Monday, December 31, 2012
A Word For 2013 from Apostle Nancy
Word for 2013:
Look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for not all is as it seems.
As I was contemplating 2013 and asked the Lord for a word… that is what He spoke to me. I thought about and had a few snapshots in my mind of all these different scenarios that were playing out and what things look like in the natural… But God’s Word spoke to my heart that there are many things in front of us. Some are good and some are bad. But, we cannot walk by sight, or by how we feel. We cannot even use our senses to tell what is really real, for the master deceiver wants to paint a picture so bleak, that we as Christians won’t even open our mouths to speak. But we must speak the Truth of God’s Word. We must stand on the promises that have always stood. We cannot let go, or draw back now! We cannot fail to be with Him at the bow. For though it looks like it, and well you may think, but our ship will not sink, as long as the helm is held by the Masters firm and steady hand. So, it is time to stand! Stand upon your watch to see. See those things that can not been seen except by the eye of the Spirit as though in a dream. So stretch out in Faith, dare to believe, that He has given to you what you will need. So now just receive.
Many things are presenting themselves to us, and a great deal of it is in the form of bad news. 2012 has had some disappointments in it and our hope we seem to lose. Indeed people made promises they could not keep, problems and sorrows seemed to have grown so deep! Bad things happened with the threat of more in store. Economic troubles make us want to go hide and just shut the door! Things heating up in the Middle East, will the drama never cease? Evil forces want to take Israel down, want to wear her blood like a victory crown. Israel is not the problem, so don’t cast your blame, for these forces want America’s downfall just the same. The Great Satan they jeer, we don’t want you here! It is the lifelong battle of darkness and light. But the struggle will not be won only by Power and Might. It is Spiritual for those who have eyes to see, the natural reminds us of our own mortality. It all comes down to choices, and what will you choose? More lies to swallow with more to lose. Or, trust the light of One you cannot see. Step out of Babylon’s bondage and finally be free! The world is a place of wonder and delight, but the world system that runs it, is full of chicanery and fright. So do not look for answers there, the world has nothing which can compare with the Matchless Beauty, The Sovereignty, Truth and Light found in the Heart of God, or the Love which burns so Bright. Jesus is STILL the Answer for the world today. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers or give heed to what they say. Yes, things out there are dark, and the darkness will get only darker still. But now is the finest hour to be a light shining on a hill! Will you take that upward climb? Will you, all the follies of this world resign? Truly let your light shine! When you have given it all to Jesus, then you are living with nothing to lose. So do not fear to come up near, to that old rugged cross so dear. Divest yourself of all that holds you back, from running fully on that glorious racing track. Do not look at what you can see, step out in Faith and Trust In ME!
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18
(AMP) Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.
Two men of God have spoken to me and told me what they hear about 2013.
Pastor Rusty Bowles has told me it will be a Year of Activation.
Many things will get activated.
Pastor David Carey has said it will be a Year of the Holy Spirit.
Do you see how these two fit together? As we give place to the Holy Spirit and allow activation of our faith and gifts for His service, the Holy Spirit will step in to move through us, move upon us and for us.
Glory! It is time for a glory invasion. It is time for God’s Presence through His power and signs and miracles to be so in evidence upon this earth! We have had enough of mediocrity. It is time for the sons of God to come forth! Problems present themselves, begging for answers and solutions. We have the Answer! His name is Jesus. He is the only one who can free us. So be free from the cares of this world. The tyranny and demands that do not belong to us. Truly God cares for us and is our ample reward and our shield. So loose any fear, rise up, be healed, be whole, be still and know! Know that I AM GOD!
~x~x~x~
Hallelujah! Amen!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Darkness is simply an absence of Light
We hear a lot about those going thru dark things, dark times, dark situations. Some feel as if they are in the darkness in finances, emotions, difficulty, direction.
I have heard from the Lord in this.
Light.
There is no substitute for light.
It is not enough to love Jesus. It's not enough to read His Word. It's not about being with other light bearers. That is a given. All those things.
What is needed is to find light and let it come into your darkness. We know this even in our common culture. "a light went on" to speak of an idea. "Illuminate me" to speak of someone who is going to explain something to you. People talk of revelation as "greater Light".
When a person has received darkness, they furrow their brow, a dark look comes over their face. They have seen a dark thing.
So, Prophet, I feel dark. I see only darkness in my situation. Thinks in the world look pretty dark. The financial situation seems to have no light at the end of the tunnel. It seems like there is only a black dark hole into which I am sinking.
It only takes a little light to back off the darkness. IF you are feeling like things are hopeless, bad, dark, not getting better...I have a word for you, the light of the world, the one in whom there is no darkness comes to bring new light into your life. YOU don't have to push back the darkness. You don't have to beg. You only need to come to the realization that he is the source of light and if you will allow him to shine into and around your life you can find the way out of the dark place.
Some of that comes by your calling in, calling down, calling up. The confession of your mouth will darken or release HIS light into your life. Do YOU think for a second that Father, the Creator of all who said, "let there be LIGHT" ever intended for you to live in that place? NO, A thousand times no.
If you feel helpless, alone and in the dark, other people can't help. They can bring comfort, but they can't bring light. TV won't help.
You are right now creating by your beliefs, attitudes, confessions, conversation and thoughts the mountaintop you are living on or the hole you have dug. To get out of that hole, STOP DIGGING.
It took a while to get there, It's going to take a while to get out. You CAN get out... if you will look up and start taking steps with your mind, soul and Spirit.
It's not simplistic. You tried before. You have looked for another way. There is NO OTHER WAY. He is going to provide the light on your path enough for you to walk the next step. That path is called the way of peace. Find it. Walk on it.
I can't counsel your way onto or over that path. You must find it. YET, it's there and it is exactly what you will need to make it in the days and years ahead. Times all around will get dark, yet you can be the light of the world...as HE shines in and thru you.
Find peace, Find light, Find rest
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE...on doves wings
I have heard from the Lord in this.
Light.
There is no substitute for light.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." John 8:12
It is not enough to love Jesus. It's not enough to read His Word. It's not about being with other light bearers. That is a given. All those things.
What is needed is to find light and let it come into your darkness. We know this even in our common culture. "a light went on" to speak of an idea. "Illuminate me" to speak of someone who is going to explain something to you. People talk of revelation as "greater Light".
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 1 John 1:5
When a person has received darkness, they furrow their brow, a dark look comes over their face. They have seen a dark thing.
So, Prophet, I feel dark. I see only darkness in my situation. Thinks in the world look pretty dark. The financial situation seems to have no light at the end of the tunnel. It seems like there is only a black dark hole into which I am sinking.
It only takes a little light to back off the darkness. IF you are feeling like things are hopeless, bad, dark, not getting better...I have a word for you, the light of the world, the one in whom there is no darkness comes to bring new light into your life. YOU don't have to push back the darkness. You don't have to beg. You only need to come to the realization that he is the source of light and if you will allow him to shine into and around your life you can find the way out of the dark place.
Some of that comes by your calling in, calling down, calling up. The confession of your mouth will darken or release HIS light into your life. Do YOU think for a second that Father, the Creator of all who said, "let there be LIGHT" ever intended for you to live in that place? NO, A thousand times no.
If you feel helpless, alone and in the dark, other people can't help. They can bring comfort, but they can't bring light. TV won't help.
You are right now creating by your beliefs, attitudes, confessions, conversation and thoughts the mountaintop you are living on or the hole you have dug. To get out of that hole, STOP DIGGING.
It took a while to get there, It's going to take a while to get out. You CAN get out... if you will look up and start taking steps with your mind, soul and Spirit.
It's not simplistic. You tried before. You have looked for another way. There is NO OTHER WAY. He is going to provide the light on your path enough for you to walk the next step. That path is called the way of peace. Find it. Walk on it.
I can't counsel your way onto or over that path. You must find it. YET, it's there and it is exactly what you will need to make it in the days and years ahead. Times all around will get dark, yet you can be the light of the world...as HE shines in and thru you.
"If only I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest. Psalm 55:61
Find peace, Find light, Find rest
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE...on doves wings
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Come out of Babylon and be ye separate by David L. Smith
The population of the world is being separated, within the hearts of each individual person, into two separate camps.
There is the camp of Jacob and the camp of Esau; this is those of Ishmael and Isaac; of Cain and Abel. These are those who are separated out into two kingdoms - the kingdoms of the world, the kingdoms of death - OR - the Kingdom of the Living Lord God, the Kingdom of Life.
The Children of God were called out of the Land of Bondage - Egypt - and they were called into the Promised Land. This was a Figure of Speech indicating the Return of the Last Days. Again, this Figure was established with the call to return from captivity, from Babylon - and to build the Temple of God. The walls thereof were restored - building a separation out... This is Spirit. This is Flesh. Let those with ears to hear, HEAR.
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 KJV - "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,"
There is the camp of Jacob and the camp of Esau; this is those of Ishmael and Isaac; of Cain and Abel. These are those who are separated out into two kingdoms - the kingdoms of the world, the kingdoms of death - OR - the Kingdom of the Living Lord God, the Kingdom of Life.
