The Cost of Discipleship Pt 31 Cease to notice the pain of our own cross

Chapter 4- Discipleship and the Cross (continued)

Bonhoeffer- ' "...and take up his cross." Jesus has graciously prepared the way for this word by speaking first of self-denial. Only when we have become completely oblivious of self are we ready to bear the cross for his sake. If in the end we know only him, if we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed looking only unto him.  If Jesus had not so graciously prepared us for this word, we should have found it unbearable. But by preparing us for it he has enabled us to receive even a word as hard as this as a word of grace. It comes to us in the joy of discipleship and confirms us in it."

My thoughts- 'If we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed looking only unto him.'

Seriously, we have been brainwashed by Satan to constantly think of ourselves.

Is it impossible to not think of ourselves?  I think it might seem that way.  Just like keeping the commandments, just like accepting Christ daily, just like asking for forgiveness these are things that have to be consciously, ACTIVELY, decided!  Maybe it seems counter intuitive to consciously be aware of NOT being aware of self, but truthfully how do you stop something you aren't aware of?  You have to be aware of what you want to change, or it can't be changed, right?

I think we get so caught up in WANTING to be this perfect person that we can get extremely discouraged because we are so far from being perfect. We think we ought to be one way, but actually are another and when they collide we are led towards despairing- where Satan wants us- without hope.

Every single eye opening mistake we make is an opportunity for us- it allows us to make a choice.  We can seek forgiveness for our mistakes, or not seek forgiveness and wallow in selfish despair.  We can recognize that the Holy Spirit is opening our eyes to our faults, that we are being tried in FIRE so that we can BE perfected by God. Being shown our selfishness, being shown our lack of self-denial is a chance to seek self-denial.

We must make CHOICES to lose self and replace self with CHRIST.  To think it'll come natural to us who have indulged self for so very long, is to deceive ourselves.  We need to make CHOICES for Christ constantly.  If we do NOT make these constant choices then we are setting ourselves up to fail.

 Bonhoeffer- 'If we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed looking only unto him.'

Don't DESPAIR if you haven't ceased to notice the pain of your cross bearing, Satan wants us to DESPAIR!  Praise God for opening your eyes to recognize the pain of selfishness, the pain of self awareness, rather than self-denial.

Strange to hear the words- 'pain of self awareness'.  

We are SO deluged by self awareness paraphernalia, it's everywhere!  Satan wants to encourage our self awareness but in such a way it points us to INDULGE in our selfishness, rather than denying ourselves and taking up our crosses.  Self awareness teachings today want us to be aware of our needs, our wants, our actions and make them all a positive thing in us, only serving to increase our SELF and in that, our selfishness.  But NOT a single self awareness author would most likely dare to admit to such a thing.  DECEPTION. Satan would have us deceived! There will be NO advertising deception, it negates the deception.

There is a PAIN of self awareness, a pain of our pitying ourselves for the crosses we bear. We look at our PAIN- mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and then we feel as if it's too much, it's too hard, and there it is…. We are focused on SELF, not Christ, not His cross!

Lord, please HELP US to grow less aware of self and more aware of YOU and only YOU!

Cost of Discipleship - Bonhoeffer Self-denial

Chapter 4- Discipleship and the Cross (continued)

Bonhoeffer-' "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself."  The disciple must say to himself the same words Peter said of Christ when he denied him:  "I know not this man."

My Thoughts- We MUST say to ourselves we know NOT ourselves.  SELF-DENIAL.

Bonhoeffer-'Self- denial is never just a series of isolated acts of mortification or asceticism. It is  not suicide, for there is an element of self-will even in that. To deny oneself is to be aware ONLY of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self-denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to him." '

My Thoughts-

We want to believe that if we give up a cherished sin that we are denying ourselves fully.  We actually believe that giving up of THINGS is all there is to it. That if we are to live the life of Christ we will live it without sinning. But truthfully, we have to know deep down if no where else that as long as we hold ourselves in ANY esteem we aren't denying ourselves fully. We look at our own likes, desires, wants, thoughts, beliefs, standards, opinions, feelings, we note all these things as if they are ours by some birth right. We are ENTITLED to these self originating things, simply because we have them, simply because we exist.  We feel this way because we are caught up in the WORLD revolving around us! We are the center of our own universe. We believe this! To us this is truth!  We are much too arrogant to believe that there is so much more than our personal existence. We put OURSELVES into our children,  wanting them to carry on our existence with them after we are gone. We are full of SELF. So to say that self-denial is the mere denial of a few things we desire in our lives, is far from the reality of true self-denial. 

