(You can listen by audio and pause the audio to follow page links, then resume the audio when you are ready. Please Note: I use page links in lieu of footnotes or references. The page links contain important details for this teaching – especially for this episode.)

Matthew 3:11, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Verse 12. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

I will present these vitally important verses in 2 segments. The FIRST segment deals with the Prophetic Nature of these verses. The SECOND segment deals with the Practical Nature and application of these verses.

THE PROPHETIC NATURE: Matthew 3:12 says, “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

THERE ARE FOUR POINTS GIVEN IN VERSE 12 WHICH ENCAPSULATES THE ENTIRE TRIBULATION PERIOD, BEGINNING WITH THE BREAKING OF THE TRIBULATION SEALS, CONTINUING THROUGH THE TRUMPET AND BOWL JUDGMENTS, INCLUDING THE  WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT AND CULMINATING WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE 1ST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH WITH INTENSE HEAT.

(a)  “His winnowing fork is in His hand:  Cleansing, refining, purifying His Church.

(b)  He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor:  Preparation through tribulation.

(c)  He will gather His wheat into the barn:  Jesus gathering His Church through the rapture and taking us to our eternal Home.

(d)  He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire: The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord and the destruction of the first heavens and earth. Listen and read carefully.

The Ultimate Purpose of God’s Eternal Plan is Perfection. He is maturing His people, of all the ages, by His Plan, to live in perfect harmony with Him and with one another. In the end, God is going to destroy this earth and heavens with an intense heat, and will create a New and Perfect heaven and earth.

Having become a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, you are no longer of this world. You are to take up your rightful place as a child of God, and as the righteousness of God, you must stop thinking as this world thinks. God is preparing you to be an active participant in the events of these Last Days.

THE PRACTICAL NATURE AND APPLICATION: John is telling us, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

This may well be one of the most important statements made by John, and one of the most overlooked in the entire New Testament. 

Ask yourself, “Do you know what this means to you?” and have you been baptized with the Holy Spirit and with Fire?

First, about baptism:  The word in the original Greek is “baptizo”, pronounced bap-tid’-zo.  It means, in this case, to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to overwhelm with permanent change.

This word is not to be confused with “bapto” which is to dip in or immerse in water, as to dip into dye, or to color.  This is simply and change of the exterior. 

The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C.   It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words.  Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be ‘dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water and then ‘baptized’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptizing the vegetable, produces a permanent change.

When used in the New Testament, this word more often refers to our union and identification with Christ than to our water baptism. (Mark 16:16).  ‘He that believes and is baptized shall be saved’.  Christ is saying that mere intellectual assent, a coloring of the outside of a person, so to speak, is not enough.  There must be a spiritual union with him, a real change, a permanent change which only the Holy Spirit can accomplish, is needed, like the vegetable to the pickle!

JOHN’S BAPTISM is the act of Binding, on earth.  “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18

Second,  John is saying, in fact he is prophesying, that Jesus will baptize you – BAPTIZO – with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

We can see what is meant by this in the next verse:

Matthew 3:12 

(a)  “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and

(b)  He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and

(c)  He will gather His wheat into the barn, but

(d)  He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.“

A winnowing fork is an instrument used to separate the grain of the wheat from the chaff.  It is a violent act of beating and threshing.  This is symbolic of the process of salvation, sanctification and being made ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus will thoroughly clear His threshing floor.  Nothing is left untouched.  Everything will be “purged, purified and refined” and made ready for the Kingdom of God.

THIS IS FOR THE BELIEVER in preparation for what is coming upon us.  This is your first and last line of defense against the evil day.  You cannot and will not survive what is coming upon the world if you have not allowed Jesus to Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire!

(*NOTE:  This is NOT some postmodern or contemporary reenactment of ‘speaking in some strange tongue’ and behaving strangely.  It is NOT an elevation of your adrenaline or some ‘excited fit’ where you supposedly ‘take dominion over demons’.  This IS an awesome and a fearsome act of God.  It IS God’s steady hand, filling you with His power and Presence.  It IS HIM doing HIS works through you.  It is HIM speaking His Words and HIM doing His bidding through you, while you are quiet and yielded to Him.)

We can also see this prophecy given and this process described in

Daniel 12:1  “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Verse 2. “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.  Verse 10. “Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.”

These are prophetic pictures of Jesus Second Coming as Judge and Conquering King. In His first coming, Jesus arrived in the most humble of circumstances.  His second coming,  Jesus will arrive with the armies of heaven at His side.

Revelation 19:11-16, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice, he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters, it is urgent that we understand

(1).  What is coming. 

(2).  That it is already upon us. 

(3).  We are to be participants in these Last Days, and not standing idly by looking up into the sky wondering about His Return. 

(4).  He will prepare us to join with Him to complete His earthly mission and then

(5). Comes His Judgment

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

The Next Teaching from Matthew 3:12, His Winnowing Fork

This is a question that is asked by millions of people every day. This is also a question lurking in the minds of many millions who say they believe in Jesus, but secretly wonder if they are really “saved”.

This is a question, not of practicality or one that can be measured by science, but is a question of faith.

The Bible, as explained in the Bible, has been written or ‘breathed’ by God into the hearts and minds of certain dedicated and devoted people, who then wrote down what God inspired them to write – or so they say.

Centuries of writings and experiences began to show a pattern of sorts. Eventually, holy men came together and began to decide which writing should be canonized into the Old and New testaments of the Bible.

Let’s attempt to gain some understanding by starting with two important and keywords: Faith and Saved.

Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

FAITH, from Strong’s Concordance: “pístis”, means to “persuade or to be persuaded”, to come to trust).

Faith is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, “faith” for the believer is “God’s divine persuasion“, and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer, so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will. (1 John 5:4).

Faith, in secular antiquity, referred to a guarantee, a warranty. In Scripture, faith is God’s warranty, certifying that the revelation He in birthed will come to pass (His way).

Faith is also used collectively of all the times God has revealed, (given the persuasion of) His will, which includes the full revelation of Scripture, (Jude 3). Indeed, God the Lord guarantees that all of this revelation will come to pass! Compare Matthew 5:18 with 2 Timothy 3:16. (For more detail, click here)

SAVED, from Strong’s Concordance: “sṓzō”. From the Greek language, means “safe and rescued”; to deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin, and into His provisions, (His safety). Rescued from destruction and brought into divine safety.

To save, to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction; to make well, heal, restore to health; to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment, Joel 2:32; to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance; to make one a partaker of the salvation by Christ;

If you read these definitions, you may have settled one or two questions and probably created scores of new questions!

Now let’s get to the ‘meat of the subject’.

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 10:8-10, explains it this way, “Verse 8. But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”, that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, Verse 9. that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Verse 10. for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

This is not a ‘secret formula’. It is an attempt to explain of one of the greatest mysteries of God. The Apostle is telling us that God has made humankind in such a fashion that if you truly believe something that your mouth will speak or confess those things, aloud.

Paul goes deeper to explain that true faith begins in a person’s ‘heart’ or in your core. It is in this place (in the spirit of a man or a woman) that true belief, that is true life changing belief, takes root.

Let me stop here to say that the mind is a powerful thing. Modern science is showing that how we think and perceive things can have a powerful effect on our bodies, relationships and abilities, even into old age. (See The Effects on Aging. Also see The Effects on living well, Also see Whole Health – the Power of the Mind, U.S. Veterans Affairs )

Even with all of this said, “we should not attempt to import modern notions of mind, brain, and intellect into the ancient text. The people in Old and New Testament times seem to have had a much more integrated view of humanity.

