What is the Spirit Saying Today?

As I read the Word of God today I asked the Lord, "Lord, what are you saying to us/me today?" I read in various places until again I came upon Matt 25...that's when the flame inside me went from low burn to full flame. I believe the Spirit of God has testified with my spirit in agreement that the content of Matt 25 has some real treasure for us today.

Before we get to a reminder of what's in Matt 25, another lingering voice within me keeps pointing at "patient endurance:"

Rev 1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

2 Peter 1:5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Rev 3:10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

One of the key foundational aspects of us as servants of our God is our
patience. We must endure, we must be patient, we must persevere....

And this patient perseverance works hand in hand with the glow I see all over Matt 25. If you recall, Matt 25 gives us the parable of the virgins and the parable of the talents before giving us a picture of the Lord judging all mankind. Matt 25 is a grand panorama taking us from where we stand today, all the way through to the very end of "life as we know it" on this earth.

If we look at the parable of the virgins, what do we see? Again we see patient perseverance and preparation. Preparation? Yes, the evidence of "prepared" virgins is in the oil filled jars. The wise virgins prepared themselves to wait for however long it took for the Lord to show up. They were ready to wait :-)

The parable of the virgins also has direct tie in with the "open door" we see in Rev 3 and 4. Someday in this worlds future, a door WILL open in heaven and wise virgins WILL go through it. We know from Rev 3 that this "open door" also has a direct connection with being kept from ALL of what's about to happen, exactly as we are promised in Luke 21:36.

In addition to our patience, readiness, perseverance in waiting for our Lord, we are given the gem that is known as the parable of the talents. The parable of the virgins tells us to be ready to wait, the parable of the talents tells us we are not sitting around staring at tents and sand while we do our waiting. We are to DO something, anything, with the "talents" that our Lord has given us. Remember, even the servant who came back with a little return on what he was given was told "well done" by the Lord:

Matt 25:22“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

It was the servant who has nothing to show for what he had been given that reaped the wrath of our master. We are all to be growing spiritual fruit in some way. We are all different parts of the body and what our "doing" is for each of us is radically and wonderfully different.

In my case, the Lord has given me faith to believe him for very big things. We worship a big God, very big, and he delights in people (like the centurion or the woman with the issue of blood) who believe him to the fullest extent of what he said to us. For example, if Jesus raised the dead, AND Jesus told us that we shall do greater things than he did, who among us BELIEVES him and takes him at his word?

I am sure that our God is looking for people today who will take him at his word and expect to see our God move according to his word. If the Lord said it, he meant it, and we fail to believe it at a great cost to ourselves and the world around us.

Keep the faith, done for today. Grace and peace

Patience..Perseverance

James 1:2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does

Hebrews 6:12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

The Lord is very clear with us that it requires patience and perseverance to do what he requires us to do. This is at the very heart of the problem with OSAS "once saved always saved." As with anything else worthwhile in life, our faith will be tested over time..Time tests every worthwhile intention you have on this earth it doesn't matter what that is. We must run in a way that we do not grow weary. Our faith must stand the test of time. Standing the test of time is a really really tall order for a world and people who love instant gratification in all things.

It is not easy to stick with things for long periods of time unless you are truly committed. You have to really want what it is you have set your sights on or time will expose your lack of desire and will to get whatever it was you thought you wanted. In the end we will know who really wanted Jesus and the Father because time will have tested those people. They will have finished what they started and will receive the appropriate reward for their patient faithful endurance.

It is clear to me that this calling is more like a marathon than a sprint. In our own power there is no possible way we could make it through the narrow gate that leads to life. The narrow gate is Jesus and he warns us as an act of love. I know that as a father to my children I do not enjoy warning and chastising my children but I do it in love so they can spend more time enjoying the benefits of obedience in our house instead of time in punishment. Warnings are an act of love. The goal of what we are doing is to make it through the narrow gate that leads to life. We are give the promises of rich rewards and dire punishments to steer us directly into the narrow gate that only a few find (matt 7:13-28).

Today I want to encourage you to renew your committment to patient endurance and perseverance. Only the Lord knows how many days are left before he comes to get us so we need to be able to wait however long it takes for him to get here. The Lord made so many promises to us and they are all rock solid truth that we can stand on for everything we want or need in this life. The only way we take delivery on the promises though is through faith and patience. Our faith will be tested for everything we ask our Lord for in this life. The highest and most valuable thing we should be believing delivery on is the salvation of our souls. We can have complete assurance that we are saved but NOT through a a 5 second teary eyed "decision" made sometime in your past. That guarantees you nothing. The bible is very clear that the Holy Spirit testifies with our Spirit that we are the children of God. There is no need to invent false doctrines in order to be assured of our salvation. Here are two places we are assured of our salvation:

Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God

Notice there's nothing in the assurance above about a one time decision..."being led by the Spirit" is an ongoing endeavor not a one time event. We must be patient in faith, being led by the Spirit of God, seeking his counsel and wisdom in all things and in due time we will inherit the promises. Lay hold of the Lord's promises today and start praying them back to him in faith. This brings glory to him and life to you. We live in some tough days but we are not without hope..we have promises of both temporal help as well as eternal salvation. If we will committ ourselves to walking in daily communion with our Lord and doing what he says to do, then we can expect to be provided for in ways that the world cannot imagine. Consider promises like this:

Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

and

Psalms 37:25I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

Notice the word used in both instances NEVER....a spring whose waters NEVER fail and I have NEVER seen the righteous forsaken. Never means not even once. Only an all powerful all knowing God could deliver on promises like that. He is able to deliver on promises that he will NEVER forsake you, not even one time. There are great rewards in this life and the next for those who will patiently and faithfully lay hold of our God's promises and do things that please him.

done for today, going camping this weekend so no post tomorrow or sunday. Love, grace, and peace to all of you who are "in Christ."