Thoughts re: The Word Of God

Posted on August 7, 2013 by ez3728

1 Pet 1:22-25
22      Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
23      having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24      because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,
25      But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Peter clearly understood that we have something to say about the outcome of our faith. We have the daily, moment by moment opportunity to obey the truth. That ongoing decision constitutes our “believing”, set into action. And Peter tells us that the Word of God is what saves us, and keeps us saved.

It is that truth that was behind Jesus revealing to the Jewish believers that they could choose to continue in Him, and in so doing, could come into freedom.

John 8:30-34
30      As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31      Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32      “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
33      They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?”
34      Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

If you abide.

The inference of what Jesus said, above, is that the initial step of “believing” to enter one’s salvation experience is just that: believing to enter into one’s salvation experience. Accepting the free gift, the price that was paid.

But the believer’s ongoing choice to continue in His words has always been the key to freedom.

This explains why many saints remain bound up. They are forgiven of their past lives, but sadly remain servants to that which controls them. It is the continuance in His Word that will set us free.

James, Jesus’ brother, puts it this way:
James 1:25
25      But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

“….and continues in it”. That is the blessed one, the one set free.

All that said, as we see The Day approaching, we would be naïve to think that our Adversary would not do everything he could to distract us from the perfection of the Word of God, which will endure forever.

Read other books. Read commentaries. Good things have been written by good people. But it is all coming down to just one book, The Book. The Word of God that endures forever, and by which we will all be judged.

When good folks come forth with good opinions, interesting theories on Christian living and on the things of God, listen to the good ones. But weigh them against the Word of God. Opinions, plans, theories, thoughts, won’t matter someday.

It is enlightening to read some old doctrinal writings of some long-gone saints of God as they sought to defend the Scriptures from doctrines brought forth, during their time, that had the Church in a lather. And today those off-kilter doctrines now seem ridiculous to us.

Likewise, I believe some of the currently appealing doctrines swirling around the Church will also fade into silliness. It is the Word of God that endures forever. Our safety is in knowing the Word of God, so that we will not be vulnerable to smooth-sounding thoughts of men, or worse.

And know that in knowing the Word of God, you will be knowing your Jesus:

Rev 19:12-13
12      His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13      He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

All Scriptures NKJV.

 

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Can You Hear HIM?

Posted on July 30, 2013 by ez3728

Israel was in a pickle with their God. He was still reasoning with His beloved people, and they were sadly not listening to Him, nor to His prophets who were speaking on His behalf

(I often speak to saints who are wondering how to speak to beloved Jewish friends – suggesting they offer to read Jeremiah 1-7 with the listening Jew. It is a clear and startling revelation of the heart, plans, and purposes of God towards His beloved, albeit stumbling Israel.)

Jer 7:1-7
1        The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2        “Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!'”
3        Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

Here they were, on their way into the temple to worship, and meanwhile God wanted them to amend their ways. To change. Instead, they were inclined to remain religious, justifying themselves by their activity (including worship) rather than by turning their hearts towards Him:

4        “Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’

So God tells them through Jeremiah what He had told them earlier, many times – that social justice and fairness, that loving the disenfranchised (as well as the “franchised”) was weighty on His heart. “The temple of the Lord” proclamation was not going to cut the muster.

He was not interested in their religious activity if there was no substance of relationship, either with Him, or with the people in need. Compare the following to the admonition and promises of Isaiah 58 – where the people were told to keep their fastings and sackcloth events, and instead do justice – the more honorable fast, a fast from self-indulgence:

Jer 7: Again
5        “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor,
6        “if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,
7        “then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

Wow what an amazing promise. It is apparent – even today (7/30/2013) as representatives of Israel sit in Washington DC considering bending and bowing to the sad thought of compromising and relinquishing yet more land to their terrorist neighbors, that there is apparently little divine authority on their behalf towards them fully owning and controlling The Land that is actually not THEIRS, but GOD’S:

Lev 25:1-2
1        And the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
2        “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the LORD.

Lev 25:23
23      ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.

Of course, history has confirmed terrible failure by Israel to walk in its appointed destiny – and part of the results are illustrated by the struggles of today.

Jeremiah later laments and writes about Jerusalem’s destiny failure:
Lam 1:9
9    Her uncleanness is in her skirts; she did not consider her destiny; therefore her collapse was awesome; she had no comforter. “O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy is exalted!”

Meanwhile, God HAD (and always HAS) been offering blessing to His obedient people)

Exod 19:5-6
5        ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6        ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Man – THAT certainly Hasn’t Happened Yet for the Jewish nation (stay tuned: it will, eventually)

Happily, the story is not over yet, and God is still loving on His special people, dealing heavily with His special people, to accomplish His goals – goals that surely include the Jew. Faithful God!

Remarkable is this word from Jeremiah (later in chapter 7). God has never really been about the outer efforts of religion, although He has kindly provided them for man to walk in, and graciously accepts them as offerings when done with a clean conscience and pure heart. But here He reveals to them that the mighty deliverance from Egypt and the beginning of their sonship favor did not begin with the Mosaic Law of ordinances. It began before that – with a cry from heaven for holy relationship of the heart:

Jer 7:22-23
22      “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.
23      “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’

The promise of Him being the God of His people centers on us/them hearing His voice and obeying, and walking in that glorious place of ongoing intimacy.

