Wednesday, January 21, 2009

About the Church

No Pastors Mentioned:

2 Tim 2: 2 And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

So, what happened there ^^^? Paul taught some people, then said, go find some faithful men who can teach others and teach what I taught you to them. Don't you find it interesting that Paul DID NOT say go find some "pastors" and let them spread the teaching? Paul could have done that but he did'nt. Look around at churchianity today, every single church..ALL OF THEM are full of "pastors" yet Paul does'nt mention them..WHY NOT? There were only two qualifications necessary to carry the message Paul taught..1. FAITHFUL 2. Able to teach
No "seminary" degree necessary, no made made title (pastor) necessary. No man made organization (churchianity) necessary. The body of Christ is a REAL BODY, an organic living entity, NOT a manmade organization. The system of churchianity with its idolatrous, nicolaitan (conquer the laity) system is the problem. Judgement STARTS WITH THE HOUSE OF GOD...remember that..

1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Where is our Salvation?

2 Tim 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

IN CHRIST...there it is again. Our salvation is "in Christ."

Another Beat down of OSAS-once saved always saved:
2 Tim 2:11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Have you "died" with Christ? What happens if you "make a decision" for Jesus, then deny him? HE WILL DENY YOU. This passage does'nt say (unless you "made a decision") it says IF...THEN..period. The OSAS teachers have to put words into the Lord's mouth to explain away the simple teaching that if you deny Jesus, he will deny you.

The teachers of babylonian churchianity would have you believe that "you can't deny him" once you've "made a decision" for Christ. Is that what 2 Tim 2 says? NO, its not, so why do they teach it?

The Lord says if you deny him, he will deny you. Where can we see Jesus delivering on this promise?

Right here:

Matt 7: 21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Also here:

Matt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Apparently, there are more ways to deny Christ than to walk around saying "I deny him." If you are living in wickedness and sin, if you love the world, if you are greedy for gain, if your relgion has more to do with socializing and feeling good about yourself for fitting into the mold men designed for you than love of the truth, do you think you'll be welcomed into heaven with open arms?

Prophesying, casting out devils and doing many wonderful works apparently ISN'T enough to get a person into heaven. True believers will do those things, but apparently those who make it into the "narrow gate" have something else going for them.

It isn't a giant puzzle to figure out what it takes to be in the Lord's good graces today. Ask yourself what pleases the Lord.....we know what those things are, DO THEM. Be faithful, be obedient, love the truth, ask the Lord to remove everything in you that displeases him. Ask him to give you his mind and his heart that you may be like him in everyway and you have to REALLY want it, do you? How much do we love him? Our committment will be tested, that's a fact. Look up the word "test" in an online bible search engine and feast your eyes on all the testing men will face. ALL OF US are tested. Time will test us, time will show what really matters to us. You can fake almost anything for awhile, but what's really down deep inside of you cannot be faked. That "dig down deep" WANT will be exposed... sooner or later.

Time is short, if we don't discuss these things now, when will we? We might not get tomorrow....There are no signs for the escape/rapture, but there ARE signs for the tribulation. When we see the tribulation world hurtling towards us what does that tell us about the escape? IT MUST BE SOON. The Lord takes pleasure in us excercising our faith. Thought the rapture could occur years before the tribulation, its becoming apparent that the Lord will press us up right against the minutes and seconds the preceed the tribulation to TEST our faith. Do we really believe what was written in luke 21:36, or will we resign ourselves to slugging it out through the tribulation? Do you believe there will be an escape? Do you believe the Lord has made provisions for the believing small flock that exists immediately prior to the tribulation? The Lord provided for Noah, Lot, we see that he provides for Israel during the tribulation, and I can tell you from firsthand experience that this God I serve knows how to take care of those who belong to him. I have seen miracle provision in my own life over and over and over and over again, and he has saved his best provision for last.....It's going to take faith to receive the promises though.

If you toss in your faith just when you needed it most, what a tragedy that would be. As my brother Jeff says "walking outside the boat with Jesus"...there's no other place I'd rather be, but recognize it will take second by second, minute by minute FAITH to stay above the water and not sink down below it. Hope is the substance and evidence of things not seen, it is the bridge that enables you to hold today in your spirit what will be delivered to you physically tomorrow. Set your hope fully on the escape that is coming, when it shows up in this world, it will be like saying hello to a friend you've known for many years but have seen face to face for the first time.

There are many many diversions in this world competing for your attention. Make sure you keep your eyes on the prize. If you don't believe there is a prize, then you likely will never lay hold of one. As you believe, so shall it be done unto you. If you believe you will go through the tribulation, if that's where your faith is, what do you think your reality will be?

Matthew 8:13 And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be
... Jesus told the officer, "Go! What you believed will be done for you." And at that moment the servant was healed.

It's important to know for yourself why you believe what you beleive. The devil comes to steal kill and destroy, whatever is not nailed down he will take from you. You need to NAIL DOWN what you believe, in order to do that you need to deeply answer WHY you believe. WHY is a very important question.

Jesus loved me first, that's part of my why. His extended grace is part of my why. His indwelling Holy Spirit provides the faith to get us the grace + faith necessary for salvation.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and
... For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and thisnot of yourselves; it is God's gift:

Your relationship or lack thereof with Jesus Christ will be exposed for what it is. We do not want to hear "away from me you evildoer, I never knew you."(matt 7:21+)

We must be ready and patient today. That is the lesson of the wise virgins in Matt 25. They were ready for whenever the bridegroom showed up. They were prepared for patience, they brought oil in jars to wait out the bridegroom for however long it took him to show up. The foolish virgins were not prepared to wait, and that lack was exposed when the bridegroom showed up at just the wrong time for them....

The tribulation timeline is nailed down to the day. The Lord gave men the ability to predict to the day when he will show up and when key events will happen during the tribulation. The escape however, is an unknown day and hour that will occur when we are not expecting it. Are you expecting the escape today? If not, if it came today, it would be at a time you did'nt expect it right? Any day now could be that day. We are close. Keep the faith, you are in my prayers if you are "in Christ." I also pray for all those who will know him in the future. Please pray for our family which is "in Christ" that we may be counted fully deserving of the escape that is coming.

grace and peace