We can't ship these things out to you but here is a list of things we can be doing to ensure we don't get led astray or walk into error over our focus.
1. Anchor into Jesus. This may mean hard decisions about your 'preachers.' Colossians 2:6-8
2. Carefully read the Prophets and Apostles while asking the Lord to show you His will. 2 Peter 3
3. Make sure you are led into roles tasks and functions... by God and God alone. Romans 8:14
4. Develop an understanding of the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16
5. Be Discerning. Jesus said 'Do not be deceived' as a headline issue for end times. Matt 24:4
6. Manage people. Some people are 'kryptonite' to your walk. 1 Cor 15:33
7. Keep very short accounts. Repentance is a lifestyle not an event. 1 John 1:9
8. Don't make 'worship' just something you do at church. It's your entire life! 1 Cor 10:31
9. Be ready to share your faith. Rehearse what you will say. 1 Peter 3:15
10. Predetermine to be an ambassador of love. Even when it is hard. The Bible.
Gary Ward
Tuesday 25 October 2016
Friday 21 October 2016
Three Signs of End Times
History has thrown up good reasons for believers to think they are in the last moments of history before the Day of the Lord. I can't imagine being herded into a subway for any other reason than a sandwich. But in world war 2 people hid from hundreds of bombs dropping from planes. Sat hearing explosions in my city would have stirred feelings of 'end times' for sure. It turns out that World war 2 was not the Antichrist, although it was a type of Antichrist in Hitler. The Bible is clear that the entire world will be taken in by the Antichrist proper, and if you feel it is too ridiculous to imagine we have been shown Germany, the nation of the finest and most brilliant people on earth be sucked into the Nazi regime. Why would anyone claim that the days we are in now bear the marks of 'end times' more than any?
1. The level of deception
Firstly we have the fact that deception is everywhere. On being asked about the last days Jesus said 'do not be deceived.' I rarely meet a christian who is grounded in solid biblical teaching. They are either so worldly that you can't see the mark of new birth or so stuck in the mindset of Laodicean church practice that they will never receive anything to re-calibrate their spiritual compass. The prophets and Apostles told of these things and its nothing new. In the end times everything is concentrated but God always provides a remnant who stay on track. You can tell who they are because they will not compromise the speaking of truth even at personal cost and the detriment of their own progress. It isn't about attention, adoration or applause for them. Believers are strangely drawn to them or instantly repelled as the gap between truth and deception becomes more stark. Be warned - there is a huge acceptance of false teachers today because of the error that says 'their hearts are right.' Jude, Peter, Jesus all say this is not true. Anyone teaching doctrinal error with no self assessment has something wrong spiritually.
2. Prophecy and Israel
The second mark of the end times being upon us is the events in Israel. Since 1948 scripture has been fulfilled in and around Israel including the Jews returning to their own land. This has to happen for the Day of Jacobs trouble to take place. We are seeing prophecy being fulfilled such as Damascus being destroyed before our eyes (Isaiah 17). This is not a regular thing. It is a once-and-only-once event for anyone who is watching and remotely interested. As these things continue to occur we have to conclude that the Bible has always been forensically true and our unbelief is the issue.
3. Believers falling away
The third of three things to highlight in this writing is the falling away of believers. This is connected to the first two issues. Deception takes believers away from their living source Jesus Christ and they find their level as a non distinct entity in the world. The detachment from understanding the Jewishness of the Bible and the Lords intent towards the Jews (Rom 9-11) leads to a woeful neglect of what the scriptures say. As the gap widens between the Jewishness of the Gospel mixed with the false teaching of Laodicean faith, people fall into a category rather than a vibrant faith that stands for Jesus.
