The Joy of the Lord

Video Talk

 

Isaiah 12:1-6 ESV

 

You will say in that day:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,

    for though you were angry with me,

your anger turned away,

    that you might comfort me.

 

“Behold, God is my salvation;

    I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

    and he has become my salvation.”

 

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:

 

“Give thanks to the Lord,

    call upon his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples,

    proclaim that his name is exalted.

 

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;

    let this be made known in all the earth.

Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,

    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

 

When we are born into this world, we are born with sin natures, in the image of Adam. And we all come up short of attaining God’s divine approval and holiness and righteousness. And not one of us can do anything in our own flesh to be approved by God nor to earn nor to deserve our own salvation. It is only by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, and not of our own doing, but only by divine persuasion that any of us can come to faith in Jesus Christ and be delivered from slavery to sin and now walk in holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, to the glory of God.

 

[Rom 3:9-26; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Eph 2:8-10]

 

So, God is not pleased with us in our sinful conditions. And that is why he provided the way of salvation for us from our lives of sin so that we can now live holy lives, pleasing to God, and so that we can be in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. So, by God’s grace, and through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves (addicted) to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

 

Therefore, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For sin is to have no more dominion (rule, control) over our lives. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, not to life eternal, but if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are what we obey, in practice, that leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. So now we walk (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh, but we now walk according to the Spirit (Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14).

 

And I am going to tell you from my own experience that there is no better place to be than this, and there is no better life than this, for when we are living in sin, and not in obedience to the Lord, if we have any conscience about it at all, we should be absolutely miserable. For there is no real joy or peace in a life of bondage to sin, but there is in a life that is freed from bondage to now walk in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to the Lord. All glory and praise and thanksgiving to God alone!!

 

Now, if we have truly turned away from our lives of living in sin and for self, and now we are walking in obedience to our Lord, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute perfection, we should want to tell others about it so that they can also be set free from their slavery to sin and walk in freedom from sin and according to the will and the ways of God. And in America, right now, the window of opportunity on the internet is still open for sharing the truth of the gospel, though not on all sites. So we should, if we can, take advantage of those opportunities to lead others to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IadWpGOhqfA

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Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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That We May Walk in His Paths

Isaiah 2:1-2 NASB

 

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

 

Now it will come about that

In the last days

The mountain of the house of the Lord

Will be established as the chief of the mountains,

And will be raised above the hills;

And all the nations will stream to it.

 

The last (or the latter) days are in specific reference to the Messianic age and the time period between Jesus’ resurrection back to heaven, and him coming back to take his bride, his faithful ones, to be with him for eternity. And the mountain of the house of the Lord is a specific reference to Zion, and Zion is now a term used in reference to describe both Jesus Christ and his church. And the house of the Lord (the temple of God) is now Jesus Christ and his church (John 2:19-21; 2 Corinthians 6:16).

 

Now the old temple of God under the Old Covenant was a physical temple in Jerusalem where the people of God came to worship the Lord and to hear the word of the Lord taught, and where physical sacrifices were made for the sins of the people. The temple housed the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, which is where the presence of God was experienced. Yet, we who believe in Christ to be Lord of our lives today are of the heavenly Jerusalem, and we are now the children of promise (See: Galatians 4:21-31).

 

And Jesus Christ will be and has been established as superior to all other gods, and things that are worshiped, and also places of worship (Reference: mountains as high places of worship). He will be and has been exalted above the heavens (Hebrews 7:26). And “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…” (Philippians 2:9). And all nations will stream (run) to him – to his gospel of salvation – people from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues (Revelation 7:9-17).

 

So this “mountain” of the house of the Lord is really and mainly Jesus Christ, but as his body we are also part of that mountain, plus we and the Lord are the house of the Lord, his temple. But specific references here are made only to him, which will become clear if they are not already. For this is about lifting up Jesus Christ and giving him the place of highest honor, and he is to be raised above all other gods which are worshipped, and people from all over the world will flock to Jesus Christ and to his true church.

 

Isaiah 2:3,5 NASB

 

“And many peoples will come and say,

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us concerning His ways

And that we may walk in His paths.”

For the law will go forth from Zion

And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.’”

