Benjamin Rush . . . I am a Christocrat.

I was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live anymore—it is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself to save me.By saying these things I am not going against God’s grace. Just the opposite, if the law could make us right with God, then Christ’s death would be useless. ~ Galatians 2:20-21, NCV

No, I am not a right-wing “extremist,” nor am I an evangelical Republican. Consequently, I also am not a “Christian conservative.”

I am a Christocrat, because I consistently advocate the principles of God’s Word and God’s Government. I am a Christocrat, because my obedience to God is more important than my loyalty to any political party’s ideology. I am a Christocrat, because I have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus the Christ. Lastly, I am a Christocrat, because ONLY Jesus the Christ could save me, so ONLY Jesus the Christ should govern me.

Put differently, a Christocrat is EVERY Bible believing, God regenerated (born again), saved (justified), and sanctified individual who lives the kind of lifestyle that reflects the teachings and the character of Jesus the Christ. Now, certainly I am not the first American Christian believer to call myself a Christocrat. According to David Ramsay, a patriot, physician, and historian, Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a devout Christian, is one of America’s first Christians to describe himself the same way. In a 1798 letter, Dr. Rush writes:

I have alternately been called an aristocrat and a democrat. I am neither. I am a Christocrat. …He alone Who created and redeemed man is qualified to govern him. ~ as quoted in Ramsay (1813), An Eulogium Upon Benjamin Rush, M.D., p. 103; free ebook

Concerning most of today’s so-called evangelical Christocrats, because the term, evangelical, comes from the Greek word transliterated as euaggelion, which means “gospel” or the “good news,” it should be obvious that ANYBODY who is a genuine believer in the Gospel of Christ is an evangelical, regardless if he or she is either white, or black, brown, red, or yellow, or whether he or she is either a Republican or a Democrat. Furthermore, even though not all evangelicals are evangelical Christocrats who are indeed Bible believing, God regenerated, saved, and sanctified individuals who live the kind of lifestyle that reflects the teachings and the character of their Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, contrary to popular opinion, there exists more evangelical Christocrats than “white” evangelicals (“white” religious right “Christian conservatives”).

Still, the unpleasant truth is that, other than the few individuals who, based on paragraphs two and four’s definitions, identify themselves as a Christocrat, there aren’t many more believers who realize how sad it is that so many so-called evangelical Christocrats, and their so-called religious critics, actually think that an evangelical Christocrat is a “white,” religious right, “Christian conservative.” After all, one of the lies of omission perpetuated by the Republican Party’s religious right-wing extremists is their furtive suggestion that only Republican “Christian conservatives” (whites) believe in Jesus the Christ, believe in traditional values, and believe that the sole authority for “Christians’” religious beliefs and practices is the Holy Bible (both the Old Testament’s original Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament’s original Greek Scriptures)!

It also is so sad that so many so-called evangelical Christocrats, and their so-called religious critics, think that by making a distinction between traditional conservatism and Constitutional conservatism. For these evangelical Christocrats, Constitutional conservatism means they promote the need for Americans to return back to the so-called “perfect” system of government that is described in the Founding Fathers’ U.S. Constitution. Why? Well because, these Republican religious right, “Christian Constitutional conservatives” believe they can distance themselves from the people they think have endangered their inalienable rights, which the Founding Fathers’ based on biblical principles.  The truth of the matter is that America’s Republican evangelical Christocrats also are lying to the world by candidly “suggesting” that, by returning to America’s basic Constitutional values, Americans will be following Jesus the Christ’s biblical conservatism, which these Republican evangelical Christocrats believe is the true paradigm for their Constitutional conservatism.

Regardless of their “religious” beliefs, according to Norm Franz, Republican evangelical Christocrats’ Constitutional conservatism is secular in nature, and as such it is nothing like biblical conservatism. Norm Franz is a biblical economist, as well as a former monetary economist and investment company president, who also is an ordained minister and international Bible teacher. As a biblical economist, he interprets what is going on in the world’s financial systems based on what the Holy Bible says. Concerning Constitutional conservatism  vs. biblical conservatism, Franz says:

We must understand, and I try to tell people, you know, that Jesus was not a Republican. He was a Torah observant High Priest Jew, and if you want to see conservatism, that is biblical conservatism. The conservatism we have today is a secular U.S. Constitutional conservatism, but it is not biblical conservatism. So everybody’s a progressive, and everybody in the end is moving toward a New World Order. Some are just going—the left is going…100 miles an hour, and the right’s just going 50. ~ Jewish Voice with Jonathan Bernis, televised on July 17, 2011

The point here is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to avoid the biblically prophesied bleak end times. According to Norm Franz, everybody in America is moving toward the New Word Order of one-world government, one-world currency, and one-world religion. Moreover, the prophetic Word of God leaves no doubt that, globally, everyone is transitioning to the time of Mystery Babylon (cf. Revelation chapter 17 and chapter 18). For these reasons, those American evangelical Christocrats who are endorsing Constitutional conservatism, or the need for Americans to return back to the Founders’ fundamental Constitutional values, should instead focus on living the principles of God’s Word and God’s Government—they need to model the teachings of Jesus the Christ.

The bottom line: What currently is developing in this world is the Perfect Storm, a RARE combination of a number of circumstances (negative unpredictable factors) that radically will worsen a significantly critical situation (e.g., humans nonexistent, or ineffectual, relationship with God). When this Perfect Storm starts, there is going to be some great shaking going on in this world (cf. Haggai 2:6-9; Hebrews 12:26), especially some frightening shaking where this world’s economic systems, governmental and political systems, and religious systems are concerned. The Good News, however, is that the Lord’s Bride will not have to weather this coming “storm,” for by the time that this “storm” is drenching this Earth the Bride of Christ will have been Raptured (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).  

That’s why, for those evangelical Christocrats Jesus the Christ governs (for those evangelical Christocrats who are allowing Jesus the Christ’s divine life inside of them to rule and reign in and over them, by giving the Lord their total cooperation), the Gospel never is going to be about being a Republican (Constitutional or traditional conservative) or a Democrat (liberal). Put differently, for those  evangelical Christocrats who are allowing the Lord’s teachings to rule and reign in and over their lives, the Gospel ALWAYS is going to be about believers succeeding in the righteousness of Jesus the Christ.

In contrast, for those evangelical Christocrats’ lives whom Jesus the Christ does not govern, they will need to find a new freedom in Christ. They will need to surrender their own will so that they might truly follow the Lord’s teachings (the Gospel or Word of God), and so that their obedience to God becomes more important than their loyalty to any political party’s ideology! If they don’t, they surely will be unprepared for the coming Perfect Storm, which is the time of Mystery Babylon (cf. Revelation chapter 17 and chapter 18)!

For additional information, please read my blog entries: Perfect Storm and Mystery Babylon

The Power from the Holy Spirit's Infilling Transforms Believers

Do not be conformed to this world [age], but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect [or, discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God]. ~ Romans 12:2, ESV; the inserted bracketed words are this blogger’s emphasis

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord [or, reflecting the glory of the Lord], are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV; the inserted bracketed words are this blogger’s emphasis

If we are still living that old sinful life we lived before our conversion process began, then our souls are desperately in need of being changed for the better (need to be renewed). As mentioned in Paul’s Damascus Road Conversion Revisited, there are two kinds of conversions. There is the initial awakening or converting to the Gospel’s Truths—a turning away from embracing the darkness to embracing the LIGHT. Secondly, there is the successful kind of conversion process, which leads to salvation. However, we need to note here that this successful conversion process does not ALWAYS lead to the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit.

In other words, the successful kind of conversion process happens when our initial “seeing” of the LIGHT is responded to appropriately, in such a way as to activate our faith in Jesus the Christ. This preliminary trusting in the Lord is what causes the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to regenerate us—to give us our “new” man or “new” woman status, our born again from above rebirth. Our rebirth then leads us to confessing our sins, repenting of our sins, accepting Jesus the Christ as our Lord and Savior, and being water baptized. If, however, we have believed, confessed, accepted, and been water baptized, yet we continue to live unholy and unrighteous lives, then even though we have had the successful kind of conversion process that leads to salvation, we have not received the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit!

For sure, ONLY the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit can change our souls from the inside out—can change our mind, intellect, emotions, desires, determination, conscience—so that we no longer conform to (become so well-adjusted to) our worldly cultures and societies that we don’t stop to think about how our cultures and societies are affecting who or what receives our undivided attention. Furthermore, only the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit can change our souls for the better—can focus our minds on God so that we not only swiftly recognize what God wants from us but also quickly respond in godly ways to His Perfect Will. In essence, the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit gives our “new” man or “new” woman a sound mind (cf. 2 Timothy 1:7)—a mind that focuses on the God kind of virtues and morals that the Holy Spirit makes known to us—and the Holy Spirit’s infilling gives us the power and authority to live a life that does not habitually sin.

Most believers agree that the Holy Spirit of God is an integral part of every believer’s life—that is, He is an integral part in the lives of everyone who doesn’t just have an initial awakening or an eyes opened only conversion but also completely continues the conversion process by ultimately becoming a joint-heir with Jesus the Christ. However, what most believers do not understand is that the initial filling AND continual fillings of the Holy Spirit are not automatically given. Bottom line: Being filled with the Holy Spirit is conditional, which means, depending on our relationship with God, we can or cannot be filled!

Nevertheless, the Scriptures tell us that in order for us to live a Spirit-filled life, we must allow the Holy Spirit to work with and through us beyond His immediate indwelling. More important, the Scriptures are clear about the difference between being saved and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, since the Lord commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they “…receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon [them]…” (Acts 1:8, ESV; cf. Acts 1:4-5; inserted bracketed word is this blogger’s emphasis), His command makes it obvious that, although the Holy Spirit automatically indwells every born again and saved believer, the Holy Spirit does not automatically infill every believer. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that Jesus is telling His disciples that the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit is the One who not only brings the fullness of God’s power to each believer but also releases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in every believer’s life so that each believer can be a witness for Jesus the Christ while doing God’s Perfect Will. In fact, the same power that makes it possible for the Lord’s disciples to be His witnesses in this world also enables every Holy Spirit-filled believer to be what God wants him or her to be in this life, as well as makes it possible for every believer to go into eternity as an overcomer.

That’s why, the infilling of the Spirit is not about our salvation, which results in the Holy Spirit of God immediately dwelling inside of us at the moment we receive salvation. As already mentioned, every one of us who is a truly born again and saved believer receives the Holy Spirit inside of him or her, BUT the Holy Spirit does not fill every born again and saved believer! For this reason, since our spiritual rebirth only involves our human spirit being renewed, the challenge then is for us to have our individual soul’s mind renewed, daily. To make sure that our soul’s mind is being renewed daily, Paul tells us that we must continually be “…be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18b, ESV).

