1 Corinthians 13 -YLT The love doth never fail; and whether there be prophecies, they shall become useless; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether knowledge, it shall become useless; 9 for in part we know, and in part we prophecy; 10 and when that which is perfect may come, then that which is in part shall become useless. 11 When I was a babe, as a babe I was speaking, as a babe I was thinking, as a babe I was reasoning, and when I have become a man, I have made useless the things of the babe; 12 for we see now through a mirror obscurely, and then face to face; now I know in part, and then I shall fully know, as also I was known; 13 and now there doth remain faith, hope, love -- these three; and the greatest of these is love.
We know that we are supposed to be watching and ready for the Lord's return each and every day. That's the only 100% sure way to be watching and ready on the day he returns. For every speculation out there for when our Lord's returns, there's someone else who does'nt believe it. This attitude we have taken of readiness always is THE way the bible tells us to be ready for his return. With that said, what if the Lord does'nt show up until Dec 21,2012? The date that you pick in the future does'nt matter, what I'm getting at is the patience necessary to wait for years for the Lord's return if necessary.
The people in this world have a terrible time sticking with ANYTHING these days that's longer than the nightly showing of "dancing with the stars" or whatever other garbage is on TV these days. The divorce rate is very insightful because our relationship with the Lord is a parallel to earthly marriage. How many stick with it till death do they part? This isnt a bash on divorced people but making a point about people's lack of ability to stick with anything. What if the Lord delays? Then what? He could show up any day, today or 2 years from today, meantime what are we doing with what we have been given (parable of the talents Matt 25). What are some of the talents from Matt 25 you ask? I'm sure there are many opinions but here's mine: Go back to the initial scripture posted at the top:
12 for we see now through a mirror obscurely, and then face to face; now I know in part, and then I shall fully know, as also I was known; 13 and now there doth remain faith, hope, love -- these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Todays babylonian preachers like to twist the parable of the talents into another tool to fleece your pocketbook but do you really think our Lord needs your money? What is our God looking for out of you? FAITH, HOPE, LOVE. It is through faith that I give my money directly to the poor and needy with no hired hand middlemen to fleece it along the way. Every penny goes into the mouth of the hungry. I do this out of love for the poor. I do this in faith that our Lord's heart is with the hurting and needy in this world. This isn't about me though, its about using what we've been given, faith, hope, love. The various ways these "talents" can be expressed is limitless.
Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Luke 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
How exactly do we "watch?" Stare at the sky all day? No, we watch through faith. Faith apprehends things that are not seen. Faith expects things that other men scoff at to appear. Faith activates the power of the word of God. Faith gets someone like Noah to build the ark when the entire world was ridiculing, laughing, mocking etc. Hope tells us theres a point to what we are believing for. Love solidifies both faith and hope in the knowledge that the word we trust in, which is Jesus himself (the word) will deliver on every promise made, every time.
1 Thessalonians 1:3 In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active, your love is hard at work, and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah is enduring.
When the Lord shows up whether that be today or Dec 2012 or anytime before or after, he expects to find REAL faith, hope, and love. The sinfulness and wickedness of this world hardens people's hearts. People can believe today then fall away tomorrow. Once saved always saved is a satanic lie from the pit of hell, your faith must ABIDE the test of TIME, through the waiting, through the economic crisis, through the pig flu, through it ALL. The Lord gave me this perfect illustration to destroy the lie that making a "decision" one day does NOT mean you are "saved forever."
Here it is: What does it really mean to "make a decision." Do you know what the latin root in that word "de-cision" means? It means to CUT OFF permanently from any other option or opportunity. How do we KNOW that someone has made a real decision for Jesus? The test of time. We are all familiar with the new years syndrome where people all over the world "make a decision" that this year they will lose weight, go to the gym etc etc. How exactly do we KNOW if their "decision" was real or not? At the end of the year they are LIVING, acting out the "decision" made and weight is lost. How do we know that a decision was'nt really made? They weight 10 pounds more this year. It's no different in any other area where people make decisions. So called christianity would have you believe that today you can "make a decision" for Jesus then fall away later, and still be saved. That's like saying I made a decision today to lose weight, then tomorrow and every day after the doughnuts and cheescake look better than my decision, I don't work out and I still expect to lose weight. Does that wash AT ALL? That's utterly retarded, its ridiculous, its illogical and its a LIE. People know it does'nt work with diets, workouts, learning a new language or anything else worthwhile in this world but somehow magically when it comes to the Lord and the kingdom of heaven we have this magical ability to "make a decision" one day thats not really a de-cision/cutting off of every other possibility and still expect to get into heaven.
A REAL de-cision means a true cutting off, NO GOING BACK, bridge burned behind us, the rest of our life lived for Jesus PERIOD. Anything else was not a decision. Do we fall on our face as we go forward? Sure. Make lots of mistakes? Yep. Are we perfect? No. But we are expected to get up after every fall, to learn from every mistake and to become PERFECT as he is perfect.
Matthew 5:48
... So be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Our Lord expects RESULTS. Go read the parable of the talents again if you don't believe me. He wants to see SOME PROGRESS with what you have been given. The one who buried his "talent" in the ground was called wicked and lazy then thrown outside with the hypocrites. Where can you use your faith, hope and love "talents?" Question is.....where can you not? Engage....go all in, use what you have been given as a conscious act of your will exercise those gifts. It's what our master expects. We must have something, ANYTHING to show for progress. Do not bury your talents. We are dearly loved children. grace and peace
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