 

“Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

 

Now this is where it becomes even more clear that this is talking about an individual person and not about a literal physical mountain. For they reference the mountain of the Lord and the house of the God of Jacob as a “he,” and as someone who will teach us His ways. And in the Messianic age it is Jesus Christ who is teaching us his ways via the Holy Spirit who dwells in the lives of Christ’s followers. And it is the ways of the Lord which we must now walk in, and not the ways of the flesh and of human beings.

 

And in these last days there are people who are turning their hearts to Jesus Christ, in truth. But in our day and time, and in America where I live, I would not say that “many” are wanting to be taught the ways of the Lord so that they can, in truth, walk (in conduct, in practice) in his paths. Perhaps in other nations, where Christians are being persecuted, many are streaming to the Lord Jesus, desirous to know his ways so that they can walk in them, but I would say right now those numbers are few where I live.

 

But, time is not up, and Jesus has not yet returned, and from what I read in the book of Revelation, people will still be coming to faith in Jesus Christ even in the time of tribulation, and the bride of Christ will be making herself ready for the Lord’s return. And the true church, the body of Christ, will be experiencing great persecution and tribulation, which perhaps is needed for the church to be revived and for many others to come to faith in Jesus before he returns and he takes his bride to be with him for eternity.

 

Persecution of Christians in last days: [Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

 

And the “Law” being spoken of here in the Messianic age is the gospel of our salvation and not the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, purification, sacrificial, and dietary laws. So, out of Jesus Christ has come forth and is going forth the gospel of our salvation. And from the witness of the church in the world is going forth the gospel and the word of the Lord. And many are being taught the ways of the Lord so that they can walk in them. But in America, the many are being taught a diluted and an altered gospel.

 

But I have confidence that those who are sharing the truth of the gospel, that what they are sharing is going out to the people of the world, and that people are believing in Jesus Christ, in truth, and they are forsaking their lives of living in sin in order to follow our Lord in obedience to his ways. And I believe that, even though it appears that “the many” in America are rejecting the truth of the gospel now, that some or many of them will one day turn from their sins and follow Jesus in obedience.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

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.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352

A Sinful Nation

Isaiah 1:4-6 ESV

 

“Ah, sinful nation,

    a people laden with iniquity,

offspring of evildoers,

    children who deal corruptly!

They have forsaken the Lord,

    they have despised the Holy One of Israel,

    they are utterly estranged.

 

“Why will you still be struck down?

    Why will you continue to rebel?

The whole head is sick,

    and the whole heart faint.

From the sole of the foot even to the head,

    there is no soundness in it,

but bruises and sores

    and raw wounds;

they are not pressed out or bound up

    or softened with oil.”

 

Making Application

 

To whom was this spoken? It was spoken to the children of Israel of a specific time period in history in specific locations. But who were they? They were God’s chosen people at that time, and they were God’s people by physical birth, by being descended from Abraham, although they did not all believe in God. But they were also a physical nation of people. So, if we try to make application of any of this to our lives today, it is not exactly “apples to apples,” for the church is not a physical nation but a spiritual nation, and we are God’s people by spiritual birth, not by physical birth.

 

Nonetheless, we do have gatherings of the church in specific locations in particular nations, and not everyone in these gatherings truly believes in Jesus Christ, either, even though they profess him as Lord and Savior. And what this is talking about is something that the church deals with, too, and has dealt with all throughout the history of the church, I believe, although some times were much worse than others, for certain. And I believe we are in one of those “much worse” time periods, too.

 

Now I live in the physical nation of the USA (America), so that is what I know and understand. So, what I share here I will share from that perspective. And those of you who do not live where I do can apply this however it applies in your nations and to your situations. For what this describes here is prevalent in America. And the predominant religion in America is Christianity, although not everyone claiming to be Christians in America are true followers of Jesus Christ.

 

A Sinful Nation

 

Now I would definitely describe America as a sinful nation like this describes that sinful nation of old. And from my observations over many years of living in many different places and attending many different gatherings of what is called “the church,” and via being on the internet the past 18 years and reading the thoughts of others who call themselves Christians, I would definitely say that the majority of those calling themselves Christians here have forsaken the Lord and they are estranged from him.

