OUR LIVING HOPE - STRONG AND SECURE

 TEXT:

1 PETER 1:3-9

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

PRAY FOR.....GREATER FAITH

21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe;help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:21-24)
Can a believer NOT believe? Sure we can. It’s the frail human nature, which though replaced as a perishing soul at regeneration (or born-again) still continues to live in a mortal body, in a corrupt and evil world. But it is more than just our present temporary environment in this life.  We don’t believe completely sometimes because we just don’t know! We do not know because we do not read His Word and we are not led to read His Words because of a stunning lack of discipleship. We have a lack of the latter because we don’t know His Power and His Presence completely in our lives.

We do the same thing to Jesus and our Heavenly Father, which this father of the demon-possessed boy did in the verses above.  To wit, he actually said to Jesus (as translated into modern English in the New Living Translation) “have mercy on us  and help us IF YOU CAN”! Should we then be surprised when Jesus’ immediate response is “What do you mean, ‘IF I CAN’?” (verse 23a,  Mark chapter 9).

And we do the same thing: we approach God in prayer with our most serious needs, lay them before Him, then pick them right back up and go back to our corners with them. Then we call up all friends and family asking them to pray for us.  All along, Jesus stands with His Arms wide open waiting for His children to come to Him.  Is the Arm of the Lord too short?  Not it is not. He is our Prophet – He orders and ordains our past, present and future. He is our High Priest Who prays and intercedes for this who are His, and lifts us up in prayer to the Father when we ask in Faith!

Look at what Jesus said to the boy’s father here again in Mark 9:23b “anything is possible for he who believes” (NLT)! The response from the father is just so great. He has enough faith to believe Jesus can heal his son, but it appears to be the kind of faith which was just enough to look at the Lord as a “drive-up clinic”….without knowing Who Jesus really is! Thus when the boy’s father said “Lord, I believe, help my  unbelief”, he is asking for such a bump up in the measure of Faith he currently possessed that we, in this century 2000 years later, need to sit up and take notice.  

No matter how spiritually mature we think we are, we must always be pressing into and on to our higher calling in Christ. We can never know even 10% of what we should know. In fact,  after we’ve been in heaven there for 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we will not know half of Who the Lord is. This is why we have Eternity. But for this current life, it behooves us to be humble enough to realize we are still not as strong in our Faith as we should be, could be or would be. So why not ask  as this man did of Jesus: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!” There is no simpler expression of Faith in God than this – simple, to the point, with full clarity in recognition of the paucity of our frailty before the Almighty!

Father in the Mighty and strong Name of Jesus, I believe, I trust, I have faith….but not enough.  Help me to understand the breadth and width and depth of the great mystery of our Faith, so that I may begin to comprehend just how great a God You are, Lord. Assist us in acquiring a modicum of supernatural Faith which is way beyond what is common.  Father, many have accepted You as Lord and Master of our lives, yet we do now know, nor do some even venture to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of just Who You really are beyond the baseline of the Christian Faith. Lord, we want more. 

We want to know more of You, see more of You, be more in Your Presence. We want to desire to walk fully in the knowledge of the Holy and travel in the paths of Your Righteousness, but first oh God, give us the capacity to dispatch with our incorrect notions. 

These wrong assertions about You, have come from a lifetime of traveling in the wisdom of the world or in the works of Christian authors and teachers who do not fully grasp the Power and Position You have always occupied at the Throne Room of all Time in the Universe. Lord as we get rid of our error, replace with Truth and Revelation, as much as we can handle, process and then walk out in our daily lives, helping as many as we can to come to that same place of knowing the Real God and Your amazing wonderful self.  Lord, we believe….take away any unbelief and replace it with more of You, in Jesus all Wise and Power Name, amen

(Photo Credit Here)

WOMEN OF FAITH: FROM PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER TO CHILD OF GOD

BITHIA:

THE CHILD SHE RESCUED, RESCUED HER

17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 (His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took (1 Chronicles 4:17-18)
Some of the greatest women in history came out of Bible history had phenomenal impact, yet they were the unlikeliest heroines of all time! We have looked at some of the main ones in the recent past – Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, Anna and Mary. (Click on names to read the articles).  One such heroine of the Bible is Pharaoh’s daughter! All through 3500 years of history, she is always a footnote. She is well thought of, but always sidelined in the light of the greater story of one of the greatest men who ever lived – Moses!

