JESUS IS GROWING HIS CHURCH THAT HOLDS TO THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE

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The polls (Pew Research) tell us that both Protestantism and Catholicism are experiencing losses of population share. Currently, 43% of U.S. adults identify with Protestantism, down from 51% in 2009. And 1 in 5 adults (20%) are Catholic, down from 23% in 2009

Most significantly, “More than 8 in 10 members of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) describe themselves as Christians (84%), as do three-quarters of Baby Boomers (76%). In stark contrast, only half of Millennial’s (49%) describe themselves as Christians; 4 in 10 are religious ‘nones,’ and 1 in 10 Millennials identify with non-Christian faiths.

Putting Millennials to one side, one reasonable explanation for the numerical decline in the older generations is that formerly nominal Christians no longer identify as Christians at all. In other words, it is those who rarely attended church in the past and who had no real relationship with God who are now identifying as “nones.”

Could it be as simple as this? Churches that no longer hold to the authority of Scripture, along with those that have the form of religion without the substance, are in decline, while those that seek to preach and live a vibrant faith are growing and even attracting the younger generations.

Typically, churches that minister successfully to Millennial’s directly tackle the creation versus evolution issue. There is no excuse now, as the scientific evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of intelligent design. Ministries such as Creation Ministries can provide all the necessary resources. Simply go to http://www.creation.com.

Yes! There are plenty of churches that are thriving and growing precisely because they are preaching a biblical message and precisely because people are encountering the risen Savior. Jesus is being exalted, and as a result, both the saved and the lost come flocking. People are drawn to what is real, alive, and where God’s power is displayed.

Israel Celebrates 28,000 New Immigrants in Past Year on ‘Aliyah Day’!

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Some 3.5 million Jews have made Aliyah since 1948, making up 42 percent of the total population.

Israel Celebrates 28,000 New Immigrants in Past Year on ‘Aliyah Day’!

Established in 2016, Aliyah Day is celebrated on the seventh day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, coinciding with the reading of the Torah portion in which Abraham is told by God to leave his home to go to Israel. The day is marked with celebrations in the Knesset, a special cabinet session, and events at the president’s residence, schools, and army and police facilities.

Even before Israel went into the Promised Land, Moses revealed to the Jews, the scattered, persecuted future that will be their lot as a result of the nations disobedience to God. God had revealed to Moses Israel’s entire history, fortunately, including the regathering of a scattered nation, and finally, the end of the story with their Messiah, Jesus, ruling and reigning from a restored Jerusalem.

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.” Deuteronomy 30:1-3

The past year saw an increase in the number of Olim (someone who makes Aliyah) to Israel. Since the beginning of 2019, more than 28,000 new immigrants from all over the world immigrated to Israel and the positive trend continues. In 2018, 26,000 Olim came to Israel. The majority of Olim this year came from Russia and the Ukraine.

In 2019, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the world’s largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry now back in their homeland as God prophesied.

WHAT IS EMPOWERING THESE ACTIVISTS?

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November 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Last week, Jonathon Van Maren wrote a column on the public shaming of feminist Meghan Murphy. He wrote:

“The shouting crowd outside the Toronto Public Library made me nervous because of the sheer rage on the faces of those shouting for the head of a feminist woman who has been on board with every manifestation of the Sexual Revolution except the most recent one, the idea that biological men can become biological women.”

Image result for picture of LGBT crowd outside Toronto library

He asks the question: Why are LGBT activists so aggressive? Why the rage? His response is enlightening and should give us all cause for alarm.

“There are probably multiple answers to that question, but one in particular explains why there will never be any peaceable compromise that lets us get on with things and ignore each other: Envy. 

They are not going to let us have our schools, our beautiful children and our happy communities while they suffer. Look at their faces as they protest—these are not happy people, and they do not want us to be happy, either. 

Envy is one of the most potent forms of hatred, and they’re going to come after us with a vengeance. Even as the trans experiment comes crashing down around our ears and children find themselves infertile and impotent before even coming of age, we will be blamed for their misery. It will not be the revolutionaries, it will be the “transphobic” religious who get the blame.

I will admit that I fear their rage because I do not think we can compete with it. We have too many things that make us happy to be so angry. We cannot sustain that level of fury because we have too much to lose, and in most cases, our communities have not even recognized the threat that this movement poses, not really. 

We pretend we do, but we do very little. We think we can carry on accumulating wealth, enjoying our families, and going to church as if the entire world is not changing around us and as if the ground is not shifting beneath our feet. So ask yourself this: Could you have imagined, just a few years ago, that this would be happening? And if this is what they accomplished in such a short amount of time, what do you think they can accomplish in the next ten years?”

Think about it. Really think about it. Because this is your family, your church, and your children on the line. You may want to ignore them, but I promise you that these activists will not be ignoring you.

