Archive for the ‘the state of the church’ Category
Posted by appolus on February 26, 2015
Mat 21:33-40 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. (34) Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. (35) And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. (36) Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. (37) Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ (38) But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ (39) So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. (40) “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees here. This must have incensed them as they realized He was talking about them and the people they led. God is the Landowner and the nation of Israel and its leaders were the vinedressers. Now it must be realized that God has also planted a church, the church was born at Pentecost. Just as the Lord was looking for fruit from ancient Israel, He is also looking for fruit from the church. God sent messengers and prophets to Israel and they abused them and treated the cruelly and killed them. Over the last 2000 years God has sent messengers and prophets to His church. Is there fruit behind the walls? Will He find faith on the earth? If He cut of the natural branches should that not give pause for thought to the branches that were grafted in? There is a harvest coming. The owner is coming back for what is His. Jesus’ first coming was the culmination of all the messengers and the prophets. His second coming will be heralded as well. The people and their leaders will be without excuse. God continually reaches out and exhorts and warns of that day that is to come for His love is without question and His long-suffering with a stiff-necked people is remarkable.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Israel | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 25, 2015
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
“I am the Truth.” Wow. Jesus had not come to teach us the truth, He had come to show us the Truth. Jesus was not another teacher teaching us about truth, He was Truth and He had come to reveal Himself. Jesus says in another place that if we abided in His Word then we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. In another place we are told that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Jesus is the Word. The Word and the Truth are Jesus. If we abide in Jesus, if we dwell with Him, if we come to Him, then we will know Him and in knowing Him we shall be set free. He who the Son sets free is free indeed, liberated from bondage and the curse of sin. Now, you can know the Bible and not know the Truth, but you cannot know the Truth and not know the Bible. Those who are in Christ and know Him are in the Word and the word is in them and they continue in it, they abide in it. There is a huge difference between memorizing Scripture and knowing the Word. He showed us the Way by showing us Himself who is the Truth and it led us deeper into Him, who is Life. All of that leads us to the Father. Show me a man with the life of Christ in Him and I will show you a man knows the Truth and walks the narrow way that leads to the Father and eternal life.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 24, 2015
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. (Hab 3:17-19)
Have you ever seen the mountain goat traverse almost vertical sheer cliffs? It is a sight to behold. In the making of these goats God withheld fear. It is as if the mountain is not there. There is something in their very make up that causes them to move with ease in surroundings that would kill almost any other living creature, God made it so. When gross darkness comes upon us brothers and sisters, there is a perfect love that casts out all fear. We traverse the mountains and the valleys and the shadows of death with power and love and a mind that is stayed upon Him. He is your strength and He will make you fearless when the time comes and you will walk in high places. Even in the midst of great turmoil and chaos, peace will reign in the hearts of the saints whose eyes are stayed on Him.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 23, 2015
The title of this piece is very controversial. I have lost friends over this subject. I do not take it lightly. It is quite an audacious thing to say that the very system that most of Christendom labors under is un-biblical and flawed but there it is, that is what I believe. The mere fact that it has existed in some form or fashion for countless centuries in no way legitimizes it. If it did, then the Catholic church would be the most legitimate church out there. It seems plain enough that in Scripture, Christians met in their homes and their very homes became places of worship, houses of prayer if you like. The outside world saw life in these people, saw love in these people and God Himself added to them daily. Think about all the church programs that are designed to ” get,” new members or to somehow stop the ” revolving door,” and keep the folks who come and visit. Yet the early believers had no such programs.
