The End of the Age of Grace Is at Hand

By Carl Worline

I am not a prophet. In-fact, I do not even have the gift of prophecy. Instead, I am a Christian who reads the news each day, including the prophetic news websites and I consider myself a “watcher on the wall.”

 As such, I feel the need to sound the alarm.  The signs in the world today all point to the end of the Age of Grace and to the imminent arrival of the Rapture. We are, quite literally, in the very last moments of the opportunity that mankind has to find salvation through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus as the Savior of the world. At this moment eternal life in heaven with Jesus is a free gift. Very soon now that will change. Salvation will still be attainable, but at a very high price.

The vast majority of people seem to feel exceptionally uncomfortable when I mention the word “Rapture.”  Perhaps this is because date setters, such as Harold Camping, have all been wrong in the past and have lost all of their credibility. I tend to believe that people today are uncomfortable with any mention of the Rapture and the end of the Age of Grace, because they have a well-founded fear deep in their soul that something really big is about to happen and they know that they are going to be left behind to face a horrible fate of some kind.

There are signs out there that flood us with warnings that the end of the Age of Grace is here. In fact, there are so many signs that it is becoming all but impossible to see the road on which we are traveling. Every person on this planet has been impacted by these signs in one way or another. Let’s take a look at a few of the signs that have occurred recently.  Space does not permit me to list them all or to delve very deeply into specifics, but we can certainly look at some of the major signs of the time.

The earth, itself, is groaning. Our weather is nothing less than freakish. It seems that every place that is not experiencing a drought is under water from floods of biblical proportions. Freak hailstorms now seem routine. Dormant volcanoes all over the planet are coming back to life as we see a major up-tick in earthquakes. Tornadoes have become super-sized and almost seem to have a mind of their own at times – a mind that does not seem to like us very much. Wildfires appear much more frequently and also seem to be much more destructive. Natural disasters displaced 32.4 million people in 2012.

Incidents of mass-animal die-offs are averaging more than two per day.  Strange, creepy, and very loud sounds are being hard over large areas and nobody has been able to explain them, or even discern the direction they are coming from. The earth’s magnetic poles are moving at an accelerated rate while sinkholes are popping up in diverse places around the world.

Despite so many floods, water is becoming scarce. One-third of the world’s population has limited access to fresh water. Most of the major rivers in the world are experiencing reduced rates of flow. Egypt is ready to go to war with Ethiopia over the Nile. The Colorado River, the High Plains Aquifer, and the entire western half of the United States, are rapidly drying up.

There are many signs in the heavens. Large meteors and fireballs are hitting the earth.  Solar flares are unusually intense. Solar and lunar eclipses, complete with blood moons, are occurring and they are occurring on Jewish feast days. Near misses by asteroids now occur on a seemingly regular basis. A huge chunk of space rock recently struck the moon and produced an impact so large it was visible from earth without a telescope. God told us in the first chapter of Genesis that He put the stars, planets, and moon in the heavens as signs for us. Perhaps we should believe Him and look up once in awhile.

The stars remain fixed in their relationship to one another as the planets wander through them, telling a story that is constantly changing (and often difficult to interpret). Later this month the Star of David planetary alignment will occur for the last time leading up to the Tetrad of blood moons that will occur in 2014 – 2015 and will not occur again for another century. What exactly does this mean, or is it just a coincidence?

There is a huge increase in sickeningly evil acts throughout the world, just as Jesus said there would be. I will not list examples here. They are too horrible to think about. How could mankind have become so grotesque in its inhumanity?

Islam has experienced a rabidly intolerant worldwide awakening. Muslims slaughter Christians and Jews for the most seemingly trivial of excuses while demanding that the world accept Sharia law with all of its cruelty.  The cruelty of Islam intensifies daily with each new act seemingly more cruel and inhuman than the last.

Christian persecution has increased to the point that Christianity is literally threatened with extinction in many areas of the world.  The Vatican just declared that 100,000 people are killed each year for their Christian beliefs.  North Korea alone has imprisoned an estimated 70,000 people for being a Christian. The Christian population of the Holy Land is rapidly heading toward extinction, as is the rest of the Middle East as well.

Egypt’s Christians face arson, beatings, and forced conversion among the upheavals.  Here at home in the United States an Arizona pastor was just imprisoned for holding a Bible study in his home.  He was sentenced to 60 days, plus 3 years probation, plus a $12,180 fine.  However, it is not a crime to have an unlimited number of buddies over to watch a football game on TV while drinking as much beer, wine, or hard liquor as one can consume.

Christian fundamentals are crumbling.  Upon his confirmation as the new pope,

Francis dedicated his reign to Mary and promised redemption for the “good atheists.”  Lutherans have elected their first gay bishop. The Church of Scotland has voted to allow gay ministers. The Church of England has formally given up the fight against gay marriage. In the UK there are more people who believe in aliens than believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The White House has formed a petition to ban teachingcreationism and intelligent design in schools. The rising new religion of Chrislam is replacing the one true God with the Islamic god known as Allah. Blasphemy and mocking abound as Hollywood releases two new movies ridiculing the Rapture. Saint Malachy’s pope number 112 has come to power as lightning strikes Saint Peter’s Basilica (twice).  Meanwhile a pro-abortion mob chants “God is dead,” and “Hail Satan,” on the steps of the Texas Legislature during a session considering legislation to save unborn children.

Anti-Semitism is increasing across Europe once again, as well as on college campuses around the world.

Homosexuality is not only becoming legalized, but is becoming morally acceptable all over the world. Those who believe it is wrong are accused of being the ones who have the mental disease or defect. Brazil has paved the way for gay marriage. France has become the fourteenth country to legalize gay weddings. Cubans are holding marches to protest “homophobia.”  Tel Aviv recently had a turn out of 100,000 for a gay pride parade. In France, mandatory sex education for 6 year olds aims to shift the perception of traditional biological roles.

A former police officer was just arrested in the UK forpublicly stating that he believes homosexuality to be a sin. Third-graders introduced President Obama at an LGBT pride event at the White House in June. A Milwaukee school held a “gender-bender” day where boys came dressed as girls, and girls came dressed as boys.  A children’s television network has launched a transsexual superhero show. The Boy Scouts of America voted to accept gay youths and then marched in a gay pride parade in Salt Lake City.  Not to be out done, over 90 Girl Scouts marched in a gay pride parade in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act, and also ruled in such a manner as to allow gay marriages to resume in California. The bells of our National Cathedral in Washington D.C. rang for joy as celebrations broke out in major cities around the world regarding our Supreme Court’s decision. It would almost seem that our highest court has become the mouthpiece of the homosexual cause.

Our Pentagon held a formal ceremony to celebrate our gaytroops, declaring our nation to be a safer place because of them. Oklahoma suffered two F5 tornadoes after proclaiming that their state homosexual pride week would begin at 4 PM on Pentecost. And in Seattle, gay pride participants viciously beat a Christian street preacher.

The rise of sexual perversion defies imagination. TheWhite House marked Mothers Day by celebrating birth control. Recent legislation allows 15-year-old girls to purchase the morning after pill without parental permission or knowledge. The California legislature passed the kindergarten through 12th grade transgender rights bill that allows children to use whatever bathroom, or shower room they identify with.

Wars and rumors of wars seem to be at an all-time fever pitch. Chemical weapons have been used in the Middle East. Syria and Israel are exchanging fire in the Golan Heights while Assad has announced that he is serious about opening a new front against Israel.  Conservative reports estimate that 100,000 have been killed so far in Syria’s civil war.  The Syrian conflict has spread to Lebanon. Russia has been taking an increasingly active interest in Syria, sending Assad ship killing missiles. Iran has sent 4,000 of their top troops to Syria.

Egypt and Jordan have expelled their ambassadors from Israel. Muslims are turning against Muslims in many places such as Turkey and Syria. Egypt has cut all ties with Syria and closed the embassy in Cairo, and has withdrawn the Egyptian envoy from Damascus because of Hezbollah’s aggression in the Syrian conflict. Australia has abandoned the Golan Heights. Egypt teeters on the brink of civil war after Mohammad Morsi’s overthrow. A recent anti-Muslim Brotherhood protest in Egypt was the largest political event ever in world history. And finally, North Korea continues with its short- range missile tests and threatens nuclear war with the United States.

The economy of the entire world is a house of cards in which the financial system of one bankrupt nation artificially holds up another using imaginary currency that exists only in the electronic memory of world banking computers. Such a Ponzi scheme cannot last forever, and it is nothing short of a supernatural miracle that is has been able to last this long. Taxes on the wealthy in France top 100 percent. Cypress has already confiscated a large chunk of the bank accounts of their wealthy. Suspicious sales of gold have caused the price to plunge. The Eurozone is now in the midst of its longest recession ever.

In Greece 65.5 percent of young people are out of work. In Spain it is 56.4 percent. In Portugal it is 42.5 percent. And in Italy 40.5 percent of young people are out of work.  The financial system in Japan is beginning to spin wildly out of control.  The dreaded “Hindenburg Omen” appeared in the stock market during the first week of June. Egyptians have never been in such dire economic straits.  America’s mortgage rates have just taken their largest jump in 26 years.

