These testimonies are from people whose lives have been impacted by The Last Reformation Movement started by Torben Sondergaad. I have shared many of Torben’s videos on this site as I am sure this is one of the ministries Jesus has raised up to serve His church in these last days before He returns. Special live guests are Arjan and Annie van den Hoek from Holland now living in Curacao and Amos Shabalala and his wife Mary Ann living in Sydney Australia. Their stories are very different. However, they each share their take on how to press on and keep on serving the Lord, even when times are extremely hard or lonesome. I was particularly taken by and able to relate to the story shared by Amos and Mary Anne. As they live in Sydney, which is where I live, I will endeavour to connect with them.
COVID-19 IS REFINING MY CHURCH
God has not stopped working in our midst. (report by Josh Daffern of Centreville Baptist Church USA). In fact, He’s used this COVID-19 crisis to refine our church, fulfilling 1 Peter 4:12, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you.” I pray the same is happening in your church through this crisis.
1. This crisis has built resilience in our faith. I have been continually inspired as I’ve checked on our church family. Instead of “woe is me” and bitter complaining, I’ve seen a strength and resilience bloom in the hearts of our church. They want to spend less time talking about themselves and more time asking about how others are doing and inquiring where and how they can help and give back. Their faith has not weakened during this crisis, it has only strengthened.
2. This crisis has fueled new generosity. Like everyone else, the tentacles of this spreading crisis is having an economic impact above and beyond the health impact. But my church has continued to give faithfully, and they’re even going above and beyond to collect food and other items to give away to hundreds of families in our local community. Our church holds to outrageous generosity as a core value, and this crisis is allowing us the chance to truly live that value out.
3. This crisis has forced us to invest in our online presence. Like many other churches, our online presence was not what we wished it was. But it’s hard to invest and expand your online presence when you’re so focused on all the in-person events that happen on a weekly basis. When this crisis hit, we shifted our ministries to online. More than just a temporary placeholder, we’ve leveraged this opportunity to expand not just worship services but all of our ministries to have an online presence. There is still much more we can do, but we’ve jumped years ahead in just a few short months. When we resume our on-campus worship services, our online ministries will remain, because everyone we’re trying to reach lives online. This crisis has forced us to go where people are living, and I for one am grateful for that.
4. This crisis has refocused our attention on what’s important. Where I live (just outside of Washington, D.C.) can seem like one constantly spinning hamster wheel. There’s always someplace to go, there’s always something to do, traffic is always jammed. This crisis has refocused my attention (and the attention of my church) on what’s truly important: family and faith. I am grateful for that refocusing.
5. This crisis has opened up new opportunities to share the gospel. Like the early church in Acts 8, this trial has forced us out of our comfort zone, and we have taken the gospel with us. We’re interacting with our neighbors in ways we haven’t before. New people (and people who would never attend in person) are watching online and hearing the good news of Jesus.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW
It is time to rejoice, time to be thankful, time to speak the praises of Him who is faithful even when we are not. It is time to know and to look forward to dwelling with Him in the eternal realm. It is time to know that the things of this world are unreliable, and not to trust in them, but to trust in Him who alone is entirely reliable, in all of life!
Bible prophecy tells us that in the last days before Jesus returns the world is going to turn away from God and His Word. It is already happening. God has also said that many who think they are Christians will fall away.
“And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:10-13
Hence, it is important we remind ourselves of God’s promises and to not grieve the Holy Spirit.
“Having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of His purchased possession” Ephesians 1:13b-14
“Christ … who has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:22
“Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God who has also given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 5:5
“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
“The Lord Jesus Christ will confirm you to the end.” 1 Corinthians 1:8
“The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29
“Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“Begotten, born again, into a living hope, an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-4
“Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:38-39.
That’s it – a cast iron guarantee! It leaves only one question – is my guarantor reliable? Can He be trusted?
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful.” 2 Timothy 2:13
GOD EXISTS – SO WHAT?
The People who best articulate the answer to the “so what” question of God are the atheistic existentialist philosophers. Nietzsche had the courage to admit that the rejection of God ends in nihilism (existence is senseless and useless). Another, Jean-Paul Sartre, well describes existence without God with the chosen title of his book Nausea and the portrayal of life as “an empty bubble floating on a sea of nothingness”.
Sartre’s study partner, Albert Camus, tells us in “An Absurd Reasoning” (contained in The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays) that a God-less life leads to there being “only one really serious philosophical question, and this is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.” It’s what Daryl on The Walking Dead calls “opting out”.