“There was much less emphasis on the distinction between the material and the immaterial. When Jesus says to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, He is not highlighting various aspects of personality. He is not differentiating between emotion and intellect; rather, He is saying that our love for God should be all-inclusive. The mind is simply one more way to identify the inner being—all that we are. In fact, in Matthew 22:37, Jesus uses the word kardia (“heart”), which in other contexts is translated “mind.”

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states, “We look in vain in the Old Testament and New Testament for anything like scientific precision in the employment of terms which are meant to indicate mental operations.” Biblically, the mind is simply the “inner being” or the sum total of all our mental, emotional, and spiritual faculties, without drawing fine distinctions between them.” (Got Question.Org)

Let me simply conclude this way: Who would not want to be saved if that salvation made you safe, healthy and whole in your mind and body? If it made you safe, healthy and whole in your marriage, with your family and children; in your job and career, reaching across the decades having made your life well worth living?

Troubles will come and go, as it is with everyone in life, but you could have hope of recovery and a hope for the future. Ultimately, you will be delivered out of the danger of perishing into the dark abyss of hell and to be safely delivered into the presence of an almighty and loving God.

This cannot be found by experimentation. It is not a project to be tried or proven. Salvation is  a gift from God, and is never something that can be produced by people. In short, “faith”, for the believer, is “God’s divine persuasion“, and therefore distinct from human belief or confidence, although it involves it. The Lord will continuously birth faith in a yielded ‘believer’ so they can know Him and what He prefers. This is the persuasion of His will

Now you know a little more. Now, it is up to you:  BELIEVE IT OR NOT!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

By the Church in America?

(Click on the image above for a video on 2 Corinthians)

Reading the Apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church (1 and 2 Corinthians) you can see images of the postmodern Western Church. Even the best of the Western Churches are drifting or have drifted away from the teachings and the model of The Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are embracing a heresy, an apostasy in the name of Christianity.

You read about the demands of this generation for a gospel and a religion that better suits their life goals and their lifestyle.

So, in the 21st century, the church has responded, “We must adapt to the current culture in order to reach them”. And adapt they have. Speaking the words of the Gospel but presenting them in a brand-new light of APPEASEMENT, WEALTH, SUCCESS, COMFORT, BOUTIQUE POLITICS, ELOQUENCE, EXCESS, and ENTERTAINMENT.

The result are in:

In an article by Christopher Howard, (Fox News) we read, “Religion is a topic that seems to be at the bottom of the list of what Millennials value. When asked whether religion was very important, a large number of young people said they “broke free” from their former religions. Stella, 18, a student of N.Y.U. said her parents raised her with two religions, her mother being Protestant and her father being Jewish.

“They really gave me the opportunity to pick where I wanted to go, and I picked neither,” she said.

Millennials acknowledge the shift in religious values from the former generation to now — some cite the age of social media and the exchanging of information as the reason for the disconnect.

“Femi, a student at Columbia University, feels like marriage has become “archaic.” “A lot of us, we were raised by our parents, and we saw those marriages kind of deteriorate, and even if they did stay together the love might have not been there. I feel as we progress these institutions, whether it be marriage or religion, they start to seem archaic.”

Many churches resent this proposition. But, the evidence is in, and it is clear: The Bible says to “Go…make disciples” and the verdict is that the church is making “congregants”, not disciples. Congregants who attend church in dwindling numbers, inviting people to the local church instead of introducing them to Jesus. Some even shout the name of Jesus on Sunday but remain silent about His Name the rest of the week.

Paul’s Dispute with the Church in Corinth, which is more true today, can be better understood in the video (above).

The Corinthians disregarded Paul because he dressed poorly, he earned a poor and meager living was under constant persecution, and he was not an impressive public speaker.

The Corinthian Christians admired and preferred wealthy and eloquent leaders and asked Paul to prove his authority.

Paul points out that the Corinthians preference for wealth and eloquence was a betrayal of Jesus and shows a totally distorted value system..

True Christian Leadership is not about status or self-promotion or success in ministry.

Paul says the Christians in the Corinthian Church are his proof, as God’s new covenant people.

Rather than seek wealth and status, Christians should embrace the paradox of the cross and the cruciform life that transforms them to love and serve.

They had to adopt and embrace a “Cruciform Life” and so must we.

Could it be that the breaking of the 5th Seal is beginning?

Jesus says, in Matthew 24:9, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

Verse 10. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”

Has the Tribulation Begun?

We must remain ready.

• Let’s DO IT,
• Let’s DEMAND IT,
• Let’s DEVOTE ourselves to it.

Your Brother and Friend

Mike Young

TIME IS RUNNING OUT.  WE MUST TURN AWAY FROM WESTERN POST-MODERN RELIGION, AND RETURN TO JESUS AND HIS GOSPEL AND PRACTICE THESE THINGS

Come and join us in the harvest, as we go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He commanded; and lo, He is with us always, even to the end of this age. Contact me for further information on how.

 

There are many good pastors and preachers in many good Bible-based churches in America. But there are very few courageous and Godly men left in the pulpits in America.

Courageous men who are filled with the Holy Spirit and unafraid to speak the truth of God’s Word but, they rarely speak in anger or out of frustration. They do not seek to teach for the sake of knowing. They do not seek to make a name for themselves, and they certainly do not preach to entertain.

This type of man speak hard truth, and in doing so, he is patient and kind. He is not jealous; and does not brag, and he is not arrogant. He does not act disgracefully, does not seek his own benefit; and is not easily provoked. He does not keep an account of wrongs suffered. He does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; He keeps confidence in God,  believes all things true. His hope is fixed firmly on Christ, so he is able to endure all things.

This rare man stands in the gap. Ezekiel 22:30 the Lord says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land, so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” The word picture painted in this verse is that of a wall with a hole or a gap in it. A wall was the best means of protection in ancient times. A breach in the wall would let the enemy through. If there was a breach in the wall, defenders would have to swarm to that location and hold the breach. The gap would need to be repaired as soon as possible. If a breach was left unattended or unrepaired, the city would fall.

Ezekiel 22 summarizes the sins and abuses of the nation. As punishment for Israel’s sins, God says He will disperse them among the nations. He says in verses 31, “So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

The “gap” here represents the danger facing Jerusalem: God’s wrath is about to break through in judgment on the sinful city. Was there no one who would, in righteousness, intercede on behalf of the city and seek God’s mercy? God searched for such a defender, but He could find none. It seems that, if someone had been willing to “stand in the gap,” the destruction of Jerusalem could have been avoided. Since no one was available or willing to defend the breach and rebuild the wall, judgment fell.

America has fallen into gross sin and rebellion toward God and is facing God’s judgment. Listen to this sermon by pastor Trent Casto, a man who preaches the truth of God’s Word without fear is a man who is willing to Stand in the Gap in our day. Listen carefully.

Senior Pastor Trent Casto, Covenant Church of Naples, P.C.A., 6926 Trail Boulevard, Naples, Florida, 34108, phone 239-597-3464, convenantnaples.com.

(Excerpts printed with permission.)

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

 

I have grown tired of the kind of hope that is a wishful thought. We, all, desperately need the Hope that is a confident, expectant, joyful knowledge.