He is not simply THE God WHO SPOKE. He is the GOD WHO SPEAKS

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that CONTINUES TO PROCEED (that is the correct tense of Scripture) from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut 8:3, Matt 4:4).

Listen up. Can you hear Him?

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A Call To Holiness

Posted on July 19, 2013 by ez3728

God had doomed Jericho to destruction, and was also in the process of teaching His children not only how to war, but even more importantly how to obey.

Josh 6:17-19
17 “Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
18 “And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
19 “But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.”

Pretty clear instructions. The city was toast, the harlot Rahab, a woman of faith, was to be rescued (with her family) because of her faith in God. The plunder was specified by God as not going into the hands of the children of Israel.

Josh 7:1-26
1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.

One guy blew it, succumbing to temptation. God obviously knew immediately. As did Achan. Likely, no one else knew, surely no one outside of this one family. And meanwhile God determines to do nothing quite yet, and 36 men suffer…

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.”
4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.
5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

Joshua freaks. It made no sense for them to fail in conquering little Ai, after having totaled Jericho.

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all– to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!
8 “O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?
9 “For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”

The Divine Response doesn’t sound very comforting (of course Joshua might have approached the Throne with a little more respect and discretion, rather than accusing the Lord of failure, and trying to goad God with a vision of name-disgrace down the road):

10 So the LORD said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?
11 “Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.
12 “Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.

Pretty straightforward. Get the sin out of the camp, publically.

13 “Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”
14 ‘In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man.
15 ‘Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ “
16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
17 He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken.
18 Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

Achan comes clean.

20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
21 “When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor.
25 And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.

Wow. But that is OT, you might say. True. And we’re not instructed to be stoning one another anymore, thank God. But ask Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) about Old and New Testaments, and what has not changed. The call to holiness.

What did Paul tell us, in Corinthians:
1 Cor 10:8-12
8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;
9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;
10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Oh my. Here goes God again, being God, so that we might learn Who He is and what is expects of His people, not only REGARDLESS of position, but in fact BECAUSE of position.

Psalm 99 recounts how God deals with (v8) His anointed leadership (v6):
Ps 99:6-9
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called upon His name; they called upon the LORD, and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar; they kept His testimonies and the ordinance He gave them.
8 You answered them, O LORD our God; you were to them God-Who-Forgives, though You took vengeance on their deeds.
9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

1 Tim 5:20-21
20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.
21 I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

Be holy for I am holy (Lev 11:44, and in case we need that confirmed as NT applicable – 1 Peter 1:16).

Be holy. That is such a safe place. And there is grace to succeed. Lord help us all.

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Eating The Whole Scroll

Posted on July 15, 2013 by ez3728

It is remarkable WHO (in the NT) quotes WHAT from the OT, pointing US to everlasting truths.

EXAMPLE:
Jesus quotes THIS verse (actually points to the TENSE of this verse!) to confirm the principle of resurrection from the dead:

Exod 3:6
6        Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father– the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

(Here’s Jesus quoting that passage):
Matt 22:31-33
31      “But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,
32      ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
33      And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Are you kidding me????? Deuteronomy 3:6 is a proof-text for RESURRECTION – because God did not say: “I WAS the God of Abraham……..”??

Rabbi Jesus, the Living Word of God, understood/understands that EVERY WORD is truth. Its meaning, its tense, its everything.

We would do well (better than we’re doing, in fact)  to understand that as well.

Here’s another example:
Lev 11:41-45
41      ‘And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten.
42      ‘Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth– these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination.
43      ‘You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them.
44      ‘For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate ourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
45      ‘For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

Peter reflects back on this verse (the only OT scripture portion that comes up in a search for the term “…BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY”) to declare that holiness-charge to the NT saint.

Peter, by the Holy Spirit, goes back to a specific command regarding not eating caterpillars etc. to declare to the NT saint (no longer under any such dietary restriction) that the charge to holiness extends forward, into our time and our lives, way beyond a dinner of creeping things.

1 Pet 1:13-16
13      Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14      as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15      but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16      because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Wow. It becomes even more apparent why our enemy would hate us recognizing the eternal validity of the entire Word, both testaments. We are of course free from having to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Mosaic Law. That was fulfilled in Christ, thankfully. Eat a creeping bug if you’re  so inclined, but be holy, for He is holy.

We remain both-testament-accountable to a holy God – to know Him, know His Word, and to live accordingly. Extending beyond not eating creepy things, and even beyond the truth of resurrection from the dead, is the global biblical principle that the whole bible remains the complete and active word of God, for us to address, study, and by His grace fulfill.

Embrace the entirety of the Word of God, its accountability, its significance in your life.

1 Pet 1:12
12      To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven– things which angels desire to look into.

The OT was written for us. The Holy Spirit told that to the OT prophets, as they were writing it.

We are called to eat the whole scroll, folks.

Ps 1:1-3
1    Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2    But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.
3    He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

All scriptures NKJV.

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Tempered & Untempered Mortar

Posted on July 7, 2013 by ez3728


Tempered Mortar. Untempered Mortar
Funny words: Tempered Or Untempered Mortar. What does that have to do with the Kingdom of God?
Tons. Get it? Tons of Mortar. Seriously though, it has tons to do with the Kingdom of God.

God is in the active on ongoing process of building His Kingdom. It has a sure foundation. It certainly has a Chief Cornerstone –  our Lord Jesus.
It is being perfectly made. In fact, our God is so determined for His Kingdom to be built properly, He tells us He Himself will shake everything that can be shaken, so that what cannot be shaken will remain.

