MAKING GOD'S THOUGHTS OUR THOUGHTS

God’s voice created the heavens and the earth. Jesus was the Word made flesh that dwelt among us full of grace and truth. Words are life or death.

Faith comes through hearing the word. This is why we need to speak to God, The Holy Ghost, not just think to Him. And we need to have faith that we will be deaf unto satan, and alive unto the voice of God. For His Sheep hear His voice and the voice of a stranger they won’t follow. If we are sincere with God He will be sincere with us, but if we are double-minded we will receive nothing from the Lord.

I’ve been thinking about whose voice we hear in our thoughts. The devil is the father of lies, he speaks to his children, he has a voice. That’s why Jesus said, You are OF your father the devil, his works will you do, he was a murderer (lightly esteemer) from the beginning and ABODE NOT IN THE TRUTH BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM.

The devil prophesied to Eve a lie about God and that He didn’t mean what He said. We do "hear" thoughts in our head, God hears them, the devil hears them. There are several scriptures that talk about God knowing the secrets of our heart. He knows our hidden motives and intentions, even when we don’t tell ourselves the truth, and He will reward us all according to not only our works but our motives and intention.

I had a dream a couple of nights ago where I was speaking to a group of women about "the fellowship of Jesus' suffering." It’s the cup most don’t drink. It’s the cup that brings Godly sorrow, for those who take it up.

It’s when others sin against us that we can REALLY KNOW how OUR SIN affected Jesus, how He felt about our sin. We don’t get it when we repent, but we can GET IT, when we see our sin through the actions and sins of others against us.

There was a man in our past who after several years of knowing us, came face to face with the enemies of his soul. (That’s where the Angel of the Lord promises to take us. Ex.23) He was faced with his lust, greed and covetousness due to what he had done to some people in several situations.

He divorced his wife to marry his lover; he hid the fact that he and his whole family believed his father murdered his mother, but due to his father being wealthy none of the children exposed what they really believed in their hearts. His father was a prominent member in the community. Rather than walking in love and faith in all his relationships, and repenting of his sins, he withdrew, and was offended. He lived accusing others and excusing himself, but years later (he had been deceiving himself so long and destroying his soul), he finally acted it out. He shot himself to death with a gun. There comes a time in all of our lives that we must face the sins we committed that nailed Jesus to the cross, if we are ever to know the joy of our salvation. This is a man who would not fall on the Rock and the Rock fell on him. Jesus (THE TRUTH) was a stone of offense. This man shot himself about five years ago.

The story doesn’t end here. We met a young couple a few years later, when this man was alive. He slandered us to these people so they withdrew. They could hear lies about us, they were covering their own sin too, and not prospering.) We heard yesterday this guy drank a bottle of Windex and died two days ago. The curse of the one he received came upon him, sad to say.

I thought of the "mystery" of iniquity. The devil tries to speak to us just like He did Jesus. He’s a lying prophet who comes to steal, kill and destroy, and without Jesus, and being able to "hear" God’s voice, we could all let the devil prophecy our doom. Jesus said "if you receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, you will receive his reward." (You’ll see with new eyes.) This man received a prophet...the one who prophesies lies, the father of all lies, and it killed him too. I’ve been there, it’s the kingdom of deceiving and being deceived. And if we won’t be honest and care about our motive and intentions, we will truly be given over to believe lies, and be damned. (2 Thess. 2:10, it’s a promise too.) God will give us over, if we want to lie and believe lies, it will be done unto us according to our faith.

I was suicidal at one point too, and what I had to admit was that I had gotten saved for my own happiness, to please MYSELF. I had to change my focus, lose my life to find it, live to please God instead of myself. I had to stop hiding in the dark - confess my sins, and pray to be healed.

As A Man Thinketh, So Is He! "On that day when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge men in regard to the things which they conceal (their hidden thoughts)." Romans 2:16 amp. Are you unchaste in your thought? Vs.22 Looking at the word "chaste" ..... am I celibate, clean, immaculate, innocent, proper, pure, unblemished, unsullied, virtuous, virginal, in my thoughts? Am I ordering my thoughts aright? Do we really believe the Lord knows our works and our thoughts?

(Ps.94:11, 139:2, Isa.66:18, I Cor.3:20, Ps.139:3)

"You understand my thought afar off. But Jesus knowing (seeing) their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil and harbor malice in your hearts?"

"Curse not the King, not even in your thoughts." (Ecc.10:20) "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, (secret thought) whether it be good or evil."

"Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord."

"My thoughts are not your thoughts," says the Lord.

"My thoughts are higher than your thoughts." (Is.55:7-9)

Are we sinning against God, or against our brother in our thoughts? (Most Christians don’t go there, sad to say.)

"0 Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved! How long shall your iniquitous and grossly offensive thoughts lodge within you?"

(Jer-4:141) "Deliver those who are led away to death, and spare not to redeem those who are held to be slain. If you say "behold I did not know it, then know it is God who searches the thought of the heart, and He who keeps your soul knows it, and shall render to every man according to his works."

(Ps. 24:11-12 Peshitta) Is it possible that what we do about what we think will be how God is going to reward us one day? Maybe it’s the cause for the curse in our lives when we don’t look at these things.

"For the tree is known and recognized and judged by its fruit ..... For out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Been eating up God’s children as one eats bread and not calling on Him lately?)

"The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things, but I tell you on the day of judgment, men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, non-working) word they speak. For by your words you will be justified and acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced." (Matt.12:36).

"What I have come to learn about myself is: whatever thoughts I allow or disallow, go, into the treasure chest of my heart, and it is from this treasure chest that I speak! ...." Ps.7:9 (amp.) "For you, who try the hearts and emotions, and thinking powers, are a righteous God." Rev.2:23

(amp) "I am He who searches minds, (the thoughts, feelings, and purposes, and the inmost hearts, and I will give to each of you the reward for what you have done, as your work deserves!" Jer-17:9-10

"... the heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it (perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind)?? I the Lord search the mind, I try the heart, even to give to every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings?"

I have to ask myself sincerely, "Am I really living to lay down my life for my brother? Do I guard and protect myself through not Loving my brother with all my heart, all my mind, and, all my strength, because of how it might affect me?? Am I really allowing God to speak to me about my private thoughts towards my brother so that I do what is right on his behalf?

Jesus said, "If we love Him, we will keep His commandments, and the new commandment He gave unto us was ...is .... I give you a new commandment that you should love one another! Whoever says he is in the light and yet lightly esteems his brother, is in darkness until now. Whoever loves his brother, abides and lives in the light, there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for err or sin. We know we have passed from death unto life, because we love our brother!"

Philp.2:2-5 "Complete my joy by being in one accord and one love and one soul and one mind. Do nothing through strife or vainglory, but in humility let every one regard his neighbor better than himself! Let no one be mindful only of his own things, but let everyone be mindful of the things of his neighbor also!"

"Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: (let him be your example in humility)! For what man knows the mind (thoughts) of man, except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the mind (thoughts) of God, except the spirit of God."