The Children of God were called out of the Land of Bondage - Egypt - and they were called into the Promised Land. This was a Figure of Speech indicating the Return of the Last Days. Again, this Figure was established with the call to return from captivity, from Babylon - and to build the Temple of God. The walls thereof were restored - building a separation out... This is Spirit. This is Flesh. Let those with ears to hear, HEAR.
Hear ye the Word of the Lord -Haggai 1:14 KJV - "And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,"
"I am calling out, and raising up, my people - these are they who are completing the work of My Temple in these last days. They build not a foundation of stone by a work of their hands. But they are called to build within the hearts of man. These are called to build in the foundations of eternity.
These are the children that go up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem - the city of the Living God, the City which Abraham sought. These are they who are My Witnesses - these are Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. These are My People who are refusing to Walk in one accord with the Children of Bondage, the Children of Captivity.
These are they who have been called out by Haggai. These are they who chose to build and not to destroy. These are those who choose to establish and not lie down. These are those who choose the way that they will go - they walk in the Way of the City of their Living God.
Man calls them a different name - yet who will you believe? Will you believe the Voice of Him who establishes? Or will you believe the voice of he who destroys? Because I Love, I chose to give Choice. Why do you think that the Tree was placed in the Garden? So that Adam would have CHOICE.
In the same way - I have called out my Witnesses. Just as I said that the Spirit of Prophecy is the Testimony of Jesus, My Witnesses choose My Word over the world of man.
Choose you this day whom ye will serve - because you SHALL choose - for I, God, have declared it."
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 KJV - "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,"
THE CUTTING AWAY by Pam Clark
From her Website
(pamclark@prophetic.net)
I keep sensing in my spirit that something “shift changing” is about to happen. I know, too, that I am not alone in sensing that. I keep feeling alerted in my spirit that things are not going to be the same as usual, and while some have collapsed into fear over that and expect dark things, that is not what I believe the Lord wants.
Because so many others have written on this, I have refrained, but over these holidays (2012), I have sensed an increase of the alert to the point that I am seeking God about it. It’s a good thing to be flexible in the Spirit and learn how to “ride the waves” so to speak, and then you are rested when He speaks to act. Just because you hear something doesn’t always mean that you are supposed to act, but when He does say to act, you want to be ready and able to accomplish the things being asked or required.
God’s Presence will often have a sense of “awe” with it, or a fear of His judgments/ transactions. If you are sincerely doing all you know, and you have studied to show yourself approved unto God (not man), then usually when a shift or change happens, you are prepared for it. As I was feeling His Presence the last few days and even this morning, I asked for the words to explain it, and what I got was “the cutting away is coming.”
With the approaching budget cuts and fiscal cliff, many have been concerned about the condition of America, and if you are in the world more than the Spirit, it could alarm you. But I felt today that what is coming is for the good of America. When we personally have to go through budget cuts, we have to prioritize what is most important to us and plan our spending around that, and then if there is more, we know what is covered and what is not and we choose wisely from that position. If we have given, then we also have investments! Just be sure your giving comes from your heart and not just another’s that has been paid as a tax into another man’s system.
I believe with the needs in the world, most Christians do not have a large savings, unless they have been specifically directed to do so. God loves us counting on Him for our day to day lives, because it keeps the bond of affection going and the acknowledgement of needs met strong. When we get too much, often we get distracted by things that don’t really profit. We get concerns that really are not real concerns but we have become convinced they are.
Sometimes God just allows things to manifest so their full expression comes forth. For years along with many others, I have cried out for America and not seen the results I expected for the travail. After a number of years, I had to step back and ask, “What is really going on?” Well, I had to seek Him more to figure it out! He changed the paradigm of my thinking. He was not denying my good will, but rather just the way I thought about it. And part of that included the question of “What is really most important?”
And the logical conclusion of course starts with “What are the basics?” And in a society of seeming prosperity, that can be a hard question. Like children with a wish list, we can make a lot of entries on our “wants.” But what is most important?
As I have pondered that over the years, I also realized that I needed to consider the children of Israel who escaped the bondage of Egypt, but never got the Egyptian ways out of them. The Egyptians had been their oppressors but their ways became idols to them because it was lorded over them. When they became more prosperous, they remembered “the ways of power” and replicated that, rather than seeking the revealed ways of the Lord.
They wanted to remain in Egypt as the head and not the tail, and not see what God wanted to do with them as Israel and as His holy people! Others were so used to the hardships of the bondage that it was a struggle for them to accept any other lifestyle, and so they were afraid to allow the good will of God to awaken in their lives. When something would “feel good”, they would be waiting for the other shoe to drop of something bad that would harm them, and so in many ways, they made pain their friend and idol. For them, if it didn’t hurt, then it wasn’t real, but that was not God’s way.
If we want to move forward in God, we have to be open to new things that express His good will for us and be sensitive and alert to things that He says or reveals is not His will. The world is tricky as we know, because some things that are good are presented through ways that are wrong. Some people say that “anything goes because it is love.” But God doesn’t say that.
Some say, “if it feels good, do it,” some say “might makes right,” some say “all is fair in love and war”, and some have no sensitivity at all. There are many examples of this in modern thought, and there has been a real strong social engineering going on via the media and through other venues that have worked strongly, even through churches, to program thoughts other ways.
Thoughts lead to feelings and feelings lead to actions. It is just how we work. If we change our thoughts, then we change our feelings and then our actions will change, too. But then we want to find that other “group think” and often I have found, that is the real challenge. But more importantly, if we find “God think,” then no matter what happens around us, we will be okay. Even in a Christian community, that can be a challenge, because of the battle and warfare waged by the enemy. And that has been fierce, I believe many will say that, along with me.
But God has allowed some of that for a reason – the betrayals, the strippings, the fears, the ‘what if’s', the ka-zillion negative or false positive prophecies. Your emotions can go up and down with hopes and disappointments. But all that has allowed God’s Voice to become distinct to you. It has caused you to say, “What is real?” and “What is right?” and “What is important?” And certain Scriptures and mindsets come forth from that.
And now is the time for the “cutting away” of things not needed anymore. When there is a budget cut, we have to ask, “What can we eliminate that we don’t really need?” Of course the flesh screams at such a time but in the long run, we end up often being healthier for it. If we have learned how to be still and hear God, then when the cutting comes, and He slices through those membranes that are so tender, yet which keep us together, then we won’t have a jerk reaction that hits the knife the wrong way.
Like a sheep getting its wool shaved off, when the process is done, we will go jumping and skipping for the heavy weight that is now off of us! More and more, society wants to invite us in to the complex world of confusion that they themselves can’t even explain. They blindly trust what “somebody else” says, and they follow a stranger’s voice. But in reality, God has allowed to manifest a system that can’t support itself.
Many will go into a panic and proclaim false prophecy fears that can become self fulfilling if they persist in them. But if we can hear God’s Voice through this, we will find a better more simpler way. When the world starts crashing down, the people of God will still be standing. After all, He has been feeding nature for many years. And He has plans to redeem that, too!
The longer the confusion goes on, the bigger the crash and the bigger the stand that God will make through those who believe Him. “Egypt” will crash, but God’s people, though seeming small to some, will have not just wisdom but also a power – a well meaning power – that will go with them.
Just as in earlier times, there will be some who will go the way of Achan and Korah and they will go the route of selfishness and the route of rebellion of self will for their own kingdoms, but they will not prosper in it. God’s sheep hear His Voice! And a stranger’s voice, they will not follow.
There is a cutting away coming and we do not need to be afraid. The voice of reason with the Spirit of God will prevail! We need to learn how to be still and know that He is God and that He will be exalted, but also know that He delights in His own people. He will make ways where there seems to many to be no way. He will have good when so many others only see doom and gloom.
If you hear the beat of a different drummer, be glad! If you are seeking God with that, it can be the right and true way. You are being prepared for, and you are preparing for the future in God! No one really gainsays God. Some seem to get away with some dreadful stuff for a season, but there is a God of justice and when His Spirit rises, no one can oppose it. It is good to be on that welcoming committee!
Yes, a cutting away is coming, a trimming, a shaving, a reduction in some things that is going to bring about good – if you stay in the right Spirit. Let the Word of God abide within you, claim it and proclaim it, and trust Him and it will be well with your soul.
(pamclark@prophetic.net)
I keep sensing in my spirit that something “shift changing” is about to happen. I know, too, that I am not alone in sensing that. I keep feeling alerted in my spirit that things are not going to be the same as usual, and while some have collapsed into fear over that and expect dark things, that is not what I believe the Lord wants.
Because so many others have written on this, I have refrained, but over these holidays (2012), I have sensed an increase of the alert to the point that I am seeking God about it. It’s a good thing to be flexible in the Spirit and learn how to “ride the waves” so to speak, and then you are rested when He speaks to act. Just because you hear something doesn’t always mean that you are supposed to act, but when He does say to act, you want to be ready and able to accomplish the things being asked or required.
