Let There Be Light

By Pastor Raymond H. Vietmeier

This book is the author's second book. Let There Be Light refers to the fact that the Bible teaches us to walk in the light and be children of light. We walk in the light when we try our best to do and say things as if Jesus was doing and saying them. The old saying "What would Jesus do?" is a perfect example. The beginning of the book teaches us what it means to live in the light and how to continue to strive to live in the light. The book then moves on to the problems facing Christians today. Christians are being persecuted both in other countries of the world and in our own country, the United States of America. In chapter 9, God directed the author to write based on a vision he received one night. It was about what will happen if we are not successful in changing our culture's direction. It is currently turning away from God and heading in the direction inspired by Satan. Satan preys on us by studying our weaknesses and our desires. He promises to give those to us just as he promised Eve things based on her desires—that is, to be more like God. Jesus said that Satan is the father of lies and all that is evil. Please keep that in mind. It just may save you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098060725

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Let There Be Light

Pastor Raymond H. Vietmeier

Copyright © 2020 by Pastor Raymond H. Vietmeier

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Who Needs to See the Light?

What Does God Want the Children of Light to Do?

Warning: Do Not Turn Away from God

Dealing with the Ignorance of Our Immigrants and Voting Youth

It Is Your Primary Responsibility to Become a Disciple

What Can Children of Light Do to Protect Our Children and Country?

Supporting Scriptures on Once Saved, Always Saved

The Things New Christians Must Learn to Live As Children of Light

Who Are to Become Prophets?

Where Do We Go from Here?

What Happens if We Do Not Succeed?

What Happens if We Do Not Succeed?

Chapter 1

Who Needs to See the Light?

This is probably not an unexpected chapter name for a Christian book. If you have read my first book, The Book of Scripture vs. Culture, you already know that there is this battle going on in the heavens, the universe, the entire world, in our own country, and in our own minds. Like I mentioned in that first book, with God’s guidance, I once wrote a sermon about the battle going on inside our own minds. This battle is between good and evil. It is the battle between God and Satan. It is a battle between the righteous and the unrighteous. It is also a battle within ourselves. So based on all of these battles going on, who needs to see the light? The answer is, everyone. The details behind this statement are what this book is all about.

Before going further, I would like to point out two things about my use of italics. If an author wishes to emphasize certain words, they are not to be in all caps or underlined, or even in bold print. They are to be in italics. However, there are two different uses of italics when writing books. If the author wishes to emphasize words of his or her own and not quoting from the Bible, they must use italics. If on the other hand they quote scriptures, those words that are in italics are those of the author and not those of the Bible.

Now that that is clear I want to explain why everyone must strive to live in the light and also what happens when we chose via our own free will which God gave us. We do have the ability to use our free will to turn away from God and his Son, Jesus, in order to return to the dark world from which we may have come.

Yes, I personally have witnessed this myself, and some of you may have as well. I even know of a person who not only was born again with all their heart, all their soul, and all their mind but also even moved their whole immediate family to be together while the father attend a Bible college to become an ordained preacher. Then after a while, the father returned to the dark world which was obviously by his own free will. Then he committed extremely sinful actions. We hear in the news about preachers who kill their wives in order to be with their mistress. We also are finding out about preachers who have committed sexual immorality with little children. We hear about Catholic priests who have fathered babies with nuns. I know this may be a shock for many who read these words, but what I have just written are in the news reported on TV and in the newspapers.

As an ordained independent minister or nondenominational preacher, I try my best to back up everything I say in either of two ways. I am quoting either what was reported in the news or scriptures that prove every point I make. I will quote scriptures that show that even though one was once saved and was born again can turn away from God and decide to live in the dark world which is headed to and controlled by Satan and his demonic beings. The person I just told you whom I know personally who attended a Bible college laughed about it. In his own words, he told people, including myself, I am just slip sliding away. Jesus warned us about the fact that we need to live in the light as children of light before darkness of the dark world overtakes us.