Still, it was this young woman – Pharaoh’s daughter (Merri, according to tradition) who actually called the baby Moses. Merri called him Moses, derived from the words “Mo” (meaning Son) and “Sheh” (meaning ‘to draw out’). Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and called him Moses (Moshe in Hebrew) because she draw him out of the water, in the  wicker basket. He became her son,  and was most likely childless since her bath in the river Nile was a ritual to the pagan Egyptian god of fertility. As a princess, she already had her own private quarters and exquisite private rooms to be attended to, for matters of hygiene. Also, as a sidebar, the River Nile ran red with blood during the Ten Plagues as a punishment from God for that same pagan idolatry. Each one of the plagues was a specific punishment against that specific pagan idol, which the Egyptians worshiped.

Merri, most likely in her late teens or early 20’s when she “found”, named and raised Moses as her own, obviously fulfilled a role selected for her by the Mighty Hand of God. After Moses was banished to the Midian wilderness when he was 40 years old, Merri would have been around 60 years old at the time. So when Moses returned at age 80, after being sent by God to tell Merri’s father to “Let My people go”, she would have been close to or at 100 years of age!

Here is the reason God kept her alive – to reward her! Merri was constantly in the presence of Moses’ birth mother. A Hebrew woman, Yochabed nursed her own son and cared for him in favor and safety, in the very house of the ruler of the greatest country on earth at the time!  Merri undoubtedly heard about and witnessed first-hand, what a true and amazing God, the God of the Jews was! Scripture never tells us how or when, but Pharaoh’s daughter Merri later became known as Bithia, according to the ancient Rabbis! Bithia is the Hebrew word for “daughter of Yahweh”! At some point,  she ceased being the daughter of the Egyptian ruler, and became a Child of the Living God!

Then comes the surprise overlooked Scripture which almost nobody reads, outside of a seminary. 1 Chronicles 4:17-18 (see above) records some of the most incredible turn of events ever. Here is what it says:
- Bithiah (Pharaoh’s Daughter who rescued Moses) married Mered, a Hebrew man.
- Bithiah had three children: Miriam (named after Moses’ sister); Shammai  and Ishbah.
- Bithiah left her Egypt behind and all its pagan ungodliness and crossed into deliverance across the Red Sea, with the people of God!

This incredible revelation that Pharaoh’s Daughter left Egypt during the Exodus with the Israelites is instructive to us in the 21st century, for the following reasons:
1. The circumstances of your birth means nothing to the Plans, Purposes and Power of God. We have no choice where we were born, who our parents were or the environment in which we grew up. We do have a choice whether to obey God and reach out in human kindness and decency. By so doing, we could be altering the course of history, as Bithiah did!
2. Not only is our lifestyle of Faith observed, but the more authentic we are in following and serving God, people notice. This can lead to many things, namely either a rejection of our straight and narrow morality or an embrace of True Truth/True Faith by the unsaved because they know us by our love.
3. Lifestyle evangelism is important as it demonstrates WHO and WHOSE we are, but we must share the Truth of God, so others can know WHO HE IS! This is really the crux of the matter. If we do not share the Gospel and the road to Salvation, by explaining as best as we can, what God has done for us through Christ, then all we will be is nice and harmless Christians. In this case, the devil has nothing to fear from us, and has us right where he wants us. 
4. Following the God of heaven brings untold blessings.  When she was the Egyptian princess Merri, she dipped into the pagan ritual bath of the River Nile to “enhance fertility”, but it was only when she became Bithiah – the daughter of Yahweh, and married a Hebrew man (Mered) that God gave her three children. This is reminiscent of Abraham’s barren wife Sarah, who erred in forcing Hagar on her husband, while God had a huge blessing for her to bear Isaac at age 90. We cannot know the Ways of the Lord but we can surely worship because of the Wonder of our Great God.
5. Do not neglect humble beginnings. Self-pity is never an admirable attribute at any time. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Wisdom comes from an acknowledgement of the awesome Power and Sovereignty of God and His rule over the affairs of mankind. Once we, as mere mortals, come to an awakening of this Truth, the sky is the limit as to the potential in our lives. In times of trials and tribulations, circumstances dictate certain responses, but we do not have to stay there. The greatest men and women of Faith were delivered from UNDER the circumstances and their own personal Egypts, but the God Who sees the end from the beginning. Where there is life, there is hope to those who submit to the direction and Lordship of the Master, the Creator, the Lord of all things - Jesus Christ.

