Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 25’

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Matthew 25:6

At this time we are again two thousand years from the last Crisis from which the coming of Jesus Christ saved the world. Only this time again – evil, the population, and violence are increased out of all proportion. We are at the place now where the arsenals of the nations are so powerful that they could destroy life from the planet. God is holding back the forces of destruction, but very soon they will be unleashed.

The mighty cities of the world are the pride of man. Millions of people live in metropolitan areas, stacked upon each other in tall buildings, so that all the people of the city could not hold in the streets at the same time, neither could all the cars fit into streets at the same time. In the event of a crisis where people would be fleeing to get out of the cities, all the streets would be jammed so that no one would get out, and those who try to get out on foot would be overwhelmed by the crowds. The cities would become a death trap. The large metropolitan areas of the world are destined to become the funeral pyre of millions.

The deck is stacked against humanity. The people, who live in large cities, if they believe this to be the word of God, will begin to seek ways of relocating without panic. Those who do not believe will continue to build their roots in the cities. The time of this occurrence can be delayed, but the “…vision is certain and the interpretation thereof sure.” (Daniel 2:45b)

When God cast the angel Heylel out of the second heaven realm (where he dwelt before he became Satan), the Almighty cut him off from his source of food and energy. God is the source of all life, and nothing can live or move, or have being outside of God. The plight of devils, therefore, was profound; they were starved and weak. Adam, in his fall, changed this situation, and provided a ready source of food for Satan. God had cursed the Devil and said to him, “Dust shall be thy meat.” (Genesis 3:14) This dust is “Adam”, but the question is how do devils feed on humans? God breathed the breath of life into man, and the man became a living soul. The blood of man contains the breath of God, or in other words, the life of man is in his blood. When a man submits to a devil, he loses energy, and when a man’s blood is spilled, it give off life which devils feed upon. This is the reason why so many peculiar accidents occur and why they seem to occur in series. This is why there are so many murders and slayings and wars throughout the earth: Satan and his hosts are feeding upon humanity. Those who walk in the Spirit will have no problem with this, and if you do have a problem, then ask God.

How can we escape then? We must hear from God and obey. The first thing is that we must believe that we are in a time of crisis and that this is the crisis of the end of time; that this is not a time for us to have fun and do our thing, but that we must now find out the will of God for our lives and that of our families. When we know the truth, then God is expecting us to find out what He wants us to do individually and corporately, and ACT. Scripture records that there was a “…cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh.” (Matthew 25:6) Those that heard the cry arose from their sleep, began to trim their lamps, and went out to meet Him. There must be action after direction. We are guilty of receiving direction and having no appropriate action. Some are guilty of action without direction. May God help us.

Do not say, “We will be in Crisis,” but say, “We are in Crisis.” Unfortunately some of us are still asleep, but thank God the bride is gradually awaking. May God bless this word to our hearts.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, August 1987)

Thought for today: How can we escape the third world crisis? We must hear from God and obey.

Read Full Post »

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Psalm 15:5

He That Does Not Put Out His Money to Usury

The question that is being asked is, “Is it putting my money out to usury if I deposit it in a bank and receive interest?”

In Matthew 25:27 in the Parable of the Talents, Jesus said to the servant who buried his talent, “Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received usury.” Here Jesus was giving a parable which must show a true picture of the heavenly position. The word for the exchangers could correctly be translated bankers and the word for usury just means interest.

We can see therefore that the Law properly interpreted would refer to the using of money to oppress others with excessive interest, more than saying you should not put your money into the bank and receive interest.

The letter of the law will bring death, it is the spirit of what God is saying that brings life.

Nor Taketh Reward Against the Innocent

This is actually a Word of God against BRIBERY which is also illegal in the United States.

Exodus 23:8, “And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.”

One does not feel the evil force of a bribe until you become the victim of a bribe. As an officer of the courts I was once involved in a case where a man committed murder and was set free because the jury was bribed. In this case those who receive the bribe became murderers after the fact.

When we apply this to the Spirit, the bribe does not have to be money or for that matter anything material, but if we pervert justice through friendship or love of praise, etc., we become guilty equally with the guilty and partake of his judgment, and nobody escapes the judgments of God, no matter how long it takes.

The Conclusion of Psalm 15

Psalm 15:5c, “He that doeth these things shall never be moved.”