 

For the church in America, overall, but not in its entirety, has become very worldly, and they have adopted the ways of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings and to keep them coming back for more. And so they have also altered the gospel message to make it more attractive and acceptable to human flesh. Thus, we have a whole lot of people professing to be Christians and believers in Jesus Christ who are not living much differently from those making no profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

 

And many Christians have become very immoral, too. For with the internet and smart phones (pocket computers), it has opened up a whole world of evil to people in total privacy where no one else can see what they are doing. And many of them are engaged in some type of sexual immorality and in the viewing of sexually explicit materials, such as videos and movies, in total privacy. And some of them have gotten into all sorts of expressions of sexual immorality that go way beyond the viewing of videos.

 

But those who are engaged in lewd and sexually promiscuous behaviors will often hide their sins in secret so that others do not know what they are doing. And so in order to keep their sins a secret they will lie, and they will make up stories to cover for their secret sins, but not just so others don’t find out, but also to give the sinner greater opportunity to continue in those sins. And they may verbally attack anyone who gets close to discovering what they are up to, also. For they don’t want to be found out.

 

Isaiah 1:16-17 ESV

 

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,

    learn to do good;

seek justice,

    correct oppression;

bring justice to the fatherless,

    plead the widow's cause.”

 

So, this is the counsel of the Lord to all who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are living immoral and sinful lifestyles and who are not walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to the Lord Jesus. And the counsel is really to throw off those sins which cling so closely so that you can run the race God marked out for you to run. You need to cast off those fruitless deeds of darkness and now, by the power of God, walk in obedience to the Lord and in holiness and uprightness and in all honesty.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

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.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352

They Will Trample

Revelation 11:1-3 ESV

 

“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’”

 

What’s It About?

 

The book of Revelation is about what? It is about the events of the last days before the return of Jesus Christ, correct? And it includes his return, and it tells us about the new heaven and the new earth, etc. So, this is written about the Messianic age, after Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven and sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers. So, then we have to read this passage in that context and not in the context of the Old Covenant relationship God had with his people Israel.

 

Therefore, the temple being spoken of here is not the physical temple of God of the Old Covenant, but it is us, the people of God today who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. We are that temple. And God/Jesus Christ lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. And so the measurement being spoken of here is not a physical but a spiritual measurement (examination). So, we are to be examined (judged) spiritually by God’s spiritual measurements, which are his Word and his commands.

 

And the altar being spoken of here is also not a physical altar but a spiritual one. For spiritually it is the place where we bow the knee to God in worship of him and we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. We humble ourselves before the Lord in true repentance of sin and we submit to Jesus Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives. And this is where we commune with our Lord in prayer and we read his word and we then walk in obedience to our Lord in what his word teaches us we must do.

 

And those who worship the Lord are not those who merely go through the motions of worship. But they are those whose lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ as living sacrifices on his altar, holy and pleasing to the Lord, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but now transformed of the Spirit of God away from living in sin to now walking in righteousness in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant). For this is the worship of God which is acceptable and pleasing to him (Romans 12:1-2).

 

The Nations

 

Another term used for “the nations” is “the Gentiles,” which is a biblical term to indicate those who are the ungodly, who are not of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, according to the teachings of the Scriptures. And the Holy City is no longer physical Jerusalem in the physical nation of Israel. For she (Jerusalem) is of Hagar, the slave woman, and she is in slavery with her children. And we who believe in Christ are of the New Jerusalem, which is the heavenly Jerusalem, which represents true followers of Jesus Christ.

 

So, all who do not believe in Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Messiah are not the children of God. They are not God’s chosen people, but they are of the antichrist because they are literally anti-Christ. For not all who are physically descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his physical offspring. But the children of God are the children of the promise, and we are those who belong to Christ. We who believe in Jesus are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

 

And all those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah do not believe in God the Father, either. For Jesus told the Jews that if they knew him (Jesus), then they would know the Father also. But he said their father was the devil, and they were doing the works of their father, for their will was to do their father’s desires. So, you can’t believe in the one true God if you do not believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Messiah. And true belief in Jesus means you have died with him to sin, and if you are living to him and to his righteousness, in the power of God for the glory of God.