As we say to everyone who comes to our house group, 'be discerning.' I want people to come to us and assess what issues forth from us. We want people to be accessing things that aren't deceptive and focused on the truth about God. We want people to be able to figure this out from the Lord, not from the propaganda weaved into the Bible teaching or preachment. We want people to find true connection as the family of God and try to walk it out well. We want people to be watching the world as the are dieting on the word. We want that to lead to a healthy perspective on their own occasion as a believer and be a vessel the Lord can issue forth through. We practice the first things while having our eye on end times. The times are growing darker and it is getting harder to find believers who have stayed clear of the sensual, ear-tickling sound-byte merchants whose aim is to promise much yet deliver nothing.
Please make sure you read 'The End Times Survival Kit' coming next
Love in Christ
Gary Ward
1. The level of deception
Firstly we have the fact that deception is everywhere. On being asked about the last days Jesus said 'do not be deceived.' I rarely meet a christian who is grounded in solid biblical teaching. They are either so worldly that you can't see the mark of new birth or so stuck in the mindset of Laodicean church practice that they will never receive anything to re-calibrate their spiritual compass. The prophets and Apostles told of these things and its nothing new. In the end times everything is concentrated but God always provides a remnant who stay on track. You can tell who they are because they will not compromise the speaking of truth even at personal cost and the detriment of their own progress. It isn't about attention, adoration or applause for them. Believers are strangely drawn to them or instantly repelled as the gap between truth and deception becomes more stark. Be warned - there is a huge acceptance of false teachers today because of the error that says 'their hearts are right.' Jude, Peter, Jesus all say this is not true. Anyone teaching doctrinal error with no self assessment has something wrong spiritually.
2. Prophecy and Israel
The second mark of the end times being upon us is the events in Israel. Since 1948 scripture has been fulfilled in and around Israel including the Jews returning to their own land. This has to happen for the Day of Jacobs trouble to take place. We are seeing prophecy being fulfilled such as Damascus being destroyed before our eyes (Isaiah 17). This is not a regular thing. It is a once-and-only-once event for anyone who is watching and remotely interested. As these things continue to occur we have to conclude that the Bible has always been forensically true and our unbelief is the issue.
3. Believers falling away
The third of three things to highlight in this writing is the falling away of believers. This is connected to the first two issues. Deception takes believers away from their living source Jesus Christ and they find their level as a non distinct entity in the world. The detachment from understanding the Jewishness of the Bible and the Lords intent towards the Jews (Rom 9-11) leads to a woeful neglect of what the scriptures say. As the gap widens between the Jewishness of the Gospel mixed with the false teaching of Laodicean faith, people fall into a category rather than a vibrant faith that stands for Jesus.
As we say to everyone who comes to our house group, 'be discerning.' I want people to come to us and assess what issues forth from us. We want people to be accessing things that aren't deceptive and focused on the truth about God. We want people to be able to figure this out from the Lord, not from the propaganda weaved into the Bible teaching or preachment. We want people to find true connection as the family of God and try to walk it out well. We want people to be watching the world as the are dieting on the word. We want that to lead to a healthy perspective on their own occasion as a believer and be a vessel the Lord can issue forth through. We practice the first things while having our eye on end times. The times are growing darker and it is getting harder to find believers who have stayed clear of the sensual, ear-tickling sound-byte merchants whose aim is to promise much yet deliver nothing.
Please make sure you read 'The End Times Survival Kit' coming next
Love in Christ
Gary Ward
Saturday 15 October 2016
The Present and Coming Famine
Amos Chapter 8 is fairly substantial and it is important to read it now to make sense of the rest of this writing. Essentially it is time for Israel to be judged by God. Amos heralds this time as imminent for the people at the time. As with the prophets generally, the content applies also to the first coming and second comings of Jesus. It is just a simple fact that the dynamic between God and mankind has patterns. There are the unbelievers who are doomed. There is the faithful believers and the unfaithful believers. It is generally unfaithful believers the Lord directs judgement towards whilst we know the unbeliever is hurtling towards the White Throne of Judgement anyway.
