Self and God

What could be wrong with the complete freedom that Eve sought to fulfill her desires? After all isn't freedom essential to love? The trouble is, in exercising her freedom Eve showed no love whatsoever either for Adam or God. Genuine love, made possible by freedom of choice, providentially carries within itself that which holds the reins on the freedom it requires. In contrast, "free love" destroys both freedom and love.

The law could never make us good. It could only tempt us, as Paul pointed out, to do what it forbids:

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I woul not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produce in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 7:1 - 11, NKJV).

Love alone is able to restrict our conduct and even cause us to fulfill the law:

"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10).

Genuine Divine Love

Listen to Paul's beautiful description of genuine divine love:

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks now evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoice in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away" (1 Cor. 13:4 - 8, emphasis added).

Love forgets self and abandons self-interest in order to please the one who is loved. How incongruous, then, is the term "self-love?" Where demands are made for self and complaints are voiced of not being treated fairly or not being "responded to," one may be absolutely certain that true divine love is not present, for love "does not seek its own." Our fallen hearts are not capable of such divine love. it can only be ours through the transformation of the new birth and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. But, even in the average Local Church, many so-called Christians (including some pastors) are transformed by the new birth, but few are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Why? Because of the love of self!

Love of self or Love of God

Affectionate feelings and deep passions do not necessarily spring from genuine love. The words, "I love you," from the lips of a couple "deeply fallen in love," though spoken with fervor, too often mean "I love me and I want you!" Beware, for lust habitually masquerades as love and had deceived multitudes. When the mask at last has slipped, as it eventually does, the horrible truth is revealed - but so often too late!

Where love's restrictions are not observed and self is not denied so that God can reign supreme, there is no love, no matter how eloquently it may be professed. Satan, being incapable of genuine love, knows not the difference between love and lust. Those who follow him become similarly blinded by their own sensual appetites. Self seeks nothing but its own desires and will protest its fervent and loyal affection to gain satisfaction for its cravings.

True love has no higher joy than pleasing the one who is loved. Jesus gave us the secret of victory in the Christian life:

Jesus said: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me" (John 14:21, 23, 24).

Love delights in obeying God - and in so doing brings blessing to those on earth who are loved as well.

It cannot be emphasized enough that the battle of the ages which began with Satan's rebellion now rages in every human heart. The conflict is between self and God. It is whom one love, self or God, that determines one's behavior. The crucial choice each one of us faces many times a day, is whether to love and serve self or to love and serve God. That conflict needs to be settled once and for all so that we are no longer double-minded.

Self-love, which is the very heart of Satan's rebellion, is the partner of lust. The "love" it gives exists only in order to satisfy its own needs by getting something in return. It cannot exist side-by-side with the love for God, which must be selfless. One cannot be devoted to God and at the same time be devoted to serving and pleasing oneself, which is what it means to love self. In order to be His followers, Jesus said we must deny this loyalty to and love of ourselves. We must give ourselves to God and others as He gave Himself for us. Even love between husband and wife, parent and child, neighbors and friends, must be selfless or it is not genuine.

While Satan was the originator of evil in the universe at large, it was Adam and Eve who introduced it to this earth. Eve was deceived, but Adam was not (1 Timothy 2:14). However, in God's eyes, his sin was worse than Eve's - he disobeyed God knowingly, and quite likely because he didn't want to be separated from his wife. Together, they were separated from God, a spiritual death into which we, as their offspring, are all born:

Paul said: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12).

Depravity and the Power of Choice

The many similarities of Lucifer's rebellion and fall which we find in the case of Adam and Eve are, of course, no coincidence. As it was with Lucifer, so with Adam and Eve (and with us as well). There was no "explanation" - and thus no excuse - for their willful and rebellious disobedience. Evil remains a mystey, hidden in the depths of the human heart where it was nourished by Satan. The power of choice was part of the image of God in which we were created, and it opened the door to both love and evil.

That Adam and Eve had the power to make a genuine choice is evident from the fact that God commanded them not to eat of "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:17) and held them accountable when they disobeyed. That their offspring, though depraved and enslaved by sin, still have the moral capacity to choose either good or evil is evident by God's continued appeals to mankind to obey Him: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15).

Paul, being a natural man, declared: "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find" (Romans 7:18).

He went on to explain that he lacked the power to put his good desires into practice. It was not the ability to choose to do good that was lacking, but the power to perform.

Obedience is a conscious choice that man has the capacity for, and must make from his heart. Disobedience is the choice of not to obey. There is no denying that choice is essential to our humanity as God made us. There is no denying that God gave each one of us a conscience on which He wrote His laws:

Paul said: ".... when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them ..." (Romans 2:14, 15, emphasis added).


Because of our conscience, we have the capacity to choose what is right and to resist what is wrong and we do so in varying degree. In other words, not every person engages in evil to the maximum. Because of this fact, "total depravity" of the natural man does not exist. We are all depraved, but we are not all Hitler. We are immoral creatures, but each of us resists much immorality while falling prey to some. Not everyone has robbed, raped, or murdered. Most of humanity has perhaps never even been tempted to commit such heinous crimes. If we were totally depraved, however, all of us would pursue evil without any restraint.


The Mystery of Evil and the Denial of Self


Adam and Eve were perfect creatures made by God in His image to glorify Him. Lucifer, too, was "perfect in his way from the day he was created" (Ezekiel 28:15). How is it possible that perfect beings living in the paradise of God's presence could rebel against the God who had made them, who had only loved and cared for and given them every benefit His wisdom could devise? It seems inconceivable! That evil could arise in such creatures and under such circumstances points to the mystery of evil that dwells in each of our hearts!


The central role played by the love of self in man's rebellion against God is the reason for Christ's unequivocal command that we must deny self:


"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24). Read also Mark 8:24; Luke 9:23.


Someone said, to deny oneself means to say no to oneself. This self which must be denied, if we are to cease following Satan and become the followers of Christ, had its awful birth in the Garden of Eden. Eve's disobedience was motivated by her love of self, which produced and satisfied selfish desires.


The Cult of Self


Satan's claim that he alone had the correct interpretation of what God had said is the foundation of every cult. Those who join a cult do so because its perverted interpretation of Scripture appeals to them. Appealing, too, is the fact that its leader decides and dictates what each member should believe and do. Cultists mistakenly imagine that by submission to such absolute authority, whether guru, pastor or pope, they can escape personal responsibility of God. Self-interest motivates the members of any cult. Whoever truly loves and seeks God, however, will be delivered from self-deception.


Not so in the case of Eve. She had found a religious leader (the serpent) whose new interpretation of what God had said was exactly what she wanted to hear. God had forbidden the pair to eat the fruit of one particular tree and had warned that disobedience would bring death. The serpent dismissed God's warnings as restrictive and narow-minded and assured Eve that liberation from such dogmatic authoritarianism would bring glorious self-fulfillment. It would even turn her into a god.


Eve chose to put self ahead of God. There can be no doubt that she loved self instead of God. But is self-love wrong? After all, Christ did say: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39). True, but He was not commanding self-love; He was correcting it! His command proves that we innately do love ourselves.


The fact is that we all innately love ourselves - and far too much. That sentiment has been inherited from Adam and Even and has firm roots deep within us all. Do we not lavish attention upon ourselves? Is not self-preservation and self-protection our primary instinct? We zealously clothe and feed and comfort and care for ourselves. Christ was simply saying, "Give some of the attention and care to your neighbor that you squander upon yourself!"


The Image of God and Divine Remedy


We are created in the image of God. "Image," immediately brings to mind a mirror. Interestingly enough, a mirror's only purpose is to reflect an image of something other than itself.


If there is something defective about its image, the mirror needs two remedies:


1. To be cleaned so that nothing of self interferes.


2. To be restored to a right relationship with the one whose image it was designed to reflect.


Having been seduced by Satan, our natural bent is to try to develop God's image in which we were made from within self. But such effort can only destroy God's image that we are to reflect. So, what is the real remedy for us? God wants our repentance and then we'll receive His forgiveness.