Now it should be obvious that Paul is making an important point in Ephesians 5:18, when he presents a contrast between being “drunk” or filled with the Holy Spirit and being “drunk” or filled with wine. His point is that unlike the power of wine, which is only evident when we see the external actions of people who have become intoxicated from wine, the infilling power of the Holy Spirit is evident in our internal spiritual relationship with God, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit AND in our external physical and spiritual deeds that we do for Christ.  Paul’s point also is that the external actions of “drunk” individuals become the primary evidence that supports the power of imbibed alcohol. However, even though for people who are “drunk” with the power of the Holy Spirit there also is external evidence, this visible outward evidence is merely the secondary evidence that proves believers INTERNALLY have been indwelt and subsequently infilled by the Holy Spirit. Put differently, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit establishes an internal relationship between the Holy Spirit, God, Jesus the Christ, and the person whom they Holy Spirit has indwelt, but, unlike with alcohol, the primary evidence that supports the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit’s Baptism (infilling) is the external evidence that flows as a result of the infilled believer’s internal relationship.

Once again, external secondary evidence is the result of a believer’s internal relationship with Father God—meaning, how well a believer communicates with God through prayer (cf. Luke 18:1; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:17), and whether or not any believer has quenched the Holy Spirit, because quenching the Holy Spirit harms a believer’s relationship with God (cf. Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:23-27; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6). Thus, whether or not a believer has an intimate, loving, caring, and obedient relationship with God will determine if that believer also has yielded to the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit and, consequently, received the Baptism (infilling) of the Holy Spirit. The external secondary evidence that supports the  power of the infilling Holy Spirit, thus, flows out of a believer ONLY when the surrendered believer is allowing the Holy Spirit to work through him or her so that God can use him or her to minister to others—so that Spirit-filled believer is voluntarily and obediently doing the Perfect Will of God (producing much fruit, a great harvest, for the Kingdom).

For these reasons, not only are we to be filled but also continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the verses that follow Ephesians 5:18 are those Scriptures that deal specifically with the ways that believers can keep on receiving their Holy Spirit infillings. Each of these ways Paul mentions clearly underscores this biblical Truth: When we repeatedly surrender our lives to the Holy Spirit, He continues to fill us.

According to Paul, we have yielded the control of our lives to the Holy Spirit when we are:

addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with [our] heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. ~ Ephesians 5:19-21, ESV, inserted bracketed word is this blogger’s emphasis

Bottom line: It is evident in all of the Scriptures that pertain to believers who are full of the Holy Spirit that being filled with the Holy Spirit means surrendering completely to Him by allowing Him to exclusively occupy our minds with God’s Gospel Truth about Jesus the Christ. Additionally, the Scriptures that pertain to believers who are full of the Holy Spirit prove that the primary purpose of being filled with Holy Spirit (God’s Gospel Truth) is for making us witnesses for Jesus the Christ.

Contrary to popular opinions, being filled with the Holy Spirit IS NOT about us receiving a specific amount or “quantity” of the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit just means that God has chosen and designated His Holy Spirit to be the One who causes us to live a Christ-like lifestyle—God has chosen and designated His Holy Spirit to be the supernatural influencing factor that causes us to do what we do for Jesus the Christ, like witnessing to others, as well as ministering to others, edifying (building up) others, exhorting (encouraging) others, speaking in tongues, prophesying, performing miracles, and so forth. Put differently, God decided that the Holy Spirit would be the One who would transform into the image of Christ; thus, when we are living Spirit-filled lives, when we are living lives that have been surrendered to the mighty workings of the Holy Spirit, we are living lives that are reflections of the kind of life our Lord lived (cf. John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:8-15; Romans 8:14-17; 1 Corinthians 14:3; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:4-7, 11-16).

Therefore, if we are not experiencing the God kind of Spirit-filled lives that are producing abundant harvests (if we are not the better “soil” or “heart” into which the Gospel has been sown, causing us as hearers of the Word to thrive; see the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23; Mark 4:3-8, 13-20), and if our Spirit-filled lives are not undergoing a supernatural transformation (if we are not being changed into the image of Jesus the Christ, which is verified by how much our lifestyle mirrors or reflects our Lord’s life and His character), then one or both of the following two scenarios might be the reason(s) why. First, it could be that we honestly haven’t been successfully converted, meaning we haven’t received anything from God (His saving Grace and measure of Faith), from the Holy Spirit (His supernatural workings of regeneration, justification, and sanctification), or from Jesus the Christ (His forgiveness from sin and His imputed righteousness). Or, secondly, it could be that we honestly haven’t surrendered our lives totally to Jesus the Christ’s Lordship, a surrendering which would indicate that we have yielded ourselves to the Holy Spirit, whom our Lord tells us God is sending to us for Him to perform mighty works in and through us (cf. John 14:16-17, 26; John 16:8-15).

For those believers who are interested, changing these two “haven’t” scenarios from a hasn’t happened status to a done deal would involve surrendering to the complete supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit, including the Holy Spirit’s Baptism (infilling). That is to say, in order for those believers who are not Holy Spirit infilled to receive the Holy Spirit’s infilling, they first must have successfully completed their conversion process in which they genuinely have accepted Jesus the Christ as their Lord and Savior, AND they must have totally submitted (yielded or surrendered) to His Lordship!

Lastly, contrary to popular opinions, a Holy Spirit-filled life can be experienced on a daily basis. When all is said and done, a Holy Spirit-filled life always will be an obedient and abiding in Christ life. Therefore, if we truly want to have a Holy Spirit-filled life, then in addition to being born again, saved, Holy Spirit indwelt, and totally submitted (yielded or surrendered) to Jesus the Christ’s Lordship, we daily must show that we love God with all of our heart, mind, and strength; we daily must spend time in prayer and in Bible study; we daily must obey God’s commands; we daily must abide in Christ, and His teachings and sayings must remain in us; and we daily must witness for Christ. Then we can ask what we will of the Lord, even for us to be Holy Spirit filled, and He surely will give to us what we ask (cf. John 15:7)!

Have you been born again, saved, and Holy Spirit indwelt? Have you totally surrendered to the Lord Jesus the Christ?  Have you been baptized with the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the external display of the infilling Holy Spirit’s fullness of life and power (cf. Ephesians 3:19)? If you answered NO to any one of these three questions, then you are not being transformed into the image of Christ, because you are NOT filled with the Holy Spirit!

Saul's Damascus Road Conversion

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. … But the Lord said to [Ananias], ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. ~ Acts 9:3-9, 15-19, ESV; the bracketed name is this blogger’s emphasis

When most believers think about Saul’s Damascus Road conversion, they automatically assume that his conversion experience means that he received his rebirth and his salvation on that road. However, there is nothing in the Scriptures to support this assumption.

Without doubt, Saul is NOT saved on the road to Damascus, because on that road, when the blinding LIGHT arrests his attention, Jesus the Christ only tells Saul that He is the Person Saul is seeing, and Jesus the Christ tells Saul that He is the Person who is speaking to Saul about him persecuting the Lord. At this point, there is no sign that Saul has been born again, saved, or indwelt and infilled by the Holy Spirit. Certainly, the only sign that a person is saved is that he or she has received something from Jesus the Christ, yet while Saul is on the road to Damascus it is not evident that he received anything from the Lord. More important, the earlier cited Acts chapter 9 verses indicate that getting Saul born again, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit is a three-day process!

What then is the truth about Paul’s Damascus Road conversion? The truth about his and everyone else’s conversion is that conversion IS NOT regeneration, which is a sinner’s born from above spiritual rebirth. Then too, conversion IS NOT salvation, which is a sinner’s sins being forgiven so that this believer can be justified, meaning he or she is treated as if he or she has never sinned. Moreover, a sinner’s sins are forgiven so that this believer can receive the Lord’s imputed righteousness, and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Lastly, conversion IS NOT sanctification, which is a believer being filled with the Holy Spirit, being made holy (sanctified), being transformed (changed) into the image of Jesus the Christ, and being glorified. Hence, no one is a new creation because of conversion! A believer is a new creation (a new man or a new woman), because of God’s work in regeneration!

Now, if conversion is not regeneration, salvation (justification), or sanctification, then what is conversion?  According to Luke, who pens the book of Acts, as Paul defends himself while he stands before King Agrippa, Paul tells Agrippa about his Damascus Road conversion. Luke writes that Saul tells Agrippa that Jesus the Christ tells Saul:

‘…I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ ~ Acts 26:17b-18, ESV (cf. Isaiah 42:6; Luke 1:79; John 8:12; Acts 13:47)

Now, there can be no doubt that in the above quoted verses Paul is using the Lord’s own words to him as a working definition for conversion. The Lord clearly is saying that conversion is sinners having their eyes opened, meaning they are awakened to the knowledge of the Gospel’s Truths about Jesus the Christ! Put differently, conversion is sinners turning away from “…darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9b). 

Thus, based on Peter and the Lord’s words, it is obvious that darkness definitely symbolizes ignorance, sin, and wretchedness. Moreover, the darkness the Lord and Peter mention refers to every sinner’s condition before conversion, before a sinner sees the light, as it were. By contrast, the LIGHT Peter and the Lord mention represents the absence of darkness, as LIGHT symbolizes the awe-inspiring state of lost souls after they have been brought to the knowledge of the Gospel’s Truths about Jesus the Christ.

However, what must be pointed out here is that conversion ONLY opens sinners’ eyes. They have turned into the LIGHT, turned to embraced the Lord, but they have not received anything!

The truth of the matter is that there are many people who have a conversion experience. They are repentant to the point that they make vows or promises, and they even dedicate their lives to living for the Lord; they also might be very determined to follow through on those vows, promises, and their commitment, but unfortunately no vows or promises or commitment is the successful kind of conversion that leads to salvation—the type of conversion that leads to turning to become a child of God! This kind of conversion is a continuous one, going beyond the initial opening of the eyes, but most people never go beyond having the initial conversion—they never go beyond just having their eyes opened to progressing from the hearing of the Word to believing, confessing, repenting, accepting, and baptizing! Still, it is important to note here that not all continuous conversions fit this same pattern!

What is for sure is that the Scriptures indicate that Saul has had an initial conversion, while on the road to Damascus. His eyes are opened, and he sees the LIGHT, but Saul does not receive his rebirth, salvation, or the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it is obvious that he does not see (neither spiritually or naturally comprehends nor physically sees) a thing about what just happened to him while on the road to Damascus.

Now, although the Scriptures do not directly state that Saul continues his conversion by going on to believing, confessing, repenting, and accepting, the Scriptures do say that he is baptized. Indeed, the Scriptures suggest that Saul has a water baptism (cf. Acts 9:18b), for there would have been no reason for Saul to stand up, after Ananias lays hands on him, if Ananias only is sprinkling Saul with some water, or if Ananias is pouring a small amount of water on Saul!

Furthermore, in Saul’s day, the water baptism of an adult implies that the adult made a public profession of his or her faith, into which he or she was baptized. Thus, it is obvious that the baptism that follows Saul’s received sight proves both his own genuine surrender to the Lord and his own deep and complete conviction about his initial conversion—the awakening to the Gospel’s Truths, the turning from darkness to the LIGHT, which Saul experiences on the road to Damascus.