Fred Hoyle, famous British mathematician and astronomer said “the probability of the formation of just one of the many proteins on which life depends is comparable to that of a solar system packed full of blind people randomly shuffling Rubik’s cubes all arriving at the solution at the same time” which of course is absurd. In fact, life without God is absurd.
Despite all of the above most people live their lives as if God does not exist. They do their best to live life on God’s planet, enjoying all that He has provided but not wanting to even know their Creator, in fear that they will not be able to “call the shots”, i.e., be God of their own little world. You only realise how sad this is when you know that our Creator loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place that we might be restored into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4-6
Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” John 6:44.
Our first job: We need to pray that the unsaved we are connected to will be drawn by the Father.
Our second job: We need to pray that those that hear the Gospel will understand it. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” Matthew 13:19
Our third job: We need to pray that the eyes of unbelievers will be opened so they can see the light. Opening spiritual eyes is, of course, God’s business. But releasing God’s power to open blinded eyes is prayer business, to which God calls us.
GIVE GLORY TO GOD
The first purpose for which we were created was to give God glory and make His glory known to others. For example, if we get into trouble, we are told to “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). The psalmist knew that it was “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness” (Psalm 115:1).
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”. (Psalm 19:1), so rightfully we should say, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1).
Answered prayer gives God glory, so the Lord our God is to be praised and we should seek to glorify His name.
Jesus is returning to this earth to complete unfinished business with Israel and all of the nations. Jesus will rule the nations from a completely restructured Jerusalem. Israel will be the lead nation exactly as Jesus promised the O.T. prophets.
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
“All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.” Psalms 86:9.
In the Millennial Kingdom, “they [will] sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3a), asking, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:4).
Give glory to God now, you will have no choice if you survive to live on in the Millennial Kingdom.
DO YOU LOVE TO PRAY?
If you do not, it really is an insult to your Creator. You have failed to recognise your true dependence upon Him. You do not take your next breath without His provision. He sustains His universe. Moreover, you do not know the extent of His love for mankind as revealed by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, and in His Word, the Bible.
Dwell on these scriptures:
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31-32
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (Also read the preceding two verses)
Our heavenly Father is delighted when his children acknowledge their dependence as His children.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11
Jesus makes it clear here that our heavenly Father, who is perfect in His love and unlimited in power wants good things for us , his children.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15
God does not promise to give us anything and everything we ask for . But He does make an astonishing promise to us that is even better. He promises to give us whatever we ask for that is according to His will. He knows what we need, the things that are truly good for us, the riches of His grace that He wants us to have.
To find out what is according to God’s will, just read God’s Word, there He tells us what He wants most for us. Go to Romans 8:29 – “to be conformed to the likeness of His Son“.
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30
This then should be our starting prayer: “Please heavenly Father conform me into the image of your Son.” You can be sure this prayer is according to His will and it will be answered. The Holy Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life, love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness and self control.
AFFIRMING GOD’S IMAGE
Addressing the Transgender Question with Science and Scripture
This book will equip you to be able to give a wise, biblical, scientific, and practically loving response to transgenderism.
In it you’ll learn:
- Scientific research around the transgender experience
- An overview of the history of transgenderism
- Important terminology surrounding gender issues
- Why people pursue gender reassignment surgery, and what happens after
- How to navigate conversations around this topic
The first step to responding well to any situation is to understand it.
“Affirming God’s Image is the book I will recommend first to anyone with concerns about transgenderism. Professor Branch … urges us to show the love of Christ to people afflicted by gender dysphoria (especially including our own children and youth). But he sees great dangers in gender reassignment surgery and urges a vigorous “no” when that is suggested. He calls us to affirm the sex God has given to us at birth as a precious gift. And he presents these messages to us clearly and with grace.”—John M. Frame, retired J.D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando)
“Careful, compassionate, and faithful, this new volume from Alan Branch is required reading for pastors, counselors, families, and individuals who are struggling with gender dysphoria. Dr. Branch has waded through a sea of literature to distill an approach that calls on Christians to love those who are suffering and to serve them by sharing biblical truth about sexuality.”—C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University
The author J. ALAN BRANCH is professor of Christian ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. He has previously served as a pastor and a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve. He is also the author of Born This Way? Homosexuality, Science, and the Scriptures.
ABSOLUTE TRUTH
True Christianity is based on the belief that there is absolute truth based on the word of our Creator. The opening words of the Bible are: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” Genesis 1:1. When we look at the Bible, we discover a number of principles about truth:
1. Truth is absolute by the will of God. God not only reveals Himself as the Trinitarian God, but also as the God who determines what is true and false. Jesus says in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” If we really want to discover truth, we must be willing to believe that it is the Creator who determines truth from falsehood—not our own emotions or intellectual theories.