Our military is shutting down due to budget cutbacks. We have aircraft carriers sitting in port because we cannot afford to fix them. One-third of our Air Force has been shut down because we cannot afford to continue training. Recent reports to our Congress speak of “rot” in the ranks of our nuclear launch corp. An average of 22 veterans commit suicide each day─as well as an average of more than one active duty soldier each day.  Sexual assaults are up 35 percent since 2010. Military members are punished for their Christian beliefs and our president threatens to veto the proposed religious protection clauses now being considered.

Our political system is collapsing. Polls show a growing support for the impeachment of our president over the Benghazi scandal, the IRS scandal, the Fast and Furious scandal, and the Associated Press Scandal. There is a total lack of leadership at the top. While Egypt erupted in chaos, our president went golfing and our Secretary of State took the day off to spend sailing on his private yacht. Neither lifted a finger or said a word to help.

Our nation is on the verge of a moral collapse.  At last count 27 NFL players have been arrested since the Super Bowl.  Vermont has become the third state to legalize assisted suicide.  More Americans are committing suicide now than during the great depression.

I have often said that I do not believe in government conspiracies and yet it is becoming increasingly more difficult to deny their existence. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has purchased well over 2 billion rounds of hollow point ammunition and has another billion, or so, more rounds are on order. The Geneva Convention forbids the use of hollow point bullets in war, so the only possible use of these rounds that are expressly designed to kill (rather than for target practice) is to be used right here at home in the United States.

DHS has also purchased a couple thousand bulletproof checkpoint booths. Why? Even more shocking, DHS has purchased around 2,700 tanks. Please explain to me why DHS needs its own private fleet of tanks (totally separate from what our military has). And to top that, IRS agents are now training with AR-15 fully automatic assault rifles as well as rat-holing away millions of rounds of ammunition. Who does the IRS plan to use these weapons against? Is the IRS going to start collecting taxes from American citizens at gunpoint? Now I can understand why our government has suddenly become so obsessed with the confiscation of all privately owned firearms.  It is preparing for an armed conflict against its own citizens.

The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will use the mark of the beast to control the entire worldwide economy and that private transactions will not be possible. The only way the Antichrist will be able to accomplish this will be for him to have a huge database in which he knows virtually everything about everybody.  Such a database will require astronomical amounts of storage capability.  Does this storage capability exist today?  The answer is yes. The United States government currently has data storage facilities in Salt Lake City, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and Fort Mead, Maryland that each hold storage capacities in the multiple-yottabyte range.

A yottabyte is the largest named classification to date for data storage. One yottabyte of data typed out in standard type on 8 ½” x 11 paper would be a stack of paper approximately 3 light years tall (16 quadrillion miles). Why does our government need to collect and keep forever so much information?  America is fully embracing a police state culture.

Virtually everything that we do is watched, monitored, tracked, or recorded in some way.  Our government is monitoring all phone calls, emails, credit card transactions, and Internet activity. The IRS improperly seized ten million medical records. A federal judge has ordered Google to hand over customer data to the FBI without warrants. The NSA and the FBI are collecting all cell phone calls. The front and back of every single piece of mail is photographed and the images are stored.  In 2012 there were 160 billion photographs of mail taken and permanently stored by our postal system.

Our government keeps a list of the names of 8 million people it considers to be a threat. Likewise, our government has built a photo recognition database of 120 million American citizens from driver license records. License plate readers mounted on cars have recorded photographs and the location of millions of motor vehicles in the United States. Satellites have taken billions of photographs from space with resolution so precise that documents on the ground can be read. With so much information collected on each and every individual I can see how it would be completely possible to control all financial transactions, both personal and public, with a single biometric mark on either the right hand or forehead.

Israel is God’s chosen people as well as being God’s timeclock. I truly believe that we can tell exactly how close we are to the end by watching what is happening in Israel.  One huge sign that we are at the end is that Israel has stopped issuing aliya visas.  Aliya is the return of Jews to the Promised Land during the last days and it is now another biblical prophecy that has been fulfilled. Israel has struck energy gold in the form of oil and natural gas. Here is the reason that Gog, from the land of Magog, will attack Israel to seize a spoil, which is straight out of Ezekiel 38.  Israel is surrounded in exactly the manner described in Ezekiel 38 and Psalm 83.

Let’s look at one little sign from Psalm 83 that nobody ever seems to mention. When Asaph wrote Psalm 83 back in the days of King David, he described one of antagonists of Israel as the “Tents of the Edomites.”  There has been a lot of blending and mixing over the past 3,000 years (plus or minus), but the Edomites can be traced back to the people who now identify themselves as the Palestinians. Now ask yourself, who lives in tents?  The answer, of course would be a people who do not have a nation of their own, just like the Palestinians of today. I would say that Asaph certainly had a clear vision of the current political situation of today.

The political situation in the Middle East is very fluid. It is constantly changing. At this very moment everything is lined up exactly as the Bible says it will be during the last of the last days and it will not remain this way for very long.  Therefore, I expect the end of the Age of Grace to occur extremely soon.

Other signs of the end of the Age of Grace would include the specter of the black horse of the Apocalypse that now looms on the horizon. World food sources are being attacked on every front and we are just one disaster away from mass starvation. The European commission is attempting to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants that are not registered with the government.

One-third of America’s bees died last winter, aggravating the threat of famine from reduced pollination. Disease is spreading through the continent of Africa destroying entire crops of casaba. Japan and South Korea have banned US wheat out of fear from our genetic modifications. Most of Haiti is malnourished and starving. Syria’s crop destruction from civil war is worsening food shortages. Crops all over the world have been damaged and destroyed by the freakish weather.

Disease and pestilence are two things that are mentions by Jesus in Matthew 24 as signs of the end of the age.  The H7N9 bird flu has killed or caused the destruction of millions of birds. The new sex super-bug has been declared worse than AIDS. A flu is rising among pigs in China. Chinese officials have also confirmed that the latest bird flu strain is fatal in one-third of patients.

 Singapore is suffering an outbreak of the Dengue fever virus. There has been a huge outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in Argentina. The World Health Organization is warning that the Saudi coronal virus is spreading and the Middle Eastern MERS virus is a threat to the entire world, with mortality rates currently at 65 percent.

The east coast of the United States is being overrun with a plague of cicadas. Israel was hit with a plague of locusts─just days before Passover. Billions of locust eggs have hatched in the Negev Desert.  Bosnia has been experiencing a plague of flies.  Fully one-third of the world’s food supply is currently destroyed each year by pestilence.

The Bible tells us that one of the signs of the end of the ago will be an increase in knowledge. With an increase in knowledge comes an increase in technology. Currently we are on the brink of creating a computer that not only thinks for itself, but will actually be aware of its own existence. This will be a new form or life created by Man instead of God. In the meantime we have hacked our way far enough past the firewalls of God’s computer to gain access to the DNA codes of life, and we have begun the incredibly dangerous and irresponsibly foolish act of tinkering with them.

The first genetically modified babies have now been born. Scientists have created a living embryo of a formerly extinct frog and have cloned a mouse from a single drop of blood.  The UK plans to approve creating babies with DNA from 3 parents. I believe that chapter 6 of Genesis makes it quite clear that tampering with DNA is what made God so angry that He ended the Antediluvian Age, and I believe that tampering with DNA will be a major contributing factor in God’s decision to end the Age of Grace really soon, before any more damage can occur.

In recent weeks the talk of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem has become surprisingly more serious despite Islamic objections.

The Bible tells us that even the very elect will be deceived in a great deception during the last days.  This makes me highly suspicious of the Vatican’s increasing interest in space and alien life. There seems to be a lot of recent evidence to suggest that the Vatican is preparing to announce the existence of alien life and that it is not a violation of Christian (Catholic) dogma. I find it really strange that the Catholic Church owns several state-of-the-art observatories and telescopes, including one with the strange acronym “Lucifer.”

 UFO activity has certainly spiked in recent months.  About a year ago a UFO was photographed from several angles descendingand hovering over the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount.  A UFO was also photographed descending and hovering over the Vatican, and a UFO was recently photographed entering Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano.

The European Union has taken the Tower of Babel and the woman riding upon the beast as its symbols. I find this a bit unnerving, a bit blasphemous, and very prophetic. Is the European Union daring God to strike it down? Has the challenge been made to God to remove the Restrainer and allow the Tribulation to begin?  Is Isaiah 17 on the very verge of fulfillment? Is Isaiah 19 on the very verge of fulfillment as well?

The Bible tells us that during the last days young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams. A lot of people are reporting dreams and visions of the Rapture and Tribulation. Most of these dreams seem to contradict each other as far as specifics, but I have noticed a very marked increase in urgency that seems to tie them together.  Something incredibly big is definitely about to happen.

The gift of prophecy is not required in order to sense that something huge is happening right now in preparation for something even more important. When this event occurs it is going to be spectacular beyond our present ability to comprehend. Christians feel the building urgency with either a sense of peace or else a sense of anxiety that comes from a knowledge that they still have issues to be resolved with God and that there is precious little time remaining.

Those who do not believe also sense the urgency of the hour and are angry that there unbelief and present lifestyles are being challenged.  The unbelieving are also frantic because they sense that time is running out, just as Satan must be frantic because he knows so little time remains.