Today we have a situation where believers are going ahead with practices that defy the scriptural boundaries for walking with God. Christ-professing people are behaving more like Baal worshippers in some charismatic circles. There is always consternation about interpretations of God's word but these days we have people who deny fundamental doctrines. There has always been those who see 'ministry' as an opportunity to make money and it is the people who have little to start with that get sucked into the error. This is something I feel is a pertinent for this exact time we are in. Amos 8:4-6
“Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy,
who intend to make the poor of the land fail,
5 and who are saying,
‘When will the New Moon fade
so we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath conclude
so we may market winnowed wheat?—
shortchanging the measure,
raising the price,
falsifying the scales by treachery,
6 buying the poor for cash,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’ ISV
Today we have a situation where believers are going ahead with practices that defy the scriptural boundaries for walking with God. Christ-professing people are behaving more like Baal worshippers in some charismatic circles. There is always consternation about interpretations of God's word but these days we have people who deny fundamental doctrines. There has always been those who see 'ministry' as an opportunity to make money and it is the people who have little to start with that get sucked into the error. This is something I feel is a pertinent for this exact time we are in. Amos 8:4-6
“Hear this, you who are swallowing up the needy,
who intend to make the poor of the land fail,
5 and who are saying,
‘When will the New Moon fade
so we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath conclude
so we may market winnowed wheat?—
shortchanging the measure,
raising the price,
falsifying the scales by treachery,
6 buying the poor for cash,
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling chaff mixed in with the wheat.’ ISV
Grain and Wheat is the word of God. Amos indicates this in verse 11 onwards. Today we have people who lead believers and they sell the word of God and market it. Not only that but the quality of the word of God is diminished. They sell the chaff... the degraded bits that bulk up the content. I remember sitting in on sermons that are devoid of the exegesis of the Word of God. They are speeches aimed at keeping the attendance and as a by-product, keeping the cash flow. It is usually people who are poor that buy into the false gospel that promises multiplied returns for a generous investment by rote. The leaders feel they are doing God's will by building 'ministry' when the whole idea of God's people assembling is to build the people up. Judgement is here for those who, as the KJV version tells us in v 5 are: making the ephah small, and the shekel great. That is, the word of God is reduced but the cash is increased.
The famine we have for Gods word will only increase and a sign of the judgement upon these is scratching around for God's word. While you do hear some standard preachment from the money preachers they really have nothing to say. The 'payload' that comes from a believer who is walking with the Lord is absent yet they can fill the seats with people. God opting out of something is the scariest thing judgement-wise. I want a bolt from the blue so I can see my wretchedness! But if God has 'left the building' and everything goes on as normal... that is worrying. Yet this is the mark of the famine. When God leaves an endeavour it is reduced to a mere religious festival yet many see the numbers, slick and shiny productions, as a mark of God's signature. The blind lead the blind.
When a famine occurs everyone has to endure it. However, before Jesus' first coming there had been about 400 years of silence. No Prophet had spoken even though much was occurring politically in and around the Land of Promise. Then John the Baptiser starts heralding the coming of Messiah. His voice was, as John reminds us of Isaiah 40:3 a 'lone voice crying in the wilderness.' The characteristics of John the Baptiser are a pattern that could earmark those who are sent to provide food in this famine. There are those raised up who bear the characteristics of John to herald the second coming of Jesus. Don't be surprised if you see unknowns emerging from obscurity speaking out strongly to return to God's word in repentance. It will be no shock to see counter-culture utterances coming from believers who are 'scruffy' like John the Baptiser was, compared to the 'rock-star' religious of his time. You probably wont like the accents of those sent to speak forth God's word or their straightforward delivery of truth. Like the religious cohort in Jesus time you may want to shut them up!
Is there any good news? Of course! Chapter 9 tells of further misery by Gods hand on sinners but again we see the idea of a remnant saved from the whole. Let's get before the Lord, ready for his sifting hand, a Holy audit of our walk and what we party to. Let's be about His word and watching for anything that bends us towards love of this world. Let's cast off all the things that make any of this about us. It's all about Jesus and Him glorified.
Gary Ward
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