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| In loving memory of my father Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023 |
The enemy has been coming in like a flood for many years and it will get worse. Coming in to where? to the church, the body of Christ. The Church at Ephesus was perhaps the most spiritually mature church in Paul's day. Paul warned the elders of the Church at Ephesus in Acts 20:29-31,
"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."
Jesus said, in Luke 20:18, "Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
"That stone" of course is Jesus Himself. Unless we are broken of all traces of self, we cannot walk in the kingdom of God. But unless we are walking in the Kingdom of God, we will suffer the consequences of great tribulation. If we are walking in the kingdom of God we will still go through the great tribulation but it will not affect us. The so-called "rapture" out from the great tribulation is a myth. It runs totally counter to the spirit of the Bible. More detail on that in a later message.
Jeremiah 13:16-17, "Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive."
In the time of Moses, God's chosen people were in bondage in Egypt (one captor) for 400 years. In our day, many (dare I say 'most'?) of God's chosen people are in bondage to one or more of eight captors (Isaiah 11) and don't know it. Isaiah 11 is a good topic for another word.
Only the Lord knows if our 400 years of bondage is about up. But it is time to cry out to the Lord for deliverance.
Isaiah 11:11, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea."
If you are interested I will be happy to email to you the significance of each of those eight captors, as the Holy Spirit revealed to me a number of years ago.
When the Lord returns, the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25 will be fulfilled. All ten of them represent true born-from-above Christians. Five were wise and five were foolish. The five wise virgins were prepared with an ample supply of oil in their lamps, but the five foolish virgins had no oil for their lamps. The five wise virgins speak of the bride of Christ; the five foolish virgins speak of the rest of the church ... those who neglect to prepare the way of the Lord.
This generation ... our generation ... has had access to more scriptural light than any other generation in history. We have heard many good teachers, read the Bible many times, read all of the good Christian books, listened to all of the tapes and DVDs, and have been bombarded with many TV evangelists. But what has all of that produced? a visible church that is very close to apostasy. Pity poor Abraham and a multitude of other Old Testament saints. They never even had a Bible to read. They had to depend upon what the Lord said to them.
When the Lord returns, the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25 will be fulfilled. All ten of them represent true born-from-above Christians. Five were wise and five were foolish. The five wise virgins were prepared with an ample supply of oil in their lamps, but the five foolish virgins had no oil for their lamps. The five wise virgins speak of the bride of Christ; the five foolish virgins speak of the rest of the church ... those who neglect to prepare the way of the Lord.
This generation ... our generation ... has had access to more scriptural light than any other generation in history. We have heard many good teachers, read the Bible many times, read all of the good Christian books, listened to all of the tapes and DVDs, and have been bombarded with many TV evangelists. But what has all of that produced? a visible church that is very close to apostasy. Pity poor Abraham and a multitude of other Old Testament saints. They never even had a Bible to read. They had to depend upon what the Lord said to them.
Hebrews 12:18-29, "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire."
It is true that God is love. It is also true that God is a God of judgment. When is the last time you heard the judgment of God preached from any pulpit?
Why is the Lord shaking both earth and heaven? And why must that shaking increase in intensity? God's biggest problem under the Old Covenant was the nation of Israel ... His chosen people. What is God's biggest problem under the New Covenant? His chosen people ... the church.
It is time for us, the church, to wake up, man up, stand up, speak up, or shut up and fold up. It is time to get our thumb out of our mouth. It is time to get off our pablum diet and start chewing some meat. It is time to be potty-trained, time to get rid of our diapers. It is time to put away our childish ways ... time to understand and walk in His ways. It is time to cease all debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, and tumults: (2 Corinthians 12:20). A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25).
Why is the Lord shaking both earth and heaven? And why must that shaking increase in intensity? God's biggest problem under the Old Covenant was the nation of Israel ... His chosen people. What is God's biggest problem under the New Covenant? His chosen people ... the church.
It is time for us, the church, to wake up, man up, stand up, speak up, or shut up and fold up. It is time to get our thumb out of our mouth. It is time to get off our pablum diet and start chewing some meat. It is time to be potty-trained, time to get rid of our diapers. It is time to put away our childish ways ... time to understand and walk in His ways. It is time to cease all debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, and tumults: (2 Corinthians 12:20). A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25).
Joel 1:5, "Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth."
"Drunkards" and "wine" have nothing to with the natural realm. New wine cannot be put into old wineskins. Old wineskins are not flexible and resist change. New wine speaks of fresh revelation from the Lord.
Ezekiel 47:3-5 says, "And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."
Today, far too many of us professing Christians haven't even got our feet wet. A few more are wading in the kiddie pool. We tend to believe that the vast majority of professing Christians put ourselves on a slightly more mature spiritual level than our brothers "over there." After all, we are born again, baptized with the Holy Ghost, go to church regularly, give money to the church, lead a morally good life, etc. But Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 10:12, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." We must compare ourselves with Jesus. Who among us is perfect?
