Thursday, 29 August 2013
THE STORMY FUTURE, AND THE DOCTRINES NECESSARY FOR PREPARATION
'The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present'
-Abraham Lincoln
There is coming a time when the doctrines of the past, the doctrines that rightly have been loved and preached so much by the present Church; of grace, gracious salvation, provision, sovereign care, spiritual gifts, promises, God's guidance etc- will all need to be given those doctrines that provide proper context and great encouragement by those same ministers of His Word that was always intended to be given; of crosses to bear, sorrow, loss, perplexity, weakness, a daily dying to self, God's judgment, wrath, justice, vengeance, prophecy, self-sacrifice, service and many more.
While the first set of doctrines that were mentioned above were all good, blessed and obviously necessary and beneficial, most only benefit in a day of peaceful seas, and blessed times. It is easy to believe and uphold those doctrines and count men blessed and honoured that do so when their worth is obviously apparent. It is easy to see their worth in a good day and a good season, for no one will deny their truth, and no one will question their validity. Similarly then, in apparent and obvious times of goodness and blessing, few will tout the necessity and blessing of the second set of doctrines mentioned, for few will see their worth. Why, in a day of blessing and relative ease, would one need a doctrine of 'dying to self'? Why, in a day where the sun shines, and many go about happy and healthy, and much of the Church says it has 'need of nothing,' would we need to hear about crosses to bear? (although we should always need it). Why hear about loss when we are forced to lose nothing? Why about God's judgment when it appears He does not judge His people and will forever excuse the wicked? Why prophecy when we don't believe there will be another day or season and that nothing will change? The flaw in the logic of this reasoning should be obvious to us all.
If Noah had never believed that God judged sin, where would he and his family ended up? He would never have believed the warning, never been moved to any action in a time when the world was so at peace and so prosperous. He would've given up building when the mockers came, and quit when the work became too tiresome. To learn about the harder doctrines is, lets be honest- hard for our flesh, and often just hard in general. Human beings don't naturally respond to those things which are against our old nature, but when we truly see the benefit of them, we'll pick up the tools truth, and never quit till we're satisfied we've obeyed God as we should. Noah believed the prophecy he was given, he believed the warning, he believed in the judgement and wrath of God, and even accepted the great pain and suffering to come, and what did he do? He accepted it all, as from a just, loving and faithful creator. Because he did, he saved, not only himself, but his family, and an entire world of humanity and history to come! Never underestimate the importance of those doctrines that the Church nowadays seems to so easily, ignorantly, carelessly, willingly and seemingly even without conviction glide over, ignore and even often cover up for their own benefit. Those things we seemingly seem to so often think are of no consequence now, will be absolutely and totally indispensable in the day and season to come.
There is coming a day when, if we do not know these doctrines well, and do not know this side of our Lord, that His people will become greatly offended at Him, and if it were possible (and from the Word it seems as though it certainly is), many will even reject faith in Christ and even become His enemy.
The Lord has showed me dreams of this coming storm. He has shown me a great storm on the horizon and dark clouds gathering overhead. Does anyone out there seek the Lord about these things? Does anyone believe that this is the case? I certainly hope so, for forewarned is forearmed, and the Lord's intention with such prophecy is to encourage our hearts to walk with Him now, so that we'll be prepared to walk with Him in that future day.
It is not good enough to leave learning about those second set of doctrines for the day and season to come. By then it could well be too late. Such things take time to learn, to understand and to work through. The armour of God is many things, not just one thing, and so the truth is not just a few scriptures here and there, and a few doctrines here and there, but the Apostle Paul called it the 'whole counsel of God.' God has a counsel for us to sit at today, in preparation, yes for today, but also for tomorrow. God has a teacher for us to listen to, and His name is Christ, so will we be willing to hear His voice and understand ALL that He says and reveals to us? God's intention is to benefit, direct, equip us, strengthen, change and enlighten us. Do we fail to recognise and often co-operate with His will in this way? Yes we certainly do! We are weak and often dull sheep, often going astray. No one is perfect here, myself first and foremost, but His righteousness freely qualifies and forgives us, despite us being the sinners we are, and He continues to give us mercy, grace and power.
God bless!
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
JESUS' EAGERNESS TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS
John 2v3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
So often we believe that Jesus is nowhere near as eager to answer our prayers as we are to ask Him for those things that burn in our heart. We take his silence for rejection, and the waiting we have to endure, for the Lord giving us the cold shoulder. Both of these things are not evidence of the Lord's will not to listen to us or give us what we desire, but His testing of our eagerness to receive what He is so eager to give. To the woman who petitioned him for wine for those at the wedding, how did it seem that He responded? We must be honest, it sounded like He didn't want to not only give her what she desired, but even that it wasn't His will; 'Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.' However, instead of give up, what does the woman do? She says, "Whatever He says to you, do it." The woman knew that the Lord is always willing to respond to prayer, and will always respond to it, all it takes is for us to continue to offer up our requests to God:
Heb 11v6: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Matt 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Ask for whatever it may be that may benefit His Kingdom, His people, bring glory to Him and help bring people and even ourselves closer to Jesus, and you may be sure that He will answer and usually give us what we desire, even though it may be in a different way and manner than we imagine:
Eph 3v20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
And even if the answer be no, like Paul once received so that his thorn would be taken from him, you can be sure that He will give an answer. He is faithful to fulfill His Word!
God bless!
Sunday, 25 August 2013
DREAM: NUCLEAR EXPLOSION OFF THE COAST OF AUSTRALIA
I have never said this before, but it is incredibly important that you read this post. I would even resort to begging you all here. If you live on the Gold Coast, or anywhere along the East Coast of Australia, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read this dream I had from the Lord a few days ago. If you live along the East Coast of Australia, reading it could very well save your life one day, and in no way am I exaggerating.