As earlier mentioned, it is three days after his Damascus Road initial conversion that Saul receives his sight—his physical vision and his spiritual sight, which happen when what looks like scales fall off his eyes. There can be no doubt that the removal of these so-called “scales” symbolizes the receiving of spiritual sight that Saul obtains at the same time that he gets his physical vision back. In other words, like darkness, Saul’s so-called “scales” represent his ignorance, sin, and the misery he had to have been in once his prejudice and hatred for Christians, his own foolish pride, and unmerciful and cruel character, as well as his unbelief in Jesus the Christ, are revealed to him by the LIGHT—exposed by the prophesied Jewish Messiah.

Be that as it may. The bottom line is that Saul’s physical and spiritual blindness and their cure were the results of God’s supernaturally Divine intervention—God’s miracles. That is to say, in order for Saul to receive his bona fide spiritual sight, he needed the Grace of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Christ to first give Saul his rebirth, salvation (justification), the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the infilling Holy Spirit. Indeed, Saul, as Paul, later writes that spiritual sight ONLY comes from the Holy Spirit, and by spiritual sight he means godly wisdom and godly understanding—spiritual discernment. In other words, a natural man (unbeliever, lost soul) neither can receive nor understand or interpret that which ONLY the Holy Spirit reveals and teaches. Paul writes:

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:12-14, ESV

Apparently Paul received everything he needed from the Lord to qualify as a spiritual sight recipient, either while he was praying and has a vision of Ananias laying hands on him, or when Ananias actually laid hands on him (cf. Acts 9:11-12, 17-18). The main thing is that there can be no doubt that an initial conversion precedes the work of God in regeneration (rebirth, born from above), salvation (justification, put in right standing with God), and sanctification (being made holy, and being changed into the image of Christ).

Finally, in Saul’s day, the ultimate test that a  believer is genuinely being transformed (being changed) is the successful continuous conversion that results in a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Furthermore, in the New Testament’s successful conversion stories, the public profession of faith in Jesus the Christ is immediately followed by water baptism! Thus, even though there is no biblical evidence that Saul was born again and saved on the Damascus Road, there can be no doubt that he did have an initial conversion experience on that road. This initial conversion, however, is ONLY the earliest opening of his eyes—his original awakening to an awareness of the need to place faith in Jesus the Christ (the Gospel’s Truths), and his primary turning from darkness to the LIGHT, which three days later ultimately succeeds in leading Saul to becoming a born again, saved (justified), filled with the Holy Spirit child of God!

A Scoffer Suffers From Self-Imposed Spiritual Blindness

…in the last days, mockers are going to have a heyday. Reducing everything to the level of their puny feelings, they’ll mock, ‘So what’s happened to the promise of his Coming? Our ancestors are dead and buried, and everything’s going on just as it has from the first day of creation. Nothing’s changed.’ They conveniently forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into existence out of watery chaos by God’s word. Then God’s word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world. The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire. God is poised, ready to speak his word again, ready to give the signal for the judgment and destruction of the desecrating skeptics. ~ 2 Peter 3:3-7, MSG

Isn’t it fascinating to know that nearly 2000 years ago a virtually unschooled Galilean fisherman could prophesy so accurately about the derisive nature of twenty-first century scoffers? What equally should be fascinating is Peter’s specificity. While it is noted that scoffers are not a new phenomenon, because, indisputably, the world always has had impudent people who boldly ridicule true believers in God, however, Peter’s “last-day scoffers” are a peculiar group. They are an extreme version of an increasing number of obstinate deriders.  These “last-day scoffers” have improved upon the art of contradiction, persecution, and verbal abuse. More important, Peter’s “last-day scoffers” are members of the “…generation [that] will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34, ESV; bracketed word is this blogger’s emphasis).

The above scriptural reference comes from Jesus the Christ’s Mount Olivet Discourse—in particular, the portion pertaining to the Fig Tree mini-parable. The Lord’s uninterrupted Mount Olivet Discourse is found in Matthew chapters 24 and 25 (parts also are found in Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21), and this particular conversation is considered to contain the most important prophecies about end-time events.

Throughout this very long conversation, Jesus the Christ gives His disciples a descriptive process on “how to” determine those world events that will point to His Second Coming and, consequently, the end times. For example, early during this conversation, Jesus the Christ answers His disciples’ questions, in Matthew 24:3, about “…when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Beginning in Matthew 24:5, Jesus the Christ builds on one sign after another, as He moves from describing a literal interpretation of the prophetic end time world events to a symbolic one that begins in Matthew 24:32. The Lord’s use of the Fig Tree mini-parable in Matthew 24:32-35) effectively customizes His teachings, because He now is tailoring His predictions found in Matthew 24:6-31 to a practical application.  Jesus the Christ says:

From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:32-35, ESV)

For centuries, scholars have held variant opinions concerning who the “generation” is that Jesus the Christ refers to in Matthew 24:34. However, most twenty-first century Bible prophecy scholars agree that the fig tree refers to Israel, and they also agree that the “generation” that either saw or learned about Israel’s May 14, 1948 restoration is the “generation” that Jesus the Christ says will not pass away until all of the biblical prophetic statements He makes in Matthew chapter 24 have been fulfilled.

Now, if the twenty-first century Bible prophecy scholars are correct, then this present-day population, which consists of people who either were born before or after 1948, is living in the end times. In other words, they are the prophesied generation to see or learn about the fulfillment of the Jewish people’s return to their Promised Land, and the prophesied generation to see or learn about the nation of Israel being born in a day prophecies (cf. Isaiah 49:21, Isaiah 66:8). 

It is an undeniable fact that Israel is a nation again, and it is irrefutable that this nation has scattered Jewish people who still are returning home to the Promised Land, even on this very day. Therefore, the 21^st-century people should be able to recognize and know that the Bible’s symbolic Fig Tree’s budding and blossoming refer to both the literal Fig Tree’s spring-time events and the literal nation of Israel’s historical spring-time events, the latter of which specifically include their May 14, 1948 rebirth as a nation, and their June 5^th-10^th, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the latter of which resulted in Israel regaining control of Jerusalem.

Likewise, there can be no doubt that the symbolic Fig Tree’s budding and blossoming also point to the fact that the nation of Israel’s historical spring-time events are leading to this world’s next “season’s” natural and supernatural harvests. This next “season” that Jesus the Christ mentions is summer, and His prophesied summer-time season is both the literal and metaphorical time when the harvests of figs, wheat, and grapes begin (cf. Jeremiah 51:33; Joel 3:13; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Matthew 24:31; Matthew 24:32-36; Mark 13:28-32; Luke 21:29-33; Revelation 14:14-16; and Revelation 14:18-20).

Certainly it is a fact that the first harvest of ripened figs in Israel occurs during the Jewish summer-time month of Tammuz, which is the month that corresponds to the western world’s summer-time months of June and July. Additionally, it is a fact that in Israel the main wheat harvest begins a month earlier in the summer-time month of Sivan, which is the month that corresponds to the western world’s late spring/early summer months of May and June. This wheat harvest in Israel usually is finished by the Jewish summer-time month of Elul, which is the western world’s late summer/early autumn months of August and September. Moreover, Elul also is the Jewish summer-time month in which the vintage (grape) harvest and the second fig harvest begin, after the completed wheat harvest. The grape harvest, however, is normally finished by the time of the autumnal equinox.

In case the main points in the last two paragraphs have been missed, for the record, the cursed or withered Fig Tree represents or symbolizes the prophesied scattered Jewish people, who begin, again, in 70 A.D. with their worldwide Diaspora. In 70 A.D., the Jewish nation comes to an end, as the Romans actively and methodically begin to drive Jewish citizens of Israel from their ancient homeland (cf. Jeremiah 26:18; Micah 3:12; Matthew 21:18-22; Matthew 24:2b; Mark 11:11-14, 20-26; Luke 19:44). Nearly 40 years earlier, the Lord not only prophesied this Jewish Diaspora in Matthew 24:2b but also He cursed/withered the literal nation of Israel and the metaphorical Fig Tree (cf. Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:11-14, 20-26) in the Jewish spring-time month of Nisan, which was a time when neither the literal nor the metaphorical Fig Tree was able to produce either natural or spiritual fruit. By the way, the Jewish spring-time month of Nisan corresponds to the western world’s early spring-time months of March and April.

However, even though the Lord curses/withers the literal and metaphorical Fig Tree, by the time of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, on the 6^th of the summer-time month Sivan (May/June), the literal firstfruits of wheat and the metaphorical firstfruits of the spiritually born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit Jewish believers are reaped. Then, after the Jewish people’s complete expulsion, which followed the final 135 A.D. destruction of Jerusalem, and the running of a plow over all or part of Jerusalem, and after the Jewish people are banned from the land of Israel, it becomes clear that God has had a plan to bring Gentiles into His chosen community of faithful believers, while simultaneously bringing the Jewish community of those who were supposed to be faithful to ruin so that He later can restore them to their rightful place in said community of faithful believers (cf. Romans 11:25b-26a).

For this last reason, Jesus the Christ’s cursed/withered metaphorical Fig Tree is indeed forever cursed/withered, because that old flawed human form of spirituality that came from trying to keep the Mosaic Law no longer could produce any spiritual fruit that is acceptable to God (cf. Matthew 21:43; Romans 11:25b-26a). That is why, in the Jewish summer-time month of Tammuz (June/July), the metaphorical Fig Tree first is restored as God’s naturally chosen country and then later, when Israel gains control of Jerusalem, the literal nation of Israel as a whole (each Jewish person living in Israel or in other countries around the world) now is able to begin producing, in Tammuz (June/July) and Elul (August/September), both the Fig Tree’s natural harvests of ripened figs AND the spiritual harvest of ripened figs.

Now the above information brings the reader to Tishri, which is the Jewish autumnal month that follows Elul. Moreover, Tishri is the month that corresponds to the western world’s autumnal months of September and October. More important, Tishri is the month for the Fall Feasts of Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

The point now is that even if we tried to stop summer or autumn from coming, there is no way that we could ever succeed in stopping either the literal summer or the symbolic “summer” from happening. We also neither can stop from happening the natural season nor the prophesied “season” that follows summer.  For sure, after “summer” will come autumn, and this is the “season” for Jesus the Christ’s Bride to be raptured, for His Second Coming bodily return, and for the end of the ages of humanity, as we have known mankind!

The question that leaps to this blogger’s mind is: If people can know that a particular “season” is coming, before it gets here, because they have based their knowing upon the preceding “season’s” series of events, how is that Peter’s “last-day scoffers” are so blind? If one is to believe Peter, then the answer to this question is that the “last-day scoffers” are NOT blind because they might lack the ability to perceive and grasp the signs of the times. 

The truth of the matter is, many of these “last-day scoffers” are blind because of their own volition. That is to say, they eagerly have chosen to close their eyes to the increasing number of counterfeit christs, fake gospel teachers, and bogus godly prophets, as well as deliberately closed their eyes to the growing amount of erroneous para-biblical literature by authors who are passing off their works as scholarly and as prophetic wisdom, primarily because these “blind” people prefer to follow, instead, their own wicked desires (cf. 2 Peter 3:3-7). Moreover, because these “last-day scoffers’” main goal is to seek to crumble believers’ biblical foundations, they willingly have chosen not to pay attention to the true signs of the times so that they, these “last-day scoffers” who are led by their own sadistic desires, can scorn Gospel believers by openly mocking sin, salvation, and believers’ faith.

