JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Seven
Be exalted above the heavens, Abba Father! Let Your Glory be above all the Earth! My heart is steadfast, Father, my heart is steadfast! I sing and make music! Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I awaken the dawn! All praise among the nations belongs to You, Father; I sing of You among the peoples! For great is Your love, reaching to the heavens! Your faithfulness reaches to the skies! Be exalted above the heavens, Father! Your Glory is above all the Earth!
My mouth is filled with Your praise, declaring Your splendor all day long! As for me, I will always have hope; I praise You more and more! My mouth tells of Your righteousness, of Your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure! I come and proclaim Your mighty acts, Sovereign Father! I proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone! Since my youth You have taught me, Father, and to this day I declare Your marvelous deeds! Even when I am old and gray, Father, You will not forsake me; I shall declare Your Power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come! Your righteousness reaches to the skies, Father…You Who have done great things! Who, precious Father, is like You? Though You have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You restore my life over and over again! From the depths of the Earth, You bring me up! You increase my honor and comfort me once again! I praise You with the harp for Your faithfulness, Father! I sing praise to You with the lyre, Blessed Holy One of Israel! My lips shout for joy when I sing praise to You…I whom You have redeemed! My tongue will tell of Your righteous acts all day long, for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion!
Revelation 7:1-17 [NIV; amplification in italics]
After this, the apocalyptic storms raging furiously throughout the heavens and Earth having finally subsided, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the Earth, holding back the four winds of the Earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another…the Angel of Yahweh…coming up from the east…the Lord Jesus Christ Himself…having with Him the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice filled with majesty and Power to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea, commanding them: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal of the living God (an extraordinary impartation of the gifts and powers of the Holy Spirit) on the foreheads of those who have consecrated themselves and remained pure from the adulterous and idolatrous defilements of this generation. These have thereby especially distinguished themselves as the servants and extraordinary witnesses of our God, and are to be marked with a seal so that they may be readily identifiable by all mankind, and also (miraculously) protected and delivered from the wrath of God yet to come.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: exactly 144,000 Israelites from all the tribes of Israel then living in the period of the judgment, who only then are brought to be confessors and praisers of God, while the most of their kindred continue in unbelief and rebellion:
From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the Throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes, attired now in the unspotted righteousness and faultless splendor imputed to the saints, and were holding palm branches in their hands as tokens of their inexpressible joy over their deliverance and salvation. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, Who sits on the Throne,
and to the Lamb!”
All the angels were standing around the Throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks
and honor and power and strength be to our God
for ever and ever! Amen!”
Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes…who are they, and where did they come from?” Perplexed, I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are the great harvest of penitent hearts subdued into submission to the Word and Sovereignty of God by the Rider of the white horse…they who have been suffering through and have come out of the great tribulation thus far in progress; though eternity’s higher glories embracing crowns and thrones had passed them by due to their preoccupation with this paltry and perishing world, they have then at last come to their senses and washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. They have been saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Therefore, They are before the Throne of God and serve Him day and night in His Temple; and He Who sits on the Throne will spread His tent over them. They shall abide forever under the pavilion of God in the very shadow of the Almighty, and they shall be His people, and He will be their God. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the Throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of Living Water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'” [Revelation 7:1-17]
WHY DO I EXIST
CHAPTER 11
HOLY SPIRIT: GOD’S INDWELLING DIVINE NATURE
ANECDOTES
God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit…the Spirit of God, Who dwells in you and has promised never to leave you, never to forsake you. Through Him you have been joined together in a living union of oneness with Christ Jesus My Son…not only to dwell in me but also to be the Divine nature within me out of which I am to now live my every day life. I am no longer to live my life out of my natural, sin-enslaved, human nature.
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Friends & neighbors; brothers and sisters…
If you remember nothing else from the pages of “WHY DO I EXIST”… never forget this: GOD LOVES YOU.
God’s Love 4 U is…
Unconditional
Unfailing
Unchanging
Unending
Beloved…I love you because of Who I am…not as a response to who you are, or what you do, or what you refrain from doing.
If only you would know in the depths of your soul, if only you would just fully embrace, the greatness of My Love I have lavished upon you…that the most intense desire of My heart is to gather you to Myself as one of My Own children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. That is the depth of My love for you.
