You Can't Always Get What You Want

By Rev. Johnny Lee Clary

Phil. 4:13 says God will supply all of your needs according to His riches and glory in Heaven. Notice it says "needs" and not "wants" As a follower of Christ, you can't always get what you want but you get what you need. It is a false teaching to teach that God wants everyone to have everything they want. The Bible does not say that.

I remember when I was a young Christian, I prayed for things and claimed things in Christ's name that I had no business praying for or claiming but I was caught up in that type of teaching because I was listening to the wrong people. For example I was told as long as you give a certain amount you can name what you want and claim it. The problem is when you name it and claim it, it could be violating someone else's will or God's will. Also if I would have gotten certain things I claimed from God back in those days, I would have screwed it up because I would not have known how to handle it.

It is sort of like someone with an addiction to gambling who becomes a new Christian. They then listen to a teaching that as long as you give a certain amount of money, God is going to give you what you want and a hundred-fold return on your money. The new Christian then puts a huge amount of money in the offering and gets back a hundred-fold return which is taught by some misguided teachers. The gambling addict would now be tempted to use that money to feed their addiction which they have not been delivered long enough from; meaning they still struggle with the desire to gamble. That would cause more harm to the person than good. Why would God do that? Well, I can answer that. He wouldn't. So the teaching that you will receive a hundred-fold return every time you give is false.

Yes the Bible does talk about a hundred fold return, but no where does it say you are going to get that each time you give money to a church or a preacher. Mark 10: 28-30: "Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

Jesus taught that people who forsook home, family, and land meaning everything that they had, would receive a hundred-fold return. First rule is one must forsake ALL to follow Him. In order to receive a hundred-fold return. A hundred-fold means a hundred times as much. This is not to be understood literally, but that he will give what will be worth 100 times as much in the peace, and joy, and rewards of being His follower. It is also literally true that no man's temporal interest is injured by the love of God.Mark adds, "with persecutions." These are not promised as a part of the reward; but amid their trials and persecutions they should find reward and peace.

To teach that God favors those who give more money is wrong. As I grew over the years and got more mature in God, I discovered that God does not work that way. God never shows favoritism among His people. Acts 10:34 says exactly that. You may think that you will be a better Christian and it will increase your faith if God gave you everything you want. The truth is that often the things we want can distract us from from focusing on God. God is our Father. He knows what we need and according to His word He will supply those needs, but His word never says He will also supply your wants. God is your Father and your manufacturer. He knows what is best because He made you. He knows what you can handle and what you can not handle. He is looking out for you. It is time for Christians to start giving out of their love for Christ and not their desire for riches or to get what they want.

To those who teach that God is all about making you rich, I leave you with these scriptures:

1 Timothy 6:9-11

"But people who want to get rich keep falling into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires which drown them in destruction and ruin. Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves a lot of grief. But you, man of God, must avoid these things."

Johnny Has His Say On Japan

What a horrifying nightmare Japan had to go through. An earthquake at the magnitude of 8.9! That is one of the largest ever recorded in history! Then to top it all off, the world watched in horror as the Tsunami came ashore and wiped out everything in it's path! The death tolls are in the thousands and climbing higher each day with many more missing and still not recovered.

Japan was the only nation in history to suffer two atomic bombs being dropped on it in World War II and leaving 340,000 people dead. Yet through all of this, Japan managed to build itself up again and become one of the most productive nations the world has ever seen. I have always admired how they discipline their children at a very young age and train them up to be the most intelligent business people in the world. They test them early on and then determine where their skills would best fit and give them the best education and training the world can offer. This is why they grow up to be experts in whatever field they enter. The same cannot be said about other nations including the United States.

Japan has contributed so much to the world and now they have to once again suffer devastation that has not only killed thousands but threatens to destroy their nation with a possible nuclear meltdown.