In short, the “last-day scoffers” will attempt to destroy believers’ biblical trust that primarily is in the promise of Jesus the Christ’s Second Coming.  It is written:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ~ Matthew 24:29-30, ESV

This biblical prophecy, the promise of Lord’s Second Coming, is one of the main Christian beliefs to which true believers hold fast. Since the “last-day scoffers” cannot deny that the Lord declared His Second Coming, they will seek to persuade believers that His Word is hollow—they will try to find something to use to convince believers the Lord neither can return nor will return, like debating that Jesus the Christ was just a man who died. Then too, they will declare that He never had any intentions on returning to this Earth.

Furthermore, through the perfect art of ridicule, the “last-day scoffers” will laugh at believers’ faith and Christian dogma, and then contemptuously ask believers: “…Where is the promise of his coming…” (2 Peter 3:4a, ESV)? Then, in an attempt to uproot believers from their faith and their “…blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of [their] great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, ESV; the bracketed word is this blogger’s emphasis on a verse that clearly is an absolute reference to Jesus the Christ’s Second Coming), the “last-day scoffers” will use faulty logic to argue that, since the Lord has not appeared yet, therefore, it is certain that He will not appear in the future. In essence, these blustering “last-days scoffers’” are really saying that “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist…” to come to their conclusion, which is that “…since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4b, ESV). Everything, they will claim, has remained the same on this Earth from its origin until the present day.

Contrary to these “last day scoffers’” popular opinions, everything has not remained the same. For example, believers now have the guarantee that Jesus the Christ is coming back again, and that His Second Coming will be a physical, visible event (cf. Zechariah 14:4; Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:30; Matthew 24:40-41; Matthew 25:31-32; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 19:11-16). Indeed, this specific “blessed hope” of believers is the very reason why these “last-day scoffers” will take pleasure in laughing at any references to the Lord’s Second Coming, simply because they know that since His crucifixion on the cross, since His resurrection from the grave, and since His ascension into Heaven, no one to date has seen on Earth Jesus the Christ in His physical body. 

This lack of a visible physical appearance also is why “last-day scoffers” verbally will attack believers, unceasingly, so as to weary them and cause them to question what they say they believe. These scoffers will seek to weaken and undermine believers’ conviction to stand by their right to choose the report of the Lord, by arguing that since the patriarchs have died without having the benefit of witnessing the Lord’s Second Coming, then, His promised return is, thus, null and void. These “last-day scoffers” will maintain that, if Jesus the Christ were going to make good on His promised return, then by now there would have been some definitive signs that would have alerted people to His Second Coming, but, instead, “…all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4b, ESV).

Their argument, in short, is that nothing has changed, and, because they believe that nothing has changed, they neither see any reason to fear God nor see any reason to fear that the world, as they know it, will come to an end. However, Peter keenly debates the blindness of these “last-day scoffers.” He shows their fallacious, stinking thinking about “the world being unchanged” premise. Peter specifically points out how these “last-day scoffers” have a spiritual blindness that corresponds to the one which Jesus the Christ predicts in the Olivet Discourse. The Lord says:

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ~ Matthew 24:37-39, ESV

Peter, thus, reminds the “last-day scoffers” that the world has not remained unchanged. One major difference that he references is the flood in Noah’s day, in which all “scoffers” and unbelievers perished—everyone who paid no attention to the signs of the times. Concerning this major world change, Peter says that these end time spiritually blind will:

…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. ~  2 Peter 3:5-6

Put differently, there was a deluge that covered this entire world, but the “last-day scoffers” have chosen to ignore this widely known, undeniable, proven, published, and accepted fact!

Apparently, these “last-day scoffers” are those who have not learned, or who have not accepted, this ancient truth, because they either have not wanted to know, or have not wanted to accept it. They have chosen, rather, to be ignorant for ignorance sake. Therefore, according to Jesus the Christ, their spiritual blindness is unto death, as was the spiritual blindness of the people in Noah’s day. Indeed, just as God’s promised wrath, a long time ago, was poured out upon the Earth, assigning a watery death to all but eight humans, He also has promised, once again, to destroy by fire this current world’s evil men and women, and to bring the end-time age in which they live to an end, and to do it swiftly (cf. 2 Peter 3:7-12). Moreover, Peter uses this promised future wrath of God, not to frighten believers, but to encourage them, so that they will continue to trust that God will fulfill ALL of His promises.

Judging by Peter’s prophetic description of the “last-day scoffers” and Jesus the Christ’s prophetic description of world events, twenty-first century’s true believers can conclude that they are living in the end times. Although there are many people who will argue that the world has been in this so-called “last and evil days” status for centuries, the current evidence that these individuals also will have to consider is that before this twenty-first century there NEVER has been such a preponderance of the Bible’s prophetic signs that are more characteristic of the end times than the ones that are happening right in front of twenty-first century’s genuine believers’ eyes.

Yes, over the years, since long before, and even during, the time of Jesus the Christ’s Olivet Discourse, there always have been wars and rumors of wars, diseases, sicknesses, famines, and various kinds of “natural” disasters. Then too, after the time of the Lord’s ministry, there always have been nations rising up against nations; there always have been “natural” disasters; and there always have been diverse kinds of sicknesses, diseases, and famines. Additionally, there always have been scorners, scoffing at the promise of Jesus the Christ’s Second Coming. However, the fact is that not until the latter half of the twentieth century has there been so many of the prophesied signs existing simultaneously and happening so frequently (cf. Matthew 24:6-43). Never before this dispensational age could anyone say that the world has been this ripe for the Messiah’s second appearance.

There are numerous biblical prophetic events foretelling the First and Second Coming of Christ, and the end of the ages. ALL of His First Coming and some of His Second Coming prophetic events have been fulfilled completely, and others will not be fulfilled until the time of the Rapture, the seven-year Tribulation Period, and thereafter. However, all of these prophetic events (those that have manifested and those yet to be seen) should serve as a litmus test, deciding for the observer if he or she will yield to sound reasons for believing in and holding onto his or her belief that the Lord is soon to return. 

Just like there can be no doubt that summer invariably follows spring, and fall always follows summer, we also can bet our bottom dollar that all of the events happening in this world today clearly indicate that this world is teetering, or seesawing, from mountain-top (summer) experiences to devastating (fall and winter) realities. If summer is the time of full bloom, ripened activities in nature, then what equally is important about nature is that much of what has ripened and bloomed out in summer will begin to revert back to its barren, lifeless condition by late fall and on in through the winter.  Therefore, there is a short window of opportunity, a fleeting moment, before the Great Harvest of souls for Christ has to take place in order to preserve the ripened fully blossomed lives from falling away, or from being destroyed—naturally and spiritually speaking. Perhaps that is why Jesus the Christ’s return for His CHURCH is defined as an event that will happen in a “twinkling of an eye” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:52), a “now you see it, now you don’t” scenario—here today, gone tomorrow adage.

Consequently, in order for true believers to enjoy a continuous mountain-top experience in the Lord, He has to return and pull them out of this world at the height of their maturity (a perfect Bride of Christ who is without spot or blemish), because EVERY “thing” about this world’s events points to a future earth-shattering change. 

Therefore, it is imperative that true believers become well grounded in biblical truths so that they can be directed and encouraged by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to maintain a firm conviction in what God has revealed to them in His Word, as well as through His prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists, and apostles. Only after true believers have been rooted and grounded in biblical faith—have reached their full bloom and ripened state—will the prophetic world events become easier to notice and understand.  Then, and only then, will many true believers know with certainty just what “season” it is. They will know that the end times are indeed “…near, at the very gates” (Matthew 24:33, ESV), and that Jesus the Christ is due, any moment, to show up and rapture His Bride from the start of the Tribulation Period, or the pending wrath of God.

The Old Testament prophets, Jesus the Christ, and the New Testament apostles have maintained that there are observable and comprehendible signs, accompanied by a series of events, that will alert true believers about the Lord’s Second Coming. While there are many biblical signs that prophesy end-time events, prophecy that has been fulfilled and that which is yet to happen, what is important is that it is not the number of prophetic signs, in and of themselves, that is the point!

The message is that it is a sad commentary on human life when there are those who consistently, persistently and willfully choose to be ignorant of instead of knowledgeable about the Lord’s Second Coming and the definitive patterns that signal this foretold prophetic event. What is unfathomable is how an unregenerate mind can weigh, ever so carefully, the evidence of worldly matters and draw a logical conclusion, yet this same mind can close itself off to spiritual truths—even those that unequivocally have been proven to be true, scientifically or empirically—as this mind resists the idea of a God who will intervene in human affairs and show Himself to be sovereign (the One who is in control of this world).

Being like the people in Noah’s day (full of unbelief, skepticism, and scoffing) will result in these kinds of people being left outside the Ark, so to speak.  For true believers who hold fast to their faith in Jesus the Christ’s promise—His Second Coming—and those who also observe, understand, and believe in the signs of the times, they will know that they have something to look forward to that has all the earmarks of being super-spectacular.  That “something” that they can expect is the Rapture, which will be followed by the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that happens after the seven-year Tribulation Period. Ultimately, true believers who are steadfast until the very end (until they have transformed and blossomed into the image of Christ) not only will be raptured out of this dying world (at the pinnacle of their Christian development) but also they will become kings and queens who will reign for one thousand years with Jesus the Christ, after He makes His second-coming appearance on this Earth.

Therefore, true believers (the Bride of Christ) should not fret over the workers of iniquity, such as people like the “last-day scoffers.”  These impudent individuals’ scoffing only should serve to heighten true believers’ awareness that an astronomical change is soon to come. As Christ says, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28, ESV). True believers, thus, can rejoice in knowing and believing that the Bridegroom swiftly is approaching the door of His betrothed and soon will take Her back to His home where She will partake of the unspeakable wedding feast that His Father has prepared in Her honor (cf. Matthew 25:1-13).

However, for the scoffing, non-believers, there is one answer that that they will one day have to give; they will have to declare, once and for all, whether they will serve God or if they will continue to serve the world and its systems. The bottom line is that scoffing, non-believers also will have to develop the same belief and faith of true Godly sons and daughters who maintain, both for themselves and their household, that they will serve the Lord and wait for His return. Ironically, there must be an unwavering steadfastness in the One whom the “last-day scoffers” deny is coming back—Jesus the Christ. Those who are scoffers now also not only must believe in Jesus the Christ as the Son of God, but also they must follow through with total submission to Him in order to receive the eternal life with God reward, or they not only will be left behind (like the unwise, unprepared virgins, and everyone except the eight people on Noah’s Ark) but also, if they survive the Tribulation Period, they will be cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (cf. Matthew 25:46).

BLOGGER’s NOTE:   (I wrote the original version of this blog entry in 2000, and I self-published that original version in the 2003 first printing of Sounding A Clarion Call. I also self-published every refined version of this article in subsequent printings of Sounding A Clarion Call.)

