Christian, Church, Church System, Churchianity, Gregory Turner, The Walk

Why the Labourers Need To Be Working and Be Ready

By Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

The following sections on Church Attendance and Population Statistics contain a set of data that I was led to find one day when searching the web for the number of Christians in the U.S. I was fairly shocked at the results and I think it shows why there is a moral decline in the country. People just seem to think that they do not need God. We need to be diligent and ready because when God puts pressure on the nation then all these people will need good spiritual leaders to help show them that God is real and that He wants to have a relationship with them. Check out the data for yourselves.
<div” style=”margin-left: 15pt;”>Church Attendance
Free Inquiry magazine, (1998). 2

Reported attendance at religious services by Americans and Canadians:

Item USA Canada
Attend at least weekly 43% 20%
Never/almost never attend 8% 38%
This data is taken from the Millennium Study by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch in 1999. 3
For years, pollsters have been asking adult Americans whether they go to religious services regularly. Typically, the specific question asks whether they attended a service during the previous weekend. The results have been relatively constant over time. Some recent estimates are:
  • 38% by the National Opinion Research Center
  • 44% by the Institute for Social Research’s World Values survey. This institute is located at the University of Michigan. 4
  • The Barna Research Group reported that in 2005, “47% of American adults [said that they] attend church in a given weekend, not including a special event such as a wedding or a funeral.” 5 In earlier years, attendance varied from 37% to 49%:
    • 1991: 49%
    • 1992: 47%
    • 1996: 37%
    • 1997: 43%
    • 2000: 40%
    • 2001: 42%
    • 2002: 43%
    • 2004: 43%
  • The Gallup Poll conducts yearly polls asking the question: “Did you, yourself, happen to attend church or synagogue in the last seven days, or not?” They reported the following attendance levels. 6 The margin of error is ±2%:
    • 1992: 40%
    • 1993: 40%
    • 1994: 42%
    • 1995: 43%
    • 1996: 38%
    • 1997: 40%
    • 1998: 40%
    • 1999: 43%
    • 2000: 44%
    • 2001: 41%
    • 2002: 44%
    • 2003: 41%
  • 40% by National Election Studies. Their poll shows that in 1996, 25% of adult Americans claimed to attend church, synagogue or temple every week; 12% almost every week; 16% once or twice a month, 18% a few times a year, and 30% never. 7 Assuming that “almost every week” means 3 weeks out of 4, then these data indicate 40% attendance.
  • The Gallup Organization measured attendance at 41% during 2001-MAY. 8

    The estimate of 40% church attendance is widely reported in the media.

    Andrew Walsh, editor of the “Religion in the News” magazine and professor of religion in public life at Trinity College, commented in 1998:

    “Since the late 1930s, the Gallup Organization has been asking pollees if they ‘happened to attend’ church or synagogue in the past seven days.’ Invariably, about 40 percent respond that they have done so. Long running surveys like the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, the Harris polls, and the polling of the Barna Research Group in California have tended to support the 40 percent figure.”

    “This number is so commonplace that when polling data on church attendance is released, as it is several times each year, American journalists usually relegate it to news notes or use it as a springboard to other stories.” 1

    How many people lie about going to religious services?

    Various studies in recent years have cast a grave doubt on the 40% value.

    Public opinion polls generally do not report real opinions and events. They report only the information that the individuals choose to tell the pollsters. Quite often, their answers will be distorted by a phenomenon called “social desirability bias.” Pollees answer questions according to what they think they should be doing, rather than what they are doing. For example, a poll by Barna Research showed that 17% of American adults say that they tithe — i.e. they give 10 to 13% of their income to their church. Only 3% actually do. 9

    The gap between what they do and what they say they do is closer in the case of religious attendance. It is “only” about 2 to 1.
    Church attendance studies by Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves:

    Kirk Hadaway and Penny Marler wrote:

    “Like other social scientists who use survey data, we trusted Gallup poll results because we knew they employed sound sampling methods. Doubts emerged, however, when we compared statistics on church membership from American denominations to Gallup’s reports on church attendance. If the percentage of Americans attending church is stable, aggregate church membership should have increased as the American population grew. But after adding together denominational membership statistics (including estimates of membership for independent congregations) we found that the aggregate membership total has been virtually static since the late 1960s. This contradiction led us to wonder if Americans were reporting the same level of attendance to pollsters while their actual church participation was dropping. Our first study provided an initial test of this dynamic. Subsequent research confirmed it in important ways.” 10

    Hadaway, Marler, and Mark Chaves counted the number of people attending four Protestant churches in Ashtabula County, OH, and in 18 Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the U.S. In their 1993 report they stated that actual attendance was only about half of the level reported in public opinion surveys: 20% vs. 40% for Protestants, and 28% vs. 50% for Roman Catholics. 1,11

    They later returned to Ashtabula County to measure attendance by Roman Catholics. They physically counted the number of attendees at each mass over several months. They concluded that 24% of Catholics in he county actually attended mass. They then polled residents of the county by telephone. 51% of Roman Catholic respondents said that they had attended church during the previous week. Apparently, most were lying.

    Later in 1993, Jay Demerath of the University of Massachusetts referred to the gap between poll results and reality. He said:  “Gallup and other pollsters are aware of this. It‘s kind of a dirty little secret.” 1

    Many academics were not convinced that the 20% church attendance estimate was valid. Thomas Smith of the National Opinion Research Center said:

    “There‘s a claim that surveys lead to over reporting of church attendance, which seems to be correct. The question is by how much. We haven‘t nailed down how much Americans exaggerate.”  1

    In 1998-FEB, Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves published another article reinforcing the validity of their 20% church attendance rate estimate. Hadaway told the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

    “We believe that too much trust has been placed in survey data and not enough attention given to membership records, patterns of giving, and even the incredulity of local church pastors when they hear that 40 percent of Americans attend church during an average week.” 2, 12

    Church attendance studies by Presser and Stinson:

    It gets worse.

    Sociologist Stanley Presser of the University of Maryland and research assistant Linda Stinson of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics completed a study of notes in personal diaries. These time-use diaries were maintained for social scientific research projects in the mid-1960s, 1970s and 1990s. Those participating in the projects were asked to keep track of their activities. The 1992-1994 diaries, for example, were used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine exposure of the participants to harmful substances in the environment.

    Presser and Stinson found that many Americans were not at church when they claimed to be. Their best estimates are that the percentage of adults who actually attended religious services during the previous weekend dropped from 42% in 1965 to 26% in 1994.

    Presser said:

    “We asked people, tell us everything you did in the last 24 hours so we can know what chemicals you might have been exposed to. If somebody went to church, they ought to tell us, but if they didn’t go, they shouldn’t manufacture it. We didn’t do what most polls of religious belief do, and ask, ‘Did you go to church in the last seven days?,’ which some might interpret as being asked whether they were good people and good Christians.” 13

    The Washington Post reported that the analysis

    “reveals a discrepancy between the diaries and the polls, and suggests that many Americans have been misreporting how they spend their Sunday mornings, inflating estimates of church attendance by perhaps as much as a third.” 14

    American Atheists commented:

    “The researchers also found that the percentage of Americans who lie about their attendance is increasing. Presser and Stinson described the 16-point drop off in church attendance ‘really very striking’…” 14

    If this study by Presser and Stinson is accurate, it would indicate a substantial drop in actual church attendance from the mid 1960s to the mid 1990s. Since the reported attendance has remained stuck at the magical 40% figure for decades, one might conclude that the rate of exaggeration of church attendance is increasing. Also, it would appear that polls are to be mistrusted. Nobody really knows what the percentage attendance is. To obtain accurate data, pollsters will have to abandon the comfortable task of polling opinion by phone and camp out in church, synagogue, and mosque parking lots so that they can count noses.
    More recent polling results:

    Tom Flynn, writing for the Free Inquiry magazine wrote:

    “Some pollsters have refined their survey instruments after the 1993 Hadaway paper. Gallup changed its questions, but continued to report weekly churchgoing at over 40%. Yet when the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) redesigned its mammoth General Social Survey (GSS), church attendance figures declined sharply. For many years GSS data had supported Gallup’s; the redesigned 1996 GSS reported that only between 29 and 30.5% of Americans attended church in the last week, a figure similar to Presser and Stinson’s.”
    “Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves wonder, “To what extent do these findings challenge the conventional wisdom that Americans are a very religious people?” At the least, they would seem to reinforce the claim that despite the rhetoric, active religious participation remains a minority interest in American life.” 2

Over reporting in other countries:

The 50% figure also appears to apply in the UK. Author Monica Furlong commented on the Church of England data:

“…people questioned about how much they go to church, give figures which, if true, would add up to twice those given by the churches.” 15

Hadaway and Marler noted that when Gallup asked people in Great Britain what they did during the previous weekend, and presents a list of likely activities, they found that 14% said they went to church. But when the question that Gallup asks in the US (“Did you, yourself, happen to attend church or synagogue in the last seven days?”) is asked in Great Britain, the weekly attendance rate rises to 21%. They state that:

“… figures from the 1989 English Church Census and additional attendance data from the 1996-97 UK Christian Handbook indicate that only around 10 percent attend worship services each week.” 10

Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves repeated their Ohio study in Oxford Country in southern Ontario, Canada. Most polls show that 20% of the adult population say that they go to church weekly. Again, half were lying, as only about 10% actually attend church weekly.