However, unlike other nations who beg the United States and it's allied forces to come help them rebuild, Japan is getting up and will get back up on their feet whether others help or not! Don’t get me wrong. I am positive Japan appreciates the Americans, the Aussies, and others who are rushing in to help rescue people, help the injured and help rebuild Japan in whatever way they can, but they will not sit on their rear ends like some other nations have waiting for a handout. They are already back to work doing what needs to be done to accomplish their goals. That is one reason why they are the most productive intelligent people in the world.

You see the Japanese are a proud people. I admire them. They have honor. It’s like “Hey we appreciate your help, but we are getting the job done whether you are on board or not.” They have wise sayings which they not only say but practice what they say. A Japanese proverb says, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” You see they have been knocked down many times but they always get back up again. The world can learn from that.

God Bless Japan!
Rev. Johnny Lee Clary
©www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Are You Fat And Disrespectful?

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary



Deuteronomy 32:15 says “Jeshurun got fat and disrespectful. (You got fat! You were stuffed! You were gorged!) They abandoned the God who made them and treated the rock of their salvation like a fool.”

Jeshurun was another name for Israel which meant ‘righteous nation.’

Here is the problem in a nutshell. Israel had everything it could possibly want as it was blessed of God, as well as protected by God. (Deuteronomy 32:9-12) It is almost like Israel being chosen by God to be the CEO of a billion dollar corporation. The possibilities and potential was limitless.

So what happened? Well, once the contract was signed and the agreement was made Israel was not hungry anymore. They felt like there was no longer a need to ask God for help or to pray for the crops because they now had everything. See that was the problem. When you have everything you can forget real easy the fact that you still need God which is what Israel did and they grew fat and lazy.

The very people God had blessed and prospered rebelled against Him.

Isn’t it interesting how we tend to forget about God when everything is going well? Before the big test at school, we pray. When we are sick, we pray. When we need money we pray. When we are looking for a mate, we pray. When we want that job we pray. When we want that promotion we pray.

Yes whenever someone is in trouble, all of a sudden God is first and foremost in their life and all they can do is pray. Then when the prayer gets answered and the blessings start rolling in, that prayer time seems to diminish and people end up spending less and less time talking to God.

When we first join the football team, we are ready and willing to do what the coach says to do no matter how hard it is or how much discipline it will require. Then give us a few victories and we become fat and sassy and busy reading our own headlines. We let the fans praise us and forget to give praise to the One who made it all possible which is God. This same thing happens to many Christians in their relationship with God. A few successes and we forget about God and His word. They fail to realize that it is through Him that we move and have our very being. (Acts 17:28)

I remember someone making fun of me one time for praying over my meal. They said “I won’t give thanks to God like you do, because I worked for my money and earned what I have!” What the guy didn’t realize is without his legs that God gave him and as a matter of fact a good healthy body, he would not be able to work. He was too stupid to realize that.

Let Israel’s rise and fall be an example to us. Being fat and filled up does not always lead to you being faithful. It can lead to you being faithless if you are not careful! Be sure and give thanks and honor and praise to God after every success and victory that cokes your way.

I remember a guy that had an ex-wife back years ago in the 80’s, that packed on 40 pounds within a few months after getting married. She hit the couch, stuffed her face with junk food, and let herself go. He asked her why she was gaining so much weight and why she was not taking care of herself anymore. She replied that she was married now and didn’t need to diet and do all that special stuff to look good anymore. That did not make him feel special at all which is probably why they are divorced today. What she did was take him for granted and show him that she had no respect for him whatsoever. Did you ever stop to think that is how God feels sometimes?

How about you? Have you taken God for granted in any area?

Pray this: God I repent of my pride and ego that has kept me from seeing that I need you all the time and in everything I do. Please remove conceit and arrogance from me. Help me not to get too fat and filled up that I forget that it is you that gave me the blessing. I need you in everything I do and I give you honor and glory. Always remind me of this prayer in case I forget. I pray I never again become fat and disrespectful! Amen.

©Johnny Lee Clary
All Rights Reserved
www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Getting God's Best

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary



Do you know that God wants His absolute best for you and that includes dating! God does not want you to settle for second best or anything below His best. God wants your dating relationships to be HOLY! That means only date people who honor God! Anything less is not only dishonoring yourself but God as well.