God’s Presence will often have a sense of “awe” with it, or a fear of His judgments/ transactions. If you are sincerely doing all you know, and you have studied to show yourself approved unto God (not man), then usually when a shift or change happens, you are prepared for it. As I was feeling His Presence the last few days and even this morning, I asked for the words to explain it, and what I got was “the cutting away is coming.”
With the approaching budget cuts and fiscal cliff, many have been concerned about the condition of America, and if you are in the world more than the Spirit, it could alarm you. But I felt today that what is coming is for the good of America. When we personally have to go through budget cuts, we have to prioritize what is most important to us and plan our spending around that, and then if there is more, we know what is covered and what is not and we choose wisely from that position. If we have given, then we also have investments! Just be sure your giving comes from your heart and not just another’s that has been paid as a tax into another man’s system.
I believe with the needs in the world, most Christians do not have a large savings, unless they have been specifically directed to do so. God loves us counting on Him for our day to day lives, because it keeps the bond of affection going and the acknowledgement of needs met strong. When we get too much, often we get distracted by things that don’t really profit. We get concerns that really are not real concerns but we have become convinced they are.
Sometimes God just allows things to manifest so their full expression comes forth. For years along with many others, I have cried out for America and not seen the results I expected for the travail. After a number of years, I had to step back and ask, “What is really going on?” Well, I had to seek Him more to figure it out! He changed the paradigm of my thinking. He was not denying my good will, but rather just the way I thought about it. And part of that included the question of “What is really most important?”
And the logical conclusion of course starts with “What are the basics?” And in a society of seeming prosperity, that can be a hard question. Like children with a wish list, we can make a lot of entries on our “wants.” But what is most important?
As I have pondered that over the years, I also realized that I needed to consider the children of Israel who escaped the bondage of Egypt, but never got the Egyptian ways out of them. The Egyptians had been their oppressors but their ways became idols to them because it was lorded over them. When they became more prosperous, they remembered “the ways of power” and replicated that, rather than seeking the revealed ways of the Lord.
They wanted to remain in Egypt as the head and not the tail, and not see what God wanted to do with them as Israel and as His holy people! Others were so used to the hardships of the bondage that it was a struggle for them to accept any other lifestyle, and so they were afraid to allow the good will of God to awaken in their lives. When something would “feel good”, they would be waiting for the other shoe to drop of something bad that would harm them, and so in many ways, they made pain their friend and idol. For them, if it didn’t hurt, then it wasn’t real, but that was not God’s way.
If we want to move forward in God, we have to be open to new things that express His good will for us and be sensitive and alert to things that He says or reveals is not His will. The world is tricky as we know, because some things that are good are presented through ways that are wrong. Some people say that “anything goes because it is love.” But God doesn’t say that.
Some say, “if it feels good, do it,” some say “might makes right,” some say “all is fair in love and war”, and some have no sensitivity at all. There are many examples of this in modern thought, and there has been a real strong social engineering going on via the media and through other venues that have worked strongly, even through churches, to program thoughts other ways.
Thoughts lead to feelings and feelings lead to actions. It is just how we work. If we change our thoughts, then we change our feelings and then our actions will change, too. But then we want to find that other “group think” and often I have found, that is the real challenge. But more importantly, if we find “God think,” then no matter what happens around us, we will be okay. Even in a Christian community, that can be a challenge, because of the battle and warfare waged by the enemy. And that has been fierce, I believe many will say that, along with me.
But God has allowed some of that for a reason – the betrayals, the strippings, the fears, the ‘what if’s', the ka-zillion negative or false positive prophecies. Your emotions can go up and down with hopes and disappointments. But all that has allowed God’s Voice to become distinct to you. It has caused you to say, “What is real?” and “What is right?” and “What is important?” And certain Scriptures and mindsets come forth from that.
And now is the time for the “cutting away” of things not needed anymore. When there is a budget cut, we have to ask, “What can we eliminate that we don’t really need?” Of course the flesh screams at such a time but in the long run, we end up often being healthier for it. If we have learned how to be still and hear God, then when the cutting comes, and He slices through those membranes that are so tender, yet which keep us together, then we won’t have a jerk reaction that hits the knife the wrong way.
Like a sheep getting its wool shaved off, when the process is done, we will go jumping and skipping for the heavy weight that is now off of us! More and more, society wants to invite us in to the complex world of confusion that they themselves can’t even explain. They blindly trust what “somebody else” says, and they follow a stranger’s voice. But in reality, God has allowed to manifest a system that can’t support itself.
Many will go into a panic and proclaim false prophecy fears that can become self fulfilling if they persist in them. But if we can hear God’s Voice through this, we will find a better more simpler way. When the world starts crashing down, the people of God will still be standing. After all, He has been feeding nature for many years. And He has plans to redeem that, too!
The longer the confusion goes on, the bigger the crash and the bigger the stand that God will make through those who believe Him. “Egypt” will crash, but God’s people, though seeming small to some, will have not just wisdom but also a power – a well meaning power – that will go with them.
Just as in earlier times, there will be some who will go the way of Achan and Korah and they will go the route of selfishness and the route of rebellion of self will for their own kingdoms, but they will not prosper in it. God’s sheep hear His Voice! And a stranger’s voice, they will not follow.
There is a cutting away coming and we do not need to be afraid. The voice of reason with the Spirit of God will prevail! We need to learn how to be still and know that He is God and that He will be exalted, but also know that He delights in His own people. He will make ways where there seems to many to be no way. He will have good when so many others only see doom and gloom.
If you hear the beat of a different drummer, be glad! If you are seeking God with that, it can be the right and true way. You are being prepared for, and you are preparing for the future in God! No one really gainsays God. Some seem to get away with some dreadful stuff for a season, but there is a God of justice and when His Spirit rises, no one can oppose it. It is good to be on that welcoming committee!
Yes, a cutting away is coming, a trimming, a shaving, a reduction in some things that is going to bring about good – if you stay in the right Spirit. Let the Word of God abide within you, claim it and proclaim it, and trust Him and it will be well with your soul.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Difficulty and Opportunity
Some people see difficulty in every opportunity. Others see opportunity in every difficulty. This is going to be a great year of tremendous opportunity... many will see it as difficulty.
Don't be that one... be the one who knows behind every shipwreck is revival. Behind every snake bite is a demonstration of the Glory of God. Behind every threat is a stepping stone to destiny God already ordained for you before the foundation of the world was laid.
Good is waiting on you. You were created for this time. You could have been born any time other than the one you were, but you are here, you are now and you are what is happening. Enemies will try to take you out, shut you down, break you up, lock you out... BUT YOU were ordained for this time.
When the world screams bad news, stay with the ship, don't forsake the place God called you to. Be ready to grab on and find yourself exactly where you are supposed to be after the storm.
Don't be that one... be the one who knows behind every shipwreck is revival. Behind every snake bite is a demonstration of the Glory of God. Behind every threat is a stepping stone to destiny God already ordained for you before the foundation of the world was laid.
Good is waiting on you. You were created for this time. You could have been born any time other than the one you were, but you are here, you are now and you are what is happening. Enemies will try to take you out, shut you down, break you up, lock you out... BUT YOU were ordained for this time.
When the world screams bad news, stay with the ship, don't forsake the place God called you to. Be ready to grab on and find yourself exactly where you are supposed to be after the storm.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Kim Clement: "You Have Entered into a Season of Fruitfulness"
December 1, 2012 - From The Den:"From the beginning, before time began, I knew this hour; I knew this day. Was it hidden from Me? Am I afraid?" says the Lord of Hosts. "Even if Israel stood alone, watch. Read the history. Before time began, I knew of this moment and I knew that from the miry clay would emerge an upright reed. From the mire, I will bring something upright and something good.
"You have entered into a season of fruitfulness, and yet they cry, 'Barren is the land; barren are the people.'" But God says, "I have called that which is barren, fruitful, and I have called that which is weak, strong. And I have called that which is poor, rich. Therefore, say what I say for the redeemed of the Lord shall say So!' Watch and see as I demonstrate My glory and majesty," says the Lord.
What I've been dealing with and what I've been feeling from the Lord is that He wants to destroy unfruitfulness and barrenness and wants to make this a fruitful month and a fruitful 2013. Do you believe that this could be possible? Now if there's faith in your heart, please hear what I'm saying because I am literally giving you a prophetic proclamation that God wants fruitfulness and He wants it this month and He wants it in the year 2013 – and don't tell me it cannot be done.
Kim Clement
Prophetic Image Expressions
Email: hope@kimclement.com
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Challenge, Change, and The New Year by Vaughn Allen Clark
Friends,
God bless you and your loved ones during this joyous time of celebration—the first time Jesus came as a Babe; the next He will be the Conquering King. The kingdoms of this earth, are become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and HE shall reign forever and ever, and the goverment shall be upon His Shoulders, and He shall be called Wonderful, Glorious, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The Rock of Ages....
