God
does not give his saints fear. So, where did you get yours?
Fear
is the food of the world these days. The media promote fear, and governments destroy
personal liberty of their people by claiming terrorists are coming and the only
solution is to take away people's rights. This simply adds more fear, fear that
one is slowly being turned into a slave of the high and mighty.
I
have had people tell me that when conversations get down to a handful of people,
topics of discussion of fear and frustration prevail, mixed with powerful hate
for those in high places.
What
is a Bible believer to do during such dark days?
CHAPTER
ONE WE HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED IN FEAR
And,
the fear mongers believe in total immersion.
Recently,
I got to thinking about what the Bible says about what we should fear.
Matthew
10:28 (KJV) And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The
only one Jesus allows me to fear is God, for, if I am not in a relationship with
him, through Jesus Christ, I DO have something to fear greatly. So, if I am not
to fear men, who can only hurt me physically, what resources does God give me
to put this into practice?
You
see, all of humanity around me is in fear much of the time, and my leaders, and
the media, and some of you saints, are always trying to show me things to fear.
I must confess, I give way to this far too easily, and I regret it later. I feel
like I have totally wasted the moment if it was only about the wicked world and
the perils that seem to be lurking there.
The
first fear tactic used on me was when I was in third grade in 79th Street School
in Los Angeles. We had atomic bomb drills, similar to fire drills. When the siren
went off, we were to jump under our desks, not look out the windows, and put our
arms over our heads as we huddled there on our elbows and knees.
A
few years later, President Eisenhower and President Kennedy appeared on TV, side
by side, and told Americans that they should all buy bomb
shelters. I took it all very seriously, but it all turned out to be a big
farce. It was based on fear of the USSR, which, as history finally showed, was
ALWAYS ten steps behind the USA in killing power.
A
few years after this, I learned that none of the members of Congress has bomb
shelters. Go figure.
All
my life my government, my friends, my neighbors, the news media, the schools,
and preachers have been dishing out all manner of proofs that some new thing has
come along to fear. Today, courtesy of 9/11, we are all jabbed from time to time
with a terrorist threat, even if there is none. Homeland Security has the task
of keeping America in a state of fear of terror. Bogie men are found, like Osama
bin Laden, and there they are on TV and YouTube threatening America.
It
must be so-- I saw it on YouTube.
Add
to this the terror the media and government try to inspire in people of swine
flu and pneumonia. It seems there are no end of fears out there.
We
older Americans have to listen to our doctors tell us that we are in grave danger
if we reject flu vaccine and give big Pharma another chance to profit by us. Also,
treacherous science has produced the most treasonous fear of them all-- high cholesterol.
Your body will take your cholesterol where ever it should be to keep you alive
and healthy. The problem is, cholesterol is the plaque in the arteries when someone
gets arteriosclerosis, so the lie thrives. The point is, many researches have
proven that cholesterol way over 300 will NOT accumulate on any blood vessel lining
unless the blood vessel is inflamed. So, inflammation causes clogged arteries,
and the medical profession has NO plan for avoiding inflammation. You have to
find that information from alternative sources. But, this horrible fear which
has saturated the Western World results in statin drugs being used by millions
of perfectly well people. In the end, the statins produce the very thing they
are meant to avoid-- arteriosclerosis !
Then
we have Al Gore and his mob telling us the sky is falling, and the ice is melting,
and the fish will die, and the sea will rise, and the fault will quake, and the
train will wreck at any moment.
When
ANYONE tells you something that prompts you to fear, do any red lights go on in
your brain, or do you suck up the propaganda and believe it and add it to your
collection of dark expectations?
Well,
this ALL runs counter to what Jesus said in Matthew above. Paul later expanded
on Jesus' instruction:
2
Timothy 1:7 (KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind.
So,
I did something here that I hope helps you..........
WHAT
SATAN GIVES US
FEAR
WHAT
GOD GIVES US
Power
............
Love..............
A
Sound Mind
WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN WE GIVE PLACE TO SATAN
An
opposite force takes charge:
Power
is replaced by weakness, hopelessness, and a feeling that we are victims.
Love
is replaced by hate for those who have victimized us.
A
Sound Mind is replaced by very logical, but 100% human, reasoning. This
leads to a conclusion that we face total disaster. We then fall into
planning to survive something God has already taken full control of by his sovereignty.
Every new piece of news becomes part of a grand conspiracy. Meanwhile,
the world is going to hell, and we are not giving them the Gospel.
Think
about it-- what is the message of the Tea Party, the Republicans, Ron Paul, Glenn
Beck, Alex Jones, Texe Marrs, and most Bible prophecy teachers?
Answer:
Terrible things are happening which Satan is orchestrating to arrive at the end
of the world, the death of all Christians, starvation, Marxism, chaos, on and
on and on.........
When
we feast on this information, we are denying that God is in control. In fact,
while we wring our hands in terror and make our plans to survive, what is God
doing?
Psalms
2:1 (KJV) Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against
the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder,
and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall
laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
What
supreme irony. While we watch in terror as our leaders, and secret Hidden Hands,
plot horrendous disruption of our lives, God is roaring with laughter. Derision--
that is the only emotion God has for them. What is YOUR emotion as the US Constitution
is trashed? "Help, we are losing all our rights." Bah! You have no rights.