When I was a single man, I used to hear people in church say ridiculous things like, “Don’t date; just pray for your mate!” Hogwash! You just can’t sit around and wait for God to act like a Genii in a lamp and say “Poof! There’s your mate!” It is unrealistic not to date in order to find the right person, but when you date, treat your date the way Christ would treat that person. Wait until marriage to be sexually active and be completely honest with what you say and do. Be yourself and let the date see your true self. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache that way. If you lie to the date and put on false pretences you will eventually be found out when you grow tired of putting on a façade and the other person will more than likely dump you faster than a supermodel would dump a fat man!

Deuteronomy 14:2 says “You are people who are holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the people who live on earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his own special possession.” Therefore you need to exemplify holiness. Now if you do that then you should expect to attract the same type of person. Sometimes you end up attracting the opposite. I remember going out on a date once with a girl I met in church. She was a foxy mama. I also thought she was holy, that is until she lit up a cigarette in my car and said the F-word! That was the end of that. A person should not just look at the outside either. For example there was a girl I was so attracted to that looked just like Madonna that I met in a Tulsa church. I thought she was holy because she praised God in church and sang in the choir; that is until she dropped by my house one day to go swimming in my pool and suggested we get naked and get in the shower together! Get thee behind me Jezebel! That was the end of that date!

So many think it is OK to date non-Christians in hope that they can convert them. You are playing with fire there. Christians almost always get drug down into the pigpen instead of pulling the pig up out of the mud. Then they end up either in the pastor’s office crying their heart out asking for prayer or in the confession booth talking to the priest, or backsliding all together.

Make sure you conduct yourself in a way that pleases God and don’t settle for anything less than someone who does the same. I used to know a girl from church that dated guys and she wore miniskirts, low cut tops that exposed the cleavage and flaunted that body like a hooker at a downtown club on a Saturday night. Then she complained about guys trying to take advantage of her. However girls that I knew that dressed appropriately didn’t seem to have that problem. It is also the way someone acts that can cause problems too. I remember working for a boss of a siding company back in the 1980’s that bore an amazing resemblance to the comedian Rodney Dangerfield, named Mr. “B”. There was this girl I knew named Brenda who worked there that was a backslidden daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher. Her father pastured a small church and worked for Mr. “B” selling siding on weekdays in Oklahoma City and got Brenda a job there. Brenda dressed nice but not provocative. However she didn’t need to dress that way because she was so pretty that she could have worn a potato sack and still been a stone fox. Brenda knew how to flirt and make the guys all jump to look at her. She went into Mr. B’s office and flirted with him one day and according to Brenda, the old codger who was old enough to be her grandpa chased her around the desk about 20 times before she was finally able to get out the door. She threw a fit but she had no one to blame but herself. Remember that what you throw out as an advertisement will attract that same thing.

The Bible says to be Holy because your Father in Heaven is Holy. (Leviticus 19:2) If you conduct yourself like a godly person, you will end up with God’s best.


©Johnny Lee Clary Ministries
www.johnnyleeclary.com
All Rights Reserved

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Getting Rid Of Your 'Idols'

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary



Although I like the TV show, I personally don’t like the name “American Idol” or “Australian Idol.” Webster’s dictionary describes the word ‘idol’ as a noun meaning : a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly : a false god. They need to change the name of that show.

When someone says a person is their idol, they are in essence saying, “This is my god.” Not only is this wrong but they are committing blasphemy when they do so and I promise you that does not make God happy.

Bad habits come from bad choices. God said in Deuteronomy 12:2-3, “Completely destroy all the worship sites on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every large tree. The people you're forcing out worship their gods in these places. Tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, burn their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, cut down their idols, and wipe out the names of their gods from those places.”