I Cor. 2:11-14 "... but the natural, non-spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts, teachings and revelations of the spirit of God, for they are meaningless nonsense to him: he is incapable of knowing them, because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated! But the spiritual man tries, examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things. For who has known or understood the mind, the counsels and purposes of the Lord, so as to guide and instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ and do hold the thoughts, feelings and purposes of his heart! He lived a life of constantly laying down his life for his brother, the greater purpose, and for the benefit of God and His Kingdom .... as the perfect example ... that we would be in the world as He was in the world!"

"Do not worry over things, but always by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of the things (fix your minds on them)!" Phil. 4:6-8 (amp)

Heb.5:11-14 "Since you have become dull in your spiritual hearing and sluggish even slothful in achieving spiritual insight! For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God's word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and un-skilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action). He is a mere infant (not able to talk yet), but solid food is for full grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between good and evil (the law of the Spirit) of God and love ... or the mind of the flesh, which leads to death!" God does not want us to be wimps in the spirit of our minds. We need to exercise our senses, develop our mental faculties, practice and train them to resist the devil. Submit to God .... not the father of lies. We need to be as professionally trained athletes, being renewed in the spirit of our mind!

Eph. .4:23 "Be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude). Put on the new nature, created in God's image, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, rejecting all falsity, let everyone express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one Body and members one of another!"

We are the ones who must choose which cup we will drink from, which table we will partake of! Lies and accusations, or truth and love. Are we in our mind accusing others and excusing ourselves, or do we pray, getting revelation and instruction for how we may love and help one another? Are our thoughts patterned after defending ourselves, or are we allowing the spirit of God (love) to teach us how to wash one another's feet and serve one another? The mind set on the flesh is death ... the mind set on the spirit (of benevolent love and truth) is life and peace!

Heb.12:3 "Let us be careful not to faint in our minds!" "Think of Him who endured from sinners such grievous opposition and bitter hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or exhausted, losing heart and relaxing and fainting, in your minds". "If we suffer with him, so shall we reign with him! For to us it has been granted the privilege, for Christ's sake not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he commits himself, leans on, and confidently hopes in You!"

Is.26-3 "For God did not give us (but the devil would like to give us) a spirit of fear (timidity, cowardice, craven, cringing, panic), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well balanced mind and discipline and self-control."

2 Cor.10:4 "For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds Inasmuch as we refute: contradict, disagree, deny, negate, rebuff, reject, veto, renounce, disagree, object, opposes, protest, refuse, scorn, shunt arguments and theories and reasoning's and every proud and lofty thing, that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God; and we lead every thought captive to the obedience of Christ!"

2 Cor. 10:4-5; 11:3 "But now I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from whole-hearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ! So brace up your minds: be sober, circumspect, morally alert set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace that is coming when Jesus is revealed. Live as children of obedience."

l Pet.1:13 The battlefield is in the mind! You’re called to be a soldier, it's fight or be overcome! (There is no neutral ground)! Allow the Holy Spirit to direct and control you, for the mind of the flesh with its carnal thoughts and purposes is hostile to God. Don't cater to the appetites and impulses of the carnal nature. Live according to the Spirit, controlled by the desires of the Spirit, set your mind and seek those things which gratify ..the Holy Spirit!"

Rm-8:5-9 "Forsake all human reasoning and thought. Let God’s thoughts become your thoughts. Hide His word in your heart, that you won't be found sinning against Him!"

Is. 58:13 "If you turn away from doing your own pleasure on my holy day, not going your own way or seeking or finding your own pleasure or speaking your own idle words (which we will if we are thinking our own thoughts)! It is said of the children of Israel, that God was not in all their thoughts! "Not everyone who says to Him Lord ,Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of God!"

We need to know the difference between God’s will and ours and we won’t if we aren’t sincere with God about our motives. It’s a better option than being a wound, refusing to be healed due to our own rebellion.

As we obey in thought, word, and deed, we can lead others in obedience to God in thought, word and deed! May we not give into obeying lies & lying spirits.

"Let us become the children of OBEDIENCE, that we may bear fruit after our own kind (Gen.1:11-12) And thus Glorify Our Father in Heaven!"

MAYBE YOU'RE NOT READY FOR CHRIST'S SECOND COMING AFTERALL! (From Zac Poonen's book: New Wine In New Wineskins)

When we think of the return of Christ to this earth, the important thing is not to know the exact date, but to be spiritually ready for His return. Many who are familiar with the prophecies concerning His coming, are not purifying themselves daily to His standard of purity. Thereby they prove that the hope of Christ's coming is a dead hope in them and not a living hope (1 Jn. 3:3). On the other hand, even though we may not understand all the details of Biblical prophecies or the interpretation of the symbols in the book of Revelation, yet it is possible for us to be 100% prepared and ready for His coming, if we concentrate on what Jesus told us to concentrate on.

When Jesus told His disciples about His return in Matt. 24, He emphasized more than once that they should be on the alert (Matt. 24:42,44; 25:13). To be spiritually alert and ready at all times is then the all important thing - not the knowledge of prophetic facts.

In Matt. 25 (which follows on from the prophecies of Matt. 24), Jesus deals with three areas where we are called to be alert and faithful in order to be ready for His coming.

Faithfulness In The Hidden Life

(Matt. 25:1-13). In this parable, Jesus spoke of ten virgins. Notice that none of them were harlots (See Jas. 4:4 for a definition of spiritual harlotry). They were all virgins. In other words, they had a good testimony before men. Their lights were all burning (Matt. 5:16). Their good works were seen by others. Yet among all these virgins, only five were wise. But this was not obvious to everyone at the beginning. Only five had taken oil with them in their flasks (v. 4).

That oil in the flask was not visible in the night, like the light was, and speaks of our hidden life before God that men cannot see in the darkness of this world. All of us have a flask. The question is whether we have any oil in it or not.

Oil is used throughout the Scriptures as a symbol of the Holy Spirit and refers here to that life of God that the Holy Spirit communicates to our spirit. The outward manifestation of that life is the light (Jn. 1:4). The inner content is the oil. Many are taken up with their outward testimony alone. This is their folly. It is in times of trial and testing that we find that the outward light alone is insufficient. One needs an inner content of the divine life to carry us through triumphantly.

"If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak in reality" (Prov. 24:16). The crises of life show us how strong or weak we are. In this parable, the crisis was that the bridegroom delayed his coming. It is time that proves the reality of our spirituality.

He who has faith endures until the end and is saved. It is time also that proves who has an inner content in his life and who does not. Many are like the seed that sprouted up immediately, but have no inner life. There is no depth of soil in their hearts (Mk. 4:5).

This is why it is difficult to assess new believers concerning their spirituality, or their wholeheartedness. Time will reveal everything, if we have the patience to wait. The way to be ready for Christ's coming, then, is to have an inner life of purity and faithfulness before God's face - in our thoughts, attitudes and motives, that people around us cannot see. If we do not have this, we are deceiving ourselves if we think we are ready for Christ's coming.