As the Rock becomes a Mountain that fills the whole earth, the beast arises as well....may all of us who believe take note the beast has feet of crumbling clay mixed with iron, both strong, but unstable and temporary. Take heed, child of God, that you implore the Lord to separate you from this diabolical system arising that will seek to hook every one of us through the control of money: every cent in fact.
I marvel at a world that has greater faith in demonically inspired Mayan prophecy than the Word of the Living God. I vacillate between knowing greater peace than ever before and draining weariness from "being on constant alert"—-that is the best way I can describe this transient season and how it impacts me.
The reality of pilgrimage is on us all and we so do not want to sever roots and pack for the journey. In the midst of all that is spinning around us, there is one constant I hear continually in the Spirit—"Safe Passage". There comes a time and season in which the epiphany of our absolute dependence on God, in Whom alone rests our deliverance, produces a peaceful sobriety we must endeavor not to be tainted with melancholy. It is that hour of reckoning during which it is Scriptural to pray Jesus's prayer of consecration and dedication,
"Not My will but Thine be done!"
The world has become an arena, a stage of the profoundly ridiculous, absurd, and shocking. With each staged event, a global noose tightens around the neck of blind America. Mankind, and sadly, even many in the Church, are bent on worshipping man as God. Strong delusion has come and we like the Kool Aid.
Somewhere in the hidden place of the soul, each believer is hearing a constant whisper which brings trembling and selective deafness,
"And now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified....."
As we approach the New Year, let us find solace in the love of God, in the Author and Finisher of our Faith, the Captain of our souls—-He has gone beyond the veil for us. 2013 will be a year of challenges and changes in the midst of which the Holy Spirit will engineer the recovery of vibrant, Biblical faith in Jesus Christ. Those who choose sight over blindness will separate themselves to power and committment. This is a season also of shock, for the spirit of antichrist is rapidly raising up a false Christianity that is not Christian and a patriotism that is not American, but global.
Service to the state will emerge as service to God. I see cruel mockery and delusional doctrine emerging, even justifying, blatant rebellion to the written Word of God, in the Name of God.
I see a marriage in Hell between the government and a church that draws its sustenance from man and not God. I see pseudo Christians oppressing true Christians with the blessing and benefaction of pure evil fueled by government money and sanctions.
I see a true revival breaking forth that rocks the foundations of America and the division in the country becoming incredibly distinct—we will both weep and rejoice, weeping for what has been lost and rejoicing in what God is doing. The sound of weeping and rejoicing will be as one voice.
Our flesh strives for the broad and level path of temporary ease and sudden destruction, but we are being forced into the desert of the strait and narrow way which leads to eternal life. We are being tested by the enemy and being forced to choose between an earthly kingdom and the Word of God. All that we have known and heard about Jesus and have held in our hearts has become a piercing and dividing sword.
We will either know and accept the brokeness of Christ or enter into the arrogance and hardness of antichrist. For such purpose, a great gathering is being prepared. We will all be drawn to the national and global spiritual summit of Mount Carmel.....there Baal will be mocked by the few and God will be tempted by the many. There will be great drama and blood-letting, even hysteria, by the priests and worshippers of Baal. Those who dare will stand in the Lord and the power of His might.
Many are in the valley of decision even now, forgetting that God is the majority right by Himself, and that He has made sure there are more with us than against us. It is so sad that there is really except the Lord. Baal worship centers on sexual license of every kind, sybaritic materialism and prosperity, and the sacrifice of children to the fire.....how could anyone called by the name of Christian surrender to such demonic opposition to all that is called and understood as God? How can we stand in church and pretend?
God still has a people who have not bowed their knees to the madness and cruel tyranny...
Where are the preachers and prophets of the Most High God who will lift up the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel without apology? Why do God's people trample the courts of the Lord running after apostates while hating those who speak and preach the Truth? Jesus has become a Rock of offense and stumbling to His own, and His own are not receiving Him.
We seem to have forgotten that we are Homeward Bound.
There is peril in the days ahead, but also great promise: yes we will face many temporal pressures, but the greatest peril is within. Will you harden your heart against God in the Day of Adversity?
Worship.....there is a time to Worship when nothing else is to be done, or can be done. It is the time when one's eyes are open to the folly and reality of this world, when man has played hell with all his "options" until there are none left. The best day of your life is when the wild and certain stepping stone of Faith in Jesus is the first step you take outside the gates of the city of man towards the Lord—-Homecoming happens in the heart many years before our bodies follow if we are wise.
The Master Plan of God is in full swing and no one in Hell, no one in Heaven and no one on the earth can take you onward—except Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Living God.
Christian, the Day Star is arising, the Son of Righteousness, with healing in His Wings. It is Harvest time. The world is so convicted that even the mention of a Christmas tree or a manger scene drives them insane—they tremble when Christmas Carols are sung. Jesus makes those who love the god of this world physically ill. He is the Stone that the builders rejected and has become a stone of stumbling and offense to the disobedient.
So, you that believe—don't be shocked. Jesus said there would be days like this.
In this Celebration of His First Coming in the growing light of His Second Coming, let us draw near to Him and to one another in sincere love and faith. This is a season for gratitude and for reckoning:
Christ, the Savior is born!
Jesus has risen from the dead and has presented His Blood on the Mercy Seat before God—He sits at the Right Hand of the Father!
Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is coming back and every knee will bow!
Gratitude that He loved us when we were yet sinners and gave Himself for us as sacrifice, gratitude that our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life—are we grateful? I am thankful that even though I was once an enemy of God, worthy of His Wrath and eternal damnation, He has redeemed me—the Price has been paid in full, all my sins nailed to the Cross of Calvary, cast away from me as far as the East is from the West, and forgotten by God.
My sin oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not the part but the whole, is nailed to the Cross and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul! It is well, with my soul, it is well, it is well, it is well with my soul! This is my prayer for each of you in this truly New Advent in our understanding of the Church Age, that it would be well with your souls. Do not let your love for Jesus fade as this world lurches and flickers.
I will be bold—choose wisely—choose life for the Lord draws near. This is no ordinary Christmas and no ordinary time. Seek the Lord individually and as family—take Communion during your celebration, knowing the Blood of Jesus covers the doorposts and lintels of your homes. Do all you can to show the love of Jesus and to be kind to others, especially the less fortunate. Remember that we face days in which the only stable Foundation and Path is Him. Quite frankly, He is our food, and drink, and safety, our Shield and our exceedingly great reward.
Wait on Him, strengthen yourself in Him, and rise up on eagle's wings. We are in a deep cleansing mode.
This is the time for repentance and clarity. History is being made everyday. God is about to overthrow the overthrow. God is about to shake both Heaven and earth. Many of you are being strategically disengaged and will be reconnected spiritually and for some geographically. Some of you are fighting wars God never called you to—let go of offense and trying to be right. Deceit is propspering in the hearts of the damned—separate yourself from any inclination to manipulation, sorcery, mind games, control, and seduction. God is going to throw Jezebel into a sick bed because of her witchcraft....too many of God's people collect souls for their own indulgence. Look up the word "prudence" which is what we must pursue, powerful prudence in the face of the tragic demonic depravity that is on the land.
Let your prayers be pure and not the manifestation of wickedness seeking to control others to get them to do what you want them to. Remember that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubborness as the sin of idolatry.
Don't trade your soul for temporal security—never allow anyone to insert a computer id chip anywhere on your body for any reason. Our Kingdom is not of this world. It is time to stand up and proclaim like a trumpet that God is calling His people to repentance and to separation from this horrible system. God will take care of you. We are going to find out experiencially the command, " The just will live by faith."
SAFE PASSAGE....God is about to make a show of His Sovereign power. Time is spent and much will come quickly. Be ready to do the work of the evangelist and keep your testimony no matter what.
God bless and keep each of you in the love of the Truth!
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year in Jesus Name from Glorious Light Ministries.
Vaughn Allen Clark www.vaughnclark.com
Glorious Light Ministries
P.O. Box 16217
Dublin, GA 31040
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Driving and the Kingdom
This, then, is how
you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your
kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." - Matthew 6:9-10
Imagine that you have never driven a car. You are not aware of all the features of a car. Up to this point, you have had to walk everywhere you go. All you are told is that you are about to receive something that will get you anywhere you need to go. The day arrives and you are given a brand new car. You get in and drive the car. However, the emergency brake is on, preventing you from going faster than 20 miles per hour. No one tells you that you should unlock the brake. Regardless, you are excited because you no longer have to walk to your destination. You are not told that the car has lights, which would allow you to drive at night. Neither are you told about the many other wonderful features of the car. You just know you have a new car that will get you anywhere you want to go at 20 miles per hour. For the rest of your life, you drive this incredible car during the daytime only at 20 miles per hour.
Why would Jesus pray that things in earth would be like they are in Heaven if it were not possible? When Jesus came to earth, He came in order to penetrate the very kingdom of darkness with light. He came to bring healing to sickness, replace sadness with joy, and fill meaninglessness with purpose. He came to change things for the better for a world that had no hope outside of God.