Fasten your seatbelt and lovingly remind the person next to you to fasten their seatbelt as well. Then close your eyes and think about this verse, which seems to apply to us now more than ever:

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Carl Worline

Oaktree3168@aol.com

Please watch: 

• Hal Lindsey Report (7.12.13)  http://youtu.be/fhBdfbC9dtE
• Wake Up 2013: AGENDA 21 & WW3  http://youtu.be/LS1ur4-mjuc

PROSPERITY GOSPEL?

By Pastor Mike Taylor - 

http://www.churchofgod-usa.org/1/post/2013/07/prosperity-gospel.html

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or, "What shall we wear?" Matthew 6:25-26

These are the words of our Lord when He was teaching the multitudes what is important in this life, and to not worry about having what you need, as God knows what you need, even before we may ask Him in prayer. When pondering this great truth, that we trust in God for our very sustenance, and the breath we breathe, I think on people who ask me about Prosperity Gospel and the many tele-evangelist that speak of "Name it and Claim it" theology. Is it biblical and is God pleased with the so called "ministers" that drive fancy cars, live in expensive homes (sometimes several of them) and jet set all around the world spreading their "doctrine" purporting that we have a kindly "Grandfather in the sky" that just loves to make us all rich. Does He and is there something more than meets the eye for the followers of this aberration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I won't speak for God if He is pleased, but you must determine that for yourself by their fruits. For an indepth examination of this movement follow this URL:

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/word-faith.html

Newsflash: Benny Hinn caught in a awkward moment with Paula White, another prosperity gospel "minister". Won't these folks learn?

http://ivarfjeld.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/benny-hinn-caught-in-adultery-and-web-of-lies-in-rome/

I believe that these ministers are taking scripture and twisting it into what I believe is a "fleecing" of the flock for the multitudes who desire riches in this life, instead of seeking riches in the next life. They pull scriptures as proof text to their cause such as:

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you." --Matthew 7:7

Many-among them preachers of the "prosperity gospel"-believe that the focus of this verse is on receiving things, that is, that we will get whatever we ask for as long as we ask according to God's will. While this is a true principle, if put in terms of materialism, it misses the real point Jesus intended because He never appeals to our vanity or instructs us to satisfy human nature's selfish desires. I have a dear sister in Christ who laments that she is surrounded by false teachings of prosperity gospel and the dumbing down of the church with its feel good message, in direct conflict with scripture. It takes faith and courage not to be swept away by the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. This is what these modern churches are professing. It's not about reaching the lost for Jesus Christ, but making churches social clubs, or not churches at all, but a shopping mall and coffee shops, and "hey, if you like this shopping experience, come to church and we'll give you some more food for your fleshly appetite. Would you like some more coffee?" What is wrong with this picture?

God's Word is about "giving to others" not "getting rich". It's a give Gospel, not a get gospel. Leading that person to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their only hope for eternal life should be every Christian's priority focus. That is the way God has intended for each of us as Christians to work for His harvest of souls. We should be more concerned about reaching out to others to meet their needs, instead of hording riches in this life that will all eventually fade away, as so much dust in the wind anyway. What did Jesus say?

Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Sunday Morning Tele-Evangelist or TBN

I see many of these preachers on the Satanic box we have in the corner of most living rooms, called your TV, come on with their fancy station call letters, ie. TBN, (paid with God's tithe) begging for more money. I remember back many years ago of PTL and Jim Bakker doing little preaching but begging for more money. Where was the instruction? Where was the teaching of the whole counsel of the Word of God? There was none of it. Then we went through the likes of Jimmy Swaggart and his indiscretions with a paid prostitute, twice. Today we have more wolves in sheep's clothing that have entered into our midst and have perverted the Gospel to their own riches. Tele-Evangelism is big business and has made these men fabulously wealthy. I think of people like Joel Olsteen, Benny Hinn, Paul Crouch, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland and just about anybody that comes on this station called Trinity Broadcasting Network (sic) and utter a lot of false statements. They make me shutter with their arrogance and demanding that God give everyone the goose that laid the golden egg, or the fancy house, or the big car, expensive clothes, fancy jewelry and they want that all for you? Really? God warned us in His Word of such men:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

These tele-evangelist today are not ministers of God's Word, but preach a "Purpose Driven Life" or Mo' Money! They are professors and purveyors of the human pride and the need for "stuff." They preach an aberration of God's Word, and another gospel that Paul warned us about. Galatians,

1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

When was the last time that you saw any of these slick preachers get up with open Bible in hand and preach the unadulterated truth of God's Word? I've seen many of them, most of them with headsets on and speaking for hours and never, never quote scripture. NOT ONCE!! Does a Berean study of God's Word support their oratory and fancy words? What do we hear if we sit in front of the box in your living room and listen to them for more than 5 minutes? We hear a social gospel and a feel good message of personal development, not Jesus Christ and Him crucified which they do not proclaim. They drone on about what you need to do to have the "good life" in this world, deal with depression that you don't have the lastest gadget or the newest car out there, or get whatever else that you may want. You need a purpose, and they give you one, "get mo' stuff".

There's only one catch, to get mo' stuff, you must send them your mo' money. Give till it hurts and hurts some more. Not just 10% or 20%, but give more as a sign of faith in the goodness of God. They call it "seed" money. Plant your seed and God will give you back more than you can give. They call upon this verse:

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Is this what our Lord was talking about that to give till it hurts to these ministries gives you a heads up on receiving from God whatever you can think of or pray for? I've heard so many people stand up and say that you just have to reach out and claim with both hands by speaking the words, and God will bring it to pass. That is the "Name it and Claim it" Theology dubbed Word of Faith. So many people miss what God is telling us through the Words of His Son when He spoke about giving to others. These preachers of a false gospel invoke a "Grandfatherly God" who gives His children whatever they desire. Or another one is that they hold God hostage in their misguided belief that God cannot refuse them anything, because He Said So!! So they think. God loves a cheerful giver who expects nothing in return, but to give in order to get 'mo stuff" is misdirected and a sign of being selfish in your attitude and not about giving out of love of your neighbor!

AS YOU DO UNTO OTHERS....

Human nature tends to value the wrong things in life-to eat, drink, and be merry-things without eternal worth. Because of this temptation, people's main anxiety concerns accumulating this world's luxuries. A rich man may even be embarrassed by his inability to store his hoarded wealth, but he never considered using his riches for the benefit of others. Irishman Jonathan Swift observed, "Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches as to conceive how others can be in want." A generous person, however, sees the needs of others first

Proverbs 11:25-26;). The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

We should sow goodness and generosity so we will reap the same as Paul said in:

Galatians 6:7-10,

6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Do we not see that if we are generous and think of others before our selves, that what we give to others individually will bring us friends and allies in this life, that when we need something, they are the first to be there to meet out needs in return?

Galatians 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

I don't begrudge giving for the help of brethren in need or want and neither should any Christian brethren. Nor do we turn away from helping our fellow man when the opportunity arises, but we give to the ministry as was done to the Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament for their work of ministering in the Temple in Jerusalem as they had no inheritance but the work of God. It is the same as meeting the needs of ministers who spread the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God, but not to the extent that these preachers mentioned live lavish lifestyles and fall into sins of the flesh that have been zealously, even with delight reported by our news media when one of them is caught "with his pants down" so to speak.

1st Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

Adam Clarke comments here,

Almost every critic of note allows that double honor, here, signifies reward, stipend, wages. Let him have a double or a larger salary who rules well; and why? Because in the discharge of his office he must be at expense, in proportion to his diligence, in visiting and relieving the sick, in lodging and providing for strangers; in a word in his being given to hospitality which was required of every minister.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary, on this same section, states,

Elders, those who directed the affairs of the church. Those who performed their functions well were worthy of double honor. Since the word honor (5092) in this case means compensation, remuneration 'that which is paid in honor of another's work 'double honor probably refers to an honorarium or wage.

It says a wage because of expenses doing their duties of the office, requires being supported by the members under their ministry to promote the Kingdom of God, not riches that would embarrass most sane men of God, if they be of a true and upright soldier for promoting salvation through no other but Jesus Christ and His shed blood on Calvary. Ministers should be protecting the flock, not fleecing them, but leading them to a life found in Jesus Christ. They should not, must not take advantage of the poor soul who believes their unscriptural message and follows them due to ignorance of the Truth found in their Bible, which they may not even read or understand.

I have family members who have been caught up in the personality of these charlatans, because they are charismatic and speak a feel good gospel. Who doesn't want to feel good about their life and a brighter future? It's a terrible mindset that leads people to follow men, instead of God found in the pages of your bible. These are people who are unfamiliar with the scriptures, or they have been led astray by idolizing men in white suits and preacher haircuts used in many gospel quartets of the past. Don't they look the part? Don't they look "holy" to you? Don't you just love to hear them speak and hang onto every word they say, punctuated with a quick "hallelujahs" or "praise the Lord." They get you excited. You feel euphoric, giddy while clapping your hands in agreement and calling out "Amen, brother," and then they hit you with the message they came for all along which is, I need your money in all their Elmer Gantry impersonations.

