5-22-2021 Signs of the Times

Matthew 24:1-13

Jesus left the temple and His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple.     

And Jesus said to them “Don’t you see all these things?  Not one stone shall be left atop another that won’t be thrown down.”

Having berated the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, Jesus left the temple with His disciples following when He tells them about the destruction of the temple.

As He sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples privately came to Him and asked when these things should be (the end times).  What will be the sign of Your coming at the end of the world?

A logical question.  ‘When are You coming back so we can be with You for all eternity?  Don’t we all want to know that?     

And Jesus answered:  Be careful that no man deceive you.

            For many shall come in My name saying “I am the Christ” and they shall deceive many.

Now, I’m not an historian, but two recent ‘messiahs’ come to mind:  Jim Jones and the People’s temple who committed mass suicide in Guyana, South America after killing House Rep. Leo Ryan; and David Koresh, leader of the ‘Branch Davidians’, who, along with other Davidians, died in a fire following an assault by federal law-enforcement. 

Even in the disciples day, false prophets rose up as one Gamaliel cautioned the Jews not to be too concerned about Peter and the rest of the disciples for if they were a false sect, they would eventually become nothing (Gamaliel cited examples), but if the church leaders pursued, they could find themselves fighting against God, Himself (Acts 5:33-39).

Jesus, Himself, tells us there will be many false Christs (Matt. 24:22-27).    

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but don’t be troubled for these things must happen, but that is not yet the end.

Nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.  There shall be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Wars and rumors of war?  Nations and kingdoms fighting each other?  Look at the world.  In the past 100 years we have experience two wars which have involved all the major power of the earth (1914-1918 & 1939-1945).  The 1950’s saw Korea, the 1960’s saw Vietnam.  This doesn’t take into consideration all the unrest in the Middle East from 1900 to present!  Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and so on.  Rumors of wars?  The Cuban missile crisis with the USSR (1962), Threats from North Korea and even now the terrorist threats in the Middle East and beyond.  The ‘Cold War” hung as a threat over people from the 1960’s until the USSR collapse in the 1990’s so, at least the cold war, seems to have ended.  But the threat of violence continues to linger.

Over the past several decades, I can’t remember how many time I’ve thought to myself earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, all happening in places where they were not expected to occur and, along with wildfires, occurring with intensities that makes us wonder just what is going on!

And what did Jesus say?  This is just the beginning of our problems!          

Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and they shall kill you.  You shall be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Then Christians shall be attacked, simply because we’re Christians!  Check it out!  Even today, in Asia and Africa, Christians are being jailed and executed simply because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

And then many of you shall be offended and betray one another, even hate one another.

Christian brother will even turn against Christian brother.  Parents will be against the children and children against their parents and so forth (Matt. 10:17-23).  The ‘world’ is going to be a mess!  Way to go, Satan!

            Many false prophets shall rise and deceive many.

This goes along with claiming to be Messiah but claiming to “know the way” isn’t quite the same as claiming ‘to be the way’.  A false prophet’s job is to keep us from developing a relationship with Father.  Or giving it his best shot to draw us away from the Lord even once we’ve professed our faith.  It could happen.  But by the grace of God, it won’t.  Father has given us free choice.  The Holy Spirit prompts us and it is our choice to agree to accept and receive Jesus into our heart.  Once we have done that, it is still our choice to live for our Savior.  That is, learn how to abide in His love – and do so.  When I was young, the focus was on ‘getting people saved’.  The pastor’s sermons and Sunday School would take care of the growth.  At least that’s what they thought.  But that only happens when souls became involved in listening to, learning about and abiding in God’s love.

Jesus cautions us to continually draw closer to Him, for if it were possible, those false Christs and prophets might even deceive God’s elect (Matt. 24:24).  That’s us, who walk and talk with the Lord. 

To have a solid relationship with Father, through Jesus, is most important. 

            And because sin shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Wax cold?  Grow cold!  To become comfortable in ‘our own salvation’ then grow cold in our walk and wander away from Father. 

Too much of the church today has become a closed social club.  You’re a brother in Christ?  Welcome aboard, but we really don’t want any sinners in our midst!  Too much of today’s church has become comfortable in going to church when the doors are open, listening to a ‘good’ sermon and singing a few songs and some folks may even toss some coins into the pot.  But, hey, some of those ‘weirdos’  even raise their hands in church – and it’s not to ask a question!!!  (???)