Part of that perfect construction plan is the spiritual component “line being upon line, precept being upon precept” in the proper order and perfect purposes of God. It is a supernatural design – and it works both in the natural as well as the supernatural realm (Isa 28).

We are invited, even called, into that building program.

Prophecy is key to the Kingdom plan. OT and NT are both full of prophetic insight, authority and power. It is so key to the plan, one would be naïve to assume our enemy would not want to infiltrate this key component of the Kingdom. He certainly has done it in the past, and he will continue. False prophesy is inspired by Satan to cloud, confuse and contradict true prophecy.

BTW (for you word lovers):
PropheCy is the NOUN – the utterance of a prophet.
PropheSy is the transitive verb – meaning to actively bring forth the propheCy.
Got that?

How key is prophecy?
Rev 19:10 “……..For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

From Moses prophesying about our Lord Jesus (and it is a very tough word that was OT written but undoubtedly NT-activated):

Acts 3:22-23
22        “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23        ‘And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

…..to Daniel speaking of end times, some things still to be revealed, we are surrounded by and subject to the prophetic.

Dan 12:8-9
8          Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”
9          And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

Paul surely tells us that we, NT believers, are to be prophesying as a Church, up until the Day when our Lord returns – when “that which is perfect has come”:

1 Cor 13:8-10
8          Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9          For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10        But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

It’s sort of goofy, but folks who want to say the prophetic (and tongues) went away with the canonization of scripture (claiming the perfection being of the word of God) fail to see that in one breath the same verse PROPHESYING that prophecy will cease also tells us knowledge will vanish away at the same time. Well, duh. Hasn’t happened just yet.

Paul goes on to so prioritize the ministry of the prophetic, that he challenges the very establishment of the Western church (which would appear as if the church was founded upon the pastoral office, which it is not, a format that has brought upon itself much pain in trying to override the order of God):

Eph 2:19-22
19        Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20        having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,
21        in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22        in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Paul not only says the FOUNDATION of the church WAS the prophetic and apostolic, but by ongoing tense “being joined together, grows…” IS telling us that this foundation and building project is a continuum. The growth of the fullness of the true church never stops being built upon that foundation (with, of course, the Prophet Jesus being the cornerstone). We might as well remove the cornerstone, if we’re going to eliminate the foundation. Both are living elements. This is a living work of God in and by the Spirit. A movement, as opposed to a monument, as Smith Wigglesworth would say.

Gosh it hints of death and lifelessness when any church would so want to sanitize and control their “church plans” to eliminate either office. No more apostles. No more prophets. No more life. Safe and predictable church. Predictably dead.

Meanwhile, from the time of the Fall of Man, we see an enemy infiltrating the plans and Word of God, oftentimes working through weak, ignorant or overly religious men (and women) to subvert the truth. The prophetic realm can be intoxicating.

EXAMPLE: Israel was in bad standing with God. They had brought upon themselves the judgment of God, terrible judgment. They had provoked and provoked and provoked God. There was going to be invasion (by the “worst of the Gentiles”), destruction, death, cannibalism. Meanwhile the people wanted to hear all was well. They did not want to hear truth. They wanted comfort-in-their-condition.

Ezek 13:1-16
1          And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2          “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the LORD!'”
3          Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
4          “O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts.
5          “You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the LORD.
6          “They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD!’ But the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.
7          “Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The LORD says,’ but I have not spoken.”
8          Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord GOD.
9          “My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
10        “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace– and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar–
11        “say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down.
12        “Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?'”
13        Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it.
14        “So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
15        “Thus will I accomplish My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it with untempered mortar; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it,
16        ‘that is, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,'” says the Lord GOD.

Yow. The provoking of God to wrath is a long and torturous journey. He is so merciful, so patient, always not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. But woe to the man or woman who prophesies lightly, or prophesies out of the dictates of their own heart. Doesn’t matter which testament we’re living in. In fact, the Bar of Accountability is elevated, not lowered, during the dispensation of the NT:

Heb 12:25
25        See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

Like Ezekiel, Jeremiah brings forth a similar word from God, declaring that the solution is not the silencing of true prophets, but instead their speaking forth, in humility and in the fear of God. Truth will destroy the counterfeit, and without the true prophetic utterance, all that will be available will be the counterfeit. I believe that’s one reason why fortune tellers and card readers, gurus and false church prophets prosper. The real-deal has been shut down. To the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet (Proverbs: Someplace)

Jer 23:16-29
16        Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.
17        They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You shall have peace” ‘;and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.'”
18        For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it?
19        Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD has gone forth in fury– a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
20        The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly.
21        “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22        But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.
23        “Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off?
24        Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.
25        “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’
26        “How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart,
27        “who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.

HERE’S THE GOOD STUFF. HERE’S THE REMEDY FOR THE ONSLAUGHT OF LIES:
28        “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the LORD.
29        “Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Yea God! Yea for the prophetic!

We so need men and women (and children, like adolescent Zechariah) who will come into the place of deep relationship with God and, in humility, bring forth the prophetic with clarity and biblical accuracy, in the fear of the Lord.

1 Cor 14:31
31        For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.

1 Cor 14:1-4
1          Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
2          For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
3          But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
4          He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

Edify the body of Christ.