Bithiah, Pharaoh's daughter, married a man from the Tribe of Judah - the same tribe from whence cometh the Lion of Judah - the Lord Jesus!
"For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM (from Isaiah 40:13)? But we have the mind of Christ..." (1 Corinthians 2:16)

Photo Credit Here

KEYS TO A GODLY LIFE PART 7/12 - LIVING FOR GOD

THE DAWN OF GLORY SERIES:

PLEASE READ THE PASSAGE, THEN - WATCH THE BRIEF EXPOSITION FROM THE PLUMBLINE VIDEO:

1 Peter 4:1-19

4 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.

7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
SHARE IN CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ,you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

LIKE A REFINER'S FIRE - THE SIXTH SEAL

Today's brief passage speaks a lot to what is going on currently in our world. As I read Malachi 3, it gripped me that this is relevant to the child of God, at any point in history! Malachi was the final prophet of the Old Testament, before John the Baptist comes on the scene right before the Birth of Christ (as a man) and it is he (John) of whom Malachi is writing, 400 years before he was born!

Here is our passage: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD....(Malachi 3:1-3 ESV)

John the Baptist (I supposed he was a "southern" Baptist, as he was south of Nazareth!!!) was called the voice of "one crying in the wilderness" who prepared the way for the Lord! John did proclaim Messiah who came into the Temple and taught and started to purify it by chasing out the money changers. But I see a more End Times prophetic declaration here in verse 2 "But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap...(Malachi 3:2 ESV).

Today, I encourage you to pray about this verse because, unbeknownst to him, Malachi just gave us an End Times prophesy which will shake the majority of mankind when he sees the terrible judgment of the Lord, on those who not only have rejected Him as Messiah, but persecuted His church and turned away from His attempts to reach them with pure and cleansing power of His Love! It was this Love which He demonstrated on the Cross. Yet, they still don't get it.

Here is the corresponding back up scripture to Malachi 3:2 and pray for those whom you know not to be walking in the ways of the Lord, because one day, some of them will be in this situation. Time is short...read, be terrified and pray, because the Day of the Lord approaches with each new day! Amen

FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION:
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” 
(Revelation 6:12-17 ESV)

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

Some years ago, the Lord showed me a vision of a beautiful, grassy mountain with plateaus at different levels up the mountain. I saw people filling each level, as many stood around talking to each other.

BY LYNN MOSHER

Some people climbed the stairs that ascended up the mountain. The steps at the bottom were steeper and harder to climb; the closer to the top, the smaller and easier to climb they became. The stairs were concrete-hard with a golden handrail up the middle. As some climbed up the stairs, they yet went backwards, not even realizing it. All kinds of people filled the top of mountain: short, tall, young, old, children. Adults held babies as they stood looking at the beautiful glow above the top of mountain.


Then, the Lord said...


“When you step out to enter My pathway to heaven, the path of the Christian walk, it is not an easy walk. The early steps seem difficult to climb, but the higher you rise, the easier it becomes. The stairs are hard as concrete, not at all pretty. The way is difficult but do-able, because I am there.


“Sometimes you will back down the stairs, not turning around to see where you are going but backing down sometimes in disbelief, doubt, worry, sometimes in disobedience to the call of the next step and you may not realize it. Be sure you keep your focus on Me. You may at times even slip and fall, but I am there.


“The beautiful mountain is calm and serene, yet raging all about it are the storms of life. If you shift your eyes from the way before you to the roar around you, you will fall. The winds may even blow you off course and try to loosen your grip.


“Keep your eyes fixed at the top of the steps, from which comes the source of the golden glow, the throne room of the great I AM.


“The higher you climb, the purer the air becomes as you rise away from the stench of earth. Those standing at the top have reached the gate to heaven. They are standing in awe of the glorious sight they have been afforded.


“The babies being held by others have died or been aborted. They are welcomed into loving arms by those who have never known the love of a child, and by those who have had children die. The babies await the parents who will join them.


“Those standing on the different plateaus are waiting further instructions. Some need a rest. Some are truly weary and must pause for refreshment. Others are just listening in patient stillness for their next orders.


“Strive always for courage and strength to reach the next plateau. Always wait for My instructions before taking another step.


“Hold onto My handrail that stretches out like a golden thread beside your path. Keep a firm grip. It is My constant hand steadying you and helping you up when your trip or miss a step.


“Keep your eyes focused on the view at the top. Breathe slowly and deeply. Keep your feet on the path. All is in My safe-keeping on My mountain.”


The promise of heaven’s eternal resting place is for all, for all of us “whose names are written in heaven,” who have been “made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ,” “that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance,” “an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.” (Heb. 12:23 NLT, Rom. 3:22 NLT, Heb. 9:15 NKJV) (1 Peter 1:4 NLT)


But are you sure of that eternal resting place? You have been “invited [as you are] to belong to Him.” (Rom. 1:6 Amp) Have you said “No thanks” to Christ’s gracious invitation? Have you said “Yes” but are unsure of your eternal home?
    
Peter pleads with you, “So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, His choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter. 1:10-11 Msg)


May you cling to that hope of a promise, as Abraham did, who “was completely sure that God was well able to do anything He promised.” (Rom. 4:21 TLB)

VISIT LYNN'S BLOG HERE: "HEADING HOME"

Image Credit: photobucket

SHEPHERDS OF BETHLEHEM - THE FIRST EVANGELISTS

WHERE THE ANGELS LANDED IN BETHLEHEM!

We are all familiar with the story of that amazing birth night in Bethlehem! It was when God sent His holy angels to preach the first Gospel sermon. The landing of this Angelic Host on Shepherds Field (which is still around as you can see) is significant for many reasons!

These messengers from Heaven, could have announced the Birth of Jesus to kings and satraps and governors. They could have announced it to the priests in the temple, the teachers of the law and Pharisees and the righteous (in their own eyes) religious folks in Jerusalem. But they didn't! Why?

Why did the Holy God of Heaven select dirty, poor and outcast men, who worked from March to November in hard scrabble (as you can see again, from this photo) land among animals, animal waste and more. These men were kept out of Jerusalem almost exclusively! They were banned from entering any Temple of God to worship, because they were ceremonially unclean, under the 613 Laws of Moses in the Torah/Pentateuch! They were around dead sheep at times and animal waste, all the time. So the priests and religious authorities banned them!

These are whom God chose! It is a symbol for what He would do in the Life of Christ, not just in the short three year ministry He had on earth, but ever since He died and rose again!

The first sermon of Christ started like this "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed...(Luke 4:18)....and you can add to that "the outcast, unwanted and those left behind by the world!!

The Lord also chose the Shepherds for a simple yet VERY CRUCIAL mission, even though these men were unaware of the reason! The word shepherd here in the Christmas passage from Luke 2, is "poimenes" or...get this - "Pastor" in the English!

In one fell swoop, God revealed Himself, the Gospel and the Heavens to lowly outcasts and then anointed them the Pastors of the First Worship service - right on the harsh Shepherd's field in Bethlehem.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES AND THE WORDS IN BOLD BLUE:

LUKE 2:   

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will bethe sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest, 
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE:

Verse 15 b (the shepherds said to each other, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, WHICH THE LORD HAS MADE KNOWN TO US!!!"

Note here how obedient these newly minted 'pastors' became once they realized what God had just done for them! These men did not need to go to seminary to comprehend revelation and the revealed "RHEMA" word! They did not need a professor to tell them about hermaneutics and soteriology because they could not, like most shepherds, read a word of Hebrew! Yet they obeyed!

Secondly, look at verse 17 - "Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child". Now these men are supposed to be looking after their own flocks of sheep....so who did they tell??!! Joseph and Mary appeared 8 days later, after the birth, in the Temple for Jesus' circumcision where they met Simeon and the prophetess Anna.

They had to walk many miles south (of Jerusalem) to get there and that would be a long walk with a newborn on dangerous roads. So the shepherds had not only to do some fast talking to villagers along the way, but to relay the word throughout their large herding community to those in both Bethlehem and Jerusalem! Remember these men were raising thousands of sheep for the annual Passover, so there was a large group of shepherds out there. Once the message was spread first throughout these men, it filtered out QUICKLY. These 'pastors' were literally proclaiming the "GOOD NEWS" - the true meaning of the Gospel!

Third, notice how stunned the people were at this Gospel truth! Verse 18 said "all who heard it MARVELED"!!! They were in completely blown away at what God had done - both in the Birth of the Savior to the most humble of parents in a dirty, cold smelly cave AND to whom He revealed the Event.

Finally, notice what happened in Verse 20 where it says "the shepherds (pastors) returned glorifying and praising God...."! That literally was the first Worship service after the Birth of Christ! The original language and meaning of "glorifying and praising" is singing worship songs (psalms etc) to each other, in a responsive manner! This means one group of men would sing the praise, and the other half would the sing the same praise phrase (or portion of the song), back to them! This would go on for hours as they walked back from their Proclaiming the Gospel to the entire region!

All I can say is WOW!

God is NO respecter of persons! God will choose whom He will chose. In this short passage of the Christmas story, we see so many things as the Shepherds ordained the "first pastors" (so to speak), therefore:

Ordination.

Proclamation. 

Evangelism. 

Wonder.

Worship!

Well, this sounds like church to me! How about that!

Many Christmas seasons will come and go, but the Church age goes on - for now! The goal in this message today, however, is to show what occurred after the Birth and how it applies directly not just to our daily lives as believers, but how it teaches us all these actions of God. It also shows us how finely detailed He is in the methodical way He first laid out the Standard Operating Procedure, of those whom He calls - us.

We are to proclaim and preach the word.
We are to evangelize and tell everyone who will listen about it.

We are to constantly live in Wonder and Awe of Him.

We are to constantly live in a state of Worship of and to Him.....you know....just like those shepherds of Shepherds Field in Bethlehem, almost 2000 years ago....the same shepherds who became the first pastors!

Amen!

UPDATE:
Please note this: as we marvel at the choice of these wonderful shepherds, let us not miss the symbolism of all of this. Remember I mentioned that these men raised the sheep for the Temple sacrifice in Jerusalem. Well, here are two things The Lord has impressed on me about this:
1. The Man Whom Micah 4:8 called the Tower of Flock, spoken off by these first preachers, became the ultimate Sacrificial Lamb- from the fields of Bethlehem to the Hills outside Jerusalem (where He gave His Life for us!)
2. All of us like sheep have gone astray and are in need of the Good Shepherd, the Shepherd of shepherds, that same Tower of Flock! Is He YOUR Shepherd too??!!!

THINK ON THESE THINGS - SUNDAY MESSAGE

WHEN IS JESUS COMING BACK? READ ON.....

(The Truth about the Return of the King)

¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever….1 Thessalonians 4 (NLT)

Are these two separate events? If you listen to false prophets like Harold Camping or some such fun-for-a-day media hype, these ARE two events.

Does Jesus come first to take us up, say, to a safe “hiding  place”…and then jump on the most beautiful White Horse in the universe!  After He gets on the Horse, “Stage 2 begins”…the Angels blow a trumpet, the sky splits open and all Heaven breaks loose on the sick and dying world!

Sounds good, huh!! One problem with this pre-tribilutation talk is – IT IS NOT TRUE! It is also NOT biblical. 

We have also seen the LEFT BEHIND movie series with actor Kirk Cameron. These movies were based on a series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (who actually did most of the work on these books). These books sold over 60 million copies in all, most of them to American evangelicals who have bought this easy-believism false doctrine, hook line and sinker! 