We need to remember that the kingdom of God existed before God created man, before God created angels, and before God created the world. In the beginning, God. For some unknown time period, or perhaps we should say in eternity past, God reigned in His kingdom. Then, from Isaiah 14, Lucifer fell from grace with his five "I wills." He rebelled against the rule of God and persuaded one-third of the angels to join him in that rebellion (Revelation 12:4).
Then comes an untold number of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, for in Genesis 1:2, "And the earth was [became] without form and void." The earth became a wreck and a ruin because of the rebellion of Lucifer. The earth has always been a reflection of the spiritual state of the inhabitants. From Isaiah 45,
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18
So in Genesis 1:2 we have the ruin into which the earth fell. We are not told how, when, or how long the wreck and ruin lasted. When geologists have settled how many years they require, they may place them between Verse 1 and 2 of Genesis 1. From 2 Peter 3:7 we live in the heavens and the earth which are now. Both are set in contrast with the "new heavens and the new earth" of 2 Peter 3:10-14.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Paul said in Colossians 1:27-28, "To whom [His saints] God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:"
Note the priority order ... (1) preach Jesus, (2) warning every man, and (3) teaching every man in all wisdom. Particularly note that warning every man comes before teaching every man in all wisdom. Which of the three functions dominate charismatic assemblies? the third priority of teaching every man; but is our teaching of every man done in all wisdom? Further, how many times a day or a week do you hear a warning from a minister? probably very few.
Hebrews 3:12-13 says, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called to day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."
Exhort one another daily ... who did you exhort today? and who exhorted you today? How many Sunday morning sermons have you heard which contained words of exhortation?
In Revelation 1:7 we read, "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen."
The "clouds" in that verse do not speak of those white puffy things we see in the sky. It speaks of a cloud of witnesses ... those saints who have gone before. "Every eye shall see Him" speaks of the natural realm.
The following two verses speak of those who see Him in the realm of the Spirit BEFORE every eye shall see Him in the natural realm.
Hebrews 9:28, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."Isaiah 8:17, "And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him."
The "house of Jacob" speaks of the natural man or the carnal Christian ... those who are not looking for Him. So a very important question for you and me and every professing Christian is, "Are you looking for Him?"
There is at least one more huge reason why we all should prepare the way of the Lord ... that is if we have any desire to rule and reign with the Lord Jesus on earth for 1000 years, usually called the Millennium.
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.4 And 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.5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.6 Blessed 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. Revelation 20:1-6
Verses 4 and 5 clearly indicates that not all born-from-above Christians will participate in the Millenium. Why not? because of the decisions and choices that each of us must make during our time on earth. Verses 4 and 6 refer to the Bride of Christ; Verse 5 refers to the rest of the Church. Revelation 19:7, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." In the next Chapter we will see the Scriptural pattern which defines how we make ourself ready to be part of the Bride of Christ.
Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:18
That Verse does not contrast the Christian with the non-Christian. The contrast is between those who have been born from above and those who have been broken and walk in the Kingdom of God.
Now only the Lord knows who will become part of the Bride and who will be content to "go to heaven one day." However, there are many Scriptures that give us a general idea. Let us consider the Tabernacle of Moses. The area of the outer court was 5000 square cubits; the area of the holy place was 200 square cubits; and the area of the Holy of Holies was 100 square cubits. The outer court had no ceiling or covering; it was subject to the natural light of the sun. The light in the holy place was the golden lampstand (not a candlestick because a candle consumes itself); the oil in the lampstand had to be sustained every day for the light to shine. The Holy of Holies had no natural-level light "for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23). Both the holy place and the Holy of Holies had a ceiling or covering and were not subject to natural weather. We believe that the outer court speaks of those who have been born from above; the holy place speaks of those who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost but who must continue to be filled with the Spirit on a daily basis. The Holy of Holies speaks of those Christians who are walking in the Kingdom of God ... the very elect, the remnant, the overcomers, the Bride of Christ. The comparative areas of the three compartments are: Holy of Holies - 2%; the holy place - 4%; and the outer court - 94%.
Other Scriptures indicate similar percentages. Those who entered Noah's ark were eight souls out of perhaps two million inhabitants on earth at that time. Yes, that comparison may perhaps be between Christians and non-Christians, but it still indicates, as Peter states ... wherein few were saved by water. Gideon's army speaks of 300 out of 32,000 or less than 1 percent. Nehemiah 10:38, which does not speak of money, speaks of a tenth of a tenth or 1 percent. And then Jesus said that many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Why are few chosen? because few choose.
In this message we have tried to emphasize the necessity to "prepare ye the way of the Lord." In our next message we hope to share with you the scriptural answer to the question, "How do we prepare the way of the Lord?"
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