You are a bondslave of Jesus Christ, and you are a ambassador to this alien worldly
society. (II Corinthians 5:20) Since when do you need rights? Romans
8:31 (KJV) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? We shall say, "Thank your Lord that you are in control."
Then, we should sit back and have a good laugh at these creeps who think they
can rule the world.
This
also mongrel spirit of fear also trashes our eschatology, the doctrine of End
Times.
Many
Christians believe the Church goes through the Great Tribulation, as if God forgot
to close the door of the ark before the flood came. Our panic attack flies in
his face, for he has made it VERY clear that he does not vent his wrath on the
righteous:
1
Thessalonians 5:6 (KJV) Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch
and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting
on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ,
If
God does not appoint us to his wrath, then we will not go through ANY period of
wrath in the future which is invented by God. If Satan plans for us to go through
his wrath, God has ORDERED us not to fear him or his servants.
Perhaps
a word study will help. What does "a sound mind"
mean in 2 Timothy 1:7?
2
Timothy 1:7 (KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind.
There
are 20 Greek words used for "mind" as it is used in the New Testament
of the King James Bible. The word in our text is sophronismos and is only
used once. It means, "discipline" or "self-control." So, if
we allow Satan and his imps to put us under fear, we will see our minds run to
personal chaos, and our mind and mouth will run off with all sorts of stupid God
dishonoring bombast, blather, Blarney, and bluster.
Alas,
and I see this in myself when I give way to this. I hate it in myself when I realize
I have just had a feast of fear with you or someone else.
Once
we give place to fear, we end up taking a line of action that is totally irrational
and pointless. If we decide to prepare for what we fear, we will waste our time
and money on rubbish that God has no use for. If we join some group who are trying
to fight the evil we perceive, the whole effort will be absolutely worthless for
God and his use. Indeed, the best thing for us, in God's sovereign plan, may be
for our world to come crashing down around us. He may want us to be the only sane
people left after the crash so that we can minister to the ungodly better.
In
the end, we run the very real risk of coming into a mindset that will lead to
anxiety and depression, and everyone around us will catch this from us, for it
is terribly contagious. Fear spreads like wild fire. Simply witness how often
conversations run to bad news. Read the headlines in the newspaper-- always horrors
and violent crimes and pessimistic political confrontations.
Now,
someone may think they can entertain all the bad news, jabber about sinister things
all day, and still be on top of life by sheer force of attitude. I have met people
like this. The Internet seems to have some of them. I have watched Texe Marrs
on video, and while he is telling us of the horrors of world disaster, and the
conspiracies all around us, he is grinning like a stuck pig. What kind of sickness
is this that makes a man act happy and delighted to be terrorizing the saints?
These
people must be possessed of devils.
Oh
my, you are thinking I am being too harsh on these grinning prophets of doom,
right? There is just one problem-- God says it cannot be done:
1
John 4:18 (KJV) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because
fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
You
simply cannot do both at the same time. You are NOT some macho spiritual man who
can thrash your soul with morbid thoughts all the time and still live a life of
Christian love. You will, unknown to you, be a pain in the posterior to your Christian
friends who have not taken the dive with you.
In
fact, if you want to "provoke" some other Christian, here is how God
wants you to do it:
Hebrews
10:22 (KJV) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for
he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke
unto love and to good works:
Have
you provoked anyone to "love and good works" lately? Or do you provoke
them to fear? You cannot have both alleged ministries.
As
to Christian warfare, the battle is not with wicked Satanic One Worlder men in
the first place. That is SUPPOSED TO BE beneath our level of battle.
Ephesians
6:10 (KJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The
Bilderburgers, the Trilateral Commission, the United Nations, the Liberal Democrats,
the Council on Foreign Relations, the BATF, whoever, take your pick..... They
are not our enemy. Your enemy is Satan himself, and his angels.
1
Peter 5:8 (KJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast
in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren
that are in the world.
Satan
roars to make us fear.
I
grew up in Africa, and I am certainly a bit more than an arm chair expert of lions.
The lions of Africa do not roar when they are hunting ordinarily. They are totally
quiet and move slowly and smoothly as they stalk an animal. But, on some occasions,
a lion will roar just as he jumps from cover to make the final rush. This causes
maybe one of two seconds of time in which an antelope will freeze in terror, and
then it will turn and run. But that one of two seconds makes all the difference
in the world to the lion who may cover over 50 feet in two seconds. A cheetah
certainly would.
Satan
roars as he stalks us because he wants us to freeze in fear and terror. He has
people who come along and deliver his message to us every day. A Bible believer
who is totally focused on the Word of God and under the power of the Holy Ghost
will already be under power, living a life of love, and will think fast as Satan
attacks, "whom resist stedfast."
So,
brethren, stop putting your family and your Christian friends into a state of
fear. The devil's baptism is over.
You
pastors especially-- you are a wicked hireling if you lead a whole congregation
into wide eyed fear from your pulpit. The world has severe laws to punish people
who scream "FIRE" at public gatherings and in theaters, but some preachers
yell "FIRE" every other Sunday. No wonder we have a lot of terrified
sheep unable to respond to life in the Lord.
I
am not talking about teaching on hell and divine retribution-- I am talking about
screaming "FIRE" in reference to evil reports from the affairs of humanity
and the world at large.
