Post by Cindy on Apr 21, 2015 11:13:52 GMT -5
We know we are living in the end times, and in the last days of those times. We don't know how much longer it will be before the rapture, but we do know that it's the next thing to happen. We know that there will be very hard times even before the Tribulation. Many of us, if not all of us, are going through them even now, and we know that things are bound to get worse in the world, not better. The big question on everyone's mind I think, at least on mine, has been, "OK, so what's going to happen to those of us who believe and follow Christ between now and the rapture?"
Be prepared. I'm not going to lie to you like the false teachers today do. It's not going to be easy, but the Lord does have a plan for us and He will protect us even before the rapture. We'll still go through these hard times, but we will also have His help. How much, depends somewhat on each of us however. Let me show you what His Word says. First we need to understand why the Lord brought Judgment on Israel in the first place. Paul quotes Isaiah explaining that the Lord said:
“He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”” (Isaiah 6:9–10)
Why did the Lord decree that they would no longer understand His Word, and therefore would wind up missing their Messiah? I think it's pretty well summed up with this verse:
“And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.” (Jeremiah 25:4)
Over and over the Lord has called to them through His Word and His prophets and they have refused to listen to Him. They preferred to listen to the false teachers and false prophets because those promised them peace, and that's what they wanted. Those false prophets told them how great they were going to be and how great life would be for them, and they ate it up like candy. That's exactly what's happening again today.
What's going to happen to all of us now though, is explained in Jeremiah 24 where we're told about a vision God gave Jeremiah. In it, He explains that there are two kinds of people in the land. It boils down to those who love Him and those who don't. Those who don't love Him, are those who rebel against Him and those He will destroy. In our time, they will be those who will be destroyed during the Tribulation, or possibly beforehand. Then there are those who truly do love Him. In the prophets time, those would be the ones that were deported to Babylon for 70 years, including Daniel. So you can see that they did still have to go through some hard times. Why? It was discipline, because many didn't love Him with all their hearts yet, and were trying to both live in the world as well as belong to Him. Again we can easily see that it's the same way today. God would use their time in Babylon to teach them to love and trust Him with all their hearts as He would meet their needs as they arose, eventually bringing them back to their own land once they had learned their lesson. And they did learn! Let me share these verses about it with you:
““This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” (Jeremiah 24:5–7)
Later the Lord told Jeremiah to tell the people He'd sent to Babylon that they were to even pray for the peace and prosperity of Babylon while they were there, which really shocked them. He wanted them to know that while they were being disciplined that if they would pay attention to Him and obey Him, that He would then watch over them and take care of them while they were there. We see this played out very obviously especially in the life of Daniel and his 3 friends. They had hard times and trials, yes, but the Lord took remarkable care of them and they were never harmed. Instead they held high positions and did very well in that land. This brings to mind two other verses:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9)
If you read the book of Daniel, you can see those verses played out in the lives of Daniel and his friends, and it's really amazing! These days now are meant to be a blessing to us. A time to do what we should have been doing all along, but which most of us haven't. A time to get into His Word as though our very lives depended on it, for in fact they do. In John 8:31 Jesus tells us that we belong to Him if we abide in His Word. Jesus is the Word of God and the Word is Jesus. When we ignore His Word, when we don't spend time in His Word, we're ignoring Him. This life isn't what it's cracked up to be, it's eternity that really counts and that's what we should constantly have on our minds now. That's what the Lord is wanting us to consider.
What happens to us as individual believers now will depend on where our hearts are now and exactly what we do about it right now. It's not just about hearing God's Word, or understanding it or even doing it. It's all about loving Him with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. It's what He tells us from the very start that He wants from us. Every time we doubt Him, and fail to trust Him or His Word, or we fail to obey Him, our hearts are hardened, just as theirs were. Each time our hearts are hardened, it makes it a little harder to hear the nudging of the Holy Spirit. Every time we ignore the Spirit, it makes it a little harder to hear Him the next time. Every time we decide that something or someone in this life is more important then knowing the Lord and His Word, our hearts are hardened and it becomes more difficult for us to hear His Spirit. That scares me to death and I hope it scares you as well, because it should! Our salvation is not threatened, but our relationship with the Lord is. We disappoint Him and grieve the Spirit each time this happens and we're warned in Eph 4:30 not to grieve the Holy Spirit. What happens to those who continue to grieve Him? God disciplines them, which translates to more trials and hardship as well as trouble understanding His Word. Often God will simply allow us to continue doing things our own way until we've fallen so deep into a pit that we have no hope of getting out ourselves and we call on Him. Then He pulls us out, dusts us off and sets us back on His path and we start back at the same point we were at when we ignored His Word or Him the last time. The good news is that every time we obey the Lord, every time we put Him and His Word before everything else in our lives, including ourselves, the opposite happens and it makes it a little easier to hear His Spirit and understand His Word.
The Lord has said that it is His Will and intention that we will be like Jesus. He doesn't wave a magic wand and instantly transform us so that we're like our Savior though. Instead He requires that we participate in this change by getting to know Him better every day, which in turn causes our love for Him to grow daily, and that in turn causes us to be changed by His Spirit to be more like Jesus daily. The final step will be at the rapture when we will finally be rid of our sin natures and be given incorruptible bodies. This is our time to get ready for that final step. Yes, we will continue to experience hard times during this time left here on earth, but God will protect us and take care of us, giving us His peace. We will not be crushed, or in despair, abandoned or destroyed. Instead, the Prince of Peace will give us His peace for these final days, if we will trust in Him, loving Him with all our hearts. He will meet our needs and then on that glorious day, at the rapture, we will finally be with Him physically forever!
Be prepared. I'm not going to lie to you like the false teachers today do. It's not going to be easy, but the Lord does have a plan for us and He will protect us even before the rapture. We'll still go through these hard times, but we will also have His help. How much, depends somewhat on each of us however. Let me show you what His Word says. First we need to understand why the Lord brought Judgment on Israel in the first place. Paul quotes Isaiah explaining that the Lord said:
“He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”” (Isaiah 6:9–10)
Why did the Lord decree that they would no longer understand His Word, and therefore would wind up missing their Messiah? I think it's pretty well summed up with this verse:
“And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.” (Jeremiah 25:4)
Over and over the Lord has called to them through His Word and His prophets and they have refused to listen to Him. They preferred to listen to the false teachers and false prophets because those promised them peace, and that's what they wanted. Those false prophets told them how great they were going to be and how great life would be for them, and they ate it up like candy. That's exactly what's happening again today.
What's going to happen to all of us now though, is explained in Jeremiah 24 where we're told about a vision God gave Jeremiah. In it, He explains that there are two kinds of people in the land. It boils down to those who love Him and those who don't. Those who don't love Him, are those who rebel against Him and those He will destroy. In our time, they will be those who will be destroyed during the Tribulation, or possibly beforehand. Then there are those who truly do love Him. In the prophets time, those would be the ones that were deported to Babylon for 70 years, including Daniel. So you can see that they did still have to go through some hard times. Why? It was discipline, because many didn't love Him with all their hearts yet, and were trying to both live in the world as well as belong to Him. Again we can easily see that it's the same way today. God would use their time in Babylon to teach them to love and trust Him with all their hearts as He would meet their needs as they arose, eventually bringing them back to their own land once they had learned their lesson. And they did learn! Let me share these verses about it with you:
““This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” (Jeremiah 24:5–7)
Later the Lord told Jeremiah to tell the people He'd sent to Babylon that they were to even pray for the peace and prosperity of Babylon while they were there, which really shocked them. He wanted them to know that while they were being disciplined that if they would pay attention to Him and obey Him, that He would then watch over them and take care of them while they were there. We see this played out very obviously especially in the life of Daniel and his 3 friends. They had hard times and trials, yes, but the Lord took remarkable care of them and they were never harmed. Instead they held high positions and did very well in that land. This brings to mind two other verses:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9)
If you read the book of Daniel, you can see those verses played out in the lives of Daniel and his friends, and it's really amazing! These days now are meant to be a blessing to us. A time to do what we should have been doing all along, but which most of us haven't. A time to get into His Word as though our very lives depended on it, for in fact they do. In John 8:31 Jesus tells us that we belong to Him if we abide in His Word. Jesus is the Word of God and the Word is Jesus. When we ignore His Word, when we don't spend time in His Word, we're ignoring Him. This life isn't what it's cracked up to be, it's eternity that really counts and that's what we should constantly have on our minds now. That's what the Lord is wanting us to consider.
What happens to us as individual believers now will depend on where our hearts are now and exactly what we do about it right now. It's not just about hearing God's Word, or understanding it or even doing it. It's all about loving Him with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. It's what He tells us from the very start that He wants from us. Every time we doubt Him, and fail to trust Him or His Word, or we fail to obey Him, our hearts are hardened, just as theirs were. Each time our hearts are hardened, it makes it a little harder to hear the nudging of the Holy Spirit. Every time we ignore the Spirit, it makes it a little harder to hear Him the next time. Every time we decide that something or someone in this life is more important then knowing the Lord and His Word, our hearts are hardened and it becomes more difficult for us to hear His Spirit. That scares me to death and I hope it scares you as well, because it should! Our salvation is not threatened, but our relationship with the Lord is. We disappoint Him and grieve the Spirit each time this happens and we're warned in Eph 4:30 not to grieve the Holy Spirit. What happens to those who continue to grieve Him? God disciplines them, which translates to more trials and hardship as well as trouble understanding His Word. Often God will simply allow us to continue doing things our own way until we've fallen so deep into a pit that we have no hope of getting out ourselves and we call on Him. Then He pulls us out, dusts us off and sets us back on His path and we start back at the same point we were at when we ignored His Word or Him the last time. The good news is that every time we obey the Lord, every time we put Him and His Word before everything else in our lives, including ourselves, the opposite happens and it makes it a little easier to hear His Spirit and understand His Word.
The Lord has said that it is His Will and intention that we will be like Jesus. He doesn't wave a magic wand and instantly transform us so that we're like our Savior though. Instead He requires that we participate in this change by getting to know Him better every day, which in turn causes our love for Him to grow daily, and that in turn causes us to be changed by His Spirit to be more like Jesus daily. The final step will be at the rapture when we will finally be rid of our sin natures and be given incorruptible bodies. This is our time to get ready for that final step. Yes, we will continue to experience hard times during this time left here on earth, but God will protect us and take care of us, giving us His peace. We will not be crushed, or in despair, abandoned or destroyed. Instead, the Prince of Peace will give us His peace for these final days, if we will trust in Him, loving Him with all our hearts. He will meet our needs and then on that glorious day, at the rapture, we will finally be with Him physically forever!