Back in my youth, I remember our pastor almost begging someone to give him an ‘amen’ that he could know that someone knew what he was talking about.  But, alas, we weren’t supposed to talk in church, unless, of course, it was with your neighbor about things which we were curious about.

Again, from the day we receive Jesus into our heart until the day Father calls us home, our relationship with Him needs to be and should be continually growing (in some form or fashion).  That is drawing closer to Him!

            But he who endures to the end of all this, it is he who shall be saved.

Endures?  The closer our relationship with Father is (through Jesus), the more able we are to endure.  He WILL NEVER leave us nor forsake us.  He is Always there (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5), the Holy Ghost is within our heart (2 Corinth. 1:22) and the angels without (Psalm 91:11-12).  Psalm may be a prophetic word about Jesus but we are all brothers (& sisters) in Christ (Rom. 8:29).  What Father does for Jesus, He’ll do for us (John 14:9-15).

Even though Jesus never actually says when the end times will come (Mark 13:32), He surely has given us enough information to know when those times are approaching.  Look around at the world today.  By the grace of God we have not had war on a global scale for eighty years, but there sure have been plenty of ‘little skirmishes’ all around for the past eight decades.  World hunger?  And look at how nature has gone ‘bananas’ over the pasts several decades – just in America (much less the world).  Flooding, earthquakes, fires, the intensity of the storms!

Look at how people are rejecting God!  Does it sound a bit like some of those cities we read about in the Old Testament?  Even today’s church has been setting aside things God has said and is trying to conform to the world’s standards.

Yes, God is love (1 John 4:8) and He surely doesn’t desire that any should be separated from Him (2 Peter 3:9).  But He does require our faith to receive from Him (Mark 11:24) but He also asks our obedience so He can bless us (John 14:15).  Faith and obedience are required to be with Him throughout eternity.  Children naturally accept everything mom and dad say.  Just as parents expect the children to be obedient to them, Father expects the same from us.

So, am I saying we are in the end times even now?  I believe we are definitely are in the ‘foothills’ of those things which must come, but the end is not yet?

Father is closing out a seven year preparation period this year.  Next year will be the beginning of a seven year Spiritual Explosion, a time for mankind and the church to get back on track.  Father has said that there is yet another seven year period following that.  What happens then?  I don’t know.  Does anyone?

Are we reading the signs of the times?

Could have gone on more, but my prayer is that this at least stirs up the ‘juices’.

Amen

 

4-27-2021 Hidden Things

                  What is behind curtain #3?

Does man know all there is to know about God?

Two passages will provide a quick answer to this question.

Deuteronomy 29:29

The secrets belong to the Lord, our God, but there are things that are revealed to us and our children, forever, so that we may do the words of His law.

John 21:25

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if every one should be written down, I suppose the world, itself, could not contain the books in which they would be written.

So we see that there are things God has not revealed to us or has not been passed down through the ages for our knowledge.

However, we know that we can rely on God. His work is perfect, His ways are judgment, He is truth, just and right and has no wickedness in Him (Deut. 32:4).

We know that Jesus is Emmanuel, that is God is with us (Matt. 1:23), manifested in our presence!  He is God, come into this world, in the flesh (John 1:1)!  We know that Jesus spoke those things which Father commanded Him to speak (John 12:49) and there are some things only the Father knows like exactly when the end times are (Matt. 24:36).

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away with (1 Corinth. 13:9-10).  We do things in part because we don’t know the “whole” story yetl 

So when is the perfect come?  Nothing qualifies since the time Jesus ascended back into heaven, after the resurrection, until the time He returns to call us to be with Him forever.  And He will come back for us (John 14:1-4).

But in the meantime we’re not left hanging in the dark either.

John 16:13

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.  For He won’t speak from His own knowledge, but from what He hears (from Father) He will speak and He will show you things to come. 

So when has the Spirit of Truth come?  Just before Jesus ascended back unto the Father He told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem a while yet and wait for the promise of the Holy Ghost.  He also tells them that when they receive the Holy Ghost power shall come upon them and they shall be witnesses for Him … unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:4-8).  The Holy Ghost came to the disciples in the upper room (Acts 2:1-18).  Since then, He has been available for us to receive.

