Showing posts with label Is Jesus Coming back soon? Lukewarm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Is Jesus Coming back soon? Lukewarm. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

WORLD CHANGING EVENTS WILL AWAKEN ALL THE VIRGINS, BUT ONLY THE WISE WILL BE PREPARED...

In the Parable of the Virgins, it is important to note that ALL the virgins are awake and ALL the virgins hear the Bridegroom coming.

Clearly at this point in time, there are only a portion of virgins (Believers) that will even acknowledge that we in the last days and that the return of Jesus is near.

In fact, many in the church pews choose to remain willfully ignorant. They prefer to continue to scoff at the unmistakable signs of the times and discount the watchmen's warnings.

Therefore, it appears that there is coming a significant world event or events, to where even the virgins who choose to scoff, will be startled awake.

In the Parable, only the wise virgins have extra oil. When the foolish virgins shockingly realize that the Bridegroom is indeed on His way, they promptly comprehend their need for extra oil.

At the last minute, the foolish virgins go to seek additional oil. We are told that the Bridegroom comes before they complete their quest. The door is then shut to them and Jesus, the Bridegroom, tells them:

"Truly I tell you, I don’t know you."

The foolish virgins' inability to procure enough oil is because they foolishly do not recognize that they have been being adulteresses, loving the world more than they do God:

"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" James 4:4


Being unable to recognize their lifestyle of sin (love of the world), they do not know to even repent of it even when they see Jesus is indeed on His way. No repentance, no forgiveness.


NOTE:These foolish virgins are in the Body of Christ. They are the lukewarm, who the Lord will vomit from His mouth into the Tribulation:

 
"So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth" Revelation 3:16

 
This Parable warns us just how very dangerous it is for those who wait to prepare.  


Calamitous, world changing events appear to be on the horizon. May the Body of Christ not wait for these alarming tragedies to commence; if they choose to be counted among the readied Bride of Christ.


The Parable of the Ten Virgins

 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." Matthew 25:1-13

Thursday, November 17, 2011

ARE YOU A "FRIEND OF THE WORLD" OR A "FRIEND OF GOD"?

The god of this world, Satan, wants to take as many souls as he can; to perish for eternity in hell with him.
He also wants to spite the creator, Yahweh. Certainly this enemy of men's souls delights all the more when the souls he wins are of professing Christians, who once had "escaped the pollutions of this world" by professing faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." 2 Peter 2:20
In fact, regaining the souls of those previously who had come to the "knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" gives the enemy extreme glee and  satisfaction.
Not only is he stealing these souls from God, but the devil also knows that  these who "have lost their salvation by getting tangled up and enslaved by sin again" will be worse off than before."

Therefore, those who once knew the glory of salvation but backslide into a sinful, unrepentant lifestyle; will actually reap worse punishment than if they had never known the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Scripture tells us that they would have been better off "to have had no knowledge of the way of righteousness":
"For it would have been better for them to have had no knowledge of the way of righteousness, than to go back again from the holy law which was given to them, after having knowledge of it." 2 Peter 2:21
The reason that the backslidden/ lukewarm Christians deserve and undergo worse punishment is because in that state, they are actually "trampling the Son of God under foot". 
They are treating the blood of the covenant "as an unholy thing." By doing so, they are insulting the "Spirit of grace" which is a grievous action which results in more severe eternal punishment:
How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:29
In fact, the Savior despises this lukewarm state so much that He refers to it as a condition that apparently makes Him sickingly disgusted.  
He actually warns those who become lukewarm that He will "vomit them" out of His mouth:
"But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth" Revelation 3:16

Please note that the majority of warnings found in the New Testament are mainly to believers, not to unbelievers.
Unbelievers would not be reading and digesting God's Word to begin with so the warnings are issued to believers who are supposed to familiarize themselves with Scripture.

Perhaps the reason that many people become backslidden and lukewarm is because they are neglecting to read and study the Bible.

If only all professing Christians would revere His written Word and actually read it and take it to heart.

They would then be well aware of the horrifying consequences of falling back into a state of unrepentance and/or obsession with the things of this world.
"It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31
ha satan (satan) tries to tempt believers in the same way he attempted to tempt Yeshua: with the kingdoms of this world. 
The enemy tantalizes believers with earthly gain in order to woo their affection and devotion away from God. 
In doing so, the things of this world become idols to them, wherein they put their earthly lives above the Kingdom of God.
"...the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8
God makes it beyond clear in His Ten Commandments that we are to put Him first and put nothing above Him.
Yaweh literally warns us that He is a "jealous God." As our creator, He deserves all the glory and all of our attention:
Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.   
Exodus 20:4You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
A good way to determine if we are giving God the priority He not only deserves, but also demands is by honestly evaluating our lives.
We need to evaluate and sincerely admit where most of our time, money, efforts, and thoughts are focused and that will prove to us which god we serve...the god of this world or the almighty living God, creator of Heaven and Earth.
In our modern day, high tech society there are so many mediums of entertainment by which satan can try to lure us away from serving God.
All of the laptops, IPODS, Iphones, Ipads, televsion, radios, video games and other such technological devices take up much of most people's time, money, efforts and thoughts.