Before I share the following dream that I received from the Lord a few days ago on Thursday, I'd just like to say that I know nearly everyone out there will find this incredibly hard to believe. Believe me, the natural part of me finds it just as hard to believe, but we're told to continually put to death that fleshly part of us that would rise up to deny the voice of the Lord. The Word says that the natural man finds the things of God to be 'foolishness,' so we must constantly be weary of that old nature in us that wants to block us from receiving the things of the Holy Spirit, just because they don't necessarily make sense to our natural understanding of things. . Before receiving this dream, the Lord had put on my heart for the last couple of weeks at least to pray and ask Him to reveal to me in dreams or visions His judgments that are coming to America and Australia. Before receiving the dream below, I had another one also which was about Australia's future that I may share in the future when I have a clearer and more sure understanding about its interpretation. There can be very little doubt, however, about the interpretation of the dream that I've written about below. Yes, as the Word says, we must 'test all things,' so please test this dream by prayer and by the Word of God, but please be open to the Lord confirming it to you if He does so, because we must 'hold fast those things which are good.'
I dreamt that I was running somewhere along the beach on the Gold Coast or relatively near it (could have been anywhere along the vicinity from Surfers Paradise to Tweed Heads). I was running with my sister at the time, when all of a sudden, I looked up and out towards the ocean and its horizon to see what looked to me to be the plume cloud and explosion from a nuclear bomb. I watched it very intently, as I wanted to be certain that it was the explosion and cloud of a nuclear bomb, and not just a large bomb of some kind. My sister didn't know what I was doing, so I told her I was trying to figure out if it was a nuclear bomb or not. She laughed because she couldn't figure out how I'd be able to tell such a thing from just looking at it, but I told her that I would be able to tell by looking at the shape of the cloud that rose up from the explosion. From the shape of the cloud (mushroom type cloud that rose extremely high into the air) I just knew it was a nuclear bomb, not just a large bomb of some kind. As soon as I knew this, I told my sister as much, and told her to run with me to the other side of the street and into a building I had seen. We quickly ran to the building and went inside it. It was very dark in this building, but we started to descend a fairly long flight of stairs (and it was nearly pitch black as we went down them). As we did so I told Amy that if it really was a nuclear bomb, it probably wouldn't matter that we were hiding in a building, because whether we were inside or outside, we'd be injured or killed either way.
When we went down into the building it turned into a house. My sister was in a larger room, but I went to go into a smaller room, because I thought it would be more secure for some reason (I also heard a name at this time that indicated that the Lord will be gracious to Australians at this time, which could possibly indicate that He will provide protection to its citizens- but this is just my interpretation). I told her to follow me into the room I went into because I thought it would be safer, and she did. When we were both in the room together, I looked out of the window and saw that the effects of the bomb had reached us. Outside the window, I could roughly tell that the fallout and intense heat from the explosion had reached us, and I could just make out fire and a red glowing (to indicate intense heat). It was at this point that the ground underneath my sister and I started to heat up and so I started kind of jumping or jogging up and down on the spot so that my feet wouldn't get burnt. I told my sister to do the same thing so that her feet wouldn't get burnt too.
The scene then changed to where I was looking at Karl Stefanovic reporting on the nuclear bomb's explosion. He was in front of a map of Australia and was pointing to the place where the bomb had exploded. The explosion was represented on the map by what looked like a great big grey cloud. It seemed that Karl was reporting on where the fallout from the explosion would drift, and he motioned with his hand in a Northerly direction. I fully expected him to point West too (directly inland from the Gold Coast), but he didn't (which upon reflecting on the dream after I woke up, I was quite surprised about, and do think this is significant as it MAY indicate that the fallout will only travel in a Northerly direction, or it MAY indicate that most of the fallout will travel this way. It is also possible that it will travel West as well, as I was expecting for Karl to point in that direction as well).
The scene then switched again, as I was intent on finding out who was responsible for what I believed to be a country attacking Australia. I went to an online CNN news website but there was absolutely no news of the event (this may indicate that news networks will have no idea that something like this is coming). I was incredibly shocked at this, in fact I just couldn't believe, after all, how could CNN not report an event of this significance? It was then, however, that I found out the name of a man who was responsible for the attack. Although a first name was given in the dream, I can't remember it now. I do, however, remember the last name that was given, which was 'Baratov' (upon waking from the dream I did an online search of the name and found out that there was a man name Nikolai Nikolaevich Baratov who was an Imperial Russian Army general during World War I and the Russian Civil War.). In the dream I was surprised that it wasn't a nation that had attacked America, but a man instead.
Although there are parts of the above dream that can be interpreted in a few different ways, the main interpretation, to me at least, seems quite clear. Australia shall witness a nuclear bomb (make no mistake about it, it won't just be a big bomb of some kind, it will definitely be nuclear) being exploded just out to sea from the Gold Coast (or near abouts). The distance out to sea I cannot be sure of, and can only speculate on from what I saw of where it hit in the ocean just off the Coast (or near the Gold Coast). From looking at a map and a scale of distance, to me it looked as though the nuclear bomb explodes around 300km's out to sea (directly from the Gold Coast or near abouts). However, it could be a lot closer, 200km's or so, it is very hard to tell. Again this estimation of the distance is only my opinion, the Lord didn't reveal to me the exact distance in the dream itself. It could even be closer than 200km's, or farther than 300kms out to sea.
If you witness a massive burst of light, this is an instant effect of a nuclear bomb when it first explodes and you must close your eyes immediately and cover them with your hands (otherwise exposure to the light will mean that blindness for a short or permanent time is a real danger of happening to you). After the light, run to the nearest house or building and enter it immediately because you would only have a few seconds to make it to safety, so don't make the mistake of watching the cloud that comes from the explosion! A shockwave also comes from a nuclear explosion, so it is imperative that you get inside a building as quickly as possible in order to let whatever force that comes from the explosion hit the building itself and not you. In the dream itself, I told my sister that it probably wouldn't matter whether we were inside or outside of a building if it was a nuclear bomb, because we'd probably be injured or killed either way, but I was wrong. It seemed that because we were inside and had gone to the room that was the most secure, we were kept safe (this also means that the nuclear explosion is far enough away from land that it does not simply incinerate and destroy everything on the Coast or near abouts). Find the room in your house or building that has the most mass around it (so it absorbs the impact), and also is the smallest (which should be stronger).