 

So, what this means is that the worshipers are the temple, and they are those whose lives are committed to Jesus Christ in true worship of him. But those outside the temple, who are outside of genuine faith in Jesus Christ, are the ungodly of this world. So this includes all Jews who have not believed in Jesus Christ to be their Messiah. They are now among the nations who are trampling the Holy City, which is the church, the bride of Christ, the city of God under the New Covenant; the heavenly Jerusalem.

 

[John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 9:4-8; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:14-18; 1 John 2:22]

 

The Trampling

 

So, those who are outside of faith in Jesus Christ will trample the Holy City, which is the body of Christ, his church, his temple. So both Jew and Gentile by physical birth, if they do not believe in Jesus with God-given faith, and if they have not died with Christ to sin, and if they are not walking in righteousness and in obedience to him, then they are of the nations who are trampling on God’s holy nation, his church, the body of Christ. So this is about the persecution of Christians, not the persecution of Jews.

 

And this has been happening ever since Jesus Christ lived on this earth, in reality, beginning with the persecution of Jesus Christ, and then continuing with the Lord’s disciples, but not just the 11 (the 12 minus Judas who betrayed Jesus), but all his followers from then to now and beyond now. We who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in truth, and in righteousness and holiness, and in obedience to our Lord, are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake and for the sake of the name of Jesus and of his gospel.

 

And regarding the two witnesses, there are many different thoughts on who they are, but I believe they represent the Old and the New Testaments and all those who are proclaiming the truths of the gospel of our salvation and who are being persecuted because of it, too. For even in the gatherings of what is called “church” there is much persecution going on against those who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience and who are walking in holiness and who are sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

And regarding times and days, a lot of numbers in the book of Revelation are intended to be taken more figuratively rather than literally, as the numbers do have meanings to them. So I don’t think we should get all hung up on those things. What we need to focus our attention on is making certain that we are in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ and that we are walking in his ways and in his truth, and that we are not among the nations who are trampling on the Lord’s true servants and witnesses.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

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.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352

He Holds our Future

Revelation 1:1-3 ESV

 

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

 

In the Scriptures, we have been given a glimpse into the future, so that we know what is coming, and so we know what to expect, and so that we will be prepared for it when it does come. Now, we may not know all the specifics of who is who and what is what exactly, and we may not know exact dates and times that these things will take place, but we have been given enough information throughout the Scriptures that we should be prepared in advance so that we are not taken by surprise when they do happen.

 

Now, I know that some of you are convinced that none of this will happen to you, and that you will be raptured before any of this takes place. But this was written to us, the church, the body of Christ, the servants of the Lord. For this wasn’t just for seven specific churches in John’s day and time, although it is addressed to them, anymore than the rest of the letters in the New Testament are only intended for the people of that time and not for the rest of us who came much later. For we are to learn from this, too.

 

Revelation 1:5-7 ESV

 

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

 

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is also God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and he was born as a baby to a human mother, but with God the Father as his birth father. For he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and not of man. So when he walked the earth he was fully God yet fully man. And he grew up to be a man, and he ministered on the earth for three years before his enemies had him put to death on a cross.

 

But it was the will of God the Father that Jesus Christ should suffer and die on that cross, for in his death, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. So, when Jesus died, our sins died with him so that we, by faith in Jesus Christ, can die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, which is the purpose for which he gave his life up for us. So when we believe in Jesus, we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

 

[Isaiah 53:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23]

 

So, we aren’t just freed from the punishment of sin, and it isn’t just so we can go to heaven when we die, or when Jesus returns for his bride. Jesus Christ died on that cross to deliver us out of our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we would now become slaves of him and of his righteousness, and so we are no longer enslaved to sin. And the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh but now according to the Spirit (Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14).

 

And one day he is going to return for his bride, his faithful ones, but not for those who give lip service to him only, but for those who are walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to the Lord, and not in sin, in practice, by the grace of God, and in his power, wisdom, and strength. And all to the glory and praise of God, too. But those who give lip service only to him will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because they didn’t obey the Lord (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

Now John was given the assignment by the Lord to write down in a book what the Lord was going to show him, and he was to send it to the seven churches. And John saw, in the Spirit, what appeared to be the Lord Jesus, from what I understand, and it was a marvelous sight to behold.