God commanded this so His children would not be tempted to worship those idols themselves. I have seen people go absolutely nuts at concerts I have attended all of my life, ‘idolizing’ singers and other celebrities. Hank Williams Jr. had a song out years ago called, ‘Old Habits Like You Are Hard To Break.” Well I say yes they may be hard to break but either you break them or you will be broken because God will not be mocked. Whatsoever a person sows that will they also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

Many Christians are caught up in this hoopla also. I remember when I attended a church in Tulsa many celebrities went there also. One was the well-known gospel singer Carman. Thousands of girls were there thinking they were going to marry him or the pastor who was also single. Carman sat up in the balcony and it was not uncommon to see dozens of girls downstairs with their heads turned around and looking up at Carman while the pastor was preaching. I had more than one girl ask me to introduce them to Carman which I never did. How embarrassing. Carman had to call the cops more than once out to his home to take crazy fans away.



I have had my share of stalkers too, although not to the extent Carman has since he is much more well known than I am. I had one girl from Georgia follow me to several places around America stalking me when I preached and when I told her to stop and never contact me again, she went home and took a bottle of sleeping pills. She called some people and told them what she did and they called the ambulance who got there just in time. There was another girl that stalked me and her pastor tried to talk to her and said it was no use. He said he went to her house and she had made a shrine to me with my pictures up all over everywhere. It gave me the creeps especially when she said, “If I can’t have you nobody can!” Reminds me of the movies ‘Fatal Attraction” or “Play Misty For Me.” The police would not do anything. She made my life a nightmare. She stalked me for a year making hundreds of calls to me as well as relatives of mine, making threats to my life before she stopped and that was only after I threatened to shoot her.

People go way over the top and no one should make an idol out of anything or anyone. God should be our only object of worship.

What is so sad with the show “American Idol” is that these people beg and plead and will do anything, including making fools out of themselves in order to get that shot at being the next “idol.” If they would put half the time they spend trying to be an “idol” into serving God we would already have our nation Christianized like it should be.

Take a look at your life and see if there is anything that interferes with your relationship or time with God. Are you spending too much time on the golf course? How about too much time going to sporting events? How about your girlfriend or boyfriend? Dating relationships can become idols too. Sometimes kids can get into making good grades to where their school work takes first priority over everything, even God, the Bible and church. They become obsessed with making that A until that is all that matters to them. Don’t allow a TV show, a magazine, an IPOD, your favorite hangout, a group of friends or even your school work to become an idol in your life. Don’t let anything steer you away from God. Put God as number one over anybody and anything and make sure he is your ONLY Idol!




©Johnny Lee Clary Ministries
www.johnnyleeclary.com
All Rights Reserved

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

Are There Snakes In Your Church?

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

Al Wilson once sang a song about a woman that found a snake all frozen in the cold. She felt sorry for the snake and also thought it looked beautiful. She took it into her home, laid it by the fire in blankets, then fed the snake honey and milk. She came home from work and found the snake had been revived. She held it, kissed it, and said how beautiful it looked when the snake gave her a vicious poisonous bite. She cried and asked the snake, “How could you do this to me? I helped you and saved you, and now you’ve bitten me and I am going to die!” The snake replied, “Oh shut up silly woman! You knew darn well I was a snake before you took me in!”

Today many Christians are playing with snakes and sadly many pastors are talking in snakes into their congregations, praise and worship teams, choir, bands, staffs and administrations. They attempt to rationalize it by saying they are reaching out to a lost world. Luke 11:11 tells us the hedges are full of snakes and Ecclesiastes 10:8 says that if you break a hedge you will get bitten! Christ told us to go out into the world and preach the gospel so you are going to encounter snakes. Psalm 58:3-5 says the wicked are like poisonous snakes full of venom and they will not heed the voice of the charmer no matter how skillful he is. In other words you can’t tame a venomous snake. Yes some people have boas and pythons as pets but show me someone who has a rattlesnake, cottonmouth, Black Mamba or Australian Brown snake as a pet! Not going to happen, in my lifetime or anyone else’s.

Pastor David Wilkerson said “ Just as surely as Christians drink of the Blood of Christ-------the river of life, of His divine love and beauty-------we unconsciously drink of the poison of this world when we go out to preach the gospel.