You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before the darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. (John 12:35)

If you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teaches others, do you not teach yourself? (Romans 2:19–21)

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth) find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:8–11)

Knowing that this person I knew and told you about has studied the Bible and knows the scriptures just quoted, how on earth can he commit such sinful acts repeatedly with no remorse or any desire to repent? I was and still am completely baffled at that one.

These verses I just quoted teach us that we who are teachers who live in the light must also see the light as well as those who we have the God-given assignment to teach. That is, those who live in the dark world and do not know where they are going. We who live and walk in the light are not to join them, but we are to expose them. This is especially important for those of us who are supposed to be the teachers of those who do not know any better.

Jesus said that we must live in the light because that is the only way God can consider us his children—children who will see his kingdom. The children of light can enter heaven because upon being born again, they became one of many children of light. However, Jesus cautions the children of light about failing to be fruitful, about obeying his commands as he obeyed his Father’s commands. Later I will also quote scriptures that tell us that those who turn away from God and turn to the dark world to commit specific sins including murder, idolatry, sexual immorality, slander, and swindlers "will not receive any inheritance in the kingdom of God and Jesus." I personally take that to mean they will not be allowed to enter heaven but will end up in hell. Although we cannot, as mere humans, say who will wind up in hell, we can observe those acts by certain people who the Bible says will end up in hell.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off each branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. which is Jesus Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:1–12)

Those of you who have been taught that once saved always saved, please take notice what Jesus said in John 15. He said that you must remain in him and that you must remain in his love. That implies that somehow you are able to no longer remain in him and also no longer remain in his love even though you were once born again and were in him and he was in you. He also states that you must obey his commands if you want to remain in his love and remain in him and he in you.

If we who are children of light fail to be fruitful, we are warned of the repercussions of being cut from Jesus and thrown away to wither and then thrown into the fire to be burned. To be fruitful, I believe, means to grow as Christians and not simply say that because you were born again you need to do nothing else. Jesus said you must do two things in order to be fruitful and not cut away from he who is the vine. We do not want to quit being fruitful unless we wish to be thrown down to be withered and then thrown into the fire to be burned. I am not exaggerating this one bit. That means that we will no longer be in Jesus and Jesus will no longer be in us. We are cut from Jesus, the vine. Our bodies are no longer a temple in which the Holy Trinity resides. We will learn later, according to scripture, about what happens when our bodies are vacated by the Holy Trinity. I will leave that for later.

Also, we remain children of light because we grow as Christians. To grow as Christians, we become fruitful, and we also must continue to obey Jesus’s commands. Additionally, we must expose all those who are in the dark according to the above quote from Ephesians.

In the second week of September 2019, I listened to the morning news on CBS. A person involved in a study of what is important in our culture today was being interviewed. He reported that the results of this study was that the young people of today’s culture seem to be more concerned with themselves than the old but long-standing, admired attitude of looking out for each other. Jesus even said that there is no greater love than for one to give his life for another. Those who serve in the military and risk their lives for those they love back home and even those they don’t even know back home demonstrate this much greater love.

He also stated that his study showed that having children is no longer a high priority among the youth of today. Plus, people are beginning to worry more about what the government can do for them rather than what can they do for the government. He said that according to his study, the young of today’s culture are more likely to vote for the democrats in politics because they promise they will give free college and health care. However, they fail to tell us where the money will come from to accomplish all this. Just the promise is enough for today’s youth.

As I listened, I could tell by his study that the days of the old Democratic Party of Pres. Harry Truman, Pres. Jimmy Carter, and Pres. John Fitzgerald Kennedy have changed. It was President Kennedy who stated, Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for our country. The candidates for public office in the new Democratic Party are now promising many things the government of our country can do for the people. They stress that there should be free college for all. Also, there should be free health care for all. They are now catering to the youth who feel everyone owes them everything, and they do not owe anything to anyone else. This is the way of a typical socialistic government. In fact, we hear in the news