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GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
God has given the gift of the Holy Spirit…the Spirit of God, Who dwells in you and has promised never to leave you, never to forsake you. Through Him you have been joined together in a living union of oneness with Christ Jesus My Son…not only to dwell in me but also to be the Divine nature within me out of which I am to now live my every day life. I am no longer to live my life out of my natural, sin-enslaved, human nature.
Beloved child of God…My indwelling Holy Spirit must BE ALL in you and DO ALL in you; you must live your everyday life in the Power of My Holy Spirit.
- BE ALL IN ME:
a) Embracing the Life of Jesus:
1) Sacred Covenant Relationship.
2) Mirror of the Almighty.
b) Embracing the death of Jesus:
1) Death to sin.
2) Death to self. - DO ALL IN ME:
a) God’s workmanship.
b) Works in me both to will and to do.
HOLY SPIRIT MUST BE ALL IN ME
The Holy Spirit is to BE ALL in me…ALL I was created to be, ALL I was saved to be…a soul living faithfully in Sacred Covenant relationship with my God, for which purpose He created me; a soul living as a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting the Glory of the One in Whose image and likeness I was created; a soul that is dead to sin and dead to self, and alive to God.
You have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of righteousness.
I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves. Just as you used to surrender the parts of your body as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now surrender them as slaves of righteousness leading to holiness.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation…but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons/daughters of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of children belonging to God…the Spirit of adoption. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our own spirit that we are indeed God’s children! [Rom 8:5, 9, 12, 14-16; 6:18-19; 2 Tim 1:7]
Abba Father…Your children are continually being led by Your indwelling Holy Spirit. And You have so lovingly assured me, Your child, that I needn’t be like a cowering, fearful slave in Your Presence. Your Holy Spirit, God’s eternal gift, doesn’t make cowards out of us. He endues me with power and love and a sound mind…that I should freely abide with You as Your very Own child, adopted by birth into the bosom of Your Family, crying out unashamedly without reservation to You: “Abba, Father!” For Your indwelling Holy Spirit speaks to me deep in my heart, reassuring me that indeed I really am Your child! Now since I am Your child, then I am also an heir…an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ Your Son…If I do in fact share together with Him in suffering in order that I may indeed also share together with Him in His Glory!
EMBRACING THE LIFE OF JESUS
Christ Jesus took upon Himself a human nature [except as to sin…He never sinned], being born into this world to live the life of a human being just as we do. The life He lived was exactly and perfectly what God had intended for Mankind to live when He created Adam. In the power of our sin-enslaved human nature, however, we are hopelessly helpless to live this life. It is the work of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in me to Personally live out the Life of my Lord Jesus in me; it is my place as a child of God to give Him free reign to do so.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ the Messiah lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Jesus assured me, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name to act on My behalf, will teach you all things. He will cause you to recall (will bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.” [Gal 2:20; John 14:26]
SACRED COVENANT RELATIONSHIP
The life of my Lord Jesus being lived out in me by the Holy Spirit…to the extent I have given Him free reign to do so…is a life faithful to my Sacred Covenant relationship with God.
Jesus Himself by His Own life was our example of how this life of relationship is to be lived. He spent much time alone to commune with the Father, waiting on God for His plans, purposes and will.
Jesus’ will was totally surrendered to God; He did only the things the Father showed Him to do, and spoke only the words the Father gave Him to speak. He was totally obedient to the Father…the very point of Adam’s failure and sin…even unto death, a death on the cross! It was for this very reason that, in the character of His human nature as perfect Man, God exalted Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name that is above every name.
It is my place as a child of God to wholeheartedly embrace this life of my Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit Personally desires to live out in me…a life of waiting before God for His plans, purposes and will, and an unquestioning child-like obedience to fully embrace His direction for my life.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. Other times, after He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. Some of those days, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the night in prayer to God. [Mark 1:35; Matt 14:23; Luke 6:12]
Jesus Himself emphatically stated, “The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me.“
“My food,” said Jesus, “Is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to finish His work. I am able to do nothing independently, of My Own accord, but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders. Even as I hear, I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision, for I did not speak on My Own authority of My Own accord, but the Father Who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I speak, I am saying exactly what My Father has told Me to say, and in accordance with His instructions.” [John 14:31; 4:34-35 ; 5:30; 12:49-50]
MIRROR OF THE ALMIGHTY
When I consciously and deliberately embrace the life of my Lord Jesus that the Spirit of God Personally desires to live out in me, my life will indeed be a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting His Glory to the created Universe. When souls come into contact with me…the things I think and say and do in my everyday life…they will see some manifestation of the character and nature of the Father in me. Jesus, in His human nature during His life upon this Earth, was a perfect mirror of the Almighty; I am to follow His example by giving the Holy Spirit free reign to do likewise in my life.
Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in Me, he does not believe in Me only, but also in the One Who sent Me. When he looks at Me, he sees the One Who sent Me.”
Jesus answered Philip, “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me?” [John 12:44-45; 14:9-10]
Beloved child of God…You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light…for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth…so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Hold firmly to the Word of Life; you are the light of the world! A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light so shine before the souls of men that they may see in you, as a mirror of the Almighty, the God-ordained origin of the moral excellence being continually wrought in you by My Holy Spirit…your praiseworthy, noble, righteous acts and good deeds…and thereby recognize, honor, praise, and glorify Your Father in Heaven, for all He alone is capable of doing and has done in the hearts of Men down through the unfolding ages as you give Him free reign to do so. [Eph 5:8-9; Phil 2:15-16; Matt 5:14-16]
EMBRACING THE DEATH OF JESUS
I am to embrace the death of my Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit is Personally working out in me, conforming me ever more deeply into the likeness of His death…death to sin and death to self…in order that I may thereby attain, more and more, to the power of the resurrection life of Jesus out from the dead…the power to walk triumphantly through each and every day as more than a conqueror and with overwhelming victory.
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the Power out-flowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the sure hope] that if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body]. [Phil 3:10-11]
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship, distress or persecution, famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors and have overwhelming victory through Christ Jesus, Who loved us! [Rom 8:35-37]
DEATH TO SIN
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your Earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. [Eph 4:21-24; Col 3:5-10]
For in Christ Jesus the whole fullness of Deity continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of His Divine Nature. You are joined together with Him in a living union of oneness, and so in Him are filled with the Godhead… Father, Son and Holy Spirit…and reach full spiritual stature! And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]. In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a spiritual circumcision performed by Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts.
Therefore, consider yourselves dead to sin and your relation to it broken, and alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions. Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members and faculties to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to perpetual life, and your bodily members and faculties to God, presenting them as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall no longer exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law as slaves, but under grace as subjects of God’s favor and mercy. [Col 2:9-11; Rom 6:11-14]
DEATH TO SELF
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Holy Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion…
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility let each regard the others as better than and superior to yourself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not merely your own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus [let Him be your example in humility]. [Phil 2:1-5]
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” [Mark 10:42-45; Matt 23:11-12]
HOLY SPIRIT MUST DO ALL IN ME
The Holy Spirit is to DO ALL in me…ALL that God Himself has planned in advance for me to do during my lifetime.
I am not to do what I want to do, or what I think would be good to do. Oftentimes, Christians get involved with doing things “for God” that they have decided upon.
They never hear the Lord saying, “That’s nice, but that isn’t what I wanted you to do,” or the Holy Spirit saying, “You’re on your own, buddy…I never told you to do that.”
My priority in life is to wait upon God…as Jesus Himself did, clearly stating, “I am able to do nothing independently, of My Own accord, but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders.“ I am to wait upon the Holy Spirit to place me where I am to be, lead me where I am to go, show me what I am to do to participate together with Him in His work, give me the thoughts I am to think and present, the words I am to speak or write.
