Friday, October 05,
2012, 7:40 a.m. – When I awoke this morning, the song “For Our Nation” was going through my mind again, as well as a
series of hymns began flowing through my memory banks. When I got out of bed,
the old hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer”
began playing in my mind. I love the old hymns! They are so rich in Biblical
truth.
Sweet Hour of
Prayer /
William W. Walford / William B. Bradbury
Acts 3:1: “One day Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the time of prayer—at
three in the afternoon.”
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me
from a world of care,
And bids me at
my Father’s throne
Make all my
wants and wishes known.
In seasons of
distress and grief,
My soul has
often found relief,
And oft escaped
the tempter’s snare,
By thy return,
sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I
feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose
anxious spirits burn
With strong
desires for thy return!
With such I
hasten to the place
Where God my
Savior shows His face,
And gladly take
my station there,
And wait for
thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall
my petition bear
To Him whose
truth and faithfulness
Engage the
waiting soul to bless.
And since He
bids me seek His face,
Believe His
Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on
Him my every care,
And wait for
thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy
consolation share,
Till, from
Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home
and take my flight.
This robe of
flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the
everlasting prize,
And shout,
while passing through the air,
“Farewell,
farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
Speak,
Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NIV 1984):
Concerning the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you,
brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or
letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has
already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not
come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man
doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything
that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple,
proclaiming himself to be God.
Don’t you
remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you
know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now
holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then
the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the
breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of
the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all
kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil
that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love
the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion
so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have
not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
Already at Work
We read in 1 Thessalonians that the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ will be like a thief in the night that will overtake those who are
spiritually asleep, i.e. those who are not watching and waiting (spiritually
speaking) for the Lord’s return. But, to us who are following the Lord Jesus
Christ with our lives, the Lord’s coming should not overtake us like a thief,
because we are children of the light and of the day, as opposed to being
children of the darkness (wickedness). Yet, to the church that is spiritually
dead, but has a reputation of being alive, Jesus Christ said he would come like
a thief to them if they did not wake up, repent and obey. So, we are blessed if
we stay awake (spiritually alert and actively following the Lord Jesus Christ) when
the Lord returns.
Jesus said that no one knows the day or the hour of the Lord
Jesus’ return, yet he also said that when we see the things he described
concerning the time of the end, we should know that the end is near. Today’s
passage speaks of some of those things that must take place before the Lord
Jesus’ return, yet when we see these things begin to come together, it should
heighten our alertness to the nearness of the Lord’s return and to the nearness
of the time of the end. The secret power of lawlessness is already at work, so
those of us who are awake and alert spiritually should be picking up on some of
the ways in which this secret power is at work, and it should not be obvious,
but should be spiritually discerned.
Two Things
Paul listed two things that must take place before the Lord’s
return: 1) The rebellion must occur, and 2) The man of lawlessness must be
revealed. I want to first of all address “the rebellion.” From what I have
read, the rebellion appears to be a falling away from the faith, though
certainly this could also be related to political or national rebellion. Remember
that this passage says that God will send a powerful delusion so that people
who refuse to love the truth will believe the lie. Yet, we also learned that
Satan’s main goal is to deceive the church (the elect), and the “if that were
possible” does not say it is not possible.
The Rebellion
So, in looking at some of the ways in which the “secret
power of lawlessness” is already at work, and considering that the scriptures
talk much about false teachers existing within the church (corporately), not in
the actual body of Christ (they come in some other way), I want to share with
you some ways I believe the rebellion is already at work.
I don’t know much about the actual church in other nations,
so I must speak of what I know. I know that in the United States of America a
religious movement has swept across evangelical Christianity which teaches that
we don’t have to turn from our sins, we don’t have to obey Christ, and that God
is pleased with us no matter what we do. This, brothers and sisters, is a
falling away from the faith! It is believing the lie instead of the truth. It
is being taken captive to deceptive spirits. We need to test everything we hear
against the word of God, and make sure what we are believing is the truth and
not a lie.
As far as political or national rebellion goes, all one
would have to do is to review world news for the past two years and he or she
would see a sweeping rebellion across the globe. Yet, we have to remember here
that God will send a powerful delusion so that men who refuse to love the truth
will believe the lie instead of the truth, and that the secret (hidden) power
of lawlessness is already at work among us. So, brothers and sisters in Christ,
don’t think you can’t be deceived! Test everything you hear, read and see.
Inquire of your God if what you read in the news is a clever lie or if it is
the truth. Ask your God to reveal to you if these political candidates are
really who they say they are. I believe the Lord has spoken to me much
concerning world events and our government leaders, and that there is a plethora
of deception, manipulation, and betrayal going on of which most people are not
aware.
Man of Lawlessness
Jesus referred to false shepherds of the people as thieves
who enter the sheep pen by a way other than through the gate (Jesus Christ),
and whose goal it is to destroy the church. The scriptures teach that “false
Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to
deceive the elect – if that were possible.” And, today’s passage says that the
man of lawlessness will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is
called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming
himself to be God. Again, we must remember here that God will send a powerful
delusion (misbelief; fallacy), and that men will believe the lie instead of the
truth and that the “secret” (hidden; stealthy; subtle) power of lawlessness is
already at work among us, so we must pray for much discernment!
The temple of God is the body of Christ, i.e. the temple of
God is within the hearts of those who are true followers of Christ. It is no
longer a physical temple, but a spiritual one. So many people are looking for
the man of lawlessness to set himself up in a physical temple and to literally
proclaim himself to be God, yet if the temple is spiritual, and not physical,
that means he will set himself up in our hearts so that we believe and follow
him, and so he takes the place of God in our lives. Don’t think it can happen?
Think again!
The U.S. Government, for instance, has convinced the church
in America to incorporate under the 501c3 status for non-profit corporations
underneath the U.S. government. That puts the institutional church in a “yoke”
relationship with the U.S. government, and it places the U.S. government in
authority over the institutional church so that it can dictate to the church
what they can say or not say; do or not do. This, brothers and sisters sets the
man of lawlessness up in God’s temple (our hearts), proclaiming himself to be
God (over the church in authority). We were taught from childhood to pledge
allegiance (loyalty; devotion; fidelity) to the U.S. government (flag &
republic) with our hands over our hearts (emotion; soul; mind). We do this
within the institutional church. This, brothers and sisters, sets the man of
lawlessness up in God’s temple (our hearts) and puts him in a God-like position
to where we give him the worship and love that should be given to God and God
alone.
So, I urge you in the Lord Jesus Christ to take what I have
shared with you before the Lord in prayer, inquiring of the Lord as to what
ways the secret power of lawlessness is already at work in our hearts (God’s
temple) and within our nation. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what is true and
what are lies. And, please, please don’t believe everything you read, hear or
see in the news, from preachers, from politicians, or from anyone. Test
everything! Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. Follow Jesus Christ
wherever he leads you!
For Our Nation /
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting.
Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Trust Him with your
life today.
Make Him your Lord and
your Savior.
Turn from your sin.
Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of
your sin;
Cleanse your heart,
made new within.
Men betraying: Our
trust fraying.
On our knees to God
we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us
answers
That are only found in
Him.
God is sovereign over
all things.
Nothing from His mind
escaping.
He has all things
under His command,
And will work all for
good.
Men deceiving: we’re
believing
In our Lord, and
interceding
For our nation and its
people
To obey their God
today.
He is our hope for our
future.
For our wounds He
offers suture.
He is all we need for
this life.
Trust Him with your
life today.
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