who knew the truth, but chose not to obey it. You are guilty before God just as Israel was and deserving of divine wrath. This is the essence of [Romans 1:18-32]. For God says, “All the daylong I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” [Romans 10:21]. It’s not that God just displays His truth in the heavens, it comes home. It’s received. We get it, but we suppress it, that’s why the apostle Paul said that every mouth will be shut on that day because there is no defense against this [Romans 3:19]. You know it, yet you suppress it. You are created in the image of God, yet you are ungodly. You have the law of God written on your heart, yet you are unrighteous.

“Woe to you Chorazin and Bethsaida, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you [Matthew 11:21-22] because to disobey God’s commands is a spiritual and eternal death. You see, the more evidence you have of Christ’s reality, the more severe your judgment for not repenting. Your doom will be more miserable than the pagans. I tell you it would have been better for you to have never known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to you.” There is no excuse for unbelief. There is never an excuse for unbelief!

When you stand before the judgment seat in the last day, God will not judge you on the basis of what you did not know but on the basis of what has been revealed to you. Just imagine standing before God and trying to make excuses for your stubborn disobedience of His Word. What will be your excuse? Have you not heard? Indeed you have [Romans 1:19-23]! For the righteousness of God has been revealed to everyone through nature [Psalms 19]. You have no excuse. Your conscience knows the righteousness of God as you see God in nature. You have “heard” of God’s righteousness. How dreadful it will be to be without excuse! [2 Thess. 1:7-9].  

The end of the matter: Fear God [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is] and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man [the full, original purpose of his creation, the object of God’s providence, the root of character, the foundation of all happiness, the adjustment to all inharmonious circumstances and conditions under the sun] and the whole [duty] for every man.

I tell you Paul certainly does not tell us what we want to hear, but rather what we need to hear. The Bible does not sugar coat the message, but tells it in a straightforward fashion. There is no fine print hidden at the end of the Bible. This truth is made known in large print at the beginning. I would remind you; this teaching is placed at the very beginning of the book of Romans. Paul does not hold back this news until the end because it is so unpalatable. Rather, he front-loads the subject of divine wrath at the very outset of the book of Romans. This mention of divine anger against sin is very direct, emphatic, and even abrupt. The apostle makes no apologies. There is no attempt to tone down this reality that threatens all who are without the gospel. This is the sheer, unvarnished truth from God coming through the pen of the apostle Paul.

^“But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lordthy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lordthy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it… [Deuteronomy 30:14-20]

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—“Are ye yet without understanding [Matthew 15:16-20]? Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Do you not know that if anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him? The temple of God is holy…. [1 Corinthians 3:16-17]. What an embarrassment to God and to the Church! What a disgrace to the Cross! Jesus Christ died not only for our soul and spirit, but also our body. Being involved in any act that defiles God’s temple attracts serious judgment of God. You better know that you know!

Justifying smoking Marijuana by saying, “but the “Doctor,” says it will cure my disease, and it do relieve my pain.” You dare not justify your unholiness or make excuses for it.  God commands, “Be ye holy!”What part of that do you not understand?And what happened to believing the Word of God that says, “By His Stripes You Are healed. Why want you just tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; you like getting high! You like the way Marijuana makes you feel. Talking ‘bout, it relieve your pain! Naw, what it does is numb your brain which causes you to think it relieves your pain.  Killer Bud!Don’t you know as Solomon said; it is difficult enough in life to resist Satan and keep God’s commandments when one has all of their wits about them. How much more do you think it is when you are all “K.G.B?”

“I tell you the most blatant form of sorcery in the book of Revelation is the multi-BILLION dollar pharmaceutical-medical industry, which just happens to be one of the biggest frauds being perpetrated today. And maybe you never thought of this, but you should know that drug use opens you up to spiritual attacks. There are specific demonic spirits associated with liquor and marijuana and cocaine and heroin, and opium, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, and any mixture of drugs, etc., and every time you use these substances, you could unknowingly be opening the doorway for these demonic spirits to come into your life. Leaving yourself wide open to demonic possession. How can God use you as a witness to others if you have no self-control, are setting a bad example to others, and are behaving just like the world? God’s Word tells us that for us to be used by God; we must be sober and avoid intoxicating substances. Substance abuse is dangerous and detrimental – physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually.  Why want you pass instead of puff!

Take the steps to cleanse yourself of all filthiness of the flesh that you may present yourself without spot or wrinkle before Jesus when he comes in glory. He is coming soon!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)—“Because warning comes before destruction and you have been warned, says the Lord!” 

