Tearing Down Strongholds is not easy but they will come down....

[Gideon]

 

The Word of God has much to say about Christianity in the last days, days we are living in right now. 

 The birthing and early growth of the church had to fight the legalistic holdovers of people who had been brought up under the law. Effort was expected. Lots of effort. The law was a tough taskmaster. Break one commandment, you are guilty of all of them. Whoa. 

The entire basis of the law was  this:

Obey My Voice and you will be my people and I will be your God. 

 

The Pharisees ruled the roost with their outward shows of piety, their pride in  their efforts, and any who withstood them was branded an enemy of God and a heretic. And then Jesus showed up. 

So when grace came along, based not on the obedience of effort but the obedience of faith, the  church, seen by the Jews as a cult, exploded onto the scene. But this "early rain" ceased after the death of the apostle Paul 

Dry days ensued, lots of them. The church had been planted and put down deep roots. It would need them. There were nineteen hundred years of dry days ahead. A few scattered summer showers of revival would keep the crop alive, but as to regaining the glory, the power, the victory that the early saints enjoyed, the church of long hot summer days never even came close to the glory that was the Church God had freshly planted. 

In the early days, God used extreme measures if needs be to insure the purity of His handiwork. Ananias and Saphira come to mind. But God had shown Paul that after his approaching death, the church Paul had worked so hard to build up, a glorious garden fit for the King, would become infested with weeds, sown into the church by the enemy. The church, at one time a glorious spectacle to behold, would become, sadly, just  another religion. 

Oh, the truths, the foundation, the 'skeleton" of truth from which life was hung, would survive, but religion would make the truths themselves be their God. And religion is not freedom. Religion is not joy. Religion is not LIFE. In religion, there is a lot of talk about Jesus, but scant evidence OF Him in the hearts of His saints. 

This is not to say that there would be wonderful saints who walked in all the light they had, and then some. They strove to walk close to their God, longed to obey Him, to know Him  to see all sin and self love eradicated from their lives, and thank God for them. But overall, most of His own would be healed only slightly, saying 'peace, peace', when their lives had scant little of it.

Is all hopeless for a world desperately in need of seeing God's handiwork expressed through the people who claim Him as their God?  The men in the days of the early church were blessed to see Jehovah, the master potter, in action. Men would exclaim "Behold how they love one another!"

In a day and hour when darkness is increasing at an exponential rate. is our world forced to decide if Jesus is truly the way, when all they have as a basis with which to make a choice is how we are living it out on front of them? Sadly, whether it upsets us or not, we are the salt that has lost its savor, and who wants savorless salt? 

Has the church which was planted in great power, amazing purity, abounding joy and infectious zeal been destined to limp  into eternity, split into 500+ bickering denominations, where  the best God can do if forgive His own,  but not change them from sinners to victorious saints? .....where  churches have become competing businesses, with pastors more busy with their business models than building up the saints so that they can walk in victory over the world, the flesh and the devil? 

No way, Jose. Dark clouds, rich with the blessings and power  of God are gathering on the horizon. The religious church is about to discover who they  really are and what their birthright actually is.  Faith will be re-defined from a one time prayer to the way to actually abide in Him, where we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.....where contentment with forgiveness but with no heart for holy character is going to be replaced with godliness with contentment ... great gain!

Satan, during these last nineteen hundred years, has established a multitude of strongholds, twistings of the truth that have led God's sheep far off the path God wants for His own. .The attitude of "We have grace .... who needs holiness? We have need of nothing"  is about to be exposed for the lies that it tries to cover.....

.that sin can somehow can be accepted by Lord without having to be dealt with, or even wanting to.

that self can continue to rule, except in extreme emergencies, of course, with no need to actually hate our old nature.

that holiness is impossible for we are, and always will be sinners till Jesus takes us home.

that even if we  flirt with sin and let it harden our hearts to the point we do not even want to repent, God accepts us and will welcome us with open arms.

We are about to re-discover that the warnings seeded throughout the  Word are there no to be ignored, nor given to rob is of our security, but to actually give it to us!

But praise God, the coup de grace, is that His own are going to re-discover rhat when we  combine the. blood of the lamb with the words of our testimony as to who we ARE, new creatures, then  our shields of faith actually work..... we actually take the way of escape when we are tempted.... rhatcGod actually CAUSES US to obey Him! Glory! 

Remember the essence of old covenant? Do and you shall be? Well, under the new covenant, the script is flipped. 

Be and you shall do!

A new day is dawning, saints of God! The  latter rain is about to shed its life giving water over us.  Strongholds of unbelief and resistance are going to have to be torn down and yes, the enemy will fight it with all he has, but what he has will not be enough. God's church is about to actually believe that it is no more them that live, but God who lives in them, and when they do, God will  again pour out His Spirt upon His children, even as He did on the day of Pentecost. 