CHAPTER
TWO WHAT IS THE OPERATION OF FEAR
The
Bible speaks of operations:
Here
is the only place in the New Testament where the word "operation" is
used
Colossians
2:12 (KJV) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Strong's
Concordance gives this definition of the word: G1753 energeia energeia,
en-erg'-i-ah from 1756; efficiency ("energy"):-- operation, strong, (effectual)
working.
So,
what is the "working" or "strength" or "effect"
of fear?
Answer:
It causes people to perceive that there is something dangerous before them, and
they crave one of two things--
1-
That the cause of fear will go away, or
2-
They crave more information about the source of fear.
So,
where do Bible believers get reliable information to sustain their fears? Why,
most certainly, from you and me. We do it to each other all the time.
Why
do we deliver information to our brother that will sustain his fears?
Answer:
We LOVE the power it gives us over that brother. If we manage to glean out only
the most reliable reports of treachery in the world, which our brother later learns
are correct, he will come back for more. We own that brother. Christ has lost
him, at least his peace of mind. And we, in keeping him fearful, are serving Satan
who gives us (and our brother through us) "the spirit of fear."
Here
is the mind of a true man of God, David:
Psalms
119:73 (KJV) JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding,
that I may learn thy commandments. 74 They that fear thee will be glad when
they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. 75 I know, O LORD, that thy
judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. 76 Let,
I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto
thy servant. 77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for
thy law is my delight. 78 Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely
with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. 79 Let those
that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies. 80
Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
Verse
74 is strong meat my friend: "They that fear thee will
be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word."
Add
verse 79: "Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and
those that have known thy testimonies."
Now,
if you want to be the magnet of all those who fear the darkness and wicked men,
then simply flip the word "thee" out of those two verses. Go ahead,
read them without the "thee," and see how the meaning changes.
When
I read that, I was very convicted, for I have been guilty of this myself. It feels
VERY good to the old nature to have a group of people around me who are fearful
and NEED me to provide them with the latest fresh helping of fearful information.
This is because our old nature is perverse, and we slip into self-exaltation so
quickly. The forbidden fruit is "good to make one wise."
As
in, "Here, my brother, have another helping of terror to feed your panic
party. Trust me-- I have an inside connection to the Bilderbergers, Washington
DC, and the Vatican."
You
see, David did NOT want to have fearful people around him. He wanted people to
come to him who were under the presuppositional assumption that God is 100% in
control and they FEAR HIM alone.
Read
that again please.
Why
did David only want these sort of people around him?
Well,
I cannot speak for David, but I know Steve Van Nattan pretty well after over 60
years of watching his ways. If I am in the company of fearful people, I cannot
restrain myself-- I start feeding new and more terrifying information into the
conversation. My ego craves to bring in the most powerful bits of terror possible.
This causes people to stop talking, if I am doing my wicked job well in the nature
of fallen Adam, and I eventually have the floor all to myself.
So,
I NEED to find the company of men who fear God so much that they do NOT push my
button and turn on my old nature. I am weak. I am sure you are infinitely strong
and can resist this temptation and calmly dish out terror in a humble and contrite
manner, but not Steve Van Nattan. Push my button, and I am full of evil reports.
I am a man of the world (I don't mean worldly) in that I have lived many places
in the world, and I am addicted to gathering news and information from all places.
God has allowed me to learn much about the ways of evil, which can be useful if
it is under his control.
So,
I am loaded with potential ammunition for a fear conference.
Finally,
if you do not totally fear God ALONE, stay away from me please. I will only make
you more fearful, and when we have parted, I will go sit in my big chair in my
living room and feel awful that I have wasted all that time we were together.
It is even physical in my case-- my blood pressure rises greatly, and it is already
too high.
I
can just see myself one day, sitting at a church dinner, handing out some choice
bit of terror I have learned, and BANG, the big stroke takes me nonstop to the
presence of my Maker.
".....and
they are going to put us all into concentration camps........ ooooops, is that
you, Lord?"
Bad
idea. I must do something about this.
Honest,
I want to stop it, but the only way I can is to stay away from you fearful people.
We will meet in heaven, after we are made like Christ, and I will look forward
to your company. But, for now, go away-- you are bad for me. I am a weak man in
that way. You are already sick, and I will only make your sicker.
Psalms
101:4 (KJV) A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.
5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath
an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. 6 Mine eyes shall be upon
the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect
way, he shall serve me. 7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my
house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
I
fall, I must confess, but my desire is to live in the King David club. Do me a
favor-- "serve me" up some good news. I personally find it VERY hard
to turn to an evil report when a man lays some good news on me.
If
you cannot think of anything better, just tell me a merry story of some sort--
a yarn about good people long ago etc. How about sending a link to some cute kids
on YouTube doing something really clever and clean?
Proverbs
17:22 (KJV) A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth
the bones.
And,
you don't need a prescription to get some.
CHAPTER
THREE WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL ALTERNATIVE TO FEAR?
Almost
all denominations and Fundamentalists have stopped preaching and teaching prophecy.
I mean, ALL of Christendom has gone silent about the future of the saints.
In
about 1973 my wife and I were to speak at a Bible Church in Northridge, California.