Fluctuation in church attendance after the 9-11 terrorist attacks:

There was a surge in church attendance after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington on 2001-SEP-11. Some religious leaders predicted that the phenomenon would be short lived. Others saw it as the start of a major revival in the U.S. According to the New York Times, Franklin Graham, son of the well known Christian evangelist, Rev. Billy Graham, hailed it as an enduring turn toward God. On NOV-20, Fundamentalist Christian Pat Robertson said that the attack was “bringing about one of the greatest spiritual revivals in the history of America…People are turning to God. The churches are full.” 8

It appears that, with the exception of the New York City area, the increase lasted only about two months. By 2001-NOV-26, attendance had returned to normal. The New York Times cites data from the Gallup Organization, which shows that religious attendance rose from 41% in 2001-MAY to 47% by 2001-SEP-21. By early November, attendance had sunk back to 42%.

The director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, Robert Wuthnow, said that the terrorists’ attacks have not changed the basic makeup of the U.S.:

  • About one in four of American adults is devoutly religious;
  • one in four is secular, and
  • the remaining half is mildly interested about religion.

Wuthnow said:

“We are in some ways a very religious country, especially compared to Western Europe. But we’re of two minds, and the other mind is that we really are pretty secular. We are very much a country of consumers and shoppers, and we’re quite materialistic. And as long as we can kind of paste together a sense of control through our ordinary work and our ordinary purchases, we’re pretty happy to do that.” 8

Rabbi Ronald S. Roth of West End Synagogue in Nashville, TN, said:

“We did see a larger influx for the holidays, and the mood was very intense. I can’t say, however, that this increased interest in services has been sustained…When people face such a tragic and horrible event, they need comfort, they need community, they need to relate to their God and their traditions, and try to find a way to get through the pain. Once I think people got past some of the initial shock and difficulties, they started to get back to how it was before.”

A poll conducted by Barna Research Group showed no increase in 11 of the 13 key measures of religiosity due to the terrorist attacks.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

  1. Andrew Walsh, “Church, Lies and Polling Data,” Religion in the News, 1998-Fall, Vol. 1, #2, at: http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RIN%20Vol.1No.2/Church_lies_polling.htm
  2. Tom Flynn, “True churchgoing revealed,” Free Inquiry, 1998-Fall, at: http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=frontlines_18_4
  3. Millennium Study by Taylor Nelson Sofres Intersearch. Reviewed by Maranatha Christian Journal for 1999-DEC-13 at: http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3707.htm Church attendance data at: http://www.intersearch.tnsofres.com/gia/US_Religion.pdf This is an Acrobat PDF file. You can obtain a free software to read these files from Adobe.
  4. “Study of worldwide rates of religiosity, church attendance,” 1997-DEC-10 at: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/Releases/1997/Dec97/r121097a.html
  5. “Church Attendance,” Barna Research, (2007) See: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=10
  6. Frank Newport, “A Look at Americans and Religion Today,” Speaking of Faith program, American Public Media, (2004), at:
    by http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/godsofbusiness/galluppoll.shtml
  7. “Church Attendance 1970 – 1996,” National Election Studies at: http://www.umich.edu/~nes/nesguide/toptables/tab1b_5b.htm
  8. Laurie Goodstein, “As Attacks’ Impact Recedes, a Return to Religion as Usual,” New York Times, 2001-NOV-26, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/national/26FAIT.html?ex=1007442000&en=9b85baa5fd0bbff5&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVER
  9. “Answers to frequently asked questions,” at: http://www.barna.org/PageStats.htm
  10. C. Kirk Hadaway and P.L. Marler, “Did You Really Go To Church This Week? Behind the Poll Data,” The Christian Century, 1998-MAY-06, Pages 472 to 475. Online at: http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=237
  11. M. Chaves, K. Hadaway & P. Marler, “What the Polls Don‘t Show: A Closer Look at U.S. Church Attendance,” American Sociological Review, 1993.
  12. M. Chaves, K. Hadaway & P. Marler, “”Overreporting Church Attendance in America: Evidence that Demands the Same Verdict,” American Sociological Review, 1998-FEB.
  13. Natalie Angier, “The Bush Years; Confessions of a Lonely Atheist,” New York Times, 2001-JAN-14, at: http://ffrf.org/timely/angier.php
  14. “New research casts more doubt on church attendance figures,” American Atheists, 1998-MAY-23, at: http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/church1.htm
  15. Monica Furlong, “C of E: The State It’s in,” Hodder & Stroughton, (2002), Page 216. Order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store.

Population statistics 

Most liberal Christian denominations, secularists, public opinion pollsters, and this web site define “Christian” very broadly as any person or group who sincerely believes themselves to be Christian. Thus, Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Protestants, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox believers, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, United Church members, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, etc. are all considered Christian. Using this definition, Christians total about 75% of the North American adult population.
The shift away from Christianity and other organized religions:

The United States appears to be going through an unprecedented change in religious practices. Large numbers of American adults are disaffiliating themselves from Christianity and from other organized religions. Since World War II, this process had been observed in other countries, like the U.K., other European countries, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. But, until recently, affiliation with Christianity had been at a high level — about 87% — and stable in the U.S.

Polling data from the 2001 ARIS study, described below, indicate that:

 81% of American adults identify themselves with a specific religion:

 76.5% (159 million) of Americans identify themselves as Christian. This is a major slide from 86.2% in 1990. Identification with Christianity has suffered a loss of 9.7 percentage points in 11 years — about 0.9 percentage points per year. This decline is identical to that observed in Canada between 1981 and 2001. If this trend has continued, then:
 at the present time (2007-MAY), only 71% of American adults consider themselves Christians
The percentage will dip below 70% in 2008
By about the year 2042, non-Christians will outnumber the Christians in the U.S.

 

52% of Americans identified themselves as Protestant.

24.5% are Roman Catholic.

1.3% are Jewish.

0.5% are Muslim, followers of Islam.

The fastest growing religion (in terms of percentage) is Wicca — a Neopagan religion that is sometimes referred to as Witchcraft. Numbers of adherents went from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001. Their numbers of adherents are doubling about every 30 months. 4,5 Wiccans in Australia have a very similar growth pattern, from fewer than 2,000 in 1996 to 9,000 in 2001. 10 In Canada, Wiccans and other Neopagans showed the greatest percentage growth of any faith group. They totaled 21,080 members in 1991, an increase of 281% from 1990.

14.1% do not follow any organized religion. This is an unusually rapid increase — almost a doubling — from only 8% in 1990. There are more Americans who say they are not affiliated with any organized religion than there are Episcopalians, Methodists, and Lutherans taken together. 6

The unaffiliated vary from a low of 3% in North Dakota to 25% in Washington State. “The six states with the highest percentage of people saying they have no religion are all Western states, with the exception of Vermont at 22%.” 6

 

A USA Today/Gallup Poll in 2002-JAN showed that almost half of American adults appear to be alienated from organized religion. If current trends continue, most adults will not call themselves religious within a few years. Results include:
 About 50% consider themselves religious (down from 54% in 1999-DEC)
About 33% consider themselves “spiritual but not religious” (up from 30%)
About 10% regard themselves as neither spiritual or religious.
As of October 20th 2009, the United States has a total resident population of 308 million.[1] It is a very urbanized nation, with 81% of the population residing in cities and suburbs as of mid-2005 (the worldwide urban rate was 49%).[2]
People under 20 years of age make up over a quarter of the U.S. population (27.6%), and people age 65 and over made up one-eighth (12.6%) in 2007.[12] The national median age was 36.7 years.[12]
This means there are about 223 million adults of which only 20% go to church regularly leaving 178 million adultsthat may need fellowship in Christ. The Scripture says:
John 4:34-38 ( KJV ) 34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. 35Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. 
Send forth the labourers:
Matthew 9:36-38 ( KJV ) 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
This he said just before he told his disciples to go and do his works. Paul said: “14How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  15And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,  Who bring glad tidings of good things!”” (Romans 10:14-15). So it is even more true today as the time of the judgment of God is upon the earth! Think about it this way. If you knew you only had two years left what would you do? Would you repent of doing worldly works and focus on serving God? It is time to wake up and get to work!

In His name,
Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

 

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Gregory Turner, The Walk

Creating Children of God

By Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…” (Romans 1:19-20).

The plan of God for men was set when He created (or formed) the earth as it is today 6000 years ago. We can see a pattern that was set in the physical creation (Rom. 1:20) of 6 days where God worked and the 7th day He rested (Gen1-2). Since Peter showed us that a day is as a 1000 years to God (II Peter 3:8 and Ps. 90:4) then we know the length of things in His plan for men. We can see that there have been about 4000 years of recorded history of man before Christ and about 2000 years of man’s history after Christ. The end of man’s reign and his 6 days of work is upon us and the day of God’s rest and the 1000 years of God’s reign is about to begin.

Now a second physical pattern was put in place that shows us how God is creating Himself sons and daughters – His children. This pattern was called a mystery in the new testament (Eph. 5:32), but was shown by the creation itself where God made a man and woman and He made them one by marriage, a permanent covenant between a man and a woman, and they were to have children (Matt. 19:4-6). This pattern is played out in the physical marriage between Jesus and the old church created under the old covenant which ended at His death. That physical type would then be the pattern of the spiritual type of Jesus resurrected and his body, and wife, which is the spiritual church with all of the children in it.

A third physical pattern appears at the time of the old covenant which shows which things must be fulfilled in order for a person to be transformed from the physical into the spiritual to be made one with God. This pattern is described in the layout of days required to be kept under the old covenant by the physical Israel and are now played out and fulfilled by the spiritual Israel. These days were called the Holy Days and are described in Lev. 23. This pattern shows us the things that must be done in order for the mystery of creation to be completed.