Minister to the newcomer, who will fall down and declare God is among us, as the secrets of his heart are revealed (1 Cor 14:25).

Isa 66:1-2
1          Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?
2          For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

TEMPERED MORTAR is the good stuff – the work of the Master Craftsman who has so mixed together the supernatural resources of heaven into the heart and mind and life of a saint, that the words coming forth from their mouth are tried and true, accurate and purposeful. Those words will accomplish the purposes of God. Those are the words that will not return void. The hearers are blessed. The prophet is rewarded and safe from the judgment of God. It is a very good thing.

Notably in these days where the plans and purposes of our Lord are being revealed on a daily basis, we would do well to understand that what Joel 2 first told us and what Peter declared in Acts 2 regarding what he perceived at that time as being the outpouring prior to the return of the Lord (but which is clearly so much closer these days than those early days), we would be wise to recognize that the sons and daughters indeed will be prophesying, and at the same time the work of deception will be busy working to distort, distract and discourage the entire world from receiving the true prophetic word, in large part by “inspiring” the false prophetic word.

These are days when a Spirit-infused/Spirit-led/Spirit-obedient and scripturally sound walk with the Lord will prove to be most effective and most critical to both the hearers and speakers of the prophetic.

All scriptures NKJV

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The Secret Place: Going Public

Posted on June 22, 2013 by ez3728

Jehovah-Sneaky.
Always one (or more) steps ahead of us – knowing how to lure us forward into Him. After all, He is the journey as well as the destination, is He not?

Picture a closet full of all the goodies you might ever desire. As you open the door they explode down on you, and you are overwhelmed with fullness. All you ever desired, and more, had earlier been crammed into that closet, waiting for the moment for you to turn the knob. God’s goodness explodes onto you.

Ps 31
19        Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!

Oh how great – immeasurably great – beyond that which we could ask or think. And who are the lucky ones? Ans: There are no “lucky” ones. The ones accessing the closet are qualified by two characteristics:

  • They understand and embrace the holy and righteous fear of God – (fortunately, prophetically promised to us a mere three psalms later (Ps 34:11); AND
  • They trust in the Lord in the presence of the sons of man.

Glorious revelation, indeed.

The teaching of the Fear of the Lord, the very beginning of all wisdom, is actually accomplished by revelation as we progressively dig into our great God, in His word and by His Spirit. It requires an unlearning of the fears of this life, and a new learning of holy fear (meanwhile Ps 36:1 reveals that having no fear of the Lord is a gateway to wickedness).

The Trusting – the ongoing and functional public (as well as private, of course) living out of the Spirit-led Christian life is something we accomplish by grace, and by good choice.

Going public with our faith-walk is the testimony of Jesus in front of both (a.) the brethren (1 Cor 11:1 – Paul did it) and (b.) the lost and dying world, among whom we are charged to shine as lights in the world (Phil 2:15).

Go public, willingly potentially paying the small dung price, and you will find yourself in the treasure closet of God’s goodness.

And in that PUBLIC place, you are ushered into a special SECRET place, in the Spirit.

Further in Psalm 30:
20        You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; you shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Wow wow wow. Only God could/would orchestrate that invitation to die (to self) so that you might live (to Him). Go public and find something very private, offered to all, but discovered by few.

David then tells us how tweaked he had been – to the point of “I’m toast!”, freaking out, in a tough spot/city – and then by grace he chooses to cry out, and the Faithful One came through:

21        Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
22        For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You.
23        Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person.
24        Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

Yea God!

Scriptures NKJV

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We Win

Posted on June 14, 2013 by ez3728

Who rules over all kings?

That sort of seems like a ridiculous question for a Bible-believing saint – hey isn’t our God clearly called King of Kings? That means He’s, well, the King of kings. Go figure.

Still, there’s something goofy in us, sometimes, that would have us believe the father of all lies, who tried to proposition Jesus, with a lie:

Luke 4:6-7
6        And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7        “Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

Gee – that might sound enticing, IF one did not know what Jesus knew:
John 8:44
44      “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

NO TRUTH? NONE AT ALL? So what was Satan negotiating with in the desert trial of our Lord? He was negotiating with a lie. We’ve turned over OUR dominion over the world to Satan, through sin. I don’t see any scriptures confirming or even hinting at us having turned over God’s rule and reign.

New-Testament-Mary got it.
Luke 1:52-53
52      He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.
53      He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

The Psalmist got it – and looked forward to the culmination of this age (which happens to be yet to come, by the way, so mark this HHY – Hasn’t Happened Yet). At that time  all that needs getting straightened out will get straightened out

Ps 110:5-6
5        The Lord is at Your right hand; he shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
6        He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill the places with dead bodies, he shall execute the heads of many countries.

Isaiah prophesied accurately about the future glory of Jerusalem – that eventually the kings of the earth would recognize their position and their accountability to THE King
Isa 60:10-12
10      “The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in My wrath I struck you, but in My favor I have had mercy on you.
11      Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession.
12      For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined.

Ezekiel 37:28 (inspiration for this blog site name) clearly tells us not only WHAT but also WHEN the nations will finally understand the importance and priority of Jerusalem – that is what Isa 60 is looking towards:

Ezek 37:28
28      “The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, WHEN My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”‘”
(That’s also when the procession of kings from Isa 60 will occur)

Daniel, answering to Nebuchadnezzar – who he prayerfully referred to as a “king of kings” (because he ruled over other kings) – totally got the picture of Who was in ultimate power, always:

Dan 2:37
37      “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory;

Earlier Daniel had proclaimed:
Dan 2:21
21      And He (GOD) changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and raises up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

And even old Nebby himself got it:
Dan 2:46-47
46      Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.
47      The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”

QUES: So why do the nations rage? What is the issue of these (small “k”) kings?