JESUS AND THE RICH YOUNG RULER

I am reminded of the rich man that came to Jesus and asked Him a question:

Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Reading on down, Jesus said:

19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

19:22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Unlike what many of us would do, Christ avoids becoming mired in a dispute about the rich man's claim that he has kept the law and what does he lack, but gets right to the bottom line: The young man's love of the world. He tells him to sell his possessions, give the money away, and follow Him as a disciple. Yet, the young ruler was unwilling to do this. His treasure was here on earth. His money exerted a stronger tug on his heart than Jesus Christ did. Matthew Henry says in his commentary, "When we embrace Christ, we must let go of the world, for we cannot serve God and money."

That is the unseen message that drives the Prosperity Gospel, the love of this world and the love of money and riches. The more we have in luxuries, the more we are tied to this world. The more we are intoxicated with the Prosperity Gospel and its promise of riches supplied by our following these men who preach another "gospel", then the more we rely on ourselves and our ability to get wealth by holding God hostage and holding these men up as our examples of righteous living. Ultimately, the sad truth is more we will ignore what is the most important, or should be, in our lives. It is a dangerous road many have been led astray upon. We must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness:

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Finally, my brethren and those who follow this teaching, turn to the only supplier of your every need and ask Him for what is best for your growth as a follower of Jesus Christ and His coming Kingdom here on earth. Remember in closing what Paul wrote in Philippians:

4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying God's salvation in your life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you have any needs, wish counseling, have a question, or just want someone to listen to your concern, drop me a line atrealteam1999@sbcglobal.net , God bless you, till we meet at Jesus Feet.

Scoffers Waxing Worse and Worse

By Jan Markell

www.olivetreeviews.org

Scoffing has hit a whole new level but be of good cheer, it means the hour is very late. 

If you have perused headlines recently, or watched a TV news hour, you are stunned at what's going on. I am every morning as I post headlines here. I let them sink in and I shake my head. When has the world been in this much chaos? When have people been this unhappy, confused, addicted, pagan, angry and tuned out?

So Hollywood is making the apocalypse a joke in two movies:This is the End and Rapture Palooza. The latter features a scene where Jesus is blown out of the sky as He returns in His Second Coming. It doesn't get any more outrageous. (What if a movie shot Mohammed or Allah out of the sky?!) And one movie critic states, "Satan, God, and Jesus are ultimately killed, leaving non-believers to live in peace."

 

Well, not quite because that's not the way it will happen. And if "the end" plays out sooner rather than later, the producers of such nonsense will not be laughing for long.

Sadly, it's not just the pagans doing the mocking and scoffing, however. Many Christians, churches, and even entire denominations have similar attitudes. And while they are hardly as offensive, the end result is similar.

When Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life came in years ago, I was turned off by his scoffing at the Lord's return and the topic of prophecy. On pages 285-286, he suggested that Jesus said His return was none of our business. 

Excuse me. It's almost one-third of the Bible! Warren suggests that considering it might get in the way of our purpose.

Two things define eschatology in the church today: Ignorance or apathy. People will tell you it will all play out as it is predicted but in the meantime, enjoy life. Or church leaders will tell you it is divisive and controversial.  This is just another manner of scoffing. It's nowhere near as offensive as the above-referenced Hollywood movies, but the result is the same. There is a giant turn-off.

We scoff at eschatology (Bible prophecy) by ignoring the warnings that are a part of it. Haven't you heard: All of the previous warnings have been false alarms so why should we pay attention to any of them now? Jesus will get here when He gets here. Settle down. What's there to get so excited about? You end-time people are so negative! The sky is always falling for you people. Come on. Beasts coming out of the sea, plagues, famines, hail and an evil man called the Antichrist.  Can we move on to good news? The stock market is doing super well!  Don't talk to me about bad times and rough sailing ahead!  My 401K has never done better.

We scoff with our apathy. Our unbelief. Our doubt. Our skepticism. Our boredom of the topic. Our disgust.  Our prophecy fatigue.  We've heard this story over and over since Hal Lindsey made the complicated plain over 40 years ago. No, we aren't radicals like the producers of the sickening films mentioned who literally glorify the Antichrist and assassinate Jesus Christ in their productions.

But we are still scoffers. And we are oh so busy. We are running to and fro and we are trying to keep our ducks in a row and some day when they are all lined up perfectly, we'll sit down and ponder His return. Maybe happy days will be here again this side of Heaven! 

We go to marriage seminars, financial seminars, how to manage kids' seminars but please spare us from an end-time focus. Boring. Depressing. Scary. We want to go to Heaven some day but maybe not right now!

One reviewer says about the This is The End flick, "When the apocalypse literally sets the world on fire, and the good people ascend to heaven while the not-so-good people are destroyed in gruesome fashion, one young star is stunned to learn there really is an afterlife, and a God, and all that." The movie actually has an "aha moment." It resonates with some truth although it was likely unintended.

But that comment says it all. Some day wicked mankind will realize that what the Bible predicted actually will happen and there will be consequences. There is a surprise ending for the unsuspecting. 

Life on earth during the very end-of-days won't be a series of silly escapades as portrayed in the Rapture Palooza andThis is The End movies. 

In one of them, the Rapture happened and millions are left to cope with plagues of trash-talking locusts, foul-mouthed crows, rains of blood, and fiery rocks from the sky, all preparations for the return of Jesus. The cast can relish in the fact that the world is a lot less crowded but the fact is, when this day actually transpires, no one left behind will even have a smile on their face.

The Bible contains detailed prophecies about the end times we are living in, and there is just no way to fully understand much of what is happening today apart from those prophecies.  From the meltdown in Egypt to the surveillance of Americans who thought they were safe and secure, only an end-of-days scenario can connect the dots and make things make perfect sense.

We can scoff at the scoffers and hold our heads high as we look up. We have the most marvelous news known to man. The King is coming and no cannon will shoot Him out of the sky!

He'll be here right on time. It will be in God's timing and not ours.

Parting thought: I wanted to put a different title for this article in the subject line: What if They Shot Allah Out of the Sky? I chose not to risk a Web site hacking for doing that as that has happened to this ministry numerous times. But I hear very little blow back from Hollywood blowing Jesus out of the sky with a quick clip of him lying next to his dead white horse in Rapture Palooza.  

Parting thought: I wanted to put a different title for this article in the subject line: What if They Shot Allah Out of the Sky? I chose not to risk a Web site hacking for doing that as that has happened to this ministry numerous times. But I hear very little blow back from Hollywood blowing Jesus out of the sky with a quick clip of him lying next to his dead white horse in Rapture Palooza. 

Interesting times. 

Christianity is like the menu of an Ice Cream Parlour

Why Jesus' Church Divided?
http://www.simplicityinthegospel.com/

"O come, Desire of nations, bind all people in one heart and mind; O bid our sad divisions cease, and be for us the Prince of Peace."  O Come, O Come Emmanuel 

 Introduction

Why Jesus' Church divided?  That is a good question that so many ask and wonder.  Division among Christian's communities cause scepticism and contempt from the society toward Christians.  We are accused of being hypocrites and with good reason.

Jesus stated in Matt 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it".  This means that His church will always exist through centuries until His return.  Why so many different denominations?

Let us investigate

If a person were to accept Jesus as the Son of God, as a new believer, which denomination should he/she go to?  Billy Graham made crusades inviting people to the Lord.  Most of them left on their own, alone without a shepherd.  Where would they go?  The church, which is meant to be so simple, is today made so complex.  For a new believer, recognizing the true church is like looking for a needle in a haystack without knowing what a needle look likes… looking for the truth without knowing what the truth is.  Even some old churchgoer cannot recognize which haystack he/she belongs to for the same reason that they forgotten what the truth is.  It is a contrast to Christians who are being persecuted in some countries, which have few bibles, no ministries, and assembles in secret.  There exist only one truth, one church.  Yet, they are willing to lose his/her lives over his/her belief?  Would we be prepared to die for our belief?  Would we be willing to die for what our denomination stands for?  I invite you to read my commentary title, "The Church of Philadelphia "The Faithful Church": Are we as faithful as we are to be?"

If we take the time to search the Internet, we will find that there are 100s of denominations all-claiming to be Christians.  If so, why are we divided, after all Jesus commanded Christians to love one another, not just tolerate one another?  Jesus explained that "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against himself will not stand", He concluded with this strong assertion, "He who is not with me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" Matt 12: 25, 30.  So why are Christians divided into so many denominations?

To explain this phenomena I chose this analogy; "Christianity is like the menu of an Ice Cream Parlour". 

The cone itself will represent Jesus our Christ; since "He is the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone", Matt 21:42; therefore Jesus is the foundation. 

The ice cream will be His Word, His commandments; "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed" John 8:31.  "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.  And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him, John 14:21.

The flavours represent preference of each individual Christian; the flavours are the features that make denomination distinct or apart from one another.  Therefore, Christianity is like the menu of an ice cream parlour that offers a wide variety of flavours from plain vanilla flavour to exotic tropical fruit flavours.  These flavours represent the people's ideal setting for their church in their community.  That is one-of the two reasons for the church, the body of Jesus…, which was meant to be so simple, has become so complex to identify.  What I will be focusing on in this commentary is…the flavours.  The other reason is the cone…the body of Jesus …It looks like the body of Jesus but is a counterfeit cone that does not taste like one.  This other reason will be investigated in Part 2 of another commentary title "Counterfeit Gospel - Could you recognise it?"