What led people to the truth was the very life in those who represented it. A burning love and passion for Jesus. They had no desire to bring folks to their particular house, or tell people that they must hear their particular teacher or pastor, no their singular obsession and passion was for the one who radically transformed their lives and it was now no longer them that lived but Christ lived in them. Therefore they were not afraid to die for Jesus , in fact, the early Church counted it as a great honor and thanked God that they were counted worthy to suffer for Him. This was the life of Christ burning in their bones, coursing through their veins, it completely dominated their whole lives, their life was about His life in them and this drew others to Jesus. God Himself was given all the honor and the glory for the drawing of others to Himself as of course it should be. Consider the words of T.A.Sparks……………………………
The Lord has not called upon us to form churches. That is not our business. Would to God men had recognized the fact! A very different situation would obtain today from what exists, if that had been recognized. It is the Lord Who expands His Church, Who governs its growth. What we have to do is to live in the place of His appointment in the power of His resurrection. If, in the midst of others, the Lord can get but two of His children, in whom His Life is full and free, to live on the basis of that Life, and not to seek to gather others to themselves or to get them to congregate together on the basis of their acceptance of certain truths or teaching, but simply to witness to what Christ means and is to them, then He has an open way…. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: the Body of Christ, The Pilgrim Church | 19 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 22, 2015
Joh 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
The beginning of a manifestation of His glory. This would culminate in the greatest manifestation of Gods glory here on earth, the transformation and the regeneration of a human soul. To take what is dead and bring it back to life again.To take what is broken and to restore it. To take what is captured and to set it free. The earth cries out for such manifestations of glory in our day, yet perhaps the church is crying out for other things?
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: manifestation | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on February 21, 2015
Psa 125:2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
The Lord Jesus is as a mountain to His people. He is our higher ground. He towers over our valleys and beckons us to come up higher, to come to Him and rise above our circumstances. When you are in the valley of weeping lift up your eyes and see where your help comes from. Three times a year the people of God were called to come up to Jerusalem, to the temple of God. Psalms 120-134 are songs of ascendancy. It was vital for Gods people to come unto the sanctuary at various times throughout the year. This would give them the strength to dwell in the valleys and plains where they lived. Jesus, in a larger sense, came down from the mountain of heaven to the valley of this world. Time and time again He retreated to the mountain. He shared some of the greatest truths from the mountain, consider His ” sermon on the mount.” He would retreat to the mountain and get alone with His Father. Brothers and sisters, do not neglect this higher ground. One must come up and into the presence of God if one is to navigate the deep valleys of life.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: higher ground | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 18, 2015
A wise man once wrote ” Friction is the polish that shines our graces.” Another way of saying that could be ” suffering is the path that leads to glory.” Now, this is never a popular teaching, but suffering is a gift from God in the sense that it helps to sanctify us and shape us and teach us. The flesh screams out against ever going down that path. As mere humans we would never personally choose to go down such a path. Yet do you know what that path is called? It’s called the narrow path and it leads to life. One might ask ” how can trials and humiliations , pain and suffering and even sometimes death lead to life?” As Christians, do we really need to ask that question? This was the life of Christ. He was acquainted with suffering, He was a man of sorrows. Some would teach that He suffered so that we would not have to. This is not true. He overcame suffering and hell and death so that we could overcome too in His name and by the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures tells us that “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; (Heb 5:8-9)
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;(Php 1:29)
If you are suffering today and in the midst of a sore trial, I want to encourage you. God is in control. He knows and He sees. There is nothing lost not a single tear. One day soon, all of those tears will be wiped away in the glories of heaven.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: pain and suffering | 9 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 17, 2015
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (Mat 4:8-9)
In this encounter with Satan, this is the final test for Jesus in the desert. Look at what Satan wanted, this is what he wanted over and above all other things, he wanted authority over Jesus. He would gladly give him all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory that goes along with that if He would only bow the knee to him. Of course Jesus refused.
I want you to see something in this. Satan wanted the authority and the preeminence that belonged to God alone. This is the sin that Satan was guilty of, this is the genesis of pride, listen to his words……Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:” You see, you can have everything this world has to offer if you will only bow to the authority of man which is ultimately the authority of Satan. This is where the struggle began and this has been the ancient struggle which will finally be dealt with at the return of Jesus.
The challenge to every saint in every age is what they do with established authority. Now they hated Jesus and Jesus told us if they hated Him then they would certainly hate us. Who would hate us? The rulers of this world, religious or otherwise. Why would they hate us? Jesus refused to bow His knee to the ruler of this world who is the ruler of rulers. Genuine saints have received the love of the truth and they abide in it and it has set them free. Those who perish and are deceived are those who would not receive the love of the truth.