ANSWER: Man continues to embrace the arrogant opinion that their own accomplishments are their own accomplishments.

Isa 10:12-15
12      Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”
13      For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am prudent; also I have removed the boundaries of the people, and have robbed their treasuries; so I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.
14      My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; and there was no one who moved his wing, nor opened his mouth with even a peep.”
15      Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

Ps 2:1-12
1        Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?
2        The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3        “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”
4        He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision.
5        Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:
6        “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
7        “I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.
8        Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9        You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.'”
10      Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11      Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12      Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

It doesn’t take a prophet to recognize all this is wrong, and all that is getting “wronger” with this world – although oh God, how we need the prophets (another blog, stay tuned). Our enemy, knowing his time is short, is in panic-mode to accelerate the rage in and through and even towards his captives. Our call, saints, is to accelerate the impact of the Kingdom of God upon the earth. In 1 Cor 7:29  Paul proclaims the time is short. It is 2,000 years shorter, and counting.

FEAR GOD. In the last book of the Great Book, we are admonished to understand who our God is – I would be inclined to say that is a timeless admonition:
Rev 14:6-7
6        Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth– to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people–
7        saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

The first time I read Revelation it was sort of like science fiction – swirling things and weird creatures and fire and proclamations and all sorts of crazy heavenly activity. Fortunately, after 40 years, it still is – except now a whole lot of it makes way more sense.

The first time I did read it, however, stunned as I was, I knew enough to take a pen and write, at the end of chapter 22: “WE WIN”

 

All scripture NKJV

 

 

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How Saved Are We?

Posted on June 9, 2013 by ez3728

100%

How simple is that? It couldn’t get simpler, in fact. Nor can you get more saved.
At the same time, our relentless Adversary would like to muddy matters by:

A. Convincing us that as we walk on the path of salvation we personally have zero to do with our growth, outcome, or ongoing sanctification; AND/OR
B. Nothing we might choose to do, while in our relationship with our Lord, can in any manner jeopardize our position in Him.

Both are faulty.

At the end of the day, or better yet, at the end of this age, what stands firm is the word of God (hey, the Word even goes beyond THAT AGE). Whatever convincing arguments or temporarily popular doctrines that might be put forth will be weighed against the entirety of the Word, which we are clearly told will last forever.

1 Pet 1:25
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Of further note is that God does not change. Ever. He didn’t go from easily-angered to easily-pacified because His Son came and died for our sins. In fact, the scriptures that assure us God does not change, pointing to His never-ending mercy, are found in Malachi, in the Old Testament.

Mal 3:6
6 “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

Point is – as we dare to press in to the Word of God, we will understand the fullness and workings of a God Who:
A. Is not willing that any should perish; and yet at the same time has
B. Granted to every individual a free will, and it is the poor and consistently rebellious exercising of that free will to contradict the purposes of God that has caused and will continue to cause men to perish.

And our free wills are not circumcised (cut away) from our hearts when we get saved.
To the contrary, a love relationship requires an ongoing exercise of free will by all parties involved. Ask any happily married couple. Ask any divorced couple.

Paul was so convinced of the ongoing free-choice volatility of man’s will that he said:
Col 1:28-29
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament, the same man who admonished the Ephesians to redeem the time, tells us not only that he himself was warning every man, but that it was the inner working of the Spirit in him that was initiating this energizing and motivation to warn. He was being obedient to the Spirit in warning EVERY man.

Some Prophetic Insight:
It is the Spirit of God that is right now moving upon the hearts of God-fearing teachers, preachers, prophets and seers, convicting and convincing them to not hold back any truths of Scripture. We are in a season where floodwaters of weak and powerless doctrine would try to overflow the church, immobilizing us in complacency and false grace. God is lifting up ones who will speak all the truth at all time, at all cost.

BACK TO PAUL IN COLOSSIANS:
There is indeed something about which to warn every man, both saved and unsaved. That warning is to press into the Lord – either coming into salvation for the first time (if one is not yet saved) or purposely continuing to press into salvation, so that the work that was become in us can be completed successfully, and fully.

1 Pet 1:22
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
There’s some proof text as to self-purification, spoken to the ones who had already received the grace of salvation, and now, finally, had the freedom to choose to come into a deeper place with God. They could purify themselves. Oh boy. They had something to do with their walk. Go figure.

1 Tim 4:16
16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
Careful obedience to the Word will save both yourself and others. Hey – aren’t I already saved? Yes you are, and yes there’s more. Salvation – an ongoing, growing encounter with God.

Heb 10:35-39
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
The writer of Hebrews warns his readers not to make the terrible choice (by inaction or by allowing hardness of heart to set in) of casting away their confidence. He tells them they need to stick with the program, and then tells them (v38) that God is not too happy with those who draw back, to perdition. V39 ends on a high-note, the hopeful proclamation that the readers will not be in that group (the same group as mentioned in 1 Cor 10 and in Jude, and elsewhere, by the way).