These days are briefly described with their intended meaning as follows:

  • Passover – this event pictures the sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and is encapsulated by the sin offering of the old covenant.
  • Days of Unleavened Bread – after Passover the Israelites rapidly left Egypt (the world of sin) to be washed by being baptized in the Red Sea and then went into the wilderness of this world to be tested. They took with them unleavened bread meaning that they were both free from sin and were to live without sin or not serving sin(Rom. 6:6). Leavening being a type of sin (I Cor.5:7). This event being fully fulfilled by Jesus walking the perfect life without sin in service to God (burnt offering) and to man (meal offering) and completely obeying the law that He preached (Matt. 22: 37-40).
  • Pentecost – also called Feast of Weeks in the old covenant. This day is well known for being fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4. But was it completely fulfilled at that time? In Lev. 23:17 where there were two wave loaves made of fine flour and they were baked with leaven. We know that God’s people are always called the wheat (Matt. 3:12). We also see a mystery in Joel 2:23 where the former and latter rains bring forth the Holy Spirit. Note that these are rains – a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The latter rains are even greater than the former and the latter put together, but have not yet come. These two loaves represent God’s people that are made ready by fire (a burnt offering) before the next Holy Day (Rev. 6:9-11) which is Trumpets.
  • Trumpets – this event is aptly named after the trumpet that was blown in Israel to denote a time of war (Judges 3:27, 6:34; Jer. 4:5,4:19). There are seven trumpets of God and they are described in Rev. 8-11. The 7th trumpet finishes God’s mystery for creating His children and they are then raised up to eternal life.
  • Atonement – represents making man at one with God which is done by the blood of Christ and the putting away of Satan into prison (Rev. 20:1-3; Lev. 16:10, 16:20-22; Lev.23:29).
  • Feast of Tabernacles – an event representing the 1000 year rule on earth as described in Rev. 20:4. Then comes an extra day mentioned in Lev. 23:36 which is an extra day after the feast being the day of judgment mentioned in Rev. 20:5, 11-15.

All the patterns play together in perfect synchronicity as the first pattern shows the timeline and the second pattern shows what God is really trying to do with humans on earth and the third pattern shows how it will all be fulfilled and played out.

Jesus was sent here to fulfill all things (Matt. 5:17). We have already seen how that He living a perfect life has fulfilled all the sacrifices once (Rom. 6:10) for all of us (Heb. 10:1-10). This can only happen for each of us by going through the process of conversion (Matt. 18:3-4) from flesh to spirit. This is the mystery. This mystery can only be understood by repenting and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 3:19, 2:38). Repenting of what? Of serving oneself. For since Adam and Eve turned from God to choose their own destiny which they taught to their children and on down through the ages until the present time where now all men continue to serve themselves (I Cor. 15:21; Rom. 5:18 ). Since by Adam, and what he has taught, all men die then men must have a new way to live – one that brings life. Repentance means realizing that you have been wrong in the way that you have been living (like Adam making his own decision to eat of the tree instead of obeying God) and changing your mind (Matt. 21:29; Jonah 3:5-10; Acts 2:37) to live a new way. There are only two ways – serving God and serving man (Matt. 6:24). Therefore, by changing one’s mind to serve a new way, God’s way, one then has the need to have all their sins (disobedience to God) forgiven (Acts 22:16) which is done by being baptized the moment one believes this (Acts 16:30-33), buried in the water (Acts 8:35-39), to fully wash the sins away and that when coming up out of the water a new person is born (Rom. 6:3-4) once they have received the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17). Now born means conceived for only Jesus has truly been born of God (John 1:14,18; Rev. 1:5; 1 John 4:9). This new conception then needs to move forward living a new life following Jesus (Rom. 8:1) to do the will of God (Rom.6:4-22). What fetus is able to live without the blood of the mother? The same is true for a newly begotten son or daughter of God. For the Spirit must flow (John 7:38) from God through us by being a useful part of the body of Christ in His kingdom, otherwise, it will go out (I Thess. 5:19). The new born must grow in the word, grace and knowledge to fully become like Christ (Matt. 13:30, Eph. 4:11-16, I Peter 2:1-3, 2 Peter 3:18, Mark 4:26-28). So then this new creation becomes a son or daughter of God and an heir with Christ in those things that God gives to Christ which firstly is the kingdom of God.

Jesus was sent to earth to bring the kingdom of God (Mark 1:1-4; Matt. 3:2, 4:17, 12:28; Luke 4:43). No one can enter the kingdom without being meek (Luke 6:20, 4:17-19), have belief (Mark 1:15), repentance and then baptism (John 3:3-7). Jesus having died for us purchased us with his blood and we became his servants (Heb. 9:11-15, Acts 20:28, I Cor. 6:20,7:22-23). Since we became servants we now work for a master (Christ) in this kingdom and he freely turned it over to us (Luke 19:12-24) until he returns. The servants have a description of the work rules that they must follow regarding their master (Matt. 10:24-42, 18:21-35) and rules for working with each other (John 15:12, Rom. 14:4). The servants are not to fight this world (John 18:36) except with the spiritual sword – the word of God (Eph. 6:17, 2 Tim. 2:24-26). Jesus sent out the servants to do the work (Luke 9:2-5) of the kingdom and said that those who were not of the kingdom would hate the servants (Luke 6:22-23) for doing his work. This requires the servants to be all in and willing to lose everything to work in this kingdom (Luke 14:25-33). Suffering and tribulation will come with working in the kingdom (Acts 14:22, 2 Thess. 1:4-5). Jesus will take care of all the needs of those who work for him (Luke 12:28-34) and no servant that starts to work for the kingdom and then wants to go back to this world can be a part of the kingdom (Luke 9:62). All those who work for the kingdom must produce fruit (Mark 4:20). Finally, the kingdom of God is in and among us (Luke 17:20-21) and we are the temple of God in this kingdom (2 Cor. 6:16, Eph. 2:21-22).

Yet, the mystery is not quite complete. We see that the sons of God are heirs with Christ and servants of Christ. These are one and the same. While in the flesh we are both if we have the Holy Spirit of God (Gal. 4:1-7). We might understand this by looking at one of God’s creations – the butterfly. The butterfly starts out as a caterpillar and as the caterpillar grows and matures the butterfly inside grows and matures. The caterpillar crawls around on the ground doing the tasks that God gave it do and so do those in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12). No one should be ashamed of what God has given them and no one should look down on another person’s tasks or job in the kingdom. For one caterpillar might be gray and ugly and another might have bright beautiful colors, yet at the end of their existence they all transform into a butterfly. The same is true of those in the body of Christ in that in the end the physical body (or tabernacle – temporary dwelling 2 Cor. 5:1) dies, but because we have the Holy Spirit within us that seals us (Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30; Rev. 7:3) we sleep (I Thess. 4:13-14) like the butterfly in the pupa or chrysalis and will be transformed into a being that has the same form as Christ at his coming (I Cor. 15:35-52, 6:14; Rom. 8:11; 2: Cor. 4:14; 1 John 3:2; Rev. 1:12-16; 2 Cor. 5:1-8). To complete this mystery the sons and daughters must be born. For this to happen the kingdom of God must be brought in power which Jesus showed a type of to Peter, James, and John (Mark 9:1-8).

In order to get to that point which is at the seventh trumpet (Rev. 10:7,11:15) a sequence of events must yet occur. To bring about the kingdom of God in power the latter rains (Joel 2:23) must be released which then brings the church to its zenith under man and will completely fulfill Pentecost. Since the latter rains are a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:24,28-29) and Jesus said that Elijah shall yet come again (Mat. 17:11) then we can see a template of how the former rains played out and can expect the same roles (John the Baptist, Apostles, Prophets, growth in the church) to come in the latter rains. Jesus said “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Since Jesus showed himself to everyone after his resurrection, but no one recognized him except by his voice or revelation (John 20:14-31,21:4,12;Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13-43) then we can see that his coming will first be through this outpouring of the Holy Spirit and those that come in his name (Matt. 23:39). As more and more people light up to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit then light will go across the world. But it will only last a short time – like lightning. So as the former rains died down and were stamped out by the world ruling government of that time (Rome) and the church was scattered into the wilderness (Rev. 12:6) causing great darkness so too shall it happen again. We can see in Matthew 24:29 that “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven”. We can see in Rev. 12 that “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:”. This woman that is clothed with the sun (Jesus – Mal. 4:2) and moon is the church (body of Christ) and the stars are the apostles (Matt. 19:28). So again tribulation will bring the church to darkness (Rev. 6:12; Joel 2:28-32) and great world powers will rise up. But, then there will be a great shaking which will bring on the day of the Lord (Joel 2:1-11; Zeph. 1:7-18; Amos 5:16-20; Joel 3:9-17) and the Trumpets of Revelation which describes great armies and wars (Rev. 8-10) which leads to the seventh trumpet: “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” The mystery of the husband (Jesus) the bride (the church and body of Christ) and the children is complete. Thus, the physical patterns of a family and the Holy days of Israel are also completed (with the exception of the last Great day). And so the mystery is finished for the servants of God:

Revelation 11:15-18(KJV) 15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

And Paul also says,

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17(KJV) 13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

We can clearly see that the saints do not die, but rather only go to sleep and are awakened by Jesus at His coming to receive their reward. The reward of the saints is eternal life:

Revelation 20:4-6(KJV) 4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The mystery of God is about Him creating sons and daughters for Himself and so He created certain patterns in the physical creation that allow us to understand this and understand Him and why He created us. Above all, believe in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, follow Christ, and then you will become sons and daughters and co-heirs with Christ when the kingdom of God comes in power. Amen.

In His Name,
Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

 

Please feel free to reproduce, reprint and/or forward as desired. Altering or editing is strictly prohibited. To contact us, send a request to info@sharingtheway.com or visit our website at https://sharingtheway.com/.