God Himself has declared, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. [Jer 29:11]
Jesus Himself declared, “Here I am, I have come…it is written about Me in the scroll. I desire to do Your will, O My God; Your Law is within My heart.” “I have come down from Heaven, not to do My will but to do the will of Him Who sent Me.” [Ps 40:8; John 6:37-38]
GOD’S WORKMANSHIP
I am God’s Own handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that I may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for me [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that I should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for me to live]. [Eph 2:10]
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in me will continue until the day of Christ Jesus’ return, developing that good work, perfecting it, and bringing it to full completion in me. [Phil 1:6]
WORKS IN ME BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO
All is for naught if I fail to respond, with an unquestioning child-like obedience, to every leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, cooperating with the Power of His enabling grace Who works in me both to will and to do. It is not necessary for me to understand; I am to respond with an unquestioning child-like obedience. And, it is absolutely fundamental…the difference between success and failure…that I do not try to respond in the power of my flesh…which is in reliance upon my human capabilities and capacities, by my own efforts or in my own strength, according to my own wisdom or knowledge or understanding. I am to respond in the Power of the Spirit, cooperating with His enabling grace as He Himself works in me both to will and to do…both the desire to obey my Father’s will, and the power to do His will.
Not in your own strength…for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you, energizing and creating in you the power and desire, both to will and to do for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. [Phil 2:13]
HIGH CALLING OF GOD
God is calling you, and desires to anoint you, to be part of His holy remnant. Whether you are a pastor, a Christian leader, or a member of the congregation… this is what the Lord says: To the pastors I have placed in charge of My churches concerning your congregation and each individual member, write: This is the last call. I have wooed you so many times. This time, I say to you, in great love… there is a cost to an anointing; this is not a light, frivolous matter. The anointing is not cheap.
If you say in your heart, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it,” if you pay the cost of the anointing, I’ll open doors for you, I’ll speak through you, and I’ll use you again like you have never conceived. The church and any members of the congregation embracing My call will move in the Power of My Holy Spirit, and bring great Glory to God!
The time of being pumped up is over. I am tired of your solemn assembly’s, I’m tired of your sacrifices…they’re not from the heart. Don’t miss what God is about to do. The time has come; I need you, and I love you…but if you ignore this trumpet call…if you say in your heart, “We will not listen,” I am going to remove your anointing. You’re not going to have anything to say to anybody; you’re going to be dry. You are going into the desert…I will love you there, and I will keep you in My care, but you can’t go with Me, and I won’t go with you.
Beloved child of God…let My Holy Spirit open your heart, and respond from the depths of your being, “God, once again, use Your church; use Your child. Now…not another time…tonight, let something in my heart respond to Your call.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vmE2nbVctE [Note: this video opens in the middle of a worship song, which continues to the 2:15 minute mark before Pastor Wilkerson is introduced as the speaker]
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When our God shall come, even Christ, to set up His Kingdom on the Earth…a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. We will enter Zion with singing, our heads crowned with everlasting joy! Gladness and joy will overtake me, forever free from sorrow and grief! [Isa 35:8-10]
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
In that soon coming Day of the Lord…Men’s hearts will be failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth: for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken. When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the Earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the Earth but the heavens also.” This means that the things on Earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will remain. When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. [Heb 12:26-27; Luke 21:26, 28]
The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire. In that day, the Earth will burn as an oven. Everything in the physical, material realm will be burned up…EVERYTHING; nothing will remain.
Beloved…keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Jesus…Matt 24:42-44]
Beloved…sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of My unfailing love! Break up the fallow ground within your heart! For it is time to seek Me, the Lord, until I come and shower righteousness upon you! Look off unto Me and My strength; seek My face and My Presence continually! Those who know My Name will trust in Me, for I have never forsaken those who seek Me! [Triune God…Hos 10:12; Ps 105:4; 9:10]
At that time the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and did not take extra oil with them. The wise, however, took extra oil in jars along with their lamps, and so were ready for his coming. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. [Jesus…Matt 25:1-13]
In that great and terrible Day of the Lord, Father, Your Divine Son Jesus will manifest the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God against all those upon the Earth who stand in rebellion to His Throne, and He will destroy all those upon the Earth who are enemies and usurpers of His rule and authority, until He has placed every one of His enemies under His feet. Then in that Day, Your will, Father, will be done on Earth even as it is in Heaven. [Heb 1:8-13; Isa 13:6-9; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; Zep 1:18; 2 Pet 3:10; 1 Cor 15:24-26; Matt 6:9-10]
Beloved…continually wash your robes in the Blood of Jesus; wash your garments that have been soiled with sin, making them clean again, dazzling and white. Wash your feet with pure water; wash the dust of sin off your feet. Continually and diligently do these things, that you may always abide with Me in the Holy of Holies, in My unclouded Presence. [Rev 19:7-9]
These are the days of the separation of the wheat from the chaff. I [John] baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One Who is more powerful than I, Whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty.