“Perdition” (Heb 10:39) is taken from the Latin. You French students will recall that “perdre” is the verb meaning “to lose”.
Amazing Grace: “I once was lost but now I’m found” – and Hebrews says don’t return to the lost place again. It’s worse the second time.

Peter confirms that:
2 Pet 2:20-22
20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

They had known, had been cleansed, and then went back to the place from which they had been delivered. And the end result was way worse.

For us to conclude that a church-going, hand-raising, song-singing, testimony-bearing saint who wholly returns to the worldly lifestyle was therefore NEVER SAVED is actually building a case for works having to be accomplished in order for salvation to be truly manifested. That contradicts grace at its very roots. If we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts our salvation experience begins. Simple. Pure.

How saved are we? 100%!
In that 100% do we have something to say about the outcome of our faith?                 Much, and every day.
Is there more than what I am walking in?
You bet.
And after 40 years of redemption, I am thrilled to say I am still discovering the greatness of God, and the still-being-revealed intensity of the salvation experience. I couldn’t have handled it all, earlier. It’s intended to be that way.

The gospel remains an invitation to increasing intimacy and greater maturity:

Heb 5:14-6:6
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

Maturity, growth, greater relationship, all available as we continue to walk this out.
Hebrews chapter 6 then lists some basic doctrines of our faith that the church today often won’t even address.

And then verse 4 tells us we’re not to screw up our having-been-fully-delivered, enlightenment experience, because its restoration, according to these verses, would be impossible. Wow. That’s sobering, as it ought to be.

So where is the line, where is the cliff, over which, if someone walks, he is once again lost, and this time forever? We don’t know. There is One who corrects, and warns, and judges. Thank God for God.

Instead we’re told to lay hold of our 100% salvation and to press in – but not with a false sense of no-matter-what-I-do-I’m-fine attitude. It certainly didn’t work that way for Esau. Or Ananias and Sapphira:

Paul – who I am inclined to rely upon for doctrinal accuracy more than any current doctrine-du-jour, puts it this way – telling us he hadn’t arrived yet (can you comprehend the silliness of us saying we, but not Paul during his life journey, have already arrived?):

Phil 3:13-21
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18 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:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame– who set their mind on earthly things.
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Ain’t there yet, but getting there.
The mature will understand this (the immature, likely not).
Paul (like Jude, talking about love-feast attendees) says there’s some even some walking a walk, but it’s not THE walk, because they mind earthly things and would perhaps rather recite analogies than tremble at scriptural accuracy. Dangerous.

We’re on a journey to a destination to which we have not yet arrived (v20), but we’re getting there day by day. THE Magical Mystery Tour, for sure!

Psalm 84:5
Blessed is the man whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

A wonderful gospel. Not all that complex, but still chock full of surprises and yet to be revealed glories as we choose to press in the One Who is worthy, trembling at His word, declaring and embracing His awesome power and His relentless pursuit of us.

Salvation is a journey. Believing is an ongoing active state, not a threshold into a room we can never leave. Christ is our reward.

1 Pet 1:6-16
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 receiving the end of your faith– the salvation of your souls.

(CONTINUING IN PETER – SOME FAVORITE VERSES that tell us the OT writers were told by the Spirit that THEY were specifically writing to US – NT believers – so we would do well to not write off the OT as non-applicable. We’re NOT accountable to the Mosaic law. We ARE accountable to the God who never changes)
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven– things which angels desire to look into.

BOTTOM LINE – Here’s what we can choose to do, in cooperation with the Spirit of grace)
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

All Scriptures NKJV.

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The Accountability of the Whole Gospel

Posted on May 27, 2013 by ez3728

Although truly the center-point of the matter, Jesus dying for the sins of man is not the entire gospel message. Had that been the case, the Bible message (certainly at least the New Testament) could have been one chapter.

The Word of God is what it is so that we might be fully equipped to understand who God is, how He operates, what He has done for us, what He has prepared for those who love Him, what is in store for those who refuse His goodness, and how He deals and interacts with mankind, which is His creation. The Word also reveals what God expects of us. That Word is purposely and ingeniously both simple and profound.

There is amazing, simplicity so that literally anyone can find his way to salvation:

Rom 10:8-10
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
YEA GOD! The beginning of the salvation experience is oh so simple and readily available. “Whosoever wills, let him come” says my Bible…….

2 Cor 11:3
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
So simple, says Paul, that the enemy will try to tangle it up in intellectualism and religiosity. We’re not to go there. And we need not go there.

…and yet Paul understood that unsearchable (never-ending depth of) the riches of the fullness of the gospel:
Rom 11:33
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

This is by no means a contradiction in terms. Simple yet profound. Easily comprehended yet gloriously mysterious and deep.
QUES: Why?

ANSWER: Because our great God has determined that mankind, on his life-journey of discovering the fullness of God, wants and needs a never ending gospel of revelation. The invitation is presented to us in Isaiah:

Isa 55:1-3
1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you– the sure mercies of David.

And the revelation of planned further revelation is confirmed by our Lord just prior to His passion and departure. He physically would be leaving, and Another would be coming to dwell within those who would receive Him by faith:

John 14:25-26
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 16:12-15
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

It is therefore obvious that the revelations of God were intended to continue, and that one huge assignment of the Holy Spirit was/is to continue the process of divine revelation and teaching. Jesus also confirmed all of the Holy Spirit’s teaching and revelation would be truthful, and would confirm and never contradict the teachings of Jesus. No “new revelation” would obviate any established biblical truth.