Here, now, is Hope. Read it. Meditate on this. Repeat it to yourself. Make it your own. FOR THE MIND SET ON THE SPIRIT IS LIFE AND PEACE (Romans 8:6b)

(The text below is modified from the Biblical text to personalize it. Click on the Psalms 34 for the unedited text).

(Psalms 34).

I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul will make its boast in the LORD;

The humble will hear it and rejoice.

Exalt the LORD with me,

And let’s exalt His name together.

 

I sought the LORD and He answered me,

And rescued me from all my fears.

 

I looked to Him and am radiant,

And my face will never be ashamed.

This wretched one cried out, and the LORD heard me,

And saved me out of all my troubles.

 

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,

And rescues them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;

How blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him!

 

Fear the LORD, you, His saints;

For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.

The young lions do without and suffer hunger;

But they who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.

 

Come, you children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Who is the person who desires life

And loves length of days, that he may see good?

I will keep my tongue from evil

And my lips from speaking deceit.

I turn from evil and do good;

I seek peace and pursue it.

 

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous,

And His ears are toward their cry for help.

The face of the LORD is against evildoers

To eliminate the memory of them from the earth.

 

I cry out, and the LORD hears me

And rescues me from all my troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The afflictions of the righteous are many,

But the LORD rescues me from them all.

He protects all my bones,

Not one of them is broken.

 

Evil will bring death to the wicked,

And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.

 

The LORD redeems the souls of His servants,

And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.

Memorize and visualize one section of Psalm 34 (color coded) each day, adding the previous day until you know and can see all of this Psalm in your heart and mind.

This is a powerful and prophetic truth. Make it your own.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 6:19-20
This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2.

The Bible tells of a Hope that kind of Hope and that we can be changed by God and will one day see Christ face to face, having been conformed to His image

1 Timothy 1:1 tells us that, by the commandment of God, that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Hope, and Deuteronomy 33:27,  reminds us that this Hope is eternal.

Have you ever travelled to another country?  My wife and I lived in Japan for several years and, for me, the language was a barrier. I learned a few of the most basic Japanese phrases I deemed necessary to get from my house and back, beyond that, I was a foreigner. If I tried to engage a Japanese person in a discussion they would just look at me, smile neverously, and utter things I could not comprehend. It was to be expected since I had no knowledge or concept of how that language worked, but it just seemed weird. Two people from planet earth staring at each other, scratching their heads in bemused confusion.

Weirder yet, is when two people speak the same language, come from the same country and culture and still have no idea what the other is saying! What is going on?

WE DON’T SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE

Call it Conservative versus Liberal or whatever you want. But our language has been so revised and convoluted by the Progressive Left, the Democrats and the Liberals and Marxists that the words we have used over the last two hundered plus years are unintelligible. That is they have been redefined to fit a particular political or social stance, and if you don’t ‘keep up’ or don’t want to ‘keep up’, you’ll have no idea what a socially politically Liberal person is saying!

Oddly enough, the Bible condemns this very thing in

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Verse 21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.”

2 Timothy 3: tells this very thing would happen as we draw near to the End of This Age, also known as the Last Days:

2 Timothy 3:1. “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. Verse 2. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, Verse 3. unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, Verse 4. treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, Verse 5. holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.

Verse 13. “But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived”

Here are more examples of the ‘Orwellian tactic’ of perverting the meanings of words in order to shape perception.

An George Orwell’s book 1984, war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. Similarly, liberals are famous for their Orwellian tactic of perverting the meanings of words in order to shape perception. Here are a few examples:

Their deceptive language, versus	What they really mean.
Democracy.	The democrat party’s Marxist agenda
Women’s Reproductive Rights.	Abortion.
Gay.	Homosexuality.
Seasons.	Climate change, global warming.
Fair Elections.	Cheating at all costs.
We are guided by The Science.	We are guided by politics, and the ignoring of science.

Click this link for an extensive list of WOKE speech and Leftist revisionism of words.

In reality, however, comparing Conservative to Liberals, (et al), is a redefined concept of its own. What we are really seeing is Christianity versus Paganism.

Pagan comes from the Latin word paganus, which means “country dweller”; paganism can refer to polytheism, (the belief in many gods), or the worship of more than one god, such as in ancient Rome. A pagan is also considered to be one who, for the most part, has no religion and indulges in worldly delights and material possessions; someone who revels in sensual pleasures; a hedonistic or self-indulgent individual. Another, more modern term is neo-paganism, which refers to some of the contemporary forms of paganism such as Wicca, Druidry, and Gwyddon.

Modern “pagan” practices are actually similar to their ancient counterparts in that they rely heavily on hedonism—sensual gratification and self-indulgence and the pursuit of happiness and pleasure to the exclusion of everything else. In ancient times, sexual ceremonies were a major part of pagan religions. The Old Testament references these perverted religions in such passages as Deuteronomy 23:17, Amos 2:7–8, and Isaiah 57:7–8.

Though they are numerous and varied in their practices and beliefs, pagans do hold to some similar beliefs. For example:

• They have their own language and word meanings.
• The physical world is a good place, one to be taken pleasure in by everyone.
• Everyone is considered to be part of this Mother Earth.
• Divinity reveals itself in every facet of the world.
• Every being, man and animal, is a derivative of the Divine. As such, all are gods and goddess.
• Most pagan religions do not have gurus or messiahs.
• Doctrine is superseded by one’s own responsibility.
• Solar and lunar cycles are significant in pagan worship.

From a Christian viewpoint, pagans are generally characterized as those who are caught up in any religious ceremony, act, or practice that is not distinctly Christian. Correspondingly, Jews and Muslims also use the term pagans to describe those outside their religion. Others define the term paganism as any religion outside of Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity; whereas some argue that a pagan is anyone with no religion at all.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Furthermore, since they, (pagans), did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:28).

In spite of common assumptions, most pagan worshipers claim they don’t believe in Satan. However, there’s no question that Satan is their chief source of influence and control. Though they will deny it, they deify him in their worldly and sensual practices. Paul tells us plainly how Satan works in the lives of people without God, through his power, his signs, his deceit, and his lies:

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9–12).

That Satan is alive and well is powerfully evidenced in these pagan practices. This was not only clear in the times of the first-century church, but also in today’s postmodern world. To the faithful believers who know the Lord, pagan worship is what it appears to be—the power and deceit of the prince of this world, Satan (1 John 5:19), who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). As such, paganism should be avoided.

CHRISTIANITY

According to Wikipedia, Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world’s largest religion, with about 2.5 billion followers. Its adherents, known as Christians, make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, whose coming as the messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament.

According to CARM (Christian Apologetics And Research Ministry), Christianity is a religion based upon the teachings and miracles of Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. The word “Christ” means anointed one. Christ is not Jesus’ last name.  Jesus is the anointed one from God the Father who came to this world, fulfilled the Old Testament laws and prophecies, died on the cross, and rose from the dead physically.  He performed many miracles that were recorded in the Gospels by the eyewitnesses. He is divine in nature as well as human. Thus, He has two natures and is worthy of worship and prayer.

According to GotQuestions.Org,, the term Christianity seems to imply a religious system in the same way that Islam and Buddhism are religious systems. Within religious systems are core beliefs, along with codes, rules, and standards that must be mastered in order to achieve a desired end. Christianity does not fit that definition and therefore the term can be slightly misleading.