Bonhoeffer says -To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self.

This is TRUTH.

All the apostles after Christ's death and resurrection lived this. Their entire existence was focused on Christ and doing His will- living to bring others to His truth. None of them became rich, none of them filled their homes with treasures, none of them lived to meet their own selfish desires. Why do we imagine we are supposed to do what they didn't do?  Why do we believe that because we aren't called to be preachers, evangelists, teachers, and such, but to lead simple lives that we have some right to surround ourselves with comforts and treasures?  Satan has done his job so incredibly well!  He's got us believing that so much just doesn't matter as long as we mouth the words but don't live them, we're fine. We can live as we please to suit our wants and desires, because surely God would not want us to live otherwise.   Satan has us focused on ourselves and he wants to keep our minds on ourselves, no where else.

How aware of Christ are we, really?

Is He in all we do?

Is God our life?

Have we regulated our Savior to a few thoughts a day?

So many have done just that and they believe it's perfectly fine. 

Where are their thoughts the rest of the day?

Where else, but on themselves and those in their lives.

Do we live for Christ?

Are we TRUE disciples of Christ's?  

We have to ask ourselves these questions because not to ask them is to cover our eyes, to blind ourselves from truth.  Remember, God allows those who would be blinded to be blinded, He'll blind them if that is what they truly desire.  He forces NO ONE to the truth. 

Please LORD we would know ONLY YOU and YOUR TRUTH!

Let us buy of you EYE SALVE so that we may SEE all You would have us see!

Cost of Discipleship Pt 29 - Continuing

Chapter 4- Discipleship and the Cross (continued)

First, before I jump back into the book I have to say in rereading the last message on this study of the book 'The Cost of Discipleship', this verse JUMPED out at me.

'Mar 8:33  But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. '

JESUS told one of His DISCIPLES, one of His CHOSEN - 'GET THEE BEHIND ME, SATAN.'

He called him SATAN.

If someone is being called Satan isn't that the worst thing you could EVER call someone? Seriously, doesn't Satan depict the worst of the worst ever, the father of all things evil. Being called Satan is calling someone the worst of the worst. You are calling that person evil through and through. You want NOTHING to do with evil if you want to do what is good, what is right, what is love, what is of God.

Get thee behind me Satan.

Imagine the SHOCK of being called Satan by the Lord Himself!

The Lord didn't leave Peter or any other to wonder why He'd just called Him Satan.  Jesus continued-- 'For thou savourest NOT the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.'

And this is really it isn't it? This is what we all war against- the things of this world, the things of men.

We are SATURATED with the things of men.

We surround ourselves with the things of men.

We tell ourselves we cannot live without the things of men.

We are among men, we are part of men, and we put more stock in the things of men, the things of our own making than we do about God's things.

Do you SAVOUR the things of God?

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Who else did Jesus tell to get behind Him?

Luk 4:8  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Satan himself.

Worshiping the Lord our God ONLY.

Savoring the things of God ONLY.

We cannot savor the things of man, because then we fall into the dangerous ground of worshiping man, not God.

What things do you worship?

What things occupy most of your time, most of your life, outside of the work you do to earn a living?

Do you let work become an obsession for you, worshiping it for the things of men it can buy for you?

We need to examine ourselves because we will hear the same words- 'Get thee behind me Satan' if we do NOT savor the things of GOD!

We'll continue with 'The Cost of Discipleship'  tomorrow. For a refresher I'm going to copy paste the last study on it we did on March 14.

Chapter 4- Discipleship and the Cross

Mar 8:31  And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mar 8:32  And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.

Mar 8:33  But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

Mar 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mar 8:35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

Mar 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Mar 8:37  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mar 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Bonhoeffer- 'Jesus must therefore make it clear beyond all doubt that the "must" of suffering applies to his disciples no less than to himself. Just as Christ is Christ only in virtue of his suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord's suffering and rejections and crucifixion. Discipleship means adherence to the person of Jesus, and therefor submission to the law of Christ which is the law of the cross.

Surprisingly enough, when Jesus begins to unfold this inescapable truth to his disciples, he once more sets them free to choose or reject him. "If any man would come after me," he says. For it is not a matter of course, not even among the disciples. Nobody can be forced, nobody can even be expected to come. He says rather "If any man" is prepared to spurn all other offers which come his way in order to follow him. Once again, everything is left for the individual to decide.'

My thoughts-  So why are we taught that to suffer is to be avoided at all costs? Why are we 'programmed' to believe suffering is something awful? We are taught this. As babies and little children we are being taught to shun all suffering. We are instead taught to indulge all our desires and whims so we don't even begin to take on the tiniest of sufferings.  It's not this way all over the world. There are 'third world' countries where people are raised in a culture of nothing but suffering and children learn very young that this is their lot in life and they learn to make the best of it all.

Jesus taught the disciples that he would suffer, he would be rebuked, he would be put to death and the reaction… Peter began to rebuke Jesus.  The disciples could not imagine their beloved Messiah being caused to suffer, being rebuked, being rejected and ultimately being put to death!  No way! They didn’t want that to happen! But Jesus turned around and REBUKED Peter- calling Peter, Satan.  Telling Peter that he didn't want the things of God, but the things of men.  Isn't that the case for ALL of us?! Jesus continued and told them - 'Whosoever will come AFTER me- le him DENY HIMSELF, take up his CROSS, and FOLLOW me.  Whosoever will SAVE his life SHALL LOSE IT; but whosoever shall LOSE his life for my sake and the gospel's the same shall SAVE it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the WHOLE WORLD, and lose his own soul?'

What do we make of this? Seriously, what do we make of those words of our SAVIOR'S?

Are we, like Peter wanting to tell Jesus He is wrong? Do we want to tell Jesus, NO, You shouldn't suffer Jesus, and NO, we shouldn't suffer either, Jesus. No one should suffer, and surely no one who believes you, no one who follows you the Messiah, should be put to death!

IF we act like Peter, if we believe like Peter, then we are acting under the power of SATAN! And Jesus will say to us, just like He said to Peter, 'Get thee behind me, Satan.' 

We can follow the corrupt ways of mankind and especially of the materialistic views of our day and age and we will be disciples of Satan. Or we can follow Christ, but we have to DENY ourselves, we have to PICK UP our CROSS!

We aren't forced, never forced, we must choose our path. We must choose who we will follow.

If we imagine that we can get by in this world without following either God or Satan, think again. When you choose to look to yourself you are not looking to your Creator and most certainly not your Savior.  And when we do not look to God there is only one other place to look- Satan.  Satan loves when you choose to follow your own path because he know that by your rejecting God you are accepting him.

More tomorrow by the GRACE of GOD! Please LORD, help us to LEARN the truth of DISCIPLESHIP and in learning, believe and follow as YOU want us to follow YOU.

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All by the love of our SAVIOR.

Signs Pt 25 Be Ready

Mat 24:40  Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Mat 24:41  Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Mat 24:47  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Mat 24:48  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

Mat 24:49  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

Mat 24:50  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

Mat 24:51  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mar 13:34  For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Mar 13:35  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Mar 13:36  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

Mar 13:37  And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

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Those two verses there in Matthew 24:40,41 are what an entire group of people, probably in the millions, base their belief on what they call the Rapture. Jesus is giving parables of the SUDDEN, UNEXPECTEDNESS that His return will be. He is saying that when He returns to call those that are HIS to meet Him in the air, that yes, many will go but many more will not go, but NO WHERE does it tell us that this is all done in secret, and people aren't going to know why, and people are going to be given a second chance, NO WHERE!  When Christ returns He is taking ALL those that are His, even those who died and have been sleeping death's sleep for thousands of years.  He is going to take the dead that are His and the living that are His, the rest will NEVER BE HIS!  NEVER!  There isn't going to be any more time for people to repent. Christ returns when it is ALL done, every case is decided. Our time to REPENT is NOW! We can't wait a single second and imagine that we have another second. A brain aneurysm takes only a moment to kill someone, and none of us know if we even have another second. We have to accept Christ NOW, not believe we have time enough later to repent. When Christ tells us one will be taken and another left, He means it.  He never says He'll come back later for those He left the first time, NEVER. That is a made up DECEPTIVE theory that Satan has cultivated to capture many, many people who STOP looking for the truth in God's word. So many never even search for the truth themselves but rather take the word of others. NEVER TAKE MY WORD FOR ANYTHING SCRIPTURAL! Look it up for yourselves PLEASE!

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

WATCH.

Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Mar 13:34  For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Mar 13:35  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Mar 13:36  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

Mar 13:37  And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

If you KNOW you might be robbed- you watch!

If you know you might be robbed and take no precautions, you will be robbed.

We have to be READY ALWAYS.

Our Bible tells us- 'Therefore be ye also READY.  FOR IN SUCH AN HOUR AS YE THINK NOT THE SON OF MAN COMETH.'

Be READY. 

We MUST be prepared at all times!

Every day our Savior is ONE DAY closer to coming again!

Every day we have to be ready for Him to return. There should be NOTHING left undone in our preparation, not a single thing for a single moment. If there is, we are not preparing, we are not ready.

Our trust has to be fully placed in the righteousness of our SAVIOR.

If we are waiting for someone to pat us on the back and tell us we're ready now, we'll be waiting forever. If we are waiting for perfection in ourselves, we'll never be ready because we'll be tempted to use that as an excuse. We'll tell ourselves it's too hard, or we'll tell ourselves God understands. We will say a lot of things to ourselves but the bottom line is we HAVE to be ready and that means we are eagerly awaiting our Lord's return. We are waiting, watching, praying always!

Signs Pt 24- Stand before the Son of man

Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Luk 21:34  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Luk 21:35  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

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We've talked about this so much, but it NEEDS constant discussion, constant study, constant  prayer!

Jesus says-  Watch and pray always!

We watch and pray why?  So we MAY BE ACCOUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE ALL THESE THINGS THAT SHALL COME TO PASS, AND TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN!

Isn't that where we NEED and WANT to stand?  Before our SAVIOR.

We have to TAKE HEED.

We have to WATCH.

We have to PRAY.

We have to realize that the aspect of BELIEF in the very REAL return of our SAVIOR will be practically gone entirely.

It will be considered a fable, a fantasy, a delusion that various cults and churches have, but nothing with any shred of reality to it.

OR and this is a HUGE OR…

Or the return of our Savior will be based upon LIES not truth.

Lies about how our Savior will return.  It's NOT a simple matter of His returning and that's that.  HOW does He return?

It's VERY, VERY VISIBLE and not to just a few, not to just the elect.

Rev 1:7  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

How many eyes?

Seriously, how many?

EVERY EYE!

This isn't Christ coming as a babe growing into adulthood, taking on His AMAZING, INCOMPREHENSIBLE task of SAVIOR.  This is our SAVIOR coming as our CONQUERING KING! He's is coming to call us HOME with HIM!

2Th_2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming

Destroyed with the BRIGHTNESS of HIS COMING.

Mat_24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

LIGHTNING!

This is NOT a hidden return!

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a SHOUT!

And at that SHOUT what happens?

The DEAD IN CHRIST RISE from their graves! Then at that shout WE which are alive and remain will be caught up with them in the clouds to MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR! And PRAISE GOD, all GLORY TO GOD, so shall we EVER BE WITH THE LORD!

I don't know about you, but I know I want to be with the LORD FOREVER!

I don't want to get caught up in the false theories that are running rampant about how our Savior will return. I don't want to get caught up in NOT believing it will happen. I don't want to get caught up in being a scoffer! I want the TRUTH and ONLY THE TRUTH!

Mat 24:37  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Mat 24:38  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

Mat 24:39  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Luk 21:34  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Luk 21:35  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Luk 21:36  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

In Noah's day they did NOT believe.

In Noah's day they were NOT looking for a flood.
In Noah's day they did NOT care.

In Noah's day they WERE self indulgent in EVERY WAY.

In Noah's day they were DESTROYED! ALL of them were destroyed!

The unbelievers will not be watching and praying for the Lord's return.

The unbelievers in the truth will be eager to snatch up any theory they can that allows them to indulge in their own selfishness.

The unbelievers will be caught in the snare that was perfectly VISIBLE, a snare that they choose to ignore!

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The minds are NOT blinded without consent. Satan is ever ready to blind all and will not miss a single opportunity to do so.

People hear the truth and because it brings light to the dark things in their lives they grow uncomfortable and as that uncomfortable feeling hits they shrink back and when they shrink back Satan is right there ready to ease blinder upon their eyes, telling them they don't have to follow ALL the truth. He tells them they can pick and choose the truth they want to follow, but he LIES.

Is it easy following our Savior?

NO!

It's the hardest thing anyone will ever do.

People have the entire host of Satan's fallen angels on his side to bring down upon anyone who dares to follow all of Christ's truth.

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Please LORD help us all to FIND the narrow way, the strait gate, the way of LIFE all in YOU by YOUR righteousness! All through Your LOVE! ALWAYS!

Signs Pt 23- Heaven and earth shall pass away, but NOT Christ's words!

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Mar 13:28  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

Mar 13:29  So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Mar 13:30  Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Mar 13:31  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Luk 21:29  And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

Luk 21:30  When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

Luk 21:31  So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

Luk 21:32  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Luk 21:33  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

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And the cry goes out that many generations have read these same signs and their generations have passed away, over and over again, two thousand years of generations.  So how do we know? How do we believe this is for OUR generation?

Let me ask this…  how do we NOT believe?

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

In the last days- scoffers!  Are you a scoffer? Do you know a scoffer? They are everywhere denying that Christ is coming, denying in Christ's divinity, denying God, trampling on God.

These scoffers in the last days will be walking after their own lusts.

They will be saying- where is the promise of His coming?

They will be saying - since the fathers have died everything is the same as from the very beginning of creation.

Now let me ask you this… did Jesus come? Do you believe in Jesus? I do.  I believe that Jesus came as the Messiah, as God with us, as our Savior. Yet there are those who do not believe this at all. 

D.L. Moody had this to say-

'The world waited for the first coming of the Lord, waited for 4,000 years, and then He

came. He was here only thirty-three years, and then He went away. But He left us a promise that He would come again; and, as the world watched and waited for His first coming and did not watch in vain, so now, to them who wait for His appearing, shall He appear a second time unto salvation. Now, let the question go round, “Am I ready to meet the Lord if

He comes tonight?”'

--

McCheyne, the Scottish preacher, once said to some friends, “Do you think Christ will come

tonight?”

One after another they said, “I think not.”

When all had given this answer, he solemnly repeated this text: “The Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Luke 12:40

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

D. L. Moody

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The world waited 4000 years for Jesus! How many generations waited for the promised Messiah, a lot. And how many believed Jesus was the Messiah when He did arrive after 4000 years?  Not many, not compared to the multitude. He was rejected, He wasn't their idea of a Messiah, He didn't come as they envisioned, forget Scripture, He just wasn't the type of Messiah they could allow themselves to bow down to.

How many people now, after almost 2000 years are truly waiting for the Messiah to return?

How many Christians live in expectation of the Son of God returning?  Are we supposed to say that our fathers waited and look they're sleeping in the grave now, so what good did it do them to wait, Jesus did not return for them and they were waiting and waiting all their lives. Why should I live in that sort of expectation only to have those around me turn around and say she waited in vain and now she's considered a fool for her waiting, it warranted her nothing.  How many have grandparents, and great grandparents who lived with the expectation of Jesus returning? How many in your own family have a history of waiting only to be left sleeping in the grave?

Truthfully, not a single one of those who go to the grave having spent their entire life waiting for the second coming of the Messiah would say it was waiting in vain. They know that no one knows when He will return but the Father God. They know that living with the hope only deepened their relationship with Christ. And they know that after all, death is only a sleep and the next thing they'll know when they are awakened from that death sleep is their Savior calling them from their graves to meet Him in the air- all because they DID live and DID die with the expectation of His return.

Just as D.L. Moody wrote above- you can go around and ask people right this day if they believe Christ will come that day, and most are going to say no.

You'd be tempted to say no as well more than likely because you might be waiting for specific things to take place first and they haven't happened as you are expecting them. But are we supposed to get caught up in that sort of thinking? Didn't the Jewish hierarchy in Jesus' time on earth have set expectations as to how the Messiah was to appear, and weren't they very, very wrong resulting in their house being left to them desolate?

Prophecy that hasn't happened yet is something we cannot allow ourselves to speculate so much so on that we miss everything else.  We have so many prophecies that have come to pass that there is NO doubt of the Bible's validity. History has proven prophecies true time after time, the rest that we can't comprehend fulfilled just yet will come to pass, we must pray that we comprehend when that happens especially us or those who will live in the times of the end where they HAVE no choice but to live during the fulfillment of the last days.  Is it any wonder that Jesus told us to WATCH and PRAY.