I want you to know that when Noah and Lot warned their respective people of God’s coming judgment and destruction, the people would not listen. Instead they treated Noah and Lot as “extremists.” Then the destruction that did come found the people unprepared.  As in the days of Noah and Lot, the soon return of the Lord will be a snare unto the people who do not heed the warning and give their lives to Christ. [Luke 17:26-30]. I tell you, this world is hearing and seeing the last warning message from God. [Joel 3:14]. PLEASE HEED GOD’S – FINAL WARNING AND CALL OF MERCY!

You see, throughout the Bible God has always given mankind a chance to repent. He would send a warning through one of His messengers. God is still sending warnings. “He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches.”

I want you to know that in [Revelation 7] God suddenly holds up the plagues of the Day of the Lord, UNTIL certain events happen — the sealing of the 144,000 and the emergence of the Laodicean Church. He has held events back before. Yet he says that, when HIS time comes, he will make a speedy work in the end time and cut his work short.

In [Matthew 24:32-35] Jesus said that when we see world events now occurring, we are to KNOW that this END is very near — even at the doors. Yet of the day and hour [verse 36] we cannot know. Yet when it strikes it will strike suddenly, unexpectedly, like a trap that springs shut on a hapless rat without warning.

So the question is, has ANYTHING changed in that warning? And the answer is, absolutely NOT! If anything, we should be able to SEE how much CLOSER we are to these things being fulfilled, and fulfilled SUDDENLY at ANY time!

So the message TODAY for God’s people and nations, is to WAKE UP! Be REMINDED and become AWARE of these things which will soon affect every single one of us! Time will NOT just “continue on” the way it has, so says the Word of God.

“… And even AS it begins to happen, God is faithful, and His Word says that someone will SEE [Ezekiel 33:3] the sword coming upon the land, and this someone is commanded to give WARNING or indeed lose his own life also!”

Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among you. [Jeremiah 6: 18].

 The Trumpet is sounding……who will hear?

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set beore you life and death, blessing anf cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live…” [Deuteronomy 30:19].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— Thus saith the Lord; what right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My word behind you? You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother, you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you and set them in order before your eyes. [Psalms 50].

Now consider this, you who have forgotten Me, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Turn from your wicked ways [2 Chronicles 7:14] while it is yet day and there is still time to repent, otherwise you will feel my wrath to the uttermost! On the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. You snake, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape being condemned to hell? [Matthew 23:25-39]. Be zealous and repent NOW and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place. [Revelation 2:5].

I want you to know that the Word of God has very bad news for the wicked. God is angry with the wicked every day. If you do not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.  [Psalm 7: 11-13].  I tell you, you are just a step away from disaster! You best repent and repent NOW!

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you, life and death… therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live… [Deuteronomy 30:19].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— You harlot…. you are just as treacherous as Israel sister Judah who went and played the whore. [Jeremiah 3:8-10]. I tell you, you are an embarrassment to God and the church.  You have trangressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your charms to alien deties under every green tree… says the Lord. [Jeremiah 3:8-13].

Tell me, what was the sin that got Sodom and Gomarrah utterly destroyed? What was the sin that got David’s kingdom taken away? What was the sin that led to Samson getting his eyes gauged out, put into prison, and then death? Tell me, what was it? You see, Jesus said in [Matthew 5:27-30] that, “You have heard that it was said, you shall not commit adultery; but I  [Jesus] says, that whosoever looks at a woman [man] with lust for her [him] has already committed adultery with them in their heart.

Listen, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out an cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. [Matthew 5:27-30; Matthew 8: 8-9].

Understand that your eternal destiny hangs in the balance of whether you fight lust or settle down and live in it. I tell you, only if you repent, and show you’re repentance by brokeness, is there any hope that God can change you from what you are to what he desires for you to be.

Return, backslider, says the Lord; I will not cause My anger to fall on you for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity “… for this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” [Ephesians 5: 3-6].

I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. [Galatians 5:16-17].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)— And yet, still, you are in need of milk. Shame on you! “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God…” [Hebrew 5:12-14]. I tell you, you got to grow up! Over and over we are told that God wants us to grow up. [Ephesians 4:14-16] “For we can no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ-…”

You know the author in Hebrews was desperately concerned about those who were lagging behind in their spiritual growth: The Hebrew Christians were lazy. The writer of Hebrews expected them to grow up, learn the foundational truths, and be well on their way to maturity. But by their own choices, they’d quit. They were stymied, moving backwards on their spiritual journeys.