The bible does say in Mark 16:18 “They will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them.” This is talking about going out to spread the gospel and accidently encountering snakes along the way. It is not talking about showing how strong your faith is by picking up rattlesnakes in a church service and dancing around with them in your hand like some of those backwoods nutty cult churches do in those “snake handling-strychnine drinking churches.” That is why you hear about people getting bitten by poisonous snakes or dying from drinking strychnine poisoning in those services all the time, because those wacky morons are tempting God, and the bible specifically tells us not to tempt the Lord God. (Luke 4:12; Matthew 4:7)

Many churches that have allowed venomous snakes into their congregations, are allowing their other members to get bitten. Some youth from a church, started experimenting with sexual perversion at a church camp and now some of these kids are living sexually perverted lifestyles. It makes me wonder whether or not a strong message was preached and taught to them that such perversions are wrong. I am sure some would attempt to justify allowing sexual deviants to attend church camp as “God loves the sexually perverted too!” Yes God does love them but God does not love it when people who claim to be Christians take in deadly snakes all in the name of “sharing the gospel and building the church” especially when it results in His children getting bitten. That is exactly what will happen when you bring in the snakes. So you disagree with what I just said? OK, so suppose there was a convicted child molester, a drug dealer and a rapist that all started attending your church. Do you think that is a good environment to be around or to allow your children to be around? If you do then you are a sorry excuse for a parent. You should have your kids taken away from you if that is the case. If child protective services found out you were allowing deadly snakes to roam around your home, they would take your children away. So what is the difference if you are attending a church that allows deadly spiritual venomous snakes to roam around it’s halls? That is why St. Paul said to expel immoral people when they refuse to repent.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 St. Paul wrote “In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. I didn't tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don't eat with such people. After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside [the Christian faith]? Isn't it your business to judge those who are inside? God will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you.”

We are to go into the world to bring the gospel to the wicked but we are not to partake in the wickedness of the world. To do so is to play with deadly snakes. Many churches are playing with snakes when they bring the wickedness of the world into the church in order to please mankind. Many are adopting the platform philosophy that preaching repentance, the fear of God and the fires of Hell are the old way of thinking and in order to fill the seats and grow churches the gospel must be toned down to a less offensive, more modern all-grace-all-loving-anything goes message. Some churches are even hiring marketing firms in order to sell the church to the world in order to get butts in the chairs. I even saw where one pastor of a mega-church wrote, “As a pastor you are not entitled to your opinions. Opinions do not put butts in the chairs. Your job as a pastor is just to grow churches!” Wow. So this dude is preaching quantity over quality. How sad. That may be the world’s philosophy but I can promise you that it is not God’s.

Rest assured, if you play with a snake you are going to get bitten. Those snake handling cult members will tell you they play with rattlers all the time and never get bitten. That is a lie because although some do not get bitten, many do and die from it. This is documented. Maybe there is something about a rattlesnake where it is not as aggressive. I don’t know and I am NOT going to find out. What I do know though, is I have never seen one of those cults break out a sack of Taipans, Black Mambas and Australian Brown snakes and play with them. I don’t think you will ever see that either. Even those cult nuts seem to know at least some boundaries. As a matter of fact, the late Steve Irwin who was known as the Crocodile Hunter, said he didn’t even fool around with Brown snakes.

Some will argue and say that numbers in church growth is the focus and is what matters. Really? I am going to tell you what, I would rather have 5 men and women with me that I know have my back and will die in battle if necessary, than an army of 5,000 who will run and desert me when they hear the gunfire. God is interested in quality over quantity.