In love, God desired to forgive these rebels (all of us) and restore them to Himself. It would, however take more than a bookkeeping entry in heaven. Both love and justice demanded that the full penalty for sin be paid. As finite beings we could never pay that penalty, but would have been separated for eternity from God. By God's grace, Christ, who is both God and man and thus both sinless and infinite, bore the consequences of our sin. As a free gift, He offers full pardon and eternal life to all who will admit their sin and accept his pament of the penalty in their place. How unsearchable is the wisdom of God!


Many parents fail to follow God's example when their children disobey. They back away from discipline, and the child never learns the serious consequences of rebellion. Failure to discipline shows a lack of love, encourages the self-will that dwells in every heart, and courts increasing disaster!

Imminent Pre-tribulation Rapture

Many Bible teachers are still arguing about the Rapture of the Church. Is it going to be a pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation or post-tribulation Rapture? Let us search the Scripture and then look from the standpoint of God's love and wisdom and logic.

Biblical proofs of a Pre-tribulation Rapture

There are several proofs that the true Church will not pass through the Great Tribulation:

First proof

As true Christians, we are in Christ, we cannot be judged a second time. Our sins were judged at the cross of Calvary, borne by the sinless Savior. By offering His own body as a sacrifice, He made all who believe in Him justified and righteous before God.

The Great Tribulation is a seven-year period of the most dreadful nature that will come to those wicked people who rebelled against God and forsook the path of faith. If the Church were to pass through it, we would undergo a second judgment, as if Jesus' sacrifice were not sufficient to justify us, and that is impossible. Therefore the Holy Spirit will translate the Church before the Great Tribulation.

Second proof

We see a pattern of what will happen in the stories of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah. Let us look first at the time of Noah (Gen 6 - 8).

Following Noah's repeated cry that God would judge the world, the flood finally came and lasted forty days and forty nights. Just before that, however, He caused the eight members of Noah's family to enter the ark and escape the flood. Then came God's judgment.

Jesus said: "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:37, NKJV).

God let Noah and his family escaped the flood by taking refuge in the ark before He judged the world. How much more will He make a way of escape from the Great Tribulation for those whom Jesus Christ bought with the price of His own blood and sealed with the Holy Spirit? It would be contrary to God's nature for Him to make no difference between His saints and the rest of the world, judging us the same as He judges them. A pre-tribulation Rapture is therefore, imperative.

Actually, both Noah and those who rejected his preaching were taken away. Noah and his family were taken away by the ark, borne up on the water (a picture, though not a perfect one, of the Rapture), and the wicked were taken away to death by the flood-waters of judgment.

Consider also Sodom and Gomorrah. Though Lot lived there by his own free will, yet God, knowing him to be a righteous man, spared the lives of Lot and his family when He rained down judgment. Lot and his family were taken out of Sodom by the angels (a type of Rapture), and after their departure to safety, God's judgment fell (a type of the Great Tribulation). Not until angels had led them safely away did He loose the fire and brimstones (Gen. 19:15 - 29). The pre-tribulation Rapture could not be depicted more accurately.

Thus God rescues those whom He has chosen and who have trusted in Him by faith. And so shall we who have been justified by the precious blood of Jesus escape the Great Tribulation.

Third proof

The fact that the Church is mentioned often in Revelation 1 - 3, but not once in Chapters 4 - 19, also suggests it will not pass through the Great Tribulation. If we were going to endure it, we would surely find references to the Church in those chapters. The word "saint" is used often, however, in those chapters. It may refer to people who become Chrsitians ofter the Rapture. At least by its silence, then, this portion of Revelation strongly suggests the Church will no pass through the Great Tribulation.

Forth proof

Jesus Himself indicated the Church will not pass through the Great Tribulation in Luke 21:

Jesus said: "But take heed to yourselves; lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and care of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34 - 36).

Did Jesus say we should make preparation to pass through all the things that will happen to us? No. He said we must watch and pray so that we may escape all the things that will happen and to stand before Him.

Fifth proof

Paul said: "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming" (2 Thess. 2:3 - 8, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The "Day" is the Rapture of the Church. It will only come after the "falling away" (the great apostasy) of the Church and the Antichrist is revealed (made manifest).

2. The man of sin or the son of perdition is the Antichrist. He will exalt himself above God.

3. The Church, being "a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22), is restraining the revelation of the Antichrist. God, the Holy Spirit is present in this world in a unique way that was not true before the Church was formed nor will be so after Church is removed in the Rapture. When the Church is taken to heaven, that special presence of the Holy Spirit will also be removed, though He will be here as God omnipresent as He eternally is throughout the entire universe. When the Church is taken out of the way (by Rapture), the Antichrist will be revealed. The period of reign of the Antichrist is the period of the Great Tribulation.

4. The Lord will destroy the Antichrist with the brightness of His coming - the Second Coming of Christ. This comes after the Rapture. Again this indicates that the Rapture comes before the Great Tribulation.


Sixth proof

In Revelation 19:14 - "And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses," we find Christ coming to earth with His armies at Armageddon to rescue Israel. Further description is in Ezekiel 38 and 39 and Zechariah 12 - 14. The bride of Christ is also clothed in fine linen (Rev. 19:8). So, there is every reason to believe that she, and the saints of all ages, comprises at least a large part of these armies. The bride and these saints of all ages could hardly be part of the armies in heaven had they never been to heaven. Nor could they accompany Christ from heaven had they not been taken up there previously. Again we find compelling evidence that the Rapture of the Church must take place some time prior to Armageddon.


The Rapture and the Second Coming are two separate events


The Rapture and the Second Coming are two distinct events - one occuring at the beginning and the other at the end of Daniel's seventieth week (Daniel Chapter 9). Christ must first of all come for His saints to rapture them to heaven, or He could never come with His saints from heaven to rescue Israel at Armageddon.


The Rapture will occur when least expected; the Second Coming takes place only after all the signs have been given and everyone should know that Christ is about to return in glory and power. The Rapture comes in the midst of peace (1 Thess. 5:3); the Second Coming in the midst of war (Rev. 19:11 - 21). One simply cannot put into one time frame and one event the mutually exclusive statements made in the New Testament Rapture and the Second Coming.


Many Christians fail to understand there are still two comings of Christ after His resurrection. It is true that both the Old Testament and the New Testament do not explicitly say so. But the conclusion was inescapable. The Messiah was not only going to reign, He was going to be killed. One could not put into one time frame and one event what the Old Testament said about the coming of the Messiah. Failure to understand the two comings cause multitudes to reject Jesus.


The same is true today: There are many who call themselves Christians who will end up following the Antichrist, thinking he is Christ. The reason for their confusion is basically the same as it was the first time Christ came. They will be focusing upon and even seeking to build an earthly kingdom and will be taken to heaven. Failure to understand the Rapture and the Second Coming are two different events separated by seven years lies at the heart of this confusion.


That these are two distinct events is also clear from Christ's own words: "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and recieve you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2, 3).


Paul said: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).


That is what the Rapture is all about - Christ catching up His bride to present her to His Father. The Second Coming has an entirely different purpose - to rescue Israel in the midst of Armageddon and to destroy the Antichrist and his evil world empire.


More on the Rapture


Let us study more about the Rapture. Paul sid: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of and eye, at the last rumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51. 52).


We will soon depart from this old world of sin and sorrow! One glad day all true Christians will be caught up bodily and alive into heaven! The souls and spirits of those who had previously died believing in Christ, having been consciously with Him in the interim, will come with their Lord from heaven to rejoin their glorious resurrected bodies. Those alive at the time of His return, their bodies instantly transformed as will, will be caught up together with the saints of all ages to meet Christ somewhere above planet earth. From there He will personally escort this innumerable throng into the presence of His Father in heaven, as He promised.


The Church and the Antichrist cannot coexist on earth


The true Church would not tolerate the Antichrist for a moment. She would expose his identity, prove it from the Scripture, and oppose him. She would actively warn others and stand solidly in the way of the Antichrist and his diabolical machinations. Satan's plans through the Antichrist cannot go forward until the Church has been removed.


Furthermore, if the Church were persent during the Great Tribulation, she would be wiped out by the Antichrist. But that would not be allowed by God. He who protects the Church, who said: "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18), is the same One who gives the Antichrist the power to "make war with the saints and to overcome them" (Rev. 13:17).


