“The Lord Jesus calls people who realize they cannot function at all apart from His grace and empowerment. God chooses to use those individuals who know Him intimately! This is the primary qualification for service in the kingdom of God.”
Underground Church worker in China
“I can easily see why the folks at home want to eliminate Hell from their theology, preaching and thought. Hell is indeed awful unless its preaching is joined to a life laid down by the preacher. How can a man believe in Hell unless he throws away his life to rescue others from its torment? If there is no Hell, the Bible is a lie. Unless we are willing to go to Hell on earth for others, we cannot preach it.”
B
y J.B. Phillips
Once upon a time a very young angel was being shown round the splendours and glories of the universe by a senior and experienced angel. To tell the truth, the little angel was beginning to be tired and a little bored. He had been shown whirling galaxies and blazing suns, infinite distances in the deathly cold of inter-stellar space, and to his mind there seemed to be an awful lot of it all.
Finally he was shown the galaxy of which our planetary system is but a small part. As the two of them drew near to the star which we call our sun and to its circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis. It looked as dull as a dirty tennis-ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had seen.
Senior Angel: “I want you to watch that one particularly,” said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.
Little Angel: “Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me. What’s special about that one?”
Senior Angel: “That is the Visited Planet.”
Little Angel: “Visited?” “You don’t mean visited by ——–?”
Senior Angel: “Indeed I do. That ball, which I have no doubt looks to you small and insignificant and not perhaps overclean, has been visited by our young Prince of Glory.”
And at these words he bowed his head reverently.
Little Angel: “But how? Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince, with all these wonders and splendors of His Creation, and millions more that I’m sure I haven’t seen yet, went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that?”
Senior Angel: “It isn’t for us, to question His ‘why’s’, except that I must point out to you that He is not impressed by size and numbers, as you seem to be. But that He really went, I know, and all of us in Heaven who know anything know that. As to why He became one of them – how else do you suppose could He visit them?”
The little angel’s face wrinkled in disgust.
Little Angel: “Do you mean to tell me, that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?”
Senior Angel: “I do, and I don’t think He would like you to call them ‘creeping, crawling creatures’ in that tone of voice. For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them. He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him.”
The little angel looked blank. Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.
Senior Angel: “Close your eyes for a moment, and we will go back in what they call Time.”
While the little angel’s eyes were closed and the two of them moved nearer to the spinning ball, it stopped its spinning, spun backwards quite fast for a while, and then slowly resumed its usual rotation.
Senior Angel: “Now look!”
And as the little angel did as he was told, there appeared here and there on the dull surface of the globe little flashes of light, some merely momentary and some persisting for quite a time.
Little Angel: “Well, what am I seeing now?”
Senior Angel: “You are watching this little world as it was some thousands of years ago. Every flash and glow of light that you see is something of the Father’s knowledge and wisdom breaking into the minds and hearts of people who live upon the earth. Not many people, you see, can hear His Voice or understand what He says, even though He is speaking gently and quietly to them all the time.”
Little Angel: “Why are they so blind and deaf and stupid?”
Senior Angel: “It is not for us to judge them. We who live in the Splendor have no idea what it is like to live in the dark. We hear the music and the Voice like the sound of many waters every day of over lives, but to them – well, there is much darkness and much noise and much distraction upon the earth. Only a few who are quiet and humble and wise hear His Voice. But watch, for in a moment you will see something truly wonderful.”
The Earth went on turning and circling round the sun, and then quite suddenly, in the upper half of the globe, there appeared a light, tiny but so bright in its intensity that both the angels hid their eyes.
Little Angel (in a low tone of voice): “I think I can guess, that was the Visit, wasn’t it?”
Senior Angel: “Yes, that was the Visit. The Light Himself went down there and lived among them; but in a moment, and you will be able to tell that even with your eyes closed, the light will go out.”
Little Angel: “But why? Could He not bear their darkness and stupidity? Did He have to return here?”
Senior Angel (voice stern and said): “No, it wasn’t that. They failed to recognize Him for Who He was – or at least only a handful knew Him. For the most part they preferred their darkness to His Light, and in the end they killed Him.”
Little Angel: “The fools, the crazy fools! They don’t deserve —-”
Senior Angel: “Neither you nor I, nor any other angel, knows why they were so foolish and so wicked. Nor can we say what they deserve or don’t deserve. But the fact remains, they killed our Prince of Glory while He was Man amongst them.”
Little Angel: “And that I suppose was the end? I see the whole Earth has gone black and dark. All right, I won’t judge them, but surely that is all they could expect?”
Senior Angel: “Wait, we are still far from the end of the story of the Visited Planet. Watch now, but be ready to cover your eyes again.”
In utter blackness the earth turned round three times, and then there blazed with unbearable radiance a point of light.
Little Angel (shielding his eyes): “What now?”
Senior Angel: “They killed Him all right, but He conquered death. The thing most of them dread and fear all their lives He broke and conquered. He rose again, and a few of them saw Him and from then on became His utterly devoted slaves.”
Little Angel: “Thank God for that.”
Senior Angel: “Amen. Open your eyes now, the dazzling light has gone. The Prince has returned to His Home of Light. But watch the Earth now.”
As they looked, in place of the dazzling light there was a bright glow which throbbed and pulsated. And then as the Earth turned many times little points of light spread out. A few flickered and died; but for the most part the lights burned steadily, and as they continued to watch, in many Parts of the globe there was a glow over many areas.
Senior Angel: “You see what is happening? The bright glow is the company of loyal men and women He left behind, and with His help they spread the glow and now lights begin to shine all over the Earth.”
Little Angel (impatiently): “Yes, yes, but how does it end? Will the little lights join up with each other? Will it all be light, as it is in Heaven?”
Senior Angel (shaking his head): “We simply do not know. It is in the Father’s hands. Sometimes it is agony to watch and sometimes it is joy unspeakable. The end is not yet. But now I am sure you can see why this little ball is so important. He has visited it; He is working out His Plan upon it.”
Little Angel: “Yes, I see, though I don’t understand. I shall never forget that this is the Visited Planet.”
“I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields…I now preach to ten times more people than I would if I had been confined to the churches.” George Whitfield
We were there to street-preach before the concert began and set up the PA system. With wave upon wave of people coming across the street toward us and hundreds more pouring out from the train station behind us, it was crazy busy. There were so many people that at one point I could hardly move.
It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I preached.
“Nobody cares!” someone screamed at me.
Who cares if nobody cares? I certainly don’t. My Lord Jesus told me to “Go”. I kept preaching. I preached for as long as I could, until my voice started cracking and I had to stop for its sake.
Street-preaching – why? (I ask myself this when I’m feeling tired or lazy)
Because thousands of people, both old and young heard the gospel of Jesus Christ last night who perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise.
What if those people never once in their life ever stepped inside a Church?What if they never heard the gospel before they died?
Thank you my Jesus.
It was 3am. My three year-old son, Tom, had been coughing without reprieve for 8 solid hours. The cough was deep and contained a strange rattling sound. With each cough my heart was torn. He had double pneumonia, croup, bronchitis and asthma all at once.
I had been praying, weeping, crying out to God for those 8 hours “Have mercy on my son Lord!” At 3am I left my husband at Tom’s bedside and went to “get serious” with God. I knelt down and prayed.
Immediately He said to me “No. Praise Me.”
That was the last thing I felt like doing! I was exhausted, heart-broken, anxious. But it was a definite and clear command from the Lord, so I stood up and sang :
“Oh Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God
I love the Holy Lamb of God
Oh wash me in His precious blood,
My Jesus Christ the Lamb of God!”
As I sang I saw the outline of a Man in front of me in the darkness and Tom’s coughing immediately stopped. We slept soundly the rest of the night.
One thing I have learnt is that there is power in praise.
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him all His angels;
Praise Him all His hosts!” Psalm 148:1, 2
Praise brings victory
Powerful enemies were coming against Israel (2 Chronicles 20). Jehosophat and the people didn’t know what to do. He proclaimed a fast and they cried out to God. God told them not to fear, that they would not have to even fight – the battle was His not theirs. By faith in God’s Word they sang and praised the Lord and the enemy was defeated:
“Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”
This morning I was feeling discouraged and defeated myself in some of the areas my husband and I have been called to minister in. But we decided to sing. We sang that old chorus :
“Be strong and of good courage
Be not afraid neither be dismayed…
For the Lord thy God is with thee
Whereever you go…”
This afternoon I got a phone call – there has been victory in the very area I had felt discouraged over this morning! Praise the Lord!
Praise is a powerful weapon in the Christian’s arsenal.
“Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;….To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;” Psalm 149
The Holy Spirit has given me two dreams lately about the power of praise. In both dreams I have come face to face with the devil and found that they only way to stand and to defeat him is through worshipping and praising the Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve sung and asked others to sing with me, anointed songs of the blood of the Lamb and the cross – and the enemy has been bound and defeated.
I saw this actually happen a couple of weeks ago in our women’s prayer group. As we praised the Lord the anointing of the Spirit fell down upon us. His power came so strongly upon us that we could not do much at all but shake and cry. From that moment in each of the lives of those whom were present there has been victory in our lives in different areas.
Praise magnifies the Lord
“O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3
When we exalt the Lord in praise He is magnified. We see Him for who He truly is – He is great, He is mighty, He is powerful. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He is not some dumb idol made with man’s hands! God cannot remain small in our eyes when we praise Him. Suddenly our faith increases as we see the Lord for who He truly is and we know that NOTHING Is impossible.