Let us start with The Flavours

The menu listed for Christian preferences consists from a wide range of gospel music type, of church service format, choice of activities, choice of social mission statement, choice of building structure and design, and many more to satisfy all taste.  These varieties of flavours are not necessary bad taste.  It demonstrates that we exhibit cultural, traditional differences in worshiping The Lord.  Jesus declared, "I am the vine you are the branches".  Therefore, Christians are not necessarily divided, but distinct.  That is OK, as long as…keep on reading.

From the society prospective, it may reflect in hypocrisy since there are some within the Christians communities who claim that their flavours are the only flavourful ones and belittle others for their preferences as being of bad taste.  Some get tired of denominational flavours such as constitution and policies therefore start a new group.  (1 Timothy 1:4, 1 Timothy 6:4, 2 Timothy 2:23, Titus 3:9).  It does display too much attention on the flavours and not enough on the cone and the ice cream.  " For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires…"flavours"… because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables," 2 Tim 4:3-4.  That is a whole lot of unnecessary flavours.  You will notice that in that verse, the members are the ones who chose the teachers.  They do not change the truth; they just turn their ears away from it.  There are many sincere pastors and ministers, who are believers of God's Word, who desired to serve Jesus, yet are held hostage by the flavours of their church community.  If you are one of them, hear what the Lord has to tell you, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."  Rev 2:4, and "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.  Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent." Rev 3:2-3a.

Some denominations focus so much on their flavours that they act like an ice cream parlour.  The flavours are for sale.  They are the ones that are so afraid of losing their church building that all their times and energies are on fundraising.  Excessive charges are imposed on pastoral services.  The church has become a business.  Then there are to the other extreme, the mega churches with revenues that are in the millions, offering for sale their wide variety of books, tapes that are meant to teach Christian living, and accessories such as jewelleries. "These false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you things that are not true. But the judgment against these false teachers has been ready for a long time. And they will not escape God who will destroy them," 2 Peter 2:3 (ERV). What does Jesus think about them?  "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise," John 2:16.  "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a 'den of thieves," Matt 21:13.   It is so sad.  Consequently, for those afraid of losing their churches will find their door close one day.  If they would only apply Matthew 6:33, what a different it would make.  And concerning the mega church marketing strategy to sale the gospel and God's Words, they should keep in mind that the gospel had been given freely, Matt 10:8; 2 Cor 11:7;  2 Thess 3:8;  Rev 22:17.  The gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit are not for sale, Acts 8:19-21.

Ron Graham at raptureready.com in his commentary title "Tradition" expresses his view of the present condition of many churches this way:

"In many respects the assembling together has become a huge social club designed to entertain the club members.  This membership atmosphere which has become the norm in many congregations, and which is now seen in the eyes of many as the Laodicean Church, might well be the church's waterloo.  These folks could well be the ones who will turn against and bring down the organized Christian Church in the last days.  Believers might have to give up their coffee shops, book stores, bowling alleys, movie theaters, and all the rest of the unbiblical amenities that have infiltrated our worship halls."

Ron Graham observed the impact on Christian's spiritual growth.  He put it across this way:

"Church tradition has come a long way in the last 2,000 years.  Most of what is done these days behind the doors of Christian Churches is not so much biblical as traditional.  Simply put, years of man's doctrines have crept into our Christian Churches.  Even though we practice something every week doesn't mean it is necessarily biblical.  And you'll never really achieve any real understanding of your Bibles by simply sitting through three songs and a thirty minute message by a pastor on Sunday mornings."

When we steer away from Jesus and His truth…the cone and the ice cream, and focus too much on the personal preference …the flavours…rather than meeting the spiritual growth of the assembly, as is stated in Eph 4:11-16, it becomes obvious that the denomination or individuals become dead in Jesus' Works.  Matthew 5:13 explain this clearly; "You are the salt of the earth…  in the pure taste of ice cream…but if the salt loses its flavour, …by adding flavours… how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and tramped underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on the hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket,… or mixes with flavours …but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven".  According to Jesus statement, a Christian should be very easy to recognize.  Instead, it has become difficult.  Why?  In my opinion, with all these flavours, most Christian had forgotten its root.  It is all about Luke 4:18-19, God's Word and God' Works.  It is not about the flavours (preference) but rather the cone and the ice cream, Jesus and His Word. 

Looking at how we should use our freedom in Christ

Many comment, "Why then did Jesus allow His Church to wander away into so many different groups, allowing so many different flavours?  After all, is it not His responsibility to direct His Church?  He is the head isn't He?"  Many have forgotten that the greatest gifts ever given before salvation are the gift of existence (life) and the gift to choose.  Humanity has free choice.  Can we not observe the result of 'free choice'?  The world is in disarray.  To whose moral standard should God use to intervene in the affair of man, yours?  We either chose to follow the directive of Jesus or not.  The same is within the Body of Christ; members of all denomination have that freedom of choice. 

Jesus predicted that this wound happens.  He foresees the days where some of the members of any denomination would not let Him lead the body.  Many would focus more on the flavours rather than His Words for instruction.  So many do not study the bible, so many are vulnerable to deception, Eph 4:14.  So many just do not care to know the truth.  Anyone, taking the time to study the Kingdom parables would realize that the church from the beginning started to transform itself into a bureaucratic organization, as is spoken in Acts 20:28-30.  It would lose it purpose of it existence.  It would become self-serving rather then focusing on the spiritual growth of the assembly, Eph 4:11-16.  It either became a one-man/woman ministry or a board of members viewing its followers as spectators rather them being an assembly of participants in exhibiting the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Lambert Dolphin in his commentary title; "Description Of The Spiritual Gifts" explains:

"These are supernatural enablements … (Spiritual gifts) …so that we may serve God more effectively in the world and in the church.  Every Christian has at least one spiritual gift; many are given more than one gift.  All Christians are called to the work of the ministry and distinctions between "clergy" and "laity" are foreign to the New Testament.  Both spiritual gifts and natural talents must be employed in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in the self-energy of the flesh in order to please God and bring positive results."

Study the parables of "the tare, the mustard seed, and the leaven."  Jesus parables were not meant to be a warning but rather a prediction that division would happen.  He gave instructions to those who love His Word, the pure taste of ice cream.  We are not meant to root out the tare among the wheat but rather to leave them to Jesus' angels to sickle them apart from the wheat at the end of the age, as explained in Matt 13:30.  These parables are prophecies.  Those prophecies came to pass.  What Jesus is teaching to each individual is this; lets us concentrate to do our part in representing Him by being part of His Works.  That is the meaning of being the salt and the lamp.  Moreover, we are to leave the distraction such as the tare, the birds in the mustard tree, and the leaven to Jesus. 

The letters written to the seven churches in the province of Asia found in the book of Revelation reveal that Jesus knew of the Church's transformation through the centuries to come.  Those seven churches really did exist in the time the letters were written.  Their struggle to stay true to the Word was an everyday challenge.  The advice given by Jesus to each of the churches was to guaranty His Church continual existence through century to come, see Rev 1:19.  All of today's denominations and individual Christian's do possess one or more of these churches characteristic.  Do you have an ear?  Are these letters not meant to be read to the churches?  They were meant to anyone who has an ear to hear, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches", Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, Rev 3:6, 13, 22.  For that reason, read them to yourself aloud. 

All seven churches in Revelation are part of the body of Jesus, His Church.  One out of the seven churches received no reprimand but instead praise.  Rev 3:7,  "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens": "I know your works.  See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My Word, and have not denied My name."

Could we recognize this church today?  Whoever they are or which denominations it could be, they have kept His Word, and have not denied His name…the cone and the ice cream.  His Word is His commandments.  Therefore, we need to know and understand, what are His commandments?  Is Jesus talking about the Old Testament commandment?  

Not likely.  After all, there are close to 613 of them.  The Jewish population after the return of their captivity from Babylon tried to keep every one of them and more in the fear that God would sent them into another captivity if not kept.  Keeping the commandments became their lifestyle to the extreme.  Do we understand now why Jesus was so frustrated with the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the priesthood?  There was too much emphasis on the keeping of the law and not enough on the human need, Is 58.  They went from one extreme, "by not observing His commandments before their captivity into Babylon" to the other extreme "by being over zealous in keeping the laws".  Read the Book to the Hebrews, it is instructions given to the Christian Jews to let go of the Old Covenant and to enter into a New Covenant.  I encourage you to listen to this excellent study in MP3 format by Jack Kelly title; A study of the Letter to the Hebrews.  The New Covenant 'made simple' was a fearful decision for them to observed.  They were fearful to displease God, fearful of returning into captivity.  It is ironic, because their fear of returning into captivity lead them to be scattered worldwide, Luke 19:43-44.  "If you had know, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes," Luke 19:42.  "The things that make for peace" is part of the New Covenant with Jesus.  

As Christians, are we not behaving the same way?  Before our salvation, we were condemned, fearful of God judgement.  After our salvation, some are still fearful of God judgement and continue to live by some Old Covenant law: working so hard to be accepted by God.  That is an undesired added flavour.  It is distracting us from focusing on God's Work.  So let us focus on His grace and His mercy and accept salvation as the most undeserved gift of all…. praise the Lord. We have the "Freedom To Be Authentic, Spontaneous & Extravagant".

 Eph 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast".  Titus 3:4, "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit". 