The only way both to protect the Church and allow the Antichrist to kill all the remaining saints is to remove the Church. The remaining saints who are killed by the Antichrist are those who have previously rejected the truth but become believers in Christ during the Great Tribulation. They pay for their faith with their blood (Rev. 6:9 - 11; 7:14).


A post-tribulation or mid-tribulation Rapture would be a classic nonevent. There would be few if any believers in Christ to take to heaven. They would all have been killed, for such is the fate of those who refuse to take the mark of the beast (Antichrist) and worship his image. Submission to the Antichrist is the only way to stay alive during the Great Tribulation. For those, however, who take the mark of the beast and worship his image there is an even worse fate (Rev. 14:9 -11).


Finally, a post-tribulation or mid- tribulation Rapture removes an essential factor involved in the Rapture - Imminency. The Bible teaches that Christ could have come at any time in history. There is nothing to prevent Him from coming at this very moment!

That which cannot be shaken

We are living in an exciting time. Everything seems to be moving at a rapid pace. Local Churches are preaching end-time messages. Church members are urged to study the last Book of the Bible - Revelation. A pastor said the more times you read Revelation, the more you will be blessed. The blessings you are going to recieve is proportionate to the number of times you read. So why not do nothing else but continuely read Revelation? Of course this is not true. Even people of the secular world are talking about the end of the world. Even Hollywood comes out with a movie recently concerning the year 2012. To many people the end of the world comes in 2012. Of course there is no Biblical basis. Search the internet and you will be amazed to read about what the people of the world and so-called Christians are talking about. There is nothing but total confusion. But God is in full control! While the whole world is worrying about the immediate future, Chrisitians are called to wait eagerly for the coming of their Lord:

The writer of Hebrews said: "... so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart form sin, for salvation" (Heb. 9:28, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul said: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself" (Phil. 3:20, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul also said: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11 - 13, emphasis added).

Notice that, while "eagerly" waiting for the coming of our Lord, we need to live a godly and sober life - "denying ungodlness and worldly lust."

True Christians who will be the Bride of Christ are eagerly waiting for Lord Jesus Christ who will take His Bride very soon (Please refer to many of my measages concerning the Bride of Christ.) But, before that time comes, God is in the midst of shaking all things.

The Kingdom of God cannot be shaken

The writer of Hebrews said: "See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.' The phrase, 'Yet once more.' indicates the removal of what is shaken - that is, created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for indeed our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:25 - 28, NRSV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. God is shaking both earth and heaven.

2. The purpose of shaking is to remove things that can be shaken, so that only things that cannot be shaken may remain. Things cannot be shaken are the things of God and His Kingdom.

3. God is removing all things and all kingdoms created by men. The writer is contrasting things created by men, which are temporal and all things created God which are eternal.

4. The Kingdom of God, which cannot be shaken, remains. The Kingdom of God is permanent, unchanging and eternal in nature and no power of earth or hell can destroy it.

5. Because of the above facts, we need to fear and give reverence to God - He is a consuming fire!

God is shaking the Church

Ideally, the Church of Jesus Christ, being the Body of Christ, cannot be shaken. The reason being - the Kingdom of God is in the true Church and also in individual Christian believers that make up the Body of Christ. Similarly, the true Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit and so are individual believers the temple of the Holy Spirit. But God is shaking the Local Church to find out whether it is built by man or God. Our God is a just and awesome God. If the Church can stand the shaking, not only God is please, but also the Church will come out stronger.

Jesus said to Peter: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).

Notice that the Church belongs to Christ, and is built by Him. It is not built by Peter or any other man, It is built by the Rock - the divine revelation (the petra) and confession given to Peter. The Rock is Christ Himself (Isaiah 28:16). The confeasion given by Peter was - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). The gates of Hades shall not prevail against the Church that is built by Christ. In other words, the true Church will not be overcome by the enemies. This is a promise that has been remarkably fulfilled.

Look around you and you will see that many so-called local churches are built by men who called themselves pastors. These men are building their own kingdoms. God has nothing to do with such churches. This type of man-built churches will be shaken and found wanting.

A mega man-built local church that has been shaken

The leadership of a well known mega Church has been accused of mismagement of funds. A group of church members (about 300 of them) who called themselves "a transparency group" is demanding for accountability and transparency over the use of church funds from the Church Board of deacons led by the Senior Pastor. This group even lodged a police report over that matters. The feud between this group and the Church Board are trading accusations over various issues. This has been reported by a local newspapers.


The disagreement, among others, includes the rising construction costs of a Church Convention Centre. This group of church members alleged that there is a transfer of substantial funds from the Church into the accounts of the personal ministry headed by the Senior Pastor without members' knowledge. In other words, the Senior Pastor is accused of channeling the money for his personal use. As a result of this shaking, the following things happen:

1. Dwindling congregation at the Church.

2. Resignation of a deacon.

3. Financial disaster - not enough funds to complete the Convention Centre.

4. Bad testimonies.

Obviously there are many unbiblical practices here. Let me just mention three here:

1. The Senior Pastor has not been given a chance to explain.

2. Making a police report over seemingly misappropriate of Church funds is not the way to solve Church problems. The right way is come to God, seek His face and pray.

"If My people who are called by My name will himble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chron. 7:14).

Notice that the healing of the land is closely related to the healing of the Church.

3. The leadership of the Church is running the Church using world system - forbidden by the Scripture.

Whether the Senior Pastor is guilty or not is not the issue. Only God knows his heart. But one thing is certain - the leadership of the Church has grieved the Holy Spirit!

Paul said: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph. 4:30 - 32).

Nothing can be clearer!

Covering of sins

Since the main Church has been shaken, should the pastors of other small Churches of the same denomination cover the sins of the main Church and keep quiet about it? Shouldn't they let other congregations know about it and to bring it to the Lord in prayer in Church prayer meetings? It is true to talk about it is gossip. But to pray for those involved is restoration.

Paul said: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light" (Eph. 5:8 - 13, emphasis added).

Paul said to Timothy: "Do not receive an accusation against an elder execpt from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear" (1 Tim. 5:8 - 13, emphasis added).


The Scripture is very clear. As Christians, we are light in the Lord and therefore we must walk as children of light. It follows that we must expose any hidden sins of darkness. We must rebuke believers (pastors and elders included) in the presence of others so that all other believers may fear. The word "rebuke" denotes to reprove or to reprehend. It means that there should be a public statement of the nature of the offence, and such a censure as the case demanded. It extends to only spiritual censures. There is no power given to the Church of inflecting any form of punishment.


Peter said: "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for 'love will cover a multitude of sins'" (1 Peter 4:7, 8, emphasis added).


Seeing that the Lord is coming soon, we need to watch and pray. We need to love one another fervently to the extent that we pray for one another so that everyone will turn away from sinning.


James said: "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19, 20).


There is an apparent paradox in the above passages of Scripture. We need to understand that "covering of sins" does not mean condoning sins. It means, despite our brother's sin, we forgive him and pray for his restoration. By doing so, our brother, although he knows that he was wrong, is convicted of his sins and he is likely to repent.


Pastors in the eyes of Jesus


Let us study the introductory Chapter (Chapter One) of the Book of Revelation (I am using the KJV). In this Chapter you can see nine pictures of Jesus. And, from the "great voice" (Verse 10) that John heard, we can infer the importance of pastors in the eyes of our Lord Jesus. Let us look at the nine pictures of Jesus (nine is a number of completeness, finality and fulness):


1. Jesus was "like unto the Son of man," clothed with a long garment (Verse 13). This speaks of Jesus being the High Priest of His people.


2. Jesus was "girt about the paps with a golden girdle." In Bible times a golden girdle was worn only by the king. Thus, the girdle around Jesus' chest symbolizes His positon as the King of kings.


3. "His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow" (Verse 14). That means Jesus is not only pure and righteous, but also omniscient. White hair usually means one has reached the hightest point of wisdom of life. "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness" (Proverbs 16:31).


4. Jesus' "eyes were as a flame of fire" (Verse 14). It speaks of judgment of Jesus - His eyes are able to penetrate the corrupt thinking we may have in our minds.