Only remnants of nuclear fallout reached outside the house, along with intense heat and fire. The ground underneath us started to heat up, so we had to jog or jump up and down on the sport to keep from getting our feet burnt. This indicates that when you are inside a building or house after the explosion of the bomb, you must get off the floor because it will heat up due to the intense heat outside the building. This is a real effect of a nuclear explosion (something I had no idea about till I researched about nuclear explosion effects online!). Or, as weird and simplistic as it sounds, it might just be a matter of jogging on the spot for a few minutes (because if the heat outside heats up the ground, it may heat up the objects in the house along with it). Also its important to note that my sister and I travelled down a flight of stairs, which may indicated that if possible, it will be prudent to try and get underground if this is possible at the time (if not, then a house with a small and strong room is the next best thing).
The dream also seems to indicate that the fallout will travel North up alongside (and most likely on) the Coast of Australia. This may mean that the majority of the fallout will travel North, or all of it (may be because of the direction of the wind at the time). But it is possible that the fallout will also head West, but I can’t be sure about this, and it’s only my opinion. Therefore, it SEEMS that the best direction to travel away from the fallout of the explosion will be to travel South (or West, if West does end up not receiving fallout from the bomb). The fallout from a nuclear bomb is extremely deadly, and it seems as though it will be crucial to travel away from it when it is safe to do so.
The dream also revealed a name in the dream (that I’ve mentioned above), that seems to indicate that the person responsible for the nuclear explosion will come from Russia. The dream seems to indicate that a nation won’t be responsible for the attacked, but just a man from the nation of Russia, which may indicate that it is a terrorist attack (but again this is just my opinion).
*If you do a little research online, you will find out that Russia has nuclear bombs and even it is claimed that they have suitcase nuclear bombs, some of which went missing some years ago, and they have never been accounted for since.
The dream also seemed to indicate that news networks won’t have any idea that something like this is coming. So it seems unlikely that anyone will be able to predict when this event will occur. Our information and news will have to come directly from the Lord!
I in no way share this dream to scare people or make them afraid, but I can only share what I’ve been given. The Lord directed Joseph to safety in a time of severe danger on numerous occasions by using dreams in Matthew 2, and He still does those kind of things today. He still warns and directs by using dreams, He still reveals the future ‘in part’, and He still watches over His children to take care of them in the best way He sees fit. The Word says in Amos 3v7: ‘Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’ I don’t claim to be anything but a sinner saved by grace, but it is still encouraging to know that the Lord loves us so much that He wants to give us warning of these things, and to prepare us by encouraging us to trust Him even when this event takes places- John 13v19: "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. God wants to encourage and strengthen His people with all prophecy that He gives: 1 Cor 14v3: ‘But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.’
In no way am I saying that the Lord wants anyone to move away from the Coast or that He wants anyone to stay. We each have to get our directions from the Lord, and if He reveals that He wants us to stay, then stay, but if He wants you to go, then go. We must each hear from the Lord about this, and seek His will and direction for us. The dream does reveal a few things we can do at the time if we are on the Coast at the time, but more than that, we’ll have to seek Him about.
Although this event to come is obviously a disaster, and no one in their right mind wants to see something like this occur, we must remind ourselves that God is sovereign over these things, and He has His way even in the whirlwind and the storm- Nahum 1v3: ‘His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.’ We must also remind ourselves that God’s judgments on this world and even amongst His people are just. While we and this world experience His grace continually, Romans remind us that His wrath is also revealed from heaven against the wicked (the unsaved) (Nahum 1v3), and there seems to be particular times where this seems to happen in a particularly intense manner (or it is just more visible to us). God is righteous in judging the wicked if He so desires. He is also righteous in allowing Christians to experience His judgment as well, in disciplining them and even in taking their life if He sees fit (ie Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 and the Corinthian believers in 1 Cor 11v30). For this reason, though we are all sinners, we are reminded of our need to remain abiding in His grace (a heart and life that is willing to continue with Him, no matter how much we may fail in the process).
Above all, our main concern about this should be to pray about it. The Word says that we must not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Even though the dream reveals a few directions we should listen to in order to be safe when that event happens, we obviously need to rely on the Lord for our safety and for our direction and instructions. Instructions and directions given by revelation for safety are only any good as long as they are grounded in prayer and in trust in the Lord. The Lord is the one who will guide and protect His people in that day, so revelation, prayer and trust must go hand in hand. If we think about it, every day we trust the Lord to keep us safe, and to keep us in His will, and He has always been faithful. So whether we are in a day of peace, or great destruction and danger, the Lord will remain faithful and as powerful as He has ever been. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that there was no fire, no matter how hot, that man could create that could hurt them if God was watching over them. They also owned that even if the fire destroyed them, they would still not turn from God, but would trust Him no matter what:
Dan 3v15: But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”[a]
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel[b] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
God is the one who watches over His people!
Psalm 33v16-19:
V16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 46v1-3:
46 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
Before I share the following dream that I received from the Lord a few days ago on Thursday, I'd just like to say that I know nearly everyone out there will find this incredibly hard to believe. Believe me, the natural part of me finds it just as hard to believe, but we're told to continually put to death that fleshly part of us that would rise up to deny the voice of the Lord. The Word says that the natural man finds the things of God to be 'foolishness,' so we must constantly be weary of that old nature in us that wants to block us from receiving the things of the Holy Spirit, just because they don't necessarily make sense to our natural understanding of things. . Before receiving this dream, the Lord had put on my heart for the last couple of weeks at least to pray and ask Him to reveal to me in dreams or visions His judgments that are coming to America and Australia. Before receiving the dream below, I had another one also which was about Australia's future that I may share in the future when I have a clearer and more sure understanding about its interpretation. There can be very little doubt, however, about the interpretation of the dream that I've written about below. Yes, as the Word says, we must 'test all things,' so please test this dream by prayer and by the Word of God, but please be open to the Lord confirming it to you if He does so, because we must 'hold fast those things which are good.'
