Last Days of the Age

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
² Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
³ Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
⁹ For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

¹³ The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
¹⁴ From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
¹⁵ He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
¹⁹ To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
²¹ For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
²² Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.

(I wrote a previous post title Sacrifice Here)

(Previous article on family Here)

Brothers and Sisters, there comes a time in a disciple’s life where we have to make hard choices. Especially with those who are near and dear to us. They may be a wife, a child, a father, mother or even close friends. For He who has purchased us through His own blood has called us to be separate from this world.

Consider for a moment Abraham. He was called to sacrifice the son whom God promised Abraham would be the father of many nations through.

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

² Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ( Gen. 22:1-2)

Whoa, wait a minute! God is asking this man to sacrifice the son He promised great things through? Not to mention the time Abraham had to wait for Sarah to conceive in her old age. For Scripture declares that Abraham was about 100 years old at that time. A miracle  in itself.

Yes. The good news is that God’s intentions were to test Abraham, for Abraham’s sake. God already knew that his servant would be obedient to the end. God did provide a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac.

So it is that God will test each one of us in our obedience to His word. Will we follow Christ and carry our cross as commanded? Or will we compromise with disobedient family members caught up in their sins.

Let me warn you that there is a stark difference between ministering to those in need to help our loved ones away from sin and compromising by giving in to them.

Our Lord Jesus declared this:

⁴⁹ “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! ⁵¹ Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. ⁵² For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ⁵³ Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53)

And yes His word does divide indeed. For Scripture also declares:

¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Heb. 4:12-13)

So then we must abide in His word but also teach and share His word to bring our loved ones to repentance. But even then as many of us know, people are people. There are many who will reject the solemn words of life and continue down their path of destruction. We can lead them to the Living Water, we cannot make them drink.

And so it is. There will come a time where we will need to make a decision. Do we heed the voice of the Lord, or do we heed the voice of our wife, our son, our mother or father in what violates God’s commandments?

I quoted from Luke 12 above, but let us look at Matthew 10. Same story, different context. I think Matthew portrays the Lord a bit more sternly:

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

If we abandon the Lord in His truth, then we have fallen away and risk our salvation. We must know when to sacrifice our relationships in this world, but cling to our relationship with Christ. He has promised us that whatever we lose here, we gain much more.

The Lord has said who we are related to:

³¹ Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. ³² And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”

³³ But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” ³⁴ And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

So I encourage you brethren. Be faithful and focused. For we are in dangerous times with many distractions. We must be diligent in what we are called to do and not fall into complacency. Even with our own families. Even I and my wife have had to forsake brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers for the sake of Christ. Even those who claimed the name of Christ and have fallen away. Even unto death. The Lord means business. So  let us be about His business.

⁸ “Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8-9)

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Mat. 24:29-31)

OK, so this is blog post is a departure from what I normally post. But it is a link to an article about the coming death of the rock stars who have not already passed. Many of us have idolized these people. Some still do. But now is the time for repentance if you have ears to hear. The Lord Jesus is calling out to you. He has died for your sins, but you must accept Him as a sacrifice for your sins and leave your former life behind.

The following link for your consideration:

https://theweek.com/articles/861750/coming-death-just-about-every-rock-legend

¹⁴ Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? ¹⁷ For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

¹⁸ Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? ¹⁹ What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? ²⁰ Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. ²² Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? I(Cor. 10:14-22)

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. ² So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. ³ And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

‘By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.’ ”

So Aaron held his peace.

⁴ Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, “Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.” ⁵ So they went near and carried them by their tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said. (Leviticus 10:1-4)

IN the previous chapter of Leviticus the Lord God was teaching the nation of Israel how to worship Him according to the Law. Things were going along pretty well. Aaron had brought the burnt offering according to God’s will, and a wave offering. Then something went horribly wrong. Aaron’s sons took the censers according to Scripture and did what was not commanded of them. In essence they added to what to God’s commandment. Their disobedience cost them their lives.

We a very similar circumstance to what those who claim Christ this day have done. They have added to the words of Scriptures through their traditions and teachings. But God is a Holy and Righteous God. He is also a jealous God for His people. He continually cries day and night for His will to be done. Not just what we think is right by those who call themselves pastors and are not.

There is a higher calling for those of who claim to know Christ. We have one chance to get it right. We won’t get it right if we don’t seek Him and learn His word. Christ to this day declares to us all:

 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

⁹ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:1-9)

Do not offer strange fire before the Lord. It may cost you your life.

Frequently I hear people write and talk about a Bible believing church and how hard it is to find. Frankly, for me, it is impossible to find. Much of the time the discussion is in the context of their vision of what man has taught them.

In context of Scripture, though there is only one “Bible” believing church in this world. It is not something you will see with your own eyes. It is not a group of people gathering in a building listening to one man preach the word. It is simply people around the world walking after Jesus in the manner that He has called us.

¹⁸ And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ They immediately left their nets and followed Him. (Mat. 4:18-20)

¹⁸ And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. ¹⁹ Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

²⁰ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

²¹ Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” *Mat 8:18-22)

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set^[j]a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Mat 10:34-39)

Think about this. There are very few of us willing to lose our life for His sake. Literally and spiritually.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ² But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”(John 10:1-5)

“The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. ²⁴ Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much^[d]grain. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. (John 12:23-26)

Let us then follow HIM who died for our sins and not those of the flesh. For there is only one who can save us. Jesus the Christ. One born of Spirit & flesh. Who died the gruesome death nailed to a tree. But who rose from the dead 3 days after.

What does a Bible believing assembly of believers look like? Paul describes this in his letters to the Corinthians. Bolstered by the other letters. I will exhort you to study that on your own.

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. ² And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ³ Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. ⁴ And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. ⁷ Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Gen. 11:1-9)

The story in Genesis of the Tower of Babel is fascinating. Here we have the population of the whole earth in one place. They spoke one language and were unanimous in working together to build a city. And not just a city, but a tower to reach into the heavens as Scripture says.

But, if the people of the earth were getting along & working together, why would God confound what the people were doing? Simple. It wasn’t according to His will. Remember, since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God had begun a plan for the redemption of mankind. He had also begun to prophecy through His prophets of His plan to redeem His people.

So when this group gets together and starts building a tower to the heavens, they were building for themselves. For they declared “We will make  a name for ourselves”.

Does God want us to have a name for ourselves?If He did why would Scripture declare:

⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phillippians 2:9)

I certainly don’t see a declaration that we are saved in our own name. For Christ declared:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

Doesn’t He want us to be united?Of course He wants His people to be united, but not in false unity. A false unity that ignores the principles of Christ.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (ICor. 1:10)

But there is a deeper and simpler lesson here. When they were making a name for themselves, they were really trying to carve out their own salvation in their own way.
They were rejecting Christ and God’s plan for Salvation.

It’s not too different today as religion adds to or takes away from the simplicity of what Christ has done on the Cross. This happens when we follow the traditions men have created that aren’t found in Scripture. Or when Scripture is twisted in a way that leads us away from Christ if we believe it.

Let’s be careful brethren, and examine our lives in the light of Scripture.

¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

By humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches and honor and life. (Proverbs 22:4)

For those of us who are blessed to see the truth in Christ, it is a long difficult life. For we are swimming against the social and religious expectations of this world. For this truth in Christ is veiled from those who refuse to lay down their lives for Him who died for their sins. As the apostle Paul once wrote:

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2Cor. 4:1-6)

We who are called, are called to be witnesses of the Most High. The Lord of lords who has died for our sins that we may have life. For He is life when we die to our own ambitions and our own purpose. And isn’t this how the veil which stood between us and God is suddenly removed? When we suddenly realize that we are sinners and separated from the God who loves us. The one who embodied sin for us that we might live.

¹² Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. ¹³ We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2Cor. 3:12-18)

For when Christ was on the cross for us, something amazing happened. In the Temple of Solomon there was a veil that separated God in the Holy of Holies from the priests. And this is what happened:

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Mat. 27:45-54)

Let us then preach the Gospel, that those who are perishing may come to the Light so that they may live. Let us then live the Gospel, so that the veil of those around us may be removed. For we cannot do this if we are caught up in the trappings of social expectations and traditions. We are called to be separate. This means leaving behind the things the unrepentant relish in. The traditions of men.

¹¹ O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. ¹² You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. ¹³ Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”

¹⁷ Therefore

“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.”
¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”(2Cor. 6:11-18)