Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Judgment Begins with the Household of God

Jeremiah 37:1-2 ESV

 

“Zedekiah the son of Josiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.”

 

In the Old Testament times, the Lord God spoke to the people through prophets. Now he speaks to us through his Son, Jesus Christ, through his written word, and through the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. But the Lord also uses his servants (his followers) today to proclaim his truths.

 

But many people today, even within the gatherings of the church, and even among those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, are not listening to the words of the Lord, and they are not accepting his counsel, but they are going their own way, and doing their own thing, following after the flesh of man.

 

In fact, many professers of faith in Jesus Christ today, at least here in America, are teaching people that they don’t have to listen to the counsel of God, and that they don’t have to obey the word of the Lord. They are telling them they don’t have to forsake their sins or honor Christ as Lord.

 

So, their followers are convinced that they are at liberty to continue living in their sin with God’s stamp of approval. They are convinced that God no longer sees when they sin, but he only sees Jesus. And so, they believe they are in the clear and that God will not judge them.

 

Jeremiah 37:6-10 ESV

 

“Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ‘Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, “Behold, Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to return to Egypt, to its own land. And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. They shall capture it and burn it with fire. Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,’ for they will not go away. For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”

 

Does God still judge his people? Yes! He says he disciplines (judges, chastises, rebukes) us for our good that we might share in his holiness. And he disciplines us that it may yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. And he says the discipline will be painful.

 

As well, we are taught in Scripture that the Lord judges each one of us impartially according to our deeds, that judgment begins with the household of the Lord, and that when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

 

We also read in the book of Revelation how Jesus chastised five of the seven churches to whom he sent letters, and he told them that if they did not repent that he would send some type of judgment upon them. So, we should not think that God will not judge his church in these last days.

 

[1 Pet. 1:13-19; 1 Pet. 4:17; 1 Co. 11:29-32; Heb. 10:30-31; Heb. 12:1-12; Jas. 3:1; Jas. 5:9; Rev. 2:1-29; Rev. 3:1-22]

 

False Promises & False Hopes

 

So many Christians (or professing Christians) today have this idea that they not only can believe in Jesus, be promised heaven when they die, sin as much as they want, and ignore the Lord’s commandments, but then Jesus will take them home to be with him before anything gets really bad.

 

The Scriptures just do not support that philosophy! Not only are we taught that we must repent, obey, and submit to Jesus as Lord, and walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh if we want salvation and eternal life with God, but we are promised we will suffer.

 

There are all kinds of warnings in the New Testament that tell us the consequences of disobedience and of spiritual adultery. But we are also instructed much regarding the things that we will suffer for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for the sake of righteousness.

 

We are not promised an easy path in this world if we are going to follow Jesus with our lives. Those who tell you that you can live however you want and/or that you won’t have to suffer persecution or divine discipline are lying to you.

 

Pay close attention to whom the book of Revelation is written. It is written to the church. And it begins (chapters 2 to 3) with chastisements to five of seven churches, with calls for repentance, and with warnings of divine judgment on the churches if they do not repent of their sins against God.

 

And, then what follows? We have the declarations of judgments, and the persecution and martyrdom of the saints of God. We have the beast conquering nations, peoples, and the saints of God, putting many of them to death. And we have warnings against taking the mark of the beast and against worshiping the beast and its image and of the consequences for all who take the mark.

 

So, the saints of God will live during the time of tribulation, and they will be severely persecuted. So don’t get this idea that you will be taken out before then and that you will escape all of that, for Christians all throughout the earth have suffered persecution for their faith in Jesus ever since Jesus died and rose again.

 

Also, don’t get this idea that what you are now seeing happening globally is all going to just disappear and that everything is going to return to normal. This takeover of the world which is prophesied in Scripture has been going on for a long while now, one nation at a time, and now it is happening in America, too.

 

They are using the same modus operandi in America as they used in so many other nations which they conquered for the New World Order. And look at the global coordination of this whole thing with the big C and the shot they have planned for us all. That could not happen if this New World Order was not already mostly or fully in place.

 

I am not God, obviously, so I am not going to predict what is going to happen when or how soon or in what order. But I can see the signs of the times and I recognize the M.O. of the N.W.O., and it is at work right now, and it is conquering us, and it is just a matter of time before we see the reality of where we all are in the scheme of things.

 

Just listen to the Spirit’s voice. Be students of the Scriptures. Pull away from the ways of this sinful world and follow Jesus wholeheartedly with your lives. And be spreading the Good News of the gospel so that many will be saved before our Lord does return.

 

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.

 

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

 

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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