We went early so we could attend Sunday School also, and the teacher was in some
book of prophecy in the Bible. In the course of his teaching, he made this statement,
"I don't believe the Lord's return for his Church is very near." He
went on to point out that every local church in America, during the 1970s, seemed
to be teaching nothing but prophecy, and he used the following verse to make his
point:
Matthew
24:42 (KJV) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be
broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think
not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom
his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
And
the following:
1
Thessalonians 5:1 (KJV) But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no
need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace
and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness,
that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of
light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
It
can be argued, and I think correctly, that the Matthew text is a warning to believing
Jews in the Great Tribulation era, and the Thessalonians text is to the Church
while still in the Age of Grace, or the Times of the Gentiles.
But,
the point is this-- pay attention please-- just as each economy or dispensation
of God's work with man ends, it gets VERY dark and ominous in the world at large.
This was also true of the world in Noah's day. He made no converts in 120 years
of preaching except his own personal family. Meanwhile, he built an ark, which
was a freak in his day. Today, instead of building arks, Bible believers are doing
the same thing millions of ungodly sinners are doing-- getting ready for man made
disaster.
The
Sunday School teacher startled me, but I had to agree with him. Everyone was talking
about the return of Christ. Dear reader, it is NOW an hour in which the vast majority
of Christendom refuses to think about the return of Jesus Christ. The Seeker Sensitive
Movement, New Spirituality, Purpose Driven Church, the Charismatic Movement, and
ALL Fundamentalists and Reformed Churches are NOT talking about prophecy. The
vast majority of churches are trying to find ways to make the seeker feel comfortable
and cozy. There are still pastors who preach and teach book studies from the Bible,
but the book of Revelation is avoided like a plague.
I
must note that there are a very small handful of pastors still teaching prophecy.
Guess what? They are ALL OLD MEN. They cut their teeth in the pulpit teaching
Daniel, Amos, Joel, Jesus' prophecies, and the book of Revelation, and their instincts
are to keep their mind on that BECAUSE it is so dark. But, these men are as rare
as hen's teeth.
I
will show you that it is impossible to have an obedient response to prophecy in
the Word of God and be in a state of terror and fear:
Revelation
1:1 (KJV) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto
his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified
it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of God,
and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed
is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those
things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
God
gave the Revelation to Jesus, and Jesus gave it to his angel, and the angel gave
it to John. You may claim that the book of Revelation is too difficult to understand,
or that if you teach it, there will be controversy. You are a wimp, preacher.
There is NO way anyone can get confused up to verse 3 of chapter 1 unless they
are brain dead. There is NO controvrsy in these verses.
Furthermore;
if you do not teach The Revelation, you are NOT one of the "blessed are these"
sort of people. That should make a real Bible teacher nervous.
Now,
let us skip, for the time being, all the content of the book of Revelation, and
let us go to the end of the book:
Revelation
22:6 (KJV) And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord
God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which
must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth
the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Again,
there is no way any real Bible believer can complain that this is hard to understand.
In this verse "keepeth" can easily be understood in the Greek, if you
have a hard time understanding English. I take the following from Strong's Concordance:
G5083
tereo (9) tereo tay-reh'-o from teros (a watch; perhaps akin to 2334);
to guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing
from 5442, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from 2892, which implies
a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), i.e. to note (a prophecy; figuratively,
to fulfil a command); by implication, to detain (in custody; figuratively, to
maintain); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep
unmarried); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep
unmarried):--hold fast, keep(- er), (pre-, re-)serve, watch.
Another
use in Revelation is: Revelation 16:15 (KJV) Behold, I come
as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame.
"Keepeth"
in Revelation 22:7 is not about possession, it is ALL about guarding, about preventing
this teaching in The Revelation from being lost or neglected. If possession were
the emphasis, a linguistic extension would have been added to the root word. Most
of you are doing the opposite of "keeping" the sayings of The Revelation--
you are avoiding prophecy. You can quote more Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn
Beck than you can quote the book of Revelation. You have replaced the marriage
feast of the Lamb with a feast of fear and gloom. After all, I saw it on Fox News.
It must be true.
Many
pastors and churches actually have an ongoing understanding that eschatology (the
doctrine of future things) will not be discussed or taught because it causes controversy
and division. Well, big whup-- so clever of you. Preaching End Times doctrine
is just what God wants. Truth separates the diligent from the diddlers-- it is
inevitable. But, you have tossed about one full third of the Word of God from
your pulpit to pander to the sensitivities of the milk aged milk drinkers. Strong
meat is for seminary class rooms only, right?
You
who are so timid about prophecy are NOT understanding why is it given in the first
place. It is there, certainly, so that one day the man of God can point back to
it and tell sinners, "God predicted this long ago." But, what is prophecy
good for while it remains in the future-- good for nothing?
Blasphemy!
Watch this, and repent:
2
Peter 1:19 (KJV) We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well
that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.
Tell
me, is the world a very "dark place" right now?
Yes?
Well,
good for you-- you got that answer right. I certainly do not remember a darker
time in my lifetime.
You
do NOT "do well" if you do not "take heed" to prophecy, according
to verse 19 above. Can you explain to me how you can totally avoid teaching prophecy
and still "do well?" Speak up please, you are mumbling.
Please
notice that this light that shines in very dark times is the ONLY light that is
available. I say this because this light is on "until the day dawn, and the
day star arise in your hearts." The light of prophecy is the light at the
end of the tunnel of human history, and that light is a person:
Revelation
22:16 (KJV) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning
star.
So,
the darker it is, the more blessed that light is. The stars sine at night, not
during the daylight.