Using the illustration above, Jesus did not come to merely give us a ticket to Heaven (a car that you drive only in the daytime at 20 miles per hour). He came to bring us much more-the Kingdom of God on earth. Nowhere in the Bible will you find the term, gospel of salvation. The Church does not exist for Heaven, but for earth. If it existed only for Heaven, then each of us would immediately be taken to Heaven. There would be no reason for us to remain on earth. So why has God allowed us to receive this new birth and remain on earth? It is so that we might bring the Kingdom of God into our world-our families, our workplace, and our communities.
God wants you to bring the Kingdom of God into the territory He has given you so that His will can be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Your domain is your workplace, family, and community. Ask God to show you how He wants to penetrate the darkness of your domain with His light. Then you will see and experience all the features of this gift that has been given to you.
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
12-22-2012
Imagine that you have never driven a car. You are not aware of all the features of a car. Up to this point, you have had to walk everywhere you go. All you are told is that you are about to receive something that will get you anywhere you need to go. The day arrives and you are given a brand new car. You get in and drive the car. However, the emergency brake is on, preventing you from going faster than 20 miles per hour. No one tells you that you should unlock the brake. Regardless, you are excited because you no longer have to walk to your destination. You are not told that the car has lights, which would allow you to drive at night. Neither are you told about the many other wonderful features of the car. You just know you have a new car that will get you anywhere you want to go at 20 miles per hour. For the rest of your life, you drive this incredible car during the daytime only at 20 miles per hour.
Why would Jesus pray that things in earth would be like they are in Heaven if it were not possible? When Jesus came to earth, He came in order to penetrate the very kingdom of darkness with light. He came to bring healing to sickness, replace sadness with joy, and fill meaninglessness with purpose. He came to change things for the better for a world that had no hope outside of God.
Using the illustration above, Jesus did not come to merely give us a ticket to Heaven (a car that you drive only in the daytime at 20 miles per hour). He came to bring us much more-the Kingdom of God on earth. Nowhere in the Bible will you find the term, gospel of salvation. The Church does not exist for Heaven, but for earth. If it existed only for Heaven, then each of us would immediately be taken to Heaven. There would be no reason for us to remain on earth. So why has God allowed us to receive this new birth and remain on earth? It is so that we might bring the Kingdom of God into our world-our families, our workplace, and our communities.
God wants you to bring the Kingdom of God into the territory He has given you so that His will can be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Your domain is your workplace, family, and community. Ask God to show you how He wants to penetrate the darkness of your domain with His light. Then you will see and experience all the features of this gift that has been given to you.
Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman
12-22-2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Unity... the Devil is a Divider
In a recent discussion with a very bright man about a book written by a minister I know well in reputation as a divider of the brethren, I made the comment that his constant lambasting of every "heresy" he sees is not only over the top, but ungodly. He is one of those heresy hunters that lurk on the fringes of Christianity who's only demonically driven purpose is to cause people to waver in faith and reject the fellowship of the saints for reasons conceived in hell. They are the devil's agents to divide and conquer.
I know that those who are so intent on correcting others using Bible bullets and private interpretation of the word of God as a wedge believe they are doing the will of God. Not really. They are tools of the enemy. Using intellect, reason and education to try to cast doubt where none existed before.
Disunity began at the tower of Babel when all those who at one time spoke one language, suddenly could not communicate. It was God's purpose to stop a man worshipping spirit. At Pentecost, suddenly man began to speak the oracles of God... in a language only understood in the Spirit of Unity. A reversal of the babel experience. Unity in the Holy Ghost became a reality. Worship of the True and living God by the indwelling of the Spirit in UNITY
When I hear or read someone who is hypercritical of other people's theology, I become impatient and question where that attitude came from. I can give you many examples from scripture, Jesus telling the disciples that he who is not against us is with us. Jesus telling the disciples not to call down fire on a town because they know not what spirit they are. Paul admonishing the Corinthans that in all things LOVE must manifest first or it's nothing.
I'll bet with 5 minutes of thinking you could come up with a dozen more. Here is the truth, if you believe Jesus is true God, Rose from the dead, Full propitiation for all our sins and rules and reights today then we are brothers and sisters. I have no division with you. EVEN if you are hyper Bible, wear a robe, pray rote prayers, offer communion 8 times a day. I am an Apostle's creed guy.
That includes a pretty wide spectrum of the body of Christ. All of it...if it is the body. Yes there are some that are very on the edge that I can't quite include... the Witnesses, the Mormons. Yet... God treats them as He treated Cornelius. They are sincere waiting for Peter to show up and offer them a better way. Whenever I am visited by any one of them, I see myself in that role.
I have learned of this acceptance from Apostle John Eckhardt who has gone into places that I might not go. He is a brave man. No, he wouldn't allow just anyone to share his pulpit, but he does go to minister to people who are at the edge.
The division many in the scholarly evangelical and some denominational environments have outworn their usefulness. It time to exorcise the demon of division from among us. We must have truth with out the reason and intellectualism that becomes a stumbling block for many, even those outside the Body of Christ. We must be a stepping stone and in that we can bring people to the cross and Christ crucified. Read what Francis Franigipane says of all this. He says it better than I did. This was strong in my spirit this morning and I know I was to share what I heard.
==================================================================
The following is written by Francis Franigipane : Reexamining Our Disunity
I appreciate and defend the origins of our many denominations. Most were born as godly men fought against the sin and spiritual apostasy of their times. Their heroic stand preserved (or in some cases, restored) the truth of God in an otherwise dark world. From my heart, I thank God for our denominational heritage.
Today, however, the need to remain divided from other evangelical congregations is unjustified. We can remain unique churches with unique callings and people, yet be united spiritually, and even functionally, with other congregations in our communities.
Knowing Christ has called for unity in His church, many leaders today are reexamining the legitimacy of division in the church. Today's heroes are not separating from other churches, they are working to restore the church to its one foundation and build unity upon Christ alone.
Yet, our traditions of division have taken on the garments of orthodoxy; they appear biblical, but they are not. The various divisions in the history of the church were stages in restoration meant to preserve truth, not isolate it.
Is Christ Divided?
Every true Christian believes the Bible is God's sacred, eternal word. Indeed, heaven and earth will pass away, but God's word will endure forever. What was relative and powerful in the first century ought to be just as powerful today. Listen, therefore, to what Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth:
"Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.' Has Christ been divided?" (1 Cor 1:10-13a).
How strange that we smugly look upon the divisions in the Corinthian church. We boldly criticize their carnality. But why was it wrong in the first century to say "I am of Paul (or Apollos)," but permissible in these last days to say, "I am of Luther or Wesley or of the Baptists or Pentecostals"?
Again, please remember, I am not suggesting we should strive for unity with churches that do not believe in Christ, or God's word, or the Holy Spirit, or the virgin birth, or the second coming. However, I am saying that, within the sphere of the born again, living church of Jesus Christ, divisions are unbiblical and wrong. The apostle later continued, "For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" (I Cor 3:3)
The credibility of the church is that we are not "mere men," creatures born of women without spiritual vision or destiny. We have been born again of one Spirit from above. Within our spirits is the actual spiritual substance of Christ Himself.
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (I Cor 3:16) We are the temple of God. Our churches, like the stones of the temple, are to be laid side-by-side, building us together ". . . into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Eph 2:22).
Paul went on to issue a warning which every Christian should heed. He said, "If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy..." (I Cor 3:17).
We have attempted to use this verse to condemn such things as cigarette smoking and sexual vices and, on an individual basis, there are obvious consequences to these sins. However, Paul is speaking here of more than the sins of excess and immoral pleasure. The apostle is warning against allowing division in the temple of God, the church. He says, "if any man destroys the temple" (through jealousy and strife), "God will destroy him." The context is plainly speaking in regard to divisions in the church!
When pure Christianity degenerates into divided camps of ambitious people, it literally destroys the harmony, power and blessing of the "temple of God." The individual who brings or supports such carnal divisions in the church has positioned himself in a very dangerous place before God. The temple of God is holy. Our unity together is holy. Our love for one another is holy, for the Father Himself dwells in the resting place of caring attitudes and loving relationships. Collectively, we are the dwelling place of God on earth.
The warning is severe:
"If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him."
The Living God is a God of order; He will not dwell in ruins! Because He is a God of love, He will work with us to rebuild, but He will not sanction our fallen condition with power. He will not lend His credibility to our disorder.
How Does Disunity Affect You?
When Nehemiah, living among the Jewish exiles, heard of the condition of Jerusalem and its temple, he "sat down and wept and mourned for days." The fallen condition of the temple thrust him into an extended position of "fasting and praying before the God of heaven" (Neh 1:4). The modern Jews also weep as they face the Wailing Wall, lamenting over the ruins of their temple. Paul mourned when he saw the ruined condition in Corinth. He said, "For I am afraid...that perhaps there may be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned" (II Cor 12:20-21). And Jesus Himself wept over the divisions of Jerusalem, lamenting, "How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling" (Matt 23:37).