Paul was both brokenhearted and angry at the many Corinthian Christians who had decided to remain spiritual babies: “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly…[1 Corinthians 3:1-3].

I tell you, there is a clear and present danger in not growing up. You see, Satan never bothers with half-hearted people who are content with a ho-hum spiritual existence. As long as you live with one foot in the world, living according to the world’s values and for the world’s goals, Satan won’t trouble you. You can go to church and even pray and read your Bible, and he won’t mind. But the minute you wake up from your spiritual lethargy, shake off the worldly mindset, and commit yourself to radical obedience to Jesus Christ, you will not only encounter spiritual opposition, but you will know that you have chewed meat.

I tell you, as a believer you must move beyond the basics of the Christian faith and grow up in Christ. God’s plan is birth, growth, and maturity. The Word of God: It corrects, it convicts, it cleanses, it equips, and it confirms to us what the Lord has said. The days of coming to church and not understanding the Word is over. Why sit in church just to die on the vine? Grow up!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- Listen, Jesus was not into the business of wasting time. Therefore, to all you pretense and treachery God’s chosen people; God says, “You have the brazen look of a prostitute… and because you refuse to be ashamed,” you too like Israel, the northern ten tribes, will be judged and destroyed for the sins of idolatry, immorality, greed, violence, and abuse of the poor [Jeremiah chapter 3]. You will be indicted of two evils:  Forsaking the fountain of living waters and hewing for yourself cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. For you have deliberately forsaken the Lord and have chosen to worship false gods – God calls that spiritual adultery, fornication, and you have been caught in the act!

I want you to know that as the Lord sent Amos and Hosea to warn Israel of the coming judgment and he sent Isaiah and Micah to warn Judah, he has sent me to warn you that if you do not repent, and if you persist in your rebellion you will be taken into captivity for you are committing all the same sins Israel and Judah committed, with far less excuse. You are sinning against a far greater light.

“Woeunto you, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of Me.” [Isaiah 30:1]  “Woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites…” [Matthew 23:14]. “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how shall ye escape the damnation of Hell?” [Matthew 23:33]… Know that the end has come upon you, and I will send My anger against you saith the Lord; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations.  My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; but I will repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst, then you shall know that I am the LORD [Ezekiel 7:3-8]. Therefore, consider how far you have fallen and repent. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place [Revelation2:5].

God appealed to Judah, [Jermiah 3:22] and with all my heart, I appeal to you to return to the Lord and let him heal your faithlessness.

David said, “Yet as surely as the LORD lives and you live, there is about one step between you and death!” [1 Samuel 20:3]

“So why do you endanger yourself every hour?” Repent and be converted!” [1 Corinthians 15:30-31]

(EMPIRE NEWS NETWORK (ENN)- SAN BERNARDINO, CA-  Four local Rotary Clubs came together Tuesday, May 8 to honor educators with the Character Education Award, and Pacific High School teacher CJ Eastwood took home the trophy.

“There is a literal trophy,” Rotary President and SBCUSD director Chris Tickell said. “It’s a very large, perpetual trophy that the winner’s school gets to display until next year’s Character Education Awards luncheon.”

Local Rotary clubs established the Character Education Award in 1991 to honor educators whose teaching best exemplifies the virtues of character education in the classroom. The Rotary Club of San Bernardino awards the top finalist a $2,000 honorarium and recognition on the perpetual trophy.

Pacific High Principal Dr. Natalie Raymundo said Character Education winner CJ Eastwood “creates a safe and supportive learning community that encourages students to be involved in the community. Overall, (CJ’s) biggest contribution to character education is helping students understand the impact of their words, actions, and inactions on the school and broader community.”

The Character Education finalists were Benjamin Cervantes, Del Vallejo Middle School; Cara Nelson, Curtis Middle School; and Rebecca Robles, Muscoy Elementary School. Finalists each receive a plaque and a $250 honorarium.

The following San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) educators were also nominated for a 2018 Character Education Award:Catherine Cowles, Kendall Elementary School; Eunice Gutierrez, Gomez Elementary School; and Paul Prado, Holcomb Elementary School.

The Character Education Award luncheon is sponsored by San Bernardino Rotary Club, San Bernardino Rotary Club Crossroads-Loma Linda, San Bernardino Rotary Club North, and San Bernardino Rotary Club Sunset.