 

Revelation 1:17-19 ESV

 

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this…’”

 

Yes, that is definitely a description of the Lord Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the first and the last. And he died, but he was resurrected from the dead, and now he lives that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. And yes, he holds the keys of Death and Hades, and so no one and nothing has any power over him or any ability whatsoever to circumvent his will. So, Satan has no power over us, and he can do nothing to us unless God allows it to happen. And if God allows it, he will bring us through it.

 

For our future is in God’s hands if we are his true children, and if our lives are surrendered to him to do his will. Well, actually, the future of all humankind is the hands of God and not one of us can circumvent his plans and his purposes. So we are not to fear what the future holds for us, whether it will bring about good or bad, peace or disaster. So, we just need to keep doing the will of God and just be ready mentally and spiritually for when “all hell” breaks loose. For that is where things are headed.

 

Give Them All to Jesus   

 

Phil Johnson / Bob Benson Sr. 1975

 

Give them all, give them all,

Give them all to Jesus -

Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys..

And He will turn your sorrows into joy.

 

He never said you'd only see sunshine.

He never said there'd be no rain.

He only promised a heart full of singing

About the very things that once brought pain.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsOnwWsHnIw

Caution: This link may contain ads

Who are God's Children?

Video Talk

 

1 John 3:1-3 ESV

 

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

 

I hear a lot of people say that all people are God’s children. Well, we are all created by God, so in that sense we are his offspring. We are his creation. But we are not all God’s children in a biblical sense. For we are not all born again of the Spirit of God. We are not all born spiritually into God’s family. For we haven’t all died with Christ to sin, and we haven’t all been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

 

And if we read all of 1 John we will see clearly who are and who are not God’s children. For in 1 John 1 we read that if we say we have fellowship with God while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin, evil), we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as God is in the light (and is The Light), we have fellowship with God (understood) and with one another (who are also in fellowship with God), and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (see 1 John 1:5-10).

 

And in 1 John 2 we read that by this we know that we have come to know the Lord, if we keep his commandments (New Covenant). For, whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep (obey) his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected (see 1 John 2:3-6).

 

And in 1 John 3 we read that no one who abides in God/Jesus Christ keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning, making sin their practice, has either seen him or known him. For, whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as God is righteous. But whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. And by this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother (see 1 John 3:4-10).

 

So, this makes it quite clear who are and who are not the children of God. And this means that we have to believe in Jesus Christ. For Jesus told the Jews that they didn’t know God the Father because they didn’t believe in Jesus, His Son. So, no one can believe in the one and only true God, creator of the universe and not believe in Jesus Christ, for they are ONE. So, if any Jews don’t believe in Jesus as their Lord and Messiah, they do not believe in the same God as we do, for they deny Jesus Christ as their Messiah.

 

[Gal 3:16,26-29; Rom 9:4-8; Gal 4:22-31; Eph 2:14-18; 1 Jn 2:22]

 

And there are two other signs here as to who God’s children are, for if we are truly his spiritual offspring, we should be those who are purifying ourselves, as God himself is pure, but not in our own power and strength, but in the power, strength, and wisdom of God. And the ungodly of this world should not accept and embrace us as their own. We should so stand out as different, with godliness as our moral compass, and with the word of the Lord on our lips and in our hearts, that the world should reject us.

 

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-17; Jn 15:18-21]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfYuIoU_Hgg

Caution: this link may contain ads

 

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.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352

The Art of Misimpression

2 Peter 2:1-3 ESV

 

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

 

False Prophets

 

So, I looked up the meaning of “false prophet” on Biblehub.com on their interlinear. And this is what it says: “Someone pretending to speak the word of the Lord (prophesy) but in a fact is a phony (imposter), acting as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” This person “specializes in the art of misimpression,” and “they operate by self and for self,” not in the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