2. Evil, or sin, is the enemy of truth. The biblical definition of sin outlines what is false and hurtful to human beings. Truth is an understanding of reality that ultimately determines thoughts, morality and actions.
3. Truth is revealed by God in the life of Christ and in the word of Scripture. In John 17:17 Christ prayed, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
Moral truth is contained, then, in moral teachings, or law, given by God. Since these laws define the reality of life as ordained by the Creator, they exist whether we acknowledge them or not. The consequences of sin are just as inescapable whether committed knowingly or in ignorance.
The foundation of the law is God Himself. By trusting in Him and acting according to what He has commanded, we don’t have to experience the painful effects of sin. Moreover, for Christians who have been born again and have received the Holy Spirit indwelling their own spirit, we have received the power necessary to obey His instructions. “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27 The Holy Spirit is the oil required for our lamp, our spirit to function as God intended.
Jesus said, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” Mark 12:29-31
This simple teaching by Jesus Christ forms the basis of all truth. There is a choice between simply going on the way you have been and turning towards God. It’s up to you.
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OF WOMEN
Persecution of Christian women worldwide has risen dramatically in the last year as a new study released by Open Doors International (ODI) found that forced marriages have increased by 16%, and physical violence against women has increased 31%.
Gender Specific Religious Persecution (GSRP) has risen to the highest level recorded in the three years since the report was first issued in 2018, as women face a higher potential risk of religious persecution than men. The report’s data comes from the top 50 countries on the group’s annual World Watch List between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sep. 30, 2020.
Helene Fisher, a global gender persecution specialist for Open Doors International and one of the authors of the report, told The Christian Post that the increased threat to women is often because women have fewer rights in most of the top 50 countries for religious persecution. “Because [women] have fewer rights and fewer protections, they’re just an easier target,” Fisher said. “They can also be targeted with impunity, which means that if there is a population that doesn’t want the Christians to thrive, they can go after the women and girls and there aren’t consequences for those aggressors. So, it is a question of the women and girls having fewer rights for legal protections. [Women] are more vulnerable in the society, and they are just the easiest way to disable the Christian population.”
The five most common “pressure points” among women in the top 50 countries on the World Watch List for religious persecution are forced marriage, sexual violence, physical violence, psychological violence and forced divorce. Each category increased since last year’s study.
Ninety percent of the top 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted report forced marriage as a pressure point, and 86% of countries report sexual violence.
Targeting women, the child bearers, and forcing them to convert is a tactic used to destabilize the future generation of the Church, the development of families and the raising of Christian children.
Trafficking women as a form of religious persecution is on the rise, particularly in Asia and Africa, the report finds. Christian refugees or internally displaced peoples are especially vulnerable to this.
“Trafficking as a form of religious persecution continues to pose a threat in all regions on the World Watch List and it is rising, particularly in Africa and Asia. Globally, 17 countries (up from 10 the previous year) reported incidents of trafficked women and girls,” the report adds. “Countries engaged in conflict were most likely to report instances of sexual violence and trafficking.”
Research from the World Watch List shows more than 340 million Christians globally endure high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, which amounts to one in eight Christians around the world.
Jesus told us that persecution of Christians will increase in the last days before His return. It is just one of the end times signs He has given us. Israel, apostasy in the church, Covid and increased lawlessness are other very significant signs.
TIMING OF THE RAPTURE
This important new documentary, Seven Pretribulation Problems and the Prewrath Rapture, identifies seven flaws in pretribulation rapture theology. Identifying the problems, however, does not stop there as this documentary responds compellingly to these pretribulation problems with seven prewrath answers. This documentary marshals leading biblical prophecy teachers who walk through each of the seven problems, answering them with sound biblical investigation!
TEACHERS INCLUDE
Alan Kurschner
Alan Hultberg
Charles Cooper
David Rosenthal
Ryan Habbena
7 PRETRIB PROBLEMS
The Basics
#1 The Precursor Problem
#2 The Olivet Discourse Problem
#3 The 2nd Thessalonians Problem
#4 The Book of Revelation Problem
#5 The Imminence Problem
#6 The Church and Israel Problem
#7 The Early Church Problem
There is a lot of information in this presentation. You will need to make notes and may need to pause the video on many occasions so you can at least note the scriptures. I suggest that you will need to watch this video several times to enable you to make the case yourself for the PreWrath position.