Faithfulness In Our Ministry

(Matt. 25:14-30). In the second parable, the emphasis is on the faithful use of the talents that God has given us. These talents represent material possessions, money, natural abilities, opportunities in life, spiritual gifts, etc.

Not all are equal in this area - for we see in the parable that one got five, another two and another only one. But all had equal time to be faithful with what they had received. To whom more is given, from him more is required. Therefore the one who multiplied his two into four got the same reward as the one who multiplied his five into ten.

Judgment however fell on the one who buried his talent "in the ground" (v. 18) - that is the one who used his God-given talents for this world and not for God.

No one can say that he has received nothing - for all have received some talent or other from God. The question is what we use these talents for. What we use for ourselves is equivalent to the talent buried in the ground. What we use for the glory of God alone is what will be counted as eternal riches. By this standard we can see the poverty of the vast majority of believers.

Our motto should be "All for God and nothing for self". Then we will be ready for Christ's return. We cannot be Jesus' disciples if we have not forsaken all that we have.

One who is not using all his God-given possessions and gifts for the Lord is only deceiving himself if he claims to be ready for Christ's return.

Faithfulness In Serving Our Fellow Believers

(Matt. 25:31-46). In the last section, it is our attitude towards our fellow believers in need that Jesus deals with. That need may be spiritual or physical.

Here we see that some inherit the kingdom because they served their fellow believers as unto the Lord. Their service was so much in secret that their left hand did not know what their right hand was doing (Matt. 6:3). So much so, that when the Lord reminds them of the good that they did, they do not even remember it! (Matt. 25:38).

Jesus also taught here that any service that we do to the least of His brothers is considered as service done to Him (Matt. 25:40). It is significant that He speaks of the least here, for our tendency is to serve the most important believers and to ignore the poor and the despised! Those who are occupied with eating and drinking, buying and selling, and building and planting for themselves alone, will certainly be left behind when Jesus returns (Lk. 17:28,34).

Only those whose service for the Lord involved a loving concern to serve their fellow believers, will be taken up. In another passage, Jesus spoke of another group of people - who are a contrast to this group. These are the ones who remember all the good things that they have done in the name of the Lord. They are also at the judgment seat, and they remind the Lord that they have expelled demons, preached, healed the sick in Jesus' name, etc. But they are rejected by the Lord, even though they did all these things, because they lacked the very first requirement, of a hidden life of holiness before God. They were taken up with the greatness of their gifts.

It is interesting to see the contrast.

Those who healed the sick are cast out (Matt. 7:22,23). But those who merely visited the sick inherit the kingdom! (Matt. 25:34,36). God does not ask us to heal the sick if we have not been given the 'talent' of the gift of healing. But we can visit the sick and encourage them and bless them in the name of the Lord. We shall then find that we are ready for Christ's return, while many who healed the sick are left behind! To serve others in this way, we have to be willing to be inconvenienced.

Those who never want their daily plans to be disturbed by interruption from needy people, will certainly be left behind when Jesus comes. We have to sacrifice time, money, and above all, our own plans and our will, if we are to serve others in the name of the Lord.

Selfishness is so rooted in our flesh that even when we have cleansed ourselves of the sins of lusting with our eyes, anger and covetousness, it is still possible to live just for ourselves. There can be a holiness, like the holiness of the Pharisees, which is occupied only with ourselves, and which does not deliver us from self-centeredness. This is a counterfeit of the true holiness; yet it is easy to be deceived by it.

Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us ... Forgive us ... Deliver us ..." (Matt. 6:11-13). A sanctification that does not give us a concern for others who are still in their sins and need, is a worthless counterfeit that is fit for only being thrown into the garbage bin.

We need to re-orient our way of thinking ("renew our mind" Rom. 12:2) so that we put ourselves "in the shoes of others" and try and understand what they are going through. This is Christ-like thoughtfulness that prepares us to inherit the coming kingdom. One who thinks only of his own and his family's need, however "holy" he may be, is only deceiving himself if he thinks that he is ready for Christ's coming.

Christian Security

Can a Christian stop being a Christian? Would God disown one of His children? Did Judas go to heaven? Once you are saved are you always saved?

Unconditional Security

There are two general views here. This view is that once you are saved you are always saved—nothing can ever end your relationship with God. The extreme view of unconditional security runs something like this:

"When I become a Christian I am adopted into the family of God based on Christ's death, and not on anything whatsoever that I have done. I can't save myself, only God can do this. When I was saved I was born into God's family. I did nothing to birth myself—God did it all. And I can do nothing to keep being a son or daughter—I have that right by birth, not behavior. There is nothing I could do which would make me quit being a son or daughter. Nothing whatsoever that I can do could separate me from God' love. I am a child of God by birth."

"True, I might get out of fellowship with God. I might even wander off into the far country like the prodigal son did. But even in a distant land of disobedience I am still a son. Just a son out of fellowship with the father. My relationship with God is fixed for all eternity, and even if I spit in the face of God I would still be His son. Once a son always a son. If I become a Christian as a teen, then drop out of all religious things for thirty years, living a life full of sin, then decide to get right with God again, this group calls it a "recommitment" not salvation, since they believe that I was a Christian all that time, just out of fellowship."

To those who believe unconditional security, nothing could make a Christian lose their salvation. If a little boy prays to receive Christ in a Good News Club at eight years old, he is permanently grafted into God's family. This sonship is permanent and unalterable no matter what he does from then on. If that little boy grows up to live a life full of drunkenness, drugs, immorality, rape, and murder, he still goes to heaven, for his salvation is not based at all on anything he did or does—but totally on what God did for him on the cross. This is the radical view of unconditional security. When a person is justified it is once for all. All the convert's sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven. So future sin is irreverent to his salvation—they have all been forgiven in advance 2000 years ago. As far as his salvation goes, sin is irrelevant.

People off this side of the road don't need to worry much about sin in their lives—they can simply rejoice that "there is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus." Being in Christ is irrevocable insurance—the premiums were all paid in advance by Jesus death.

In its most radical forms, unconditional security proponents will argue that if the Lord returned today there would be thousands of people raptured right out of the arms of prostitutes or gay lovers, for their salvation is not based at all on any behavior, but only on something which happened in the courts of heaven.

This radical form of unconditional security follows a path far off the road on the left. But there is a path far off on the other side too.

Eternal Insecurity

These folk steer off the other side of the road, constantly anxious about their own salvation. They disbelieve unconditional security so much that they practice eternal insecurity. They believe "one sin and you're out" of God's family. This sort of insecurity leads to spiritual hypochondria as people constantly check their pulse to see if they're still spiritually alive.

If these eternally insecure people slip into sin, they feel they have to get born again, again . . . and again, and again. One single slip is grounds for expulsion from God's family. Any thought, word, or deed that is disobedient breaks the relationship with God and will damn the individual.

People on this insecurity path are never sure. They are not sure that they are in or out today, so they turn morbidly introspective trying to eliminate any vestige of wrong thoughts, words, or deeds. They reason that if they live a perfect life, totally free from any sin, then they will be saved.

