The Wilderness

Thinking this morning about Abraham. God promised Abraham that all the Nations in the Earth would be blessed through him. God promised Abraham and his wife Sarah, a son. That son was a miracle as Sarah was 90 years old before he was born! God was fulfilling His Word to Eve, that although the Serpent that deceived her would bruise HIS heel, HE would CRUSH his head. That Seed, the HE God was referring to, was Christ who came through Abraham's seed. I was thinking of the many years that passed from the time Abraham bore the son of Promise, Isaac, and Isaac bore Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel), and Jacob bore his own 12 sons. Those sons had borne children, and their children bore children until they numbered in the millions.They grew to a Nation under the wing of Pharaoh, in the land of Egypt. One time favored, they eventually became slaves in the land where they languished for 400 years. These were the twelve tribes of Israel, God's People. God, in all of His great mercy provided a savior to lead His People out of Egypt into the Land He had promised to Abraham. That great leader, Moses, obeyed God. He was called the Friend of God, and the meekest man on Earth. Now, what I wanted to get to is that those whom GOD called His own, wandered in the Wilderness for 40 years. They complained that they wanted meat, they were afraid of running out of water, they had questions about Moses' authority, and leadership, and they thought that they would die in the desert. All of those things seem reasonable, naturally speaking. But, God recorded everything that happened to His People as lessons, pictures, for us. What do we want? What do we worry about? What do we use our strength for? What are we bound and determined to have? Not everyone that is aligned with God, known as 'His People', are right with God! I saw the great masses of people in the world, as an ocean wave, rushing...mingling with the clear waters. On the extreme sides, it was obvious as to who was who. The dark, muddy waters vs. the pure, clear water. It was where they met that was murky and unclear. These are pictures of what calls itself the 'church'. Jesus said it would be mixed, like a loaf of leavened bread (leaven always being presented in Scripture as evil doctrine), and like a grain of mustard seed, which would grow up into a massive tree and the birds of the air would nest in it's branches, (again, birds of the air are images God uses to depict unclean spirits). Strange things to find in the 'church'. Going back to the Children of Israel, wandering in the desert. God was preparing a body for Himself through Judah. The genealogy of Christ is found in Matthew's gospel, and in Luke's gospel. It splits in David's sons, Solomon, and Nathan. One line goes to Mary and the other to Joseph, (Mary's husband). The point being that the actual line going through Abraham is a very narrow one...father to son. So, although the entire Nation came underneath the umbrella of being 'God's People', very few had hearts that were after Him. Most, were just like the mixed waters, and the leavened bread, part of the huge tree that God has planted in the Earth. This is a very important point, because this mixed people is what God addresses over and over, warning them just like He did those in the Wilderness. God knows those that belong to Him, but not everyone that says they belong to God, is His child. Not everyone that sayeth unto Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into life. The entire generation, save for a very few, fell in the Wilderness, "Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT WHOLLY FOLLOWED ME, except Caleb…and Joshua…for they have wholly followed the LORD". (Numbers 32:11-12). Romans 11:7-8 "...What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written: “GOD GAVE THEM a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.” and verses 20-22, "But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. DO NOT BE ARROGANT, BUT TREMBLE. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off". It is difficult to express (especially in a few words) exactly what this means for you and me. But, very simply...God's wants ALL of us, ALL of our lives, just like He gave His all FOR us. We cannot come OUR OWN WAY. We cannot pick and choose what we believe of His Word and what we will do, or not do, and make it how we want it. Unfortunately, those to whom I am referring will not read anything like this. They will not allow themselves to be troubled, they will continue to do what they want to do. But, I am bound before God to tell you what I see, whether or not you choose to open your eyes. This is where the battle rages for the souls of men. Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God". IF WE INSIST ON WHAT WE WANT, GOD WILL GIVE IT TO US. THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING. HIS WAY, HIS DESIRE IS BETTER. LET IT GO...IT'S NOT WORTH ETERNITY.