I dreamt that I was running somewhere along the beach on the Gold Coast or relatively near it (could have been anywhere along the vicinity from Surfers Paradise to Tweed Heads). I was running with my sister at the time, when all of a sudden, I looked up and out towards the ocean and its horizon to see what looked to me to be the plume cloud and explosion from a nuclear bomb. I watched it very intently, as I wanted to be certain that it was the explosion and cloud of a nuclear bomb, and not just a large bomb of some kind. My sister didn't know what I was doing, so I told her I was trying to figure out if it was a nuclear bomb or not. She laughed because she couldn't figure out how I'd be able to tell such a thing from just looking at it, but I told her that I would be able to tell by looking at the shape of the cloud that rose up from the explosion. From the shape of the cloud (mushroom type cloud that rose extremely high into the air) I just knew it was a nuclear bomb, not just a large bomb of some kind. As soon as I knew this, I told my sister as much, and told her to run with me to the other side of the street and into a building I had seen. We quickly ran to the building and went inside it. It was very dark in this building, but we started to descend a fairly long flight of stairs (and it was nearly pitch black as we went down them). As we did so I told Amy that if it really was a nuclear bomb, it probably wouldn't matter that we were hiding in a building, because whether we were inside or outside, we'd be injured or killed either way.
When we went down into the building it turned into a house. My sister was in a larger room, but I went to go into a smaller room, because I thought it would be more secure for some reason (I also heard a name at this time that indicated that the Lord will be gracious to Australians at this time, which could possibly indicate that He will provide protection to its citizens- but this is just my interpretation). I told her to follow me into the room I went into because I thought it would be safer, and she did. When we were both in the room together, I looked out of the window and saw that the effects of the bomb had reached us. Outside the window, I could roughly tell that the fallout and intense heat from the explosion had reached us, and I could just make out fire and a red glowing (to indicate intense heat). It was at this point that the ground underneath my sister and I started to heat up and so I started kind of jumping or jogging up and down on the spot so that my feet wouldn't get burnt. I told my sister to do the same thing so that her feet wouldn't get burnt too.
The scene then changed to where I was looking at Karl Stefanovic reporting on the nuclear bomb's explosion. He was in front of a map of Australia and was pointing to the place where the bomb had exploded. The explosion was represented on the map by what looked like a great big grey cloud. It seemed that Karl was reporting on where the fallout from the explosion would drift, and he motioned with his hand in a Northerly direction. I fully expected him to point West too (directly inland from the Gold Coast), but he didn't (which upon reflecting on the dream after I woke up, I was quite surprised about, and do think this is significant as it MAY indicate that the fallout will only travel in a Northerly direction, or it MAY indicate that most of the fallout will travel this way. It is also possible that it will travel West as well, as I was expecting for Karl to point in that direction as well).
The scene then switched again, as I was intent on finding out who was responsible for what I believed to be a country attacking Australia. I went to an online CNN news website but there was absolutely no news of the event (this may indicate that news networks will have no idea that something like this is coming). I was incredibly shocked at this, in fact I just couldn't believe, after all, how could CNN not report an event of this significance? It was then, however, that I found out the name of a man who was responsible for the attack. Although a first name was given in the dream, I can't remember it now. I do, however, remember the last name that was given, which was 'Baratov' (upon waking from the dream I did an online search of the name and found out that there was a man name Nikolai Nikolaevich Baratov who was an Imperial Russian Army general during World War I and the Russian Civil War.). In the dream I was surprised that it wasn't a nation that had attacked America, but a man instead.
Although there are parts of the above dream that can be interpreted in a few different ways, the main interpretation, to me at least, seems quite clear. Australia shall witness a nuclear bomb (make no mistake about it, it won't just be a big bomb of some kind, it will definitely be nuclear) being exploded just out to sea from the Gold Coast (or near abouts). The distance out to sea I cannot be sure of, and can only speculate on from what I saw of where it hit in the ocean just off the Coast (or near the Gold Coast). From looking at a map and a scale of distance, to me it looked as though the nuclear bomb explodes around 300km's out to sea (directly from the Gold Coast or near abouts). However, it could be a lot closer, 200km's or so, it is very hard to tell. Again this estimation of the distance is only my opinion, the Lord didn't reveal to me the exact distance in the dream itself. It could even be closer than 200km's, or farther than 300kms out to sea.
If you witness a massive burst of light, this is an instant effect of a nuclear bomb when it first explodes and you must close your eyes immediately and cover them with your hands (otherwise exposure to the light will mean that blindness for a short or permanent time is a real danger of happening to you). After the light, run to the nearest house or building and enter it immediately because you would only have a few seconds to make it to safety, so don't make the mistake of watching the cloud that comes from the explosion! A shockwave also comes from a nuclear explosion, so it is imperative that you get inside a building as quickly as possible in order to let whatever force that comes from the explosion hit the building itself and not you. In the dream itself, I told my sister that it probably wouldn't matter whether we were inside or outside of a building if it was a nuclear bomb, because we'd probably be injured or killed either way, but I was wrong. It seemed that because we were inside and had gone to the room that was the most secure, we were kept safe (this also means that the nuclear explosion is far enough away from land that it does not simply incinerate and destroy everything on the Coast or near abouts). Find the room in your house or building that has the most mass around it (so it absorbs the impact), and also is the smallest (which should be stronger).
Only remnants of nuclear fallout reached outside the house, along with intense heat and fire. The ground underneath us started to heat up, so we had to jog or jump up and down on the sport to keep from getting our feet burnt. This indicates that when you are inside a building or house after the explosion of the bomb, you must get off the floor because it will heat up due to the intense heat outside the building. This is a real effect of a nuclear explosion (something I had no idea about till I researched about nuclear explosion effects online!). Or, as weird and simplistic as it sounds, it might just be a matter of jogging on the spot for a few minutes (because if the heat outside heats up the ground, it may heat up the objects in the house along with it). Also its important to note that my sister and I travelled down a flight of stairs, which may indicated that if possible, it will be prudent to try and get underground if this is possible at the time (if not, then a house with a small and strong room is the next best thing).
The dream also seems to indicate that the fallout will travel North up alongside (and most likely on) the Coast of Australia. This may mean that the majority of the fallout will travel North, or all of it (may be because of the direction of the wind at the time). But it is possible that the fallout will also head West, but I can’t be sure about this, and it’s only my opinion. Therefore, it SEEMS that the best direction to travel away from the fallout of the explosion will be to travel South (or West, if West does end up not receiving fallout from the bomb). The fallout from a nuclear bomb is extremely deadly, and it seems as though it will be crucial to travel away from it when it is safe to do so.
The dream also revealed a name in the dream (that I’ve mentioned above), that seems to indicate that the person responsible for the nuclear explosion will come from Russia. The dream seems to indicate that a nation won’t be responsible for the attacked, but just a man from the nation of Russia, which may indicate that it is a terrorist attack (but again this is just my opinion).
*If you do a little research online, you will find out that Russia has nuclear bombs and even it is claimed that they have suitcase nuclear bombs, some of which went missing some years ago, and they have never been accounted for since.
The dream also seemed to indicate that news networks won’t have any idea that something like this is coming. So it seems unlikely that anyone will be able to predict when this event will occur. Our information and news will have to come directly from the Lord!
I in no way share this dream to scare people or make them afraid, but I can only share what I’ve been given. The Lord directed Joseph to safety in a time of severe danger on numerous occasions by using dreams in Matthew 2, and He still does those kind of things today. He still warns and directs by using dreams, He still reveals the future ‘in part’, and He still watches over His children to take care of them in the best way He sees fit. The Word says in Amos 3v7: ‘Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’ I don’t claim to be anything but a sinner saved by grace, but it is still encouraging to know that the Lord loves us so much that He wants to give us warning of these things, and to prepare us by encouraging us to trust Him even when this event takes places- John 13v19: "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. God wants to encourage and strengthen His people with all prophecy that He gives: 1 Cor 14v3: ‘But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.’
In no way am I saying that the Lord wants anyone to move away from the Coast or that He wants anyone to stay. We each have to get our directions from the Lord, and if He reveals that He wants us to stay, then stay, but if He wants you to go, then go. We must each hear from the Lord about this, and seek His will and direction for us. The dream does reveal a few things we can do at the time if we are on the Coast at the time, but more than that, we’ll have to seek Him about.
Although this event to come is obviously a disaster, and no one in their right mind wants to see something like this occur, we must remind ourselves that God is sovereign over these things, and He has His way even in the whirlwind and the storm- Nahum 1v3: ‘His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.’ We must also remind ourselves that God’s judgments on this world and even amongst His people are just. While we and this world experience His grace continually, Romans remind us that His wrath is also revealed from heaven against the wicked (the unsaved) (Nahum 1v3), and there seems to be particular times where this seems to happen in a particularly intense manner (or it is just more visible to us). God is righteous in judging the wicked if He so desires. He is also righteous in allowing Christians to experience His judgment as well, in disciplining them and even in taking their life if He sees fit (ie Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 and the Corinthian believers in 1 Cor 11v30). For this reason, though we are all sinners, we are reminded of our need to remain abiding in His grace (a heart and life that is willing to continue with Him, no matter how much we may fail in the process).
Above all, our main concern about this should be to pray about it. The Word says that we must not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Even though the dream reveals a few directions we should listen to in order to be safe when that event happens, we obviously need to rely on the Lord for our safety and for our direction and instructions. Instructions and directions given by revelation for safety are only any good as long as they are grounded in prayer and in trust in the Lord. The Lord is the one who will guide and protect His people in that day, so revelation, prayer and trust must go hand in hand. If we think about it, every day we trust the Lord to keep us safe, and to keep us in His will, and He has always been faithful. So whether we are in a day of peace, or great destruction and danger, the Lord will remain faithful and as powerful as He has ever been. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that there was no fire, no matter how hot, that man could create that could hurt them if God was watching over them. They also owned that even if the fire destroyed them, they would still not turn from God, but would trust Him no matter what:
Dan 3v15: But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”
They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”[a]
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel[b] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
God is the one who watches over His people!
Psalm 33v16-19:
V16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 46v1-3:
46 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
Friday, 16 August 2013
DREAM: THE PURPOSE OF PROPHECY
Hello all!
This morning (17/8/13) I received a dream from the Lord that I feel is quite important to share. I don't remember everything precisely, but my best recollection is as follows: In the dream I was addressing a very large group of school students. Although I was sharing with them, it was also a time where they could raise their hands and ask questions, so it also became a question and answer time. I began to talk about prophecy, and said that God gave prophecy so that we would be encouraged to walk with Him uprightly in the present time (so that we would make a choice to follow Him uprightly in the present). I believe that I was also speaking about how at times in our walks with God it becomes very hard to follow God and to continue to love Him because of what we experience. I gave a simple illustration to this effect, saying that, 'it's like if we had a friend that began to starve us (imagining he had the power to do so)' it would be very hard to continue to love that friend.' Time to share then began to run out, but before the bell went, one more question was allowed. When I chose a student, instead of asking a question, that student gave a Bible verse. The student said, 'Hebrews 2v2-57.' I tried to look for it quickly, knowing that time was going to run out soon. I looked up the scripture, but said that it was too much to read out then and there. I then thought that the scripture he gave might have just been for me, but when I asked as much, two people that were with me laughed, like it was ridiculous of me to think such a thing. But I didn't think it was so ridiculous because it could've been.
The Lord is speaking about a few very specific things here. Firstly, He is encouraging His people to continue to love Him, despite what they see as Him not giving them what they want, and so 'starving them' (in a particular sense). Sometimes when we don't get what we want, we see that as God depriving us of what we need, and so starving us of the hunger (desire) inside of us. However we must remember that God never starves us of what we need, but only of what we want. He desires us to continue to love Him as our friend, despite what He is allowing us to experience in the way of great hunger of our desires. This is often extremely hard to do, but nevertheless this is what the Lord wants us to do.
Secondly, the Lord is wanting us to pay careful attention to what He is saying regarding, not only what I've mentioned about, but also prophecy. He is wanting us to listen to the prophecy He gives because His intention is that in hearing what is to come, we'll be encouraged to walk uprightly with Him in the present. That is the main point of prophecy. In hearing what is to come, we are greatly motivated to walk with God in the present so that we'll remain spiritually safe and secure.
One of the most important points of the dream was the following verse that was given to me by a student:
Heb 2v2: 'For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?'