For more detailed information about the Fig Tree mini-parable and the Olivet Discourse prophecies, please see my blog entries Jewish Menorah Mirrors 7 Feasts: Reflections Made On 2011’s Feast of Trumpets; Listen to the Sound of Abundant Rain: The Water Pourer Is Flooding This Earth; The Fall Feast of Trumpets’ Spiritual Realities; Flirting With Death; and The Three Most Important Crops of Israel’s Seven Major Crops.

Leading The Lost World To CHRIST

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. ~ Mark 16:15-16, KJV

As born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit Christians, we are called to leadership—we are called to lead a lost world to salvation by first preaching the Gospel’s message to them, and secondly by witnessing to them. In other words, the Lord says that we are to proclaim or herald the Good News about Jesus the Christ, who died to give everyone who believes in Him an eternally wonderful life and an intimate relationship with God. Additionally, Jesus the Christ expects us to back up the preached Gospel with our witnessing, which is not limited to what we say, for our witnessing also should be accompanied by a life of holiness, righteousness, and love.

Indeed, our witness, which is a demonstration of the Lord’s true disciples’ transformed lives—our “changed” lives, which come about by the Grace of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Christ—will both strengthen and confirm the Lord’s Gospel message that we are preaching or heralding. The bottom line, then, is that we ONLY are able to reach the unsaved people in the world (to lead them to Christ) by the preached or heralded Gospel message that is evidenced by our consistent demonstration of what a holy, righteous, and loving life in Christ looks like.

Once again, the Lord Himself not only commissioned us to preach (proclaim or herald) His Good News, but also He expects us to support His preached or heralded Gospel message with our witnessing—with our godly living. Now, it is important to note here that to herald means to give the Lord’s message, word for word; to herald does not mean to interpret the Lord’s message and then give our own views and opinions that we have shaped into our own message! For sure, when we preach or herald the unadulterated Gospel, that same Word will cause a person to respond in the right way to the heard Gospel message. It is after God’s saving Faith is put inside the hearer of the preached Gospel message that a Gospel hearer’s life truly can be transformed (changed) through regeneration, salvation (justification), and progressive sanctification. By the way, this saving Faith is the same God-given Faith that causes, with the help of the Grace of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, an unsaved person to respond the right way to the heard Gospel message.

Be that as it may, today, in the institutional church, many spiritual leaders are doing their own “thing,” which is everything but what Jesus the Christ commanded His disciples to do: “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature…” (Mark 16:15). Instead of following the Lord’s Great Commission command, which also is Father God’s Way for reaching unsaved people—His Way for leading the unsaved world to the Lord—so that they can receive salvation, too many spiritual leaders in the institutional church have substituted their programs, or the programs of well-known  spiritual leaders in “brand” churches, for God’s program. More important, these same spiritual leaders have presented their own gospel instead of the Lord’s Gospel.

A case in point is the fact that today’s spiritual leaders have changed God’s program by making the institutional church, primarily every physical building, a Soul-Winning Station, which means the “church” is the place where the preaching of the Gospel is being fulfilled. However, the Word of God makes it clear that the preached or heralded Gospel is solely for reaching, leading the lost world to salvation, and that the teaching or making of disciples is for the assembly of “called out ones” who make up the community of witnessing saints (ekklesia/ecclesia).

Put differently, the Lord sends us into the world to preach His Gospel’s message so that those unsaved people can be born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit, but ONLY after they respond to this preached or heralded Gospel message in the appropriate way, which is to believe in their heart (in their center of spiritual activity) that they need to be born again and that they need Jesus the Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is after unsaved people are born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit that the Lord then places these believers into His ekklesia (a.k.a., ecclesia), which is His assembly of witnessing saints who come together (fellowship with one another) so that they can receive teaching or discipling (discipleship training or equipping), edification, and encouragement (see Too Many “CHURCHGOERS” Are Spectators Instead Of Participants).

Another case in point is the fact that, as the result of countless men and women in “church” or “ministry” leadership positions treating the leading of unsaved individuals to the Lord as a “process,” too many of today’s believers are not really saved! These countless men and women’s salvational “process” typically involves: 1. Asking unsaved individuals if they want to be saved; 2. Explaining to unsaved individuals, who say that they want to be saved, the unbiblical concept of inviting Jesus the Christ to come in their hearts by repeating an unbiblical Sinner’s Prayer; 3. Leading these unsaved people in some form of the unbiblical Sinner’s Prayer; 4. Telling these sinners who prayed an unbiblical Sinner’s Prayer that because they prayed said prayer they are now children of God (see The Sinner’s Prayer); and then 5. Helping these allegedly “saved” persons find a “church” home.

Regardless of the fact that there are too many spiritual leaders in the institutional church who are doing their own “thing,” no one who truly is born again, saved (justified), filled with the Holy Spirit, as well as no one who really is allowing the Holy Spirit to sanctify, teach, prompt, and lead him or her, can challenge, with authority and power, this Divine Truth: The Lord intends for each one of His believers not only to desire to be a participant but also to become a participant in His Great Commission. For sure, the Scriptures support this Divine Truth, which once again is that the Lord intends for every believer to help with the GREAT harvest of souls for Him, by doing his or her part in the leading of the lost world to Christ, and by witnessing to the lost world in the same godly lifestyle that he or she lives within EVERY ekklesia/ecclesia, within every community of witnessing saints.

For instance, in EVERY ekklesia/ecclesia, every community of witnessing saints, each believer demonstrates the God kind of love for one another, and he or she makes sure that no brother or sister in Christ ever forgets what Jesus did for each believer. He or she also makes sure that no brother or sister in Christ ever forgets what God is asking every believer to do for Jesus the Christ, in this life.

More important, in EVERY ekklesia/ecclesia, every community of witnessing saints, we believers also reiterate that the Lord intends for those of us, who are seeking to fulfill His Great Commission, not only to lead the lost world to Christ but also to teach fellow Household of Faith siblings how to be disciples, as well as to share in love our spiritual gifts, indeed, we must share in love ALL things with one another. We also reiterate that the Lord intends for us to know the most important aspect about participating in His Great Commission, which is that before we can be successful at winning souls for Jesus the Christ, we must be in right standing with Father God, be in an intimate relationship with our Father and with our Lord, be in an intimate relationship with our brother and sisters in Christ, as well as be all about equipping one another for God’s Kingdom business, all about edifying and encouraging each other, and all about doing the Perfect Will of the Father, together (see Too Many “CHURCHGOERS” Are Spectators Instead Of Participants).

In other words, we cannot lead others where we have not gone, nor can we lead anyone to where we are not willing to go ourselves. These last statements simply mean that those people who are not genuinely born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit are the ones who will have to resort to speaking their own gospel message, to doing their own programs, and to following their own salvational processes and salvational gimmicks that they believe gets people “saved,” instead of following God’s program and the Lord’s Gospel message.

Furthermore, contrary to popular opinions, leading the lost world to Christ is NOT about making unsaved people members of our ekklesia/ecclesia, nor is leading the lost world to Christ about making them members of our local “church.”  Leading the lost world to Christ also is NOT about making unsaved people our friends. Leading the lost world to Christ also is NOT about having unsaved people repeat a Sinner’s Prayer after us, nor is leading the lost world to Christ about having unsaved people make a sincere commitment to Christ. Our “call” to leadership means we are to live a life for Christ that daily demonstrates His love, His righteousness, and His holiness that we have received because of the Lord’s atoning sacrifice.

Equally important to know is that we primarily are “called” to lead the lost world to Christ by preaching or heralding the Lord’s Gospel message. In other words, putting the Faith to believe in Christ inside anyone’s heart is the work of God’s saving Grace and the power of His Holy Spirit. Putting the Faith to believe in Christ inside anyone’s heart, therefore, is NOT a function of any humans’ superb preaching techniques, nor is putting the Faith to believe inside someone’s heart the result of any humans’ excellent evangelistic dynamism. For these reasons, we must let the power of the Gospel’s message (let the Grace of God and the influence of the power of His Holy Spirit) do the saving work that results in the Lord adding whomever is being saved to a particular ekklesia/ecclesia (a community of witnessing saints). At that point, we then are able to help a believer along in his or her faith walk through discipleship teaching and through fellowship gatherings where EVERYONE edifies and exhorts!

Put differently, since ONLY the Lord knows someone’s heart, and since the issues of regeneration and salvation are between a person and the Lord, especially since being born from above and being saved concern whether or not a person is sincere about wanting to have a life in the presence of God (concern whether or not a person is sincere about wanting to accept Jesus the Christ, or sincere about making a commitment to serve the Lord), our “responsibility” then is to present the Gospel, and to present it clearly. Additionally, we can pray for lost souls, by asking God to make the hearts of those individuals who are spiritually separated from Him receptive to the sown Word so that they too can be saved.

Finally, there is nothing beyond our witnessing, our preaching, and our praying that can lead anyone to Christ, or that can be instrumental in getting anyone who is lost, saved! To teach or preach that we can do more than witnessing, preaching, and praying is to teach and preach a different Gospel. In short, it means that we are doing our own “thing”!

Some Christian Spectators Pack Into Stadiums For Christian Events Like Fans Pack Into Stadiums For Athletic Events

That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. ~ Acts 2:41-45, MSG

If we are born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit, then we know how rare it is that believers actually mature, spiritually speaking, in the traditional “institutional” (organizational) church. The harsh truth is that, worldwide, the long-established “institutional” church has been stunting the majority of believers’ spiritual growth for years. As a result, instead of men and women in the ministry fulfilling their mission of evangelizing lost souls and awakening God’s saved children to the expectation that, by the work of God’s Grace and His Holy Spirit, they are able to live holy and empowered lives, too many of 21^st-century believers have become “church” spectators instead of Kingdom of God participants!

Concerning the idea of “going to church,” biblically speaking, born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit believers know that Jesus the Christ’s New Testament “house of God” isn’t even called a “church.” The Word of  God repeatedly refers to the Lord’s believers as the “called out ones” (the assembly or congregation … ekklesia/ecclesia) of the living God, which means these believers are members of the family of God (members of the Household of Faith). Moreover, from ekklesia/ecclesia’s inception, God intended that the Lord’s ekklesia/ecclesia ONLY would be built with spiritual matter. Put differently, God meant for the Lord’s ekklesia/ecclesia to be a spiritual building that has Jesus the Christ as the sure foundation, or the chief cornerstone.

In fact, according to the New Testament meaning, an ekklesia/ecclesia is a spiritual body of believers that originally consisted of ONLY born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit members who daily met and fellowshipped in various out-of-doors locations, like along roadsides or in courtyards; or in various indoors places, like inside rented halls, or inside different homes. Additionally, the New Testament’s “house of God” is NEVER described in the Word of God as a physical structure, even though the Scriptures describe Jesus the Christ as the cornerstone or the foundation upon which He “builds” His ekklesia/ecclesia, and even though the Scriptures teach that it is Jesus the Christ who daily adds those who are being saved to His ekklesia/ecclesia.

Bottom line is that the concept of “going to church”—going to a physical building meant for “sacred worship”—would have been a foreign idea to the 1^st-century believers. In fact, in the first 3 centuries after Jesus the Christ’s death, NO ekklesia/ecclesia had a “sacred worship” building—NO ekklesia/ecclesia was a physical, brick and mortar temple, synagogue, or sanctuary. Then, by 324 A.D., Emperor Constantine began ordering the construction of “church” buildings. Indeed, over time, the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church influenced Gentile believers to emphasize a physical structure rather than a spiritual Body or community of witnessing believers. Consequently, over time, many of the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church became the reasons for why both the meaning and the application of genuine intimacy with and open participation in the ekklesia/ecclesia (the community of witnessing believers) were lost.

For the record, God “called” every believer, every one of His Household of Faith children, to be a participatory Christian community that has intimate, open, unscripted and spontaneous gatherings, as opposed to the aloof, closed, predetermined and planned gatherings that take place in a spectatorial Christian community.  Additionally, Jesus the Christ “called” every believer to be a participatory Christian community (His ekklesia/ecclesia), in which genuine fellowship or “koinonia” doesn’t just mean being together, like sitting in “church” during Sunday morning worship service, or attending Sunday School, or being in a Bible Study class, or having a potluck dinner, and so forth. The real spiritual meaning of the Lord’s kind of fellowship or “koinonia” is doing together—that is, the Lord’s kind of fellowship or “koinonia” means ALL believers are doing God’s Perfect Will together, and this doing God’s Perfect Will together is what they each had in common (cf. Acts 2:44). Unfortunately, since both the meaning and application of true intimacy with and open participation in the ekklesia/ecclesia (the community of witnessing believers) were lost, most of the 21^st-century Christians worldwide are either ignorant about or unwilling to emulate this having all things in common oneness or spiritual fellowship that in the Greek language is called  “koinonia.” 

Not only are the early traditions of the Roman Catholic Church the reasons why both the meaning and application of true intimacy with and open participation in the ekklesia/ecclesia (the community of witnessing believers) are not being demonstrated in the modern day “institutional” church, but also the traditions of contemporary “religious” men and women are the reasons why most of today’s “churchgoers” have become comfortable with being pew sitters. These pew sitters are more comfortable with being spectators who “go to church” primarily to be entertained by their pastor, the music ministry, the dance ministry, the drama ministry, and so on, than they are comfortable with being motivated and encouraged to take part in real “Christian” activities, which invariably would make them Kingdom of God participants.

In essence, the recognized “institutional” church has made the faith of most “churchgoers” not much more than a spectator sport, where most of these content pew sitters are never rubbed the wrong way by a predetermined programmed order of service. In fact, many contemporary “churchgoers” are happy waiting for the lively music to begin, for someone (usually a worship leader or a choir) to lead them in four or five songs, for “church” announcements, for the tithes and offering plate or basket, for someone to tell these pew sitters what God is saying, for the altar call, for possibly more singing, for the Lord’s Supper (usually on the first Sunday of every month), for another prayer, for the benediction, and for the mass departure.

In addition to the spectatorial “churchgoers” who are content pew sitters, there are those spectatorial “churchgoers” who are addicted “church” members—addicted to the idea of “church” busyness, or the idea of “doing or playing church.” That’s right! There are many spectatorial “churchgoers” who are addicted to “going to church”—going to a brick and mortar building—where they can fill up their lives with “church” activities. Like the contented pew sitters, the majority of addicted “churchgoers” don’t mind participating in the scheduled worship service by singing some songs, putting some money in a plate or basket, listening to a sermon (being preached to or preached at), and then going home.

The remainder of these addicted spectatorial “churchgoers,” however, are hooked on their local church’s super-sized prepackaged version of “church” activities, especially those “church” activities that satisfy their needs, which often include but are not limited to: “church” leaders whose visionary programs/ministries make the lives of these addicted “churchgoers” worth living; discipleship training classes; spiritual growth seminars; Sunday School classes; large unsociable Bible Studies or small intimate cell study groups; opportunities to serve others by using their time and skills (but only when it is convenient for these addicted “churchgoers” to be busy “church” members); inspirational cutting-edge worship experiences; quintessential children’s program;  evangelistic ministries and/or mission programs; and planned types of fellowship (believers’ get-togethers).

While this super-sized prepackaged version of “church” activities makes it easy for these addicted “churchgoers” to pick and choose what they need in order for them to satisfy what they believe is them doing the Will of the Father, these busy “church” activities only end up making it impossible for these believers to fulfill their “call,” inside and outside of their “sacred walls,” the way that God has intended for them to do. The point here is that just because believers make themselves busy with the “church” activities that satisfy their own needs that doesn’t mean that they definitely are following the Lord’s idea of fellowship or “koinonia,” nor does their busyness emphatically prove that they are doing the Perfect Will of Father God!

The sad truth is that only a few modern-day “churchgoers” have an active involvement in the Kingdom of God beyond merely attending the “institutional” church’s weekly worship services. This small minority represents the true Spirit-led Body of Christ, who not only is discontented with being just a spectator (just a comfortable pew sitter) but also this small minority of Spirit-led believers can’t wait until the weekly “church” service is over so that God’s Kingdom business receives the attention it needs.

As earlier mentioned, God “called” every believer, every one of His Household of Faith children, to be a participatory Christian community that has intimate, open, unscripted and spontaneous gatherings, as opposed to the aloof, closed, predetermined and planned gatherings that take place in a spectatorial Christian community—the “institutional” (organizational) church setting. Nevertheless, even though what God started out with, which was a 1^st-century ekklesia/ecclesia that consisted of active participants, in the 21^st century, which for the most part has perpetuated the earlier centuries’ changes, what God now has is an “institutional” (organizational) church that mostly consists of passive (inactive) spectators.

Unfortunately, the contemporary version of the traditional “institutional” church is now a place where the people who truly love each other are not allowed to have any REAL fellowship with one another (NO genuine “koinonia,” which by the way refers to an inner “oneness”—a combined spiritual relationship between believers and their God, their Savior, and every Household of Faith sibling. It is this combined spiritual relationship that ultimately expresses itself in an outer display of a community of witnessing believers’ co-participation with the infilling Holy Spirit. In other words, the inner “oneness” becomes an outer manifestation of a community of witnessing believers who have ALL things in common, which, as previously mentioned, means TOGETHER they are accomplishing God’s Perfect Will on Earth. Once again, it is important to note that this inner “oneness” or combined spiritual relationship ONLY happens when EVERY believer in said community of witnessing believers is: 1. filled with the Holy Spirit, and 2. fellowshipping not only with God and the Lord but also with other brothers and sisters—true believers, the ekklesia/ecclesia, or the spiritual community of witnessing believers also known as an assembly of “called out ones.”

Furthermore, today’s version of the “institutional” (organizational) church is now a place where the people who truly love each other cannot really have dinner (the Lord’s Supper) together the same way they did during the 1^stcentury. Back then, when born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit believers broke bread and drank wine together, they truly were able to spend time fellowshipping with one another, as they remembered Jesus the Christ and what He accomplished for them. This time spent fellowshipping was longer than just a moment or two of meditative silence, and longer than just the short time it takes today’s believers to turn around or step in the aisle so that they can shake the hands of the other Lord’s Supper participants who sit nearby.

Then too, as a result of demanding that believers not only attend but also become “members” of a local “church” building (and/or a specific denomination), today’s  “institutional” (organizational) church also is now a place where the people who truly love each other do NOT enjoy the company of the person sitting next to them. This last statement is true, because “churchgoers” are not permitted to have any interactive conversation about the work of Jesus the Christ during the scheduled programmed weekly “church” services.

Lastly, today’s  “institutional” (organizational) church is NOT a place where the people who truly love each other can provide the God ordained mutual edification and exhortation during the scheduled programmed weekly “church” services. Contrary to popular opinions, the New Testament’s mentioned reasons for why God’s children are to assemble together do not suggest that worshipping God is the primary reason. For sure, believers can worship God just about ANYWHERE and just about ANYTIME. Thus, the real reasons that believers assemble together—the reasons why they should be “going to church,” or rather, the reasons why they should be meeting in an ekklesia/ecclesia (a spiritual community of witnessing believers)—are for equipping one another for God’s Kingdom business, and for edifying (building up) and exhorting (encouraging) one another (cf. Ephesians 4:12; Hebrews 10:25b). Believers also should assemble for the purpose of having fellowship meals together (Acts 2:46).

Based on each one of the mentioned problems with the contemporary “institutional” church, as well as the many unspecified problems, it should be obvious that the believers who attend an “institutional” church are attending a spectatorial event instead of being involved with a participatory community. As a spectatorial event, in most of today’s local churches, there is a top-down hierarchy with only one, in some cases two, but usually not more than three “spiritual leaders” (e.g., the “senior pastor,” “associate pastor,” and “board of elders”) who do everything, in spite of the fact that the New Testament teaches a shared and equal administration (harmony) of diverse functions and gifts (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31; Ephesians 4:7-16)!

Moreover, according to the Word of God, there is NO scriptural basis that believers can use to justify placing their responsibility of mutual edification, exhortation, discipleship, and ministry (serving others) into the hands of today’s professionally taught clergymen called pastors. The sad truth is that many of these modern-day pastors who are professionally taught think that they and their sermons are to be the only focal-point of every Saturday or Sunday gathering, even though the New Testament teaches that the local “ekklesia/ecclesia” meeting is to be a time and a place where true Christians actively use their spiritual gifts for the purpose of equipping, edifying, and encouraging one another to demonstrate godly love and to do good deeds (cf. Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; 1 Corinthians 14:26-33; Colossians 3:15-17; Hebrews 10:22-25; 1 Peter 4:7-11).

Bottom line is that modern-day pastors are not producing spiritually mature, ACTIVE, responsible, and functional Christians. Instead, 21^st-century pastors are producing a generation of passive pew-potatoes. Furthermore, this problem is exacerbated by the fact that men and women are the ones who have established, for the most part, one authorized leadership position (pastor) in the “institutional” church that now is a titled position—for example, Pastor Jim, Pastor Sally, Pastor C, or Pastor T. Additionally, because of the established “religious” traditions of men and women, the “institutional“ church’s pastor is viewed as the ONLY person who should bear the burden of his or her flock’s corporate salvation. The grave errors in these “religious” traditions of men and women are that said pastors and many members of their congregations have forgotten that Jesus the Christ is the ONLY Head of His ekklesia/ecclesia, no matter if the majority of humans call His ekklesia/ecclesia a “church.”  Equally important is the fact that Jesus the Christ is the ONLY Great Shepherd who is over EVERY contemporary pastor’s flock!

Furthermore, the absolute truth is that the only time the word “pastor” is used in the New Testament is in Ephesians 4:11, and even then it is NOT used as a title but rather as a gift, as a function. In other words, pastors, like evangelists, teachers, stewards, elders, and overseers, are ministers of the Word; that is, pastors, evangelists, teachers, stewards, elders, and overseers all have the same special supernatural gift, which is the ability to explain the Scriptures. Then too, every apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher, pastor, steward, elder, and overseer also has the same God-given role of equipping, edifying, and encouraging the saints so that they (everyone, not just professional apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers preachers, stewards, pastors, elders, and overseers) can do the work/business of God’s Kingdom ministry (cf. Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 5:1-2).

Finally, there can be no doubt that those believers who are born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit know that there are many Body of Christ members who are returning back to meeting places that either are “without walls” or are “home groups.” The main reason this return is happening is because the above descriptions of the “institutional” church do not fit the descriptions of Jesus the Christ’s 1^st century New Testament ekklesia/ecclesia.

Then too, those believers who are born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit know that preaching is for the unsaved individuals, but teaching and discipling are for the saved people. For this reason, as well as all of the other mentioned reasons, believers who are born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit also know that the present day “institutional” church is crumbling under the weight of its ways that “seem” right to many spiritual leaders but in reality are ways that have been fundamentally contrary to the Lord’s prescribed Ways. Moreover, these believers know that God Himself is the One who is causing the “institutional” church’s breakdown. This revelation knowledge is the reason why believers who are born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit definitely won’t get caught in the metaphorical wreckage caused by the fallen pastoral elitists’ top-down hierarchical leadership structure, nor will these born again, saved (justified), and filled with the Holy Spirit believers get caught in the literal rubble caused by tumbling steeples, bell towers, posts, and walls.

Therefore, let there be no doubt about it. The 1^st-century Way of Jesus Christ, His ekklesia/ecclesia’s koinonia, is being born again, and this time His Way will remain as the unstoppable movement He promised it would be (cf. Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:41-45).

For additional information about ekklesia/ecclesia and the koinonia kind of Christian fellowship, please read my blog entries: Hurt By Your Physical And Spiritual Families and The False Pretense Of Being Divided By FAITH

Our Human Frame

He knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust. ~ Psalm 103:14, NCV

He gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak. ~ Isaiah 40:29, NCV

The God we serve truly neither sleeps nor slumbers (dozes off), nor does He faint (get weak). Then too, He is very much aware of everything we are facing, even though it might seem to us that He is not.  Nevertheless, He remains the only all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God. There is none like Him, and there never will be.

Let us, then, this entire new year (2012), focus on Him and know that, in accordance with His own Perfect Will and in His own timing, He will move in our lives, as He sees fit. Let us also be aware of the fact that, for many of us who are waiting on God to move in our lives, that we often might conclude that it is impossible to understand the total Sovereignty of God; that is, we might conclude that we never will comprehend why He does what He does, or why He doesn’t do what we want Him to do. For this reason, our Lord teaches us that we shouldn’t worry about anything, especially not what tomorrow will bring. What we must do is just trust that God has our backs.

Furthermore, since God has kept His promise to give “…strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak” (Isaiah 40:29, NCV), as His New Testament children, there is no longer any reason for us to become spiritually tired, worn out, or weak, for Father God has given us His supernatural power (dunamis). Likewise, whenever we are without the physical might or authority to carry out His Perfect Will, He also gives us His supernatural strength. Thus, whenever we feel as though we are too weak or too powerless to stand up under the pressures of life, we should encourage ourselves to hold on, because we know that our change is coming. Put differently, because we are guaranteed that if we wait on the Lord, He will renew our strength and make us able to run without getting tired, and able to walk without becoming weak, this Divine Knowledge should be the impetus for why we continue to hold on—the impetus for why we continue to stand firm on the Faith we have in our Father God.

Isn’t it comforting to know that our heavenly Father is not like our earthly dads?  Indeed, the main reason why Father God is not like our earthly fathers is as King David declares. King David says that ONLY Father God knows “…our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14, KJV). In other words, Father God knows just how weak we are and just how much strength we have to handle whatever temptation, affliction, or persecution that comes our way that has the potential to cause us to yield to it (to cave in; to be overtaken in a fault). That is to say, because Father God created us, He knows how much temptation, affliction, or persecution we can endure before we reach that abandoning our allegiance to our Lord point, which then leads to deviating from the Gospel’s Truths (to committing a sin).

While Father God does NOT tempt, afflict, or persecute His children, He does allow those temptations, afflictions, or persecutions that are common to humanity to come into His children’s lives. However, because He knows His children’s frame (knows how He made each one of them), Father God NOT ONLY won’t allow (won’t permit) His children to be tempted, afflicted, or persecuted beyond what they spiritually and physically can handle, BUT ALSO He will provide a way for them to escape (provide a way out of their greatest or most sever temptation, affliction, or persecution) so that they are able to endure it (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13).  Hallelujah! 

"Bearing" Each Other's Burdens

…If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived. (Galatians 6:1-3, MSG)

The Holy Spirit teaches us that each one of us must take care of one another; thus, one of the many ways that we can minister through the Holy Spirit is through “bearing one another’s burdens,” and yet this specific “bearing” is an area where most of us fall way short. Nevertheless, Scriptures tell modern-day believers that we must minister this way to the brethren (brothers and sisters), the people Apostle Paul refers to in his epistles as the “one anothers.”

In addition to “bearing one another’s burdens,” we are to comfort one another, to edify one another, to exhort one another, to love one another, to pray for one another, to rebuke one another, to teach one another, and to minister to “one another’s” other needs. For sure, when we are living and walking in the Holy Spirit, the Word of God tells us that the Holy Spirit will determine for us what practical and spiritual helping deeds we should do for one another. In other words, the Holy Spirit’s inner witness inside each one of us will confirm for us what God has called us to do for others, which means that our ministry is determined by our submission and sensitivity to the teaching, leading, and prompting of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14:25-27; John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13).

Because every believer within the Body of Christ is called to minister to others, God sends His Holy Spirit to lead each one of God’s ministers to “bear each other’s burden,” as well as to lead each one of God’s ministers to do other ministry tasks. The fact that the Holy Spirit leads every believer to minister to others by “bearing their burdens” also means that His leading is why we cannot assume that this “bearing” ONLY falls upon one person’s shoulders (mainly a pastor’s shoulders), nor can we assume that this “bearing” falls upon anyone else’s shoulders but ours. As ministers, we also cannot pass the buck to “other” ministers for them to do our ministry work in our place. For these reasons, one of the best ways to begin achieving unity in the institutional CHURCH is for EVERY ONE of us to do the same service work, which in the case of Galatians 6:1-3 means “bearing the burdens” of the brethren (see also Romans 15:1-2). 

In the King James Version of Galatians 6:1, the situation is such that a believer has been “overtaken in a fault.” This “overtaken” term in the Greek language speaks of a person being trapped or in bondage to either a sin or to a deviation. Nevertheless, what the Apostle Paul doesn’t tell us to do is to tell our “overtaken” brothers and sisters to find a good psychologist, psychiatrist, marriage counselor, Greek philosopher, or whomever to help them. He instead instructs us who are spiritually strong believers to deal with another believer’s “fault” ourselves, no matter whether we have or have not been trained according to the world’s wisdom and knowledge that pertain, for example, to psychology, psychiatry, counseling, philosophy, and so forth! 

That’s right! Spiritual Christians (consecrated and Spirit-born creations who are no longer driven by their old human nature, but are instead Holy Spirit enlightened by the Gospel’s “Harvest of Souls” Message) MUST bear ALL of the responsibility for reconciling and restoring any brother or sister in Christ, who has been ensnared by any sin or any deviation from the Gospel’s Truth.

However, one of the first objections to this responsibility is that believers will say they are NOT TRAINED to handle this or that sin or this or that deviation from the Gospel’s Truth. Now, the reason why the objection that is based on the NOT TRAINED excuse is nothing more than a copout is because our Bible says that EVERY Spirit-filled believer (EVERY spiritually mature believer) not only MUST minister to these “overtaken in a fault” people, but also that EVERY Holy Spirit-filled believer is commanded by the Head of the Body of Christ (Jesus the Christ) to demonstrate special treatment for all of the Body’s members (cf. John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 12:12-18).

Moreover, not only are we who are spiritually mature supposed to reconcile and restore fallen believers back to living a Holy Spirit-led life, but also we are to bear their burdens in a gentle and loving manner. Lastly, we are not to use the excuse that an “overtaken in a fault” person hasn’t asked for our help, because this is just another a copout!

The bottom line is that we who are spiritually mature are commanded to take the time and to make the effort to help every “overtaken in a fault” individual, at the spiritual level in which he or she finds him or herself, so that this person will prefer to grow in the Holy Spirit and, as a result, become better able to (and more willing to) digest and incorporate the Gospel’s stronger spiritual food (the deeper Gospel Truths). Put differently, if we actually are becoming transformed into the image of Jesus the Christ, who is our Lord and Savior, then the idea of sharing a mutual concern for every Body of Christ member, and the ideas of sharing in one another’s joy (mutual gladness) and one another’s sorrow (mutual sympathy) are not only to be internalized but also practiced!

In summary, if the answer to any of the following questions is YES, then we need to find out if we truly are born again, saved (justified), AND filled with the Holy Spirit. Those questions are: Are we consecrated and Spirit-born creations and, thus, no longer driven by our old human nature? Has the Holy Spirit enlightened us with the Gospel’s “Harvest of Souls” Message? Are will filled with the Holy Spirit? Is there anyone we have chased out of our local ekklesia (or ecclesia) into the counseling offices of non-believing and/or unbelieving professionals for help with their sin or deviation from the Gospel’s Truth, all because we either refused to attempt to give him or her the help he or she asked for, or we lacked the Holy Spirit’s fruit, which causes us to respond to that “overtaken in a fault” person with a loving and gentle spirit (cf. Galatians 5: 22-24)? Then too, have we sometimes been too afraid to confront that “overtaken in a fault” person, primarily because that individual hasn’t asked us for any help? 

~ Have a spiritually prosperous New Year 2012!

Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. ~ Ecclesiastes 12:9-10, ESV

Praying for

God’s abundant blessings to

Spring forth

In your life,

Manifesting themselves frequently

Throughout the New Year.

Happy New Year to you

And may it be

A prosperous year, too!

The Madonna in Sorrow by Sassoferrato

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. ~ Hebrews 11:3, ESV

since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ~ 1 Peter 1:23. ESV

It definitely is time for today’s Christian spiritual leaders to teach nonbelievers and carnal believers about the reasons why God follows His established laws and principles, both in the spiritual and natural realms, which means spiritual leaders need to start teaching those individuals who profess that they believe in Jesus the Christ that they also must follow God’s established laws and principles in both realms. Indeed, since this is the Christmas Season, the time when believers reflect on the greatest miracle ever, which is the Virgin Birth (the virgin Mary miraculously conceiving the Lord Jesus the Christ), hopefully modern day Christian spiritual leaders already know that their close examination of Christ Jesus’ incarnation (the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh as Christ Jesus) will prove, beyond a shadow of doubt, that Father God not only followed His own reproduction laws but also kept almost everything about the Lord’s birth typical.

In fact, the only untypical aspect about Jesus the Christ’s birth—the only aspect that differs from all past, present, and future human births—is the Holy Spirit’s power overshadowing the virgin Mary so that Father God then could use His Word, which the angel Gabriel speaks to Mary, as the sperm that makes the conception of Jesus the Christ possible! Even though the sperm that impregnates the virgin Mary is not human in nature, normally speaking, this miraculous virginal conception still requires a Father and a mother (male and female), the union between sperm and egg, the nine months’ gestation period (period of time from conception to birth—the time for carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body), and the birth process (cf. Luke 1:28-38; Luke 1:56-57; Luke 2:1-7).

The bottom line is that, where the laws of reproduction are concerned, the spiritual realm operates the same way as the natural world. According to the Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 1:23, in the natural world, EVERY person’s first birth ALWAYS is the result of his or her father’s sperm uniting with his or her mother’s egg. The end result is a baby who has inherited both the characteristics and sinful natures of his or her biological father AND biological mother. On the other hand, in the spiritual realm, EVERY person’s second birth ALWAYS is the result of his or her Father’s Word/the Gospel (sperm) uniting with his or her Holy Spirit influenced positive volition (egg). The end result is a miracle (God’s supernatural intervention)—a new man/new boy, or a new woman/new girl who is a child of God, spiritually born from above and having God’s likeness.

Then too, since God creates EVERYTHING and EVERYONE by His spoken Word, it should be obvious that if humans want to have a miracle, then they need to begin to speak God’s Word into their own lives. However, this speaking is not the same as praying, because humans cannot spiritually conceive ANY kind of miracle through their prayer or by their faith.

For sure, a miracle’s conception is ONLY possible after the incorruptible seed (God’s spoken Word or sperm) supernaturally has been united with the Holy Spirit influenced positive volition (or egg). After the Word of God (seed or sperm) unites with the Holy Spirit influenced positive volition in hearers, prayer then becomes the water and fertilizer and faith becomes the source that brings what God already has nurtured and matured for believers in the spiritual world into their physical world.

The point here is that, if the Word of God (seed or sperm) had not first been implanted in each hearer’s spiritual womb [heart or the center of each hearer’s moral and spiritual activities]), the spiritual union between that Word (seed or sperm) and the Holy Spirit influenced positive volition (egg) could never have taken place. Moreover, if the spiritual union between the spiritual sperm and spiritual egg never took place, then both water and any kind of fertilizer (in context, believers’ prayer) would be useless, because it is absolutely impossible for a miracle to be conceived where the Word of God has not been received!

For this last reason, the people who profess to believe in Christ Jesus also must know and understand that the second greatest miracle—humans being spiritually born from above—also cannot happen just because they prayed for their rebirth. The Divine Truth is that those unsaved individuals who want to be born from above, and those believers who want to receive every kind of miracle, first need to conceive (become pregnant with) the miracle they are seeking. In other words, the virgin Mary is the New Testament example. She first receives into her natural womb God’s Word, which the angel Gabriel speaks to her. The evidence that proves this last statement is true is Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel. She says: “…Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word…” (Luke 1:38, ESV). Shortly thereafter the conception of the Messiah takes place. Therefore, nonbelievers also must FIRST receive God’s Word into their spiritual womb (heart) before conception of any miracle can take place, and believers must continue to allow the Holy Spirit not only to plant God’s Word in their spiritual womb (heart) but also to germinate that spiritual seed (God’s Word) so that it will grow to its God expected spiritual maturity. Put differently, believers must allow the Holy Spirit to plant and germinate the seed (Word of God) long before they ever will need to reap the fruit from their harvest.

Likewise, nonbelievers also need to let the received/planted Word of God (the preached and/or read incorruptible seed of God) germinate (sprout or grow) on the inside of them. God intends for soil (all hearts) and seed (the Word of God)  to work together (see “The Parable of the Sower and the Seed” Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). If soil or heart of nonbelievers does not cooperate with the Holy Spirit, if they do not allow Him germinate the sown seed (Word of God), the initially received/planted Word of God will lay there in their soil/heart accomplishing nothing. Indeed, in the abovementioned parable ONLY the good soil/heart hears (receives), understands, and produces a significant harvest.

This aforesaid Divine Truth, thus, also means that unsaved individuals who intellectually know the Word of God are NOT guaranteed that they will conceive a miracle, either. As the Apostle Paul writes:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. ~ Romans 10:14-17, ESV

In the above quoted passage, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that the received/planted Word of God will not germinate in believers’ spiritual womb (heart) if God has NOT given these Word of God hearers the supernatural gift of His saving faith. For this reason, the Christian spiritual leaders who are more concerned with counting again and again just how many unsaved believers “they” have gotten saved must stop ignoring the fact that no one can believe on Jesus the Christ until, by God’s Grace and the power of His Holy Spirit, the supernatural gift of God’s faith is imparted to him or her! This Divine Truth means that some professed Christians who are without their God-given faith are neither born again nor saved believers, because if God’s faith is not working in a spiritually dead man/boy or a spiritually dead woman/girl, he or she neither can cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that he or she can receive his or her rebirth nor can he or she accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. In other words, because a spiritually dead man/boy or a spiritually dead woman/girl is without the God’s faith, it is virtually impossible for him or her to be Holy Spirit born from above, and virtually impossible for him or her to be saved!

For these very crucial reasons, intellectually believing in Christ Jesus NEVER will cause any nonbeliever to conceive miracles, especially not the kind of miracles like God’s saving faith, regeneration, salvation, and sanctification. Moreover, it is important to note here that God-given faith alone also cannot regenerate any nonbeliever; additionally, saying a Sinner’s Prayer cannot save any nonbeliever, either! That’s why it is important for unsaved individuals to know and understand that only Father God is able to perform the spiritual acts of getting sinners’ hearts to believe truly that Jesus the Christ is their only Lord and Savior and of getting sinners’ hearts to trust absolutely in (have faith in) Father God, His only begotten Son, and His Holy Spirit.

Therefore, unsaved believers must be taught the Gospel Truth, which is that it is by God’s saving Grace and the power of His Holy Spirit that God’s Word (incorruptible seed) supernaturally and initially is planted in humans’ spiritual womb (heart).  Additionally,  unsaved believers must be taught the Gospel Truth, which is that, according to “The Parable of the Sower and the Seed,” some hearts are incapable of letting the received Word germinate in their spiritual wombs, because the devil immediately snatches the Word out of their hearts, which is an act that keeps these hearers from getting saved. There also are some hearts that let their trials and tribulations stop the germination process (stop their spiritual growth). Other hearts receive and understand the Word, but they let this world’s cares, riches, and pleasures choke the Word, and this choking makes the Word unproductive in their lives. Lastly, as already stated, there are some hearts that receive the Word, understand the Word, and they let the Word produce different measures of fruit in their lives.

Likewise, unsaved believers must be taught the Gospel Truth, which is that it is by God’s saving Grace and the power of His Holy Spirit unsaved individuals are given God’s faith gift at the same moment that God supernaturally and initially plants His Word in the heart/spiritual womb of those individuals who both hear and understand the Word of God  (cf. Ephesians 2:8-9). That is to say, this God-given faith is neither affected by these hearers’ own strength, nor affected by these hearers’ own will; furthermore, this supernatural faith is an invisible and sensationless act of God—humans can’t see this faith as it is being implanted inside them, and they can’t feel their God-given faith, neither when the Holy Spirit is putting God’s Faith inside each hearer’s spiritual womb (heart), nor after God’s Faith is implanted completely on the inside of each Word of God hearer’s spiritual womb (heart).

Once the abovementioned spiritual act is completed, unsaved believers must be taught the Gospel Truth, which is that it is by God’s Grace and the power of the Holy Spirit that these Gospel hearers’ God-given faith makes it possible for God’s Holy Spirit to change their DNA—God’s faith gift makes it possible for these hearers of the Gospel to receive their God-given spiritual rebirth (cf. John 3:5-8; Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:1; Titus 3:5). Then, by God’s Grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, their God-given spiritual rebirth makes it possible for these Gospel hearers to be receptive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction about sin (the singular sin of not believing on Jesus), righteousness, and judgment (cf. John 16:8-11), as well as their need to accept Jesus the Christ as their Savior and Lord (cf. Matthew 9:13b; Luke 19:10; John 3:17-19; 1 Timothy 1:14-16).

It is important to note here that there can be no doubt that God’s Holy Spirit, who also is the Spirit of Faith (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:13), is the Author of the supernatural God-given faith that inclines previously disinclined sinners to receive in their heart the Word of God’s invitation (God’s call to repentance from sin). This is another reason why coming to Jesus the Christ is solely the work of God’s internal, spiritual action rather than the work of any human’s external, natural achievement. Even the Lord declares: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (John 6:44a, ESV).

In summary, for believers to conceive and give birth to the miracles they need, they must first receive God’s Word like a seed in their heart. Once they are born again, saved, and guaranteed an eternal life with Father God, these believers then must meditate on both the initially received/planted Word of God, and every subsequently received/planted Word of God, so that God’s Word can become living and active on the inside of them. In other words, believers must know the Word of God for themselves—they must know the Word of God not just intellectually but intimately, as well, and this intimate Word knowledge happens during believers’ spiritual germination process!

Without a doubt, just like humans cannot see, feel, hear, smell, or taste the life in a physical seed, their five senses  also are incapable of determining if there is life in the spiritual seed (Word of God). Nevertheless, the spiritual seed (Word of God) most definitely is alive, and the Word of God contains the power for believers not only to have a spiritual life but also for believers to grow in their spiritual life, especially when, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, that Word of God is planted in the good soil/a noble heart!

Moreover, humans also cannot tell if a physical seed is growing, without either digging it up or waiting for the plant to appear above the soil. Similarly, the only way for humans to tell whether or not the spiritual seed (Word of God) is growing on the inside them is by purposely meditating on the Word of God and by having the God-given faith that trusts that the seed (Word of God) is doing in their heart what God created His Word to do. In essence, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, believers’ meditation and their God-given faith will cause the Word to abide (live and grow) in them.

Finally, for believers to conceive and give birth to the miracles they need, they must realize that while the prayers of others who have the gift of healing can cause many people to receive their miracle of healing, the best way for believers to get heal is for them to take all of the promises that God makes in His healing Scriptures and let the Holy Spirit plant them in believers’ hearts until these scriptural promises release their healing power in these believers’ own lives. Likewise, just like the words (seeds) that others who have the gift of prophecy, or the gift of the word of knowledge, or the gift of the word of wisdom can plant in many other believers’ hearts so that those other believers might receive the miracle of a bountiful harvest, the Divine Truth is that no one can produce a more bountiful harvest in believers’ lives that believers cannot produce by speaking God’s Word into their hearts themselves. In other words, believers who speak God’s Word with their own mouth are planting the seed (God’s Word) in their own heart that will produce the harvest of results they desire.

For this last reason, it definitely is time for believers to understand that even God follows His established laws and principles, both in the spiritual and natural realms, which means those individuals who profess that they believe in Jesus the Christ also must follow God’s established laws and principles in both realms. Likewise, it definitely is time for believers to understand that the bottom line is: Where the laws of reproduction are concerned, the spiritual realm operates the same way as the natural world!

A word to the wise should be sufficient!!!!