So, what are the commandments Jesus was talking about?  What are the commandments of the new covenant?  Matthew 28:18-20; And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  Amen."  Therefore, what are we to teach, and what are the things we must observe that Jesus commanded?

We see here the great commission of the Church (individual responsibility) to make disciples, preaching, "Jesus resurrected" as a witness 1 Peter 1:3, John 11:25, Acts 4:2.  That is the purpose and the outcome for each individual by being the salt of the earth, a lamp.  As a witness, we are to testify what Jesus had done for us (John 3:16), and made available to all.  We are to show mercy and grace to all in as much Jesus gave to humanity, Luke 6:31, Luke 10:37.  We tend to take for granted the gesture of mercy and grace from Jesus and the Father.  Mercy, meaning we do not get what we deserved (death, Luke 13:3, forever separated from God), and grace, meaning we receive the thing we do not deserve (life, forever be with God, and to reign with Him for eternity, John 5:24).

The New Covenant commandments are sum up in three aspects; Believe, trust, and love. 

These are what we are to teach and things we must observe in which Jesus commanded.

1. Believe

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Matt 16:16, the One that God had sent so that whoever believes in Him may receive the gift of eternal life, John 3:16.  "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live"", John 11:25.  Salvation is an event not a process.  All it takes is to believe.  I am a firm advocate that once saved always save, Hebrews 13:5.  Jesus died for all sins, pass, present, and future. 

Once we made that choice to believe Jesus as the Son of God and accepted him in our heart, we are forever His.  If we believe that we are saved because we belong to a congregation, or by our good deeds, we are deceiving ourselves.  It is through Jesus obeying the will of the Father that we are redeemed and given eternal life, nothing else, John 6:38-40.  We are not saved by our conduct or our works.  We are saved by believing only.  I encourage you to read this excellent commentary by Jack Kelly title, "OSAS, The Whole Story" Once Saved Always Saved.  Sin will never separate us from God…. our guilt and shame will.  Just do not do what Adam did, run away and hide.  Run toward the cross.  God is merciful; His Son Jesus is sitting beside Him as a beacon of the price Jesus paid for our sins.  We are His Children; therefore, He acts as a good father even better then our earthly parent.  He is rebuking us to teach us not to condemn us.  Got that?

2.     Trust

Trust.  This is part of a process called sanctification, "to set apart for special use or purpose".  It is a life long process in learning to trust God to do His work in us.  It is called "Walking with God".  The factor that helps us to achieve this is by understanding that God knows our destiny, 1 Tim 6:15, 1 Cor 4:8. 

He knows what is important to us, Matt 6:32 therefore let us trust Him with all our need, Pr 3:5-6.  You may not be aware of, or perhaps you were taking God's mercy for granted but showing a lack of trust toward God is an act of sin against Him.

From Apostasy Now (author unknown)

"And Job Said:

Job 3:25-26 " For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came".

Note verse 26.....Job accounted his basic insecurity and watchfulness as a hedge of protection against such tragedies. These were the things he greatly feared. Job accounted his TACIT CONFESSION that these things would or might come as a form of righteousness...he expected that by admission to his LIABILITY to such things, he was exonerated of the sin of presumption. Job was afraid that if he INSISTED THAT GOD would preserve him, that THIS would be THE sin that brought on the things he greatly feared. As it turns out, it was not his presumption on God's protection, but his DOUBT OF IT that invited and warranted these tragedies.

After a full life of health and prosperity, Job greatly fears that such tragedies are not far behind. He expected them. Do you?

Many years of walking with God, and many years of blessing, are not enough to convince Job that he is SAFE with his God."

How many of us walk through life doubting God deep down in our mind.  We want to believe, nevertheless 'the want to be' is not faith, is not trusting.  Why?  Our mind is full of myths and false teaching.  We never challenge what we believe.  Take for example the theory of evolution.  There are many Christians who embrace such teaching as a possibility…maybe it did take 400 billion years for God to creates the earth and the universe and everything that live on it…  maybe Jesus was just a man with great humanity values…maybe there are more then one way to an after life higher existence… maybe it is by buying a lottery ticket that God will provide for me.   What causes doubts?    Like Sarah, Abraham wife, we do not wait, we just go ahead take action and assume that it is God's will.  What causes us to sin?  Is 42:8, 48:11.

Please understand this, evolution is a process as for creation is by the word of God spoken.  In Heb 11:3 it is recorded that it is through faith that we understand that the worlds were frame, put together by the word of God: so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.  If you ever have spare time, take the time to read this article entitle "Evolution or creation, Which?" By A.T. Jones.

Again from Apostasy Now (author unknown)

"Job's righteousness was a real faith in a living God who could be prevailed upon to come to his rescue. Job had that faith that has been the same since the beginning of time:

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Romans 4:19-22 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Abraham was accounted righteous BECAUSE HE BELIEVED A PROMISE. We are no where told that Abraham was accounted righteous because he believed a commandment or a threat of punishment: but because he BELIEVED A PROMISE from God!"

Did not God promise to take care of us?  A promise make is a promise kept.  How many make God a liar?  You wouldn't dare accuse God of being a liar of coarse but you might justify your doubts, right?…as I am not good enough, God is not please with me, I have a secret sins that I kept avoiding discussing with God…etc.

From Apostasy Now (author unknown)

"True faith is not easy to attain to, because it requires a conscience that is void of offense. A conscience void of offense is not a rash presumption that God "has no objections to anything in me because Christ has died for me". A conscience void of offense comes from facing the facts about yourself; facing the truth of the Word of God, and living up to the light we already have. The Bible plainly says that an uncondemned heart gets WHATEVER IT ASKS FOR. (1 John 3:19-22)

The fact is.....that our heart may not ask for what our mouth asks for: a man asks for healing - but in his heart, he knows he shouldn't have it - he knows that his sickness is his just deserts. He knows that it would be UNRIGHTEOUS of God to give him what he is asking for; he does not really expect to get what he is asking for; he doesn't REALLY want what he is asking for despite his profession to the contrary. GET RIGHT, AND BE BLESSED."

It is important to acknowledge our sin and our doubt.  Ask for forgiveness for our lack of trust.  We do not loose our salvation; we are temporary on hold from His fellowship and from receiving His favours.  This is "one" of the many other reasons why God does not answer prayers.  This is the way God rebuke us, gets our attention.  As Jesus explained to Peter, only the feet need to be wash not the whole body.  Jesus took care of the body by washing it with His blood.  We only need to take care of our feet, John 13:10.  God is quick to forgive and to restore our fellowship with Him, 1 John 1:9. 

Look at the life of Enoch.  Enoch lived for 365 years and walk with God (trusting God) for 300 years.  It took 65 years for Enoch to learn to trust God, Genesis 5:21-23.  I wonder sometime how he faced life before the flood.  I read that it was as bad as it is today, Luke 17:26, 2 Peter 2:5.  How long will it take us to learn that lesson?  How long will it take you to take Jesus at His Word?  Frankly, I would be afraid to go through life today without Jesus.  The Israelites were 40 years in the desert, sent in captivity for 70 years in Babylon, and yet as of today Israel as a nation have not learnt to trust God.  Israel is still God's people, Zec 2:8, Ezekiel 37:11-12.  Hard to believe…. this only proves how secure is our salvation.  More may be found on this subject on trusting God by reading my commentary on the subject titled "Economic Crisis: As Christians, what are we to do?  Answer: "REST"" Trust is the element where 90% of Christians fail to apply in their life with Jesus.  Most live a defeated life; appear worrying, sad, and show a life of sacrifice instead of a live full in abundance of joy as it was intended, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly", John 10:10.  They either had bad teachers or just did not learn.  Too many are among thorns as I was:  "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful", Matt 13:22.  Failing to trust does not take away our salvation.  It just makes life miserable and unfruitful.  The sooner we learn to trust God the better so that we could go on and do what Jesus set us apart for and purpose.  To trust is a decision.  To please God is to trust Him.  To trust God is to please God.  We have heard of this saying; "God help those who help themselves", surprise…that is not in the bible.  God help those who depend and hope entirely on Him.

Blessed is the man…/woman… who trusts in the LORD,

      And whose hope is the LORD. 

       For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

      Which spreads out its roots by the river,

      And will not fear when heat comes;

      But its leaf will be green,

      And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

      Nor will cease from yielding fruit.  Jer 17:7-8

On a personal note.  I accepted Jesus in my early 20's.  For a major part of my life, I have lived the experience of not trusting God.  Through the experience of two fail marriages, I became bitter, and ran farther away from God.  I married again.  I invested in the establishment of a vineyard with the goal to turn it to a Winery retail store.  We ended up with incredible debt and on top of that my wife health was deteriorating.  Nothing seems to go right.  No matter what I did, my vines gave no fruit or hardly.  My mine was full of fear and doubt.  I prayed and study the bible.  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and it righteousness" was my motto.  Yet, my life did not improved. 

I finally realize that I was putting all my attention on "Seeking ye first the kingdom of God, and very little on "His righteousness".  I was putting to much attention on studying bible prophecy and not enough on applying God's Word in my life.  There was a sin that I kept ignoring and justifying, considering it non-important.  That is where I was wrong.  God as a loving Father considered it serious enough to bring it to my intention.

