PREPARE FOR PERSECUTION AS YOU STAND ON THE AUTHORITY OF GOD’S WORD

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Paul provides the model of how to behave in the dark days ahead and how to finish strongly. Jesus told us that in the “last days” the love of many will grow cold. There will be a great falling away in the church (Apostasy), even the elect deceived.

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Note many friends will leave you as they did Paul, “Demas in love with this present world has deserted me.” If you are doing God’s will, many will harm you as they did Paul “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm”. In fact, Paul says, “no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me.” BUT Paul also says, “the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the (GOSPEL) message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might hear it. 

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defence no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Timothy 4:6-18

“LAST DAYS” EVENTS ESCALATING AS PROPHECIED

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Celebration of passing the Same Sex Marriage bill in Parliament House Canberra yesterday. Labour’s Senate leader Penny Wong is the one standing in the picture on the left. She has a particular interest as she is in a lesbian relationship and she and her partner have two girls. On the right, Bill Shorten, Labour’s leader takes part in a March to support the YES VOTE.

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Sadly, most of these people live their lives as if God does not exist, certainly not the God of the Bible who tells us that   to fear God is the  beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 1:7  At this time, I am also reminded of what Jesus said,

“If you abide in my WORD, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

God’s word also tells us, that “scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgement and destruction of the ungodly.

The world no longer believes that God judged the world just four thousand years ago. Only eight human survivors of a worldwide flood and yet the evidence of billions of things buried quickly all over the world is stark and ample evidence.

Probably the greatest proof of the authenticity of the Bible is fulfilled prophecy. Over 300 prophecies of Jesus first coming is enough, but do you know that there are many more prophecies concerning His second coming and these are beginning to unfold in our time. One of the most significant is the prophecy of Israel being reborn as a nation and that God would bring Jews back to Israel from all around the world. This is happening at an increasing rate as we approach the last seven years before Jesus return – The 70th Week of Daniel.

Many of the recent posts on this website clearly demonstrate we are in the “last days”. Another, very significant sign given by Jesus, is that in the “last days” there would be apostasy in the church. A great falling away, as the church no longer stands on God’s Word, heeding sound doctrine. Abortion, same sex marriage, gender fluidity and euthanasia are four abominations in God’s sight which will bring God’s judgement on nations that approve of these sins. Australia now joins those other nations that are going down this path of destruction. Judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah was a real historical event but the scoffers are blind.

BIGGEST THREAT TO CHRISTIANITY IN THE 21st CENTURY.

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The biggest threat to Christianity in the modern day comes from within, a panel of theologians said at an event hosted by Ligonier Ministries on Tuesday evening to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The panel of theologians at the Ligonier Ministries event “Reformation 500 Celebration” on Tuesday, October 30, 2017. Left to right: Chris Larson, president and CEO of Ligonier Ministries; Stephen J. Nichols, president of Reformation Bible College; Sinclair Ferguson, teaching fellow and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary; and Derek W.H. Thomas, senior minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina, and professor at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Sinclair Ferguson, Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, responded that the greatest threat is “probably Christianity in this century.”

“That’s a greater threat than Islam. Christendom is a far greater threat to Christianity than Islam is. Islam can never destroy the Gospel, but Christendom can easily destroy the Gospel and is destroying the Gospel,” said Ferguson, adding, “the Church is the greatest threat to real Christianity in the world. God help us.”

“Especially with the Church in America, we have far too casual a view of God and that might be right at the centre of some of our theological malaise,” noted Nichols.

They stated the truth, but what they failed to say is that the majority of church denominations and Bible Colleges in the USA no longer hold to the inerrancy of Scripture, particularly the foundational book of the Bible – GENESIS. The acceptance of Evolution and billions of years history for the universe totally undermines the foundations laid in Genesis and its history of the Cosmos. Moreover, we should not be surprised as the Bible tells us that in the “last days” apostasy is rife – “there will be a great falling away”.