Strike
a match in a well lit room, and no one will notice, but strike the smallest match
you can find in a totally blacked out room, and EVERY EYE WILL BE ON THAT LIGHT.
So, why are your eyes, and lips, preoccupied with how utterly dark it is? There
you go again, mumbling-- speak up please.
Titus
2:11 (KJV) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ;
That
Day Star of 2 Peter 1:19 above is our Blessed Hope, the "great
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
When
a train enters a long tunnel, anyone in the train who can see forward, and in
all directions, looks one only way-- forward at the light at the end of the tunnel.
It is instinctive.
Did
you ever hear someone say, "Let's go sit on the porch and watch the dark
rise"? Duh! We watch the SUN rise, and the SUN set. We watch for the light.
We keep the dark to our backs as long as possible. Well, in this dark day, are
we keeping the dark behind us, or are we having a feast of fear and dark predictions
and expectations?
Prophecy
is all about the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, appearing for his saints. Bible
prophecy ALL points to that day. To make a gentlemen's agreement that teaching
about the return of Jesus Christ for his Bride is too controversial is blasphemy.
We are COMMANDED to be "looking for that blessed hope,"
not putting it away like some dangerous hand grenade.
If
you have an eschatology which has no hope, not light, and you have the Church
headed straight into a train wreck instead of looking at the light at the end
of the tunnel, you are WICKED. No wonder your men sit around and talk with wide
eyed terror about the New World Order, the crash of the banks, the collapse of
the dollar, and the concentration camps the BATF is getting ready for us. No wonder
you cannot convince them to stop this morbid talk. They have NOTHING ELSE TO TALK
ABOUT.
Read
that last paragraph again please.
You
either talk about the dark, which is everywhere at the very end of the Age of
Grace, or you talk about, and watch for, the Light of the world, the Day Star
himself.
John
1:4 (KJV) In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light
shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John
1:9 (KJV) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world.
You
will NEVER bring yourself, your family, and your local church to live in hope
and enthusiasm for the future until you teach them into the future from the prophecies
in the Word of God. There is NO OTHER LIGHT BUT THAT LIGHT. If you refuse to take
a position on the End Times, and TEACH it, you will have a morbid miserable life,
and your wife and kids will as well. You preachers who avoid prophecy will NEVER
bring the Lord's Church to maturity because mature saints have their heads up,
eager, and anticipating Christ's return. If anything, these dark days should make
us seem like freaks to the world because of our Godly optimism.
Don't
have any do you? Just your Eternal Security, like God is out to lunch, but he
has you on the list.
So,
when the world trashes you, and your have died of starvation, or rotted away in
some dungeon, you will die a horrible death, and GLORY, GLORY, God will grab you
off the brink of eternal damnation in Hell just in the nick of time.
THAT
IS A BLESSED HOPE? I think not.
How
utterly stupid, for you could be living daily in complete joy and peace, standing
right in the center of light as it shines only on YOU and the saints. You are
supposed to be the only one in the light. Does anyone notice how you respond to
the light? Or, are you busy getting all the facts, out of the darkness, on the
wicked and their plans for the world and for you?
David
had only a fraction of the prophetic hope which you and I have in the whole Bible,
but look at his world view:
Psalms
31:9 (KJV) Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed
with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. 10 For my life is spent with grief,
and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my
bones are consumed. 11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially
among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without
fled from me. 12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken
vessel. 13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while
they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. 14
But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. 15 My times are in
thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute
me. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.
17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked
be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 18 Let the lying lips be
put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against
the righteous.
Verse
13-- "I have heard the slander of many: fear was on
every side" was not the ongoing mindset of David:
Verse
15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from
them that persecute me. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me
for thy mercies' sake.
David
looked at the same light you and I look to, and asked God to shine his face on
him.
Here
is Moses, many years before David talking about the same thing:
Numbers
6:22 (KJV) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto Aaron and
unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying
unto them, 24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his
face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance
upon thee, and give thee peace. 27 And they shall put my name upon the children
of Israel; and I will bless them.
The
Lord has made his face to shine upon you. Or, did you notice lately?
1
Thessalonians 5:1 (KJV) But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no
need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace
and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman
with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness,
that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of
light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken
in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath
not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with
him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even
as also ye do.
Verse
5 says we are children of light. Since we "know perfectly" that the
day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night, that is, secretly and by stealth,
AND, since we know that sudden destruction comes to the wicked, AND, we have the
"hope of salvation" and know that we are not the ones "appointed
unto wrath," what is our message to the fearful saint sitting in front of
us with a look of terror on his face?
Answer--
Comfort. Sorry for the run on sentence above, but I needed to force you to put
it ALL together. If YOU have hope, and if YOU know who you are, and if YOU know
what is coming right at you is exciting beyond anyone's imagination, well then,
may have ONLY ONE message to your brother-- comfort. There, another run on sentence.
I think
by now you may have gotten the point.
We
need to take a but of a detour down a short rabbit trail and lay one urban legend
in its grave:
For
you who claim that the Church goes through the Great Tribulation, there is much
to say about that myth, but I will show you that you are violating the most important
rule in biblical hermeneutics:
Jeremiah
30:4 (KJV) And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning
Judah. 5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear,
and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child?
wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail,
and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so
that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be
saved out of it.