The End Times from Matthew's Gospel

Thinking about the 10 virgins, I decided to look at the Scriptures again. In doing so, I had to go back into the previous chapter (Mat 24), to where Jesus started answering questions from his disciples about the 'end of the world'. I found out quite a lot and wish to share it with you, because we 'pick up' ideas along the Way. The Lord speaks in a progression, and there are layers of like things happening as the Time get shorter. He starts from a wide perspective talking about what will happen in the world, false Christs, wars, famines, epidemics, and earthquakes, then He tightens up the view to talk about a more personal experience, where Christians are 'delivered up' to be afflicted, killed and hated, and then He gets even more personal by talking about many becoming offended, betrayals, hate, false prophets (or teachers), and that the love of many will become cold. All these things have already happened. I have links to lists of people claiming to be Christ, lists of wars, famines, epidemics and earthquakes which are really eye-opening. Summarizing further...He talks about 'the beginning of sorrows', enduring to the end, the Gospel being preached to all Nations and then the End shall come. All this in verses 3-14. Daniel 12 also throws light on these words, referring to how it was in the days of Noah. Then in verses 16-20, we land in the middle of the Tribulation period, and shoot forward to the Lord's second coming and how that's going to look. All the tribes of the Earth will mourn...so they will see Him for sure! And it's summed up with a dramatic depiction of lightening, sun and moon darkening, stars falling, and the powers of heaven being shaken. He says in verses 32-34 that when we see 'all these things' know it is near, and that the generation (he repeats) seeing 'all these things' will not pass until 'all these things' be fulfilled. That's us. No man knows the day nor the hour of these things. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but His Words will not pass away!
Then there's a big BUT. Matthew 24:37, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be". The conversation changes and He begins to talk about something else that needs to be discussed. They didn't understand until it was too late, in the days of Noah. Then He talks about 2 in the field, one taken the other left...2 grinding at the mill, one taken the other left. and tells us to WATCH. On the one hand, He is described as coming in glory, and on the other hand, as a thief in the night. He says if you knew when the thief planned to come, you'd be ready.
I know this is long, but this is so important! He describes being ready. Mat 24:45-51. He will come suddenly for those who are READY. Continuing in Chapter 25, He tells the parable of the 10 virgins. Now, we've gone from looking at the world as a whole, to looking at those in the world that claim to be His own. They all went out (from the world/hence they were 'virgins') to meet the Bridegroom. The wise had OIL, and the foolish did not have OIL. Major point. The Holy Spirit is often compared with OIL. The Scriptures say, Romans 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his'. You must have OIL. If you need oil, you must ask God for it, asking others for it will not do. Mat 25: 8-9, " And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves". While they were trying to get oil, the Bridegroom came, and the Door was shut. The Lord expects us to be READY. The next verses are the Parable of the Talents. All were given talents (money as an investment, not talent like singing). Two were profitable, and one just hid the money. The Lord expects us to be PROFITABLE servants. The Lord ended His teaching by describing the Judgment Seat. He gathers all Nations. He separates His sheep, from the goats. He reveals their hearts, and He pronounces judgment. We will all stand before Him. We need to be real. We need to understand. Daniel 12:10, "Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand". Hosea 14:9, "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein".

The Group

This is hard to write. But, it's heavy on my heart. We live in a world that is full of groups. Each group is defined by their particular viewpoint, whether religious or secular. Look at it this way, thoughts become words, words become visions, visions become ideologies, and ideologies become entrenched. People are gathered along the way. Entrenched thought continues to add adherents through time, and people are born into the world where they are encouraged to pick their preferred group. Does that make sense so far? Rarely will anyone venture into some other avenue of thought, and they are chided if they attempt to do so. They are shut up. Now, the Lord calls us out of the world. He calls us to Himself. He admonishes us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. He says we will be persecuted as a result...that we will be considered 'peculiar'...that we will be shunned. Now, the hard part. Many of the groups are religious groups. 
The Lord was recorded as being angry several times. First, He was angry with the religious elite. They were supposed to know His Word, but HE IS the Word and they sure didn't recognize Him. They help up the ideals of their particular sects (groups) and attempted to shut Him up! Matthew 23:27, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness". 
The other one He was angry with was Peter. Bombastic Peter flew to the 'defense' of the Lord when he began to understand what was going to happen. The Lord was speaking about His impending death and Peter was trying to push such a thought away as fast as he could. The Lord rebuked him...Matthew 16:23, "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men". 
How many times are we like the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and Peter? Like the religious in Jesus' day, we do our best to be what those in our group say we should be. We 'try the spirits' against our beliefs, to be sure they measure up. And we stubbornly 'do not care' what others think of our religious behavior, because we are backed by our (very pious) group. We, perhaps have made the outward appearance 'beautiful', but what's really happening in our heart? 
Or, like Peter, we do not understand what is happening, but it is definitely not what we expected, and it sure doesn't sound 'right'. But, it was right. It was the very Plan of God for you and me. 
If we cannot depend on our group, and we cannot depend on our own understanding without incurring the ire of God, how can we know what is right before Him? If we can actually know the Word, be students of the Word, even preach the Word (like the Pharisees did, and the Sadducees did, and like Paul did too), and not be right at all, how can we know? It's very important...eternally important, that we figure this out. The religious elite never figured it out as a group. Peter finally shut up and paid attention to what the Lord was trying to say...he 'got it' later on the day of Pentecost, and Paul, (Pharisee of Pharisees) 'got it' when he met Jesus, left the group, didn't confer with any flesh and blood for three years...not even the other Apostles, but received it by the revelation of the Holy Spirit! Now, obviously, we need to forget the group speak, forget what we have learned from them, and ASK the LORD HIMSELF to have mercy upon us, to forgive us for our errors, to show us what those are, and to speak to us by His grace, to reveal HIS TRUTH, by the power of His Holy Spirit...give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying! Much of the time, what we have learned is very close to the truth. It is a form of what God does in reality. What makes it even more confusing is the depth of passion displayed, that people actually 'love' God, follow Him (to the best of their knowledge), but hear...Mat 7:21-23, "Not 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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity". They ARGUED with Him at the Judgment Seat!!!
Look at what they say...we PROPHESIED, we CAST OUT DEVILS, we did WONDERFUL WORKS! People! I cannot emphasize the importance of getting before God with this issue. Be willing to let Him scrutinized what you believe! You are in good Hands, if you will listen only to HIM. The rest will fall into place as you seek HIM. SEEK HIM.