Their mistake is focusing on themselves instead of Jesus, as if all responsibility for staying saved is theirs and God is somehow looking for an opportunity to kick them out of the family. In their preoccupation with human effort they are more humanist than Christian.

Both sides of the road are extremes, those who argue for unconditional security, and those who are eternally insecure about their salvation.

Is there a middle ground?

Perhaps, try these thoughts for starters . . .

1. God's love IS unconditional.

There is nothing that can separate us from God's love. In fact, God's love was extended to us while we were still sinners...even while we were yet unborn! There is nothing, nothing I can do to make God quit loving me. He can't not love me. His love is both unconditional and irrevocable. And it's not based in any way whatsoever on what I do. God loves because God is love.

2. My relationship with God is conditional.

While His love is unconditional, my relationship with God is two-way. Love can be unilateral. A relationship, however, is bilateral. For instance, I could insist that nothing my wife could ever do would change my love—I love her unconditionally and irrevocably, yet a true relationship is two-way. What if she were to walk out on me, and run off with another man, totally rejecting me and everything I stood for? Would I still love her? Yes, I could love her, if my love were unconditional. But would we still have a relationship? That's another question.

A relationship is bilateral—"it takes two." Love can go one way, but a relationship is two-way. Relationships are ongoing dynamic sort of things which take two (at least partially) willing persons. Someone might argue that this immoral wife still had some legal standing with her husband, but most of us would admit that a pattern of continual and repeated purposeful acts of rebellion would end the two-way-ness of the relationship. My love might live on, but my marriage relationship would be dead. Relationships are not unilateral.

3. But Christians have great security.

A two-way relationship does not mean that Christians have little security. On the contrary, the security of a believer is exceptionally high—almost absolute. The chances of a real believer walking away from God in rebellion and losing his own soul are remote. Remote, yet possible. There is no state of grace we can reach where we could not of our own free will decide to reject God and finally lose our own soul.

But the chances of a real Christian eventually losing his own soul are slim. Why? Because "His seed remains within us." At conversion we experienced a sort of "spiritual gene splicing." God's nature was planted inside us. We received a tendency to be Godly. Sure, it is possible for us to disobey Him. But spiritual rebellion—the hardened set-chin spiritual defiance that breaks a relationship—is a very unlikely happening for a truly born again Christian.

A continual pattern of purposeful premeditated disobedience will indeed eventually harden into an attitude of rebellion and defiance that can break off our two-way relationship with God. But the likelihood of someone doing this is low. Rather, we have a great security in Christ. High security. Immense security. Almost unconditional—but not quite.

4. Our daily relationship with God is the better focus.

The relationship we have with God is ongoing and dynamic, not just a legal covenant established long ago. The middle of the road regarding security focuses on a daily developing walk with God, not just a once-for-all event occurring years ago. Like a marriage, our daily relationship with God is quite as important as the initiating event. The marriage is quite as important as the wedding.

The practical middle of the road approach is to focus on a daily growing walk with God where the issue of security need never come up. Are you developing a loving growing bilateral marriage relationship? If so, the chances of such a relationship dissolving are remote. Are you developing a loving growing bilateral relationship with God? If so, the chances of such a relationship dissolving are also remote.

The security is not just in the initiating event—wedding or conversion. It is in a growing loving relationship. And, the best news yet: God is even more forbearing than your spouse!

SEVEN TIPS FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE

First ... a few thoughts about faith:

A key to having faith for each occasion is to BELIEVE God's written Word and God's rhema word (should He desire to give you a spoken rhema word specific for that occasion, which may be His means to impart sufficient faith to you for that specific prayer to see it accomplish God's desired effect).

Refuse to allow DOUBT to cancel your faith ... which is one of Satan's greatest means of robbing you of your faith.

If you don't believe God's Word ... you won't obey (do) God's Word. God honors obedience to His Word (both His written Word and His rhema word, if He gives a specific spoken rhema word for that particular occasion) as wisely understood and wisely applied by the help of the Holy Spirit.

Obedience to God's written (logos) Word, and obedience to God's specific spoken rhema word ... (if He gives you one) ... is faith in action that God delights in rewarding.

Here are seven tips that have helped me in having a more exciting prayer life:

1): Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit while praying. He knows more about prayer and each situation than anyone else!

2): Grow to pray unselfishly. You'll get more prayers answered!

3): Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in what you should pray for, and how you are to pray for it.

4): Learn how to receive sufficient faith from God for every prayer you pray. (Some prayers God answers requires very little faith on our part. Others prayers require a great deal of faith on our part when we pray them, to see them answered).

5): Learn the wisdom of persistence and patience. God's timing can play an important role in answered prayer.

6): Presumption and/or assumption are two deadly mindsets that can hinder one's prayers from being answered in a positive manner. Both come usually from selfishness and/or pride. Misapplication of God's Word can be another reason.

7): Purpose to give God glory with every prayer answered. Share it with us, so we can share it with the world! God has all power, yet He's willing to share it with the humble, and who can be trusted with it. God has all faith, yet He is willing to share it with the humble, and who can be trusted with it. Prayer mixed with faith can accomplish the impossible.

Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." -- Mark 9:23 (NKJV)

WHAT ABOUT HEALING AND GOD’S WILL?

If you are a reader of the New Testament, you know that it is God's nature to heal people. No where in the New Testament does it hint that God doesn't delight in healing people - providing the individual is not walking in rebellion to God. Yet just because God's nature and character is to heal doesn't mean that every person who prays for healing is going to receive it from God prior to dying, are they? Experience has taught us that.

Why is it that some people believe it is God's will to heal physically 100% of the time, yet never receive their physical healing? Is it always simply because of a lack of faith? Sometimes yes and and sometimes no, depending on the individual situation. There can be other factors to take into account when seeking healing, and I pray that God will help us understand many of them, especially if you are desiring a healing, or a loved one is desiring a healing.

Before launching forward through this "rat maze" regarding healing issues, I strongly believe Christians would do WELL to comprehend all the possible ramifications of what one solitary scripture passage addresses. This scripture passage is found in 2 Chronicles 16:12-13:

And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was very severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

Every implication suggests that God was offended by Asa not going to the Lord first and inquiring of Him about his disease. Rather, he took his diseased situation to the local doctor/s. End result? No healing. Death, in fact, two years later.

Had Asa diligently sought the Lord before just going to his local doctor for advice and treatment, Asa may have had the Lord reveal some things to him that God wanted taken care of first to then receive his healing. But for whatever reason, Asa couldn't be bothered doing that. Maybe guilt kept him from doing so. Maybe fear; doubt. Who but God knows. It makes no matter, really. God was offended.

Yet in this day in age, especially in more economically prosperous communities, how many Christians run to their doctor for help the moment they have something wrong with them, being told no less by their spiritual authorities in many cases "that God uses doctors to heal," so "YES! Get to your doctor right away!"

Hold on a moment. Maybe - just maybe - that might be a major insult to God if we follow that advice, or assumption on our part. Maybe ... God first wants us going to our Elders, requesting them praying for us first, and showing a willingness to hear whatever they believe the Holy Spirit might be saying to them about our relationship with God. Or if we don't even have Elders easily available to us, maybe God simply wants us dropping to our knees and inquiring directly of Him what He may want to communicate to us about our situation, before just assuming that God is going to use our doctor to help effect our healing. Running to our doctor for help and THEN asking others to pray for us to receive that healing yet never getting that healing may be because an ASSUMPTION God will honor what we're doing may be a very deadly assumption.

We have Christians confessing "that by His stripes I've already been healed 2,000 years ago," or "I'm speaking and believing to this mountain of sickness and disease that the devil has inflicted me with, and I'm refusing to accept this attack from the devil!" ... when how many Christians do we see end up dying from that very sickness or disease, when maybe God WOULD have healed them, if they hadn't just ran off so quickly to their doctor/s before first inquiring diligently of the Lord in what the Holy Spirit might want to say to them? (Like getting disobedience out of their life, getting some good counsel on proper nutrition; wisdom and knowledge of implementing some detoxing/fasting; proper sleep; adequate exercise; stress reduction; and/or dealing with some issues of unforgiveness, unrepentant sin (not the SAME as confessed sin. Just because we confess our sin to God and ask forgiveness for it, does not mean we have repented of it. Repent means to CHANGE; stop committing the sin over and over), or an attitude of thanklessness. Many Christians fail to realize that a grumbling and complaining spirit, which can include attacking spiritual authority without cause; gossip; slander, backbiting ... can full under our lack of thanksgiving. It was for a lack of thanksgiving that offended God and motivated God to keep many of the Jews from entering the promise land).

Consider this possibility as well. If we call for the Elders to pray for us as James 5:14-16 says we are to do (no where does God tells us to go to our doctor/s first, THEN go to our elders for prayer secondly. The implication is that we need to be very sensitive to the Lord's leading about WHICH should take place first in my very strong opinion. (In emergency situations, of course we need to receive immediate medical attention if it's available. Let's not get "stupid" about all this, okay?).

Consider this as well. Consistent with New Testament scripture is the wisdom of executing faith to receive our healing, especially if we have a serious sickness or disease. How many of us really have more faith in our doctors than we have in God's ability to heal us without using our doctors? How many Christians have their back-up plan mentally in place before even giving God a chance to supernaturally heal them ... and that back-up plan being their local doctor? Faith and lack of faith may hinge a great deal and just how much one refuses to diligently inquire of God FIRST before listening to everything one's doctor says about their situation. So ... my point in saying all this: Don't offend God like Asa did.

On the other hand, don't go off on some wild tangent and demand that God heal you without ever having to go to your local doctor either. Many Christians have done that and have died from their sickness and disease, simply because they were so demanding of God to do something the way they either assumed He should do, or that they wanted Him to do. Assumption and presumption is not something God warms up to when it is flesh motivated and not Holy Spirit directed.

Now then, let's first look at some New Testament scriptures about healing:

Mt 4:23: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Mt 9:35: And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Lu 9:6: And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Lu 9:11: And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spoke unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

Ac 10:38: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Mt 10:1: And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Mt 10:8: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Lu 9:2: And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Lu 10:9: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Jas 5:14-15: Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven

THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE GOODNESS OF MARRIAGE

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony; which is an honorable state, instituted by God in the time of man's innocency, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church."

That familiar language from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, recited thousands of times each week in various forms, presents a vision of marriage as a deeply Christian institution -- even a necessary portrait of the love that unites Christ and His church. As marriage signifies this "mystical union," it points to an understanding that takes us far beyond the relationship of the husband and wife. Do most Christians have even the slightest understanding of this?

It is bad enough that the secular world has discounted marriage into a quasi-legal contract that, like other voluntary contracts, can be made or broken at will. The greater tragedy is the failure of Christians to take marriage seriously. According to the Bible, marriage is not only designed by the Creator as an arena for human happiness and the continuation of the human race -- it is also the arena of God's glory, where the delights and disciplines of marriage point to the purpose for which human beings were made.

Marriage is about our happiness, our holiness, and our wholeness -- but it is supremely about the glory of God. When marriage is entered into rightly, when marriage vows are kept with purity, when all the goods of marriage are enjoyed in their proper place -- God is glorified.

Our chief end is to glorify God -- and marriage is a means of His greater glory. As sinners, we are all too concerned with our own pleasures, our own fulfillments, our own priorities, our own conception of marriage as a domestic arrangement. The ultimate purpose of marriage is the greater glory of God -- and God is most greatly glorified when His gifts are rightly celebrated and received, and His covenants are rightly honored and pledged.

Marriage is not greatly respected in our postmodern culture. For many, the covenant of marriage has been discarded in favor of a contract of cohabitation. An ethic of personal autonomy has produced successive generations who think of the world as the arena of their own personal fulfillment and of marriage as an outdated relic of an outgrown culture of obligation.

Ours is an era of self-expression. Individuals express themselves through marriage, and then express themselves through divorce -- as if all of life is nothing more than a succession of acts of self-expression.

A divorce culture explains away obligation and sacred promises as temporary statements of emotional disposition. I may feel married today -- I may not feel married tomorrow.

Our culture is so sexually confused that the goods of sex are severed from the vows and obligations of marriage. Thanks to modern technologies, we can have sex without babies, babies without sex, and both without marriage. For many, marriage has become an irrelevancy.

For others it is worse. Some have lambasted marriage as a domestic prison, a patriarchal and oppressive institution foisted upon unsuspecting men and women in order to deny them freedom, autonomy, fulfillment, and liberation. And, for a post-Christian culture, there is that nagging problem of the essential character of marriage as sacred institution. A society that disbelieves in God will eventually disbelieve in marriage.

Christian couples who are committed to this high conception of marriage must see themselves as counter-revolutionaries. In a very real sense, they are. They are standing against the tide of public opinion, against the trend of modern morality, against the erosion of order and the deflationary market in faithfulness. Before God, they stand committed to each other -- and only to each other. To live together for each other, no matter what may come.

The church has recognized three great purposes of marriage, and all three of these have been subverted by the sexual revolution and its aftermath.

The first is the procreation and nurture of children, if God should grant children to the marriage. This purpose is dishonored by many, but it is honored among believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Children are to be welcomed as gifts to the institution of marriage, transforming husband and wife into father and mother. In our anti-natalist age, some see children as impositions--or worse. The denial of a procreative orientation for marriage -- every marriage genuinely open to the gift of children -- is a denial of the biblical vision of marriage itself.

The second great purpose of marriage, as the ancient language expresses it, is "as a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication . . . that might marry and keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's body." Marriage as a remedy for sin? This purpose is ridiculed among many, but it is honored among Christ's disciples. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul took as his concern in writing to the church at Corinth. Confused and seduced by sexual sin, that church had compromised its own ability to represent Christ. Paul pointed to marriage as a means of channeling sexual desire into its proper context, lest believers "burn with passion" and sin against God. [1 Corinthians 7:9]

Our culture has turned "burning with passion" into a hedonistic art form. Explicit sexuality--stripped of the constraints of marriage--is the energy behind much of our economy, the material for entertainment, the substance of art, the enticement of advertising. Those who believe that sexual intercourse should be limited to marriage are dismissed as moral throw-backs, hopelessly outdated creatures who simply have no clue about the modern world.