Therefore, don’t stop spreading the good news and don’t stop building churches. However in going out among the hedges, highways and byways, take your snake bite kit which is putting on the FULL armor of God, Ephesians 6:11-17 so you can protect yourself from the snakes and any other evil that comes against you. Don’t back down and NEVER compromise the Word Of God. Finally brethren, any church that preaches this toned down-less offensive-more modern- all grace-all loving-anything goes-no repentance needed message, is no different than those wacky backwoods snake handling churches. If you are attending one of those, my advice to you is to make like Joseph when he encountered that snake that Potiphar was married to and RUN BABY RUN! That does not make you a coward to remove yourself from where sin abounds. It makes you smart. If you run with dogs you get fleas. If you take in snakes you will be bitten. That my friends is the bottom line.

©Johnny Lee Clary International Ministries

www.johnnyleeclary.com

All Rights Reserved

“The problem with the church today is not people who preach repentance, hell, and the fear of God, but it is people who compromise and fear to speak God’s word powerfully with conviction. Our job as ministers is not to bring God down to the level to please people but bring people up to the level to please God!”...Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.

FEAR

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

Have you ever been afraid? Have you had the experience of fear? I think if people will admit it, there was at least once in their life where they experienced fear. In the 32nd Chapter of Genesis it tells the story of how Jacob was in great fear of his brother Esau, and he had good reason to be. Many years before, Jacob had put the screws to his brother twice. Of the two times, the most serious was when Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessings that belonged to Esau when his father was ill and nearly blind by pretending to be his brother. A man of God could not go back on his word so everything that should have been Esau’s was now Jacob’s. When Esau found out he said he was going to kill Jacob and Jacob fled to his uncle’s home which was a long way’s away. Jacob stayed there for many years and married. He also became very wealthy. There was some problems with his uncle. God told Jacob it was time to return home. Jacob took all of his servants and his wives and kids, along with his livestock and headed back home. He was in great fear of what his brother Esau would do to him so he sent his messengers ahead with all kinds of gifts to try to get Esau to not kill him as promised years before. When his messengers returned they told him Esau was coming to see him with 400 men! Jacob was really in fear now! As it turned out though, Esau was happy to see his brother and welcomed him with open arms.

Sometimes we forget that if we have God on our side we have nothing to fear. God told Jacob to go home. God didn’t take care of Jacob all them years and bring him that far just to abandon him later. Nor will God abandon you. I remember I started having dreams back in the mid 90’s about dying in a plane crash. I was in Bakersfield, California at the time and had a friend named Marcella. I shared with her what I had been dreaming one night and told her I had a flight the next day and was worried because of all those dreams I had been having. She said something that changed my life forever. She told me, “God didn’t bring you this far Johnny Lee Clary to abandon you now.” That hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought about how I had been a survivor. I thought about how I had escaped death so many times, from the ghettos of East L.A., to my exploits in the Ku Klux Klan, to driving drunk and even falling asleep at the wheel of my car once. I thought of how I had been shot at, stabbed, gone through a glass window in a fight, jumped by gangs, been in car crashes, had jealous husbands on the rampage looking for me, had contracts put out on me by the KKK, Nazis and Aryan Supremacists, and even crazy women I had been involved with threatening to kill me. Then I thought of how I was now saved, sanctified, a new creation serving God, and a whole new person from what I had been for years. Marcella had said something that changed me forever because it strengthened my faith and sent fear flying right out the window. Besides, I also thought about where I am going when I die and I realized it is stupid to have fear of death when you realize that eternal life begins when you become a Christian, and although your body will one day die here on Earth, your soul will live on forever in Heaven.

The word of God says in Romans 8:15 that God did not give us a spirit of fear but one of sonship. We are His children when we become a Christian. A good parent will look out for their child. I remember when I was around 10 or 11 I got into a fight with a kid on another block and beat the daylights out of him. That kid ended up having more friends than I could ever imagine. There was at the very least 30 or 40 kids that all came after me chasing me back to my block and into my house. I was in huge fear on the way home, and as I ran into the house I shouted “Daddy!” The mob had surrounded my house and was yelling for me to come back outside or they were going to come in and get me. My daddy came out the front door and yelled “Get your butts home!” He then chased them all down the street as I was standing in the driveway smiling and feeling relieved watching all those kids run for their lives back to their own street! My daddy was my protector.