Then there is a matter of trusting God.  Proverb 3: 5-6, I kept reading "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him,  And He shall direct your paths"…..until it finally clicked.  It is a commandment, not a suggestion to trust.  I finally realized what pleases God the most is a trusting heart.  I made a decision to trust the Lord.  I stood up at an assembly and declare my commitment to trust in the Lord.  I read the same verse by adding "I".  "I will trust in the Lord with all my heart, and I will lean not in my own understanding; in all my ways I will acknowledge Him, and He will direct my paths."

 

We moved to my wife hometown, in Newfoundland over 1000 miles away from our children and grandchildren.  My wife health got worse.  Her employer filed bankruptcy protection…we hit bottom.  I kept the decision to trust Him no matter what….  We showed to God our trust toward Him by contributing to our local churches.  I continually praised Jesus in my mind whenever doubt and fear enter my mind.  Our live suddenly made a 180-degree change.  Our debts were consolidated.  My wife received medical leave of absent.  The blessing we received was unexplainable.  God is great.  God is wonderful.  God is merciful, and I mean it. 

Lately, with all this proof of His blessing in our lives, I failed again to trust the Lord, and allowed insecurity and doubt to enter my mind and the consequence was that I upset the one I love, my wife.  I asked God forgiveness and He was quick to forgive.  My wife also forgave me.  She showed good example of what forgiveness is all about.  I am now more committed to trust the Lord.  Now I say, "I trust the Lord with all my heart and I lean not in my own understanding; in all my ways I acknowledge Him, and He direct my path.  Jesus is not reigning to get even with us when we fail to trust Him.  He reigns to teach. 

I learned the importance to praise the Lord: Romans 15:11, "and again, Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!"  I learned that trust and praise go hand in hand, Ephesians 1:12, "that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory".

It is all about making the decision to trust.  STOP SINNING AND TRUST.  Romans 6

3.     Love

Love.  Paul couldn't emphasised more on this subject,  "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love", 1 Corinthians 13:13.  Read all John's three letters.  It is sum up in this; 1 John 5:3: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome", and in 1 John 4:21: "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also". 

It does not say 'should try, tolerate or worship apart', Gal 5:14, 1 Tim1:5.  Mercy and grace we want, but how quick are we to do to others as Jesus did to us?  We may want to take the time to read the parable of the unforgiving servant Matt 18:23-35.  We are to show love in the form of mercy and grace not only toward a few and when ask for, but as an act of compassion without his/her asking, Luke 23:34.  To dispute over preferences, that appears to be common sense for some is not sinful, but is a good opportunity to show mercy and grace.  For someone to prefer different flavours than ours, which is important to us, is also a good opportunity to show mercy and grace. 

The New Covenant is based on love.  God's love toward us and love between each other; 1 John 2:7-11, Matthew 22:34-40.  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another," John 13:34.  "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another," John 13:35.  "ALL" meaning the whole of society will know that we are God's disciples, if we love one another.  Do we understand now, why division hinders God's Works?  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against himself will not stand".  Take a good look inside of many churches.  There are many empty pews and some who attend are too busy to live with all these added flavours and avoid living with love.  The churches are brought to desolation.  In my opinion, this is the one major cause for the prophetic event called the "falling away", 2 Thess 2:3.  Jesus concluded with this strong assertion, "He who is not with me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" Matt 12: 30.  Let me put it this way; he who is not with Jesus by practicing love in the form of mercy and grace within the church communities is against Jesus, he who does not practice love, does not gather with Jesus but scatters abroad, breaks up the church or keeps people away.  Let us start practicing loving people in the church.  We may find it easier to love those within the world. 

It is very sad.  The loyal aging attendees are the one that suffer the most.  They remember the time when the church was alive and the pews were full.  Sunday was an all day family gathering from church to home.  Family would share meals, sing songs, and share their life experience.  Now it is only memories.  The church is empty, they return to an empty home.  Sad…very sad.

Ray C.  Stedman commentary on the Parable of the Leaven titles "The Case of the Sneaky Housewife" wrote:

"That is what is often lacking in the church today.  We have taken away the koinonia, the commonness of the body of Christ.  We have lost that to a great extent in the church in general.  But we have held onto the kerygma, the preaching, the proclamation.  We expect to convince everybody by an intellectual presentation of truth.  But the reason why the evangelical church of our day is rejected and set aside in so many quarters is that people who come to it are disappointed because they hear great Words but they don't see great lives; they don't see warmth, they don't see love and acceptance, they don't see understanding and forgiveness.  What they too often run into is strife and bickering and fighting and quarreling and unforgiveness, jealousy and bitterness, grudges and splits and feuds and divisions, hostility and anger, worry and anxiety.  They listen to the preaching of these great Words that the church has to say and then they look at our lives to see how it works.  And what they see convinces them that the Words are not true.  What they see is exactly what they find in their own lives and homes."  

So they say to us, "What are you Christians talking about?  What's the difference?  What do you Christians have that we don't have---without the inconvenience of having to go through all the rites you go through.  What is so great about this message?  Why doesn't it do something for you?  Why should we believe it and go to all the trouble of becoming a Christian when we can live the same way ourselves?  We don't need the church or the Bible to teach us how to fight.  We don't need the gospel to help us to be angry and resentful and bitter and divided against each other.  We can do all that without it." And so there is an immediate loss of attention to the message that we are proclaiming because there is no evidence of the witness of communion.  What is missing is the oneness, the precious fellowship together of the people of God living the life of God.

Hypocrisy is what we display in the society.  The society is right to accuse Christians of being hypocrites.  What is so ironic is that many Christians do not want to face this truth…they prefer to be in denial and view themselves as victims of Christians persecution.  We are rightly being judge by the society and we do not listen.

Ray C.  Stedman continued with this strong accusation toward today's churches: 

"What is the result of all this leaven that has come in?  Well, we can see it abounding on every side, can't we?  People come to church.  They listen, they sing a hymn, they stand at the right time, they bow their heads at the right angle, they close the book together, they sit down.  They go through the motions, but there is no exchange of life.  There is no oneness, no sense of openness, no acceptance, no forgiveness.  And homes, which are supposedly Christian, are often filled with strife and bickering and fighting, even physical attack.  These things are the result of the leaven which has permeated and pervaded the body of Christ."

Ray Stedman then explain the cause and the solution:

"If the leaders of the church through the centuries had faithfully stuck with the Scripture…' the cone and the ice cream'… and had taught it as it is, these unhappy developments would have been prevented.  But everywhere I go as a pastor today, speaking to groups of other pastors, I find out that this is the great weakness -- pastors are not teaching the Bible.  They are not instructing their people from the Word of God and teaching what it actually says about how they are to live together.  They aren't saying a Word about that.  They are discussing remote doctrinal questions and giving their opinions on the social and political issues of the day…the flavours… instead of instructing in what the Bible is really aimed at -- the very personal lives of individuals and their relationships one with another.  If the leadership of the church were carefully going over the Scriptures together with people, unfolding the Word of God, the whole effect of leaven would be greatly minimized within the body of Christ."

How sad to see what all these undesired flavours do.  It has destroyed the purpose of the Body of Christ. 

Lambert Dolphin commentary title "The Church at the End of the Age" point out:

"The church described as the body of Christ, with Christ the head of the Body (Ephesians 4, 1 Cor 12-14) is a reminder that the true church is a living organism, not an organization.  We need one another and depend on one another as the various organs and systems of the human body are interdependent.  Each member of the church reports directly to the Head, there is no hierarchical leadership in the church.  All members have spiritual gifts and all are called to the ministry.  "If one member suffers, all suffer, if one rejoices all rejoice."

Lambert Dolphin again in his commentary title, "Keeping Ready for the Return of the Lord" explained;

"One of the haunting problems in the church today is its identity crisis.  In many places, it seems to have lost the sense of what it was intended to be.  Instead of a body, with each one "members one of another" and ministering to one another in love and concern, it has become an organization operating various programs.  Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).  But today's Christians often touch each others' lives on only the most superficial basis, and do not want to hear another's problems because they "don't want to get involved."      

Further, in his commentary Lambert Dolphin clarify the intent of the church:

"Being ready means loving, trusting, and waiting for Jesus Christ, of course.  The faithful servant is faithful because he is expecting his Lord's return.  But it also has to do with faithful service, that is, continuing to carry out what Jesus has left us in this world to do.  We find the same idea in two of the three parables in chapter 25.  In one parable faithfulness is demonstrated by the wise use of the talents Christ has given (Matt.  25:14-30).  In the other it is seen in selfless service to those who are hungry or thirsty or have other pressing needs (Matt.  25:31-46)."

To live in the spirit of the church of Philadelphia we are to keep His Word, and not deny His name.  It is accomplished by believing, trusting, and loving.  The pure taste of ice cream should take precedent over all other flavours.  That is the simplicity of the church.  That is 'in a nutshell' the signification of the talents in the Parable of the talents in Matt 25:14; the talents are His love.  "For to everyone who has…love… more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have…love… even what he has will be taken away." 

Love in it true form of grace and mercy is what we have received to invest.  The

Parable of the Creditor and The Two Debtors in Luke 7:41-43 explain in plain Words what the servant in the Parable of the Talent received.  Let read Luke 7:41-43

"There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"

Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." …mercy and grace…

And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."

