Post by Cindy on May 19, 2015 13:31:26 GMT -5
I get so frustrated because it seems like the truth is only being preached by a few select pastors and teachers, here and there, and that the majority of churches today are basically just another country club. Oh some still pretend to be churches and do preach some of the truth, they just don't preach it all and most of their members are for the most part just a bunch of spiritual babies being led around by a leash. Then we have huge groups of people who call themselves Christians who are nothing more then wolves in sheep's clothing trying to fleece the sheep. They tell their congregations that they all have miraculous powers and can handle snakes, drink poison, speak in tongues, heal anyone, and that dreams, visions and prophecy are going on like crazy - at least in their congregations and those they hang out with. For every prophecy, dream or vision you hear from one group, you can find the opposite from someone else. In the mean time, while all this is supposedly going on in these churches, evil is growing by leaps and bounds in the world. If all those things were actually true, don't you think that the world would be getting better instead of worse?
So, what's the truth? All we have to do is look in the only place where Truth can be found...God's Word. God shows us over and over in the OT what happens when people stop listening to Him and go their own way; when people stop living for Him and instead live for themselves. When that happens, the world becomes more and more evil, and false prophets abound. True prophets are few and far between if there are any at all. When things got really bad the last time, God quit sending any prophets completely. He said there's be famine in the land for His Word and boy, let me tell you, that is very true today! Those who love the Lord and love His Word, are hard put to find anyone else who's interested and wants to discuss His Word so they can grow. When people are confronted with sin today, they either ignore it, or they lash out and insist that what they're doing is perfectly ok, instead of asking the Lord about it, and if it's true, repenting. The vast majority of Christians today don't have a clue what God's Word says.
But that's exactly what the Lord Himself said would happen during the last days. He said that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between those who called themselves Christians and those who were unsaved, and the reason is because many, if not most, aren't saved. They just think they are because they've been lied to by so many for so long and think that God doesn't care about how they live.
It's one of the many lies that many will believe during these last days. Large numbers of Christians today claim they believe that Jesus is going to return soon; that the rapture could happen any moment, but very few actually live like they believe that. If you take a look at what's being viewed and talked about by people the most though, it's things that are or can be, sensationalized. Satan has so many lies going around the world today it's amazing and more and more people are buying into those lies. Satan appeals to our flesh, therefore, he offers us "experiences" and that's exactly what many so called Christians are eating up these days. They want to "experience God" or "feel the Spirit", or see miracles, but look at their lives and you generally won't find any of them studying His Word daily like He tells us to. That's way to boring and too much like work for them.
They will often claim the scripture ““And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28–29) Yet it only shows their lack of knowledge about God's Word. Like many prophecies, this one has both an early and late fulfillment. This particular scripture had it's "early" partial fulfillment when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples, but the final fulfillment won't be until the Millennium. That's what this verse is speaking about, NOT now, as so many would prefer to think.
If there were really as many Christians as there are people who say they are, don't you think the world would be getting better instead of more evil? Don't you think you'd be able to look at most of the folks in your church and see people who knew God's Word well and lived by it and who's lives were very different from those of the unsaved?
Instead, because these last days are filled with sin and evil, God sends what He always has sent in times like this. In 1 Sam. 3:1 as well as other places, we're shown that in times like we live in there's an absence of visions, dreams and prophecy etc. There's a famine instead of feast as far as God's Word goes. ““The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11) This is what God does when His people refuse to know or listen to His Word - He takes it away from them and judges them, and that's where we are now. Peter tells us about this time too: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”” (1 Peter 4:17–18) The judgment comes because of the long time disobedience of those who are called by His Name.
This is a time when the Lord is preparing for the worst judgment that's ever come to the earth! A judgment so bad that He tells us outright that the human race itself would not survive it if He didn't end it early! Those who do study His Word know we're told over and over that during these last days deception will be all around us, and warned not to be deceived. We're told the only way to avoid being deceived is to stay in His Word every day. I can guarantee you that some of the major means of Satan's deceptions will be through books, music, and the media, and I'm including so called Christian books, music and media as well. The only safe place is in God's Word. If you want to know the Truth, and prevent yourself from being deceived then get into His Word and stay there. Study it like there's no tomorrow, because there just might not be!
So, what's the truth? All we have to do is look in the only place where Truth can be found...God's Word. God shows us over and over in the OT what happens when people stop listening to Him and go their own way; when people stop living for Him and instead live for themselves. When that happens, the world becomes more and more evil, and false prophets abound. True prophets are few and far between if there are any at all. When things got really bad the last time, God quit sending any prophets completely. He said there's be famine in the land for His Word and boy, let me tell you, that is very true today! Those who love the Lord and love His Word, are hard put to find anyone else who's interested and wants to discuss His Word so they can grow. When people are confronted with sin today, they either ignore it, or they lash out and insist that what they're doing is perfectly ok, instead of asking the Lord about it, and if it's true, repenting. The vast majority of Christians today don't have a clue what God's Word says.
But that's exactly what the Lord Himself said would happen during the last days. He said that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between those who called themselves Christians and those who were unsaved, and the reason is because many, if not most, aren't saved. They just think they are because they've been lied to by so many for so long and think that God doesn't care about how they live.
It's one of the many lies that many will believe during these last days. Large numbers of Christians today claim they believe that Jesus is going to return soon; that the rapture could happen any moment, but very few actually live like they believe that. If you take a look at what's being viewed and talked about by people the most though, it's things that are or can be, sensationalized. Satan has so many lies going around the world today it's amazing and more and more people are buying into those lies. Satan appeals to our flesh, therefore, he offers us "experiences" and that's exactly what many so called Christians are eating up these days. They want to "experience God" or "feel the Spirit", or see miracles, but look at their lives and you generally won't find any of them studying His Word daily like He tells us to. That's way to boring and too much like work for them.
They will often claim the scripture ““And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28–29) Yet it only shows their lack of knowledge about God's Word. Like many prophecies, this one has both an early and late fulfillment. This particular scripture had it's "early" partial fulfillment when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples, but the final fulfillment won't be until the Millennium. That's what this verse is speaking about, NOT now, as so many would prefer to think.
If there were really as many Christians as there are people who say they are, don't you think the world would be getting better instead of more evil? Don't you think you'd be able to look at most of the folks in your church and see people who knew God's Word well and lived by it and who's lives were very different from those of the unsaved?
Instead, because these last days are filled with sin and evil, God sends what He always has sent in times like this. In 1 Sam. 3:1 as well as other places, we're shown that in times like we live in there's an absence of visions, dreams and prophecy etc. There's a famine instead of feast as far as God's Word goes. ““The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11) This is what God does when His people refuse to know or listen to His Word - He takes it away from them and judges them, and that's where we are now. Peter tells us about this time too: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”” (1 Peter 4:17–18) The judgment comes because of the long time disobedience of those who are called by His Name.
This is a time when the Lord is preparing for the worst judgment that's ever come to the earth! A judgment so bad that He tells us outright that the human race itself would not survive it if He didn't end it early! Those who do study His Word know we're told over and over that during these last days deception will be all around us, and warned not to be deceived. We're told the only way to avoid being deceived is to stay in His Word every day. I can guarantee you that some of the major means of Satan's deceptions will be through books, music, and the media, and I'm including so called Christian books, music and media as well. The only safe place is in God's Word. If you want to know the Truth, and prevent yourself from being deceived then get into His Word and stay there. Study it like there's no tomorrow, because there just might not be!