Watch
out now, this is very hard to understand-- "Jocob's trouble" (verse
7) is "concerning Israel and concerning Judah" verse 4. Wow! That is
certainly hard to understand, right. Bah! CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT. Jeremiah
is in the Old Testament, and the prophet is speaking to Israel and Judah. There
is NO prophecy to the Church in the Old Testament. There is no need to save the
Church as they pass through Jacob's trouble because "God hath not appointed
us (the Church) to wrath." Jacob will live through wrath and survive. So,
you notion that the Church will go through Jacob's trouble and be sort of hidden
away in some Goshen district, away from the death and persecution, is absolutely
null and void. You whole prophetic house of cards falls down in the face of contextual
interpretation. Stop reading some demented commentator from 200 years ago. Do
your own thinking please.
I
trust someone who is stumbling around in uncertainty benefited from that diversion.
A
pastor friend of mine was telling us just yesterday that a Christian brother who
was a tax rebel and A-millennialist, came to see him recently. The man is known
as a soul winner and can give a good confession unto salvation. But, he has been
in a state of panic about the wicked world and men in high places for probably
40 years. He came to see this pastor, and he started in with wide eyed terror
tales of the horrendous calamity about to descend on us all. My pastor friend
took him to the above Bible passage. It is not highly specific as to the Great
Tribulation or even the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, but it IS a text that tells
us the we are NOT to receive wrath from God, and we ARE to be comforted at the
end of the age.
When
my friend tried to comfort this man, the man turned without saying good-bye, and
he walked away insulted. He passed away a few weeks later. Worldly shrinks will
tell you that you can severely shorten your life by being fearful and pessimistic.
If the world knows this, why, oh why, do so many us Bible believers not take the
above text to heart?
Philippians
2:1 (KJV) If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2 Fulfil ye my
joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind.
The
"If's" in verse 1 are possibly the most powerful example of rhetorical
sarcasm in the whole Bible. Read it again, and apply the obvious conclusion.
LINK:
WHERE DID WE COME FROM,
WHERE ARE WE GOING? Christ
has taken care of his Bride for 2000 years so far, and he promises to keep taking
care of us through whatever comes next. This article is by Mary Stephens, my daughter.
CHAPTER
FOUR CROWDING OUT THE FLESH
First,
let us get the right perspective regarding the flesh and the spirit:
Christ
came to regenerate the spiritual side of man. "There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1-2).
Too
many Christians still have their spirits buried deeply within the flesh, having
"yielded |their| members servants
to uncleanness and to iniquity" (Romans 6:19). But Christ came to change
all that. "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"
(Romans 8:3-4). From Days of Praise Institute of Christian Research
Christ
did not come to salvage good things from our flesh. Our flesh is totally captive
to the old nature before we are born again. The flesh, the former way of thinking,
is at enmity with the spiritual person Christ wants to prevail in us.
Ephesians
2:14 (KJV) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the
enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself
of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both
unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And
came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
The
law, being our schoolmaster, was always at war with out mind via the conscience
God gave us in Adam. This war does not go away after we are born again, but, by
the power of Christ, we start having victory after victory over the flesh. Eventually,
instead of the flesh crowding the spirit out, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus
crowds out the flesh.
The
Institute of Creation Research quote above mentions Romans 6:19 and the issue
of yielding. This is an active, NOT a passive, exercise. In the same chapter is
the following solution:
Romans
6:13 (KJV) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto
sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and
your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
The
mind is the primal member of the human constitution. From our mind comes cravings,
both good and evil. We crave attention or we crave humility, we crave excessive
food, or we crave a slim trim body. We crave sexual gratification, or we crave
a feeling that we are one only with our spouse.
In
terms our our ongoing study here, with our mind we crave fear, or we crave peace.
One or the other will take control. There is NO way to live in a vacuum and just
coast along. YIELD! It is a thing we do on purpose, and it is up to us which wins,
the flesh, or the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
So,
victory will come in this battle only if we view it as war, which is exactly what
it is according to the Apostle James. This is a long passage, but it speaks directly
to the fear factor and how to win over it:
James
4:1 (KJV) From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence,
even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill,
and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because
ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume
it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend
of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in
vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more
grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the
humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your
hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted,
and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to
heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift
you up. 11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil
of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth
the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
The
first cause of fear is the fear of losing toys and security. We believe that "my
God shall supply all your needs," but our old nature cannot believe that,
especially when we hear news from worldly sources telling us someone is trying
to take our toys and life resources away from us. When we give place to fear,
and feast on it, feed it, and pass it on to other people, we are boldly denying
that Christ will be our supplier.
Verse
6 above tells us that God is actually resisting us at that point. He may even
give us what we fear, or what we lust for, in order to force us to turn to him
in desperation. How much more peaceful life would be if we were "casting
all your care upon him."
So,
"they," whoever they may be, are planning to take our alleged rights
away from us. Are these rights which God gave to us? NO! They are rights defined
by men, and men have a habit of taking away what they give. Whether our rights
or our toys or our source of income, verse 8 above tells us to "draw near
to God, and he will draw near to you." It is impossible to draw near to God
if we do not expect him to care for us.