GOD INVARIABLY USES THE MEEK & HUMBLE TO ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSES

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On what was more than likely an ordinary day 500 years ago, Luther nailed his 95 theses, written in Latin, to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. He intended them to be read only by church theologians.

Without Luther’s permission, someone took the 95 theses and translated them into German and printed them. Luther’s ideas went viral, spreading like wildfire throughout the whole of Germany, causing a tremendous stir within the church and with the common people.

WHO WAS THE UNKNOWN PERSON WHO TRANSLATED AND DISTRIBUTED THE 95 THESES?

“Ordinary people didn’t know their Bible because they didn’t have Bibles,” says Dr. Kendall, an admirer of Luther’s and a student of Luther’s life and ministry. “The Roman Catholic Church did not want you to have Bibles. They just told you what the Bible said. Your faith [was] whatever the church believed. For Luther, it was deeper than that.”

In 1520, Luther stood trial before the German emperor, Frederick the Wise, and Cardinal Catejan, and was asked to recant his words. He didn’t, and while awaiting a possible execution, Luther was “kidnapped” by a group of friends, who took him to Wartburg, where he spent 10 months translating the Bible into the common German language.

“Martin Luther began to teach the Bible, and it really began to turn things upside down,” Dr. Kendall says. “People had never heard the Bible explained to them the way he did. They came in droves to hear him preach. And now, 500 years later, people have Bibles, but they don’t read them.”

Extract from article by Steve Strang in Charisma Magazine

AOG CHURCH MUST EMBRACE BIBLE AS ABSOLUTE TRUTH

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It will be interesting to see what impact Dr Doug Clay will have in getting the AOG church to reaffirm the Bible as the absolute inerrant word of God – the truth about the cosmos from Genesis to Revelation.

During his recent consecration as the new general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Dr. Doug Clay had two things in mind: First, he wanted to reaffirm the identity of his denomination, and second, to look to the future by keeping four AG core values at the forefront.

Drawing an analogy between Martin Luther and his 95 Theses and today’s Assemblies of God church, Clay, 54, said he recently had a dream about what it would look like to start a Pentecostal Reformation through the denomination. It would begin, he said, with the reaffirmation of these tenets:

  • The Holy Spirit is a person, not an “it.”
  • The Bible is the absolute truth.
  • Character, regardless of your title or position, matters.
  • The purpose of the Assemblies of God is evangelism, and the denomination must avoid getting sidetracked from that purpose.

A third-generation pastor’s kid, Clay spoke passionately about each of these values as applied to the AG church. The largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, the Assemblies of God has grown to more than 67 million members worldwide.

“I really want to see the Holy Spirit do what He does best: magnify Jesus,” Clay said. “We just need to let the Holy Spirit be the Holy Spirit. … With the Bible, we really do believe it is the foundation for all of life transformation and community transformation. Biblical literacy is one of the major initiatives I want to take on during my administration.

“We also need to place a high value on character. Paul says that if you don’t have the fruit of the spirit, then you are not a tuned instrument. … And finally, I’m committed to say that, in the DNA of the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal organisation, evangelism is going to have a high priority, as it has for the last 103 years.”

 

FORMER LGBTQ CHRISTIANS JOURNEY TO FREEDOM IN JESUS

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Today’s culture tells people who are homosexual there is no other way and there is no ‘cure,’ but Christians who were once LGBTQ have a different story to tell. And they’re telling it in a new documentary.

Men and women who once embraced gay relationships and transgender identities bravely share how their lives and their sense of self completely changed after coming to meet Jesus.

Just some of the ex-LGBTQ Christians sharing their story in the upcoming ‘Here’s My Heart’ documentary are Brooklyn Wojo, who identified as lesbian aged 12 and transgender at the age of 18, before meeting Christ and being born again.

Kaya Brown, 22, was homosexual for 10 years and struggled with gender confusion during that time until she had a powerful encounter with Jesus on her grandmother’s living room sofa.