Christian, Church, Gregory Turner, Prophecy, Prophesy, Repent, Repentance

A Warning for Israel (the Church)

By Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

The Lord just had me read an entire book called Ezekiel. I kept thinking why am I reading this. As I pondered it I began to realize something that I heard a long time ago. Ezekiel prophesied about the destruction of Israel because of their sins. But, Ezekiel wrote his prophecy starting in the 5th year of king Jehoiachin’s (of Judah) captivity which was about 593BC (Ez. 1). Nebuchadnezzar had taken Jerusalem into captivity in 598BC (2 Kings 24) and apparently Ezekiel was among those taken back to Babylon and deported to an area around the river Chebar which was a fairly long way north of the capitol city Babylon (about 50 miles). Ezekiel is then given a number of prophecies to give to the children of Israel (Ez. 2:3). It is important to note, however, that Israel was already in captivity. They were conquered by the Assyrians and taken into captivity around 722BC by Sargon II (2 Kings 17:5). So why is Ezekiel given a prophecy about the destruction of Israel if they are already in captivity and have been for 130 years?

Clearly it is a prophecy for the future. Who are these future Israelites? Many people have tried to track the wanderings of the lost tribes of Israel using different methods such as tracking the movement of flags or standards (like those on castles) or digging up burial grounds and measuring skull shapes and so forth. These efforts are all fruitless. The goal of the Assyrians in deporting people was to mix them up with other races and peoples so that they could not rise up again. This was by design by God. Trying to find the actual long lost tribes of Israel is not the solution. It is also wrong to assume the tribe of Judah (present day state of Israel) is all of Israel. The New Testament gives us a clue as to who Israel is today and hence the title of this article. We see the priests tell Herod:

Matthew 2:6(KJV) 6And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

This is speaking about Jesus the messiah who was born to rule Israel. There is a link between those of the kingdom of God and the name Israel. It can get confusing because Jesus then sends his 12 apostles out to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:6). They were not to go to the gentiles at all (at least not until much later). We also see another clue of the future identity of Israel:

Matthew 10:23(KJV) 23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

This is not talking about in the time of the apostles since here we are about 1915 years later (John died around 95AD) and the Son of man has not come yet. What are these cities of Israel?

Matthew 19:28(KJV) 28And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus was indentifying His body as Israel. The cities of Israel are the churches of today. How can this be? Are not the churches of today all those who are baptized in the name of Christ? Yes. Just because someone calls themselves Christian or of Christ does not mean that they are living it!

We see a transformation from the apostles preaching and teaching to Israel to those who are called of Christ becoming Israel. Paul says:

Romans 9:6-8(KJV) 6Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

In other words all who are called to Christ are a part of Israel both Jew and Gentile. Jew meaning anyone circumcised in the flesh which would include all that were a part of the lost tribes that the apostles were sent to. Those who are the circumcised physically are not the body of Christ, but instead all who are baptized make up the body of Christ. Paul further just flat out calls the body of Christ Israel:
Galatians 6:16(KJV) 16And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Next we find out about the remnant in the following:

Romans 9:25-27(KJV) 25As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

Israel is huge, but only a remnant is to be saved. Paul further emphasizes this:

Romans 11:1-5(KJV) 1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

There are a huge number of people in the churches and outside today (maybe a billion or more) that call themselves of Christ or take on the name of Christ in some way. We know this is Israel and we know only a remnant is going to be saved! The original apostles were told the following:

Acts 1:8(KJV) 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth[Gentiles].

They were sent first to Jerusalem which is where the temple is or the hierarchy of the church at that time – the Scribes, Pharisees, Lawyers and Sadducees – which is comparable to the church leadership today. Then they were sent to all of Judaea which would be the body of the church today or the church members, and then they were sent to Samaria which were those people who had a form of belief in Judaism, but were not Jews. Those would be all the people who believe in God or Christ, but are not in the church system (which in America alone is about 178M people). Then the apostles were to go to the rest of the earth. Now the focus here is on Israel and not the gentiles, for Ezekiel’s message was to Israel.

Out of all these people only a remnant is going to survive – be saved! Most churches will dismiss this. Yet, why did Jesus say “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things” (Matt. 17:11). Also in Malachi:

Malachi 4:5-6(KJV) 5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Now some say this was fulfilled by John the Baptist and so did Jesus, yet Jesus said Elijah will come. Jesus did not say things that he did not mean and then have them recorded for us. He means it. Why? What needs to be straightened and restored? Well, look around! How can America have 76% of it’s population call themselves of Christ and yet the news is filled with non-stop bloody crimes? Ezekiel said to “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.” (Ez. 7:23). It is because the churches are not teaching and warning the people of Israel to change! So all the people need to be warned and told that Jesus is here and will soon come! That is what the John the Baptist taught. That is why Jesus prophesied it. People need to make their ways straight! They need to get in alignment with Christ! This message is also to all the Watchmen out there and all who will hear. You have been sent to Israel:

Ezekiel 3:4-5(KJV)4And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;

God’s messengers and church leaders are sent to Israel, not to people who can’t understand them. If you do not go then be warned of the following:

Ezekiel 3:17-21(KJV)17Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

In other words you have been given a job to do by Christ. The Spirit will lead the way. Do not be afraid for most likely you have been in a cave being trained for some time (I Kings 18:13, Ez. 3:10). If you do not do it then the blood of those people will be on your head! Yet, do not be dismayed when they do not hear you or do not believe you for God already knows that:

Ezekiel 3:7(KJV)7But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.

It is a tough job for the messengers of God, but that is precisely why they need to be sent. The people are hardhearted (unrepentant), but they must be warned. Why is this needed? Because the church (Jerusalem – Ez. 5:5-6) has changed the commands of Christ (Matt. 5-7) into their own set of rules laying a burden on the people that He did not give, and thereby, causing the people to think that they need to follow a particular church or denomination to be saved. They need to follow Christ! The way of Christ and God is love. It is not about a set of rules. How are the rules of some church today any different than those things that the Pharisees laid upon the people of their day? How about teaching those things that Christ taught?

Because the sanctuary (church) has been defiled God is going to strike Israel:

Ezekiel 5:11-12(KJV)11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity. 12A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

You are looking at a 90% attrition rate if the people do not repent! These are the same plagues described in Revelation and also in Ez. 7. It is the reason that only a remnant will survive. Yet, earlier we saw that if a man will repent God will forgive him. Any person can become a part of the remnant being saved. Just repent. This is the same message preached by John the Baptist, Jesus and then the Apostles. Repent of what? Are not these things “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence”(Ez. 7:23) happening today? And how about:

Ezekiel 8:3(KJV)3And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem[the church], to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

The churches are worshipping something other than Christ (how about Christmas and Easter for example). Why is Christmas so important? Doesn’t it cause everyone to go into debt every year? How can that be following Christ? I had an overdraft fee at the bank and I went there to tell them that I made a mistake and that I could not afford to pay it and that I needed the money to feed my kids. The guy said sorry we can’t remove it as it is bank policy – Merry Christmas – and then he walked off. So forget about Matt. 5:42, but Merry Christmas. They charge usury and increase and afflict the poor and could care less. They don’t think that God is watching. They are all worshiping something other than Christ:

Ezekiel 8:9-12(KJV)9And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here[in the church]. 10So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. 11And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients[leaders] of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand[false worship]; and a thick cloud of incense went up[praying to false gods – like Mary or a TV star]. 12Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery[TVs, etc.]? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth[no one believes God is really real].

Can we not see it? Everyone is worshipping something other than Christ. I have done it myself. It is hard to purge these things from our systems. We are not used to following God. We are used to following idols. We must repent. How can we spend 20 hours a week watching TV worshipping some TV star(Ez. 14:1-5) and then go to church for 15 minutes thinking we are of Christ? God is keeping track of those who care:

Ezekiel 9:4(KJV) 4And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Do you care? You better start. All the people are in this together. For if the land gets destroyed as God promised above it will affect everyone. These are the things that we need to repent of:

Ezekiel 18:4-9(NKJV) 4    “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father  As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. 5But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right; 6If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife[adultery],  Nor approached a woman during her impurity; 7If he has not oppressed anyone,  But has restored to the debtor his pledge[forgiven debt];  Has robbed no one by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing; 8If he has not exacted usury[interest on loans] Nor taken any increase[more fees on top of interest], But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity[harming others] And executed true judgment between man and man[no loopholes in the judicial system]; 9If he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgments faithfully— He is just; He shall surely live!”  Says the Lord GOD.

Basically, these are the same things that Jesus taught. Stop fornicating, committing adultery, stealing, putting heavy debts on others, stopping violence (especially in the home), no usury (interest), helping the poor and dealing fairly with each other in love (Matt. 5-7). It is time for the leaders of the churches to preach the truth or they will not enter into the kingdom (Ez. 13) for they preach “out of their own hearts” and “follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing”. They “have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?” They do these things to get people to follow them. That is what vanity is all about. They need to change and teach people to follow God and the teachings of Christ instead of gathering them into their own kingdoms.

There is hope. All we have to do is repent (Ez. 14:6). That is the good news of the gospel that Jesus preached. God will save the remnant:

Ezekiel 11:14-20(KJV)14Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 15Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem[false church] have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession. 16Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come[the true believers in Christ]. 17Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel[future inheritance comes from God – eternal life]. 18And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

And similarly:

Hebrews 8:10-12(KJV)10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all[all in Israel] shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

If the laws are in us then we will be doing them. If we are not then this warning is for us. This warning from Ezekiel is for Israel today. It is not just for America but for all the church (those who call themselves Christian or of Christ or of God) throughout all the world. There are many “cities” (churches) that God’s servants must go and give this warning to. Yet, He has raised up many to do this. It is already starting. Those servants (you know who you are) must warn the people so that there might be hope that they will repent and turn back God’s judgment that we saw in Ez. 5!

In Christ’s Name,
Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

 

Please feel free to reproduce, reprint and/or forward as desired. Altering or editing is strictly prohibited. To contact us, send a request to info@sharingtheway.com or visit our website at https://sharingtheway.com/.

Faith, Gregory Turner, Revival, The Walk

Do we really need signs and wonders?

By Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

I write this letter because the Spirit is stirred up in me about things that I have witnessed and read about recently. I am troubled by the need for people to see signs, wonders and miracles. This speaks to a dead church. Thomas is an example of an unbelieving church:

John 20:24-29(KJV) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 

How many miracles and letters in the scriptures are attributed to Thomas? Now, obviously Jesus picked him to be an apostle and sent him forth, but the New Testament and covenant is based upon faith. The word faith means belief. In Hebrews 1:1 faith “is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Jesus speaking to unbelievers said “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe“. Paul said “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers”. Instead speaking to the church people of His day Jesus said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand“. He did not say “look at my miracles, now repent and be baptized”. Instead He said “follow Me“. He did not say “see my miracles, now follow Me”. No, He said “he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Are you truly taking up your cross and following Christ? Are YOU willing to lose your job, car, house, family and friends to follow Christ? Or are you being deceived by the churchianty system which tells you to come to church and everything will be ok? The church leaders say just take Jesus into your heart and everything will be ok. Do these people know who they are talking about? Isn’t it Jesus who says “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.“?

A relationship with God is not a one day a week emotional experience. God is creating sons and daughters for He says “Come out from among them[the world] And be separate[act differently], says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters” (2 Cor. 6:17-18 ). Do you only spend one day a week with your sons and daughters? Absolutely not. Each parent spends a lot of time each day carefully watching over and communicating with their children (at least they should be). So if you are having a real relationship with God then you too will spend a lot of time each day with God learning to walk like Him. Our children mimic us as parents. Do you mimic God? I would say no by looking around at society. This is why the call for revival is so strong. Revival means “renewal of interest” or “reawakening”. Someone who is a believer does not need miracles. If they are not living and mimicking God then they need to be reawakened. Jesus said the same thing. He says for “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:15-19 NKJV).

This attitude is the opposite of what Jesus said for you to have where “Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.“. This means being willing to hear because little children are willing to listen in fact they crave it! Jesus is actually talking about a real relationship with Him and God! He says that you think you are rich meaning you think that you have a relationship with Him, but He says that you do not. He is telling you to listen to His voice. A real relationship with Him! How many of you have a relationship with your sons or daughters through a third person? So why do you think you need to go to a church to have a relationship with God? Your relationship with God can not be through a minister! It can NOT be one day a week. That minister will not stand before you on the day of judgment and can not cover your actions from the other six days of the week! You will stand before God on the day of judgment and be judged by what is written in the books (bible) and for what you have done. You must live by what God says for you to do. He is your parent. The minister at church is only a guide with whom you should “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” assuming he is truly following God. This doesn’t mean show up at church and act all holy one day a week! It means to have the same conduct day in and day out during the week when you are truly tested and tried by all the things that go on in the world.

Jesus was asked what that conduct should be and He said in Matthew 22:37-40 “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” This is not some complicated and hard to understand doctrine. How many children will not follow their parents? If you are truly of God then follow Him. Once you are following Him then you will do the second part which is to treat your neighbor with love. This is not talking about some wishy washy emotional feeling. Jesus said “Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,  Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth[your actions], this defiles a man. Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying? But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Then Peter answered and said to Him, Explain this parable to us. So Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” (Matthew 15:6-20 NKJV).

What tradition? The tradition of the churches. Each church makes up a set of rules saying that if you follow these rules then you will be right with God. It is the same stumbling block that the Pharisees put on their believers as Jesus showed us in the following:

Matthew 23:13-15(NKJV) But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

The ministers of today are the scribes and Pharisees! They put on a great show (pretense) and have no problem taking all the widows donations and then they put the burdens of their church’s rules on the people telling them that their church is the one true church, thereby, capturing people and their money. Their religious systems create all kinds of hierarchies, temple systems (church buildings) and ministries that they now have to somehow pay for and maintain. Suddenly, they have a great need for money or it will collapse. Now they are pressured to capture more people to keep the money flowing in. This will automatically pervert the true message and true gospel to one that will focus on keeping people captured. It becomes a service to mammon! Jesus came to “preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them“. How is capturing people setting them at liberty? These two ideas are at odds! Jesus wants people to be free of a religious system (see also Gal. 2:4-5) so that they can have a true relationship with God and then be free from SIN. Then and only then will the people have a true relationship with their neighbors in love. Jesus said that those who are of Him WILL do the following “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me“. Jesus said it above in Matthew 15:19 as to what the opposite of love is. Why is it in a nation that is 76% Christian that more than 50% are divorced? Divorce is murder! For no man can live if the head is separated from the body. From that comes adultery(getting married again), theft(from each other in divorce), false witness(against each other in the divorce proceedings), and blasphemy(showing those who are not of Christ that evil is ok) against God. This is not sacrificing oneself for one’s neighbor nor anyone else. It is purely serving the self and thereby breaking the first law of God. You break that law and you will never keep the second command.

Does the church need a revival? Yes, and more than that! God will send in the “John the Baptist’s” to preach repentance and plow the fields and then He will send the apostles to do the miracles, but here is what Jesus said about that:

Matthew 11:7-24(NKJV) As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You. Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! But wisdom is justified by her children. Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

The cities (churches of today) of Israel will not repent today any more than they did during Christ’s time. Yet there will be a few that listen and come out of her. If you are looking for a miracle to prove to you that God is real then you do not believe in God. Your belief will be demonstrated by the actions that you take on the streets and not by how often you go to church! James said:

James 2:14-26(NKJV) What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Now don’t get all confused thinking that you need to do works to be saved. No, works make people complete or finished (perfect) – mature in the faith. How many children are considered mature adults? How can they be? They need to be trained and gain some life experience first. Once they have all that then they are considered mature. They also have maturity at different levels such as kindergarten to grade school, grade school to middle school, middle school to high school, high school to college, college to job and so forth. It NEVER ends! All James is saying is the same thing that Christ said above in Matthew 15:19 and that is that we must live and be like our Father in heaven and to follow Christ’s example. Jesus sacrificed His life for us and He said in Matthew 10:24-25 the “disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.” Be and live like Christ. Stop serving the self and repent! No one will be perfect (mature) immediately, but you can stop doing evil immediately. If you do not then you will fall into the same group as Matthew 11:22! If we are the sons and daughters of God then we need to act like it and stop looking for signs and wonders to make ourselves all feel good and warm and fuzzy. God is going to make you feel all warm and fuzzy if you do not repent for He says:

Hebrews 12:3-8(NKJV) For consider Him[Jesus] who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:  My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 

Furthermore Paul says in Ephesians 5:5-6 “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” and also Paul said to the Colossians 3:5-8 to “Mortify[kill or subdue] therefore your members[human nature] which are upon the earth[focused on the earthly]; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them[before baptism]. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” How is it that we think these things do not apply to us now? I tell you the truth that judgment is NOW on the house(Christianity) of God and those who will not listen (repent – turn to God) to the “John the Baptists” (those sent to plow the fields) and the apostles (people sent by God to plant and teach) will be rebuked, chastened and scourged. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. If you do NOT wake up after all this then Jesus “will vomit[spew] you out of My mouth“.

I write these things because the Spirit is showing me that time is short and much danger will soon upon us. Those who trust in the world, themselves, or their own wealth will be caught unawares in the coming events. Recently I have been in sports bars, shopping malls, and movie theaters where many people are gathered and I have felt an overwhelming love for the people around me. I know this is God’s love, yet it is hard to explain. I want to reach out and show them all what I feel in the Spirit is coming, yet they will not listen because they are so tied up with this world’s works. This is why He is having me (and others) write these letters. Please turn to God NOW! Or are you someone who will only believe when they see a sign or a wonder?

With all love, in His name,
Greg Turner
greg@sharingtheway.com

 

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Andrew Strom, The Walk, Wilderness Experience

Expand While The Devil Shrinks!

By Andrew Strom

There is no question that we have covered the “Doom and Gloom” side of the present crisis pretty well. But one thing I feel we have not discussed enough is the amazing OPPORTUNITY that God is setting before us through this crisis. In fact, it may be that what is happening now could be the answer to years of our most fervent prayers.

Have you been praying for God to act and bring massive change to the church and to our culture? Have you been praying for the return of spiritual hunger and reality? Have you been praying for God to open closed doors, to soften hearts, and to allow the real Truth of the gospel to march forth in the land once again? What if this is His answer to all of that – the only way He could bring about the kind of shaking and hunger that is so desperately required? What if He has spent years setting this up? What if it is the golden opportunity of a lifetime? Are we willing? Are we ready?

There is no question that some of our main enemies are on the run right now in the West. In fact, many of them are in rampant disorderly retreat. The great god Mammon is a good example.  I don’t think the “deceitfulness of riches” will be doing too well in the West for awhile, do you? And Mammon’s allies – Comfort, Apathy, Materialism and Humanism are starting to look a little shaky also.

There is a “window of opportunity” starting to open – where a gospel that was once unwelcome will be welcomed again – where change that was once thought impossible comes in like a rush. We are living in a rare moment of history.

In times of Depression – froth, bubble and hype go the way of the dinosaur. People start looking for reality and grounded truth.  They want to find a Rock to stand on instead of shifting sand. This happened in the last Depression, and it will happen in this one too.

