Be Of Good Cheer – Not All That Is Coming Is ‘Doom And Gloom’ And Darkness!

By: Eric C. Wheeler (reposted July 30, 2013 and May 11, 2014)
eric@sharingtheway.com

My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord:

Rejoice! I say again, rejoice! For our day and time of salvation and redemption is nearer than we think. As the world and the works of Satan grow darker, our spiritual lives should be becoming richer and brighter with each passing day. God has not called us to destruction or appointed us unto judgment. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Therefore, let us rejoice! For it is written: “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the Day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thess. 5:1-9).

We are called to preach the GOOD NEWS (the Gospel) of the KINGDOM OF GOD – not to mourn the loss of this world and its kingdoms (Egypt/Babylon)! Our hope and kingdom is not of this world; neither are our hearts or our concerns and citizenship of this earth either. Therefore, don’t lament for her or with her. She (Babylon) is of the world, and loves the things of the world, which are of her. For she is slated for destruction, and she is destined to weep and to howl in her complete demise (see Isa. 47; Jam. 5:1-6; Rev. 14:8).

Concerning these days which are now upon us, it is written: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:24-26). “But blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the [true] prophets.” (Luke 6:20-23). And again, the Lord has promised: “Behold, My servants shall eat; but you shall be hungry. Behold, My servants shall drink; but you shall be thirsty. Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed. Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart; but you shall cry for sorrow of heart and wail for grief of spirit” (Isa. 65:13-14).

Let go, and let the things of the world indeed pass which were determined and destined by God beforehand to pass away (Heb. 12:26-29)! We are not of this world – neither should we care for the things of this world. As I have told you by the will and by the mouth of the Lord before, “If your heart is still tied to the things and the cares of this world, then you have not left Egypt!” Can we not hear the thunderings of God and His judgments that draw near? Darkness is about to cover the whole world (Egypt). “Come out of her, My people, and be not partakers of her sins, nor receive her judgments” says the Lord! “For I will show a difference in the land between those who serve Me, and those who serve Pharaoh!” (Exod. 8:23; Mal. 3:16-18).

Behold, it is written in the Scriptures that at the same time that “the day of vengeance” (the imminent judgments of the Lord) is being proclaimed, so shall it also be a time of announcing “the acceptable year of the Lord” (Isa. 61:1-3). God is not willing that any should perish (II Peter 3:9; I Tim. 2:4.); yet, He will not let the earth go unpunished or the nations go uncorrected forever (Isa. 34:1-8; II Pet. 3:7). Therefore, let every one of us individually turn now from our own unrighteousness and from our sins. Let each of us escape this pending judgment while we still can (Acts 2:40; 3:19). Seek Him while He will yet accept you. Mark those who preach a different faith and a perverted gospel, and do not fellowship with them. Behold, grace shall be given to those who expect judgment; and judgment will be given to those who expect grace. I tell you the truth, those who are now blindly sitting in the churches will be the most shocked by the judgments to come! They will say to themselves and to each other, “I did not see these things coming upon me and upon my children. Behold, where is the Lord in all of this? Why has He allowed these things to come upon us? I thought these dreadful times and days were afar off and were only determined upon those who don’t know His name, or who don’t call upon Him.”

I tell you the truth, these days will be exactly like Jesus said they would be: “Behold, in that day, many will say unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord open to us. For have we not prophesied [preached] in Your name? Have we not cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonderful works in Your name?’” Didn’t we sing praises to You, and worship Your name in our churches? And didn’t we point up into the air towards You when we scored a touchdown and/or hit a home-run? Didn’t we place signs in our front yards and put bumper-stickers on our cars that said how much we loved You and adored You, and we even told others about how we put our trust in You? Yet all the while, we know that we stored-up bank accounts here on earth, and laid up for ourselves 401K plans and treasures here, and made for ourselves retirement plans, so that we could really put our trust in the things of the earth in order to provide for ourselves and for our children and for our futures. But, Lord, didn’t we still support fundraisers and building funds at church and pay tithes so that we and others had nice comfortable places in which to warm ourselves while we sang sweet praises to You and heard about what good things You were going to do for us all – and how You were going to give us nice houses and beautiful cars and such? Therefore, Lord, why then all of this calamity upon us and upon our children? We thought all of this was destined for those who didn’t know You and for those who don’t go to church or attend religious church services anywhere! Why is this happening to all of us?” But Jesus will wisely answer, and say, “Depart from Me, you who work iniquity and lawlessness. For I don’t know you. Indeed, I tell you the truth, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!” (Matt. 7:21-23; 24:45-51; 25:11-30).

Brothers and sister, I know many of you – the faithful ones – have lost homes and jobs, and spouses, and children, and bank accounts for His name’s sake. Some of you have even given up your 401Ks and retirements, your gold and silver, and your life-savings, in order to serve the Lord and to follow Him. Indeed, the Scriptures promise that you shall be richly rewarded for doing so (Mark 10:29-30). But do not let any of us think that silver and gold, houses and lands, fame and fortune, will bring us anything. Apart from Christ, they all mean nothing! These things are only going to prove to be a snare to those who pursue after them, and to the many who, in their fear and unbelief, tightly hold on to them refusing to let go and surrender them to Christ (I Tim. 6:6-11; I John 2:15-17). Behold, these temporal things will only bring misery to all who indulge in such things. For it is written: “You have heaped-up treasure for the last days, and these things will eat your flesh like fire” (Jam. 5:3). And again, God says, “Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness – indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil” (Rom. 2:5-9).

Brothers and sisters, “Study to show yourself approved unto God; a faithful workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” which is able to make one wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (II Tim. 2:15; 3:15). Don’t be hearers of the Word, but doers. For many think that they are righteous, and that they are going to be found right with God when they soon come in contact with Him, because they attend church, pay tithes, call themselves followers, read Christian books, and the like. I tell you the truth, they are not going to recognize Him when He comes – anymore than the Jews of the first century recognized Christ (“anointed”) when He came to them in the bodily form of Jesus! They completely misunderstood the mystery of Immanuel – that is, “God’s presence in the midst of us”. Because they didn’t know God, they did not recognize Him when He came to them clothed in sinful human flesh (Rom. 8:3; Gen. 18:1-2; 19:1). Therefore, they did not escape God’s wrath and judgment upon them afterwards either (Luke 19:41-44; Gen. 19:24). “All these things were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come!” (I Cor. 10:11).

Don’t let anyone who is truly in Christ Jesus be discouraged regarding these days that are upon us. You know that you are in Him if you are in regular fellowship with Him (always abiding in His Word) and are continually fellowshipping with His people in whom He dwells. For it is written:

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.” (I John 3:14)

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20)

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed.” (John 8:31)

“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” (I John 3:7)

“Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but rather, let us exhort one another, and so much the more as we see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25).

The times are short! Be about your Father’s business. Jesus spent His days walking with and teaching His disciples daily. He was not concerned about what He was going to eat or how He was going to buy clothes or pay His bills. God took care of His needs daily. He has promised to faithfully provide for us as well (Matt. 6:25-34). If you are still concerned with these things, then you are weak in faith, and need to grow in God and spiritually mature in Him. You are not condemned, but rather, have need to mature and grow quickly in Him. Feast on Him daily therefore – and receive your daily manna from Him! Get on your knees in prayer and get in His Word daily. Fellowship with God and His people every day. Seek Him now while He may yet be found (Isa. 55:6-7); for the day is soon coming when no man will be able to work.

For those of you who desire a word from the Lord, let it be this: “Comfort My people, says the Lord, and show them My right ways. Tell them to seek Me, and to humble themselves before Me, and to seek My face, and I will hear them, and I will also heal them and help them in the times of trouble that are coming over all the earth. There are no true riches except the ones that come from Me. Silver and gold will not save; your houses and buildings will not give you refuge. The scraps you do have will not nourish and satisfy your souls. Behold the hunger that you have is from Me. Feed on Me therefore, and come to Me, and I will give you rest for your souls and nourishment, as well as divine purpose and meaning for your lives. For I did not create you in vain; neither did I appoint your lives unto destruction. Come to Me that you might live and accomplish all that I have purposed for you. Receive of Me life, and in Me you shall have glory everlasting”

May the Lord be with you all.

In His name,

Eric
eric@sharingtheway.com

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