“Not a root or a branch will be left to them.” [Matt 3:11-12; Mal 4:1-2]
But also in those days there arose false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among yourselves. They will subtly and cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God, even denying the Sovereign Lord Who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and His true way will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies and cunning arguments to get hold of your money. With eyes full of adultery, their lust is never satisfied. They make a game of beguiling and luring unstable people into sin. They train themselves to be greedy; they are doomed and cursed. But God condemned them long ago, and their eternal misery is on the way. [2 Peter 2:1-3, 14]
And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. Even so…The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire. Since everything on the Earth will be destroyed in this way, you ought to live a holy and godly life as you look forward to the coming Day of the Lord! Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as He is pure. So, beloved, since you are expecting these things to happen, be eager to be found by Him at His coming living a pure and blameless life and at peace… in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts. Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard, lest you be carried away by the error of lawless and wicked persons. I don’t want you to lose your own secure footing. But grow in the special favor and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He Who called you is Holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am Holy.” [2 Peter 3:3, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16]
This is what the Most Holy, Most High, Triune God declares:
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Matt 24:36-39, 42-44]
“Behold”, says the Lord Jesus in His last warning for the last opportunity offered to mankind to be among His redeemed, “I come for the last time like a thief in the night to gather those who would be among the elect! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, in watchfulness, prayer and readiness for the summons when it comes, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed, eternally without remedy.”
PREPARE YOURSELF
We are in the Last Days; time is moving very quickly, and we are drawing near! And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of Creation.”
Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing. Tell the people, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it. Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: The time has come for every prophecy of Mine to be fulfilled! [2 Peter 3:3-4, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ezek 12:22-23]
God is calling a holy remnant to Himself…to personal revival…a holy remnant of His children who will not bow down, who will not shrink back, who will not compromise, who will remain steadfast and immovable in their commitment to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. God’s holy remnant is called to a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial…to walk along the path that Christ Jesus dedicated for us, and to follow in His footsteps as our Forerunner. You cannot become part of My holy remnant without being willing to sacrifice your desire for anyone & all others, and for anything & all else this world has to offer. Obedience is what characterizes the life of My child…obedience continually and unceasingly day and night. You are called to a life of obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice; rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as evil as worshiping idols. [1 Sam 15:22,23]
Wherefore brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us…a new and living way to God through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of His flesh…let us then without further hesitation or delay draw nigh in fullness of faith; here let us continually abide in the fullness of faith. [Heb 10:19-20, 22] Those who abide in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [PS 91:1]
Arise My bride, and prepare to see My Face
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this down: Blessed are those summoned to the marriage banquet of the Lamb…all true believers who are members of His Universal Church. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with Power and great Glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect…God’s holy people…from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” And he said to me further, “These are the True Words of God.” [Rev 19:9]
Blessed Jesus…I rejoice and shout triumphantly for joy! I celebrate and ascribe to You glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb draws near, and Your bride, the Universal Church and each of her members, has been preparing herself and has made herself ready! [Rev 19:7] Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! For our Lord God, Sovereign All-Ruler, reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him Glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. The finest linen, dazzling and white, was given her to wear. Then the angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb!” [John…Rev 19:6-9; Luke 14:15-23]
The washing of one’s robes and the keeping of one’s garments relates to this very attitude and habit of looking for the return of Christ as an imminent event. Brethren, as you hope to walk those golden streets, and eat of those immortal fruits, see to it that you have your garments clean and your loins girded about like unto men waiting for their Lord. [Seiss…Rev 21:9-22:5]
Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment. “Friend,” he asked, “How did you come in here without putting on the appropriate wedding garment?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited and summoned, but few are chosen.” [Matt 22:8-14]
ENDURE TO THE END
Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will deprive you of your crown. Everyone who overcomes by means of their faith…I will make a pillar in the Sanctuary of My God. Never again will you leave it. I will write on you the name of My God and you will be a citizen in the city of My God…the new Jerusalem…which will come down out of Heaven from My God; I will also write on you My Own new name.
Holy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcx2O9WXvn8&feature=youtu.be
Preserve Christian Family 