Praise lifts our eyes from ourselves up to Him
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-3
When we praise the Lord we stop focusing on ourselves and our problems and focus on Him. We “set our minds on things above, not on things below” and we are lifted in faith. Truly the atmosphere of heaven is brought down to earth in praise of our Lord, we enter His presence and that is when our prayers are answered and our help comes.
Praise is a sacrifice
Praise is something we can offer to the Lord Jesus for all that He has done for us. We can never praise Him enough for Who He is and for what He has done but we can offer Him the fruit of our lips. Praise is a sacrifice of our time, of our pride, of even our own feelings and emotions.
“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name….for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” Hebrews 13:15, 16
Praise breaks bondages
Paul and Silas were in prison, bound and chained for the sake of the gospel. Sometimes we are too, persecuted, hurt by man’s words, bound by rejection and fear.
“Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” Acts 16:24-26
The thing about praise is that it sets captives free. When we praise we are set free from bondage. And the amazing thing is, those who are around us are also set free.
“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:1-3
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/6/kim-jong-un-calls-execution-33-christians/
33 of our brothers and sisters will be executed within the next few hours in North Korea.
Because they are Christians. Like us.
“When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.” Revelation 6:9-11
OH LORD, save us from our complacency and luke-warmness. Save us from our idols of comfort and convenience. Save us from our obsession with self. Save us from our Western mindset. Save us from our dullness of heart. Wake us up from our comfortable bed of luxury. OH LORD save us!
Here we are – so wealthy in the West. We have food, money, cars, houses, freedom, church buildings, light and sounds systems and, of course, smoke machines, and yet – we are spiritually bankrupt.
They are the rich ones in North Korea. They are the ones for whom a crown of life awaits. They are the ones whose underground churches are flourishing and the Holy Spirit is moving upon. They are the ones who are awake. They are the ones who know Jesus and the “fellowship of His suffering”. They are the ones who are watching for His return.
We are not separate from them. We are all a part of Christ’s Body. Let us pray from them and their families. Let us pray for the persecuted Church.
In Christ’s Name, Amen
From Corrie Ten Boom’s book “Tramp for the Lord” when she and her sister Betsie were incarcerated in Ravensbruck concentration camp by the Nazi’s:
“Betsie and I walked to the square where roll call was being held in the concentration camp. It was still early, before dawn. The head of our barracks was so cruel that she had sent us out into the very cold outdoors a full hour too early.
Betsie’s hand was in mine. We went to the square by a different way from the rest of our barracks-mates. We were three as we walked with the Lord and talked with Him. Betsie spoke. Then I talked. Then the Lord spoke. How? I don’t know. But both of us understood. It was the same Presence I had felt years before in the old cathedral in Haarlem.
The brilliant early morning stars were our only light. The cold winter air was so clear. We could faintly see the outlines of the barracks, the crematorium, the gas chamber, and the towers where the guards were standing with loaded machine guns.
“Isn’t this a bit of heaven!” Betsie had said. “And Lord, this is a small foretaste. One day we will see You face-to-face, but thank You that even now You are giving us the joy of walking and talking with You.”
Heaven in the midst of hell. Light in the midst of darkness. What a security! “
The Bible tells us that the Euphrates and the Nile will one day dry up. When that happens, great hardship and suffering will be experienced by those relying on the waters of these rivers.
In Egypt, nearly eighty percent of the population is to be found living within a short distance of the banks of the Nile, relying on its water for commerce and sustenance. While not as devastating, many people in Syria and Iraq would also face extreme hardship should the Euphrates dry up.
In Revelation 16:12 we read:
12The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its waters were dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. (NIV)
In Isaiah we read:
19: 5 -6 5The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. 6The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, (NIV)
The following few verses from Isaiah 19 have been added to show the utter devastation that will occur when the Nile dries up.
7also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more, 8The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away. (NIV)
11 :15 The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod. (NKJV)
Interestingly, the NIV names the river as the Euphrates. Thus in the NIV it seems that both the “gulf of the Egyptian Sea” and the Euphrates are dealt with simultaneously, while in the NKJV it appears to refer only to the Nile. There seems to be some uncertainty as to what is meant by the “tongue of the sea of Egypt” (NKJV) and the “gulf of the Egyptian Sea” (NIV). We ask: “Is it perhaps the Nile Delta with all its canals”?
Nearly ninety percent of the Euphrates’ water has its source in mountains in Turkey. As far back as the 1930’s Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, came up with the idea of utilizing the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris, the latter also having most of its source there, for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes. After a number of delays, the project to dam up the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris began in the 1980’s. The project involved the building of over twenty dams, the largest being the Ataturk dam. Once completed the project was capable of doubling Turkey’s irrigable farmlands. In the late 1980’s when the Ataturk dam was being filled, Turkey stopped the flow of water into the Euphrates for four days, showing how easily they could stop it flowing completely. Syria and Iraq have already raised concerns about the effects of the reduced flows; soil erosion and increased salinity in irrigated areas amongst other problems. Clearly in times of great national need, it would seem that Turkey would not hesitate in diverting all the water towards its own needs.
