Truth Mission 2.0

Tag: Holy Spirit

  • The End of the Age: Part 3–On Your Guard

    The End of the Age: Part 3–On Your Guard

    Be on your guard!  For they will repeatedly hand you over to the ruling councils, and you will be beaten in public gatherings.  And you will stand trial before kings and high-ranking governmental leaders as an opportunity to testify to them on my behalf.  But prior to the end of the age, the hope of the gospel must first be preached to all nations.  (Mark 13:9-10 TPT)

     

    In verse 9, Jesus gives another warning, this one more personal.  “Be on your guard!”  He then tells His inner circle of the personal persecutions they will face in His name, and the purposes thereof.

    But He is not warning them to be on guard against their persecutors.   He is warning them against looking for big-picture signs of The End.  This practice would take their focus from their individual missions.  They need to be ready to witness to the authorities before whom they will be brought.  They will need to remember the Great Commission that Jesus will give them to preach the Gospel to all nations.  Most of all, they need to prepare their spirits to receive wisdom and comfort from the Holy Spirit amid their persecution.  It is their faith that will see them through what is coming, not their ability to read the signs of the times.

    This warning is for us as well.  Most of us Americans have not faced the danger of arrest or public beatings for professing our faith, but this does happen daily in many areas of the world.  I doubt that many of the people who are persecuted find themselves in that situation for interpreting the signs of the times.  They are jailed, tortured, and martyred for the Name of Jesus.

    But since, as Americans we have not previously faced these troubles, we tend to get spiritually lazy.  We lose our sense of urgency about preaching the gospel and instead turn our attentions to the news, fake or otherwise, about the state of our nation.  We look at the spreading degeneracy of our culture, in our media, our schools, our government, etc., and say something religious-sounding like, “Come Lord Jesus.”  But what are we doing to prepare for that coming?

    More importantly, what are we saying or doing to get the world ready?

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    Until the Whole World Hears

    In verse 10, Jesus says that the Gospel must first be preached to all nations before The End comes.  I have often wondered if that’s why it has been 2000 years and we’re still waiting?   I can’t know this for certain, but it seems to make sense for this reason.  (I’m going to lose some of the Calvinists on this one.)

    God offers salvation from Sin and Death as a free gift.  The way to receive this gift is to believe that Jesus is who the Bible says He is, did what the Bible says He did, and to trust and rely completely on that Truth, following Christ in obedience.  In other words, a person must exercise a conscious and deliberate act of the will.

    But a choice can not be made where there is no awareness of the choice that needs to be made.  This is what the preaching is for:

    For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How are they to call on one they have not believed in?  And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.” But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” Consequently, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.  (Romans 10:13-17 NET)

    For this reason, I do not believe that anyone who has never heard of Jesus could be condemned for not choosing Him.  Some theologians would disagree with me on that, but it’s the story I’m going with, because if God would send some lost African tribe to hell because they didn’t make a decision for Christ, then all those who die in infancy would go along with them.  Therefore, I call shenanigans on that theology.

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    Every tribe, tongue and nation…

    So, about those lost African tribes (or wherever they may be).  I believe that Jesus hasn’t come back yet because we haven’t reached everyone with the Gospel yet.  Whether it’s because the Church has been lazy about missions, or the world’s population is simply growing at a rate that the Church can’t keep up with, they haven’t all had a chance to make their choice yet.

    Therefore, the point is to stop looking at the sky and to start looking for opportunities to share the Good News, both near and far, until the whole world hears.  Because until we reach the whole world with the Gospel, it doesn’t matter what ELSE is going on in the world.

    (To be continued in Part 4—Stand Firm)

     

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  • The End of the Age: Part 1–In the Last Days

    The End of the Age: Part 1–In the Last Days

    You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian.  2 Timothy 3:1 (TLB)

     

    Christians are well acquainted with the concept of “The Last Days,” the very end of the age leading up to Christ’s triumphant return.  It is no mystery to us that things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

     

    Even many non-Christians are at least aware of this concept.  If you have a social media account, the concept is kind of hard to avoid.

     

    The first five months of 2020 certainly haven’t given us any reason to doubt that the end of all things is near.  Nevertheless, there are a couple of things that we need to understand about “The Last Days.”

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    When are the Last Days?

     

    Most Christians, as I stated above, think of the Last Days as being the very end of this age leading up to Judgment Day.  The prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation speak of a Great Tribulation lasting seven years that will mark the end of the age.

     

    Some believe that God’s people will be “raptured,” or whisked up into heaven before the Tribulation begins, so as not to have to suffer through it.  Some believe, according to Daniel 9:27, that this rapture will occur in the middle of the Tribulation when the “Man of Lawlessness” (a.k.a. the Antichrist) is revealed.  And some believe that there will be no rapture at all, but rather that God will protect His people and help them to stand firm throughout the Tribulation.

     

    However, none of these views acknowledge that the Last Days have actually been going on for quite some time.

     

    Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose.  It’s only nine in the morning!  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

    “‘In the last days, God says,
        I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
    Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
        your young men will see visions,
        your old men will dream dreams.
    Even on my servants, both men and women,
        I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
        and they will prophesy.
     I will show wonders in the heavens above
        and signs on the earth below,
        blood and fire and billows of smoke.  Acts 2:14-19 (NIV)

     

    In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)

     

    But, beloved, remember the words that were previously spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They said to you, “In the last days there will be scoffers who will walk after their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who cause divisions, sensual, devoid of the Spirit.  Jude 1:17-19 (MEV)

     

    In the above verses, I have highlighted the words that show the Last Days as being present tense, not future tense.  A question I get from a lot of my Christian friends is, “Do you think we’re living in the Last Days?”  Absolutely we are.

     

    The Last Days began when the Church began, at Pentecost.  We have been in the last days for nearly 2,000 years now.  That’s a lot of days!

     

    For this reason, I would submit to you that anyone who is trying to decipher scripture or read the signs of the times to figure out when the end is coming, or when (or if) the Rapture will happen, have completely missed the point.  The point is that instead of looking up at the sky for signs, we should be looking inward.

     

     

    What should we be doing in the Last Days?

     

    2020 has presented us with many challenges so far.  Some of them are new (COVID-19), and some of them are ongoing problems that are bubbling to the surface again, such as the current racial unrest over the George Floyd incident.  These are the kinds of things that light up the social media accounts of Christians with public calls to repent, for the end is near.

     

    A call for repentance is always good advice, but there’s an elephant in the room that we need to put the spotlight on.

     

    With the understanding that the Last Days are present tense, not future, let’s go back to the quote at the top of this post.  Paul’s warning to Timothy is also a warning to us, because we are in the same last days now as the world was when this letter was written.  It was difficult to be a Christian then, and it is difficult now.

     

    “Oh, I know,” you might say.  “Just look at how we’re portrayed in the media and by the government.  They destroy our economy, but glorify abortion and drug use,” etc.

     

    True, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now.  And it’s not what Paul was talking about then either.  He goes on in the next eight verses to describe the people Timothy ought not to associate with, and the methods that they use.  But here’s the kicker…

     

    He was talking about people INSIDE the church!

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    It is no news flash that Christians are opposed in today’s culture.  The ignorance of outsiders has never torn down the church, and it won’t now.  Our greatest enemy comes from within.  And here is what they look like:

     

        1. Narcissists
        2. The greedy and stingy
        3. People who draw attention to themselves
        4. People who look down on others
        5. People who take advantage of others
        6. People who dishonor their parents
        7. People with an entitlement mentality
        8. Those who conform to the pattern of this world
        9. Those who won’t help others
        10. Those who hold grudges
        11. Those who tear down other people verbally
        12. The undisciplined
        13. The physically violent
        14. Those who glorify evil
        15. Back-stabbers
        16. The impulsive
        17. The self-centered
        18. Hedonists
        19. Religious Legalists

     

    That’s quite a list.  Except there’s a problem.  I said “they.”

     

    And as of this writing, if I am going to be completely transparent, I believe that I fit six of these categories myself.  So, it’s not “them.”  It’s “us.” 

     

    This is why I say that we don’t have time to waste looking up at the sky, watching for a sign of Jesus’ return.  The thing is, YOU DON’T KNOW when He’s coming back.  The Great Tribulation may have already started.  Or not.  The Rapture may be tomorrow.  Or 10 years from now.  Or never.

     

    Here is what we do know:

     

    For the Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory, with his angels; and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.  Matthew 16:27 (CJB)

     

    God has given us all gifts and wired our personalities to do the work He had planned for us to do before we were ever born.  To be able to do that work effectively and leave a legacy in the world for Jesus, our hearts must COMPLETELY belong to Him.  The only way that will happen is if we take an honest look at that list above and figure out what we need to repent of in our own lives.  Then take a radical step of faith and DO that repenting.

     

    Because in these last days, ain’t nothing gonna be easy for us.  Let’s not make it any harder for ourselves than it needs to be.

    (Nevertheless, there will be signs. To learn more about those, please come back for Part 2–What Sign?)

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