This mourning concerning the disunified condition of the Father's house ought to be in our hearts as well. Yet, for most of us, not only have we failed to mourn our situation, we have not even grasped that our disunity, jealousy and strife is a fallen state! How far we have fallen and how little we know it!
While the redemption of man was always motivating Jesus, remember, His most ardent desire was His zeal for His Father's house; He was "consumed" with it (Jn 2:17). Building the house of God, the born-again, praying, loving, citywide church is still Christ's highest priority. The world is His harvest, the church is His bride. His love for the church was the basis of His last recorded prayer: that we would be one (Jn 17:20-23). It is still His highest passion today. For, until we are united in Him, the world will not believe that God has sent Him (17:21,23).
Privileged To Become Christlike
There were many reasons why Jerusalem fell to Babylon during Jeremiah's day, but underlying them all was the spiritual apostasy of the religious leaders. God Himself would have defended a humble, praying city, but in Jerusalem the spiritual leaders were corrupt. Listen, therefore, to Jeremiah's fearful revelation:
"The adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem" because of "the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests" (see Lam 4:12-13).
Do we see this? Israel's enemies entered Jerusalem because the spiritual leaders were unrepentantly full of sin. Oh God, help us to see and accept that the future of our cities exists in the corporate relationship the spiritual leaders have with You and one another. Jesus said that any city, any house "divided against itself" cannot stand (Mat 12:25). The place of spiritual protection of a community has its origins in the quality of life that exists in the spiritual leadership of that community: a vibrant, praying united church will move that city toward the blessing of God; a divided, sinful leadership will allow the adversary to enter the city's gates.
The path narrows for leadership, until our only privilege is to become Christlike in everything. However, Christlike leadership in the church can transform the world around it! You see, our cities are in disorder because the church is in disorder. James tells us that where there is jealousy and strife, "there is disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16).
Our selfish ambitions have taken our eyes off the will and purposes of God for our cities. We have become jealous of one another. Consequently, the "disorder," lawlessness and "every evil thing" we see in our society are, at least in part, rooted in the soil of a misdirected and distracted church community.
Because of this the church has lost a measure of its credibility. How can we expect the world to hear our message of love when we, as Christ's body, fail to love each other? We have no right to condemn the world for its pride and arrogance when we, the body of Christ, still refuse to humble ourselves and work with the other churches in our neighborhoods. Over the years the world has seen many incredible ministries. However, the time of the "incredible" has passed; the hour for the credible is being established.
I know that those who are so intent on correcting others using Bible bullets and private interpretation of the word of God as a wedge believe they are doing the will of God. Not really. They are tools of the enemy. Using intellect, reason and education to try to cast doubt where none existed before.
Disunity began at the tower of Babel when all those who at one time spoke one language, suddenly could not communicate. It was God's purpose to stop a man worshipping spirit. At Pentecost, suddenly man began to speak the oracles of God... in a language only understood in the Spirit of Unity. A reversal of the babel experience. Unity in the Holy Ghost became a reality. Worship of the True and living God by the indwelling of the Spirit in UNITY
When I hear or read someone who is hypercritical of other people's theology, I become impatient and question where that attitude came from. I can give you many examples from scripture, Jesus telling the disciples that he who is not against us is with us. Jesus telling the disciples not to call down fire on a town because they know not what spirit they are. Paul admonishing the Corinthans that in all things LOVE must manifest first or it's nothing.
I'll bet with 5 minutes of thinking you could come up with a dozen more. Here is the truth, if you believe Jesus is true God, Rose from the dead, Full propitiation for all our sins and rules and reights today then we are brothers and sisters. I have no division with you. EVEN if you are hyper Bible, wear a robe, pray rote prayers, offer communion 8 times a day. I am an Apostle's creed guy.
That includes a pretty wide spectrum of the body of Christ. All of it...if it is the body. Yes there are some that are very on the edge that I can't quite include... the Witnesses, the Mormons. Yet... God treats them as He treated Cornelius. They are sincere waiting for Peter to show up and offer them a better way. Whenever I am visited by any one of them, I see myself in that role.
I have learned of this acceptance from Apostle John Eckhardt who has gone into places that I might not go. He is a brave man. No, he wouldn't allow just anyone to share his pulpit, but he does go to minister to people who are at the edge.
The division many in the scholarly evangelical and some denominational environments have outworn their usefulness. It time to exorcise the demon of division from among us. We must have truth with out the reason and intellectualism that becomes a stumbling block for many, even those outside the Body of Christ. We must be a stepping stone and in that we can bring people to the cross and Christ crucified. Read what Francis Franigipane says of all this. He says it better than I did. This was strong in my spirit this morning and I know I was to share what I heard.
==================================================================
The following is written by Francis Franigipane : Reexamining Our Disunity
I appreciate and defend the origins of our many denominations. Most were born as godly men fought against the sin and spiritual apostasy of their times. Their heroic stand preserved (or in some cases, restored) the truth of God in an otherwise dark world. From my heart, I thank God for our denominational heritage.
Today, however, the need to remain divided from other evangelical congregations is unjustified. We can remain unique churches with unique callings and people, yet be united spiritually, and even functionally, with other congregations in our communities.
Knowing Christ has called for unity in His church, many leaders today are reexamining the legitimacy of division in the church. Today's heroes are not separating from other churches, they are working to restore the church to its one foundation and build unity upon Christ alone.
Yet, our traditions of division have taken on the garments of orthodoxy; they appear biblical, but they are not. The various divisions in the history of the church were stages in restoration meant to preserve truth, not isolate it.
Is Christ Divided?
Every true Christian believes the Bible is God's sacred, eternal word. Indeed, heaven and earth will pass away, but God's word will endure forever. What was relative and powerful in the first century ought to be just as powerful today. Listen, therefore, to what Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth:
"Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, 'I am of Paul,' and 'I of Apollos,' and 'I of Cephas,' and 'I of Christ.' Has Christ been divided?" (1 Cor 1:10-13a).
How strange that we smugly look upon the divisions in the Corinthian church. We boldly criticize their carnality. But why was it wrong in the first century to say "I am of Paul (or Apollos)," but permissible in these last days to say, "I am of Luther or Wesley or of the Baptists or Pentecostals"?
Again, please remember, I am not suggesting we should strive for unity with churches that do not believe in Christ, or God's word, or the Holy Spirit, or the virgin birth, or the second coming. However, I am saying that, within the sphere of the born again, living church of Jesus Christ, divisions are unbiblical and wrong. The apostle later continued, "For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" (I Cor 3:3)
The credibility of the church is that we are not "mere men," creatures born of women without spiritual vision or destiny. We have been born again of one Spirit from above. Within our spirits is the actual spiritual substance of Christ Himself.
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (I Cor 3:16) We are the temple of God. Our churches, like the stones of the temple, are to be laid side-by-side, building us together ". . . into a dwelling of God in the Spirit" (Eph 2:22).
Paul went on to issue a warning which every Christian should heed. He said, "If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy..." (I Cor 3:17).
We have attempted to use this verse to condemn such things as cigarette smoking and sexual vices and, on an individual basis, there are obvious consequences to these sins. However, Paul is speaking here of more than the sins of excess and immoral pleasure. The apostle is warning against allowing division in the temple of God, the church. He says, "if any man destroys the temple" (through jealousy and strife), "God will destroy him." The context is plainly speaking in regard to divisions in the church!
When pure Christianity degenerates into divided camps of ambitious people, it literally destroys the harmony, power and blessing of the "temple of God." The individual who brings or supports such carnal divisions in the church has positioned himself in a very dangerous place before God. The temple of God is holy. Our unity together is holy. Our love for one another is holy, for the Father Himself dwells in the resting place of caring attitudes and loving relationships. Collectively, we are the dwelling place of God on earth.
The warning is severe:
"If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him."
The Living God is a God of order; He will not dwell in ruins! Because He is a God of love, He will work with us to rebuild, but He will not sanction our fallen condition with power. He will not lend His credibility to our disorder.
How Does Disunity Affect You?
When Nehemiah, living among the Jewish exiles, heard of the condition of Jerusalem and its temple, he "sat down and wept and mourned for days." The fallen condition of the temple thrust him into an extended position of "fasting and praying before the God of heaven" (Neh 1:4). The modern Jews also weep as they face the Wailing Wall, lamenting over the ruins of their temple. Paul mourned when he saw the ruined condition in Corinth. He said, "For I am afraid...that perhaps there may be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned" (II Cor 12:20-21). And Jesus Himself wept over the divisions of Jerusalem, lamenting, "How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling" (Matt 23:37).
This mourning concerning the disunified condition of the Father's house ought to be in our hearts as well. Yet, for most of us, not only have we failed to mourn our situation, we have not even grasped that our disunity, jealousy and strife is a fallen state! How far we have fallen and how little we know it!