God is your protector too because he is your Daddy! We call Him Father. He looks out after us. There is no need to fear. Yes someone could shoot me tomorrow and end my life, or I could go swimming in Australia and some Great White Shark could decide that he likes “Southern Fried Fat Boy,” and it is quite possible that I could board a plane and some Middle East Terrorist could blow it up, but I know where I am going should any of that happen. I get to go live in Heaven where there is no pain, sorrow, suffering and tears. I get to be with Jesus Himself, and I get to see a lot of loved ones that have gone on before me. I also get to see John Wayne and Ronald Reagan too! You do too if you are a Christian so there is no reason to fear. Granted I am hoping I don’t have to go anytime soon because there is still a lot of work left to do on this earth and I want to see a lot more people saved. Like Marcella said, God has not brought you this far to abandon you now. The word of God says he will never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Fear is ugly! So my friends, when fear comes a knockin’ at your door don’t answer it!

2 Timothy 1:7 says God did not give us a spirit of fear but one of power, love and a sound mind.

©Johnny Lee Clary
©johnnyleeclary.com
All Rights Reserved

From Darkness To Light

By Rev. Elder Johnny Lee Clary

The other day my wife and I went to see the new remake movie of “True Grit” starring Jeff Bridges as the character John Wayne created called “Rooster Cogburn.” Good movie but let’s face it, it does not even come close to beating the original. No man can fill John Wayne’s shoes. This is not just my opinion, it is fact. John Wayne was a stand up man all the way and set an example of what a real man should be. This article however, is not about a review of the movie. When my wife and I walked into the Hollywood Theater in Joplin, Missouri, it was super dark. I mean you could not see a foot in front of you. The previews were still going on and whatever movie they were advertising had a dark setting with no light on the screen. Whenever a second or so of light did come on the preview we could see the theater was pretty full with the exception of the very front which most adults do not like to sit in. We both had to stand there a few minutes waiting until the screen gave off enough light in order to find a seat. In other words as long as we were in the darkness we were helpless.

Many people are helpless today and are walking in darkness because they do not have God in their lives. Life without God is life in the dark. They cannot see where they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes. As a matter of fact, it is what we Southerners refer to as “pitch black.” The term “pitch black” means coal black, like being in a coal mine under the ground. Without light one would be lost. We need light to see where we are going. Jesus said “ I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) This is one of many reasons people need to rely upon Jesus.

We are not just talking about a dark movie theater. People go through life stumbling around in darkness never knowing where they are going because the darkness has blinded their eyes. Most people know I am the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. For years I was in darkness myself until I saw the light and renounced hate, dedicating my life to Jesus Christ. I have been dedicated to Christ 21 years at the time of this writing and have been preaching for 20. Most people think I must be constantly harassed by the KKK, Neo-Nazis, Skinheads and other White Supremacists because they label me as a traitor. Yes, these people do harass me from time to time, but the people who give me the most trouble are so-called “brothers and sisters” in Christ. That’s right..so-called “fellow” believers. I have put up with these sick twisted mentally deranged people almost all of my Christian life. They have attacked me, called me names, spread false rumors, wrote horrible things about me, denounced me from their pulpits, cheated me out of money, wrote letters to pastors of churches encouraging them not to have me and to join them in stopping my ministry, tried to break up friendships and relationships, and told outright damnable lies and gossip about me. They do this all in the name of the Lord because it somehow gives them a feeling of “peace” if they can justify their actions with “God told me to shut down Johnny Lee’s ministry.”

What it really boils down to is a four-letter word called, hate. They will say, “Oh I don’t hate anyone, but God wants me to expose Johnny Lee as a son of Satan or a charlatan at best.” It does not matter whether they say they don’t hate or not because their actions expose them for what they are. In other words, actions speak louder than words. There is nothing more sickening than to see these types of people carrying on this way and using the Lord to do it.

