Scripture: 2 Peter 2 v 12 - 13: "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;"
Luke 15 v 13 - 15: "And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine."
All over the world we are observing serious reaction to governments that have ceased to function in a democratic way. In Hong Kong the long protest against Chinese decisions has shut airports and cost billions. It has brought out the military with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Yesterday Amazonian tribesmen came to Brazil's
capital in their thousands to protest the cutting of funds which has resulted in fires in the Amazon forest.
The British Parliament is in a melt down over Brexit. Three quarters of this House of Commons want to remain in the EU. The democratic voice of the people voted 52% to leave. Their representatives are stalling, delaying, dithering and blocking every way for the government to leave the EU. The Prime Minister is trying to break the deadlock by shutting down parliament for 5 weeks in his determination to bring Britain out of the EU by 31st October. He lost 4 votes overnight and its worse than ever.
In South Africa, there is xenophobic looting and violence mainly in Johannesburg and Gauteng province. In a country in economic turmoil, bringing its main financial hub to a standstill is unproductive. On social media the people of the land are crying "South Africa is broken".
The Bahamas has been devastated by Hurricane Dorian with thousands of homes flattened, food shortages, airport wiped out and many lives lost. This storm is now about to challenge Charleston on the East Coast of the USA which is a very low lying area with serious flooding a big possibility.
What do we do when there are fires, floods, riots, upheavals and no end in sight. When do we begin to understand that this is not a drill? This is not a practice run to see how prepared we are for the end times prophesied by Jesus Christ.
Satan has lost his dominion over this planet and like any loser he wants to trash the place before he leaves. He has always wanted to destroy the Earth but has been stopped by our God who put boundaries he cannot cross.
Everything happening right now from pollution of air, land, sea and rivers, to anarchy, apostasy...a falling away from Christian living, and rebellion against authority, is orchestrated by our enemy. He hates us with a passion, he hates every human being created by God, because he hates God and everything He made and loves. Us in particular.
He especially hates Christians because they love Jesus, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit. They are obedient to the Lord and oppose Satan by rebuking him and binding his demons, as well as taking captured souls away from him. So he sets up many persecutors and some are not afraid to kill, maim or destroy us. They may hurt our flesh but our spirit is eternally safe in God's heart.
Only the Father knows the exact day and time of the Rapture, and the Second Coming of Jesus. We only know the season. We know when that season is upon us, and it is definitely here. This is not a drill! This is the real thing.
Churches everywhere are slumbering under a delusion that this too shall pass. There may be respite for a short while here and there, but now is the time to assess where your heart lies, and if you have ticked all the boxes to ensure where your destiny lies.
I say this because Jesus sadly said there will be much crying and gnashing of teeth. This means that many who think they are perfectly secure, aren't. There is some sin unrepented of that will trip them up. There is some doctrine of man they cling to that will cause them to regret that choice for eternity.
Study the Bible to ensure all the things you believe about salvation are in there. Are you relying on infant baptism instead of immersion in water after repentance? Verse 16....he that believes and is baptised shall be saved. First believe then be baptised.
Mark 16 v 15 - 18: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Signs following a believer....cast out demons, speak with new tongues, snakes can't hurt, poison can't hurt, heal the sick. This does not mean that you go out and deliberately try this, no! It means that if your enemy tries to destroy you, Jesus will protect you.
Acts 28 v 3 - 6: "And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.
6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god."
It was good staging by the Lord because Paul could now tell these barbarians about Jesus and heal their sick folk. So even where the ship was wrecked was planned by God.
This is an excerpt from "Like A Mighty Wind" by Mel Tari when revival came to East Timor and a group of them went to a place where there were 1000 pagan priests gathered:
"No," the team said, "we don't know what happened. You just tell us what happened." "I tell you," said the priest, " I saw with my own eyes and I heard with my own ears all the demonic power that has ruled this village: They just gathered together, one by one, from the biggest to the smallest, and they ran away crying, 'Jesus won't permit us to stay here. We must go because Jesus wants these people.' Jesus must be a tremendous God. I want to know Jesus." The team just said simply, "If you want Jesus, we want to show you the way." So they opened the Bible and very simply showed him how to accept Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. He did it right away, and the other people did it right afterward. Praise God. Many people say this is only for 2,000 years ago, yet we see the power of God working today in Indonesia. Why? Because the devil knows the time is very limited for him, and he will try with all his force to fight against Christianity. If we want to win the battle and win people to Christ, we need God's power right now, even more than people needed it 2,000 years ago. How wonderful it was to see the whole tribe come to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior."
Let us be mindful and look on every event as an opportunity God is making to display His power. This is not a drill so we must use the time well to bring Jesus into action where the devil is trying to scare everyone.
Imagine, and this might be true even, that Jesus will return to Earth by the end of the month, to firstly Rapture the believers, then return to rescue Israel from Armageddon. Within the next 21 days how would you spend your time?
Be honest with yourself. Would you gather the people you truly love, friends, family, colleagues and speak earnestly about salvation? Or would you ask God to send someone else? Remember its not a drill.
Now you don't really know the day, but you are starting to realise the end is near, should you not be trying to reach those who need saving...brothers, sisters, in laws, mom, dad, cousins? Jesus said, What you do unto the least of these, you are doing it to Me!
I exhort you family of God, do not be hamstrung like the British Parliament, nor defunct like Brazil, nor uncaring like the ANC government of South Africa. You have the ability, duty and knowledge to save souls on the street where you live. You have resources to rescue the lost rather than spending it on saving whales. Much as I love whales, I love people more.
Jesus said, By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another. For sure, this is how He will know if we have ticked all the right boxes.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask that this blog, or any other manner that You can use, will raise up Your people to reach out strongly to people they know who have never met Jesus and are trapped in Satan's world system. Their minds are confused and distracted by sin and lust. O God, have mercy upon them and send Your people in. In Jesus' name. Amen.