Verse
11 commands us to not speak evil one of another. It is one thing to ".....
mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned; and avoid them." (Romans 16:17) But it is quite another
to have a feast of rage and evil reports, piled higher and higher, as we compete
with one another to demonize some saint or sinner. If we identify a wicked saint
or sinner, the next step is "avoid them." So, why do we get obsessed
with the wicked and their schemes? Why are we consumed with evil reports?
Answer:
We are yielding to the old nature, the flesh, in feeding our fallen morbid nature
which hates peace.
You
disagree? Well, tell me, when powerful world leaders see a small nation where
there is no peace, and where the people are being tormented by their leaders,
what does some great world power, like the USA, do next? They go to war against
that nation "to restore peace." We have this morbid notion, in our fallen
state, that peace and safety must be secured by war. So, the Apostle James was
right I see.
Well,
if that is the only way fallen men can solve their problems, then so be it. But,
the Bible believer has a resource which is not available to the lost world-- "the
spirit of life in Christ Jesus." So, in my mind, in my home, in my acre,
and in my local church fellowship, I MUST believe this, and I must yield to it,
and I must do this-- Hebrews 10:24 (KJV) And let us consider
one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
I
must consciously watch, expect, and look for alternatives to fear. It is a battle,
admittedly. But, it can be done.
Let
us take the example of Jesus Christ. There are many things that Jesus never did,
and they are almost as important as the things he DID do. Jesus never sat and
fretted and speculated about what the Pharisees, Scribes, Herod, and Pilate might
be dreaming up to do to him. He knew very well how his life would end, but if
you pay attention as you read, you will notice that not one Gospel tells of one
instance where Jesus entered into discussions of how wicked his adversaries were.
He marked (Romans 16:17) the Pharisees as an exemple of what not to do, but the
teaching to his disciples was that they beware of doing the same evil things.
It was quite enough, for the Glory of God, that Jesus was ready to answer the
Pharisees when they came to challenge him. Otherwise, he spent his time teaching,
healing, and encouraging those who stayed close to him. You will just NOT read
of Jesus and the disciples having a gripe session telling each other story after
story of what nasty things the Pharisees did.
Let
us apply this in a few ways:
1.
When we hear that the BATF is preparing to put us all away in concentration camps,
we need to ask when this has happened. Never. We need to develop a massive skeptical
view of such rumors. The history of dire reports goes back to the earliest history
of man.
Nehemiah
6:10 (KJV) Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the
son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house
of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will
come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. 11 And I
said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would
go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. 12 And, lo, I perceived
that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for
Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.
Ask
yourself, the next time you hear an evil report from a sinner of an alleged saint,
"Did God send this person to me to lay this evil report on me?" If you
cannot find a rational answer to that question, then the answer is NO.
The
other question to ask is, "Does this person have a solution to this evil
report upon which I may act upon, and does their solution fit with the example
of Jesus and the teachings in the Word of God?" If the solution is off the
wall, and violates your ongoing dependence on Christ for your supply of all things
in life, then the bearer of evil news is wicked. You need to shuck them off at
once, or rebuke them to their face, and tell them to keep their morbid nose out
of your face.
2.
Are you struggling with physical issues? Most of us are. Well, you can let it
consume you. You can read all about it, surf the web looking for any way to survive
it, and spend lots of money trying to overcome it. You might get some relief,
but if fear is the driving force in your survival experience, then I can PROMISE
YOU one thing-- you are not getting out with people enough.
People
who socialize with other people regularly, whether they are in good health or
bad, have been found in research studies to live 14% longer. Self centered fearful
people are found to live 16% shorter lives. There is a 30% spread there between
the total spread between the raging optimists and the raging pessimists.
Tell
me, what good is it to obsessively prepare to survive the coming crash, whatever
it is, if you end up living 30% fewer years to serve the Lord and bless your family
and friends? What good is a pile of gold to a man being carried to that final
hole in the ground by six of his best friends?
3.
People are bad. People are wrong, People are naughty. People will let you down.
Well,
so will YOU.
James
3:2 (KJV) For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the
same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
So,
some preacher, some saint, someone in your family, or one of your kids does or
says something wicked. Do you go into a detective mode trying to develop a big
plot of vast wickedness in that person, or do you seek their good?
Acts
20:28 (KJV) Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with his own blood.
I
will tell you how to deal with people who let you down. Get in line ahead of them,
and do a detective study on YOU. Only after you pass muster are you ready to do
something about this person who has let you down or offended in some way.
Galatians
6:1 (KJV) Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted.
To
go anywhere but in this above direction will cause you to fear that person and
start looking for more offense.
Much
of America has seen US President Obama make an offense of himself. I have noticed
that if I learn to expect more offenses from him, bless his fallen nature, he
will do it again. I then have another juicy story to tell someone who missed the
news. I also can speculate in a masterful way and prophesy what he will do next.
Our family have both Dutch and German roots, and these Saxons are master speculators.
All we leave out of a good rollicking speculation session is the stein of beer
and the Dutch Masters.
What
do you expect from your spouse, your kids, your Christian friends, and the world
at large? The curious things is, what you expect, you will most likely get. And,
you cannot hide it-- people who know you will figure you out. They will begin
to avoid you because they know they themselves are human and will do or say something
stupid, and YOU will catch them every time.
How
do you like that? They now fear YOU.
So,
let us end this part of our discussion on fear by agreeing with the Word of God--
our job is to find every possible way, by the Word of God, and by finding good
company, to crowd the flesh out by feeding the spirit good things. This will simply
cause fear to go up in smoke now instead of at the judgment of our works in heaven.