And meanwhile we see and hear of “ministry” teachings and doctrinal revelations that either contradict clear teaching of Scripture, or else ignore clear teaching of Scripture – both of which are frighteningly dangerous. Even the word “teaching” can sound so mundane, and yet it is not presented that way when it comes to teaching the things of God.

Paul understood the calling and accountability of a teacher:
Acts 20:26-31
26 “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
27 “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
28 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
31 “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

Paul declared his own innocence because his ministry had preached it all – the good, the bad and the ugly (actually, none of the gospel is ugly, but there is tough stuff in this beautiful gospel). The promises, the accountability, the judgment of sin, the relentless call to holiness and sanctification, the glory of the grace of God that can empower us to overcome. His declared innocence implies his understanding of the potential guilt that would have been his, had he compromised and/or failed to declare the whole counsel of God. He had not failed to declare it all, even at times when he knew what he was declaring was neither easy to declare nor easy to receive.

Gal 4:16
16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
(Paul wrote that after a strong corrective word denouncing legalism, and the Galatians swaying back to Jewish practices for their justification).

So what is the issue here in this blog?
The issue is the WHOLE GOSPEL OF GOD. There is a serious accountability upon those who teach, so serious that James says it this way:
James 3:1
1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

It has always been easier to sculpt and present a kinder, softer gospel than the one preached to us by our Lord, and written by the prophets of both testaments. The danger in such pleasing words is severe accountability before the Lord – Who is jealous for His Word. The ones who would teach and preach less than the full message place themselves in jeopardy of stricter judgment, and in jeopardy of losing the fullness of their reward:

Matt 5:17-19
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

LEAST in the kingdom of heaven? Would that imply measures of reward, spoken by Jesus? I would say yes.

Rev 22:12
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

There’s some serious stuff that simply has not occurred yet. There’s certain clear presentations of the personality and operation of God that God Himself wants us to know. That which has been written and passed down to us are things that God went to great lengths to reveal to His people through His prophets – things that sometimes cost those prophets their position, their reputations, and sometimes even their lives. ALL of those things were written for us (1 Peter 1:12 confirms that the Old Testament was written for the New Testament saints. Go figure. Actually: go read).

Each and every one of us is therefore accountable to search those things out, to press in to the revelation of the Holy Spirit, to question that which would presented and taught to us, and to weigh everything in the balance of the Word of the God, which is true, and which endures forever.

Failure of the saints to remain in the place of anointing for revelation is evidenced by the frustrated tone of the writer of Hebrews – there was much to reveal about the supernatural ministry of Melchizedek (foreshadowing Jesus), but sadly the recipients of the letter had so allowed dullness to dumb them backwards that not only could they not receive the revelation, but they had fallen from teaching status to student status, again.

Heb 5:11-14
11 (Melchizedek) of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Their lack of use (that is: their refusal to activate and steward that which they had already known, AND their refusal to posture themselves for revelation by the Holy Spirit) had them in a dumb and dull place.

And that, sadly, is the place where false doctrines and smooth teachings and flowing words that often fail to align with the fullness of the Word of God will become not only tolerable but actually believable. That is a dangerous environment.

Jude, the Lord’s brother, saw this coming upon the church even in his own day, and put forth the warning:
Jude 1:3-25
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Crept in unnoticed. Feasting with the saints, expressing no fear of God)

12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

(Ones who purposely expound false doctrine are in danger of eternal judgment, while the more innocent proclaimers of less than the full gospel – per Matthew 5:19 – are in jeopardy of diluting their eternal rewards)

17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:
18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.
19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Wonderful! A Holy Spirit infused life, a life in the Word, trembling at the Word, will assure us safety. We are called to “keep ourselves”. We have lots to say about the outcome of our salvation.

Every erroneous teaching is not blasphemy. And everyone who teaches something not perfectly perfect is not standing at the edge of the pit – hey even teachers will hopefully continue learning, continue remaining teachable themselves (this one wants to be!).

But there does remain a huge accountability for every teacher, and also an accountability for every saint – to understand and recognize that the Word of God is true and that our personal diligent determination to be soaking in it is our safety and our success, and our safeguard against doctrines that do nothing but distract and divert.

God is more than able to keep us from stumbling. The divine and eternal call from heaven is for us as students of God to behave as students of God, and the call to teachers is to learn and to teach the fullness of the gospel, holding nothing back – in the fear of God, never in the fear of man.

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

2 Tim 2:15-16
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.

Isa 66:2
2 For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.

All Scriptures NKJV. Love that NKJV….

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New Revelations

Posted on May 7, 2013 by ez3728

Few writers of the Bible have been confronted with personal revelation so deep and, at first blush, seemingly so contradictory to the status quo of prior scripture, as Saul of Tarsus – Paul the apostle.

Here’s Paul the rabbi, so entrenched in Jewish teaching, so convinced of the correctness of his Jewish Pharisaical faith, that he put legs to his convictions and actively went about terrorizing all he encountered, who had encountered Jesus (before Jesus encountered him). Then comes the Damascus road revelation, when he gets confronted by our Lord, and everything changes. This personally “revelated” man is the one who penned most of the New Testament.