Jesus did not come into the world to start another religion. There were already plenty of religions (see Acts 17:22–23), including Judaism, which had begun as a relationship with Almighty God (Leviticus 20:12) but had deteriorated into another religious system on par with idol worship (Matthew 15:8). Jesus came to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37), to seek and to save the lost—those separated from God by their sin (Luke 19:10)—and to “give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:32). With that said, those who follow Christ do share some core beliefs.

Biblically speaking, Christians are those who are forgiven of their sins and who have entered a personal relationship with Almighty God through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 10:9–10). In order to become a Christian, a person must fully accept as part of his or her own personal worldview the following core beliefs:

• Jesus is the Son of God and is equal with God (John 1:1, 49; Luke 22:70; Mark 3:11; Philippians 2:5–11)
• Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life (Hebrews 4:15; John 8:29)
• Jesus was crucified to pay the penalty for our sins (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 15:2–4)
• Jesus rose from the dead (Luke 24:46; Mark 16:6)
• We are saved by the grace of God; that is, we cannot add to or take away from Christ’s finished work on the cross as full payment for our sin (Ephesians 2:8–9)

PAGANISM contrasted to CHRISTIANITY

• The physical world is a good place, one to be taken pleasure in by everyone. (Paganism).
  
• The physical world is fallen and, for now, is ruled by Satan. (1 John 5:19)
• There is pleasure to be found in the world, but as Christians we are strangers to this world, scattered about, being distressed by various trials for the proving of our faith until Jesus returns. (1 Peter 1:1-9, Matthew 24:29-31)

• Everyone is considered to be part of this Mother Earth. (Paganism).
  
• We have been created by God, conceived in the womb of a woman. Although we ‘come from dust and will return to dust’, our souls, (spirits), have life after our physical death and will either suffer in eternal darkness, torment and damnation or will spend eternity with God in heaven.

• Divinity reveals itself in every facet of the world. (Paganism).
  
• The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun. (Psalms 19:1-4), but the Bible says we are to worship only God, and not to worship His creation (Romans 1:25).

• Every being, man and animal, is a derivative of the Divine. As such, all are gods and goddess. (Paganism).
• We are made in the image of God but with a flaw and afflicted by the curse of sin and condemned to eternal damnation. It is only by being born again by the Spirit of God by His grace and great mercy and through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, are we to be saved from destruction.
• Some false religions and cults teach that we are ‘made in his image’ and that we become like gods. This is a twisting, a misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the Bible which says ‘we will become like Him’.

• Most pagan religions do not have gurus or messiahs. (Paganism).
  
• Jesus is the Messiah.

• Doctrine is superseded by one’s own responsibility. (Paganism).
  
• There is a way that seems right to a person, but ends in death. (Proverbs 14:12)
• Our good deeds are no better than filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6)
• God will judge us by our deeds. (Romans 2:6)

• • Solar and lunar cycles are significant in pagan worship. (Paganism).

God and the Bible warn against sun worship

.

When we talk about Left vs Right, Liberal vs Conservative, we need to clarify our thinking and speech:  It is Pagan versus Christian.

Again, scriptures say, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but ends in death.” Proverbs 14:12).

The Apostle Paul emphasizes “the whole counsel of God” as a way to affirm the completion of his duties toward the Ephesians and to remind them of the Truth, WHICH IS ALSO OURS TO AFFIRM TO THE WORLD AROUND US. Paul warns, “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!” (Acts 20:29–31).

The whole counsel of God includes some things that are difficult to hear—the fact that we are dead in sin and deserving of God’s wrath (Ephesians 2:1–3) and the fact that we cannot save ourselves through works (Ephesians 2:8–9). The gospel is a call to repentance and faith. Believers will face persecution (John 16:33) and likely be considered foolish. But none of these things can dissuade us.

We should follow Paul’s example and also preach and live the whole counsel of God. All Scripture is inspired, and all of it is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). We must preach it and live it in its entirety and allow the Holy Spirit to use His sword as He sees fit (Ephesians 6:17). Paul did not share half-truths or only parts of the gospel; rather, he shared all of what God has revealed. We must do the same. (see GotQuestions.Org)

The Bible warns us of this ‘Deluding Influence’,“the mystery of lawlessness which is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He, (The Holy Spirit), is removed. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved.  For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,  in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thesslonians 2:7-12)

In these Last Days, as the Bible says, the spirit of antichrist is present. False christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. We must hold fast to the example of sound words which we have heard and in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 

Let’s not forget to pray for one another as the Day of our Lord draws near.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Please Note:  Socialism-Marxism is deeply rooted in and springs from the loins of Paganism. It is anti-God, anti-individualism, anti-personal freedoms. But, it is now the NEW FOUNDATION for the future of the Unites States of America. (See The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021)

“HEY, SENATOR. HEY, CONGRESSMAN. IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!”

“Campaign strategist James Carville, in 1992, coined a slight variation of the phrase “it’s the economy, stupid.” At that time, Carville was attempting to emphasize the importance of the struggling economy in then-candidate Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. Although originally intended for an internal audience of campaign workers, the phrase became a de facto slogan for the entire campaign.

“Today, Carville’s phrase is more applicable than ever. As the United States still faces enormous deficits, a $16 trillion dollar debt, sluggish improvements in unemployment, and some of the slowest economic growth in recent memory, the aftermath of the Great Recession is and should be the centerpiece of this election.” – Harvard Political Review

“HEY, PREACHER, IT’S ABOUT MAKING DISCIPLES!”

At the risk of being impolite or seeming to be downright rude, could a similar thing be said in an attempt to emphasize the importance of the ‘struggling Church’ in 2022?

The Church has gone through a transitional period over the last thirty years in an apparent effort to remain or to become ‘more socio-politically relevant’. Social norms have changed  dramatically over the last fifty years, and instead of leading this change, the church has adopted the ‘new social normal’.

I’d like to present two examples that demonstrate that the model of the church, as taught and presented by Jesus Christ, are no longer being followed by most mainline Christian denominations. #1. Teaching Beliefs and Practices; #2. Making Disciples of the kind and in the likeness of Jesus.

Example #1.  TEACHING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES. A survey by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research, reveals some not so-surprising results about the state of churches in the United States:

64% of Americans agree that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.”

Only 52% agree that “the Bible alone is the written word of God.”

Only 58% agree that “God is the author of Scripture.”

65% agree that “everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.”

44% agree that “the Bible, like all sacred writings, contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true.”

51% agree that “the Bible was written for each person to interpret as he or she chooses.”

Only 47% agree that “the Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches.”

59% of Americans agree that “worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.”

Only 45% agree that “churches that do not preach from the Bible should not be considered a Christian church.”

Only 49% in churches agree that “sex outside of traditional marriage is a sin.”

Only 49% agree that “abortion is a sin.”

42% agree that “the Bible’s condemnation of homosexual behavior doesn’t apply today.”

38% agree that “gender identity is a matter of choice.”

45% agree that “modern science discredits the claims of Christianity.”

52% agree that “by the good deeds that I do, I partly contribute to earning my place in heaven”

Only 60% agree that “Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the only sacrifice that could remove the penalty of my sin.”

Only 52% agree that “it is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior.”

Only 54% in churches agree that “only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive God’s free gift of eternal salvation.”