So, this is about someone who willfully aims to deceive, who is knowingly (to themselves) a fake, a pretender, whose goal it is to deceive and to trick and to manipulate. And they do indeed specialize in the art of misimpression and/or in the art of misrepresentation. And “misimpression” is “a faulty or incorrect impression; a misconception.” And misrepresentation is “the act or state of being represented incorrectly.” And an impression is “a strong effect produced on the intellect and feelings.” (Source: Dictionary.com)

 

Since the goal is to deceive all people, including seasoned Christians and/or those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, “the art of misimpression” usually is a mixture of truth and lies so that what you read or hear has the impression of truth, but it is a twisted truth which is cleverly and skillfully being blended in with lies. And I see this much in social media memes, and I read it much or hear it much in today’s modern sermons and/or via blog posts or threads created on Christian discussion websites and/or in “Christian” literature.

 

But I am also aware that it exists much in what are called “Christian” movies and TV series and/or cartoons. And TV/movies and cartoons are strong means of making misimpressions in people’s minds and hearts because, via a movie or cartoon, we can feel with the characters, and we can get much more emotionally involved in the stories than we might by just reading written documents. And they count on that, too. And so they toy with our emotions to get us to get that “misimpression” they want us to have.

 

Modern Examples

 

Now two recent examples of this, I believe, are “The Chosen,” which is a TV drama series purportedly about the life of Jesus Christ, and “Jesus Revolution,” a movie about what has been regarded as a national spiritual awakening in the early 1970’s and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California, called “The Jesus movement,” I believe. For both of these alter the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the character of God/Jesus, and the Scriptures, and they leave many “misimpressions” about God/Jesus and about the gospel and the teachings of the Scriptures.

 

Now, to be honest here, I only saw two segments of “The Chosen,” but it was enough to see what was going on there, and I have not seen the entire movie of “Jesus Revolution,” but I have watched a few movie clips and I have listened to and watched interviews with the movie actors, and I have read reviews, and so I have heard and seen enough of that one to also see the “misimpressions” there, too. And, again, movies are a powerful way to leave “misimpressions” because the audience gets emotionally involved.

 

A lot of these “biblical” movies, though, take many liberties with the Scriptures, and they misrepresent who God/Jesus really is, perhaps not entirely, but enough to deceive naïve minds. For many young people and even children are watching these movies, and so many of them are forming their impressions of God/Jesus and of the Scriptures and of the gospel of our salvation based off what they are seeing on the screen and not from the Scriptures themselves.

 

And it is the same with social media memes, for many of them appeal to the human senses and to our emotions, and that is how many people are drawn into them. And many of them have an element of truth in them, enough to make them believable, but there may also be a twist. For there is the untruth (the lie) which is cleverly inserted to where the undiscerning do not even see it. And so they blindly accept what they just read as truth when, as a whole, it is not the truth. And these are deliberate “misimpressions.”

 

For, you see, it is not so much about doctrinal truth anymore, but it is about impressions. For these memes and movies and cartoons appeal to the human senses because we live in a very “feelings oriented” culture. It is more about how something makes you feel than it is about truth and righteousness and holiness. So, if it makes you feel good, it is tagged as “good,” and if it makes you feel bad, it is tagged as “bad.” And so that is why the truth of the gospel is being tagged as “bad,” because the truth offends people and it makes them feel bad, and they only want to feel good.

 

Misimpressions

 

Now the lie is that we, the people of the world, are all God’s people, and that God is with everyone and he is our companion and he is on our side whether or not we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith. And the lie is that God looks the other way when we sin and he is okay with us sinning, and he doesn’t judge us but he just loves on all of us. And the lie is that everyone is going to heaven except for maybe the really evil people of the world, and that faith in Jesus Christ is a mere one-time profession of him as Lord and Savior, and that heaven is guaranteed us no matter how we live.

 

But the truth as Jesus spoke it is that if anyone is going to come to Christ he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die with him to sin and live to his righteousness, then we have eternal life in him. And not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

 

And the truth is that, by faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves (addicted) to sin, but now as servants of righteousness and as slaves to God. So, if after we profess faith in Jesus Christ we continue living in willful, deliberate, and habitual sin, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God, and we will not enter into God’s heavenly kingdom.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

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.

 

https://vimeo.com/379406352