They fail to realize the word of God says in 1 John 2:11 “Those who hate other believers are in the dark and live in the dark. They don't know where they're going, because they can't see in the dark.” 1 John 1:6 “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” 1 John 4:20 “If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”

You see after reading and doing a study of these scriptures I have a full understanding of these people and what they are all about. They are NOT Christians according to the Word of God. Those who hate and display the actions of hate are in darkness and they do not know God and will be in hell, and that is sad. Ok, here it comes, as I am sure someone will write or comment, “Who are you to judge them? Judge not lest ye be judged also.” That seems to be the only scripture the “all-grace-no-repentance-new modern-new gospel- new change the word of God crowd,” people seem to know. If they would bother to read the rest of the Bible, and especially the scriptures I have written above they would see God’s word is plain that anyone who hates his brother is not only in darkness but does not know God. Titus 1:16 “They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.”

As a matter of fact, those who claim to be pastors or just plain old Christians who go around attacking other ministries, 9 out of 10 times it is because they suffer from what I call the “Cain-syndrome.” Cain harbored a rotten attitude toward not only his brother Abel but God Himself after God rejected his tiny little offering of chump change chicken feed compared to what Abel offered to God. Cain could have afforded to give God plenty more but didn’t. When God rejected it, Cain let his bitterness turn to jealously, which became hate, which led to rage, resulting in an outburst of anger, in which he murdered his own brother. Our attitude often determines the outcome of our actions and emotions. For example when someone blows up and says horrible things in anger, it can often be traced to a bad attitude towards someone. That is why we must keep our emotions in check and watch out for negative attitudes toward our fellow believers.

It is easy to fall into this trap. You may be sitting around with a group of people in the lunchroom at work who are all talking turns gossiping about a co-worker. You may be privileged to set at the lunch table at school where the “In-crowd” popular people sit, and may feel tempted to join in with them when they are putting down other students, like the new kid in school or the poor kid who can’t afford to dress as trendy. You may feel tempted to take what you pastor says as “gospel truth” when he is putting down another preacher without ever having researched it yourself or talked to the person being assailed. You may have even been interested in dating someone but dumped them because of what your friends said about them, that may not have even been true. You are no different than Adam and Eve. Sin looked tempting to them so they chomped down on the forbidden fruit even though God told them to stay away from it.

So what could have prevented this? Trusting in God’s warnings and instructions which are found in His Good Book. He is the one who will keep you out of darkness, but you have to trust Him and obey His word. Trust and Obey, there is no other way!

Genesis 1:3-4 says God filled the dark void with light and then pronounced it good. Light gets rid of darkness and brings vision!

Where are you at today in your life? Is there darkness or light? Are you bothered constantly about that idiot at church who is gossiping about you or that co-worker on the job who might be trying to get you fired? Maybe you have the coach or teacher in school that constantly puts you down in front of your classmates and makes you feel like you are the stupidest person on earth? Maybe you are in the ministry and you have so-called “fellow believers” that suffer from the Cain-syndrome who are trying their best to kill your ministry and your reputation out of jealously?

Ecclesiastes 2:14 “The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.”

If you have been walking in darkness and have lost your way, there is a way out of the darkness.

In 1908, Minnie Louise Haskins wrote the following:

I said to the man who stood at the gate

'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God

That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'

©Johnny Lee Clary 2011

www.johnnyleeclary.com

Rev. Johnny Lee Clary is one of the leading advocates for racial unity in the United States and has appeared on countless television and radio shows such as The Billy Graham Radio show, Fox News, Morris Cerullo, Oprah, Morton Downey Jr., Rolanda Watts, Geraldo, Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Queen Latifah, Montel Williams, Phil Donahue, A&E Investigative Reports, ABC World News Tonight, Bertrice Berry, Sunrise Today,
The Today Show, A Current Affair, The 700 Club, and Kenneth Copeland's TV show. He has also been a regular guest on TBN's Praise The Lord show and has been featured in America's top newspapers and magazines, including a seven page feature story in Charisma magazine in April 1999, Moody Magazine, Guidepost Magazine (Sept. 1998), Kenneth Copeland's Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, as well as appearances on TV programs in Australia, England, Holland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, and Wales.