Regarding Tradition

Thes 2:15, "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the TRADITIONS which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle".

Galatians 1:6-11, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 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. 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. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ".

Here's an example of how we must rightly divide the Word of Truth. In 2 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul is exhorting the church to hold the traditions they've been taught by word or epistle. But, hear the same Apostle Paul make it clear that the gospel (good news) originally preached is what they need to cling to, even if he, or another Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven should preach something else, (Galatians 1). These are strong words indeed, and he repeats himself for added emphasis. Then he declares that he received this gospel by the revelation of God, he did not confer with the other men, not even the other Apostles, but was separated from them for three years being taught by the Holy Spirit, verses 15-19, "when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I CONFERRED NOT WITH FLESH AND BLOOD: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother". Just before saying that, he said that before being saved, he had 'held to the traditions of the fathers' with great zeal. So, Paul is not about to instruct the church to make the same mistake he did. He is specific about what to hold on to. He was full of the Holy Spirit and lived his life being poured out. He says 'follow me'. But, when we hear others saying that, we must beware. Others take on the same office, and declare that others should follow them, and it is not the same, for they do not have the same spirit. How many preachers, teachers, and others in the church have received their message from the Holy Spirit? By revelation, not from other's writings, not from a specific doctrinal teaching! Read Jeremiah 23! Doctrinal teachings assume that all the work has been done, that someone else long ago figured it out, wrote it down, and made it 'understandable'. Preachers then, simply research the research and preach it over and over. They have NOT heard from God, and that is why you leave church empty. Now, having said that, God is gracious, and merciful. He is loving and kind, so from time to time there are evidences of His love. God's mercy and love in our lives does not mean WE are right! He calls us to repentance! PAUL'S MINISTRY WAS MARKED BY SELF-DENIAL. He put his very body on the line over and over. It wasn't just words. If you compare Paul's life to those that the Lord speaks to in Mat 15:6-9, "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN THEY DO WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN". Can you see the difference? Philippians 3:17-20, " Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, WHO MIND EARTHLY THINGS.) For our conversation is in heaven...".Now, if you read what Paul says in the first 16 verses you will be able to understand a little about this man's heart. God had done a work and continued to work, the outworking of life in the Holy Spirit, could be seen in Paul, praise God! May it be seen in us also.

Beware of men and women who use the Scriptures to uphold whatever it is that they follow when their lives and what they say are about self. The lives of those preachers with huge congregations are certainly not being poured out...they are taking in. They are filling themselves full of every thing the world has to offer, whether its expensive clothing, houses, planes, and whatever their hearts desire. And YOU are being taken in. They make merchandise of you. Many times the Scriptures are used in their sermons, and in the books the pump out to add weight to what they say, but you need to FIND OUT WHAT THE REST OF THE CHAPTER AND BOOK SAYS! Don't just accept their interpretation or usage of it. This started in the first century! Paul and the other Apostles were already dealing with those who had figured out how to make this new 'ideology' enrich them. Remember Simon? Acts 8:18-19, " And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power...". Yes. It's too often about power. Power, authority, riches, validation, but not about Christ. He gets used, and the Word gets abused, while they are 'lovin' life'. And it trickles down. Jude 1:4, "... there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ". Jude 1:3, "

 Beloved...it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints".