2 Corinthians 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Are You Ready? Are You Ready? The bible makes it clear that mankind is influenced by one of two masters. There are those born of flesh who belong to satan and those born of Spirit who belong to Jesus Christ. Those led by the flesh are led by satan, which is the spirit of antichrist. There god is their belly, their own selfish desires and lusts with their glory being their shame, for all their works that give them pleasure, are works of unrighteousness for they suppress the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:12; Philippians 3:19; Romans 1:29; 2:8). These people have the wrath of God poured out on them already, for the works which Jesus did condemned them of their sin already. It will only be revealed at His second coming. We don't look down upon these people as we were born into this and once walked in these ways, but the Lord who is rich in mercy and grace has forgiven us of our sins and cleansed us of our unrighteousness, when we confessed our sins to Him (1 John 1:9; Ephesians 2:1-2). The Day of the Lord is coming, and it is close at hand! God is going to take those who are ready, those who's love for Him has not turned cold, those who have patiently endured the suffering of this life and always looked to Him for strength and continued in love towards everyone. If you've fallen away, the Lord promises that He will come and remove His lampstand (Revelation 2:5). The message is clear - let those with an ear hear.
The Apostasy Before His Coming. Now we beseech (fervently ask, implore, earnestly beg) you, brother, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that you not be quickly shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter, as if by us, as if at present is the Day of the Lord. No man should deceive you in any way; for that day shall not come, except an apostasy first and shall have been revealed the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction. The one opposing and exalted himself above every so-called or object of worship; so he in the temple of God, sit down himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now that which is restraining you know will reveal his in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working, only the one restraining at present until out from the midst he might come into being (transition from one point to another). And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath (Spirit) of His mouth, and will annul, by the appearing (brightness, manifest glorification) of His coming, whose is coming according to the working of Satan in every power and in signs and in wonders of falsehood, and in every deceit of wickedness unto those perishing, in return for the love of the truth they did not receive in order to be saved. And because of this, God will send to them, an energized power of delusion for them to believe what is false, in order that they should be judged, those not having believed the truth but having delighted in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). Prior to the Day of the Lord, two things must happen:
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life (Psalm 56:13). Whatever You do, do all to the Glory of God. Instead of provoking the LORD to anger, instead everything we do should be done to the glory of God. So what is the glory of God, if I'm to do everything for it? We can turn to the Greek entomology to garner an understanding and we find the glory as G1391 doxa glory, honor, renown, divine quality, unspoken manifestation of God, value, to be heavy, inherent, intrinsic worth. So from this standpoint, we are to do everything for the 'weighty intrinsic value' of God. And I've heard many preachers speak to this definition, but how can I really devote my life to a 'weighty intrinsic value' when the LORD is my Father, my Abba Father, my daddy. That is not a sufficient explanation for a God who wants an intimate relationship with me, instead of me just following religious rules. We must search the scriptures, as the LORD said, If you seek Me, you will find Me if you seek Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). I need a more valiant and powerful knowledge of the glory of God to which I am to devote every living and breathing moment of my life. So what does it really mean? The Glory of God is a Radiant Light. Lets look to the holy scripture. We know that after the resurrection of Jesus, God crowned Him with glory and honor (1 Peter 1:21; Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2:9; John 12:23; John 12:28). And we see, He is the radiance of the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3), having the glory of God, its radiance is like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal (Revelation 21:11) And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb (Revelation 21:23). For God, who said, 'Let the light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). So we see from these scriptures that the 'glory of God' is a radiant light. So Jesus was crowned with a radiant light and I'm to do everything for it - I tell you there has to be more. The Glory of God is a Radiant Light of Eternal Life. So we know the glory of God is a radiant light, but what else can be known about it? Lets keep searching the scriptures. In the light of a king's face there is life, and His favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain (Proverbs 16:15). And, In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4). And Behold, God does all these things, ... to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life (Job 33:30). And I say every 'revelation' should be confirmed by the Psalms to be proven true, so lets take the test. We see, For with Thee is the fountain of life: in your light we see light (Psalm 36:9). But more importantly, we see, For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life (Psalm 56:13). And, for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life (Proverbs 6:23). In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4). Again Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life' (John 8:12). The 'glory of God' which is in Jesus, is the light and the life of man; it is eternal light which is eternal life. It is easy to see why this is so bright that it is unapproachable for man to come hear in his flesh, for we see, The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time - He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen (1 Timothy 6:14-16). And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strength, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10). Reflecting on the Glory Shining in Other Passages. Looking back over scriptures, you see this when Moses spoke to God and his face shone with glory and the people were so terrified they made him cover his face (Exodus 24:29-30, 33, 35). And when Jesus was born the angel of the Lord came to the shepherds and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were filled with great fear, to tell them that the Christ was born (Luke 2:9). And during Jesus' earthly ministry He showed the end from the beginning, when He took Peter, James and John to a high mountain and He transfigured before them and His face shone like the son and His clothes became white as light (Matthew 17:1-2; Mark 9:2-3). And Paul who fell to the ground when the bright line shone around him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:8; 22:6, 26:13). You Are Called to Eternal Light and Eternal Life: Glorification. Understanding that the glory of God is eternal light and life helps me understand why I should do all things for the 'glory of God,' for I am living and moving towards eternal life. Every step that I take in this life is getting me closer to eternal life, for this life is passing away like a vapor. This makes glorification so much sweeter. And wanting to drink in more, we understand that Jesus was glorified before He came to earth, but He became lower than the angels without the glory as He was made in the likeness of man (John 7:39; 12:23), and after His resurrection then God glorified Him again; and by crowning Him with glory, then God was glorified (1 Peter 4:11; John 11:4; 12:23, 28; 13:31-32; 17:4, 10; Acts 3:13). But the glory of God is to fill and cover the earth, even to the ends (Numbers 14:21; Psalm 57:5, 11; 72:19; 102:15; 108:5; Isaiah 6:3; 24:16; Jeremiah 33:9; Ezekiel 43:2; Habakkuk 2:14). God declared to Isaiah, In YAHWEH shall be justified and glorified, all the descendants of Israel (Isaiah 45:25). And the most famous and beloved passage from Romans, And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified (Romans 8:30). As Isaiah prophesied, You have increased the nation, O LORD, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land (Isaiah 26:15). So not only is God glorified by Jesus being glorified; but the Lord is also glorified in our glorification (2 Thessalonians 1:10, 12; Romans 8:17; John 14:13; 15:8; 17:10; Matthew 9:8; 15:31) - which is how the glory of the LORD will cover the whole earth. The Glory of God is the Radiance of Eternity and Life Unending. The bible is clear about the spirit of a man drives the intentions of his heart, which the Lord can clearly see. You're either in the light or in the darkness - there is no middle ground. Any backsliding, slumbering while it is yet day, and wasting away the day is a retreat into darkness. We are to always be moving towards the Kingdom and preaching as we go saying, Repentance for the Kingdom of God is at hand. The Lord is watching and waiting for those who are seeking Him. Believing in God is to know Him, to love Him and to seek to do His will. Jesus clearly teaches, As Moses lifted up the serpent (his rod/stick), so must the Son of Man (Jesus) be lifted up, that whenever believes in Him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15). And we see, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, whoever does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). Frightening. The choice is ours, of those who have heard the news; we are held accountable for what we know. Whoever drinks of the water that Jesus gives, will have eternal life, for it becomes a well of living water that springs up and they will never thirst again (John 4:14). This salvation produces an abundance of light, glorification, and life. It should be abundantly flowing through you, if you're a true believer. To not have a flowing river coming from within you which goes out into the dark world, then there is no life in you. Such a life needs examined, as not all who profess Jesus' name will be saved. Many are deceiving themselves and the love of God is not in them. Are You Really in the Faith, No Really, Are You? Is the love of God in you? No, really - is it? Do you love the church? Do you love other believers? Do you serve the church? Are you united with the church? Are you in the bonds of peace, building up the body of believers? Are you loving your enemies? Are you praying for your enemies? Is there forgiveness in your heart? Is there love in your hearts - or just dry bonds with the stench of death coming from your empty rhetoric? These are all commands of Jesus, as we learn from Paul, But now faith, hope and love; abide in these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13), and Jesus declared, 'If you love Me, you will keep My commandments' (John 14:15). Our Lord added, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me (Matthew 15:8), and Abide in Me, and I will in you; as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me (John 15:4). The branches must be connected to the vine to have life, or it will be bundled and burned. Anything outside of this you are only fooling yourself. Are you fooling yourself? The one who says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6) and the one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him (1 John 2:10). God sees the unforgiveness and bitterness that is buried in denial in our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). It must be eradicated. Really, it has to be removed - to the point that not even a root of bitterness remains, Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter roots grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Hebrews 12:14-15). The Lord Jesus clearly said, For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do no forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions (Matthew 6:14-15). Especially now in the end times, when the schemes and wiles of the devil will even almost lead the elect astray (Matthew 24:24), then we must come together as the day is approaching (Hebrews 10;25). As it has been said, 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the (provoking) rebellion (Hebrews 3:15). I tell you that I am preaching to myself, as Paul asked, Well then, if you teach others, do you not also teach yourself? (Romans 2:21) and James warned, Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). So I know this message is for me, even more so than for you, the reader, but for all the warning call has gone forth; the LORD has spoken - and His word will come to pass. Listen to His words and do not harden your hearts and bring God to provocation - let us not be as sons of the man of abomination, let us forsake ourselves, die to ourselves and begin to LIVE - to live for Christ Jesus who reigns within us. For God, who said, 'Let the light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Dear heavenly Father, continue to stay steadfast in patience in love for us, help us to not harden our hearts to stay in roots in bitterness, help us Father to overcome the enemy and our flesh which only seeks to kill, steal and destroy our souls and our joy, let us speak and know the words of our Lord and Master, when He said, 'Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son, for if you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.' Lord, teach me to have the courage to come boldly to the throne of grace and ask according to Your will so that it shall be done, teach me father to manifest Your name as Jesus manifested Your name so that I can contribute to Your glory covering the earth. Father, let me live with the light and eternal life of Christ shining through my dead body, so all may know You and let me be called to the resurrection of the dead to be glorified as You are glorified. Amen
Note: An interesting article about the man Casanova born in Venice in 1725. He was much like his father Satan, for he was more than a womanizer, he was also a scam artist, gambler, charming, scofflaw, an alchemist (witchcraft), Freemason, and spy. He did the forbidden of God by having sex with two sisters along with a daughter of one of them, while he was a church cleric. Click Link.
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