Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

October 2006 Issue

How to Have a Personal Revival
Oct 1st, 2006
A.W. Tozer
Uncategorized

1. Get thoroughly dissatisfied with yourself. Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul. When speaking of earthly goods Paul could say, “I have learned to be content” (Philippians 4:11); but when referring to his spiritual life he testified, “I press on toward the goal” (3:14). “So stir up the gift of God that is in thee” (2 Timothy 1:6)

2. Set your face like a flint toward a sweeping transformation of your life. Timid experimenters are tagged for failure before they start. We must throw our whole soul into our desire for God. (Matthew 11:12).

3. Put yourself in the way of the blessing. It is a mistake to look for grace to visit us as a kind of benign magic, or to expect God’s help to come as a windfall apart from conditions known and met. There are plainly marked paths which lead straight to the green pastures; let us walk in them. To desire revival, for instance, and at the same time to neglect prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another.

4. Do a thorough job of repenting. Do not hurry to get it over with. Hasty repentance means shallow spiritual experience and lack of certainty in the whole life. Let godly sorrow do her healing work. Until we allow the consciousness of sin to wound us, we will never develop a fear of evil. It is our wretched habit of tolerating sin that keeps us in our half-dead condition.

5. Make restitution whenever possible. If you owe a debt, pay it. If you have quarreled with anyone, go as far as you can in an effort to achieve reconciliation. As fully as possible, make the crooked things straight.

6. Bring your life into accord with the Sermon on the Mount and such other New Testament Scriptures as are designed to instruct us in the way of righteousness. An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly. I recommend that the self-examination be made on our knees rising to obey God’s commandments as they are revealed to us from the Word.

7. Be serious-minded. You can well afford to see fewer comedy shows on TV. Unless you break away from the funny boys, every spiritual impression will continue to be lost to your heart, and that right in your own living room. The devil’s ideals, moral standards and mental attitudes are being accepted by you without your knowing it. And you wonder why you can make no progress in your Christian life.

8. Deliberately narrow your interests. The jack-of-all-trades is the master of none. The Christian life requires that we be specialists. Too many projects use up time and energy without bringing us nearer to God.

9. Begin to witness. Find something to do for God and your fellow men. Refuse to rust out. Make yourself available to your pastor and do anything you are asked to do. Do not insist upon a place of leadership. Learn to obey.

10. Have faith in God. Begin to expect. Look up toward the throne where your Advocate sits at the right hand of God. All heaven is on your side. God will not disappoint you.

Manana
Oct 1st, 2006
unknown
Uncategorized

“Manana”, says the Spaniard; “Tomorrow”, some folks say;
But hear “What saith the Scripture”,
While it is called today.
“Some more convenient season”
To bury first his father
Another wished to go.
“Now” is the time accepted;
Now is Salvation’s day;
Look on the fields of Harvest
Then, “son go work today”.
So preach the Word, and scatter
The seed along the way;
Be instant in season,
While it is called today.

Nuclear Terror
Oct 1st, 2006

Uncategorized

Craige McMillan asks a question in relationship to the issues in the coming American elections.

How important will “soak the rich,” “socialize medicine,” and “raise teacher pay” seem when the first low-grade nuke cripples a major American city? With its hospitals flattened and its transportation system destroyed – maybe a few mobile media uplinks will still work. Then we can watch our fellow Americans die of radiation poisoning, thirst, starvation and barbarity.

How will our congressmen, senators, state legislators and big-city mayors respond to the terrorist demands for renunciation of our legal system, the introduction of the sharia law, the subjugation of women and the forced conversion of all religious heretics (i.e. non-Muslims)? If they resist, how many more cities will fall to smuggled nukes before they capitulate?

Large numbers of the self-anointed political and media elite in America believe Islamic terrorism is a “manageable problem” that can be “confined” to conventional explosives in restaurants and shopping malls. They believe that everyone in the world shares their “values” and that when all the “toys” have been redistributed “fairly” the world will have peace.

In this belief they are “poor, blind and naked,” because it is uninformed by a knowledge of religion, history, and humanity. They face an enemy who believes Allah has handed them the keys to the kingdom (that would be the entire world) -- and all that stands in the way of unlocking paradise is America’s military muscle.

The American nuclear “deterrent” – for which we have paid such a high price, both monetarily and morally – rots in its silos while terrorist vermin and rogue states salivate over the first nukes due off the North Korean and Iranian production lines. Neither pandering nor containment has blunted their appetite. – WND

I would add that bombs and bullets will not defeat Islam’s drive for world domination. Only truth, as found in God’s Word, can defeat Islam. Unfortunately the west has long since rejected the truth and is defenseless.