Many at the moment do not believe in the gospel, and are ignoring the message of it. These people are in great danger! In fact, those that ignore the gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ, even after it has been explained to them and revealed to them, are still in their sins and the Word says are condemned already if they refuse to believe it:
John 3v18: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Those of you out there that are ignoring God's way of salvation need to accept it and repent while you still can. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you, so that you could receive the forgiveness of your sins and enter a relationship with Jesus. If, after you have heard about Jesus and salvation many times, you still ignore it and do not repent, then you are condemned by the Lord, and are in danger of great punishment. A time of great worldwide trouble is on its way, along with great judgments from God, and if you reject God, you are in danger of experiencing those awful things. Not only does judgment await you now in this life, but also judgment in the way of hell in the life to come. Don't ignore the great salvation that is offered to you! God is a gracious, merciful and patient God, and chances are you are experiencing all of those good things now, but the experience of those things will end one day if you don't accept the gospel and accept Him. Read Isaiah 57, because God shows quite clearly that He loves those that accept Him, but those that are wicked and love their wickedness and their idols were be destroyed by God. When you cry out to God for help, the Lord will not hear you, but will say to you, "When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry them off, a mere breath will blow them away." But if you received God, and accept His salvation, He will look after you.
This morning (17/8/13) I received a dream from the Lord that I feel is quite important to share. I don't remember everything precisely, but my best recollection is as follows: In the dream I was addressing a very large group of school students. Although I was sharing with them, it was also a time where they could raise their hands and ask questions, so it also became a question and answer time. I began to talk about prophecy, and said that God gave prophecy so that we would be encouraged to walk with Him uprightly in the present time (so that we would make a choice to follow Him uprightly in the present). I believe that I was also speaking about how at times in our walks with God it becomes very hard to follow God and to continue to love Him because of what we experience. I gave a simple illustration to this effect, saying that, 'it's like if we had a friend that began to starve us (imagining he had the power to do so)' it would be very hard to continue to love that friend.' Time to share then began to run out, but before the bell went, one more question was allowed. When I chose a student, instead of asking a question, that student gave a Bible verse. The student said, 'Hebrews 2v2-57.' I tried to look for it quickly, knowing that time was going to run out soon. I looked up the scripture, but said that it was too much to read out then and there. I then thought that the scripture he gave might have just been for me, but when I asked as much, two people that were with me laughed, like it was ridiculous of me to think such a thing. But I didn't think it was so ridiculous because it could've been.
The Lord is speaking about a few very specific things here. Firstly, He is encouraging His people to continue to love Him, despite what they see as Him not giving them what they want, and so 'starving them' (in a particular sense). Sometimes when we don't get what we want, we see that as God depriving us of what we need, and so starving us of the hunger (desire) inside of us. However we must remember that God never starves us of what we need, but only of what we want. He desires us to continue to love Him as our friend, despite what He is allowing us to experience in the way of great hunger of our desires. This is often extremely hard to do, but nevertheless this is what the Lord wants us to do.
Secondly, the Lord is wanting us to pay careful attention to what He is saying regarding, not only what I've mentioned about, but also prophecy. He is wanting us to listen to the prophecy He gives because His intention is that in hearing what is to come, we'll be encouraged to walk uprightly with Him in the present. That is the main point of prophecy. In hearing what is to come, we are greatly motivated to walk with God in the present so that we'll remain spiritually safe and secure.
One of the most important points of the dream was the following verse that was given to me by a student:
Heb 2v2: 'For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?'
Many at the moment do not believe in the gospel, and are ignoring the message of it. These people are in great danger! In fact, those that ignore the gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ, even after it has been explained to them and revealed to them, are still in their sins and the Word says are condemned already if they refuse to believe it:
John 3v18: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Those of you out there that are ignoring God's way of salvation need to accept it and repent while you still can. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you, so that you could receive the forgiveness of your sins and enter a relationship with Jesus. If, after you have heard about Jesus and salvation many times, you still ignore it and do not repent, then you are condemned by the Lord, and are in danger of great punishment. A time of great worldwide trouble is on its way, along with great judgments from God, and if you reject God, you are in danger of experiencing those awful things. Not only does judgment await you now in this life, but also judgment in the way of hell in the life to come. Don't ignore the great salvation that is offered to you! God is a gracious, merciful and patient God, and chances are you are experiencing all of those good things now, but the experience of those things will end one day if you don't accept the gospel and accept Him. Read Isaiah 57, because God shows quite clearly that He loves those that accept Him, but those that are wicked and love their wickedness and their idols were be destroyed by God. When you cry out to God for help, the Lord will not hear you, but will say to you, "When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry them off, a mere breath will blow them away." But if you received God, and accept His salvation, He will look after you.
Monday, 12 August 2013
LED BY WHAT WE'RE FED
Often we make it tough for ourselves in trying to determine what God's will for our life is when it comes to a number of issues and questions for ourselves that we have. The type of questions we often ask ourselves are usually; 'What Church group shall we go to? What friends should we have? With whom should we meet? Where shall we go? Who shall we learn from? What stage of life should we enter next? What should we be doing? What should we be gaining? Where should we be going? Who should we be? We may even begin to feel as though God is excluding us, ignoring us, and not allowing us to enter and be led by His will as others are entering it and being led by it (how the woman below could've felt if she didn't use the faith given her). And in doubting in this way, and asking these things, we try and sort things out and the will of God out from the wrong way around. We make what is so very simple, into something extremely complex. And we fail to identify with what the Lord always wants to test our hearts with at whatever stage of life we are at. The Lord always wants to test our hearts with the question; 'What do you really want?' If the answer is Jesus, what we shall do, where we shall go, who we shall let into our lives and what we shall be busy with is sorted out through one very simple desire and it's subsequent action- we shall seek for the King's food, where the King obviously is:
Matt 25v25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
If, like the woman, we are willing to become as little children, and to simply seek in our lives for the master's bread, no matter if it is even the crumbs that we are getting, then we shall be sure to find Jesus, no matter where we go, no matter who we are led to and no matter what circles of people or places we find ourselves in. If, like the woman, we are willing to humble ourselves, and to seek the Lord's bread wherever it may be found, as best we can according to the opportunities given to us, then the Lord will provide for us. Yes, it may be a day of small things, yes, where we find ourselves, or where we find we are employed, or who we may be associated with may take us by surprise, or even have us wonder at times why some appear to have the loaf of life compared to our crumbs, and yet if we submit ourselves to the opportunities and open doors the Lord has given us nonetheless, we can be sure that the Lord will work out His intended purpose for and through us. The test is always whether we are willing to accept the Lord's will, and whether we truly desire Him and His food- or whether really we are after our own will, and the food of our own making.
The woman humbled herself, and sort even for the crumbs of truth in her life. She followed Jesus, even though there was no outward beauty that we should desire Him. She followed Him because she knew that where He went, there the will and provision of God was. If we are simply willing to go where God had provided for us, and provided the truth for us, we will be sure to find Jesus, no matter how humble looking His glory and goodness appears to ours or others' natural eye. If we are happy with the crumbs, then we'll find the crumbs, and they will satisfy, His grace will be sufficient for us. If we are not satisfied with the crumbs, and with Jesus in our lives (and the humble appearances He has designed for us), then we shall never be satisfied, but we will forever be trying to figure everything out in our lives and understand everything, rejecting Jesus' desire for us to just trust Him. The healing the woman needed was simply found by finding Jesus in her life, not by figuring everything out. Jesus called the woman's faith great because she knew that Jesus had what she needed. God will not give us everything we want, but He'll provide what we need if we're willing to submit to His very simple and humble looking will for our lives.
HOW TO WATCH
Matt 24v42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Luke 21v34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
It struck me that in these two passages, if we are really watching as we should be, that it will mean that we are continually serving the Lord, and that this service is not just confined to a few whom the Lord has gifted. The Luke passage puts all His people in the category of those that are gifted and those that should be actively serving with the gift given to them, because both those things are needed in order to obey what the Lord is telling us to do here, in actively feeding His people. Often, as Christians, we have believed that there are only a few who are called to serve the Lord specifically, and so, wittingly or unwittingly, we have given most of our attention, and the prime place of our hearts not to the things of God, but to the things of men. But here we have been mistaken and sadly deceived, and there is a specific scripture that reveals just how. When Paul explained what gifts were used for the service of God, he ended on a very interesting note- 1 Cor 12v29 'Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts.' Because this passage repeats the phrase, 'Are all....', often men have said that this shows that all are not necessarily gifted in any sense in these ways. But notice how the passage ends, 'BUT earnestly desire the best gifts.' The point of the passage wasn't to say that some cannot be gifted in any of the senses listed in this chapter, but that EVERYONE should desire the best (best in the sense that they are the most helpful for others) gifts. In other words there shouldn't be anyone in the Church that doesn't desire the best gifts of God, so that they may be able to serve Him and benefit His Church (by His grace and power). Yes, no doubt in some cases the Lord gives special and particular grace to some, in using them in greater capacities than others, and yet that in no way means that others are left out, or that they are less important in the Kingdom of God, or in His service. Every Christian must realise that they are called to serve, and to feed His people!
One of the best things about the Corinthian Church was that they were so keen to be obedient in this way- 1 Cor 14v31: For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. Every Christian can feed their fellow brother or sister in this way, because we all need encouragement, even on a daily basis: 1 Thess 5v11: 'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.' And in Hebrews 10v24-25 'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.' As time has gone on in the Kingdom, really His people should be more and more increasing in this area of feeding His people and encouraging them. Not in the sense that we should be encouraging each other to follow our own hearts, and follow those things in life whose only goal is our own happiness, but that we should be encouraging each other all the more to watch our own spiritual house, and to see how we can stir each other up to encourage each other. If we are taken up with the possessions in this life, physical or otherwise, then we will have very little care whether Jesus makes us rulers of His possessions in the future, because we will have very little love for them (v47). But if we have very much love for His possessions now (His people and His Kingdom), then our aim in life right now will be for those things, and will be set on how best we can serve and encourage each other to follow Jesus in our lives.
When we stop being fruitful in this area, it is because our hearts are becoming weighed down, either with the anxieties of life, or the pleasures the world is throwing our way. When spiritual things aren't really our love, we will have no desire or love of serving the Lord, and no real care if we are encouraging and feeding our brothers and sisters. All our care will be will be for ourselves and how best we can please ourselves. There is a place for looking after ourselves for sure, but if service for the Kingdom isn't our number one priority, then our looking after ourselves will become disproportionate to what it should be, and so will all other loves in our lives. When we let our spiritual house be broken into, it slowly becomes a fleshly house, till all its furniture only reflects the fashion of the world, and not the fashion of the Kingdom. One day all desires within Christians will be Godly, or will be hellish, because that is what some have truly wanted. If we check our hearts now, and check our service now, we'll be living for what truly matters in the light of eternity. God is desiring that we watch, and one of the main ways we are to do this effectively is to be serving Him now, feeding His people with continual encouragement. God is desiring that we should not let our spiritual houses be broken into because of the anxieties of life, but that we should realise that our Lord is coming soon, and He wants us to be ready to rule and reign with Him!
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Luke 21v34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
It struck me that in these two passages, if we are really watching as we should be, that it will mean that we are continually serving the Lord, and that this service is not just confined to a few whom the Lord has gifted. The Luke passage puts all His people in the category of those that are gifted and those that should be actively serving with the gift given to them, because both those things are needed in order to obey what the Lord is telling us to do here, in actively feeding His people. Often, as Christians, we have believed that there are only a few who are called to serve the Lord specifically, and so, wittingly or unwittingly, we have given most of our attention, and the prime place of our hearts not to the things of God, but to the things of men. But here we have been mistaken and sadly deceived, and there is a specific scripture that reveals just how. When Paul explained what gifts were used for the service of God, he ended on a very interesting note- 1 Cor 12v29 'Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts.' Because this passage repeats the phrase, 'Are all....', often men have said that this shows that all are not necessarily gifted in any sense in these ways. But notice how the passage ends, 'BUT earnestly desire the best gifts.' The point of the passage wasn't to say that some cannot be gifted in any of the senses listed in this chapter, but that EVERYONE should desire the best (best in the sense that they are the most helpful for others) gifts. In other words there shouldn't be anyone in the Church that doesn't desire the best gifts of God, so that they may be able to serve Him and benefit His Church (by His grace and power). Yes, no doubt in some cases the Lord gives special and particular grace to some, in using them in greater capacities than others, and yet that in no way means that others are left out, or that they are less important in the Kingdom of God, or in His service. Every Christian must realise that they are called to serve, and to feed His people!
One of the best things about the Corinthian Church was that they were so keen to be obedient in this way- 1 Cor 14v31: For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. Every Christian can feed their fellow brother or sister in this way, because we all need encouragement, even on a daily basis: 1 Thess 5v11: 'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.' And in Hebrews 10v24-25 'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.' As time has gone on in the Kingdom, really His people should be more and more increasing in this area of feeding His people and encouraging them. Not in the sense that we should be encouraging each other to follow our own hearts, and follow those things in life whose only goal is our own happiness, but that we should be encouraging each other all the more to watch our own spiritual house, and to see how we can stir each other up to encourage each other. If we are taken up with the possessions in this life, physical or otherwise, then we will have very little care whether Jesus makes us rulers of His possessions in the future, because we will have very little love for them (v47). But if we have very much love for His possessions now (His people and His Kingdom), then our aim in life right now will be for those things, and will be set on how best we can serve and encourage each other to follow Jesus in our lives.
When we stop being fruitful in this area, it is because our hearts are becoming weighed down, either with the anxieties of life, or the pleasures the world is throwing our way. When spiritual things aren't really our love, we will have no desire or love of serving the Lord, and no real care if we are encouraging and feeding our brothers and sisters. All our care will be will be for ourselves and how best we can please ourselves. There is a place for looking after ourselves for sure, but if service for the Kingdom isn't our number one priority, then our looking after ourselves will become disproportionate to what it should be, and so will all other loves in our lives. When we let our spiritual house be broken into, it slowly becomes a fleshly house, till all its furniture only reflects the fashion of the world, and not the fashion of the Kingdom. One day all desires within Christians will be Godly, or will be hellish, because that is what some have truly wanted. If we check our hearts now, and check our service now, we'll be living for what truly matters in the light of eternity. God is desiring that we watch, and one of the main ways we are to do this effectively is to be serving Him now, feeding His people with continual encouragement. God is desiring that we should not let our spiritual houses be broken into because of the anxieties of life, but that we should realise that our Lord is coming soon, and He wants us to be ready to rule and reign with Him!
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
I rarely do this, but in light of the amount that I've written and posted to Facebook in the past, and in light of what, by the grace of God, I've been told to write in the future, I thought it would be good to explain exactly why I write what I do. I'm not sure how people have taken it all, because rarely has there been any feedback at all, but for those that have taken the time to read some of the things I've written, I thought I'd explain why I've done what I've done.
A few months ago now I wrote a series of articles of what I called 'The Coming Storm.' I didn't write this because I just woke up one morning and thought hard things were coming, but I wrote it because the Lord showed it to me in dreams, and not just one dream, but many dreams over time. Towards the end of the series of articles I wrote, I still began to wonder if what I had written was really true, and whether I had still missed what the Lord was saying to me. One morning during this time I woke up one morning and received the brightest, clearest vision I've ever had. Right in front of me, as though it were actually there, I saw a pen that looked like it was from heaven. It was gold and it had what looked like a white heavenly feather on the end of it. I knew this was the Lord's encouragement to keep writing, and that what I have written, has been of Him and from Him. I don't write this to try and make something of myself, because I'm only the chief of sinners saved by grace, but I pass it on now to explain why I have and will be writing the way I do in the future.
After the series on 'The Coming Storm,' I really wondered what to write next. I thought that maybe the Lord wanted me to leave it at that, and just be quiet for a while. Then I received two dreams. One that showed me quite clearly that I was to talk about 'watching,' and another where I was told 'stir up watchfulness.' So I guess you know what I'll be talking about now. It is not to have a go at anyone, not to make something of myself or to tell anyone that I'm better than anyone else, but it's because I've been told I need to serve in a particular way, and so I'll be doing that, because I need to be obedient. It's not for me to question why, but just to do it, and to trust that the Lord will use it for some of His people. The Lord has shown me how weak I am, and continues to, so believe me when I say I don't do it because I think I've qualified in some way, or that I'm stronger than other people, I just do it because I know His blood continues to wash me, His grace continues to be sufficient for me, and because His righteousness alone justifies and qualifies me to serve Him.
A large part of me would rather the Lord have never shown me what He has, and never had me write a lot of what He's given me. It's predictable that people have and will continue to think you are very strange and even severely misinformed, but unfortunately, that's the way it goes. It's also been pretty predictable how people have ignored and isolated me too, but again, that's to be expected and I know that that's the price you pay, and I don't hold that against anyone. The Lord showed me years ago now that people would wish that I'd just shut up, and in one sense I get that, because in my natural self I wish I hadn't been shown some of the things I have. On a positive note, no doubt there are some out there that have believed what I've written, and the Lord knows those who have.
Above all, just please know my heart here. My writings are not to lecture people, or to lord anything over anyone. It's not to try and make myself something or to frighten people. It's not to be condescending or to condemn anyone or to make people feel bad. However, no doubt I've slipped up in that area at times, so please forgive me for that (and Lord forgive me!). I've written simply to encourage people in their walk with the Lord, and prophecy it seems, will always be a large part of how the Lord gets me to do that. I've also written because, mercifully, the Lord has given me a heart for the Church and for His people, to see us all be the bride He wants us to be. First and fore-mostly the Lord deals with myself, and I'm always His biggest project (in terms of needing the most fixing!). I'm slow, and stubborn, very weak and need to change in big ways, but He is strong, good and merciful, and is very patient with me.
So anyway, I hope that helps you to see my heart and the reason I write in the way that I do. A time of great worldwide suffering is coming in the future, but the Lord will be sufficient for His Church and for His people, and He will protect and provide according to His good wisdom. His grace will be sufficient, and He will always be our good Shepherd.
God bless!
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