BUSINESS MATCHMAKING OPPORTUNITIES AT ARISE SUMMIT IN ISRAEL

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ARISE – Alliance to Reinforce Israel’s Security & Economy

Our vision is to advance peaceful co-existence, economic development and constructive dialogue in the Middle East. We achieve this by mobilising, educating and activating our alliance to foster economic development for marginalised sectors in the nation of Israel and the disputed territories, while confronting and combating Antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, economic boycott, diplomatic isolation and delegitimisation of Israel worldwide.

In partnership with the International Christian Chambers of Commerce, the Israel Export Institute and the Israeli Federation of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce, this Summit will host international Christian business people from around the globe, connecting them with Israeli businesses and entrepreneurs to facilitate an exceptional matchmaking experience.

Connect with Israeli entrepreneurs and business people of faith from 50 nations around the globe!

Dates: December 1st to December 4th, 2019

Sign up NOW at http://www.arisesummit.com

TURKEY’S ERDOGAN INTENT ON BECOMING GLOBAL CALIPH

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There are increasing signs that Turkey’s dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, aims to turn his nation into the dominant component of a new Islamic caliphate, controlling even more territory than the Ottoman Empire.

Islam expert and author, Joel Richardson, wrote shortly after Turkey’s controversial election in which Erdogan was given virtually unrestricted power, that analysts in recent years tried “to shout down warnings that Erdogan has a desire to return to the Ottoman era.” “Today those same critics are taking a fresh look at the man they once made excuses for and even championed,” he wrote.

“Not only did Erdogan specifically avoid visiting the tomb of Ataturk (who turned Turkey into a secular government), but instead, he visited the tomb of Sultan Selim I.” Richardson explained that Selim the Grim ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520 and was most remembered for his expansionist conquest over Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

“Erdogan was sending a very clear message. The era of Ataturk is over. There is a new Sultan Selim the Grim in power,” Richardson wrote.

Richardson, who wrote Islamic Antichrist: “The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast”, cites the Old Testament in warning that a “last days invasion of Israel would specifically be led by Turkey. In my book, he states, “I carefully work through Ezekiel’s prophecy to show how the Bible doesn’t point to a last-days Russian-led invasion of Israel, but instead points to an invasion led by Turkey.”

Erdogan’s intentions are becoming clearer. He told an interviewer during a recent trip to Africa, for example, his nation now has 39 embassies on the continent, up from 13. The interview Erdogan granted was with Amadou Mahtar Ba, the co-founder and executive chairman of All Africa Global Media.

He’s also boasted of his one-on-one talks with Pope Francis, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders.

“I’ve called his holiness the pope and I’ve shared my thoughts and opinions with him. … And praise Allah, he is thinking alike. I’ve spoken to the German chancellor, and similarly President Macron of France; I’ve talked to him. And I’ve also talked to President Putin of Russia.”

The Turkish leader discussed his recent trip to Sudan, Chad and Tunisia, Muslim-majority nations in Africa. The trip brought to 24 the number of African countries Erdogan has visited, the report said.

“We still hope we can prevail in every country of the African continent through our embassies, and we are going to achieve that because we are very determined, we have many commonalities.” Erdogan said in the interview.

The issue of President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel came up immediately in the questioning, with the interviewer speculating about Erdogan’s response to Africa’s “more than 500 million” Muslims on the issue.

The Turkish leader said he’s discussed the conflict – the Palestinians insist Jerusalem will be the capital of a future Palestinian state – with many Muslims and others.

He cited the recent vote in the U.N. by 128 countries to condemn the U.S. decision recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. He said Trump actually isn’t important to the process. The step to be taken forward after this moment is all about the 128 countries siding with Palestine and all of the countries which had reservations. We should get together and take up an initiative. Palestine should be recognised as an independent and sovereign state by all of these nations that voted in favour this afternoon at the U.N. And after that is accomplished, the U.S., willingly or non-willingly, will have to interpret this situation accurately.”

Richardson pointed out that since Erdogan has assumed complete control of Turkey, there are now more journalists in prison there than any other nation on the earth. The AKP-led government has assumed complete control over virtually every media outlet in the nation. Well over a hundred thousand of its own citizens have either been indefinitely imprisoned or fired from their jobs on suspicion of supporting opposition perspectives. Throughout the nation, men and woman continue to disappear randomly and suddenly, literally snatched off the streets simply for suspicion of holding critical views of the president. The current national roundup of Erdogan’s enemies, or political opponents, is eerily reminiscent of Nazi Germany. Yet this is just the beginning. Clearly, for me, it is just further evidence that Bible “end times” prophecies are playing out exactly as God planned.