Are you one who has spent years in the wilderness, waiting for God’s moment? Are you a David in the caves, a Joseph in the dungeons? Couldn’t it be that this is the very moment that God has been preparing you for, all this time?

You see, the “big boys” with their shallow gospel are in increasing trouble through all of this. They rely on big money, big media, big hype and big budgets to get their message out. And the budget is looking rather sick. Could it be that God is leveling the playing field?  Are many that were “last” about to become first? Are the little guys with their message of repentance and heart-holiness about to break through the glass ceiling that has kept them down for so long?  Has God actually been planning this for ages?

Personally, I feel like the Lord has been speaking to me lately that as the devil pulls back, I need to expand. There are things that I have put off for years that I need to put into action.

One of these is the “Online Preacher’s School” where we send people around the world to preach in far-flung places – after training them first. I get all kinds of invitations from places like Pakistan, India and Africa that I cannot possibly fulfill. It is time that we started doing “basic training and sending” – because the need out there is enormous. And we can do a lot of it online. (-This should be up and running in a matter of weeks). To me, God’s message is very clear: We are to expand while the devil shrinks.

Another area that He has been speaking to me about is MUSIC and VIDEO – things that I put aside (to a large degree) years ago.  God laid it on my heart before we came to Wales that we need to record a music album here – something we have not done for 8 years. (We had better get on with it, as we only have a Visa to stay in Wales for six months!) There are other things also. And what about you, my friends? Has God begun whispering similar things? Such a crisis comes along only once in a lifetime. Could this be the very hour of Mobilization that He has been preparing you for all these years?

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David Wilkerson, Prophesy, Prophet

A Pastor’s Response to "An Urgent Warning"

By David Wilkerson  (Mar 13, 2009)

It is the task of a true prophet to warn. We have recently heard such a clear warning of perilous days just ahead of us. The prophet is like a man who comes to warn a shepherd that ravenous wolves are approaching.

It then becomes the shepherd’s task to appropriately discern the warning and to guide those in his care to a place of wisdom and security. I am not a prophet. I am a local pastor. I must ask myself what I am to do in light of hearing the warning from God. What should I say to those under my pastoral care?

First, I want my people to clearly hear the word. What is it saying and what is it not saying. Some have heard of fires and looting and their hearts are filled with fear. I am to assure my people that God is always completely in control. God is sovereign. Nothing takes place outside of his notice and counsel, and all things happen for his ultimate, highest glory. Even in the most troubling of times, our God knows exactly what he is doing.

Second, I want those I serve to know two things concerning God’s wrath. First, some leaders in the church have sadly fallen into the deception that there is no such thing as the wrath of God. Roman 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Some act in ungodly ways, others are ungodly by their suppressing the truth of God’s wrath. Some leaders reduce, ignore and even ridicule anyone who reminds them of the certainty of God’s wrath. Romans 2:5 also tells us clearly that the wrath of God is toward those whose hearts are hard and impenitent. This leads to the second element of understanding God’s wrath. It is never, ever, ever poured out on the children of God. In I John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins.” The word propitiation means “wrath quencher.” What marvelous grace, what redemption! God’s wrath at my rebellion and sin has been quenched on the Cross of Christ. Hard times come; rain falls even on the just but wrath does not.

Last, I am obligated to guide the flock given to me with loving-kindness and soberness. If a wolf or a storm is coming, I as a shepherd must know the conditions of my flock. Are any sitting on the fence? Warn them that this is no time for compromise or close affiliation with the world. Partying in the house of an Egyptian on the night of the Passover is definitely not a good idea. This is a time to stay close to the Chief Shepherd. This is also an opportunity for us to call out to those outside the gate. Jesus is the Door and has opened his heart. His cry is that all flee from wrath to come. More than shrinking behind a double-locked door or fleeing to a rural farm, this is a call from Jesus to move your life into the sheepfold.

When a prophet comes with a message of warning, often people want the prophet to give them specific advice about what to do in response. At times, God gives the prophet a word, but more often it is up to the shepherd, and even more so, up to every man of God to take the word into account for his own family. Just as a pastor has stewardship of the church, a man of God is to give an account of his own family. When one comes to warn that wolves are coming, it is not always his responsibility to tell them what to do. We can hear from God. Joseph heard God say to store up food for the season to come (Genesis 41). Moses heard God say to receive gifts from the Egyptians for their journey (Exodus12). We as well can hear from God for our situation. Sheep do hear the Shepherd’s voice.

Jesus—in this hour, in this storm—will not only guide his people and comfort his flock but will also give them boldness, confidence and a heart to serve those troubled by the afflictions. A prophet once came to Paul and prophesied that if he went to Jerusalem he would be bound and put in prison. The prophet was faithful to give his word; it was up to Paul to hear from God how to deal with that warning. Paul, after hearing the prophecy, still decided to go to Jerusalem—willing to risk his life for the gospel (Acts 21). Some will hear and stay in a place of safety; others will hear and go to a place to serve. Some churches are positioned in cities that will need their spiritual strength and compassion. Perhaps the wisdom of Paul in Ephesians 5:15-18 speaks most to what we need, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”

-Posted by David Wilkerson.
SOURCE:  http://davidwilkersontoday.blogspot.com/

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Financial Failure, The Walk

We Can Surf These Waves!

Note from the moderator: I too have had very similar dreams like this one described below.  Instead of seeing tsunamis though, I saw tornadoes coming in one set of dreams, and flash floods coming in another.  In both cases, the dreams were given to me twice.  This is in accordance with what Scripture says:  “Pharaoh had a dream… He slept and dreamed a second time… Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do… And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” (Gen. 41:1-32)

WE CAN SURF THESE WAVES! (Dream – The Two Tsunamis)
By Trenton Adams

On Sunday night, March 16th, 2008, I had a dream. First off, it seemed to me that I was viewing through someone else’s eyes through the entire dream.

In the dream I was driving down a freeway in some city. Some other people and I were going to either get a bite to eat, or go for coffee, or something like that. We got off the freeway, and got out of the car. I looked back down the freeway, from the direction we had come, and there was water rushing down the freeway towards us. So, I jumped back into the car, and started driving down the freeway as fast as possible. It seemed like everyone was scared. Eventually, the water caught up to me, and that part of the dream ended.

Suddenly I was somewhere else completely, on a beach somewhere. Some people were watching some big waves come in. They were talking about how the Tsunami would not affect them because they were protected by a land mass off the coast. It seemed like maybe they were in an inlet of some sort perhaps. I saw top view for a moment, even to the details of what the land mass off the cost looked like.

I was a bit confused how they could be so confident that they would be unaffected by the coming Tsunami. Just then, a very large wave (maybe 20′ high) approached at a very high rate of speed, and no one was able to escape. As it was coming, I formulated a plan to duck under the wave, and swim to the top.  So, I did just that, and I was surfing the wave, without a fear in the world. In fact, I was actually enjoying myself. It seemed odd that I was having fun, which first made me wonder if it really was a dream from the Lord.

After the one wave was finished, a second wave was approaching very quickly. But this time, it was about 300′ high. I had the same plan as before. It was a little more difficult, but again, I was able to get to the top, and surf the wave. I found that the wave was swallowing all of the big office buildings, and almost reached the very top of them, but not quite. Then, as I was floating on the top of the water, it began to subside, and go back out to sea.

I asked the Lord what it could mean, but I did not initially get an answer. As I was telling some friends about it, I said “It’s really odd, because usually the Lord gives me the interpretation to my dreams“. Just then, an interpretation formed in my mind.

The interpretation goes like this: I am unsure about the interpretation of the first part of the dream.
The second part of the dream was a similar situation. Many people were in denial about the coming economic collapse, and were thinking they would escape being touched by it. I was confused at how they could just look the other way, as if nothing was going to happen. Suddenly, the first wave came, and I had a plan before it got there, and I was not afraid, but had peace.  In fact, I was enjoying it because I had the peace of God, and did not trust in material things.

Then the second larger wave came, and once again, I had a plan, and was not afraid. The wave reached the top of the big businesses, and almost destroyed many of them. There was very little left.
Furthermore, the second HUGE wave will subside, but I believe our economies (Canada and the US) will never be the same.

For those who are in the rest of God, this time will just be another stepping stone to the coming Kingdom of God. I also believe that this dream is showing that there are going to be two significant events in the economic collapse. The second one will be HUGE, and the first will just be a pre-cursor to the big one.

Please feel free to reproduce, reprint and/or forward as desired. Altering or editing is strictly prohibited. To contact us, send a request to info@sharingtheway.com or visit our website at https://sharingtheway.com/.

Francis Frangipane, Suffering for Christ, The Walk

The Walk of Suffering

By Francis Frangipane

Jesus’ walk was neither painless nor effortless, and yours will not be either. Perhaps our minds cannot envision the Son of God facing any “real problems,” such as we face. We know He calmed the sea, but we are also told He “…learned obedience through the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

Yes, power surged from Him causing those who came to arrest Him to fall back (John 18:6), but He also had times He was wearied (John 4:6). He indeed promised us peace, but He, too, had times when He was distressed (Luke 12:49-50), angered (Mark 3:5), and troubled (John 12:27). The same beautiful feet that proclaimed the glad tidings, that walked on water, walked the “Via Dolorosa”–the way of suffering.

When we consider the Son of God, we should not isolate Him from the extreme spiritual warfare He faced on many occasions, even to the point of sweating blood. We are assured that Christ never failed, but neither was He aloof from temptations. Rather, the Bible tells us that Jesus was “…tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Remember also, Jesus faced and conquered His battles as a man; He had to pray for strength, and trust His Father for justice on the cross, even when He felt forsaken by all.

I am utterly positive, the highest percentage of Jesus’ life was filled with joy and peace; why else would multitudes be drawn to Him? But it is interesting that some of these very people, when questioned, thought He might be a return of “Elijah or Jeremiah,” both of whom were more known as intensely passionate than compassionate (Matthew 16:13-14). And don’t forget, the same hands that touched and healed the untouchables, twice fashioned a scourge, and drove money changers out of the temple.

I am trying to balance our image of Christ. For if we imagine that Jesus was without temptation, or that He never had inner conflicts, such thinking blinds us from seeing the reality of what we all must go through at times. We think God is failing us when, in fact, He is actually conforming us to the real Jesus. Yes, in the crucible of conflict, Jesus chose to do God’s will. “…deeply grieved, to the point of death…” (Matthew 26:38), He prayed the prayer of surrender, “…not My will, but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42).

There will be times when, to obey God’s will, we must fight our very instincts for survival. Plan on it. There will be seasons when you will hurt terribly or be deeply troubled inside. Perhaps even facing severe depression, yet to fulfil God’s will, you cannot excuse yourself because of heart sickness. In utter defiance of your own feelings, you will have to say, “Yes” to God. It is at this juncture, beloved, that true spiritual progress is being made.

“But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, not will the flame burn you” (Isaiah 43:1-2).

Fire? Rivers? What about Heaven? Yes, you are going to Heaven. In fact, if you are a true Christian, you are in Heaven right now, only you don’t know it. But, there are times when life, like a river, is over your head, and you feel like you are drowning. Yet, the water from these very rivers wash away your filth. What the water does not remove, the fire purifies.

It is one thing to repent of sin; another, to be placed in life’s furnace and be forced beyond yourself to trust God. In the first case, God works through our willingness to engage and submit; He deals with what we have done. In the second situation, He goes much deeper and deals with what we actually are. When He deals only with our sin, He requires we humble ourselves; when we are in the fire, He kills what we were, and then humbles our enemies.

Yes, you will pass through rivers, but the Lord promises that the waters will not overflow us! He leads us into fire, but then appears in the blaze with us, as He did with the three Hebrews (Daniel 3). When our ordeal is over, only the bonds that once enslaved us are consumed; we are unscathed. As Christians, we are fascinated by the Holy Spirit. He teaches, guides, gives gifts, brings forth fruit, and comforts us on our journey. However, one aspect that is rarely discussed is the baptism of fire. John said that Christ would “baptize…with the Holy Spirit and fire,” (Matthew 3:11).

Peter tells us we should not be “…surprised at the fiery ordeal…which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). Jesus said, “Everyone will be salted with fire” (Mark 9:49).

The church in America, for too long, has followed Casper the friendly ghost, instead of seeking the fire of the Holy Ghost. We have turned limp at the thought of our own cross; we faint when we think of suffering or sacrifice. Beloved, it is time to embrace the fire of God’s presence. It is the fire that purifies our sacrifice.

Ahead of us are days both great and terrible. Understandably, many Christians are looking to the rapture of the church. Yet, to escape God’s judgment is not to escape His fire. Consider Paul who wrote that the “day” of the Lord “is to be revealed with fire.” He said that “…the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:13).

Yet, let us stay encouraged, for our God is a consuming fire. He is coming to baptize His church again in fire, but in the fire is the place of intimacy, of power, and of deliverance. Even as the prophet Isaiah wrote, “When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain” (Isaiah 4:4-6).

Yes, our God is a consuming fire and our walk with Him is a Fire walk.  Lord, I repent for wanting Your blessings without desiring Your fire. I ask for the fire that purifies, that burns away my old nature. I ask You to fill me with the fire of Your holiness. Make me one with You in the fire of Your passions. Amen.

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Faith, Jerry Olson, The Walk

Trust or Hope: Which Will It Be?

By Jerry Olson
jerrydeanolson@yahoo.com

The beginning story line delivered to you here today in this writing can be traced back to Noah. We are all descendants from Adam first and then Noah, after the great flood.  The ark that Noah built by God’s design was a sign of things to come in the near future for the people on earth at that time. Had repentance come about for those few, the story would have changed, but unfortunately it did not. God gave this new sign to give people reason to change, but they did not understand what this sign truly was going to mean. God could have built this great boat in a few short years, but He gave Noah and the people 125 years for this new sign to manifest into destruction. The ark became the salvation for just a few souls instead of the many that could have lived had they changed their ways; or asked God, “What was the meaning of this new sign?” However, they did not.
You would think that it might cause some thinking by the people, like what does this mean?  Noah was hand-picked for this assignment. Noah was a righteous man called of God for this special task. Noah remained steadfast and trusted God. Many years later God chose another man, Saul to be the leader that His people wanted. They were fearful of God, so they asked God for a human king. God tried to talk them out of this folly; but in the end, He gave in and gave them their king whom He hand-picked, like Noah, for this assignment. However Saul failed in his assignment because his faith left him and he began to rely on himself apart from God. Saul had experienced the power of God in several forms, especially God’s protection during battle early in his career as commander and chief of the army of Israel. But Saul never developed a lasting and trusting relationship with God. An example of this can be seen when Samuel was explaining to Saul his error in judgment when Saul referred to God, as Samuel’s God, not his own:  “For the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God.” (I Sam. 15:15).  Therefore, God raised up a man after His own heart to lead His people after Saul. David was said to be a righteous young lad that knew God. David was a leader of men that relied on God during his role as the leader of God’s people at that time in history. David’s faith in God was strong and without equal up to the day he died. David’s undying faith gave him favor, power and providence with God.

Many years later man designed another large ship and they called her the Titanic and many thought she was unsinkable. She was state of art with all the latest technology and man-made sophistication available at the time; an example of human ingenious craftsmanship; at a time when human knowledge was said to doubling every few years. The Titanic built in the years leading up to1912, was at a time when America, was just beginning to come on to the world stage. Things were heating up in Europe that brought about the first major world war – World War I. America was instrumental in assisting our allies in winning this war. American leadership in the world was ushered in at that time.

President Wilson just after the end of this war tried to establish a league of nations which failed, but was the prelude to the United Nations with its headquarters now located in New York. The United Nations was finally formed in San Francisco in 1945. The same year that America led the world in defeating Germany on the eastern front and Japan on the western front in World War II. The same year that America built the first computer, ushering in the computer age; and it was the atomic bomb built also by America that ushered in the atomic age as well the same year 1945, the year of my birth. This is the time when America was at her pinnacle of power and prestige in the world; the zenith of influence and respect as well throughout the world. God gave American presidents a platform from which to speak to the world at that time; a microphone of technological achievement so that the world had an ear to hear from the most powerful office on earth, the United States Presidency. Presidents have come and gone after the great world war and now we find ourselves in another difficult time. A somewhat different time but a hard time for America and the world just the same.

A few short weeks ago America voted in a new president. He ran on the platform of change and hope. America heard him explain that his new policies were the answer to many of our nation’s problems. This new change and hope for transformation sounds good; but unfortunately for many these are only words, with little or no real power behind them. Not that Mr. Obama did not believe what he was stating, but that it does not line up with Scripture. I have come to realize that God’s Word is the only real thing that I can count on. Or trust in either. The man in the highest office in the land can only hope that his new policies will work; but with God, and the Lord, our true leader, we can be absolutely positively sure of the outcome for the society we live in. Everywhere we look, and in every facet of society we are experiencing troubles and problems, for which there are few answers. Change sounds good and hope is good too, but what does Scripture say? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1)

We have not a single leader on earth that can bring about the kind of change that is necessary for safety, security, prosperity and joy for all of mankind here on earth. Not Mr. Obama, Mr. Limbaugh or Mr. Olsteen, just to mention a few who consider themselves leaders of men.

A transformation is coming, but not in a way most are looking for. Change is coming very soon. We Americans have come to enjoy a very high standard of living, way beyond that of most nations. We have taken our prosperity as expected; almost as if it were guaranteed, it sometimes seems; and without proper appreciation for sure. Primarily because we do not yet for the most part know where it comes from or how it originated. America’s blessings are a direct by-product of the birthright blessings bestowed on Abraham and his seed. And just like our forefathers, when they kept God’s law they prospered and when they sinned and forgot God their Provider, provisions were in short supply. Every person, family and nation that has prospered from the beginning, nearly 6000 years now, did so because of God’s blessing and provision. Although many Americans have enjoyed these many blessings over the years, many for the most part have absolutely no knowledge of how America came by these many blessings. America was at one time the most blessed nation on earth. However, now she has the greatest debt, and many other problems and troubles for which she has not the answers. Where is the wisdom that helped this nation become established? “Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:9-10). “He has made His wonderful works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him; He is ever mindful of His covenant. He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are verity and justice; all his precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” (Psalm 111:4-8).  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” (I Cor 1:19).
Mankind, it appears, is oblivious to the intelligent design in the universe, nature all around us, and even the formation of man and his unique abilities and complex fashion. Ignorance has allowed such lack in our thinking to come about and misguided nonsense to exist; it is everywhere we choose to look. Just exactly what was written in the Scriptures some 6000 years ago is now coming to pass. Transformation, you bet, but not what most are thinking. I have heard them say, “We are America. We will pick ourselves up and get back in the game.” I tell you the truth; ignorance is about to become knowledge. Hope for some will become despair, and for a few others, welcomed deliverance. Society will be turned up-side down; fear and lack will dominate. As long as man is happy and satisfied and in need of seemingly nothing, true knowledge will elude us. God has, for the most part, taken a “hands-off approach” to man for six millennia; however that is about to change. Until man finds himself on his knees or face calling out to God, things will continue to trouble society. Man apart from God’s wisdom and knowledge is truly incapable of dealing with these many problems now facing our nations today. We are only now beginning to see the sorrow that is shortly going to come to pass here on earth. We are just seeing a small portion of the iceberg, much like what happened to the “unsinkable” Titanic that did sink back in 1912. It was not what was seen that sank her but what was just under the surface, unseen. This seemingly unsinkable ship on her maiden voyage sank in a very few hours. Much like what America will experience in the not too distant future. Rich and poor alike drowned in those cold waters. The Titanic didn’t just sink, it was torn in half and sank to a depth of 12,000 feet. It was said that men had said that “not even God could sink the Titanic”. I just wonder if God heard their statement and brought her down just because of that ridiculous statement.