1
Corinthians 15:33 (KJV) Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
The
ultimate solution, the most positive solution to fear, follows in the conclusion
of this study.
CHAPTER
FIVE DO YOU REALY KNOW THE SHEPHERD?
It
seems to me that virtually all of our fears are answered in Psalm 23. Let us do
a brief study of this priceless poem of promises:
4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me;--
This is not about death at the end of life. There are many washes, or wadis,
in Palestine where David was a shepherd. The ancient Arab god Wadh, the viper,
was thought to live in the bottoms of dry river beds. This teaches you that God
delivers you from the wild beasts and vipers in the dark valleys. Isaiah
30:21 (KJV) And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the
way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
5
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:-- Many
enemies are presented to us daily by men with no hope. Most of them are fictitious,
but there ARE deadly adversaries stalking YOU in this Christian life. Not
only will the Good Shepherd deliver you from their evil intentions, he will cause
them to actually FEED you. He caused the king of Babylon to feed Shadrack, Meshcek,
and Abed-Nago, three Jewish captive slaves, a special menu just for them. He is
telling you that you can walk right into the enemy's camp and be under complete
protection of the Good Shepherd. Ecclesiastes 2:26 (KJV)
For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy:
but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give
to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:-- This
deals with the most rampant conspiracy notions of our day-- the fear of being
watched, sniffed, and tracked by someone above. Well, that is exactly what is
happening-- You are being followed night and day-- BY THE GOOD SHEPHERD. So, how
can you fear the humans who follow and track you? Your "security detail"
is on the job 24/7 until you are one day taken into his presence to be with him
for eternity. Psalms 91:5 (KJV) Thou shalt not be afraid
for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the
pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but
it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and
see the reward of the wicked.
And
I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.-- He delivers you from
the fear of an unknown destiny. John 14:3 (KJV) And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.
Now,
tell me which of your fears is not covered in the list above?
There
is not much left to fear after all, is there?
CONCLUSION:
I
return, and conclude this discussion, by returning to the theme in Chapter Three.
It
is so simple it is pathetic that the vast majority of Christendom has missed it......
1
Corinthians 15:19 (KJV) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of
all men most miserable.
He
IS our future!
Reading
and relishing the prophecies of the Word of God, about our future, IS the light.
It is the ONLY light because it is a person. To set it aside for even a short
period of time will result in anxiety, depression, terror, morbid conversations,
AND sin in our life.
1
John 3:1 (KJV) Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like
him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
A
local church without an eschatological view, a forward look expecting Christ at
any moment, which is eagerly and often taught, will become a dirty sinful church.
You cannot convince saints to keep themselves from sin if they, as the ten virgins
who were ready for the bridegroom, are not eagerly watching the Light at the end
of the tunnel of this dark age.
There
is one last practical question that I need to address:
If
I decide that this day is a landmark in my life-- that I intend, even if I fall,
to get up and walk away from fear mongering and telling horror stories and entertaining
them-- what shall I do about my friends who have no intention of following my
example?
Answer:
There is a saying in Texas, "The best thing you can do to make some people
happy is to stay away from them."
This
means I will have to quietly walk away from some very good people so that I don't
have to interrupt their favorite talk topics and ask them to change the subject.
There
is usually a price to pay to live free of fear.
I
need to introduce this video carefully. This is the ONLY time on my journal when
I have sent my readers to a Muslim Imam for information. But, the point he makes,
listen for "anyone can be demonized," is 100% correct. If you let the
world out there define the world in your mind, you have been demonized. You
have conformed to the devil's mold. I ask you to consider the possibility that
almost all of your fears are the product of propaganda from the media, the government,
Homeland Security, your secret contacts inside some "freedom" group,
or just from absorbing all the gossip you hear and see every day. THE
VIDEO [ NO CHILDREN PLEASE-- there are explicit scenes ]
Check
the Statistics on EVERY News Story before you believe it.
According to Bob Lichter, head of the Center
For Media and Public Affairs, the media news people are perceived by scientists
as wrong in their perceptions 90% of the time. This means that when we watch or
read the mainline news, we WILL NOT make correct assumptions, regardless what
we decide. This means we will follow the news, and out perceptions, with faulty
actions that do NOT answer the issue. The issue may, in fact, be pure urban legend
in the first place. See
Bob Lichter on FOX in an interview.
VIDEO:
The
world is absolutely certain that disaster is coming.
Here
is how to deal with fear of the wicked:
POST
SCRIPT
You
may hate me by now. Fine, go away please.
But,
if you are feeling uneasy and troubled, and if you wonder where to start, let
me make a suggestion:
Open
the Bible to a prophetic book like Daniel, or The Revelation to John, and just
read it through without getting into the fine details. If your soul is not refreshed,
and your mind is not stimulated, then you need to examine yourself. You may not
even be born again. In which case, you should start
at the beginning of the Christian experience here.
If
you again see the light at the end of the tunnel, then start digging into prophetic
teachings-- you probably have been drinking milk too much, and it is time for
strong meat from the prophets.
And,
I promise you this-- the morbid darkness, and evil reports flying about, will
fade slowly into small dust compared to the gold you will find in the Word of
God.
Buy gold--
from John, Jesus, Daniel, Peter, and all those other gold mines in the Word of
God.