Our churches now have bought into the theory that we don’t have to be ready for persecution, tribulation and trials….all we have to is believe some preacher/author or actor that “just before the anti-christ shows up, somehow Jesus will begin “Stage 1” of His Glorious Appearing and “rapture” us! 

The bottom line premise of all of this hype - from church ‘doctrine’ to Left Behind to the Harold Camping nonsense – is “we in the western church will not have to bother with any of this bad stuff in the world. Because right before all the wars, rumors of wars and one world government led by Satan, starts, Jesus is coming to take us out, so we don’t get hurt or persecuted for our beliefs”!

Tell that to the 300 million Chinese Christians persecuted daily for over 60 years – beaten, brutalized and beset by evil ….

Tell that to the hundreds of Eritrean Christians stuffed into shipping containers right now by their persecutors from islam …alive…in the hot African desert heat.

Tell that to the South Sudanese Christians slaughtered by moslem Northern Sudan….and on and on…or are we so special that we have a favored place in Heaven?!

NO and a thousand times, NO! Many from Polycarp to Joan of Ark to John Hus to the present time would have loved to be “caught up” and taken home…but this is not what Jesus promised us!

So before we look briefly at what the Bible actually SAYS about these last days and what the correct view is, let’s see what the RAPTURE is NOT!

WHAT DOES “RAPTURE” MEAN?

First of all, the word “RAPTURE” is not even in the Bible! Where this word comes from starts with verse 17 (see above) of 1 Thessalonians 4. The Apostle Paul says “…and remain on earth will be caught up in the clouds….”

The original word the Apostle used for “caught up “is “harpagēsometha”. This literally means caught up and taken away…in an exclusive one-time event. How we got the word Rapture out of this is simple.

The great Jerome translated the Greek bible of the times (around 390 AD) into Latin and used the Latin  word “rapiemur” to translate the Greek word “taken up”.

Therefore the word “rapture” comes from Jerome’s Latin translation of the original text!

WHERE DID THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE ORIGINATE?

Englishman John Nelson Darby has long been “credited’ as been the originator of the Theory of the Pre- Tribulation rapture of the church in 1827. However, he may have been influenced by the preaching of a Scottish preacher named Edward Irving. Irving was the David Jeremiah of his time!

Irving himself may have been influenced into this incorrect way of thinking by a mystic Spanish Jesuit priest named Manuel Lacunza, who wrote a book in Spanish called “ La venida del Mesías en gloria y majestad” or “The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty”.

This was the first major writing which came close to proposing this idea of believers being removed from the earth before the Judgment of Christ! Irving translated Lacunza’s book into English in 1827, and started preaching about it across England and Scotland.

We believe this is how Darby heard about this new thing and came up with his own interpretation called the “Pre-tribulation Rapture”.

DARBY AND THE SCOFIELD BIBLE

Darby began promoting this also around 1827 and moved in a non-denominational group of Christians called the Plymouth Brethren. They began what we know today as the Bible Conference movement which spread from England, across the Atlantic into America (and there is nothing wrong with that!)

It was an attractive teaching and produced many bestselling books (just like today with the LEFT BEHIND series!!). The best know of these was the SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE!

Cyrus Scofield took Darby’s Teaching (on the Pre Trib Rapture) and marketed it into the mainstream of American Christianity with his, now century long, best-selling version of the Word of God! The major protestant denominations at the time – Baptists, Presbyterians, and the Congregationalists all bought into this big time! The established churches – Catholic, Anglican and Eastern Orthodox – did not.

Since 1909, it has been the best selling edition of the Bible in England, Ireland and before Zondervan’s New International Version (NIV), here in America too!

This is how the doctrine of an easy out for the saints of God got into the mainstream of US Christianity! Scofield also took up another doctrine from Darby and magnified it – the Doctrine of Dispensationalism, which will be discussed another time.

THE HUGE DANGER

With the Scofield Bible in full support, Dr John Walvoord, a top theologian at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) took this to another level when he wrote a defense of the doctrine in a book called “The Rapture Question”. This has been incorrectly influencing two generations of preachers since he wrote this in 1957.