There is no doubt that God has brought Mr. Obama into office. Even Scripture states that God places leaders in their positions as it pleases Him. President Obama’s first act as President should have been to convene both Houses of Congress for a joint prayer meeting and called for America to go on a month or more of prayer and fasting. Mr. Obama states that he is a Christian, and we know he is a leader, but does our new leader know God? I think I can, without question, state that he does not know God. Unfortunately, there also are the millions of professing Christians that too do not know God, and do not see the signs of the times, and who are not able to match these signs to the Word of our Creator.  A presidential call for prayer and fasting is exactly the kind of change America needs, and the world needs to be lead into, especially at such a time as this. Our President had a captive audience and could have made a difference, using his office to reach out to the masses. He lost his opportunity to bring about the only change that will make a difference. America’s, and the world’s, only road to a bridge for survival is our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God states that unless you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior your sins will not be forgiven, and the second death will be your epitaph.

The word hope was used along with change; but hope is a very weak word compared to the word trust. Trusting in our Creator is the only answer to the myriad of problems facing the world. We must trust in Him if we are to have prosperity once again. Hope in man is like trusting that you can patch a hole in the side of a sinking ship, while still at sea. Ignorance and relying on ourselves is a story that will end in folly. Do you remember the story of Jonah and the city of Nineveh? God sent Jonah to Nineveh to see if they would repent of their sins; but Jonah did not want to go. Well, God won that difference of opinion. God got him there anyway; even though the story is quite bizarre to say the least. In the end, God saved the people from utter destruction because Jonah’s message of needed repentance was heard and acted upon.

Hope is a nice word; but it does not have the same power as trust, when it comes to God. Have you heard the saying, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” The penalty must still be paid. If we accept Jesus, His blood will cover our many sins; however, turning our back to Him will result in total destruction. Both the rich and poor alike on the Titanic had hoped that they could survive the destruction; however it was not to be, because it was seemingly man’s word again, “unsinkable”. Over 1000 people lost their lives, because there were not enough life boats to save everyone. ‘Why would you clutter up the deck line with needless boats?’ the ship’s builders thought to themselves.  Even Captain Smith, who had a long and distinguished career with Kinard Lines, as the ship’s leader, thought so too. Yet, he could do nothing but go down with his wonderful shiny new ship.

Both leaders and ordinary citizens will have the same fate in the coming calamity, that is about to befall us.
The journey from hope to trust is a vast and dramatic one. Some would say that they mean the same. But the level of the faith involved is far different, miles apart. When we use the word trust, a much deeper feeling is suggested. For example, Saul hoped that David would be successful in defeating the giant from Gath; however, on the other hand David didn’t just hope but trusted in God to deliver this great adversary into his hand. The difference was the faith that both of these individuals demonstrated.  Saul was the king, the leader of God’s army. He should have been out there fighting Goliath; but he lacked the faith required, so he offered his armor to David. But David’s body was too small for Saul’s armor. David was just a boy. So David took 5 small stones into battle; but it only took one to bring down his enemy.

I Sam 17:10 “And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.’ :11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. :26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’”

A man or woman of God no longer just believes in God; but because of their relationship with God and knowing God (which usually takes some amount of time to develop), they can move from hope in God, to trusting God. That is, they are trusting in a lasting and timeless relationship, and lasting commitment to God, and receive assurance from God that He is with them, no matter what. Their faith has grown. They no longer hope God will save them, to knowing without any doubt whatsoever that their love for God is even less, than His love for them, and that their God and Lord, only want the best of everything for them. Their confidence is based on faith and trusting in God, all doubt is gone.

Very soon now, just as in the time of Jesus, His power will once again be demonstrated to the world, to show that God is real. Not some mystical aberration only formed in the mind of man. One day everyone will know God and His blessings will be made manifest for all eternity. Hope must change to faith and trust to experience the power of God. It is impossible to please God without faith. Our Father wants to share His provision and power with us but we limit these blessings because we fail to exercise faith.

Even though hope and trust share a common line for the title of this writing, they are far from being the same or even similar in meaning. For example, if you were given an opportunity to ask Jesus how He thought the outcome of His life and ministry would be, He would not use the word hope to describe the outcome. He would say something such as, His trust was in His Father to provide the outcome that would be pleasing to God the Father. He would state that He came to work and minister according to His Father’s will and He would be happily trusting in the outcome.

I ask you now the question of where is your trust or do you trust in anything really? I hope your hope, if that is what it is, will change to trust, before it’s too late. You see, I use hope because your life eternal, rests in your own able hands, it is not for me to trust in. Only you can for yourself, develop your own trust in God. Your hope and trust can be put into many different things, but what will yield you the greatest return. The more we invest in time on our knees in prayer to God and time reading the Word of God, and asking Him for understanding, greater will be the opportunity for trusting in God and His blessings both now and forevermore. Jesus has yet to come back to earth. There is still time to come to trust in Jesus. However, time is about to run out. What could be more important?  “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16). “Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness.’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’” (I Cor. 3:18-20).

Understanding must come by faith. However, faith is a gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:7). What is faith anyway?  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1). Abraham is the father of many nations. Bu what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Rom. 4:22) And all those who are of faith are truly the children of Abraham (Gal. 3:7).
Jesus spoke about the sign of Jonah in the fish for three days, just as He would be in the earth for three days before His resurrection. We too have abundant signs, especially in the dessert town of Las Vegas with all its signs and abundant lights that light up the night sky in this party town. I have been there several times both on business and pleasure; but now I have no more desire to see all of the trouble that it seems to represent. Lights yes, signs yes; but un-seen darkness and trouble brewing, just as in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Las Vegas has become the modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah in my judgment. Understand, it’s not just that drinking goes on or the gambling (the Bible does not say these are wrong in moderation); but what is wrong with Las Vegas is summed-up in their advertising statement: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas “?  This implies that there is no fear of God, and that you can readily do whatever you fleshly desire to do without any consequences.  This is why Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed – they had no fear of God or His judgment.

The pending doom is everywhere around. Unless you change your ways, repent and humble yourself before God, utter destruction awaits you for sure. Darkness resides in the great city of lights.   But just as was the story about what took place in Noah’s day, with the water coming forth, people again will be terrified by the rumblings that will be felt, the light that will shine forth and the trumpet that shall be heard throughout the land, as our Lord comes forth.

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read the Scriptures: ‘the stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone? This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes.’ Therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruit of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken [humbled]. But on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” (Matt. 21:42-44).

Jerry
jerrydeanolson@yahoo.com

 

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Brendon Powell, The Walk

Which Jesus Do You Serve?

By Brendon Powell

 

There seems to be more than one Jesus to choose from these days. Which one is the true Jesus and who am I following?

  • There’s a “seeker friendly” Jesus. He’s the one who will not offend anyone in anyway. He loves everyone no mater what they do.
  • There’s a “sow and reap” Jesus. He made a covenant with man so that man could sow his seed and reap wealth and happiness on earth and then go to heaven when he dies.
  • There’s a “blend in with the world” Jesus. He wants us to look like, act like, and be like the world in order to reach the lost.
  • There’s a “never-ending grace” Jesus. His “grace” covers us no matter what we do or how we live.
  • There’s a “just believe” Jesus.  As long as you truly believe in your heart, you’re saved.
  • There’s a “name it claim it” Jesus.  You name it; anything and it’s yours!  If you don’t get it, it’s because you lack faith. It’s your fault.
  • There’s a “carnal” Jesus.  He doesn’t expect you to overcome sin. He understands you’re just carnal.
  • There’s a “heart dwelling” Jesus.  All you have to do is ask him into your heart and voilà, he’s there. You’re going to heaven!

Truth:

  • There’s the Jesus who said “Repent and believe the gospel, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” -Mark 1:15
  • He said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him.” -Luke 9:23-25.
  • He said without Him you are already condemned.  -John 3:18
  • He said He came to save the world -John 3:16
  • He said unless you forsake all you have, you cannot be His disciple. -Luke 14:33
  • He said if we love anyone more than Him we are not worthy of Him.-Matt 10:37-39
  • He said if you love this life you’ll lose it. -John 12:25-26
  • He said you cannot serve God and money. -Matt 6:24
  • He said fear God who can destroy both body and soul in hell. -Mt 10:28
  • He said be extreme in your war against sin. -Matt 18:8-9
  • He said love God with all your heart, soul and mind; and your neighbor as yourself. -Matt 22:37-39
  • He said He is the light of the world. –John 8:12
  • He said the gate to life is narrow and the way is difficult and few find it. -Matt 7:13-14
  • He said those who believe in Him but work iniquity will be cast out. -Matt 7:21-23
  • He said you’ll be hated for His name’s sake, but if you endure to the end, you’ll be saved. -Matt.10:22
  • He said I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by Me. –John 14:6

Which Jesus do you serve?

 
 

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