5. Jesus' "feet (were) like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (Verse 15). Brass, throughout the Bible implies judgment.


6. Jesus' voice was "as the sound of many waters" (Verse 15). That is the voice of none other than the Creator, who speaks to us, to His creation, with the same voice He used in the days of creation.


7. Jesus "had in His right hand seven stars" (Verse 16). I will try to expound this later.


8. "Out of His (Jesus') mouth went a sharp two edged sword" (Verse 16). The Word that proceeds out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is indeed a sword (Heb. 4:12). The Word is a surgical knife God uses to save our lives.


9. Jesus' countenance (face) "was as the sun shineth in his strength" (Verse 16). The full strength of sunshine means overflowing vitality. Whoever comes to Jesus will receive the shining light that radiates from His face and will be filled with the joy of the Lord to the fullest.


The Seven stars in the right hand of Jesus


Now, what are the seven stars held by Jesus in His right hand? I believe the seven stars signify the seven pastors of the the seven Churches in Asia Minor. From this Verse (16) we can understanding how close pastors are to the Heart of Jesus Christ. Their position is immensely honorable and high before Him. But, pastors who entered the ministry without a divine calling - perhaps through the influence of their parents, relatives or friends - are not the stars laid upon His palm. They are fallen stars. Those who pastor only for a profession, establish numerous churches that follow a secular direction will not please the Lord. Those who follow these pastors are let down a side path, not established by Him. I believe the person who pastors the mega man-built church that I mentioned earlier is a "fallen star!"

Breaking free from Sinful Habits

Ronnie (not his real name) is an alcoholic. As hard as he tried, nothing seemed effective in bringing his drinking problem under control. Then he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Knowing that, as a Christian, he needed to give up his old lifestyle, he sincerely repented and asked the Lord to help him overcome his addiction. His prayer was answered and Ronnie stopped drinking! His entire life began to improve. Grateful for the things God had done for him, Ronnie freely witnessed to others about the grace and power of Jesus Christ. He began with an excellent start - but then he made a dangerous mistake.


Ronnie decided that the best way to reach his non-Christian friends with the Gospel was to meet them on their home territory. He began to go regulary to all his old hangouts (bars, of course!), so his former drinking buddies could see for themselves how much he had changed. His friends did not understand why he wouldn't give in and have a beer with them. They pressured him mercilessly. Ronnie remained strong for several weeks, but he begain to rationalize, "It can't hurt to have just one beer as long as I don't get drunk. I'm sure God wouldn't mind." One compromise led quickly to the next, and soon Ronnie was trapped again in his previous drunken condition.


"What happened?" Ronnie wondered, "I thought God would protect me and give me power to overcome temptation. I was serving Him faithfully, taking His message to my friends so that they could get their lives together - now I'm back where I started. I feel terrible about being so hypocritical. But where was God's help during this time?"


Where was God all that time? Right there! He was beside Ronnie every moment, and His Will pertaining to drunkenness was clearly stated in the Bible Ronnie was carrying around. But he stopped looking to God for help in conquering his drinking habit, and so he stumbled. The key to victory over sinful habits is plainly given in the Word of God. Tragically, Ronnie didn't seek it out.


A familiar story? Sinful habit come in many forms. It can be drug addiction, smoking addiction, pornography addiction, adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness and they are all the works of the flesh (Galations 5:19 - 21). Does this mean Ronnie wasn't born again? No, it means that he stopped too soon. Like those who receive Jesus as Savior and never take another step, Ronnie stopped in his tracks and tried to live off the strength of one experience. The sad fact is that many new believers, as well as many old-timers in Christ, have never learned to overcome their habitual sins.

Laying aside every weigh (encumbrance)


The writer of Hebrews said: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1, 2, NKJV, emphasis added).


Here are some statements of truth:


1. The phrase, "A cloud of witnesses" refers to those "heroes of faith"mentioned in Hebrews 11. They have borne testimony of the Truth. In fact not all these witnesses are mentioned. The number is so great that they seem to be a cloud. They are like spectators in a vast arena, watch us progress in the course of faith.


2. As applied to the Christian, the phrase, "Let us lay aside every weight" means that we should remove all which would obstruct our progress in the Christian course. Thus it is fair to apply it to whatever would be an impediment in our effort to win the crown of life. These weights or encumbrances are not the same for all Christians. They can be pride, vanity, worldliness, violent temper, corrupt imagination, hard and insensible heart and improper and unholy attachment.


3. The phrase, "The sin which so easily ensnares us" means that because it is so easy to go back to our former conduct, we sin against God when we give in to temptation. The sin that ensnares us (catch us off guard) can be pride, selfish ambition or other similar sins that unbelievers indulge in.


4. The Christian lif is a race of endurance (or perseverance) that is set before us. We are to run the race without allowing ourselves to be hindered by any obstruction. We need to focus upon Jesus, the source of our faith, at all time or we will not succeed.


Notice that like many other born-again Christians, Ronnie failed to lay aside every encumbrance in his walk with God.


Victory over sinful habits


"Habits" can be defined as learned patterns of behavior that can either be helpful or destructive. They develop as we respond to something physically, mentally, or emotionally a number of times. When we form habits, we lock ourselves into certain response patterns that tend to resist change. Most research suggests that the brain never really forgets a habit, although it may drop out of dominance through lack of use or by being replaced by a stronger one.


We must admit that sinful habits are difficult to ovecome because, after awhile, we begin to perform these behaviours authomaticlly, with little preceding thought. I have noticeed that unless I become angry at a particular habit that is holding me bondage, I have a difficult time shaking loose from it. When we become angry at our sin, we are motivated to channel our attention in one direction - solving the problem.


The psalmist said: "I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall never cling to me" (Ps. 101:3).


The writer of Hebrews said: "You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions" (Heb. 1:9, emphasis added).


"Loving righteousness and hate lawlessness and wickedness" is the key to victory over sinful habits. Although it may take time to form new habit patterns to replace the old ones, by uniting our will with God's Will, the Holy Spirit is free to work in our heart to bring forth the desired change.


We need to agree with Paul when he says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).


Therefore no one can hide behind the "I can't help it" excuse!


Our union with Christ


The apostle Paul said many things that lead to our union with Christ:


We have put off the "old man" and put on the "new man"


Paul said: "... that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteous and holiness" (Eph. 4:22 - 24, emphasis added).


The "old man" refers to our basic nature (outside of Christ) that is bend toward selfishness, covetousness, arrogance and the like. The imagery that Paul was using in the above verses was taken from putting on or taking off a garment. But he was not speaking of a superficial change in a believer's life or a so-called conversion experience that is external only. The aorist tense of the origianl Greek suggests a permanent laying aside of the old garment - never to be worn again!


Thus, Paul was challenging the Ephesian Church to become permanently severed from the dominion of sin by actively "putting on" the qualities of Christ, which he described as a new self. As long as they hung onto their old way of life instead of relinquishing it to Jesus, they would continue to fall prey to their own lusts of deceit (Eph. 4:22). Paul exhorts them to diligently pursue the only avenue that would lead to victory - making a "clean break" from the corrupt nature that held them captive.


We are crucified with Christ


Paul said: "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in Glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleaness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:3 - 5).


In Galations, Paul continued along this line: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ live in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).


These verse make it clear that God's goal goes beyond just improving our outward appearance; He desires to do a work of transfomation deep within us. Many people are struggling to gain a sense of consistency in their Christian experience and to escape the paralyzing effects of their past. They fail to realize the sufficiency of Christ's work on our behalf. And they fail to live in an ongoing awareness of the crucifizion of our old selves with Him. The cross of Christ not only provides cleansing for your sins and my sins, but it is also the means for us to gain freedom from the ungodly domination of our sinful nature.


We are in Christ Jesus


Paul said: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30, emphasis adde).


The term, "in Christ Jesus" fills the New Testament and is particularly prevalent in Paul's writings. By placing our faith in Jesus, we become "united with" or "identified with" His work on our behalf - "He who is joined to the Lord become one spirit with Him" (1 Cor. 6:17).