His revelation by God was remarkably sovereign. He ended up separated from the fledgling church as well as from his Jewish rabbinical peers. Eventually he could recognize, in humility, that the revelations of God to him were in fact in perfect alignment with the Scriptures, and at that time he was equipped to bring to the world most of the letters (epistles) of the New Testament of Jesus Christ.

HIS ACCOUNT:
Gal 1:15-24
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
(THREE YEARS IN DAMASCUS!)
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
20 (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)
21 Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22 And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.
23 But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.”
24 And they glorified God in me.

Gal 2:1-2
1 Then after FOURTEEN YEARS I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me.
2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.

No one would be more inclined to appreciate the true glory of true sovereign revelation. No one would be more zealous to maintain as sacred, and as sovereign, the very concept of new and fresh revelation from God. And what does he write – in an epistle that rebukes the saints for religiosity and lifts up all of the new freedoms of life in Christ? Does he throw open all doors for unchecked, or misaligned, or untested new doctrinal revelations? To the contrary:

Gal 1:8-9
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

Paul’s revelation from God came to a man trained and equipped in historical biblical truth. His foundation was firm. His disconnect had been his religiosity and zeal, minus relationship with God. But the Damascus road was on God’s calendar, and that was the chosen time for God Himself to shift gears in the world OF Paul, and THROUGH Paul. So God chose a man who would be able to process and compute the “revolutionary revelations” and also eventually recognize that all of those new revelation aligned perfectly with all of the scriptures of God. THAT is key to the acceptance of new revelation. It will never contradict the fullness of scripture.

Peter, unlike Paul, was a blue-collar Jew. A fisherman. He walked in his own special relationship with our God, but he was not the rabbinical scholar, as was Paul. And what did Peter say – immediately after penning his own revelation and understanding of yet-to-be-fulfilled end-times truths (seemingly inarguable upcoming events, that some of the church, in our own time, would like to deny – but that is another bad-doctrine tangent):

2 Pet 3:10-18
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
PETER’S CONCLUSION – BASED UPON THIS REVELATION OF THE IMPENDING DESTRUCTION OF MUCH OF THE WORLD, UPON THE RETURN OF OUR LORD, SAYS…
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
15 and account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation– as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

OH MY – “HARD TO UNDERSTAND” THINGS WRITTEN BY PAUL…..
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

The positive conclusion, by non-rabbi Peter, is that we can grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, and that grace and knowledge will be our safeguard and our assurance of success in this gospel. But prior to that positive conclusion is Peter’s warning that “unlearned and unstable people (will) twist (biblical writings) to their own destruction, AS THEY DO ALSO THE REST OF THE SCRIPTURES”.

Here’s that two-edged sword of the gospel, again. Sharp, incisive, purposely dangerous. God forged it that way, so that only the careful, only the ones who would tremble at His entire word, would be safe handling it. Others will cut themselves, and others.

This is a good word for us.

As the Lord pours His Spirit out in these last days, we must expect an outpouring of noise from satan, the deceiver, who would not only plan lying signs and wonders to deceive IF POSSIBLE even the elect (Mark 13:22), but would also plan to spew out his mouth, and out of the mouth of many, “new revelations” that cannot and will never withstand the scrutiny of, nor comparison to, all of the scriptures.

THAT is the litmus test for “new doctrine” and “new revelation”. Thankfully, there will always be fresh revelation from the Father, because He remains the Creator. At the same time there will always be false revelations that will sound good, and entice, and deceive. Some of these false revelations will last a season, and fade away. Others will stick around, and deceive many.

There are so many warnings against false prophesy in scripture, and indeed so many examples of false prophesy and false teachings, you’d almost wish our Lord, the Father of truth, would immediately judge and silence those mouths. It would sure make our Christian walks a lot easier. But this was not intended to be an easy walk. It was designed by God to try us, test us, refine us, craft in us a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

1 Cor 11:18-19
18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

Peter, in describing false prophets, points to the false freedoms they would offer the saints, even eventually causing some who were walking upright to stumble back into bondage:
2 Pet 2:17-19
17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.
19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.

Jude, our Lord’s brother, likewise warns of (a) doctrines not from God, and (b) the ones who would fellowship with the saints (“in their love feasts”) and yet eventually bring upon themselves eventual judgment:
Jude 1:12-16
12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
15 “to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.

Jeremiah had a run-in with most all of the prophets of his time. Jeremiah was surely a party pooper. Likely he was referred to as a doomsday preacher. His “theater” ministry had him fabricating and wearing a yoke to visually illustrate the soon-coming bondage of the rebellious people of God. Not popular. He was violently withstood, by the popular prophets proclaiming God to be in a good mood, no matter how His people might behave:

Jer 28:9-17
9 “As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent.”
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it.
11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.'” And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
13 “Go and tell Hananiah, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made in their place yokes of iron.”
14 ‘For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. I have given him the beasts of the field also.”‘”
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.
16 “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will cast you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the LORD.'”
17 So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

Oh my. What a great and jealous God. Jealous over us. Jealous for His plans and His purposes, only.

1 Pet 1:25
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Go deep into God. Establish a prayer life that is based upon intimacy with the Lord. Let His Word be deep in you. Weigh new revelations. No matter how good, or how tough they may sound, if they align with the Word of God, embrace it. If it does not align, discard it. There is an active work, by God, to bring fresh truth to the body of Christ, and fresh truth will never contradict established truth.

2 Tim 2:15-21
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.
19 Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

Ps 25:14
14 The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.

All scripture NKJV

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