Interestingly, several of these time consuming devices are titled with an "I" as in the Iphone, Ipad, etc.

It is almost as if this "I" denotes the self-centeredness that the electronic item promotes.

With the mass production of these many man made "idols", modern day mankind has literally made idols and are worshipping the works of our hands."
Isaiah 2:8 Their land is full of idols; the people worship things they have made with their own hands.
God warns us to worship only Him and we are to be consecrated to Him and set apart from this world.

However, satan has deluded many professing Christians to where their appearance and activities are no different than that of the world.

They watch the same movies, wear the same clothing, seek the same entertainment and desire the same pleasures as those of the world.
So very many have been deceived into constantly pursing the things and riches of the world to where they belong not to God, but to the ruler of this world, ha satan.

Many lukewarm Christians justify that they are not "sinning" if they are not drinking, doing drugs, immoral sex, theft etc.

They do not realize that to put the things of the world over God IS sin.
So, when they allow the pleasures and material items of the world to become their priority, they are actually living in unrepentant sin.
They have unknowingly slipped into entanglement by the corruptions of the world, which overcomes most, causing them to lose their salvation. 
The following verse is ample evidence how being "eager" for the idols of money/materialism can cause the loss of one's salvation:

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Satan successfully lures many into this "idol worship" through "the love of money" and through the desire of the many things it can buy.

If only professing Christians would look into God's Word, they would see how seriously dangerous is the ground they are treading on.

It is, in truth, leading to them being overcome by worldly desires which makes them "an enemy of God".

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" James 4:4
In America and other western, prosperous countries, this ploy to steal men's souls is most effective.
These financially blessed countries offer a vast array of glitter,glitz and allure of worldly possessions and entertainment.

Satan has blinded the Modern Day Church to where they are under the impression that they are "good to go" and truly saved just because they walked an aisle, made a confession of faith and perhaps even attend Church regularly.
They are blind to the fact that if their main focus and desires are for the attractions of this world that they are NOT "good to go".
 
Quite to the converse, they will be left behind when the Bridegroom returns for His Bride who is supposed to be awaiting Him, untainted by the things of this world.
 James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
In fact, we can see that the description that Yeshua gave of the lukewarm Church of Laodecia accurately depicts the condition of most of today's "church people".
"You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." Revelation 3:17 
In the last days Church of Laodecia, physical wealth has become a set back and a detriment for many as it leads them into "ruin and destruction", compromising their salvation:
"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:9  
If only professing believers would believe the warnings that Jesus gave to us regarding earthly riches.
They would then heed the many warnings in Scripture of the pitfall of worldly gain, causing them to flee from the temptations of the world. 
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”Matthew 19:23-24

The spiritual battle waging for men's souls is ongoing and the enemy is pulling out "all the stops" as he knows his time is short in these last days.

There are so many worldly things crying out for men's attention and affection.

There are multitudes who have been deluded into thinking they can have the "best of both worlds".

They think they can serve God while constantly in the pursuit of money and all the fun and property it can buy.
However, God made it clear that we cannot have divided allegiance. We have to choose either God or the things of the world because "no one can have two masters":
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24
Sadly, we can see all around us the many who profess to belong to Christ, while all outward appearances prove that Mammon is their god. 
The allure of the world even causes many who claim to love the Lord to not want to even hear about the His soon return; because it will interfere with their earthly lives and future worldly goals. 
This "fatal attraction" that the devil has so cleverly dangled before mankind is accepted by so many that Yeshua warns us that only a FEW FIND THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO LIFE:
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and ONLY A FEW find it." Matthew 7:14

This grave warning is why we need to guard our hearts, setting ourselves apart , loving not the world or the things of it.

Scripture tells us regarding  those who are of the world  that :"the love of the Father is not in him". 
If the "love of the Father" is not in us, our destination will not be the glories of Heaven but instead, the terrors of hell for all eternity:
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

This is why in these final days,we need to hone in our focus on the Lord, confidently abiding in Him so we will not be ashamed before Him at His coming:

1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

The below video, "Lukewarm and Loving It" is a sermon by Francis Chan. 
It contains a bold, life-changing sermon and is a must watch for all of those who truly desire to be a "friend of God"!