From the Pew Research Center

Survey among Christians, when asked, “Do you believe in God”. (Pew Research Center on belief in God)

Survey year	Believe in God; absolutely certain	Believe in God; fairly certain	Believe in God; not too/not at all certain	Believe in God; don’t know	Do not believe in God	Other/don’t know if they believe in God	Sample size
2014	76%	18%	3%	1%	1%	1%	25,048

Pew Research on casual sex among professing Christians

Half of Christians say casual sex – defined in the survey as sex between consenting adults who are not in a committed romantic relationship – is sometimes or always acceptable.

• Six-in-ten Catholics (62%) take this view, as do 56% of Protestants in the historically Black tradition, 54% of mainline Protestants and 36% of evangelical Protestants.
• Among those who are religiously unaffiliated, meanwhile, the vast majority (84%) say casual sex is sometimes or always acceptable,
• including roughly nine-in-ten atheists (94%) and
• agnostics (95%) who say this.
• The religiously unaffiliated, also known as “nones,” are those who describe themselves, religiously, as atheist, agnostic or as “nothing in particular.”

From CNS News

A study released by the Rasmussen Reports polling firm on Good Friday found that only 64% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

From the Cultural Research Center – George Barna Research

Today, 176 million Americans claim to be Christians—69% of the population. Yet, only 6% of U.S. adults—which is 9% of those identifying as Christians—possess a biblical worldview, believing the Bible to be accurate and reliable, among other convictions.

That’s according to a new study by researcher George Barna and the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University in Glendale, Arizona.

Large majorities of self-identified Christians also report many beliefs “not in harmony with biblical teaching,” according to the survey. These include:

• 72% argue that people are basically good
• 66% say that ‘having faith’ matters more than which faith you pursue
• 64% say that all religious faiths are of equal value
• 58% believe that if a person is good enough, or does enough good things, they can earn their way into Heaven
• 57% believe in karma

 Are Christian pastors and preachers getting a failing grade in the teaching of the Gospel.

By contrast, the survey cohort termed as Integrated Disciples—a small subset of those claiming to be Christians—are noted as being consistent in their beliefs and integrating those convictions into their behaviors.

• 99+% believe that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful and just Creator of the universe who still rules the universe today
• 99+% believe that the Bible is the accurate and reliable words of God
• 96% claim that every moral choice either honors of dishonors God

However, Barna’s survey finds that even some believers classified as part of this highly discipled cohort hold to some views that “challenge biblical principles.” Those “shocking” beliefs of Integrated Disciples include:

• 52% argue that people are basically good
• 39% contend that the Holy Spirit is not a real, living being but is merely a symbol of God’s power, presence, or purity
• 33% believe in karma

“There is a remarkable level of self-deception (even among) born-again Christians,” said Barna, commenting on his recent worldview research. “It represents a huge educational challenge for those responsible for biblical worldview development.”

Many postmodern churches are teaching a type of gospel that does not conform to the Bible and, in fact, reveals many of the traits and teachings of Paganism. Likewise, a majority of people claiming the name of Christian may not be Christians at all. Many postmodern Christians don’t fully believe the Bible and practice aspects of Paganism.

THE OUTCOME?

AD 1 The Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ, had no buildings, little money and no wealth. The Church was a Movement.

Matthew 16:18, says,“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. verse 19. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” verse 20. Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ. 

Jesus said to make disciples; collect no money except to make your journey.

Although the penalty for becoming a Christian was often death. The Church grew exponentially.

AD 49. The Church expanded into Greece. The Church became a philosophy to many. The Church grew and size and influence.

AD 313.  The Church expanded into Rome and it gained recognition. It grew in power and popularity. It obtained wealth, buildings, property and influence. It became an institution.

AD 380.  The Church expanded into Europe. It was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It grew in wealth, stature, power and influence. It had become a culture.

AD 1607.  The Church reaches America.

AD 1681.  The Church became corporate. It had became a business and incorporated. It became regulated by the government.

The Corporate Church grew. It needed money to support growth and expansion, which meant the Corporate Church needed more people.

AD 1777.  The state of Virginia granted tax exemption to houses of worship.

AD 1894.  The corporate church was granted tax exemptions by the Federal Government.

AD 1954.  The Federal Government regulated what a church could and could not say in order to retain tax exempt status.

The church continued to grow, and in order to attract more people the Corporate Church lowered its membership and doctrinal standards. More people became ‘members’ and gave more money to support more growth.

The Church corporation is complete with leaders, boards and membership and a business model.

Local churches compete against one another for members (customers). The church is selling itself in “three line slogans”.

The Church members now have choices and have become religious consumers. Church people can shop around for the religious brand and standards that best suits them. (2 Timothy 3)

The Leadership (pastors and preachers) have become CEOs, disciples have become church leaders, growing their 501(c)(3) business models.

Record numbers of pastors quitting because of stress, burnout or are being fired by their congregations (some stats say 1500 – 1700 leave “the ministry” each month).

Church debt in America soars; church foreclosures soar.

AD 1968.  The church ordains homosexuals as clergy.

AD 1972.  The United church of Christ ordains homosexual clergy

AD 2010.  The Lutheran church ordains homosexual clergy

AD 2012.  The Presbyterian church ordains homosexual clergy

The Episcopal Church in the United States and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have also allowed ordination of openly gay and lesbian candidates for ministry for some years.

Internationally, churches that have ordained openly lesbian or gay clergy include the Church of Scotland, the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Church of Sweden, the Church of Norway, the Church of Denmark, the Church of Iceland, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in Germany, the Methodist Church in Britain, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the United Protestant Church in Belgium, the Swiss Reformed Church, the United Protestant Church of France, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Anglican Church in Canada, the Old Catholic Church, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and the United Church of Christ in Japan.

Millions of people (approximately 52 million) “attend church” in one of the 300,000+ churches in America, at least once a week each month. However, when people were asked the topic of the “sermon” they heard after 24 hours, only about 10 percent could tell you. When asked to cite the most important lesson they received, most just shrugged.

An estimated 1.2 million hours each week (1) are spent in sermon preparations; it takes about another 300,000 hours in delivery of these sermons (2) at a staggering potential cost of over $750 millions dollars nationally, each week (3). Yet, only 5% of those hearing these sermons, remember anything about them after 72 hours.

BUILDING MORE

AD 2021.  The church is losing and has lost influence. The church in 2021 is losing members and adherents. (George Barna research; Pew Research)

AD 2022.  Much of the church is teaching and living a different Gospel than that of the Apostles.

 

Example #2.  MAKING DISCIPLES.  The Church is failing to making disciples of the kind and in the likeness of Jesus.

Go into just about any Christian church, (or any Christian church website), and look for any evidence of discipleship training and you will either find no mention of disciple making or you will likely find a heavy emphasis on learning about various subjects or things such as ‘music ministry’,  learning-luncheons, senior citizen outings, soup kitchens, but you will find little-to-no actual practical ‘disciple making’. These may be ‘good things’ but, it is not what Jesus taught and commanded His disciples to do.

According to Jesus and the Bible, what is Disciple Making?  Here is an abbreviated but concise example of the steps Jesus uses to make disciples:

JESUS SAYS THE WORDS TO HIS DISCIPLES.

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

JESUS SUMMONS HIS DISCIPLES.

“Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”

JESUS SHOWS THE WONDERS TO HIS DISCIPLES.

“Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.”

JESUS SENDS HIS DISCIPLES.