PRAYERS OF FORMER GAYS AND TRANSGENDERS

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Repentance in the Capitol Rotunda

In the Capitol Rotunda former gays and transgenders sang prayers to our Living God! Report from Lifesite News, November 1, 2019: 

An extraordinary event took place beneath the magnificent rotunda of the United States Capitol Wednesday night: Former gay, lesbian, and transgender men and women repented and interceded on behalf the nation for the sins of homosexuality and transgenderism. They were part of a group which came to Washington this week to urge members of Congress to oppose the so-called “Equality Act” and “Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act” that would prevent others from seeking help to escape LGBT lives. 

Moments before their entering the rotunda, NBC had published a story with a headline declaring that the group had come to D.C. “to lobby against LGBTQ rights,” yet that is not their purpose at all. They came to tell their stories of finding healing and fulfilment by rejecting the lies of LGBT ideology and turning to Christ.
“We repent on behalf of our country for the sins of arrogance, for the sins of sexual deviancy, for the sins that have led us to the place where we are today,” one man earnestly prayed as he stood beneath the Capitol dome. We repent for the sin of homosexuality. We repent for our part in it,” prayed another former homosexual. “We ask that you would forgive our nation for this. We ask you to hold back any judgement, and that you would hear our prayers and have mercy on us.””Others joined in offering their heartfelt repentance and intercession.
“Push back the darkness,” prayed a woman who once lived as a lesbian. “You created us male and female. You created us in Your Image. You have created man to find a wife and that is a good thing,” prayed another young woman. “We pray that the truth be revealed to those who have bought into the lies and deception. We pray that you remove the curtain of deception.”  
“I repent for the lies that we have believed as far as who we are,” prayed a woman who had lived as a “man” for many years, but is now restored to her true identity. “Lord, we bought into the lie that you didn’t create us good enough. That we should have been something else.””I ask you to continue to drop the scales from the eyes of those who live in the deception of who they are, and let them see how they are created in your image, and that you do not make mistakes,” she continued. “I ask you to call them out of that lifestyle, call them out of that deception.””They pleaded for those who are bound by deception, held captive by the enemy, to be set free. “Lord, we understand that those who hold other positions are not our enemy. We all have but one enemy.” “And they prayed for a great awakening across our land.  “Their prayer turned to beautiful worship, with their voices echoing throughout the Capitol building: 
I’ll raise a Hallelujah, as Heaven comes to fight for me.
I’ll raise a Hallelujah, because fear has lost its hold on me.  And I’m going to sing in the middle of the storm,
Louder and louder, they’re gonna hear my praises roar.
Up from the ashes, hope will arise,
Death is defeated, the King is alive.Death is defeated, the King is alive.They sang to Jesus:  You have no rival, you have no equal
Now and forever, Our God reigns.
Yours is the Kingdom, Your’s is the glory,
Yours is the Name above all names.What a powerful name it is, 
What a powerful name it is: 
The Name of Jesus Christ my King. 

WILL THIS BE MYSTERY BABYLON OF REVELATION?

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Saudi Arabia has announced plans to build NEOM, a new, futuristic city in the North-West of the country that is built upon principles of renewable energy, technology, community, diversity, and modern architecture.

NEOM hopes to be the most advanced city in the world someday. According to the discoverNEOM.com’s press release, NEOM will be so advanced, it’s possible that the robots may outnumber humans.

On October 24th, Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced the Mega City NEOM. The name NEOM means “New Future” and comes from two words and two languages. First is the Greek word NEO meaning New and then the M stands for the Arabic word Mostaqbal, meaning Future. It will operate as an independent economic zone – with its own laws, taxes and regulations. NEOM will be massive, at over 10,000 miles or over 26,000 km, it will be more than 33 times larger than New York City and a little less than Massachusetts. Located in the North-West corner of Saudi Arabia, NEOM loosely connects the 3 continents of Africa, Asia and Europe and hopes to be a leading global hub, 70% of the world’s population will be able to reach it in under eight hours.

Phase one is due for completion in 2020, with the final brick laid in 2025

The location of Neom in Saudi Arabia.

The harlot city of Revelation 17–18 is described as sitting in a desert. Of course, Saudi Arabia itself sits upon the great Arabian Desert.

Today, the most violent jihadist terrorist organisations in the world find their ideological roots in Saudi Arabia. Whether we are speaking of al-Qaeda (global), ISIS (Syria, Iraq, Libya, Sinai), the Taliban (Afghanistan), Abu Sayyaf (Philippines), Lashkar-e-Taiba (Pakistan), Jabhat al-Nusra (Syria), Al-Shabab (Somalia), or Boko Haram (Nigeria), they are all Salafi groups whose ideological roots extend directly to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its first export is not oil but radical Islam.