Sound impossible? I understand. But nevertheless, we have a wedding to get  prepared for, and our spots and wrinkles changes to the glory of holiness. 

Live, bones, live. 

blessings to all,

Gideon 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Gideon

[BlessedCreator]

Let us not forget that we are warned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that the antichrist must first be revealed before the end comes. Nobody is getting an escape card in these end times.

Also we are saved by faith which means our trust in God. But as James 2:26 tells us faith without works is dead. The works are God's will, His commandments and precepts taught in His word, the Holy Bible. Without obeying God your faith is dead.

That is why we are told in Matthew 7:14 that few will be saved. Because few take heed of the warnings. Such as that taught in Jesus' parable about the unprofitable servant being cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 25:30).

You cant trust in the Holy One if you live an unholy life.

 

John 2:17 KJB

"...he that doeth the will of God abideth forever"

 

Obey God and you can trust (have faith) in Him that He will save you. But if you live contrary to His will (anything contrary to His will is sin) you will perish.

Dont believe the easy to believe doctrines that you are saved merely by believing. This faith requires much more than.

Matthew 7:13-14 KJB

"

¹³ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

¹⁴ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by BlessedCreator

[shortangel]

interesting perspectives here

[Sower]

57 minutes ago, Gideon said:

Sound impossible? I understand. But nevertheless, we have a wedding to get  prepared for, and our spots and wrinkles changes to the glory of holiness. 

Very  impressive sounding.

So, what are you actually doing to get ready for the wedding, Gideon?

[Blood Bought 1953]

38 minutes ago, shortangel said:

interesting perspectives here

 

Interesting? Yes ..........Biblical ? Not a chance .......Newbies , please note that those that have  not Received the Grace Of God do not Understand the Grace  Of God.....If one feels the need to “ hedge their bets” with even a teeny-tiny bit of performance— they do not understand Grace......details to follow.....stay tuned and may God bless.....

Lest there be any misunderstanding—- the preceding post was typed in the Spirit Of warmness, good humor and a Godly concern......especially for those new to the Faith , vulnerable to well- meaning, but confused interpretations of the ONLY thing that saves Anybody—- the Grace  Of God— purchased by the Blood Of Jesus Christ. It really IS like the Song we all sing ( some with hypocrisy, others not ) “NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD”..... RUN, don’t walk from anybody that argues otherwise......Subtle Leaven is everywhere...... 

[Sower]

9 hours ago, Sower said:

10 hours ago, Gideon said:

Sound impossible? I understand. But nevertheless, we have a wedding to get  prepared for, and our spots and wrinkles changes to the glory of holiness. 

Very  impressive sounding.

So, what are you actually doing to get ready for the wedding, Gideon?

 

[BlessedCreator]

You can't pick and choose what sripturecyou want salvation to be about. You have to look at the whole gospel and all of God's commandments and as Isaiah 28:10 says

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

This faith requires more than merely believing. You must live in strict obedience unto God's will which gives you access to the grace (favor) and faith (trust) in God. Without obeying God (the works spoken of in James 2:26) your faith is false, its dead.

[Justin Adams]

29 minutes ago, BlessedCreator said:

This faith requires more than merely believing

Yeshua gave an example of two He thought had the right faith. He was faced with unbelief in His hometown. Naaman, and the Widow. Neither had a bible and neither were Jews. 

Believing Loyalty is what we require to be saved.

What we could not get thru moral perfection we cannot lose thru moral imperfection. To say otherwise is a gospel of works.

Merit is a NON EVENT...

Edited April 27, 2020 by Justin Adams

[BlessedCreator]

Their faith was judged according to the knowledge they had at the time, since Jesus had not finished His ministry yet, their knowledge was limited. 

Jesus Himself taught that the unprofitable servant will be cast out. (Matthew 25:30)

 

We are saved through faith. Faith means trust in God that He will save you. Faith without works is dead. You must obey God to have a living faith. 

 

Without obedience unto God your faith is nothing. 

[Gideon]

12 hours ago, Sower said:

Very  impressive sounding.

So, what are you actually doing to get ready for the wedding, Gideon?

Presenting my body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which in my (and all of our) reasonable service. 

Holding up my shield of faith, standing on the truth that I am a new creature and owe the flesh nothing, in order to quench all the fiery arrows satan throws at me.

Believing as well that God will not only insure I am not tempted above my ability to resist, but that He will also cause me to take the way of escape He promises to provide with each and every temptation. 

Walking in all the light I am  given and pressing in for more as I seek Him as to how I should walk and what He would  have me to share.

Letting His Word instruct me and respond to any corrections or chastenings God sees I need in order to grow up into Him in all things. 

Setting my affections on things above, not on things of the earth. 

Watching unto prayer so that these things approaching on the horizon do not catch me unaware.

Pretty much what all of us have been told is God's will for us to do to prepare for His return.

"If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them."

How about you?

Love you, sower

Gids