“Jesus summoned His disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

Jesus sent them out, instructing them, as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is deserving of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than for that city.”

Jesus’ ‘discipleship training’ is a necessary evidence that a person has become a practicing Christian, an actual devoted follower of Jesus. It was not optional then and it is not optional now.

Upon calling one man to follow Him, the man replied, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, come and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  

Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

These sound like, and in fact are, harsh words which reflect the seriousness, the urgency and the importance of the role of being a disciple of Jesus and of making disciples. But they are no harsher than whipping men and turning over tables in the temple, calling Peter, ‘Satan’ or allowing Oneself to be crucified for the sake of all who would believe!

There is only ONE WAY to get this done. In fact, the Word Of God tells us this very thing in many ways.

“I am the way, the truth and the life”, (John 14:6).

“Be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may achieve success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.”, (Joshua 1:7-8).

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”, (Ephesians 2:10).

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”, (John 14:15).

Jesus is the perfect balance between justice and judgement, peace and travail, love and enmity, acceptance and rejection. Submit yourself to Him now, before the coming judgment. Accept His perfect love while He is the Lamb of God, for soon He will return as the Lion of Judah!

This is the model and method of Jesus’ command, let’s get out of our ‘comfort zones; let’s leave our self-imposed postmodern pastoral roles and “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you.” THIS IS OUR METHOD AND WAY.

Don’t lead. Follow Jesus. It removes all the 501(c) (3) and organizational stresses and puts you on the adventure you have been looking for! Time is short.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(In the Bonds Together)

 

A panda walks into a roadside café. He orders a bun, eats it, draws out a pistol and fires into the air and heads for the door.

What just happened?” the confused waitress asks, as the panda is halfway out of the door.

 The panda produces a wildlife dictionary. “I’m a PANDA. Look it up!” he shouts.

The waitress looks up ‘panda’ in the wildlife dictionary, and finds this:

“PANDA: Large black and white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats shoots and leaves.”

It’s a corny joke with a double meaning, but it makes the point that ‘sometimes we hear one thing and think another thing’. It can be funny as a joke, (sort of), but it isn’t funny when reading important instructions that may affect your health, welfare and life.

For example, some people are prone to making mistakes, even when common sense should dictate otherwise. Maybe that is why, on occasion, we read silly-sounding instructions as found on one hair dryer, “do not use while bathing”.

The problem of hearing one thing and believing another is nowhere more common than when reading the Bible.

Jesus, when speaking to a crowd of Jews, once said, ”I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.”

The Jewish crowd was understandably aghast.  They responded with, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

Jesus explained these words, later, “So then many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This statement is very hard; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Is this offensive to you? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life.”

You see, Jesus was using ‘eating His flesh and drinking His blood’ as a metaphor for hearing and absorbing His teaching and becoming one with Him in agreement and in relationship.

He is speaking of having faith in Him. Jesus presses the symbolism even further: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh. I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.  Anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.”

Still, the Bible tells us that “From that time many of His disciples went away and walked with Him no more.” A misunderstanding of Jesus’ words can have tragic consequences.

See Where I Am Coming From?

(Should I take it quite literally when someone asks, ‘do you know where am I coming from‘? How on Earth am I supposed to know where they’re coming from?!” I just got here, myself!

(Like the Panda in the café, what they actually mean may not be what I am thinking, like, “Do you understand the reasons why I’m saying this?”)

With all of this in mind, I heard sermon Sunday, from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which I would like to title, “The Notorious Nine”:

“Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither (#1), the sexually immoral nor (#2), idolaters nor (#3), adulterers nor (#4), men who have sex with men (#5), nor thieves nor the (#6), greedy nor (#7), drunkards nor (#8), slanderers nor (#9), swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Is God threatening us? Or, once again, does this mean something else?

Is God saying, “do these nine things and I will lock you out of heaven and send you to hell”?  Or is this God crying out for us to beware of a lurking danger? Much like a mother crying out to her child, “Watch out! Danger ahead”?  Could this be a helpful warning that some habits of behavior will create an unseen barrier, perhaps within your soul, mind or spirit, obstructing your way to heaven?

Many of the things in the list of “The Notorious Nine” are things we all find ourselves doing at sometime. It seems that, at times, we just cannot help ourselves!

He can’t help himself

Is this phrase saying that a person must be physically handicapped and that they can’t help themselves?  I mean – the word “to help” is quite simple and straightforward, so when someone can’t help themselves, they quite literally can’t assist themselves with performing certain tasks, isn’t that right?

That’s not the case, at all!  When someone says I can’t help myself, it means the person in question can’t RESIST doing something; they are too weak to say NO to themselves.

Psychology Today tells us that, “It is frequently said that addiction occurs when drugs “hijack” the brain. It’s hard to nail down what that means, but it does rightly suggest that there is an involuntary takeover of the brain that compromises decision-making and diminishes freedom of choice, making quitting difficult even in the face of desire to do so. What happens in addiction is that, through completely natural processes involved in all learning, the brain prunes nerve pathways of attention and motivation to preferentially notice, focus on, desire, and seek the substance. What starts out as a choice becomes, in a sense, a prison.”

But drugs are not the only kinds of addiction.  Addiction is a compulsive behavior towards a substance or an activity that induces pleasure and enjoyment. It’s easy to confine addiction to just drugs and alcohol, but people also compulsively engage in activities such alcohol, tobacco, gambling, shopping, sex, food, video games, internet and work as the 10 most common forms of addiction.

Oddly enough, the Bible tells of this danger in Romans 8:5-6, “For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Here is the “secret”.

The phrase ‘mind set on’ is from the Greek word, “phronema” which comes from a variety of roots words meaning “what one has in the mind, the thoughts and purposes, which emanates from the core of our thinking and tend to ‘fence in, block up, stop up our thinking and our lives and will put to silence any and all other ways of thinking, in essence, creating a prison and holding us in solitary confinement within our own mind.”

So, when God, through the Apostle Paul, said, that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God and listed “The Notorious Nine” in 1 Corinthians 6 and again, what I will call “The Felonious Fifteen” in Galatians 5:19: “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: (#1), sexual immorality, (#2), impurity, (#3), indecent behavior, (#4), idolatry, (#5), witchcraft, (#6), hostilities, (#7), strife, (#8), jealousy, (#9), outbursts of anger, (#10), selfish ambition, (#11), dissensions, (#12), factions, (#13), envy, (#14), drunkenness, (#15), carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Perhaps this was never a threat from God at all. What if, He is calling out, crying out to you, warning you, a plea to save yourself from certain death and destruction, from an eternity of torment. What if God’s message has been one to help you and to save you, all along?  Has He been saying one thing, and you have been hearing another?

He is calling out to you, now.

If you have taken this seriously or have paused to think, “that could be me”, then rest assured there is a way out!

The Bible goes on to tell us, “And that is what some of you were (of “The Notorious Nine” or of ” The Felonious Fifteen”).  But you can be washed clean, you can be sanctified, you can be justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Romans 10:9-12 says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Please. Don’t be confused about what the Bible actually says. It is a love letter from God, written specifically to you. He is offering you safety and sanctuary from all that plagues you. You can find safety and peace in Him; and even when trouble comes, He will show you the way of escape!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

 

There is a lot of interest and conversation and controversy about an event called “The Rapture”, both inside and outside Christian Circles.  Scores of books, articles and movies have been written and produced on the subject, so many in fact, that one internet search returned over 1,500,000 hits on the subject.