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2Th 2:10-11)
Brothers and sisters, those who have received the love of the truth which is a gift from God are the persecuted saints down through the ages. They are the deadliest enemy of the father of lies. They will not bow the knee to him nor any of his emissaries even if they appear as an angel of light. This ancient battle of darkness against light started when Lucifer, in his mind, exalted himself above the throne of God and then would have Jesus bow down to him. There is a deadly fury of all of hell that comes against the one who refuses to bow to anyone other than Christ. It will culminate soon when all the world will bow down to the god of this world who is a pretender to the rightful throne of Christ. He will command all men everywhere to bow down to him, the saints will not. For they love the Truth more than they love their lives. When Jesus comes in all His glory then every knee will bow of those in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 15, 2015
The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches
A.W. Tozer
Here is the burden of my heart. While I claim for myself no special inspiration I yet feel that this is also the burden of the Spirit.
If I know my own heart it is love alone that moves me to write this. What I write here is not the sour ferment of a mind agitated by contentions with my fellow Christians. There have been no such contentions. I have not been abused, mistreated or attacked by anyone. Nor have these observations grown out of any unpleasant experiences that I have had in my association with others. My relations with my own church as well as with Christians of other denominations have been friendly, courteous and pleasant. My grief is simply the result of a condition which I believe to be almost universally prevalent among the churches.
I think also that I should acknowledge that I am myself very much involved in the situation I here deplore. As Ezra in his mighty prayer of intercession included himself among the wrongdoers, so do I. “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens” (9:6). Any hard word spoken here against others must in simple honesty return upon my own head. I too have been guilty. This is written with the hope that we all may turn unto the Lord our God and sin no more against Him.
Let me state the cause of my burden. It is this: Jesus Christ has today almost no authority at all among the groups that call themselves by His name. By these I mean not the Roman Catholics, nor the liberals, nor the various quasi-Christian cults. I do mean Protestant churches generally, and I include those that protest the loudest that they are in spiritual descent from our Lord and His apostles, namely the evangelicals.
It is a basic doctrine of the New Testament that after His resurrection the Man Jesus was declared by God to be both Lord and Christ, and that He was invested by the Father with absolute Lordship over the church which is His body. All authority is His in heaven and in earth. In His own proper time He will exert it to the full, but during this period in history He allows this authority to be challenged by the world and ignored by the church.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Jesus Christ, Waning Authority of Christ | 12 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 10, 2015
In a recent post, I spoke about the vital need to be found wearing the full armor of God if we are to stand in the evil day. I would like to speak about another aspect of our relationship with God that will be vital if we are to stand in that day.
The subject of passion can be so divisive because for the most part it is subjective. Yet , I will argue that Gods elect, His remnant, are a passionate group of believers. Passion; what is it and how do we measure it and how can it be obtained? A basic definition of passion is a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. Can you say that you are passionate for Jesus? What produces passion in anyone for anything? Well, if we are to be passionate about something there must first be an encounter. In the world men and woman will testify that they met someone and it was ” love at first sight.” Within a month they are married and they remain married for the next fifty years. They fell ” madly,” in love with one another and the thought of ever being apart was something they could not even consider. Are you madly in love with Jesus? Does He produce that kind of passion within you? Can you say that you have encountered Him in such a fashion?
One of the most passionate sermons in all of the New Testament was Peters sermon after he was baptized in the Holy Spirit. He has been penetrated to his very core, Christ Himself had taken up residency in his heart by the power of the Holy Spirit to such a degree that out of the abundance of this filling overflowed the sermon, the speech, the sharing with the crowd, call it what you like, but such was the passion and the power of his words that mens hard hearts were penetrated also. You see, out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths speak. It is a universal principle. If a man has a passion and you want to know what it is, just hang around him for a while and you will soon know. If it is politics, then he will speak of politics. He will know all about it and he will continually speak of it. If it is sports or music or hunting or history it will be just the same. If it is Jesus, it will be no different. Out of the passionate heart flows passionate words.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: full armor of God, relationship with God | 11 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 6, 2015
Recently we heard President Obama, at a prayer breakfast of all places, speak to a very diverse crowd including the Dalai Lama. In trying to establish a historical immoral equivalency between ISIS and the Crusades and the inquisition he erred. In actual fact there are not two or three or many historical incidents and periods from which to draw from and deem them to be equivalent. There is but one evil and it is ancient. It has been present at every barbaric act ever carried out in the name of religion. It is presently uniting the world through horror. In order to see the bigger picture you must be able to draw back the lens, come up higher. The view encompasses the beginning and the end. The world will come together, there will be a new order and that new order will be the deadliest enemy the genuine saint has ever faced. If you can believe it, it is already unfolding, hiding in plain sight. Because of the horrors and barbarism of ISIS and other groups, we are unwittingly coming together and uniting together, on face value to fight evil, but the intent of this evil is to unite the world against everything called fundamentalism. The world is a chess board and men, even the most powerful men, are but mere puppets, proxy’s in an ancient war of darkness and light. One hates the other. The conclusion is soon to come when Christ appears. Genuine saints must keep their eyes upon Him and walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. May you have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is showing and saying to the Church.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Dalai Lama, President Obama | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on February 2, 2015
There is a revolution coming to the Body of Christ. You may or may not be ready for it but it is coming. When the colonists stood against Great Britain, they were defying the very order of things. It was inevitable that the establishment would come against them with great fury in an attempt to destroy them. Out of that revolution came the most powerful country the world has ever known.
If you study revival you will know that there are certain characteristics that are common to them all. There is a powerful tangible awareness of God’s presence. There is powerful and heartfelt prayer and supplication to a Holy God. There is weeping and repentance and salvation.There is glorious worship. There is a changing and a shaping of the society in which it takes place. It effects every walk of life in the geographical area in which it takes place, and often times its effects are more widespread than that, as visitors come and are changed by the presence of God and they take something of it back from whence they came. Now, there is a common characteristic to all revivals, there is a unique sense of unity. Now, in psalm 133 it says ” Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” There is so much oil poured out that it runs down the priests, Aaron, beard and down over his garments, in short, all of him is covered by the oil. And there, the word says, the Lord commands a blessing and the blessing is life forevermore.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: Body of Christ, brothers and sisters, glorious revolution | 4 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 31, 2015
Brothers and sisters, there is a coming storm. Even now the dark clouds are gathering over the land. War is on the horizon. The end of ages are upon us and the enemy of our souls knows it well. He will come against the saints first with great deception and then with great fury. A time is coming, a war is coming such as has not been seen before. Who will stand? In every stage of history men have made their decisions and their stands. Many men have stood on the wrong side of history. It is one thing to stand on the wrong side of history, it is quite another thing to stand on the wrong side of the ages.
Today the saints must establish in their hearts what they are living for and what they are willing to lose everything for. Are you living for all things eternal? Will you be willing in the coming days to lose everything? In that day, there will be darkness and various shades of grey on one side, and there will be light on the other. There is no darkness in God. We cannot stand in shades of grey. We will be compelled to choose. Even now the world demands compromise to the Word of God. Every institution will fall in line with the world or it will fall. Praise God some will choose to fall, most will fall in line.
A famous group of colonists once declared independence from great Britain and a shot was fired that was heard around the world. There will be a declaration all too soon that declares allegiance to God and God alone and further declares total dependence upon Him. When the colonists signed that declaration, death was assured for them in the event of defeat. They were, with their signatures, totally committed to the cause and willing to pay the ultimate price. If mere men can make declarations and give their life for that cause, what will an army of saints around the world achieve by their own declaration? And how will we declare such things? By our lives and the stands that we make. This will be universal. And the result? The greatest witness of Christ the world has ever seen in all of ages past. I pray I live to see that day.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 25, 2015
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Daniel speaks of a time when the saints will be worn down. I believe the process of the saints being worn down has already begun. Times have been changed and wrong has become right and truth, at best, is relative. This is wearing the saints out as they struggle to come to terms with these fast changing circumstances. There has been a blitzkrieg so to speak in the realms of the spirit. Compromise and unrighteousness has surrounded the saints. We are an obstacle that at some point will have to be removed if the enemy is to have total dominance. More laws will be changed and we will witness more compromise by Christendom
If you recognize this, then I want you to be encouraged saint. We have been called to stand. Even although many will fall away, we have been called to stand. There is an evil day ahead and the saints have been called to stand in that day. Now how are we to stand in the midst of this battle? We have been called to stand fully equipped with the armor of God, this is how we will stand and the enemy knows it, so he has come against every aspect of our armor in the last several decades, knowing the time is short.
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Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Christendom | 9 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 22, 2015
While Moses was on the mountain being stripped of all his rights –
because that is what was meant by the removal of his shoes –
Israel was in the valley being stripped of all human strength. Moses
would have no rights; Israel, no strength. God could prove Himself
strong on their behalf in no other way. The great “I AM” was being revealed! (David Wilkerson)
After 40 years in the wilderness Moses is ready, Israel is ready. In taking off his shoes, Moses is removing the world from him and acknowledging a holy God. God was working and the backdrop to that working is banishment, wilderness dwelling and slavery. God refines His people in the fire. Now, the fire is kindled by the world not by God. The fire is a reaction to a redeemed people. Note the reason why the Hebrew children were being forced into the fire. They refused to bow down to the gods of this world. They defied the powers that be and were willing to die rather than bow the knee to the gods of this world. This is a spiritual principle played out down through the corridors of time.
Soon the stripping away phase will end and the results will be open persecution of Gods redeemed. For Nebuckadnezzar , he was so enraged that he made the fire seven time hotter. The children of Israel did not fare much better when Pharoah was confronted and defied. In these times, great movements of God were preceded by great hostility to His people. Christ is coming back in all His glory in the sky. There is great movement in the heavenalies and the principalities and powers know that. God is preparing a people who will stand in that evil day.
John the Baptist cried out from the wilderness after more than 400 years of silence from God ” Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.” Gods own people in this day have been walking through a wilderness and there is something in their bones that they know ” Behold the Lion of Judah is coming in His glory in the sky.” God is not finished preparing His people for the soon coming evil day, but get ready saints to ” remove your shoes.” The Great I Am is getting ready to bring an end to all ages. The culmination of everything written is soon coming to pass. You know it, you do not have to be convinced, the Spirit in you tells you so. The powers that be know it and they will not go quietly. We, the children of God, are their deadliest enemies for we are bearers of the light. Hold fast, stand strong, lift up your heads for you know where your help cometh from. And no matter what happens , remember the words of the Hebrew children in defiance of the essence of worldly power and let us add our words to theirs, we neither will ever bow down to the gods of this world, even if it means our lives…….bro Frank
Rev_12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
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Posted by appolus on January 22, 2015
Sharing the word of God and the good news of the gospel without the power of the Holy Spirit is like offering a starving man a picture of some food.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: power of the holy spirit | 1 Comment »
Posted by appolus on January 14, 2015
Are you content? Boy, that is a loaded question. I would argue, if you broke it all down, that this is what the majority of the people of the world are looking for, contentment. Now, how to achieve that is the question for the world but also a very serious question for Christians. The world makes all the mistakes in attempting to achieve contentment, yet so do many Christians. The people of the world believe, in general, that contentment comes through material possessions. Let us have a look at what the word actually means.
The Greek word is ” autarkes,” and it literally means self-complacent or self-sufficient. This is why there is a such a tie to material possessions. The context of Philippians chapter four where Paul states ” I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content,” is in the context of a gift of money having been sent to him by the Philippians. So there is no doubt that the main theme of this particular text is money or material possessions. And of course, this is one of the worlds primary pre-occupations.
Now if this is one of the worlds primary pre-occupations and the world, in general, is not content, then the gathering and the storing of money in order to bring about peace and contentment is obviously flawed. Money, whether having a lot of it or none at all , cannot produce peace or contentment. The problem with that truth is that almost no one believes it. The lie is so great, that the majority of the world spend the majority of their life in pursuing more money in the hopes that if they just have enough, whatever that is, then this will lead them to peace and contentment. Yet statistics show that a great majority of those who commit suicide are wealthy. You see, the poor hope to be rich one day, in the mistaken notion that it will bring about contentment and therefore they have hope and have something to strive for, even although it is akin to believing that there is an actual pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. The wealthy, on the other hand, know that their riches have not brought them the peace and the contentment which they sought and so often times hope is lost which leads to suicide. It is similar to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz finally getting to meet the great and notable wizard and discovering he is just a man behind a curtain pulling levers.
Now the stoic Greeks believed in being content yet this meant something very different to them, closer I would argue to the truth, but still very flawed. To the Greeks, contentment was a state of dispassionately accepting whatever state you found yourself in by drawing on your own inner strength, you own self. In order to cope with all that life threw at them, the best they could hope for was a dispassionate state. The Apostle Paul taught something very different in the Scriptures and he was a great example for us to learn from.
Consider Paul’s position in life even as he was writing his epistle to the Philippians. He was writing this letter from prison, he had lost everything in life. He had been very wealthy from a wealthy family and had lost all of that. He had held a high position in Jewish society and now he was hated. He once had an abundance of money and now he had nothing, in fact he had to rely upon the charity of those whom he had preached the gospel too. He had found himself homeless and oftentimes just had the clothes upon his back. He had been scourged many times almost to death. He had been imprisoned in the deepest dungeons. He had oftentimes went hungry. He had been stoned almost to death and had been shipwrecked on more than one occasion and drifting at sea. He would ultimately die a martyr’s death and he knew this because it had been revealed to him by the Spirit. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: contentment, material possessions, peace and contentment | 7 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 13, 2015
The other day I was reading my companies weekly. I must admit that I typically do not read it. It is usually full of tips for Real Estate and so on which really don’t interest me all that much. The founder of the company had written a piece and I found myself reading it. I first met him when he was a very young man. He was undoubtedly and entrepeneur. I am sure if you have lived long enough you have met these guys. I have met a few in my day and they all have one thing in common and it is not a love for money, quite the opposite. The love business and building and growing businesses seems to be what inspires them. It is a passion for them, something they were born with. This is definitely true of the man who started the company that I work for. He has a passion for what he does and he was alluding to that in the article.
Anyway, the thought that caught my attention was that he said money should always be a by-product of your passion. If the passion is there, the money will follow. In the business world I have seen that to be true. I know in my own business I never think about the money. I get clients and I want to do what is best for them and because I am in Real Estate, the very last thing to happen in a process that can take several months, is that I get a commission. Those who respect their clients and are driven to always do what is best for them, with no regard to the money, seem to be the ones who last in an industry that has a very high turn-over. So, in short, do everything right, fight for and protect your clients and then comes the commission and very typically future referrals.
Now how can we equate that to the Kingdom of God? If we are passionate worshipers of Jesus, then everything else is secondary. If Jesus is the primary object of our passions, then everything else becomes the by-product. If we ever get that wrong, we cease to be effective. If soul winning is our primary object, we cease to be effective soul winners. If faith is our primary object then we cannot be faithful. If Holiness is our primary object than we cannot be holy. If revival is our primary object then we will never see revival. Outside of Jesus being the primary object of our lives then we are doomed to fail in the realms of the Spirit.
I would argue that the saints who have rocked this world for Jesus are the saints who have walked in intimate communion with Him. He is the source of all love and majesty and glory and power. Only by abiding in Him ( Him being our primary object) can we walk in forgiveness and mercy and grace. When we do this it is followed by power and signs and wonders. Out of the abundance of the passion that we experience as we walk with Jesus as our grand obsession comes the overflow that changes those around us and brings light into a dark world. Are you being ineffective in your walk? Have you wondered why? Is Jesus the primary object of your life? Is there joy in you life? Is there glory in your life? Are you an over-comer? Do you have thankful spirit? Listen saints, if Jesus is truly the primary object of your life then what follows that is love, joy, peace, faithfulness,thankfulness, forgiveness and so on. How often have I heard a saint say, on any one of the aforementioned issues ” I need to work on that.” That is quite exactly wrong. No amount of “work,” can muster up joy nor thankfulness nor love nor any of the issues of the heart. He must be our all in all. In Him we live and move and have our being. Jesus Himself is the answer to any problem you are having, any problem. The answer lies in Him alone, the answer lies before the throne.
Whatever you seek to achieve in the Kingdom of God comes directly from the depths of your relationship with Him. Find a man who is passionate about sports and he will bore your pants off speaking about it. Find a man who is passionate about politics and he will rip your shirt of telling you all about the latest policies and issues and state of the world. Find a man who is truly passionate about Jesus and you will find a man who is changing the world. Out of the abundance of our passion flows the power of God.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | Tagged: Real Estate | Leave a Comment »
Posted by appolus on January 8, 2015
We NEED PROPHETS!
by A.W. Tozer
A prophet is one who knows his times and what God is trying to
say to the people of his times.
Today we need prophetic preachers; not preachers of prophecy
merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom
is missing. We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits.
It is not ability to predict that we need, but the anointed eye, the
power of spiritual penetration and interpretation, the ability to
appraise the religious scene as viewed from God’s position, and
to tell us what is actually going on.
Where is the man who can see through the ticker tape and confetti
to discover which way the parade is headed, why it started in the
first place and, particularly, who is riding up front in the seat of honor?
What is needed desperately today is prophetic insight. Scholars
can interpret the past; it takes prophets to interpret the present.
Learning will enable a man to pass judgment on our yesterdays,
but it requires a gift of clear seeing to pass sentence on our own
day. One hundred years from now historians will know what was
taking place religiously in this year of our Lord; but that will be too
late for us. We should know right now.
If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation it must be by other means
than any now being used. If the church in the second half of this
century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half,
there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-
synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man
who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions,
nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the
Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried
and found wanting.
Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be
of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and
has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray
God there will be not one but many) he will stand in flat contradiction
to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will
contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn
the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such
a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit
angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to
the point of willingness to die for the glory of the one and the
salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with
mortal breath.
We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the church,
and it is my belief that the one gift we need most now is the gift
of prophecy.
-A.W. Tozer – from ‘Of God and Men’.
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 16 Comments »
Posted by appolus on January 5, 2015
As I write this, we happen to be in the depths of winter. It is January and there are some dark days ahead of course. Spring seems like a long way away. I would like you to consider the tree in winter. It loses all of its foliage. It stands stark and naked and bare against the cold winter sky. There seems to be no life in it at all. Yet there it stands. All activity seems to be suspended yet the root system continues to grow as the ground temperature a few feet below the surface is warmer. In the depths of winter, the roots grow deeper. This is the season of the remnant. We are in the midst of a long winter which will only end with the return of Jesus. This long winter is by design. God is establishing a people who cannot be moved. He is allowing everything to be stripped away. All the foliage, all the pretty adornments that we have added over countless centuries are simply being stripped away. The traditions of men appeal to the world, it compensates for a lack of reality. Yet God has a remnant who simply must have Him. A people who, no matter what happens, will follow God and stand upon His Word. Stand firm brothers and sisters, be encouraged. You are not alone. Your trials, your tribulations your feelings of isolation are by design. God must have an end time people who will follow Him no matter how fierce the storm. His people must have deep roots and these roots must be developed. This is where we are, this is where you are. The article below by T.A.Sparks speaks well to our current state and why we must endure and overcome…….bro Frank
And the remnant… shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (Isaiah 37:31)
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Christian, christian living, Christianity, church of scotland, Daily devotional, Devotions, end times, Jesus, pentecostal, prophecy, revival, the remnant, the state of the church, theology | 14 Comments »
A Call To The Remnant 