Luk 21:29  And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

Luk 21:30  When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

Luk 21:31  So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

Luk 21:32  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Luk 21:33  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Truth.  We all know by various signs in nature that summer is coming and one of those signs is the leaves returning on trees that lost them during the autumn.  Right now outside my living room window there is a Frangipani Tree just getting its first leaves and I know that means that the weather is getting warmer, it's time for the leaves to return and by summer's beginning there should be beautiful yellow flowers all over the tree. I know this because it's factual, it's the course of nature, it's inevitable barring anything unforeseen, like someone chopping the tree down.  It will come to pass, I will see those beautiful flowers soon.

Jesus said when these things come to pass- all the signs He's given- then we will know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.  Jesus will be coming soon.  He didn't say we know that Jesus will be there immediately, but we KNOW that He is coming soon! And the generation that is living when the last of all the prophecies is fulfilled, the last of the signs has been seen, WILL witness the glorious return of our SAVIOR!   So sure is this prophecy that heaven and earth could pass away but NOT this prophecy of Jesus.  You don't get more surety than this, you just don't!

Scoffers.

Those who aren't watching, and THINK NOT that Jesus is coming.

These are characteristic of the last days and just because they may have been characteristic for thousands of years, doesn't make them any less truthful.

We stop looking for our Savior's return at our own peril.

We scoff at our Savior ever returning at our own peril.

We MUST live with GREAT EXPECTATION OF OUR SAVIOR'S RETURN! It must be REAL to us, for it to be anything but real to us will have us sleeping without any oil in our lamps and when He does return we will be among those who will not be ready and we will not be called into the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Rev_19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Please LORD, please don't let us be caught unaware, don't let us become scoffers, don't let us sleep without the extra oil for our lamps, please LORD we need to be ready for You when You return, we LONG to be ready for You, YOUR BRIDE PREPARED!

All by YOUR GRACE and MERCY PRECIOUS LORD!

Signs Pt 22 - Angels gathering us to meet our Lord in the air!

Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mar 13:27  And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Luk 21:28  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

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North, South, East, and West- the directions of the four winds.

Dan_11:4  And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

Divided towards the four winds.  This came to pass. Alexander the Great's conqueror from Greece, died and his kingdom did not go to any of his bloodline but rather to four generals who divided that kingdom into four. 

Our Savior's elect will be gathered from the North, the South, the East, and the West, from all over the entire world. The angels will gather those blessed to be counted among God's elect. The angels will gather them and they will RISE from earth to heaven.

1Th_4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Caught up together with Jesus in the clouds!

Meeting the Lord in the air, never to leave the Lord again!

Our Savior will not descend to earth when He comes for His people.  This is a mistake so many are making. People all over are waiting for a Messiah on earth to lead them to heaven.  People all over are waiting for a secret rapture and a subsequent period of probation for those who don't make it the first time.   These are LIES.  Lies perpetuated by the GREATEST DECIEVER EVER!  I can say that with the greatest conviction, the greatest confidence because I know what the Bible says and the Bible does NOT contradict itself!

How can I read in more than one place in the Bible that at Christ's second coming we will rise to meet Him in the air, that we will be gathered by angels and taken into the air to meet Him, and then turn around and believe that I will be rendered invisible and snatched away, that I will see Jesus returned walking upon the air calling us to Him? How can I believe this stuff?

The Bible says this-

1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Bear the image of the heavenly- an IMAGE of the heavenly.  That is NOT invisibility, invisibility has no image at all- it's unseen. We know our Savior has an image, He returned after His resurrection and Thomas touched Him.

Joh 20:24  But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

Joh 20:25  The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Joh 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

You do not SEE and you do not TOUCH an invisible person.

We will be changed- taking on the form of INCORRUPTION- no longer subject to decay and death, our flesh will be changed but not rendered invisible.  We will have an image.

So how can people take on these beliefs that are NOT Biblical?!

How can people believe that when they die they go straight to heaven?  What need would their be for the dead to rise when Christ comes if they are already with Him? It makes NO sense at all whatsoever. But people are going to cling to the lies, the deception because they don't want to believe the truth. They don't want to believe the truth because the truth is something very few will find and live!  Not my words, Jesus' words!

Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

So cling to what the majority believes and believe yourself saved while ignoring all the truth being given by GOD, and stay lost in your deception.

Or stop clinging to the lies! Stop holding fast to the deception!  Our LORD is returning! All by HIS grace and HIS mercy, through HIS righteousness, HIS Forgiveness, HIS amazing love we will be among those who are gathered by the angels and taken to meet HIM in the air!

Please LORD this is our desire, this is our need, this is our HOPE life with YOU in a world that makes sense, all in YOUR LOVE!