The “Rapture”, as it is called, is an eschatological (study on matters of end times) theological position held by some Christians, of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”^[1] The idea of a rapture as it is currently defined is not found in historic Christianity, and the term “rapture” is not found in the Bible.

The doctrine of a rapture is a relatively recent idea of Evangelical Protestantism, introduce by John Nelson Darby, a British pastor, writer and educator in the mid 1800s.  Darby formulated the idea of the rapture from the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4:13-17, specifically from verse 17, ^“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 

The words “caught up” translate from the Greek verb “harpazō”.  The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek as “rapiemur” meaning “we are caught up” or “we are taken away” from the Latin verb rapio, where we get the English word, rapture.

For the sake of brevity on this posting, I will leave you with this PDF presentation comparing the Words of Jesus in the Book of Matthew, chapter 24 and the book of the Revelation, taken from chapters six and seven. (click on the image above or the text below here. You can also listen to the  audio version – see audio player above – while you read the PDF version).

THE RAPTURE REVEALED 

This ministry’s position is a definitive “Pre-Wrath Rapture“.  There are four Zions’ Hope videos which follow, and one video by The Fuel Project on this matter.

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT?”

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT?  PART 2 B – A SCROLL”

“RAPTURE AND WRATH:  READY OR NOT? PART 2 A – THE 7 SEALS”

“THE FUEL PROJECT GUIDE TO THE 6TH TRIBULATION SEAL”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

More material on the Tribulation and The Rapture by The Whitestone Fellowship:

When does the 7-Year Tribulation Begin?

The 5th Tribulation Seal.

The 6th Tribulation Seal.

AMERICAN UNDER SIEGE

(You can listen by audio; pause the audio to follow page links, then, when you are ready, resume the audio. Please note: I use page links for important details in lieu of footnotes and references.)

Prosperity begins here – A Biblical Perspective

We are told to make a choice:

Choose Life and Prosperity or Death and Adversity.

What is true Biblical Prosperity?

(Please note: I have made separation in paragraphs and used bold type for emphasis).

This is a Prophetic Word

It seems that we, Christians, pastors, teachers, evangelists and followers alike, have forgotten the clear message of God regarding Prosperity and Adversity.

I have been in churches and I hear preachers warning Christians against believing these clear words of the Bible. So, Christians will suffer from want and lack, poverty and disease, fear and loneliness, adversity and meaningless death without the Hope of His Promises.

It is His Promises which both bless us and strengthen us to endure the difficult times. When we obey God and observe all His commandments which are command this day, the LORD our God will prosper us abundantly. (Deuteronomy 30:8, 9)

Prosperity and Adversity are inextricably linked.

We have seen that the Bible says we must choose between ‘;Life and Prosperity, or Death and Adversity’. We cannot escape this Word.

Again, Deuteronomy 30:8 prophetically states “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today.

Verse 9. “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;

Verse 10.  “if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

Verse 11. “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.

Verse 12. “It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’

Verse 13. “Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’

Verse 14. “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.

Verse 15.  “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;

Verse 16.  “in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”

Deuteronomy 28:15 “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Chapter 28 is a lengthy section of scripture, so I have linked it on Biblehub.com to save space (Click here for the remaining verses of Chapter 28)

Conclusion:  I pray that we can see that Biblical Prosperity is NOT just about having money or things. It is not a spiritual ‘grab bag’ just for our indulgence.

Biblical Prosperity, is both a Prophetic Promise and a Prophetic Warning.

Let’s conclude with these verses:

Deuteronomy 29:1, “These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb.

Verse 2. “And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his servants and all his land;

Verse 3. “the great trials which your eyes have seen, those great signs and wonders.

Verse 4. “Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.

Verse 5. “I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.

Verse 6. “You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

Verse 7. “When you reached this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out to meet us for battle, but we defeated them;

Verse 8. “and we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites.

Verse 9. “So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.”

It is my sincere prayer that this has been helpful and that I have not distorted or misused these Chapters and verses from God’s Word.

I also pray that we will get on with the call of God on our lives, and He will permit and lead all of us to into His fields which are ripe for harvest to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

“And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.  And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”  Matthew 21:21-22

For more on this subject:  “A SIMPLE GUIDE TO MIRACLES“.

(Back to Part 1)

(You can listen by audio; pause the audio to follow page links, then, when you are ready, resume the audio. Please note: I use page links for important details in lieu of footnotes and references.)

Prosperity Begins Here – A Biblical Perspective

We are told to make a choice:

Choose Life and Prosperity, or choose Death and Adversity.

I hold to a Reformed view of scriptures. (Yeah. Let’s get that out of the way, upfront.)  Reformed theology includes any system of belief that traces its roots back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century. Of course, the Reformers themselves traced their doctrine to Scripture, as indicated by their credo of “sola scriptura,” so Reformed theology is not a “new” belief system but one that seeks to continue apostolic doctrine.

Generally, Reformed theology holds to the authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, salvation by grace through Christ, and the necessity of evangelism. It is sometimes called Covenant theology because of its emphasis on the covenant God made with Adam and the new covenant which came through Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20). I guess you could say, ‘that is an educated way of putting it’.

It sounds funny to me to hear myself say that I hold a Reformed view of scriptures. First, because the Bible tells us that, at one point, that “the Sadducees, rulers, scribes, Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent, observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, and were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus”. And secondly, because I find myself hoping to see God do, in my life, the amazing things He did with those disciples.

So, I find myself clinging to both a Reformed theological view because it is a dependable framework for understanding and following sound Biblical principles, sound doctrine as the Bible guides me in the matters of life, and to a belief of the miraculous, because that, too, is in the Bible.

The Bible teaches that it is God Who initiates salvation; it is God Who initiates sanctification; it is God who makes us holy, and it is God Who works miracles. He does these things around us, to us, with us, within us and sometimes, through us. We participate with God in what He is doing through our faith, submission and obedience in action. It is never about us.

Secondly, I need to be clear, that any prayer which says, “I take authority over…”, or “I command this or that…” unless it is framed within the context of the ‘Giver of authority’ which is Jesus, it is folly.  The Bible says, “Jesus called the twelve together, and He gave them the power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases.”

An example of that authority and power is found in Acts 3:6 when “Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”  Did you catch that?  “IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, WALK”!

Presuming, or assuming, that you own or can make God’s power and authority your own, is preposterous in the least, and is an affront to the authority and sovereignty of God and foolish at the worst.  Still, I hear some Christians foolishly say that they have ‘appropriated’ this blessing or that authority, that is, they have ‘taken exclusive possession’  which is without the authority or right.

It is better viewed as, “I am being blessed by God”, or “God used me to feed the hungry”, or perhaps even, “God worked a miracle as I prayed and laid hands on someone”.  These are not matters of semantics, it is a matter of ego and of attitude.

Now, with that said, let’s please move on to “Biblical Prosperity”.

(Please note:  The Hebrew word for ‘Blessings’ is Bᵉrakah which, roughly translated, means that ‘God is the source of blessings which are the types and kinds of prosperity which flow from the praise of God; they are a gift and a present; they are a treaty of peace with God.  Also, I am using bold lettering for emphasis.)

Deuteronomy 28:1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Verse 2. “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:

Verse 3. “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

Verse 4. “Blessed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.

Verse 5. “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

Verse 6. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

Verse 7.  “The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.