When we study the picture the Scriptures paint of the great harlot, we discover that, rather than feeling any guilt for the blood she has spilled, instead she is proud, intoxicated, and lusting for more. She flaunts and raises her golden cup high, enticing the inhabitants of the world to partake of her maddening wine and the immorality of her false religion. Who better fits that description than Saudi Arabia and its barbarous national, and now increasingly global, religion: Islam?

“And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand.” Revelation 20:4

In Saudi Arabia, if someone leaves Islam to become a Christian, he or she may be legally beheaded by the government.

The last-days Babylon will be an importer of, among other things, “slaves and human lives” Revelation 18:13

Saudi sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan rather brazenly declared that “slavery is a part of Islam.” He is a member of the Senior Council of Clerics, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, and of the Council of Religious Edicts and Research; he is the imam of the prominent Prince Mitaeb Mosque in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh; and he is a professor at Imam Mohamed Bin Saud Islamic University.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia perfectly matches the biblical description of the great harlot Babylon.

NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS DECLINING RAPIDLY IN SO CALLED DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

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The percentage of younger Americans being raised in nonreligious homes is growing rapidly according to statistics from the Public Religious Research Institute.

Only 65 percent of Americans now identify as Christian while those who identify as religiously unaffiliated swelled to 26 percent of the population. The drop in the number of Americans identifying as Christian reflected a 12 percent decline when compared to the general population 10 years ago. The decline was visible across multiple demographics but particularly among young adults.

Nearly one in five (19%) Americans switched from their childhood religious identity to become unaffiliated as adults, and relatively few (3%) Americans who were raised unaffiliated are joining a religious tradition. This dynamic has resulted in a dramatic net gain—16 percentage points—for the religiously unaffiliated.

In the 1970s, only about one-third (34%) of Americans who were raised in religiously unaffiliated households were still unaffiliated as adults. By the 1990s, slightly more than half (53%) of Americans who were unaffiliated in childhood retained their religious identity in adulthood. Today, about two-thirds (66%) of Americans who report being raised outside a formal religious tradition remain unaffiliated as adults,” PRRI said.

A similar situation exists in the UK, Europe and Australia. Sadly, also many of those that profess to be Christian are not born again believers and are increasingly compromising with the world and its values.

In the last days before Jesus return, He told His disciples we can expect the following:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 24: 9-13

Persecution of Christians is on the increase as we insist on the truth about God’s laws concerning morality, particularly homosexuality, marriage and gender. How soon will it descend to “hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

GOD’S GLOBAL PURPOSE

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Why did God create the heavens and the earth? Why did God create men and women? What is His ultimate goal in all that He has made?

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10

We love the personal benefits of, “Be still, and know that I am God,” but we consciously or unconsciously disconnect that truth from its global implications and develop an evangelical theology that places man at the centre and neglects God’s purpose in the world.

Our lives tend to reflect a belief that God’s global priority is to make His disciples more comfortable. I do believe that God desires to bless us and that God’s desire to bless His people is a major theme of the Bible. But if we focus on the theme of blessing alone, we distort the truth and lose the context in which God’s blessings are given.

God’s global purpose as expounded in His Word, is His desire to redeem mankind, the nations, to Himself. It involves the active pursuit of worshippers from all the peoples of the earth who will give Him the glory. God’s blessings and His global purpose are beautifully woven together in the Bible.

“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.” Psalm 96:1-4

God is jealous for His name and for His glory. We were created to be the
image-bearers of God, to reflect and manifest His glory in the world (Genesis 1:26–28; Isaiah 43:7)

To the Glory of God the Father

Phrases like “for the glory of God” are not religious tack-on phrases, phrases like this are not to give emphasis to the main point––they are the main point.

“Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.” John 13:31-32

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” John 12:27

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

Let the Nations be Glad! By John Piper

Do It All for the Glory of God

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” 1 Peter 4:11

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” 1 Peter 4:16

“This He (Jesus) spoke (to Peter), signifying by what death he would glorify God.” John 21:19a

God’s passion for His own glory does not lessen the fact that He loves us; in fact, it strengthens the concept of His love for us. God’s passion for His name should be our central motivation for world evangelisation. God is not receiving the worship that is due His name; therefore, God is calling out worshippers from among the nations, and He’s doing it through the witness of the church. Every church and every follower of Jesus Christ is called to participate in this global activity.

Pastor and author John Piper sets out a challenge for us in his book “Let the Nations Be Glad”. Let us take up the challenge.
“God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshippers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts, and join His global purpose.”

IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?

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In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.” “Nonsense,” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”

Image may contain: one or more people

The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”

The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”

The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”

The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover, if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery, there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”

The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”

The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her, this world would not and could not exist.”

Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”

To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”

What a great explanation of the concept of GOD and us – this lovely parable is from Your Sacred Self by Dr. Wayne Dyer