Egypt faces a similar situation because Ethiopia is currently building a massive dam on the Blue Nile, which accounts for eighty percent of the water flowing into the Nile downstream. The massive Aswan dam is not in contention here, as 
it is fully under Egyptian control, although about 10% to 12% of the annual flow of the Nile is lost to evaporation because of the vast surface area of the dam. The waters of the dam in Ethiopia will be used primarily for electricity generating purposes, although there is talk of making Ethiopia more “water resilient” by using the dam for storage purposes and irrigation schemes. Through this dam, which is due for completion in 2017, Ethiopia will be able to limit the flow of water into the Nile and, as could happen in Turkey, may well completely stop the flow of water from the dam in times of great national need.
As of now, these rivers have never dried up, so these scriptures clearly refer to a future time when, for His purposes, God will cause them to cease flowing. God’s main purpose at that time will be His judgment on mankind, especially upon those who refuse to recognize and worship Him.
It is worth mentioning here that God used Darius to defeat Belshazzar and take Babylon by diverting the flow of the Euphrates, but that was a temporary strategy and the river did not dry up completely. (Daniel 5:30, Isaiah 44:28 – 45:1-4.)
How God will dry up the rivers we do not know, but is it perhaps possible that He will also use man and man-made structures to achieve His purposes? We are told that “With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River” and wonder whether that is a reference to a coming drought which will cause not only a reduction in the water flow, if not a complete drying up of those rivers, but will at the same time entice the countries controlling those dams to look after their own interests by completely stopping water from being released out of them.
Chris, from our fellowship, has an interest in Bible prophecy and from time to time will share his views with us on current events and how they relate to prophecy in this new series “Bible Prophecy”.
“Partial obedience (to God) is disobedience!“
This post follows on from “The Falling Dominoes in the Emergent Church”. In that post we saw that the Holy Spirit, whom is the Spirit of Truth, will only witness to truth. So when absolute truth is discarded or diluted in the name of “relevance”, as in the Emergent Church, He is grieved and departs, leaving room for something else to enter. That “something” is ancient pagan spirituality, also known as mysticism.
From Where does Mysticism Originate?
“What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Firstly, as we saw in Satan’s Tool in the Emergent Church , Satan’s aim is to cause humankind to doubt the truth of God’s Word by saying (Genesis 3:1):
“Has God really said..?”
Satan has used this lie through the tool of de-constructionism in the Emergent Church.
Once, having listened to this initial lie, with God’s Word no longer the authority, we become vulnerable to more of his lies. Once Eve listened to the first lie of Satan and she began to doubt the truth of God’s Word it then became easy for Satan to introduce another lie to her. Genesis 3:5 says:
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God….”
This lie of Satan’s is integral to our understanding of mysticism.
So….
The next step is:
With no Holy Spirit to teach and guide we begin to see things like:
Liturgyall under the banner of Protestant Evangelical Christianity….What is going on?
“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Revelation 17:5
Mystery Babylon
In Genesis 10 Nimrod built the city of Babel (Babylon) as well as other cities. It was the first capital city of the first great empire of the world. Nimrod, as first King of Babylon, with his wife Semiramis formed a wicked partnership. Together, in order to expand their authority, they began a religious system of Emperor-worship where Nimrod established himself as the Sun-god and Semiramis the Moon-goddess.
“Around themselves, as the Sun and Moon gods, they created an entire religion that was based on a corruption of primeval astronomy developed by Noah’s righteous ancestors prior to the flood.”(Know Your Enemy, The Fuel Project, Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDDGl79x4Pc).
The Tower of Babel was where they intended to be worshipped and was the first one-world effort at creating a spiritual system independent of God. Note the similarities between their language and Lucifer’s language:
“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens, let us make a name for ourselves…” (The Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:4)
and
“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High…” (Lucifer’s words in Isaiah 14:13, 14)
“Babylon was more than just an ancient city, it is the source or fountain-head of evil that began thousands of years ago and flows throughout the history of mankind affecting us even today in ways we don’t realize. It represents a satanic system of rebellion against God’s plan of salvation that has never ceased to exist in one form or another. The practices, symbolism and perverted thought processes that originated there are still with us today. It has adopted various guises over time but the common threads are there to be uncovered. It is the source of all the abominations of the earth.” (Know Your Enemy, The Fuel Project, Part 4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDDGl79x4Pc
Next time….Mysteries and Mysticism
Grace and Truth 