The one that owned the most is the one that sins the most.  It is the one that suffer the most of the consequences of his/her sins…family broke up, lost of a job due to a dysfunctional behaviour causes by sins, ravage by health problems due to promiscuous sex, and left alone.  He/she is the one most grateful for receiving forgiveness and acceptance in God's family compare to those who have little consequences of their sins.  These are the one that are rejected and set apart by some traditional denominations…they do not fit their mould.

Now let us put 'grace and mercy' in perspective in the Parable of the Talents Matt 25:14-16

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents…(five hundred denarii) the one that received most forgiveness "mercy and grace"… to another two…(fifty denarii)  "mercy and grace"… and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

Now according to these two parables, which servants will have a greater return on the goods…forgiveness 'mercy and grace'…they received?  Which one would actively forgive, showing mercy and grace to others?  The answer is, "the one that love him more for receiving abundance of His mercy and grace", the one that appreciated more the gift of forgiveness.  That is according to his/her own ability to do the same.  Ability to do what?  It is in the ability to love as Jesus loved us…the ability to love Jesus by obeying His commandment to love, to do the same…got it?

This is how we obtain a return on our goods that we have received; Corinthians 4:7-15

In v15, we see the return of our investment, "For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God".  How do we spread grace?  The message from the parable of the Good Samaritan is all about what we are to do with the talents  (love…grace and mercy).  "Then Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise" Luke 10:37.  Love is what we received in goods.  For what purpose, "that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body" 2 Cor 4:10. 

Some have defined the talents as God's Words with good reason….  however within the context of the New Covenant, love (koinonia) is more likely to be the right description of the symbol of the talents. 

In Micah 6:6-8 illustrate precisely, what Our Lord required from us, that is to love mercy over flavours:

"With what shall I come before the LORD,

And bow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

With calves a year old?…Sunday after service barbecue…

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

Ten thousand rivers of oil?…fund raising….

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,…donations…

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?…service to the community…

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justly, To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God

The Philadelphia church and the Thessalonians church had this in common.  They did not need to be taught.  To the Thessalonians church Paul wrote:

"But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia.  But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; 1 Thess 4: 9-10.  To the Philadelphia church Jesus stated:  "I know your works.  See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My Word, and have not denied My name, Revelation 3:8.  Paul understood the important of living in love between each other, "But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more". 

We are to spread mercy and grace to all.  That is what sets Christians apart from this world.

Love in the form of mercy and grace is what we lose if not invested, separated from God forever.  "And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Matt 25:30.  The unfaithful servant was a hypocrite, and a pretentious christian.  He/she was a tare.  He/she did not accepted Jesus love in the form of grace and mercy, he/she buried it, therefore never had the desire nor the intention to do the same to others.  They look and act like a gentile under the guise of Christianity but they are not saved.  They fail to apply love…mercy and grace.  So again, what are we to do with the tares in the church communities"?  Nothing.  It is not our business.  It is not for us to go on a witch-hunt to disclose them.  It is Jesus business.  Him only knows the heart.  Our business is to love in the form of grace and mercy.  We never know, we might even influence a tare to accept Jesus' love.

Paul cautions the Corinthians to be aware to what is added on the cone and to the ice cream, 1 Corinthians 3:10b-15;

"But let each one take heed how he builds on it.  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw…all different kind of flavours… each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.  If anyone's work, which he has built on, it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." 

It is interesting to see that the result after being tested over what was built on Jesus is to receive a reward.  Salvation is not the reward.  We already acquired salvation through believing.  The reward is for those who had increased the talents even to a minimum.  To the ones who did not buried it. 

The fire that will test our love for Jesus and others is in our every day life challenges.  How do we react toward diversities?  Do we still trust God?  How do we react toward someone who deliberately makes our life miserable?  Do we still act in love…mercy and grace?  Do we forgive especially those in the family of God, our brothers and sisters in all denominations?  So, let us be conscience of what we put on the ice cream cone.  Our flavours hinder God's works and hinder our understanding of His Word.  We live by His Word by being pure salt and true lamp. 

Philippians 1:27 "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel."  It is our conduct, by trusting Jesus and loving each other that make an impact in the society.  Here is a revelation for some; it is not a wide range of church's activities that draw people to Jesus.  It is not by preaching moral values or the 10 commandments or of all the do's and don'ts that draw people to God e.g.  on how to keep the Sabbath, not to play cards, not to drink wine, not to wear make-up, these are personal flavours….  God's kindness, grace, and mercy are what draw people to Him.

Acts 2:46; "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of hear."  With one accord by loving each other.

2 Corinthians 1:12; "For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you".  Conducting ourselves in the society in love, in grace, and in mercy.

In conclusion:

As I mention in my introduction, there are many silent Christians, who are not part of any assemblies, and who do not know where to go to share their faith and love for Jesus.  "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd," John 10:16.  I believe that there are silent Christians left alone without a shepherd to teach them and to direct them in there new life with Jesus.  I am convinced that there are many who silently accept Jesus in their heart and yet just do not know to which church to turn.  I believe that there are many Christians that are tired to be part of a denomination that put to much emphasis on the flavours and they are crying out to be part of a real family surrounded with love. 

This is a message to the true Christians, who live in the spirit of the Philadelphia church, who have kept His Word and had not deny His name.  Let your lamp so shine in these last hours before are Lord return so that whoever believe in the Lord may find their way to true fellowship with the body of Christ "The Church". 

To all new believers who are looking for a Christian church that is as true as to the original apostolic church; look for the one that have the less flavours on it menu.  The body of Jesus consist of people who have chosen to have a personal every day relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  They live by trusting in the Lord.  They grow in and practice righteousness, 1 John 2:29.  They practice love,1 John 3:11.

They are ordinary simple people who are exemplary walking in the spirit of the Philadelphia church: Jesus' Church.  Pray that God the Father would bring into your life such people.  I did.  One of them deceases lately at 83 years of age.  She was not loud to attract attention but quiet.  She probably did not think that someone would notice.  Ecclesiastes 9:17.  She believed, she trusted, and she loved.

Pray with me for the unity of the Body of Christ, all the communities, and individuals whom live according to the spirit of the Philadelphia church.  Let us be united; let us practice mercy, grace and kindness toward each other even toward the tares…they are the one that need it the most for no one taught them.  Let us "LOVE ONE ANOTHER". 

Last Words

I know who I am because Jesus tells me so.  I am first and foremost a son of God, Gal 3:26; my citizenship is in heaven, Phil 3:20; I am neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female; for we are all one in Christ Jesus, Gal 3:28, neither circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all, Col 3:11; I am not of Paul, or I am not of Apollos, or I am not of Cephas, I am not of Christ, 1 Cor1:12-13; I will reign with Jesus, 2 Tim 2:12; I am a holy brethren, and partakers of the heavenly calling, Heb 3:1; I am free, John 8:32, Rom 6:22; hence, I know who I am and I know where I belong …in the body of Christ.  I do not belong on a menu of an ice cream parlour.  Thank you Father, thank you Jesus, thank you Holy Spirit.

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good Word and work", …(not flavours)…2 Thess 2:16-17.

What Church Service Should Be

What the Church should be?  One day, the Church will be force to go back to it original format, in home and in hiding.  Please read this commentary title "Let's Get Together" by Ron Graham.

References and reading suggestion:

·       "Letters to the Twentieth Century Church", Series: When All Else Fails...Read the Directions, Author: Robert W.  Smith from Ray Stedman's Library at  http://www.raystedman.org

·       The Case of the Sneaky Housewife, Series: Behind History, Author: Ray C.  Stedman at http://www.raystedman.org

·        "Keeping Ready for the Return of the Lord" by Lambert Dolphin at Dolphin from Lambert Dolphin's Library http://ldolphin.org

·       "Description Of The Spiritual Gifts" by Lambert Dolphin from Lambert Dolphin's Library at http://ldolphin.org/

·       "The Church At The End Of The Age" by Lambert Dolphin from Lambert Dolphin's Library at http://ldolphin.org/

·       Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done....  A book on prophecy by Ron Graff & Lambert Dolphin at http://ldolphin.org/   (It a must be read)

·       "Kingdom Parables Study" is available by Jack Kelly on MP3 format at gracethrufaith.com

·       "OSAS, The Whole Story" Once Saved Always Saved.  Commentary by Jack Kelly at gracethrufaith.com

·       "A study of the Letter to the Hebrews" is available by Jack Kelly on MP3 format at gracethrufaith.com

·       "The Church of Philadelphia "The Faithful Church": Are we as faithful as we are to be?" by Andre Delage at http://www.simplicityinthegospel.com

·       Economic Crisis: As Christians, what are we to do?  Answer: "REST" by Andre Delage at http://www.simplicityinthegospel.com

·       List of Christian denominations at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations

·       Ron Graham at raptureready.com Commentary title "Tradition"

·       "Job's Sin" unknown author from http://www.apostasynow.com

·       "Evolution or creation, Which?" By A.T. Jones at http://temcat.com/09-Ad-found/Lewis/Creation%20or%20Evolution.pdf

Permissions: It is FREE to be use in any shape or form for the purpose to reach all Christians for the unification of the Body of Christ.  All right reserve to Jesus our Lord and King.

Contact: Andre Delage, at simplicityinthegospel@gmail.com
Web: simplicityinthegospel.com