Ieacha Lusk was a lesbian for 19 years and homeless for 12 years before God removed her desire for another woman in 2015.

Casual gay sex, drinking and clubbing were all the norm for Davon Johnson before starting his own spiritual quest into his sexual identity and landing at the feet of Jesus.  Today he is a minister and husband.

Joshua Buchanan spent his high school years feeling confused about his sexual identity before fully embracing the homosexual lifestyle at community college. He tried drugs, partying and homosexual relationships before hitting rock bottom in 2009 when he was diagnosed with HIV. That’s when he started going to church and met God in a magnificent way before fully accepting Christ into his life at an altar call. His identify was never the same again and he went on to graduate from Heritage Bible College with a degree in Worship & Music.

The documentary is being put together by MJ Nixon, author of The Journey Back Home and a member of the Refuge Ranch Atlanta deliverance ministry.

She’s not documenting these powerful stories as an outside observer; rather she herself also struggled with same gender attraction before experiencing a fundamental change in her heart after meeting Jesus.

‘The Lord started showing me all these people that I knew in the different groups and communities that I’ve been a part of in the last six years since I’ve been saved,’ she told The Activist Mommy.

‘All these men and women who have powerful testimonies of only the power of God being able to set them free from being transgender, being bisexual, being homosexual.’

She has so many hopes for her documentary. One of them is, of course, to give a witness to the power of Christ.

But that’s not all, though; she also wants to ‘equip the body of Christ on how to minister more respectfully to the LGBT community.’

And importantly, she wants the documentary to minister to those within the church who deny that homosexuality is a sin.

‘What I have found is that one of the hardest groups to reach is the Christians who believe it is OK to live this lifestyle and love Jesus,’ she said.

‘I look at Romans 1:26 I cannot deny that this is unnatural. No matter how much I try to justify it, it’s unnatural. When God showed me the truth of His Word, it set me free. And I couldn’t look at it and say ‘no God, I wanna live the way I wanna live.’

extracted from article by Rachel Howard in Christian Post

BIBLE BASED SYNOPSIS OF END TIMES

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If you are interested in a Bible based synopsis of End Times signs, this is a must listen. You will need one and a half hours, but it is well worth the time. The content is comprehensive, make a note of all the Bible verses for your own study.

PROPHESIED END TIMES EVENTS – INCREASE IN NATURAL DISASTERS

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Apocalyptic September? Here Is A List Of 27 Major Disasters That Have Already Happened So Far This Month.

The Bible does talk about an increase of natural disasters in the “last days”. Jesus also warns us many times in the Olivet Discourse to be watchful for the signs He gives us preparatory to His second coming. Apostasy in the church is an important one and so evident in the church today as it caves in to gay marriage and homosexual pastors.

We know the Pharisees and the Sadducees missed His first coming despite the warning of 300 odd Bible prophecies. When we read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, we wonder how the Jews still don’t recognise their Messiah but as there is a growing number of Messianic Jews, obviously some do. Despite there being many more prophecies of Jesus second coming than His first, will church leaders be like the Pharisees and Sadducees and miss it, thereby not being in a position to warn their parishioners?

Jesus seminal teaching on the state of the church at His second coming is the parable of the Ten Virgins.

  • This parable is about ten virgins (CHURCHGOERS) who keep themselves pure as they await the return of the bridegroom (JESUS).
  • Five of the virgins are described as wise and five foolish.
  • While the bridegroom was delaying, they ALL got drowsy and fell asleep.
  • At a trumpet blast all awoke but half did not have oil (HOLY SPIRIT) for their lamps and did not go into the wedding feast. In fact, when they returned Jesus said, “depart from Me, I don’t know you”.

In the parable of the Ten Virgins, we see that Jesus tells us that all the church is asleep as they wait for His return. Jesus did not say those who hold the correct Rapture theory are awake and the rest are asleep, He is saying the church as a whole is asleep. Soberly, this parable also reveals that half of the church are seekers but not saved. It also suggests we have a mission field in our churches, but the half that are saved are asleep, so not able to help the seekers in their churches.