While the redemption of man was always motivating Jesus, remember, His most ardent desire was His zeal for His Father's house; He was "consumed" with it (Jn 2:17). Building the house of God, the born-again, praying, loving, citywide church is still Christ's highest priority. The world is His harvest, the church is His bride. His love for the church was the basis of His last recorded prayer: that we would be one (Jn 17:20-23). It is still His highest passion today. For, until we are united in Him, the world will not believe that God has sent Him (17:21,23).
Privileged To Become Christlike
There were many reasons why Jerusalem fell to Babylon during Jeremiah's day, but underlying them all was the spiritual apostasy of the religious leaders. God Himself would have defended a humble, praying city, but in Jerusalem the spiritual leaders were corrupt. Listen, therefore, to Jeremiah's fearful revelation:
"The adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem" because of "the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests" (see Lam 4:12-13).
Do we see this? Israel's enemies entered Jerusalem because the spiritual leaders were unrepentantly full of sin. Oh God, help us to see and accept that the future of our cities exists in the corporate relationship the spiritual leaders have with You and one another. Jesus said that any city, any house "divided against itself" cannot stand (Mat 12:25). The place of spiritual protection of a community has its origins in the quality of life that exists in the spiritual leadership of that community: a vibrant, praying united church will move that city toward the blessing of God; a divided, sinful leadership will allow the adversary to enter the city's gates.
The path narrows for leadership, until our only privilege is to become Christlike in everything. However, Christlike leadership in the church can transform the world around it! You see, our cities are in disorder because the church is in disorder. James tells us that where there is jealousy and strife, "there is disorder and every evil thing" (James 3:16).
Our selfish ambitions have taken our eyes off the will and purposes of God for our cities. We have become jealous of one another. Consequently, the "disorder," lawlessness and "every evil thing" we see in our society are, at least in part, rooted in the soil of a misdirected and distracted church community.
Because of this the church has lost a measure of its credibility. How can we expect the world to hear our message of love when we, as Christ's body, fail to love each other? We have no right to condemn the world for its pride and arrogance when we, the body of Christ, still refuse to humble ourselves and work with the other churches in our neighborhoods. Over the years the world has seen many incredible ministries. However, the time of the "incredible" has passed; the hour for the credible is being established.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The soul that sinneth, it shall die - Samual Medina
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son
shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear
the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be
upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
Ezekiel 18:20
There's a lot of rhetoric these days which attempts to ascribe acts of evil to 'mental illness.' With the latest shooting tragedy, the media and people in general have been quick to label the killer as 'crazy,' or 'mentally ill,' and while he surely seemed to be not entirely sane in the sense that his mind wasn't clean or right, I can't say he wasn't responsible for his actions. He was rational enough to choose a place where he was far less likely to be challenged by someone capable of defending against his attack. He was rational enough to choose easy victims.
Yes, some may point out that people displaying sociopathic tendencies and behavior often have an abnormally small, or dysfunctional amygdala, which is the gland in the brain that seems to govern impulse control, moral compunction, and empathy. However, what many neurologists have yet to admit to is the possibility that one's continued thoughts, decisions, and actions may actually affect the function of the amygdala. It would appear to me that this gland is one of the principal connections of the soul to the body. Bear in mind that we were originally create to live in physical bodies, and that the soul and spirit were created to live in and function with the bodies God designed. Thus I am inclined to believe that a continual state of sin, whether in thought or deed, may actually reduce or hamper the function of the amygdala, which in turn renders the person disinhibited... it gives them a 'seared conscience,' if you will, or, as my friend Gene Redlin would call it, a 'dead soul.'
I am beginning to suspect that many of the chemical and biological aspects of apparent mental illness are in many cases actually the physical symptoms of the spiritual condition of the individual, and the consequence of sin and of habitual thought patterns.
Ezekiel 18:20
There's a lot of rhetoric these days which attempts to ascribe acts of evil to 'mental illness.' With the latest shooting tragedy, the media and people in general have been quick to label the killer as 'crazy,' or 'mentally ill,' and while he surely seemed to be not entirely sane in the sense that his mind wasn't clean or right, I can't say he wasn't responsible for his actions. He was rational enough to choose a place where he was far less likely to be challenged by someone capable of defending against his attack. He was rational enough to choose easy victims.
Yes, some may point out that people displaying sociopathic tendencies and behavior often have an abnormally small, or dysfunctional amygdala, which is the gland in the brain that seems to govern impulse control, moral compunction, and empathy. However, what many neurologists have yet to admit to is the possibility that one's continued thoughts, decisions, and actions may actually affect the function of the amygdala. It would appear to me that this gland is one of the principal connections of the soul to the body. Bear in mind that we were originally create to live in physical bodies, and that the soul and spirit were created to live in and function with the bodies God designed. Thus I am inclined to believe that a continual state of sin, whether in thought or deed, may actually reduce or hamper the function of the amygdala, which in turn renders the person disinhibited... it gives them a 'seared conscience,' if you will, or, as my friend Gene Redlin would call it, a 'dead soul.'
I am beginning to suspect that many of the chemical and biological aspects of apparent mental illness are in many cases actually the physical symptoms of the spiritual condition of the individual, and the consequence of sin and of habitual thought patterns.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Souls That Die as Their Body Lives On
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Ezekiel 18:20
After the shooting by a madman in Connecticut last weekend all kinds of blame has been leveled. All kinds of theories as to the cause. The solutions aren't much better. The efforts at legislation to come up with a worldly fix are futile. We are dealing with the most basic of human flaws. Sin.
I know that Adam Lanza was mentally unstable. Had violent tendencies. Those that were treated with drugs. I have known many people with similar problems. They are a challenge. Drugs don't solve the problem, they only mask the problem. Repress it for a while.
There were evidences that he was hot and cold. His mother was frightened of him. It was reported today that he murdered her because he believed he was about to be institutionalized. I don't know if the report is true. I do know that there were things that led up to the moment he went off the deep end and took so many lives and then his own.
Sin is insidious. I sneaks up on you. It has often snuck up on me. I find myself caught in it's grip and only by the grace of God and his voice speaking to by an unseared conscience am I able to stop.
If however I were to continue to sin, continue to find myself in that place of degradation, eventually my soul would die. That is what the scripture says. I will die in my soul realm, even if I am walking around, talking, eating, sleeping.
I don't know what caused Adam Lanza's soul to die, but you don't shoot 6 year old little boys and girls in the head in cold blood if your soul still lives. Perhaps it was the panic his mother had about economic collapse. Perhaps it was the constant diet of violent video games he played. Perhaps it was his obsession with something else that he knew at the beginning wasn't good for him, but he continued in it, on the road to perdition. That pathway that led to soul death.
Before we are born again our soul may respond to a God given conscience and restrain us, but we are dead spiritually, even if our soul lives. When we are born again our spirit comes alive and we are on the road to a living soul once again as the word of regeneration washes over us.
I will confess, seeing a friend quote this today shook me. I came to grips with the fact that a soul death is just sin breadths away from where I am today. It happens to even people who KNOW God.
Cain was angry with God, angry with his brother. He had violent thoughts toward him. God spoke to him and said, “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:6-7
Of course we know the outcome, Like Adam Lanza, sin crouched at his door and he responded by murder of Able. His soul died, even as God was trying to speak to him. We really don't know how things came out for Cain in the end.
The devil looks for open doors to come thru. It doesn't take much. Sin doesn't condemn you as much as a soul that no longer knows sin. The voice goes silent.
Drugs, alcohol and habituation is what allows sin to reign over us. The devil roars...
Sin is our enemy, sin has no cure except Jesus. There is no other remedy.
I know that secularists would claim that he was sick, could not be cured, could not be redeemed. That he was a ticking time bomb without a future. I have no evidence except the people I know who were as sin sick as anyone, that with Jesus alive in them, they have lived a life of meaning. This is certain, Adam Lanza would have had a chance with the life of Jesus in him, the kids may be alive and in school today, the teachers alive and his mother still being mom.
I don't know what the spiritual life in the Lanza household was or was not. I only know what I see.
A dead soul and now a dead body....in fact 27
God and the Devil in Light of the Newtown Massacre - Joseph Mattera
When a tragedy occurs, one of the most difficult tasks for pastors is trying to find the words to comfort a grieving family and explain how God could allow such a horrible thing to take place. While I do not purport to have all the answers for such situations (sometimes it is best just to be there for grieving families and offer prayer for them rather than give explanations), these instances do highlight the existence of evil in the world. On the day of the shooting I was shocked to hear both a prominent television news anchor and the governor of Connecticut use the word “evil” several times when referring to the heinous acts of the shooter.
Where doe evil comes from? Jesus said the thief (Satan) comes only to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Jesus also called Satan a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Rather than cause me to doubt the existence or goodness of God (like Satan wants), heinous acts like this should remind us there is a real devil in the world who revels in destroying human life while seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Philosophically, the existence of evil is one of the proofs of God’s existence since, without belief in a gracious God, there would be no standard for right and wrong. For example, if the universe wasn’t created by God but is the result of a random, natural process and human life evolved from “matter in motion” then there would be no rational basis for distinguishing between good and evil, or between right and wrong, since a transcendent standard to ground human ethics would be lacking.
For example, if God did not exist and living things are the result of natural processes, then it would be just as wrong to kill a water bug or a cow as it is to kill a human!
The godless humanists have tried to ply away moral absolutes from the conscience of our nation to justify their lifestyle choices. But, when push comes to shove, moral relativism gets jettisoned quickly whenever evil raises its ugly head. If there are no moral absolutes, then there is no such thing as right and wrong, good and evil, and the Newtown tragedy is defined relative to the pain or circumstances surrounding the psyche of the shooter rather than as an evil act. I doubt any of the Newtown parents of slain children would say there is no such thing as evil.
God and the Devil in Light of the Newtown Massacre
Where doe evil comes from? Jesus said the thief (Satan) comes only to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Jesus also called Satan a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Rather than cause me to doubt the existence or goodness of God (like Satan wants), heinous acts like this should remind us there is a real devil in the world who revels in destroying human life while seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Philosophically, the existence of evil is one of the proofs of God’s existence since, without belief in a gracious God, there would be no standard for right and wrong. For example, if the universe wasn’t created by God but is the result of a random, natural process and human life evolved from “matter in motion” then there would be no rational basis for distinguishing between good and evil, or between right and wrong, since a transcendent standard to ground human ethics would be lacking.
For example, if God did not exist and living things are the result of natural processes, then it would be just as wrong to kill a water bug or a cow as it is to kill a human!
The godless humanists have tried to ply away moral absolutes from the conscience of our nation to justify their lifestyle choices. But, when push comes to shove, moral relativism gets jettisoned quickly whenever evil raises its ugly head. If there are no moral absolutes, then there is no such thing as right and wrong, good and evil, and the Newtown tragedy is defined relative to the pain or circumstances surrounding the psyche of the shooter rather than as an evil act. I doubt any of the Newtown parents of slain children would say there is no such thing as evil.
God and the Devil in Light of the Newtown Massacre
The GOLD STANDARD - Mary Ann Foutz
Last week for a good part of the week I kept hearing GOLD STANDARD... . It is tangibly with me still. I know now that He was not referring to a worldly measurement but a KINGDOM one!
I measure the hearts of men by My refining process. I test, I prove, I solidify in the crucible the silver and My ultimate desire, the gold. I know this process is hard and I watch as many of you spurn and question my Love through it, all the while My focus of enduring Love is Set on My Sons and Daughters. It is I who keep you! The test that takes My servants, My prophets beyond knowing by the flesh to knowing and being known by the Spirit. It is in the crucible of testing that My chararcter and likeness are forged. I form each vessel uniquely. No two are the same in My Kingdom. Some have attempted to jump off the wheel as they are being pushed down, shaped and formed.Through the spinning process on the Potter's wheel, many have thought, "Is there any end in sight, I cannot even focus in this place?" My Grace is sufficient and My strength perfect in weakness. …you have been tested to bring forth My Glory, no two tests are the same and I give individually what is needed to shape and mold. I am breaking pride off of My people and I am breaking control off of my people, I'm breaking self-sufficiency off of My people. I am breaking fear off of My people. I need ones who are holy and wholly mine. The process is easier with the degree of submission to it. No chastening for the present is joyful but the fruit in the end is My peace, My rightoeusness built within. Many have been trained for this very special day before I receive My sons, I am Pouring out My Spirit and am bringing the hearts of men to a place of seeing their need. Though trials shall increase in the World, My tested ones shall be ready to give to each one who asks of them the hope that lies within them. Turning many to rightousness who in turn will bring many in to My Kingdom. I say to you this day, stay in this place that I have you, stay as you are placed in the Glory Kiln of My Love, trust me in this place. I am bring forth My GOLD STANDARD within you so that you will reflect My Way in sincerity and truth of Who I truly Am!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Guest Post from Chuck
Consider this teaching my long time friend, CHUCK. I find it scholarly, I find it fresh. I may not agree with some of his conclusions. I won't argue. Just for your consideration::
Matthew 24 is about Jesus' detailed answer to the following question:
Mat 24:3bTell us, when shall these things be? and what shall bethe sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (age)
So, if we examine His answer we can shed some light on what it will be like at the end times.
Jesus starts off by giving a warning:
Mat 24:5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:9Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
After the warnings, Jesus states:
Mat 24:13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
So we see that there will be many false prophets using the name of Jesus to deceive. We must hold onto the truth and endure to the end...working in the field. No rapture has been mentioned.
He continues:
Mat 24:15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation (should be,''the desolator''), spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
The scripture that Jesus was referring to: (Dan 12:11-12 is another study.)
---Dan 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice,and they shall place the abomination that maketh
desolate.---
The
Lord is telling the Church to look for the abomination of the desolator
as a sign. No rapture has taken place. Supporting evidence is given
here:
2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and byour gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4
Who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he
is God.
Dan 11:36
And the king shall do according to his will. And he shall exalt and
magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things
against the God of gods, and shall prosper until the fury is fulfilled.
For that which is decreed shall be done.
That is pretty clear! Jesus will not be coming until these events have occurred...
He continues with a warning:
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
I have heard many pastors state that the end will be so bad that it will be best for women not to get pregnant during those times. If that is true then maybe God believes that the “right to choose” is appropriate in the end times. No way! So, what is He saying? Jesus is coming for His virgin bride. If a “believer” falls victim to deception or just gives up and follows the antichrist, they become pregnant with another belief and will be rejected.
Isa 54:1 Sing, O barren, thou thatdidst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou thatdidst not travail with child: for more arethe children of the desolate (desolator) than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
Mat 24:20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Those
who are “pregnant” have been harvested out of season (winter) because
they followed the antichrist believing him to be the Christ.
Continuing
with Matthew's gospel Jesus further explains that the great tribulation
period will be so difficult that He will shorten the days for the
elect's sake. He tells us that many false Christs and prophets will
come using signs and wonders. Do not be deceived by them. Look for
this:
Mat 24:27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:29Immediatelyafterthe
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(We are now seeing the end of Satan's tribulation period.)
Mat 24:30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory.
Mat 24:31And
he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the
other.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdomsof our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
At the last trumpet (7th)
Jesus returns for all to see. This is the rapture...after the great
tribulation period, after the abomination of the desolator.
Jesus uses the times of Noah as an example what it will be like just before He returns:
Mat 24:37But as the days of Noahwere,so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38For
as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered into the ark,
Mat 24:39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
What was it like at the time of Noah’s flood?
Gen 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they werefair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man wasgreat in the earth, and thatevery imagination of the thoughts of his heart wasonly evil continually.
The fallen angels come to earth in Genesis 6 and will be here again at the end of this age:
Rev 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with
him.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
---We
see that the Church has new power because Satan is no longer in heaven
hindering our connection with God. We see the power of the Blood and
His Word:
Rev 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of
their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
(The elect overcome the fear of death...another name for
Satan.)
The Church gains power but the world goes into great tribulation:
Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, yeheavens,
and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of
the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
There
will
be great evil on the earth with the eventual antichrist kingdom taking
over. Great deception will the present. The antichrist calling himself
the Christ with his minions prophesying that he is the Christ. (flood
of lies) This will be the great tribulation period.
1Ti 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron
Surrounded by great wickedness the people of God, the elect, will be protected by faith and do great things:
Dan
11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
The
following verse likens the Church to Noah and his family being in the
Ark. The church is sealed and protected during the great tribulation:
Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she
is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Satan floods the world with lies:
Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
The woman (the sealed Church) is protected in the end times from spiritual death just as Noah was protected in the Ark:
Rev 12:16
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Now we read the verses about one being taken away and another remained:
Mat 24:40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:41Twowomen shall begrinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Mat 24:42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Who is taken and who is left (remained)? In Noah's day all those who did not enter into the Ark were taken by the flood. At the end of the Age, those who are impregnated by the flood of Satan's lies will be taken.
The Lord gives another example:
Mat 24:43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch thethief(Satan)would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Mat 24:44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour
as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
---Most will think that he is already here--- That will be the hour of temptation.
The wise servant will receive “meat” from the Lord for being faithful during the great tribulation period:
Mat 24:45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46Blessedisthat servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
The servant who becomes unfaithful has been swept away by the lies is called evil because of
his works...leaving his first love. Stay in the field keeping convent with God or:
Mat 24:50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not forhim,and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51And shall cut him asunder, and appointhimhis portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Supporting scripture:
Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Rev 3:10Because
thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the
hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them
that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rev 3:12Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God,...
Dan 11:34 And when they stumble, they shall be helped with a little help, but many will join them, with hypocrisy.
When you read this verse it sounds like
“war” as in physical battles:
Rev 13:7
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.
But, it is a political and spiritual war to get the elect to worship antichrist.
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