Verse 8.  “The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

Verse 9. “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

Verse 10. “So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you.

Verse 11. “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

Verse 12. “The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

Verse 13. “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully,

Verse 14.  “and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

1. ‘Diligent Obedience and doing all His Commandments’, is what is missing from much of the “Prosperity gospel message” by many of the Word of Faith movement preachers.

‘Recognizing that it is The LORD Who will command the blessings upon you and not of yourself’, is what is missing in the “Prosperity gospel message” by many of the Word of Faith movement preachers.

2. ‘Diligent Obedience, doing all His Commandments’, is what is missing from the practice by many of the “Post-modern and traditional Westernized American Christians”.

‘The failure to recognize, understand and knowing’ how to place yourself under The Blessings and prosperity promised by God.

(Please click here to go to BIBLICAL PROSPERITY & BLESSINGS, part 2 – A Prophetic Word)

(You can listen to this audio as you read along and pause the audio to follow the page links which give important details on this teaching, the resume the audio when you are ready. Please note that I use page links in lieu of footnotes or references for important details.)

EASTER – WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

Matthew 27:1  “Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;

2 and they bound Him and led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.

3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

But they said, “What is that to us? You shall see to it yourself!” 5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and left; and he went away and hanged himself.

6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them in the temple treasury, since it is money paid for blood.” 7 And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.

8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET by the sons of Israel; AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER’S FIELD, JUST AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.”

11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “So You are the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

12 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not offer any answer. 13 Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they are testifying against You?” 14 And still He did not answer him in regard to even a single charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.

15 Now at the Passover Feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And at that time they were holding a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was because of envy that they had handed Him over.

19 And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”

20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas, and to put Jesus to death. 21 And the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

22Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” 23 But he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” Yet they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”

24 Now when Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; you yourselves shall see.” 25 And all the people replied, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus flogged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort to Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a red cloak on Him. 29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. 31 And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

32 As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they compelled to carry His cross.

33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him wine mixed with bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.

35And when they had crucified Him, they divided His garments among themselves by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. 37 And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

38 At that time two rebels were being crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads, 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43  HE HAS TRUSTED IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE TAKES PLEASURE IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way.

45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

54 Now as for the centurion and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

55 And many women were there watching from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while caring for Him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

57 Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.

61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

62 Now on the next day, that is, the day which is after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and they said, “Sir, we remember that when that deceiver was still alive, He said, ‘After three days I am rising.’ 64 Therefore, give orders for the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the tomb secure with the guard, sealing the stone.

1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men. 5 And the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report to His disciples. 9And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Rejoice!” And they came up and took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go, bring word to My brothers to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

11 Now while they were on their way, some of the men from the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 nd said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews and is to this day.

16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated to them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is good to know about this world changing event. I ask again, “What just happened?”

Many regular church attenders and many who call themselves Christians, cannot answer that question. They can tell you some of what they have just read or have seen in a church play, but know little more.

JUST SO YOU KNOW

Easter is about Jesus, an innocent man, Who was condemned by men, crucified, died, buried and then rose from the dead after three days in the tomb.

His offense? Jesus, was sent by God into this world to seek out and save lost humanity and to testify to the truth. But men, being evil, hated the light of the truth, so ironically, they killed Him, their only hope.

But this was just the ‘beginning of the end of God’s plan’ to the world. This plan began in the Garden of Eden and has been played out over the centuries that followed.

The penalty for man’s sin of rebellion and defiance against God, was death and eternal separation from God. But God, being merciful, offered His chosen people, (the Jews and later, anyone who would believe on Jesus and would follow Him), a way to be cleansed of their sins. It was called the Mosaic Covenant.

The Mosaic Covenant was centered around God’s giving His divine law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was a conditional covenant in that the blessings that God promises are directly related to Israel’s obedience to the Mosaic Law. If Israel is obedient, then God will bless them, but if they disobey, then God will punish them. The blessings and curses that are associated with this conditional covenant are found in detail in Deuteronomy 28 -30.

But, the end result is that God said, in Deuteronomy 30:15,  “See, I have placed before you today life and happiness, and death and adversity, in that I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will certainly perish.”

God then gave the people a sacrifical system to atone for their sins.

THE PASSOVER (EASTER)

The book of Exodus tells of the origin of Passover. God promised to redeem His people from the bondage of Pharaoh (Exodus 6:6). God sent Moses to the Egyptian king with the command that Pharaoh “let my people go” (Exodus 8:1). When Pharaoh refused, God brought ten plagues on the land of Egypt. The tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of all the firstborn in Egypt.

The night of the first Passover was the night of the tenth plague. On that fateful night, God told the Israelites to sacrifice a spotless lamb and mark their doorposts and lintels with its blood (Exodus 12:21–22). Then, when the Lord passed through the nation, He would “pass over” the households that showed the blood (verse 23). In a very real way, the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites from death, as it kept the destroyer from entering their homes. The Israelites were saved from the plague, and their firstborn children stayed alive. From then on, every firstborn son of the Israelites belonged to the Lord and had to be redeemed with a sacrifice (Exodus 13:1–2, 12; cf. Luke 2:22–24).

The children of Israel in Egypt followed God’s command and kept the first Passover. However, none of the Egyptians did so. All through Egypt, behind the unmarked, bloodless doorways of the Egyptians, the firstborn children died at midnight (Exodus 12:21–29). “There was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead” (verse 30). This dire judgment finally changed the Egyptian king’s heart, and he released the Israelite slaves (verses 31–32).

Along with the instruction to apply the Passover lamb’s blood to their doorposts and lintels, God instituted a commemorative meal: fire-roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8). The Lord told the Israelites to “observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever” (Exodus 12:24, ESV), even when in a foreign land.

To this day, Jews all over the world celebrate the Passover in obedience to this command. Passover and the story of the exodus have great significance for Christians also, as Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, including the symbolism of the Passover (Matthew 5:17). Jesus is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 5:12). He was killed at Passover time, and the Last Supper was a Passover meal (Luke 22:7–8). By (spiritually) applying His blood to our lives by faith, we trust Christ to save us from death. The Israelites who, in faith, applied the blood of the Paschal lamb to their homes become a model for us. It was not the Israelites’ ancestry or good standing or amiable nature that saved them; it was only the blood of the lamb that made them exempt from death (see John 1:29 and Revelation 5:9–10). (From GotQuestions.Org)

God has told us that we all are sinners and that there is a penalty for sin which is both a physcial and a spritual death.

But God, being rich in mercy, sent Jesus, the pefect sacrificial Lamb, to die in our place, thereby once and for all times, paying the penalty for the sins of all who would beleive and accept Him as Lord and savior.

The part we play is to accept God forgiveness and receive our salvation by believing in Jesus. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Then you must follow Him by what He has said we must do.

The Bible tells us that God gave His only begotten Son, so that all who would believe in Him, (that is, Jesus), would not perish but would have eternal life. John 3:16.

Jesus has said to all who have the ears to hear, “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.” John 14:2-3.

Jesus also told us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”. Matthew 11:28.

Another time He said, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19.

Now, Jesus is telling you, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

So, what will you do with what you now know?

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS –  (1).  God’s plan is unfolding and is near a conclusion.

(2). That conclusion leads to God’s Perfection of His people (Christians) and

(3). The final act of doing away with the old and the coming of the new heavens and the new earth.