I also ask is the above scenario the explanation as to why America is not found in the Biblical scenario of the tribulation period events?

Satan's Ambition
Oct 1st, 2006
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

Satan’s goal is stated in Isaiah 14:13,14 “I will exalt my throne above the stars (angels) of God” … “I will be like the most high.” By the permissive will of God, Satan became the ruler of the world of men 2 Cor. 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Luke 4:6, "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it." John 14:30, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." But Satan’s opportunity was a limited one, he immediately set out to make his rulership permanent and to replace God altogether.

Satan’s first attempt took place on the plains of Shinar in Babylon (Genesis 11:1-4). His goal was to gather the whole world together (Satan is not omnipresent) to establish a world government to consolidate his rule over men. Along with that he sought to establish a world religion to cause men to worship him.

God confounded that attempt Genesis 11:6-8. Someday, Satan will make his final attempt to consolidate his kingdom by establishing a one world government and a one world religion. This attempt will climax and fail during the tribulation period.

Satan has a three-fold agenda for the future:

1. A world government and a world religion.
2. A temple on the temple mount in Jerusalem.
3. To annihilate Israel.

1. A World Government and a World Religion

The Word of God describes how that attempt will unfold. Daniel says there will be a revival of the old Roman Empire. The European Union today claims that they are the revived Roman Empire. Daniel tells us that this will consist of a federation of ten states. Today the EU, as the result of the threat of economic collapse, is actually in the process in  of re-making itself into a union of federated states. Recently ten foreign ministers of ten European nations met to plan how to bring this about.

Both Daniel and John tell us about a coming Anti-christ who will rule over the Revived Roman Empire, and transform it into a world-wide kingdom.

The official seal of the EU today pictures a woman riding a beast. This very scenario is foretold Rev 17:3, "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." This symbol predicts the coming union of the kingdom of Anti-christ with the coming world wide church. The ecumenical movement of the last hundred years is now coming to fruition, we are obviously standing on the threshold of a world wide church.

The European Parliament building in Strasbourg is designed after an artist’s conception of the tower of Babel. The message is clear and it has been clearly stated by EU officials. They have made it known in their plans that they intend to bring the world together in world wide union.

The EU is actually not the RRE but it is the infrastructure for it. The stage is now set for this program of Satan to unfold.

2. A Rebuilt Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Satan’s goal has always been to be worshipped by the whole world in place of God. The centre of the worship of God has been the temple in Jerusalem. Satan desires not just to be worshipped, but to be worshipped in place of God in the very place that God has been worshipped in the past, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Satan’s program to bring that about is a peace treaty between Israel, Islam and the Gentile nations. That treaty will give Israel possession of the temple mount and the right to rebuild the temple, which unknown to Israel, will be a temple for Anti-Christ  (2 Thess 2:4). For several decades the preparations for that temple have been under way, while at the same time the world has been seeking a peace treaty in the mid-east. It appears that some cataclysmic event must take place in the Mideast to fascilate this treaty. We suspect that the war of Psalm 83 will be that event.  The stage is set for Anti-Christ to come and negotiate that treaty, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease....(Daniel 9:27a). Before that happens, the bride of Christ will be caught up to heaven.

3. The Annihilation of Israel

Satan can read the Bible, and he knows that it prophesies that someday Christ will come and rule on the throne of David, over a redeemed Israel living in the Promised Land (Luke 1:32-33). Satan’s purpose is to drive Israel off the land and annihilate her. Then Christ could not come and rule this world from the throne of David, dethroning Satan as the present god of this world.

There yet lies in the future three attempts by Satan to annihalate Israel. These coming attempts are recorded in Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 35-36.

The scenario for the first attempt is now in place in the world and it seems to be imminent. It is the war of Psalm 83.

 The second attempt is the war of Ezekiel 38-39. Today Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, is calling for an alliance of Muslim nations to utterly destroy Israel. He uses the word annihilate.

Listen to his words, “Israel is a rotten dried tree that will be annihilated in one storm”. Compare that with the words in Ezek 38:9 “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm”. I think the Spirit of God is trying to tell us something about Ahmadinejad. Notice in Ezekiel 38:5 Persia (Iran) is one of the leading nations in the alliance seeking to destroy Israel. More recently he said, "The existance of is an insult to humanity."

The third and final attempt to eliminate Israel will take place at the battle of Armageddon, which will takehappen at the very close of the tribulation period. Actually, the nations are now making preparations for that event.

The stage is now set for the carrying forth of Satan’s three-fold purpose in the tribulation period.

But before all of that can unfold, the trumpet must sound and we will be caught up to be with the Lord forever.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (rapture) draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28