Therefore, when Jesus died on the cross, we who are one with Him also died. In other works, our old selves, spiritually speaking, were nailed to the cross, and by this great act, God delivered us from the very power of sin. He struck a deathblow to our old nature by crucifying it in the eternal sacrifice of Christ.


But that is not all the our Lord has done for us. When Christ was raised from the dead, we too were raised to "newness of life," having had His resurrection life imparted to us (Romans 6:4; Col. 2:12). We have been given a new nature that not only wants to do God's Will, but is fully capable of doing it (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 John 3:1 - 10)! The death to our old nature has allowed for the replacement of our human frailty with the power of Christ's dynamic life! By living out of what we are "in Him," we have the capacity to turn away from sinful temptations and walk in all that God wants for our lives.


Our problem is that we often remain oblivious to His guidance and fail to trust in His sovereignty over all the circumstances we encounter. Yet there is no obstacle too great, no situation too big for us who are in Christ to handle. He, who has all the power and authority in the universe, has made it available to us in the mighty infilling of the Holy Spirit. Upon His ascension, jesus baptized His disciples in the Holy Spirit, and this divine enabling is still vital for our Christian lives today (Acts 1:4 - 8; 2:38, 39).


Recognizing the completeness of Christ's work and its implications for our lives is very important, but the Word of God takes us on step further:


Paul said: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:1). The moment -by-moment influence of the Spirit helps us to "catch ourselves" when temptation to sin arrives, and give us the strength to overcome it.


True Biblical repentance


God has called us to walk in a clear conscience before Him. This means that as soon as we recognize that we have erred in our thoughts and actions, we must confess our sin to God and repent from all that is unpleasing to Him (1 John 1:9, 10). True Biblical repentance always leads to the assurance that we have no existing barriers between ourselves and God. It is accompanied by the joy of restored relationship, the joy of the prodigal son coming back to the Father's waiting arms (Luke 15:11 - 32). Repentance is more than a one-time event upon our conversion to Christ - it is an ongoing activity that needs to occur whenever we become aware that we have sinned.


Therefore, when the Holy Spirit speaks to us and our conscience informs us that we have erred, we must make a decision. We can either repent and obey the Lord and receive the joy of knowning His complete acceptance. Or, we can give the Devil an opportunity to gain a foothold in our lives (Eph. 4:27). Like Ronnie, some Christians foolishly flirt with temptation by getting as close to it as they can without "really sinning" - according to their own fleshly judgment. They are asking for trouble!


Paul warns us: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Romans 13:14).


If we are honest with ourselves, we are usually aware of the areas in our lives that are the most vulnerable to sin. When we determine that we have an Achilles heel in some area, we can then take preventive measures, carefully guarding the entrance-way of our heart from wrong influences. Our conscience, renewed by the truth of God's Word, can be an invaluable help to us, since it alerts us to improper motives and attitudes even before they are expressed in outward sin.


Perhaps you, like Ronnie, are struggling today in your Christian experience. You may have come to Jesus with a distorted understanding of of what the Gospel is all about. This could be the reason you are not currently experiencing the abundant life that Jesus promised (John 10:10). The good news of the Gospel is that we can come to Christ and die to those things that have held us in bondage - sin, self-righteousness, and the evil world system!


Coming to Christ means an end to life on our terms. It means complete surrender of ourselves to Him! Through relying on His Spirit, we can say "no" to sin in our lives. We are delivered from constant guilt and frustration over uncontrolled thoughts and actions. The tyranny of sinning and sinning again will come to a decisive end and we become free of the encumbrances that hinder our Christian growth. We learn to live victory!

The Danger of Habituation

Raymond (not his real name) has been a Christian for more than two decades and he is an active Church leader. He is a regular song leader, Holy Communion steward, usher in a Local AOG Church for the last five years. He is a faithful churchgoer, but familiar routine of his Church and his pastor have left him feeling stale and cold. Raymond listens to"dynamic" sermons about Jesus and the Gospel of the Kingdom, but he feels empty. He listens to the messages on faith and answers the altar-call, but he feels untouched. He hears wonderful testimonies of his fellow churchgoers and yet he is - well, bored!

Now, Raymond isn't happy about this situation. In fact, he is having a rough struggle with it. He knows something has gone wrong, and he is afraid his heart is drifting away from the Lord. Although Raymond longs for a fresh awareness of God, he is at a loss as to what he must do to find it.

What has happened to Raymond? He has run into one of the worst barriers any Christian can face in his walk with God - habituation. Habituation is the experience of growing accustomed to something by the process of being continually exposed to it. In other words, it is the act of becoming so familiar with some circumstance or event that the experience of it requires only a second-nature, mechanical response on the individual's part.

Let me illustrate. Imagine yourself walking into a large factory for the first time. You probably would be greatly annoyed by the clamor of the machines around you. Yet, the factory workers, engrossed in the work they are doing, seem oblivious to the extreme noise of their environment. The workers have obviously become "habituated" to the sound of the machines; that is, they have become so accustomed to the noise level of the machines that, for all practical purposes, they are able to shut out the noise and not let it effect them. On the other hand, an outsider to the factory routine would be greatly bothered by it.

Here is another illustration. Whenever Kelly get into trouble as a youngster, her mum would usually begin her lecture with one of the following two statements - "Kelly, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times ..." Or "Kelly, a smart girl only takes one time to learn." By the time Kelly was a teenager, her mum's point of view had become quite familiar with to her, and as a result, her attention often wandered while her mum was speaking. Mum would begin one of her "sermons" and Kelly would look at her and nod her head, while proceeding to shut out her mum's words from the moment she began her introductory remarks. Since Kelly assumed that she knew what her mum was going to say before she even spoke, Kelly missed many opportunities to really listen and learn from her mum.

We tune out noise, we tune out voices; in fact, our tendency is to tune out just about anything we've heard over and over again. It shouldn't surprise us then to realize that, in much the same way, we tune out God!

Habituation in Church Service/Activities

In general, Church services/activities consist of weekly worship service, prayer meeting, and cell-group meeting. I wonder how many of our worship services, personal prayer times, prayer meetings and cell-group meetings have been hampered because of the repetitious nature of our petitions and our lack of a flexible, creative response to God.

Worship Service

Some Local Churches foster an atmosphere that caters to those who, for one reason or another, are not interested in growing closer to God. The congregation is never challenged to make anything more than a passive response in Scriptural truth. Ofter the order of worship is repetitive each week, allowing the people to become so accustomed to responding the same way at the same time that their hearts and minds are scarcely involved at all!

In these Churches, the words we say and the songs we sing have little impact on our lives because we have learned to do them routinely. Since we feel we know what is expected of us, we can tune out words and truths that once might have deeply affected us. The result? We become more like professional churchgoers than devoted worshipers. Although we attend Church, we never allow our hearts to experience closeness to God. All the while we deceive ourselves that He is happy with or effort. But the truth is, He is not.

The Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me. And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men. Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among these people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden" (Isaiah 29:13, 14).

Although the people of Isaiah's day had given lip service to the the Lord, their reverence fear for Him was taught by the commandment of men - retual carried out without understanding, or mechanically done. In other words, performance of their traditions had blinded them to what was really important - having their hearts sold out to God. The sad fact is that, they were unaware of how far they had strayed from God's purposes. Isaiah was called by God to warn them of this unfortunate course.

Someone once said, "The seven most destructive words in Church history are - 'We've always done it this way before,'" The people of God like to "camp out" in situations that are familiar to them. Contemplating change and opening the door to what is new and unforeseen can create a real challenge to our faith and be very threatening. But there is a danger in keeping the Church rigidly structured, thereby cutting off the sponteneous moving of the Holy Spirit. The resulting habituation will be negative influence on the spiritual lives of the people.

A pastor of a Local Church seems to understand the above problem. As soon as the singing is completed he asks the congregation to change their sitting positions - right to the left, left to the centre/right, centre/right to the left and so on. He did this before the preaching. By doing so he makes the situation even worse. He quenches the Holy Spirit! He fails to understand that worship (singing) and preaching of Gods Word must be "integrated" in order to let the Holy Spirit to move freely in the Worship Service.

It is important to understand that we can become unresponsive to the sermon if it is given by the same person each and every week. As we become familiar with our pastor's main points of emphasis and his overall preaching style, we may be able to anticipate what he is going to say even before he makes his point. Since we assume that we know what his message is going to be, we easily tune out his words and then complain that we are not getting anything out of what he is saying! As a result, thousands of Christians aren't getting spiritually fed in their Churches, not because the pastor is not speaking God's Word, but because the congregation has grown "dull of hearing" (Heb. 5:11).

Prayer Meeting

Most prayer meetings are somewhat structured and predictable - sing 7 or 8 worship songs, time of testimonies, prayer items and followed by a very short time of prayer. People seem to prefer to give testimonies than praying. Most of the songs are repetitive. When people first learned the songs, they were fresh, alive, and full of meaning. Yet, it eventually became little more that a mere repetition of words because people had grown so used to singing it. The beautiful lyrics, once so inspiring to them, could no longer stimulate their spiritual growth because habituation had occurred.

We become habituated not only by what we continually hear, but by what we constantly do. Whether we stand or sit as we worship, lift our hands, clap our hands, say a prayer, even with a "special and artificial" tone of voice, kneel or bend backward, sooner or later these experiences can lose their freshness and vitality. They then become automatic, devoid of genuine heart involvement.


Cell-group Meeting


Cell-group meeting is just the same. We choose a few familiar songs - it can take some time because not everyone liks the same songs. Someone (usually the host) says the opening prayer. Depending on the Cell leaders, some emphasize on singing, some emphasize on praying for one another's needs and some emphasize on serving much food and drinks. But whatever the emphasis, everything is predictable and automatic, week after week and habituation soon becomes apparent.

In all the above activities, after some time, our times together lost their freshness, giving way to spiritual staleness. Gone was the anticipation that God would intervene our meetings. We sang some good songs, prayed some good prayers, and be ministered to by timely good sermons. Even so, something was missing. Habituation had set in and our activities had become more mechanical than spiritual. Our routines came more from our minds than our hearts and, as a result, we missed out on some potential opportunities for growth.


Recognizing the Danger of Habituation


Practicing empty routines and traditions won't please the Lord and won't do much for your Christian growth, either. Nevertheless, thousands of individuals, and oftentimes entire Churches, have bee stifled by their reliance on religious habits - repeating the some words, the same songs, and the same patterns - instead of allowing God to move them in creative, new directions and bring back the sparkle to their walk with Him. This is when habituation cripples us the most. It causes us to lose our flexibility in being led by the Spirit, since we find it more comfortable to settle back in habit patterns that have worked well in the past, even if they lack the ability to keep us interested now.


Enjoying the Lord


The psalmist said: "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Ps. 16:11).


"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing" (Ps. 100:2).


No matter what our circumstance in life, God invites us to live closely with Him and bask in the joy of His presence. He wants us, not only to dwell in His presence, but also to enjoy Him.


If you are a preacher and you are invited to speak in a particular congregation of believers. It is likely that you have prayed, sweated, and agonized over the sermon God wanted you to share. If, after spending hours seeking the Lord for a "mighty message" you still had no direction, no inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, it is time for you to "be still" (Ps. 46:10) and enjoy the Lord. You must allow your heart to be at rest before Him so that He could lead you. God wants you to speak a word for Him, but this word would flow naturally into your heart if your desire wasn't just to "get the correct message," but to enjoy Him as well.


How easy it is for activities that once were meaningful in our Christian lives to degenerate into mere ritualistic excercise. Whether it be studying the Bible, having a daily prayer time, attending Chuch services or functions (all of which are good), it is possible to perform them mechanically without experiencing the joy of the Lord. Remember the Bible says: "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10).


Being a Christian is not mindlessly responding to a set of religious rituals; it is not simple "doing the do's" and "avoiding the don'ts." It is a relatioship to enjoyed - expressing our heart with freedom, laughing and having fun together, showing warmth, love, and acceptance, and sharing an oneness of purpose. But many believers don't picture their walk with God in these terms. To them, relating to God isn't joyful experience. It's work, it's drudgery - it could hardly be described as fun!


A Vision beyond ourselves


A good way in overcoming habituation is to maintian a vision of how God can use our lives to further His eternal purposes.


Solomon said: "Where ther is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law" (Prob. 29:18, NAS).


The word "vision" can also be translated "revelation," - God unfolding Himself and His purpose to the human race. Without this vision we become unrestrained, or literally "out of control." The context suggest that people without vision will cast off all restraints and, as a result, fail to keep God's Word. They become undisciplined and cease to follow the Lord's direction for their lives and their happiness departs.


Many believers begin their spiritual journeys with the realization that God has a plan for their lives, only to lose sight of this truth after a time. To them, the only plan that unfolds the "exciting" and "abundant life" of gutting our daily quiet times and pushing themselves to attend a few Church meetings/services/activities each week. There is a whole lot more to our walk with Christ than this! God's purpose is for us to joyfully fulfill a place of Christian service. He is committed to extending His Kingdom throughout the earth and He wants us to be His vessels to bring men and women under the Lordship of Christ. This awareness should capture our hearts and inspire us to prepare for the task ahead!


Embracing this wider vision stretches us to be all that we can be for God. It stimulates growth, it rallies us to prepare, it challenges us to let Him use us beyond our wisdom and capabilities. It causes us to trust Him, for unless we do, we run the risk of failing miserably.


Someone once said, "If your vision isn't bigger than yourself (i.e. what you can accomplish by your own efforts), it probably isn't from God." He loves to place before us certain opportunities or tasks that can only be accomplished by His provision.


Moses was asked to do something quite impossible for him to do in his own strength - lead the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Joshua was asked to conquer the Canaanites with a group of people who had little military experience. Gideon was asked to defeat the Midianites with just three hundred men by his side. We could go on and on with such Biblical examples. Like these men, we too will be called by God to expand our faith and do things beyond our own capabilities.


By His grace, God imparts an ongoing vision for our lives - a vision that motivates us to persevere and inspires us to overcome the crippling disease of habituation whenever it appears. This vision must grip our attention and captivate our hearts! Its fulfillment does not rest upon what we can do in our natural ability. God alone can bring it to pass and He delights in using us as His vessels to reach the world.

Your First Love

Jesus said to the Church of Ephesus, the loveless Church: "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place - unless you repent" (Rev. 2:2 - 5, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Most Bible teachers believe the Church today has many areas of resemblance to the Church in Ephesus.

2. The phrase, "your first love" can mean three things -First, your love for the Lord Jesus; second, your love for fellow believers; and third, your love for the whole of mankind. I believe that this passage refers to all three.

3. Although we cannot separate loving God from genuinely loving His people, Jesus clearly articulated what our highest concern should be - to love God supremely.

4. Our Lord Jesus was asked by Jewish scribe, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment" (Mark 12:28 - 30).

5. The phrase, "Repent and do the first work" means, "Repent and do the work that was done when the Church was first established." In other words, manifest the zeal and love which were formerly evinced in opposing error, and in doing good. This is the true counsel to be given to those who have backslidden, and have "left their first love," now.

6. The Lord would come as a Judge, at not distant period, to inflect punishment in removing the lampstand (or candle-stick) out of its place.

7. Unless we repent the Lord would remove the light of the Church. In effect, when the light is removed, the Church would cease to exist. In other words, the church would be wholly extinct.

Your personal walk with the Lord today

The Bible clearly shows us that our ultimate and loyalty belong to God. Loving people is indeed critical to our Christian lives, but it can never be a substitute for making Him our first love. No one should be more important to us than the Lord.

Jesus Himself said it this way: "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37).

Our Lord could not have spoken in more graphic terms to describe the importance of our relationship with Him. He assumes we do love the members of our family, but He requires us to love Him even more.

The beautiful thing is that, the more we love Jesus, the more love we will have to give. He is the author of love (1 John 4:8) and shares it freely with us so that we might pass it on to those who cross our path. If, however, something short-circuits our relationship with the Lord, our capacity to love other people is diminished, and we fail to treat them as He intended.

This is evidently what happened to the Church in Ephesus and to our Church today as well. They were diligent in doing good deeds and enduring in their Christian faith, yet God was not satisfied. Their original love was gone. Just being busy didn't impress Him. He wanted their hearts, and they presented Him with their lips and labor. He asked for their thoughts and mind, they gave Him banners and vestments and candles!