John 12:44-49

Jesus spoke so all could hear Him, ”He who believes on Me doesn’t believe on Me but on Him who sent Me.  And He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.

I am come as a light in the world that who believes on Me should not abide in darkness.

If any man hears My words and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him for I haven’t come to judge the world but to save the world.

He who rejects Me and doesn’t receive My words has one that does judge him.  The Word I have spoken is the one who will judge him on the last day.  (Remember John 1:1)

For I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father Himself has given Me a commandment as to what I should say and what I should speak.

And I know His commandment is life everlasting, so I speak as the Father has said to Me.”  (remember, Jesus IS the WORD of God.)

Today, we have the written bible which gives us all that we need to know (with plenty of examples) how to enter into God’s kingdom and be with Father through Jesus forever. 

As Christians, we have the Holy Ghosts abiding in us to help us understand those things which seem be beyond our understanding.  Yet, as John implies, there may be things which Jesus told the early disciples that may be revealed to us, even now, that have not yet been written down. 

So, how do we know what’s from God?  Anything revealed to us by the Holy Ghost WILL be consistent with God’s love.  Of course, then, we will have to understand God’s love (lol). 

The bible describes God’s love for us and the Holy Ghost will teach us and help us to improve on  that understanding, to love Father (through Jesus) so we can know His love for ourselves and then how to love others.  Should we hear something that we can’t qualify through the scriptures or that which the Holy Spirit does not confirm within our heart (as it agrees in love), needs to be set aside until it can be proven (or disproven).

Remember, Satan was once an angel of light (that is Lucifer) so he can look pretty good sometimes, presenting himself as something he is not.  Think about the temptations of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11) and the maiden who hassled the apostle Paul (Acts 16:16-18).  Satan spoke half-truths to Jesus and the damsel actually spoke the truth about Paul but in a taunting way (If you believe what I say. Yeah! Right! lol).  Jesus responded to Satan with the whole truth and Paul, tiring of the hassle, cast the spirit of divination out of the damsel.

So, does Father still not reveal everything to us, even today?  He will give us what we can handle.  Because they used it so much in promotions of the movie, I’m reminded a line Jack Nicholson spoke in the movie ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’ – “The truth?  You can’t handle the truth!”  Can we truly handle the truth, or do we just ‘think’ we can?  We’re nosy and we want to know everything, but Father knows us and will not put more on us (good or bad) than we can handle (1 Corinth. 10:13). 

God has given us what we need to know and when we need to know it, so that we may enter into His kingdom and while we live this life, live it well.  I suspect that He doesn’t want us to get too bogged down with information.  I also suspect He doesn’t want us to become  more concerned about what others may or may not know versus what He is teaching us.  He wants us to know what He wants us to know and not worry about anything else.  So, He has kept it short, sweet and simple until we can handle more.  He prefers that we focus not on learning more about Him but on our relationship with Him.  The devil knows all about Father.  He was created before we were.  He just rejects what he knows.  He thinks he’s better than God (Ezek. 28:14-19).  Of course, in order to grow, to walk with Father, we do have to learn and experience His ways.

now, as we grow in the Lord, He will and does show us more.  He gives us a deeper understanding of what He has already shared.  Ever read a scripture, say fifty times (over a period of time) and on 50^th time say to yourself “Wow!  I never saw that before!”? 

It’s like a simple phrase “Jack went to the store.”  Though the statement doesn’t reveal, outright, everything that may be true about Jack going to the store.  As we grow in the Lord, the Holy Ghost reveals the depth of the passage.  Just how did Jack get to the store (by foot, bicycle, car), how quickly did Jack get to the store, why did he go to the store for …  Get the picture?

We don’t know everything now, but we do have God-given tools to help us with our understanding.  As we grow in our walk with the Lord, so does our understanding.  And understand, the depth of our knowledge will be consistent with the depth of our calling.  Some people will know more than others because they need he knowledge to do the work Father has set before them.  Greater responsibility requires greater knowledge.

Has God hidden some things from us?  Of course, but I am persuaded that as we grow in His love, He will reveal more and more to us.  WE just keep growing in God’s love then seeking and asking that He reveal those ‘hidden things’.  Then receive them and relish them when they do come.

Amen