The reason I say that is many of America’s famous preachers and some not so well known, but who promote this without investigating everything, are have been pounding “The Imminent Return of Christ” in their churches. I love the preaching of men like Tony Evans, Swindoll and Dr. Stephen Davey of North Carolina’s Wisdom from the Heart, but their Eschatology (or teaching on End Times Prophesy) has been discolored by indoctrination from seminaries across the spectrum of America!

It is bad enough Scofield put dispensationalism into the mainstream. However because the most seminary graduates are teaching the “Rapture at any time”…across denominational lines, this thing has multiplied itself  to become almost like the Virgin Birth of Christ to Christians!

AND IT IS DEAD WRONG AND FULL OF DANGER!

What do I mean by Danger?  I have seen it first hand in most of the churches I have attended over 20 plus years.  Here is now the danger is REAL and will be eternally deadly one day:

The preaching of the Word now become the following math equation:

Say this prayer + Believe in “Your Heart” + Trust in the Finished work on the Cross = You’re Saved.

It has become now that serious Bible students and the concerned among us have no clue if the person sitting alongside us in church is even saved…but they followed this here formula above…so they “must be”!

Let’s take this further: Person X …let’s say Frank and Francine Smith, follows this formula and now believes they are saved, they are then told by a preacher they are going to heaven (and they may well be saved….but there’s more).

The preacher then starts talking about “Christ can come anytime…even while I am preaching”!! So the new Christians….and the others in the pews who have heard this for months and years, feel all nice and happy because “Jesus is coming to take me away” ….like Calgon!

This false teaching has led to the modern church not caring a hoot about the unsaved on the streets, in the offices etc.

It has led to a complete lack of concern for Discipleship.

It has led to a lack of repentance in the Body of Christ “because we’re in, buddy”!

It has led to a complete lack of Fruit for the Kingdom, because these seminary graduate      pastors and their professors have a derogatory term for anyone who believes in Repentance, accepting Jesus as Lord NOW and doing Good Works (as James commanded – Faith without works is Dead, dead, dead). They call us Lordship Salvation people!

It has led to a lack of prayer ministries and services in churches.

What it has led to is some people being so set in their ways that if anyone challenges this teaching, the hammer literally comes down on them in a completely unchristian manner! I have seen people leaving a church over this kind of debate! Why should this happen if this doctrine of PreTrib Rapture is so “Christ like” and Biblical?!

SO WHAT IS THE CORRECT VIEW

I have laid out the error of the Pre Tribulation Rapture. So, what is the correct teaching and way to study correct this misdirection and then teach others the Bible Truth on it?

Without commentary at all, the Bible will speak for itself on what we call and believe to be true, because when Jesus says it, it is not an option. Several of my brothers and sisters in Christ and I believe in the correct sequence of these verses.

We believe the church will NOT be raptured until the man of sin – the ANTICHRIST- is revealed, and then commits the horrendous Abomination that brings Desolation…as Christ said.

We believe the Third Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt first.  There are already full blown plans and even the garments of the next High Priest are ready to go!! The Sanhedrin who persecuted and killed Christ, have reformed in Israel! Yes, that SAME Sanhedrin!

THE PRE-WRATH RAPTURE:

THE WORDS OF JESUS ARE IN RED AND THE REAL RAPTURE IS EXPLAINED HERE WITH NO COMMENTARY....JUST ALL BIBLE!!!.

Matthew 24: 9-31 (NLT)

⁹ “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. ¹⁰ And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. ¹¹ And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. ¹² Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

 ¹⁵ “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) ¹⁶ “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. ¹⁷ A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. ¹⁸ A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. ¹⁹ How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. ²⁰ And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. ²² In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones (the REAL RAPTURE: PRE-WRATH!!)

the sun will be darkened,      the moon will give no light,   the stars will fall from the sky,

 ²³ “Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. ²⁵ See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

 ²⁶ “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it! ²⁷ For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. ²⁸ Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.

 ³⁰ And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

 ²⁹ “Immediately after the anguish of those days, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 

2 Thessalonians 1: 4-12

 ⁴ We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. ⁵ And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. ⁶ In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

 ⁷ And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. ¹⁰ When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

 ¹¹ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy Google Images