The timing of the Rapture question is not an academic one. THE ETERNAL DESTINY OF MILLIONS OF CHURCHGOERS IS AT STAKE IN THE ANSWER. Jesus’s parables are usually about contrasts between the righteous and the wicked, but in this parable both groups fall asleep waiting for the return of the bridegroom! Both the foolish and the wise are probably sleeping right now, meaning that most of us are slumbering in regard to the return of our Lord. That is a humbling statement. What is the state of your church on this critical issue?

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MAJOR DISASTERS SO FAR THIS MONTH

()) Mexico earthquake 8.2 imminent tsunami. Beach lines are receded at least 50+ meters, ()) Yellowstone volcano is hit with earthquake swarm of over 2,300 tremors since June, recording a 4.4 quake on June 15, 20017 and 3.3 shaker on August 21, 2017, (()) 5.3 earthquake rumbles through Idaho, (()) Japan earthquake 6.1 possible tsunami,  Texas is under water.  India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, experience record monsoons and massive death toll. Sierra Leone and Niger experience massive floods, mudslides, and deaths in the thousands.

 Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia are crushed in the death grip of a triple digit heat wave, dubbed Lucifer.

California is on fire.  Oregon is on fire.  Washington is on fire.  British Columbia is on fire.  Alberta is on fire.  Montana is on fire.  Nova Scotia is on fire.  Greece is on fire.  Brazil is on fire.  Portugal is on fire.  Algeria is on fire.  Tunisia is on fire.  Greenland is on fire.  The Sakha Republic of Russia is on fire.  Siberia is on fire.  Southern California continues to swelter under triple digit heat that shows no sign of letting up.  In usually chilly August, the city of San Francisco shatters all-time record at 106 degrees, while it reaches 115 degrees south of the city. Northern California continues to bake in the triple digits.

And last but not least an X10 C.M.E solar flare two nights ago. The highest recorded solar flare ever!

In my lifetime we have never had this number of natural disasters in one month. Moreover they are occurring like “birth pangs” with ever increasing frequency and magnitude.

PREPARE FOR THE “END TIMES” EVENTS TO COME

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“Why do the nations rage…? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear off their bonds and cast away their ropes from us” (Psalm 2:1-3).

David describes a time when many rulers would see God’s Word in a negative light, as though it were bonds enslaving them and as cords binding them to His morality, godly ways and truth. They would see the demands of God’s Word as hindering “human potential” in sexual expression along with many other life choices.

This prophecy is being fulfilled now and it is time to speak up and to refuse to remain silent. In this hour, as the cultural wars intensify, the voice of aggressive secularists is getting much louder and bolder. At the same time, many in the church are retreating into fearful silence. To some, it seems as if the church will be overrun by the angry voices of the liberal left. However, I assure you that the Lord’s purposes will surely succeed. He is raising up those who will speak up with clarity and courage because of their fierce love for Jesus and the truth (John 14:21, 2 Thess. 2:10).

Where is all this going? Some ask if things will get better or worse. The truth is, both light and darkness will increase at the same time. Before Jesus returns, godliness and sin alike will reach their greatest heights in history:

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For the darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord shall rise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1-2).

The greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in history is yet to come, in conjunction with a deluge of deep darkness assaulting the nations.

The Lord is raising up courageous messengers who will fearlessly proclaim Jesus as the only way of salvation, the authority of His Word and the supremacy of His glorious leadership.

Where do you stand? Where does your church stand? What is God calling you to do in this hour? It is time to make important decisions, to align yourselves with like minded brothers and sisters in Christ. The persecuted church invariably looks like the church described in the Book of Acts.

Compiled using article by Mike Bickle, The Lord is Raising Up Courageous Messengers in Charisma Magazine