Kept from Evil

Today I've listened to a couple of Bible Studies taped by William Grotheer on Revelation 13 and 14. It's so much to try and comprehend and yet I think it's very important that we do try and understand. These prophecies concern US. We who are alive in the end times before Jesus' second coming! This is us! All the signs point to it and yet I can hear the moaning and groaning about every generation believing that way and how you don't want to be among the duped, silly fools who believe in such things. I have to ask you, what harm is there in believing? None. But...what harm is there in NOT believing? Plenty. Do you want to be numbered among Satan's or Christ's? There is only one or the other no other options, no other plans to look over and choose. There is A or B no C,D,E,F or G and there is NO way to create any more plans, none.
It is so important that we remember this, that we live this, that we understand, that people understand.
Back in the days of Jesus the Jewish people were expecting a Messiah to come and yet they rejected Jesus, the Messiah... they had Him crucified, why?
We've all probably watched movies or shows, or even read books with characters blindly writing to each other developing a relationship that seems strong and yet then they meet each other and BAM! they aren't what each other expected. What? You've experienced this yourself in a blind date? Don't the people setting others up on their blind dates tell the person they're setting up what their blind date is like? As a rule they do. Blind dates are stigmatized because they're notorious for setting up an undesirable person with another person who doesn't consider themselves to be unworthy enough to be with the undesirable one. The ugly cousin from out of town. The fat friend who needs a pity date. We know the stories and yet sometimes we are told what? We are told that the person isn't undesirable but very beautiful, very smart and everything you might want in a date. Expectations are formed.
We get caught up in expectations don't we? We perceive how we want something or someone to be and we hold our hopes high that the expectation will be met. We set up pictures in our minds eye of how things will turn out.
The longed for Messiah, the Jewish people had their expectations of the Messiah, and they still do because they rejected Christ as their Messiah. The visions they had weren't met in Jesus so it was easy to reject Him. Yet history proves He was the Messiah they rejected. Their own Torah (their own Testament) said that Christ would be rejected. Yet they were blinded to it all because they only believed what they WANTED to believe no more, no less.
We fall into dangerous territory when we are dealing with the future and the hopes we have. People all over have drawn up different scenarios for how the end times will all take place.
Let me ask you something-
Are you waiting for something special before you'll believe anything about the Lord's Second Coming is true? Are you waiting for a billboard to go up about town giving you the day and hour? Are you waiting for some horrible monster in human form to come about and start taking over things so that everything is obvious? Are you waiting for a mark to be forced upon you so you can deny it and then give your life fully to Christ? Are you waiting for signs of Jesus' return to become more prominent to you? If you're waiting you're in for a shocking, eternal death producing surprise.
'Romans 13:11 11And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.'
2 Corinthians 7:10 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Titus 2:11 11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Hebrews 2:3 3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Hebrews 9:28 28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
1 Peter 1:5 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:9-10 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
Salvation will be ours! It is promised to us. Jesus died to give us this promise through Him. We are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation. We can't escape if we neglect so great a salvation. The grace of God bringeth salvation. Our salvation is nearer than we believed. The end of our faith is salvation.
We can't wait for signs of Christ's second coming before we give our lives, our love, our hearts to Christ, we can't! If we are waiting for anything at all we have to give up the expectation of things to come. We have to take hold of what we know, what we have here and now and by the Holy Spirit grasp hold of all that Jesus has to offer us, now. We have to live for Jesus NOW, not later, not when we see signs. The signs are to guide us and the signs should be watched for but not with concrete expectations of changing our lives when we see a supposed sign. Our lives have to be changed right NOW, and not changed by us, but by Christ. We have to give Christ our lives only then will we be changed by Him, for Him.
The Jewish people rejected Christ as they held fast to their preconceived ideas of what their Messiah should be like. Are we clinging to various things we think must come to pass before Christ comes? Do we have our notions all set up and are our eyes peeled looking for the signs to fit those notions? How rigid are we being?
Maybe we can't know for a fact that a sign has taken place. Maybe there isn't a website we can go to that tells us beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prophecies of these last days are starting to fall into place. Maybe we have to trust in God to perform that which He's told us He will perform and trust that if we can see what we believe to be a sign that the ONE thing it does more than anything else is draws us closer to Christ, not anything else. If we are using signs to take steps in our lives to prepare then we're going to be lost, irrevocably lost. The end is coming and how should you be prepared for it? What does it mean?
What would you think it meant if you were to get that factual sign? What would you do then? Would you have to alter a way of life? Would you run off to hide somewhere away from where you perceive conflict will be had? Would you stock up on food? Would you build a shelter? Would you suddenly start delving into the Bible? Would your life be one constant prayer? Would you find it easier to fall to your knees?
Guess what? God doesn't give us that sort of scenario. Even with ALL His prophecies He doesn't give us the scenario that so many want to have. He doesn't say I'm going to tap you on the shoulder so get ready. He doesn't hold up a cue card giving us our lines. He doesn't send warnings more than His word itself is our warning.
From the time of the exodus when He took His people out of bondage and brought them to a place to make a covenant with them, from that moment on He's expected His people to know what kind of God He is, and what He expects of us. He didn't hide Himself. He didn't neglect to inform us of who He is and what His ideas are. He's made it plain, very plain. We have a book that is thousands of years old and in that book there is the message of Him. He's giving us a conscience, we are born with that conscience. God has allowed us access to Him. No, we don't get front row seats, because we'd perish if we were given them simply because of how unworthy we are of them. We are given seats in the back row but we are ALL invited to this concert called life and knowing God. Some can choose not to take a seat and head out the door, but that is their choice. We should all be desirous of this concert and head right on in to the auditorium which we access through prayer and worship, through study of God's word. He wants us to know Him. He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could get to know Him and His unfathomable mercy and grace, His unimaginable, incomprehensible, amazing love that goes far beyond our sordid concept of the word. We fight to stay married to our husband or wife, and we call that love. We have children we put conditions upon and we call that love. We own pets and we call that love. We've no real understanding of love until we look to Jesus only then do we begin to glimpse that amazing love.
No. We aren't going to be given any special promotional email or postcard, or see a promotional sign in the supermarket or the local drugstore. We're not going to see poster boards up on lamp posts, or telephone poles. We're not going to see a person wearing a board, or holding a sign advertising the day of Jesus' return for those who have found and claimed salvation in Him.
In fact... many, many, many people... most people... the majority of people will be going about their day to day lives when He comes. What does that tell us?
You tout the seven last plagues as signs and ask how in the world can people go about their day to day lives when the plagues are falling down upon them?
It will be.
We don't know how it will all work, but we are told it will work- it will happen. Maybe the plagues will fall some here and some there. We don't know exactly, but we know it will happen. People will be living their lives just as they are now. I heard just the other day, '...but we have to live in this world.' Yes, we have to live in this world, but not OF this world. We can live, we can have our jobs, plan for our futures with the hope so mingled into all those plans and actions of Christ's soon return that we aren't living a life separate to what God would have us live. Yes, we have to live in this world, we do and Christ didn't pray that we would be taken out of it prior to His return for us, He prayed that we should be kept from EVIL. John {17:15} 'I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.' Christ KNEW we'd be surrounded by the evil of this world, but He prayed to the Father that we would be kept from the evil while living surrounded by it. Do you doubt you can live in the world and be kept from evil? If so then you doubt the Word of God! You doubt Jesus! Where is your faith?! Where is your hope?!
We have to have hope! We have to have faith in Jesus and all His promises to save us. We can't expect to save ourselves. As long as we look to save ourselves then we will only feel the weight of the world pressing down on us telling us that we will never be saved. Christ is our hope. Yes, we need to afflict our souls in these last days of probation before time is up and our fates are forever decided. We need to afflict our souls. Afflict them. We need to question our lives, our actions, our very intentions! We need to know beyond a doubt that NOTHING we do will ever amount to anything, that we cannot save ourselves! We have to afflict our souls with this knowledge. We have to ask for forgiveness in that affliction, BEG for forgiveness for our sins against our Savior! Cling to Jesus and the hope He gives us that He will forgive us, He will if we ask. Yes, afflict our souls as we seek forgiveness, as we seek to be perfected by Him, this is what we need to do and YES, I shout it again YES!!!! We can afflict our souls while living our everyday lives. We can. We have to! Jesus left us in this world and prayed we'd be kept from evil, He didn't transport us to a place where we'd be able to live sin free. That place is in Heaven with Him after He comes to take us Home with Him! We will be transported then but right now, today, this very hour, this very minute we have to live here and now and yes, do so with Jesus in our hearts, afflicting our souls and clinging to our One and ONLY hope, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever!
Amen.