The picture this scripture suggests is that one who lives according to Psalm 15 will have God as a firm foundation and will never be moved by the Mover but will stand when others fall.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, October 1983)

Thought for today: Let us live by the instructions laid out in Psalm 15 so that we can make God our firm foundation and stand when others fall.

Read Full Post »

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: Ezekiel 9:6

Ezekiel 9:6, “Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”

The picture of Ezekiel 9 is the same picture of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 from another angle. In the dark hour of God’s judgment He will make a difference between sheep and sheep and shepherd and shepherd. While one group is protected and safe with the Lord, the other will be out in the darkness probably sealing their testimonies with their blood. In the verse quoted above, the situation is put in all its rawness and for the person who does not understand the language of God, it would be hard to see in these words a loving and merciful God. In spite of this the explanation is however, that those who are outside of OBEDIENCE to God in the moment of crisis, stand in an indefensible position, and not even God Himself can break His own rules to save them. This is the reason it is written in Revelations 11:2 that the “Outer Court” will be utterly destroyed. THE MARK IN THE FOREHEAD, which in symbolic language means the Mind of Christ in our minds, will be the saving portion in the day of God’s judgment.

Many times the Scripture describes God’s judgment as nothing more than retribution being brought upon man by his own actions, and in some cases the army of the heathen coming against his people who were not able to win because their God had withdrawn from them. Actually, they were not better fighters than the heathen around them, and their victories only came through their obedience to God. It would therefore be natural that when the Lord withdrew from them that the enemy would overcome them, and that would be their punishment for disobedience. NEVERTHELESS IN GOD’S JUDGMENT ON HIS CHURCH there never was utter destruction and there never will be. “God will save her and that right early.” (Psalm 46:5).

The judgments of God are upon us, and there will be a continuous increase of God’s judgment upon the church unto a final cataclysmic end, when the church will be purified:

Malachi 3:3, “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: And he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”

It is not all bad news – THE GOOD NEWS FAR OUTWEIGHS the bad. This will produce the greatest revival of righteousness in the earth.

Daniel 12:1, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:  and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time:  and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

I believe we are living in the time when the Great Accountant of Heaven is making a final balancing of His accounts. Any of our work, which is not motivated by righteousness, will be burnt up as hay, wood, and stubble. Those works, which are ordered and directed by the Holy Spirit, are gold, silver, and precious stones; that is all that matters. Many little Christians shut away in some non-descript corner will be receiving great rewards for their obedience in prayer, while some of the mighty men in the limelight of Christianity will only be saved as if by fire. May the Lord bless you to be among those who God honors at the final summation.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, June 1982)

Thought for today: Only those works, which are ordered and directed by the Holy Spirit, are gold, silver, and precious stones; that is all that matters.

Read Full Post »

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: I Peter 4:17

The children of God who believe in justice and mercy, must agree that a loving God who is abundant in mercy must judge the children of His household before He judges the world.

I Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

God’s judgments take many different forms, some of which include the allowing of His enemies to come against His people to punish them. One of the staunchest laws of God is the law of Sowing and Reaping.

Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Only the Blood of Jesus Christ remits sin, otherwise all sin must be punished. Sometimes we only see the effects on the outward man, and we tend to wonder why would God allow this? But we should never forget that God is righteous and whatsoever is done of God is righteousness.

As an accountant it is very easy for me to understand that there must be a time of reckoning when all the accounts must be balanced. At the end of the business year there is a time of reckoning, but if the business is being liquidated, then all the accounts must be closed at the same time. This concept is the one which the Scripture speaks of in I Peter 4:17.  – The time is come – for what? – for the judgment of the Church.

It is not enough to accept Jesus as Saviour, we should know him as Lord and follow Him. The majority of Christians dwell in the realm of accepting Jesus as Saviour, but following foolish shepherds who are not following the Lord or who follow Him afar off. The present darkness into which the world is entering demands that we follow Jesus the whole way in order to overcome.

Midnight, as mentioned in Matthew 25, is going to separate those who had the work of God done in their souls from those who frustrated the Holy Spirit, not allowing him to do the transformation within the area of the soul. Jesus Christ redeemed our souls by His death, and he came to save our souls. If in the final analysis, we reject the completion of this work in the soul, then the mind and the emotions will remain unregenerated and we will fail to overcome Satan in the power of his strength.