The third great end of marriage is companionship throughout life, through good and bad, comfort and loss, sickness and health, until death parts the husband and wife. The mystery of completeness is expressed in the statement that the two shall become one. When a man and a woman exchange marriage vows, they become one solitary unit. After the exchange of these vows, we can no longer speak of the husband without the wife, or of the wife without the husband. They have become one, both in the physical union of the marital act and in the metaphysical union of the marital bond. As a married couple -- husband and wife -- they will live to the glory of God with each other, for each other, and to each other.

The end of marriage is its beginning -- the glory of God, the mystery of Christ and the church. The exclusivity and purity of the marriage bond points to the exclusivity and purity of the relationship between Christ and His church.

How does marriage glorify God? Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, offers wisdom: "How beautiful, then, the marriage of two Christians, two who are one in home, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice . . . Nothing divides them either in flesh or in spirit . . . They pray together, they worship together, they fast together; instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another. Side by side they visit God's church and partake God's banquet, side by side they face difficulties and persecution, share their consolations. They have no secrets from one another; they never shun each other's company; they never bring sorrow to each other's hearts . . . Seeing this Christ rejoices. To such as these He gives His peace. Where there are two together, there also He is present."

Marriage is the source of great and unspeakable happiness. Yet because of sin it is not unmixed happiness. But marriage is not first and foremost about making us happy. It is for making us holy. And through the covenant of marriage two Christians pledge to live together so as to make each other holy before God, as a testimony to Christ.

THE TEARS OF JESUS

By: Dr. R. L. Scarborough
(Contributed by: Jim Elam)

And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. (John 11:34-25)

And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it. (Luke 19:41)

Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear. (Hebrews 5:7)

We find in the first scripture Jesus weeping at the grave of Lazarus. In the second one we find Him weeping over a city which was doomed, having rejected His message. And in the last scripture we find Him shedding tears and offering prayers in the days of His flesh over a ruined world for which He was to die.

The verse in Luke describes His coming to Jerusalem for the last time. He had been out among the people for three and a half years, preaching, teaching, healing and performing many miracles. The blind could see when He touched their eyes; the lame could walk, the dumb could speak, and the dead came up from the grave at His word of authority and power. Still, a few days later, He would be crucified in the city He had come to save. But coming in the morning from the east side, with a great crowd meeting and following Him, praising God in accordance with the promises concern Him, as He came up over the crest of the Mount of Olives, He saw that beautiful city with a wonderful history.

I’m sure, since He knew all things, that there was present in His mind the past history of triumphs, of defeat, of prosperity and adversity. I am sure that He saw with His historic mind the things that had transpired in that city there, where a great people had built a great city, the center of the religious life of the world, where He had trained a race to be His chosen people.

The scriptures tell us that as He looked upon that city, He wept. This Son of God, this Son of man, upon seeing that city, wept bitter, briny tears over what He saw. This is one of the three times in the scriptures when it speaks of the tears of Jesus.

On one prior occasion He stood at the grave of one of His friends, the grave of Lazarus, and wept, joined in the sorrow of loved ones for the man who had been hospitable to Him, a man who He loved. There the Son of man at the gate of death shed tears.

And the other time where it speaks of His tears he prayed unto Him who was able to save Him from death! There in that case, Jesus Christ not only wept over a lost city, but He wept over a lost world.

Now I want us to think for a little while of the weeping Savior – the tears of Jesus Christ.

WHOSE ARE THESE TEARS?

Who is this strong person who has filled all history and yet whom, standing on the crest of a mountain, we see weeping? His heart is torn, and there comes from His eyes and from His heart tears that represent the attitude of His soul toward a lost city and toward the lost world. Who is He? Why, He is the author of our Bible, the Founder of our churches, a Refuge to our souls, the Hope and Resurrection, the Builder of our heaven and the Source and Provider of all our spiritual blessings. The scriptures call Him our Advocate, the Alpha and the Omega of our spiritual life, the Ancient of Days, the Anointed One, the Balm of Gilead for our souls, the Bread of Life for our strength, the Cornerstone and Foundation of our lives, the Commander of God’s Army, the Conqueror over sin and the enemies of God, the Counselor and Wisdom and Guide for our feet, the Dayspring and Morning Star of our hopes.

He is the Founder and Fountain on which we build and from which we drink. He is the Hiding Place for our tempest tossed souls, the High Priest for our communion with God; He is Immanuel, the very presence of the Most High. He is King over kings and Lord over lords. He was the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world as a sacrifice and atonement for our sins.

He is the leader of God’s mightiest hosts, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He it was that was the man of sorrows and was acquainted with grief. He is the Mediator between man and God, the messenger of God’s covenant to a lost world, the Messiah of hope for a coming day of full redemption. He is the Mightiest among the mighty and the loveliest among ten thousand, the Maker and Preserver of our lives and the Savior of our souls. He is the Prince of Life and the Prince of Peace, the Redeemer, the Rock of Ages, the Rose of Sharon, the Scepter of Israel, the Shepherd of God’s sheep.

He is God’s only begotten and most beloved Son; and here on the mountain overlooking Jerusalem, He wept with a heart full of compassion and love for a lost world and establishes here again the doctrine of chief and central and supreme passion of the Gospel wrought out in His ministry and death and intercession for a sin-cursed world. He it is that weeps over our sin and doom and destiny.

This man is the Son of God, is very God Himself. He it is that controls all the things of our lives; and yet yonder in the city where he taught and preached and was soon to be crucified, we see Him shedding the bitterest of tears. He is not some conqueror come to destroy those people. He has come to weep over them and die for them and save them. He it is that is weeping today over a lost world.

WHY THESE TEARS?

Why is it that this Son of man, this Son of God, is weeping over the city of Jerusalem and constantly in the days of His flesh appealed unto God with strong supplication and tears? I say to you, He is not weeping for Himself. He sees the shadow of the cross just ahead of Him; and He sees the dark, unspeakable sorrow of Gethsemane through which He is to go, the cruel crown of thorns which is to be pressed on His head. Doubtless, already he feels the pierce of the nails in His hands and the sword in His side, yet He is not weeping over Himself. He is not weeping like a defeated conqueror. Though in the eyes of the world He lived a life of defeat, He was not weeping because of His own failure or because of any discontent in His heart. Nor was He weeping over that city which through the centuries had been built by the sacrifices and labors of His people. He was weeping because of its reputation, though He saw the ruin of that city about which He here prophesied. He is not weeping for the fallen walls or the ruins of the temple. He was weeping because of what He could already see from the Mount of Olives.

What was it that He saw that caused the tears to come from His eyes? It is that about which I wish to speak to you. I want, if I can, to bring you this day into a sympathetic attitude with Jesus Christ as He stood at the Mount of Olives. I believe He saw three things:

1): He wept because of the spiritual dilemma of man.

In the first place, He wept because He saw the spiritual condition of men. He saw men in their sins. He saw them in the darkness of their unbelief, in the night of their unfaith in Him – sinners, dead in trespasses and sins. He saw the wrath of God on them if the love of God was not in their hearts, and He saw them rejecting the only light come to them. He saw them without hope and without God in the world.

As He looked upon the soul of an unbeliever it is no wonder that it brought tears to His eyes, no wonder that it brought a desire to be crucified for the life and salvation of that individual. The condition of men today ought to bring tears and burdens to the heart of God’s people.

I will tell you, my friends, we need to look into the lives of unsaved men all about us and see their peril and condition before almighty God. Every man and woman and young person in your community without Jesus Christ in his heart by faith is lost and dead in their trespasses and in their sins, is away from God and has no hope. The immoral decay of sin is in every particle of his spirit.

Shall we look at them unmoved after the Son of God shed tears upon seeing the condition of a lost and ruined city? I trust that God’s people, seeing the unsaved people around them today, will join the Savior in weeping over a lost world. I want us in these days to remember the spiritual condition of every man who does not know Jesus Christ.

2): He wept because He knew the eternal destiny of lost men.

I think that another thing that stirred the heart of Jesus was the destiny of men. He, the Son of God, was thinking of where these people were going after death. He saw the place to which they were going when they were carried to the cemeteries. That is the matter that should stir upon our hearts – not what we possess here on earth or how much or how little education we have. It matters not that we die; how little value there is in the bodies of men! My friends, it is the eternal destiny of the soul that is the most important question.

I want us to know that the battle we are fighting here is the battle for the destinies of men. Every unsaved man and woman in our community is going to hell. I don’t know how you feel, but I bless God that there is a heaven for those who believe in Christ. I want us to see the destinies of men and be moved like our Savior was moved.

3): He wept because the people stubbornly refused Him.

There was another thing that stirred the heart of the Savior, and that was their refusal to hear Him. Oh, the saddest thing that can come to the heart of Jesus Christ is to be rejected. I wonder what will be the attitude of the people reading this. Jesus there looked upon that sinning, wicked city. He had wrought among them, yet they had rejected Him. I tell you, there is a demonstration on every hand that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I wonder what we will do with this demonstration?

THE SAVIOR’S CARE

This incident in the life of the Savior but illustrates the care Jesus has for men. He has shown, not only in His earthly life and sacrificial death, but also in His heavenly ministry for these twenty centuries, how much He cares for men. Even the hairs of our head are numbered, and not a sparrow falls without His loving care. Every detail of our lives is of interest to the Savior, and all those things that make for our salvation and spiritual strength and service for Him are of the deepest concern to His heart.

Does He not show His attitude at Lazarus’ grave that He loves and cares for the suffering loved ones at every grave? Does He not show by the many examples of healing, of raising the dead, of straightening the limbs of the crippled, of opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, that He cares for our bodies and our souls? Never a tear falls from a sorrowing widow nor from the penitent soul of the sin-sick sinner that misses the loving care of our Savior.

He has shown it in giving us the Bible with its many promises. He has assured us of it by His multiplied providence’s of loving care. That is the beauty of that great picture on the Mount of Olives. Jesus loves man and has a concern for their salvation. He has shown it in his creative power; in His preserving, providential power; in His earthly ministry; and in His death on Calvary.

You and I should take up the work of Jesus Christ and care for lost men. This is the message that I bring to you today. Do you care for the lost men and women of your community? I wonder how many of you do. Will you stand with Jesus on the Mount of Olives today and say, “We too will weep for our loved ones and join our Savior in caring for their souls.”?

My question for you is, “Do you love lost men?” Oh, that question reigns in my heart today! If we do, God help us to join Jesus Christ in soul-agony for them that we may win to Him. I wonder how many of you can say, “Deep down in my heart I do have a tender, affectionate concern for the unsaved of my community, and I can join with my Savior in a deep compassion for their salvation.”?

Listen to what God says: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with Him. (Psalms 126:5-6)

WHEN WILL JESUS CHRIST RETURN FOR HIS BRIDE?

By: Norm Rasmussen

The Bible makes it very clear that at least two things must happen before Jesus Christ returns for true born again believers:

1: A great falling away will have taken place. (This is already happening at an alarming rate, though we probably haven't seen anything yet compared to how drastic it will be by the time the anti-Christ is fully revealed!).

2: The anti-Christ will have been clearly revealed, (at least to some truly born again Christians).

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 (NKJV)

If you are a true born again Christian, and have been for any length of time, you are fully aware that we have been in a “falling away process” for quite some time. To do full justice to what God is speaking of regarding “falling away,” a book would most likely have to be written. I don’t feel prompted to write a book on the topic, but I do feel prompted to write a super-condensed “Readers Digest” version:

People who call themselves “Christians” will be walking in greater disobedience to Truth than ever before. Multitudes of "Christians" will be walking in great spiritual darkness - great spiritual compromise - great spiritual deception. In fact, multitudes of "Christians" will literally refuse to believe that the anti-Christ is actually the anti-Christ, at least for probably the first three and a half years from when he first rises to prominence, simply because they - along with the world - will be so desperate for "peace and safety" (which will include financial security - stability; and personal safety, which would dovetail with fear of possible global war - nuclear - biological - environmental - atmospheric annihilation).

This is the scary part. This is the sobering part. This is what the Holy Spirit wants addressed. Many who will consider themselves to be "Christians" at that time will find themselves left behind when Christ returns for His Bride, while those who made themselves ready will be taken. (See: Matthew 24:40-44; 25:1-13). One assumes their will be people who will give their lives to Jesus Christ after that, and of those who go through great tribulation, many will be greatly persecuted and put to death by refusing to renounce Jesus Christ, while many others will buckle and do whatever is demanded of them of the anti-Christ to "save their hides." Revelation 3:10 suggests to me that God may provide some sort of divine protection for certain ones walking in obedience and purity to the Lord, perhaps once the anti-Christ is revealed, though I don't claim to have full understanding or accurate revelation of how this will all play out.

You may well have your theology right (correct revelation, in other words) about the rapture (the return of Jesus Christ for his true Bride alive on Earth at that time, in other words), the anti-Christ, the great tribulation, but if you are walking in deception and/or compromising sin … you may not be in the category of the "five virgins who had their lamps full of oil" when Christ returns. (See: Matthew 25:6-8). In fact, you may not even make it to heaven! God may very well allow you to go through some tribulation you will wish you never had to go through, and you may end up even losing your salvation, if you ever were truly saved - truly born again - in the first place.

Today is the day you need to stop compromising your relationship with God, and get ruthless with your disobedience to Truth – not tomorrow. Whenever you are reading this … tomorrow may be too late for you.

Yep – I know this is supposed to be a Ministry Encourager - not a fire and brimstone “doom and gloom, holier-than-now” message. Well, it is an “encourager.” I feel impressed of the Holy Spirit to encourage everyone reading this to stop compromising with sin, and begin immediately striving for a state of sinlessness (holiness; righteousness; purity in alignment with New Covenant Truth) as quickly as you CAN!

Will any of us attain a perfect state of sinlessness prior to the return of Jesus Christ, at least for any reasonable length of time? No. We’re deceiving ourselves if we think we will. However … there are sins that too many “Christians” are committing, and they don’t even believe they are sins. That is what the Holy Spirit is addressing in this “Encourager.” Recognize sin when it is sin, then do whatever is necessary to get lasting victory over it!

Secondly, multitudes of “Christians” have been taught, or they have just come to believe, that when we confess our sins to God, our slate is whipped cleaned, and we don’t have to think about it any further … at least until we commit the very same sin again.

That’s what the Holy Spirit is saying that multitudes of Christians have and are in ever greater measure “falling victim to.” They are falling away from righteousness -- falling away from obeying all of God's New Covenant Word. They are walking in less and less holiness – less and less obedience to God - to Truth. God wants those who truly belong to Him to start judging themselves unlike ever before, and settling once and for all what God’s clear instructions are regarding sin – disobedience – spiritual compromise. Call sin "SIN!" as the Bible calls it, then deal with it as the Bible SAYS to deal with it, which is to confess it and FORSAKE it. Stop committing that same sin over and over.

When we sin as Christians, God says the first step is to confess our sin to Him. However, there is a second step that more and more “Christians” are refusing to believe has any merit – any importance in the equation. What is this second step? Getting ruthless with that sin by putting it to death, once and for all! That is called TRUE repentance.

Confess and repent by forsaking. Confess to God means to admit we have done wrong to Him, and then repent. Repent means ruthless determination to NEVER commit that sin ever again … and keep hammering away (persisting) until God has given us power (His grace) to say “No!” to the temptation to give place to that sin whenever the temptation arises again.

Okay – reality for many. When I’ve asked God to help me from giving into my sin, and I end up committing that sin anyway … what’s the deal, God? Why didn't you remove my temptation?!

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13

God does not promise us that He will remove our temptation in the above. That is not what God is saying. He is saying that He will provide a way of escape from our temptation, so we'll be able to refuse giving into our temptation.

God will always provide a way of escape when we ask and trust Him to when we are tempted to sin. The problem is that we refuse His way of escape and then try to tell ourselves He didn't do what He promises. The fact of the matter is ... we simply are insensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and refuse to recognize that our flesh is doing our leading.

Try this weapon (way of escape) the next time you are tempted to sin, and you want a way to escape from the temptation. Promise God you’ll go on a fast to break the power of that temptation … and you’ll fast indefinitely until you know that you know that you know that the power of that sin is broken off your life. Are you willing to do that? If you aren’t … don’t call God a liar and try to convince yourself that 1 Cor. 10:13 doesn’t work. When you’re asking and praying and trusting and confessing doesn’t seem to be getting the job done … there is still the weapon of fasting that God makes available to us. But the weapon of fasting sometimes only will work when we’ve gotten determined enough to fast as long as is necessary to see that stronghold/s completely broken off our lives.

That is where God desires Christians to arrive at: to the place of determination where they desire to have total victory over every temptation to sin that knocks on their door.

However … here’s the problem in attaining that goal. If you don’t recognize sin when you’re committing it, you won’t apply yourself to get ruthless with it. Secondly, confession of that sin doesn't mean it's over, said and done with. Ruthless determination to FORSAKE that sin so we never fall to temptation when it returns and again knocks on our door is every bit as important as confessing it, and asking forgiveness for it.

Do you know that masturbation is a sin? Statistics say that most likely, over 50% of the people reading this will tell me masturbation is not a sin. Yes it is. If you consider yourself to be a “Christian” and you are not seeking God to get victory over masturbation … I’m here to tell you that you either don’t care to get victory over it, or you have been caught up in some very common deception that is growing at such an incredible rate that can only be defined as staggering.

Here is a Christian that is recognized in the Body of Christ as hearing very clearly from God about sexual sins, which includes masturbation. His name is Steve Gallagher. Here’s a link to his ministry website:
http://www.purelifeministries.org/

Read what revelation God has imparted to brother Steve and his wife regarding masturbation. Read the statistics Steve has regarding this area of sin …. IN CHRISTIANS! It is alarming on a MAJOR scale! Where you aware that Masturbation is actually idolatry. Idol worship is forbidden in the 10 commandments. In the New Testament it is also clearly a sin. (If you care to receive greater revelation and understanding into this matter, I would highly recommend reading Steve's eye-opening book: At The Altar of Sexual Idolatry. Multitudes have received help for their addiction to masturbation and pornography by reading this book, not to mention victory over other sexual sins as well.

Okay … enough for now. I realize this is heavy and I pray that you won’t allow the devil to never read one of our Ministry Encouragers ever again.

Saints … here is what the devil does NOT want you to believe. Jesus Christ is coming back for a spotless bride … not a blemished, compromising whore. God is asking each of us exactly what kind of Bride do we truly want to be for Jesus. A Bride that demands her right to cheat before she is married … and worse yet, a Bride that demands her right to keep cheating after she has married?

And again ... don't think I'm trying to say that we will attain sinless perfection before Christ's return, and/or before we die. That is NOT going to happen. One way or another, we all will be sinning from time to time, either in faithlessness, prayerlessness, pride, compromise, apathy - sins of that nature. But ... it is entirely possible to attain victory over all sexual sins, if we are willing to pay the price and dig in with God to help us conquer our sinful flesh. Many can testify that it is possible.

Ask yourself this very sobering question. Do you want God answering your prayers, or does it not matter any more? Are you aware that to get your prayers answered in an ever increasing manner, you need to walk in ever greater obedience to God? To walk in greater obedience to God, you need to get absolutely ruthless in your relationship with God regarding sin issues.

One “little insignificant sin” in our eyes may be the whole reason you and I will not receive healing from God when we desire it. One “little insignificant sin” in our estimation may be the difference between God giving you a Godly husband or wife, a rewarding job (any job at all!), a rewarding - fruitful ministry, release from prison, adequate finances, deliverance from oppression, divine protection … the list of blessing and favor from God can go on and on.

Am I being way too extreme in all this? I’ll let God be the judge of that. I hear God telling me personally that we are moving into end-times much quicker than what many of us care to realize. Furthermore, none of us know when our “rapture” is going to be: NONE! None of us know when our heart will beat its last beat. Do we want to enter eternity knowing we are doing everything we are capable of doing to walk in maximized obedience to the Word of Truth (Bible Truth wisely applied) … or do we want to skate into heaven just by the skin of our teeth … saved, BUT AS BY FIRE … or worse yet, missing heaven entirely?

Not me anymore. I would rather be accused of trying to be too obedient to the Word of Truth than compromising the Word of Truth … and demonstrating with ACTION that I mean it. Anything less is trampling the grace and generous mercy and goodness of God.

"Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left." - Matt 24:40-41

"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him." - Matt. 24:44

Some of you reading this are not ready. Start getting ready today. Tomorrow may be too late for you. In light of eternity ... you'll be thankful you did!