Has your life become a set of routines? Have you become overwhelmed with Christian activities - prayer meeting one evening, Cell-group meeting on another. Bible study on another, plus a worship service on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, and a few committee meetings squeezed in here and there? What about your privte devotional life? Are you experiencing quality time with God in worship, prayer and Bible study?


Although our spiritual walk may have gotten off a good start, God is concerned about how we are doing today. We may be involved in essentially the activities as we were when we were born-again by the Spirit of God, yet find that they have lost their joy and meaning for us. Never stopping to question ourselves, we simply keep on working, clinging to the memory of how fruitful our works once were. Or, we may even begin to grow apathetic and uninterested in spiritual things, gradually pulling away from God and any meaningful Church involvement. Anger, exhaustion, and exasperation then start to show up in our attitudes. The desire to draw close to God diminishes. Our first love begins to fade.


Even though there are many people who are struggling just to maintain the love for Jesus they once had, God's perspective is that we should grow in love for Him daily. If we are focusing all our efforts on simply hanging on, we are bound to make little progress. Like the Church in Ephesus, we will present to the Lord a second-class devotion, which satisfies neither Him nor ourselves.


Had your personal walk with the Lord been on the decline? Are you merely going through the motions of worship and prayer, with no genuine satisfaction in you heart? Does God seem remote from your life, a distant voice that no longer seems to apply to you? do you think He has stopped speaking to you, leading you onward, and caring about your needs? Do your prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling?


Let us take a look at some of the reasons why so many Christians lose their former enthusiasm and become spiritually stale. Let us also consider God's solutions for each one of these reasons. Our Lord is in the business of renewal. He can reach out and touch the burned-out Christian, filling him all over again with fresh, exciting revelation. He can restore the old zeal and recreate the former vision. He can explode in our hearts with a powerful, sustaining love. One of the most wonderful things about God is that He wants to. He wants to make our love for Him new again.


Our conversion (born-again) experience


How can we be sure that our conversion experience is more than just mental assent to certain Gospel truths? Here are some statements of truth for your guidance:


1. A genuine conversion involves turning to God with our whole heart and allowing His Spirit to change us.


In 2 Corinthians 3:14 - 18, Paul was contrasting the Old Covenant of the Law with the New Covenant initiated by Christ. He concluded that whereas the hearts and minds of the unbelieving world were hardened to the message of Jesus, those who came to Him would experience a significant transformation.


2. A genuine conversion occurs when the reality of the living Christ is birthed within us.


A genuine convert is sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to him through the Word, prayer, other Christians, and circumstances.


3. A genuine conversion has enduring value


We can see in the life of Paul that a victorious Christian walk requires more than just one encounter with Jesus. We must have an ongoing relationship with Him! The only reason Paul could endure such intense suffering for the sake of the Gospel was that he kept his eyes on Christ and remained in intimate contact with Him. Consequently, no matter what difficulties came his way, he was able to stand firm, his faith unwavering (2 Cor. 4:7 - 18).


Excuses and complaints


It is not uncommon to hear these excuses and complaints from Church members:


"I'd like to get closer to the Lord, but my job demands a lot from me and doesn't leave me with much time."


"I want to grow in my Christian walk, but I can't get the support I need from the Church. Nobody has been reaching out to me!'


"I just can't seem to get a handle on God's will for my life. He's sure keeping it secret from me!"


The above three different "defense mechanisms" often conveniently used to protect ourselves from other people. Oddly enough, we also use these same devices to protect ourselves from God. Now, why would any Christian want to protect himself from God? The reason being, God is the greatest possible threat to our lifestyles. He is interested in changing hearts, changing habits, and indeed, changing lives. But we can't hide ourselves from the eyes of an all-knowing God!


The writer of Hebrews said: "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4:13).


Rather than open ourselves up to the change process that God brings into our lives (to make us more like Christ), we often erect barriers. Or, we scramble to protect ourselves, seeking to avoid any pain that might be involved in conforming to God's will. When our overall orientation is to "play it safe," our relationship with Him will inevitably suffer.


Spiritual Old Age

Many Christians who are relatively young in the Lord, but already showing the characteristics of what can be called "spiritual old age." The resulting symptoms closely parallel the same conditions we often observe in those old people who have become set in their ways: unteachableness, loss of flexibility, a focus on past events, and an inward orientation to life.


Unteachableness


The longer a person lives, the more opportunities he or she will have to learn. And yet, the older we become, the more likely we are to assume we know all we need to know on a given subject. We then cut ourselves off from additional learning and refuse to accept the opinions, advice, or correction of other people.


Similarly, the older we are in the Lord, the more stubborn and less teachable we often become. It is unfortunate when older Christians compare themselves to others and decide they have arrived at a sufficient level of spirituality. They may then develop judgmental attitudes towards other believers who are not as knowledgeable.


A loss of flexibility


As we become older, we often prefer to have the events of our lives conform to a consistent routine. It isn't easy for us to adapt to rapid, dramatic changes. By structuring our lives in a predictable manner, we avoid the threat of uncertainty and maintain a sense of control.


In much the same way, when we lose our spiritual youthfulness, we are only comfortable with a Christianity that does not cause us to deal with the insecurity of unexpected changes. We begin to "require" God to act within the narrow confines of our human understanding and to fit into our expectations of what He will and will not do. But, in doing so, we become satisfied with a mere mechanical performance of our traditions, since these activities can take place with little or no dependance upon God.


Focus on past events


During the latter years of life, it is common to focus on memories of the past. But, preoccupation with the past can block out the enjoyment of the present. Many Christians begin with a powerful revelation of God's love and grace, but do not continue to stay in touch with Him. They try to live off the strength of their initial experience. Because of this, they stopped growing, changing, accepting challenges, and learning. Consequently, their spiritual walk was leading them nowhere!


An inward orientation


Very often, in the early years of our spiritual life, we were eager to serve others and focused on their welfare, but now we feel that it is time to "retire" and see to our own selfish needs. By tuning into ourselves and our own interests, we consequently tuned out the needs of others. We become self-centered in our Christian life.


We need to be remineded that we can never justify failing to devote any of our time to helping others find Christ. Have we lost our compassion and forgotten our calling as Christians to minister to the hurting people around us?


Renewal and Restoration


It is important to examing your life in the light of the above four characteristics of spiritual old age. If any or all of these qualities are currently a part of your Christian experience, you can receive encouragement from Isaiah:


"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:30, 31).


Isaiah was referring to the ability of eagles to glide with ease on the strength of an existing air current. While other birds seem to fly by flapping their wings and exerting a lot of their own energy, the eagles calmly perches on the edge of a cliff and waits for a gust of the air before launching out. The blowing wind provides the impetus forward; the eagle patiently waits for it and begins its flight accordingly. By moving ahead on the strength of the air current, the eagle can soar at high altitudes seemingly without effort or restraint.


Perhaps you are a person whose life evidences spiritual old age. If so, God wants to restore your your youthfulness! He will refresh you in His presence and renew you in His love. And He will teach you to soar like an eagle in the rushing, mighty wind of His Spirit (Acts 2). But you must learn to wait for the Lord, for "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29).


We cannot move ahead in the Christian life by wildly flapping our wings - we must learn to move ahead in the power of His Spirit. In other words, our hope for spiritual progress must be anchored in God alone.


Have you lost your hope today that God will renew the days of your youthful zeal and vitality? Do you feel that you have wasted a lot of time and have been a failure in the Lord's eyes? It is time to turn back to Him with your whole heart! He will renew your strength and rejuvenate you. As the Psalmist aptly put it: ".... Who (God) satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Ps. 103:5).


If you have received God's power of renewal and restoration, you will never leave "Your First Love!"

The three Forces in the Human Race

There are three forces in the human race - One force is the unconverted Jews, the second force is the unconverted Gentiles and the third force is the Body of Christ, the Church. The converted Jews and Gentiles are brought into the Body of Christ as the result of the preaching of the Gospel. Satan works through the first two forces, the unconverted Jews and Gentiles, trying to bring pressure and defeat upon the third force.

Peter said: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9, 10, NKJV).

The Holy Spirit works through the last force, the Church which is a "chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation" to bring life to the first two forces. Thus the Church, the Body of Christ, the believers with the new nature, becomes the avenue of expression to the world, of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

The Bride of Christ

You cannot "join" this group of people (the Church) who will be the Bride. You cannot "earn" a position in the Bride, nor can you "buy" your way into the Bride. You do not choose to become a part; you must be born into the Bride of Christ by a spiritual birth. But this is only the first step. Just by attending Church Services and listening to entertaining sermons that make you feel good, even everyday, will not qualify you as part of the Bride. You need the cleansing and sanctifying process of God's Word.

Paul said: ".... Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with washing of water by the word by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25 - 27, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Christ loved His Church and gave Himself for her.

2. The Word of God has the power to cleanse and sanctify the Church. Notice that the two processes of cleansing and sanctifying are closely related, but they are not identical. The distinction between them is this - that which is truly sanctified must of necessarily be absolutely pure and clean; but that which is pure and clean need not necessarily be in the fullest sense sanctified. In other word, it is possible to have purity, or cleanness, without sanctification, but it is not possible to have sanctification without purity, or cleanness.

3. The Bride is being prepared "with the washing of the Word." Therefore, without upholding the truth of God's Word, the Church will not be cleansed and so is not fit to be the Bride. The Church cannot be cleansed by any other means - like observing Church doctrine, Church custom, Church tradition and doctrine of man because more often than not, these are contrary to the Word of God and therefore tarnish the Church! The Church that is not cleansed by the Word will not be holy; she is full of spot or wrinkle and full of blemishes and therefore fails to be the Bride.

4. The Bride of Christ is a glorious Church.

The Call of the Holy Spirit

Jesus said: "And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8).

You are a Christian because the Holy Spirit called you and you are convicted of your sin and you came to Him in repentance. The world is filled with lost people who are walking the streets of their cities and towns. They will never be a part of the Bride of Christ because they turned away from the calling of the Holy Spirit and refused His invitation.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast

Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servents to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come" (Matt. 22:2, 3).

Here we see the Father, speaking about the wedding of His son, the marriage supper of the Lamb. Those who heard the invitation to the wedding were too busy. They made light of the invitation and gave excuses (Matt. 22:5). They spitefully abused those who brought the invitation (Matt. 22:6), even killing some of them.


The king, the Father, became very angry and destroyed them and then sent His servants out into the highways and bid the people there to the wedding. All around the world today, in simply Gospel services in Churches large and small, in every type of circumstance, the message is still going forth. Yet many people refuse to respond to the invitation to become part of the Bride of Christ.


He who comes without a wedding garment

In the above parable, there also come one into the wedding without a wedding garment. This speaks of the tragedy of someone who does not understand the dispensation of grace and the working of the Holy Spirit today. The Gospel is being preached to the end of the world in these last days, and multitudes are being born again. But, there are still untold thousands who have heard and are convinced but not converted. You cannot have a wedding garment to put on without conversion. Believing and being convinced will not be good enough.


The Wedding guests


I do not believe that all who are washed in the blood of Christ are going to be a part of the Bride. Search the Scriptures and you will find that there are those who will enter into heaven as by fire. There will be those who are only wedding "guests" who will be present also.


Paul said: "... each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work in burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:13 - 15).


Clearly, there are many who are cleansed, washed in the blood and saved who will just make it inside the doors of heaven to watch the wedding procession as Jesus takes His Bride unto Himself.


The Bride consists of vessels of gold and vessels of honor


You can be saved, but your works shall reveal what you are in Christ, how much of Jesus has been revealed in you and the depth of your commitment to Him and how much of His life has been able flow out through you.


Paul also said: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of Gos stands, having this seal; 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and , 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.' But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:19 - 21).


Paul was speaking of vessels of common use as compared to those who have entered into a greater manifestation of God to become surrendered vessels that project God by the life they live. This passage of Scripture should be of real encouragement to every Christian as it explains the possibilities in this great house called the Church. In the Body of Chirst, there are vessels of gold and of silver. In contrast, there are also some of wood and clay. Some vessels are for honor and some are for dishonor, or for "common use." Each one has the opportunity to be separated from the old patterns and ways that would hinder them so that they could be of greater use to the Master. God is constantly trying to lift us out of the ordinary into the extraordinary by His continual working upon us, in us and through us. Anything short of the vessel of honor will not be useful for God.


The Holy Spirit is at work in all Christians, pursuing and pushing, convicting and cleansing, drawing them into refinement for we are the workmanship of the master potter, the most high God Himself (Eph. 2:10). He takes us out of the world by the new birth and then turns us over to the Holy Spirit that Christ might be revealed within us. Then God fills us with Himself that we would have the unction of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the power to become adorned for marriage to the Lamb. No loving and adoring bride would ever come to her wedding day until she was properly cleansed, sanctified, wearing beautiful garments and adorned to be pleasing and desireable to her groom (Eph. 5:26, 27).


The fragrance of the Bride


The Song of Solomon is very descriptive in illustrating the reality of the relationship of the Church's love for Christ and Christ's love for the Church. The Holy Spirit is working constantly to heal the Church's deformities, purify its motives and bring its actions into the many deep expressions of love - not only from the Church to Jesus, but from one to another.


Solomon said, "Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, your name is ointment poured forth; therefore the virgins love you" (Song of Solomon 1:13).


When the adorning of the bride reaches a certain point that she truly knows exactly who she is, the Name of Jesus becomes as sweet smelling oil poured forth to her. His Name becomes the only source of satisfation to her cry for her bridgroom, it becomes a fountain of fragrance in the world we live in.


Jesus is adorning His bride and He is dealing with all of us through blessings and through testings as He brings us to decisions of complete obedience and surrender. He is bringing us to a place where we will trust Him in every circumstance. He is fashioning us into the likeness and image of His Son.


The end-time Chruch - the Church of Laodicea


Jesus said: "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 by 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" (Rev. 3:17 - 20).


Jesus is speaking to the Church, to the believers who have heard the Gospel year in and year out but has not pursued the adorning of their inner man. He is telling them that that they are spiritually naked, blind and poor because they have been leaning upon natural (worldly) things. Many so-called christians even shut the Lord out of their heart! But Jesus remains "gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy" (Ps. 145:8). He still anxiously waits for them to open their hearts to Him again.


The "Rapture" of the Church


After the preparation of the Bride (the glorious Church), Jesus' ultimate purpose for His Church is to bring her to the Father's house for the marriage of the Lamb:


"In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2, 3, emphasis added).


1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 give a picture of what will happen. A day will come when all true Christians will be caught up bodily and alive to meet the Lord in the air. The souls and spirits of those who had previously died believing in Christ, having been consciously with Him in the interim, will come with their Lord from heaven to rejoin their glorious resurrected bodies. Those alive at the time of His return, their bodies instantly transformed as well, will be caught up together with the saints of all ages to meet Christ somewhere above the earth and bring them to the Father's house of may mansions. This is what most Bible teachers called the "Rapture." This is what John 14:3 means, "I will come again and receive you to Myself."


The "Rapture" is a word to which some critics object because they say it itsn't in the Bible. In fact, it is in the Latin translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The Latin word, "rapturous" means, "an ecstatic catching away" as does the English word.


The Great Tribulation


In Christ's days the Jewish bride was taken to the father's house where the two were in seclusion for seven days (one week). Christ must have had that in mind when He promised to take His Bride to His Father's house. During these seven years (the 70th week of year in Daniel's prophecy - Daniel 9:24 - 27) the earth is going through the Great Tribulation period under the reign of the Antichrist! But, at precisely the same time in heaven the marriage supper the Lamb is being prepared (Revelation 19:7, 8)! The Bride of Christ escapes the wrath of the Antichrist. That is the way God protects His true Church, fulfilling what Jesus said to Peter, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). He brings His Church to Himslf! On the other hand, the gates of Hades shall prevail against the so-called church that is left behind under the reign of Antichrist. In fact the Antichrist together with his false prophets and his "elders" and "pastors" and those deceived so-called christians will be sitting at the gates - the gates of Hades!