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, June 1982)

Thought for today: It is not enough to accept Jesus as Saviour, we must know Him as Lord and follow Him.

Read Full Post »

[Printable version]

Scripture reading: John 16:8

When we look at Matthew 25, we can see that at midnight there was a sudden cry made, “Behold the bridegroom comes.” There is a scramble now! There is no way you are going to put your soul straight in a situation of terror. God is saying, “Get your oil in your lamp!” We have oil in the vessel, we know it! Do you know why you know you have oil in your vessel? Put somebody on the piano and as they start to sing a song of God, see how you feel. The Spirit rises up in you, and you feel so blessed. That’s the oil in your lamp, in your spirit. You are all right when you are in the Spirit. You need to be all right when you are in the flesh!! God is saying to us that we have to make another step forward from where we are, so that the soul part of us is also protected under the shadow of the Almighty, just as the spirit part of us is protected.

When the bridegroom came, there was a cry made. Did you notice the scripture didn’t say this one cried, or that one cried? It says that there was a cry made! It means to say that there is a watchman company that God has watching, and when the bridegroom is afar off, he is going to spy Him, and cry out, “Get ready! He’s coming!” And this is what we are hearing now!

When the cry that the bridegroom is coming sounded, all the virgins arose. But for some people it was too late, they were shut out, and they were not in the bride class anymore. I don’t know if you understand what we are talking about. There’s a class of people that God is selecting. He wants some people to reign and to rule with Him, to be the rulers in this world, spiritually. He is now selecting His people. You can be selected and yet you drop out. For even in the selection, it is part of the testing to make you hardened and ready for the job that is ahead of you.

God is saying that if you are going to move, move now! The way that you thought you should move in the past is not the way that God is speaking to you now. God is speaking to us to move on ourselves. Go to God. Be worried about your condition. Some of us want a wife, or we want a husband, and it becomes an obsession to us before God. Go to God with it. “This thing is an obsession to me, it’s disturbing my concentration upon You. Help me!” He might just give you one and that might be the help. But He might say, “Look to the Lord; turn your mind upon God.” And guess what? When you turn your mind upon God, you will get all the things that you need to carry you on the next few steps. It is a God we are dealing with! It is not a man! Amen!

But we have to trust Him. Many of us don’t trust God. I am telling you, we don’t trust Him! I had a confrontation, a good confrontation with one of my dearly beloved brethren. It was, “Oh, brethren, please pray for my son. Please pray for my son. Oh, God!” I said, “Do you think you love that boy more than God does? Leave the boy alone in the hand of God. Just tell God what you want and go rejoicing! God will do the rest! Stop worrying!” If you worry, you don’t believe Him. You are just deceiving yourself that you believe God. We’d better put the things that we need in life before God and say, “Papa, take charge of it.” And we love Him. “You love me, You are going to do it for me.” And you start rejoicing! Forget it! Because this soul must be fixed. Do you hear me? Get into it, put your soul into the shop like you would put your car and leave it. Let God fix it! Because the time is late, late, late, late. I would hate to see anything happen and you just start running. When the situation happened in New York in 2001, all the churches were full! People are still going to church thinking that is the way to appease God. But God wants us to begin to examine ourselves, and the blessed thing about it is that we all are wrong sometimes. Sometimes you say something and you think, “Man, I wish I didn’t say that,” but it was in there and you said it. But that coming out of your mouth, let it be a blessing. If you talk something wrong let it be a blessing, because you are conscious of it and you say, “Oh, God, don’t let this happen again.” And no sooner than you say, “Don’t let it happen again,” it happens again. You know what I mean. Don’t give up on yourself! God is true! John 16:8 says that it is the Holy Ghost that comes to judge the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. Even our righteousness sometimes is not up to mark, but He pricks you, “Alright, Jesus, leave it to me. I’m going to fix it. I won’t do it again.” But He will always be there with you. If we take God as a present help in trouble, One who knows and understands us, we can stop worrying about our condition. Stop worrying about our brethren, our children, or whatever else; put them in the hand of God and say, “Alright, take charge of it, Lord.”

(Excerpt from Keeping in Touch, April 28, 2002)

Thought for today: When you turn your mind upon God, you will get all the things that you need to carry you on the next few steps. It is a God we are dealing with! It is not a man!

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »