Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
Sep 20th, 2009
Weekly Bible StudyHugh Davidson
Categories: Inspirational;Topical Study;Meditation

                                        The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

            John 15:26-16:11, ^”But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. ⁸And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

William Randolph Hearst was one of the wealthiest men in the world of his time and he was known as a passionate collector of fine art. One day he was looking through a catalog of rare paintings and he saw a piece he just had to have. So he instructed his purchasing agent to do whatever it took to find it. And after a long and difficult search, the man finally located it. It was in Hearst's own collection! He already owned it but he had so much in his collection, he didn't even know it was there.

Spiritually speaking, many of us are like Mr. Hearst. We’re saved by the blood and sealed by the Spirit and yet, many of us don’t even know who the Holy Spirit is let alone what He has done and intends to do now that we’ve committed our lives to the Lord. And as a result, we live as "spiritual paupers" never realizing how "rich" we are in Christ. It's like living below the poverty level when you have $10 million in your checking account.

So, here we find Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the future because the events that will take place over the next couple of days including His arrest, torture, death and burial will seem to be the end of everything He ever said or did over the last few years. And now He’s going to assure them of the presence and comfort of the Holy Spirit in spite of everything that’s coming down the road. And this isn’t just for these twelve disciples but these are words of reassurance for you and I as well.

So, we begin in the last two verses of John 15 where John tells us about the Holy Spirit’s coming and it’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ He will come. And John tells us that Jesus will send the Holy Spirit from the Father and once again we have the mention of all three members of the trinity all in one verse.

In terms of identifying the Holy Spirit Jesus tells us three things about Him when He says He is the Spirit of truth, He comes from the presence of the Father and He shall testify of Jesus. And then He says, “And because He is coming, ye shall also bear witness” or be testimonies for Jesus as well.

So, He’s the Spirit of truth and the Holy Spirit communicates truth to a hostile world through the conviction of sin and the witness of Jesus Christ. And in the energy of the Holy Spirit we too can be used to boldly face a hostile world with the gospel. In verses 26 and 27 we have the words "testify" and "witness" are both of these are legal terms. So, what John is doing is using the imagery of a law court and telling us we are the witnesses for the defense because Jesus is on trial before the watching world.

Now, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and twice in John 15:26 John indicates this. It says, "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me." So, the witness of the Holy Spirit originated with the Father.” And you notice where it says, “He shall testify of Me.” So, when did the Holy Spirit come as a witness of Jesus Christ? Jesus promised His disciples in Acts 1:8, "Ye shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me" And we know that this promise was fulfilled on the day of the Pentecost. So the Holy Spirit came from the Father at Pentecost to witness to the Son and the Spirit witnesses to the Son by indwelling and empowering believers. And because of His coming we are told that He will empower all of us to testify about Jesus. Now listen, this is important. There's no such thing as a Spirit-filled Christian who doesn't witness and that's because it's the Spirit's ministry to testify about Christ. It’s what He does. And Spirit-filled people tell the world about Jesus because that's what the Spirit directs them to do. 

Hebrews 2:4 says of the apostles that, “God bore them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit." In other words, they were given supernatural gifts by the Holy Spirit so they could dispense the gospel. In Romans 15:19 Paul says, "Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." So, it was the filling of the Holy Spirit that enabled Paul to preach the gospel everywhere he went and the Holy Spirit continues to empower God's people to witness about what Jesus has done for them.

This tells us that the moment we were saved, we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit and He will stay in us to witness through us until we stand in the presence of Jesus Christ and that’s either at the time of our death or when Jesus comes back to take us home through death or the rapture.

So, what’s He doing? He’s living in our hearts giving us both the strength to be a witness and the words to say to the unsaved. And to be a witness, first, we must be precise. A witness states the facts the way they have experienced them. So, we are to present Jesus Christ as simply but as accurately as possible which means we never give half of the gospel and we never share it in a way that takes away its power to save.

And then second, our goal is to exalt Jesus Christ in our lives. People should see Jesus in us and be either attracted to Him or repelled by Him depending on their willingness to know Him. God wants us to confront the world with a clear testimony about what Jesus has done for us and what He can do for them and our goal is not just talk about ourselves but it’s to share our testimony in a way that turns the attention to Jesus. People must come to understand who Jesus Christ is and who we are is secondary. 

For instance, if someone hears my testimony and walks away saying, man he really led either an exciting or an awfully dull life then all they’ve heard is me. The purpose of giving our testimony is to testify what Jesus did to save us and to tell them how He can do the same for them. It’s not to tell them how good or bad we were in the eyes of the world because that doesn’t really matter.

Listen, there's no such thing as a Spirit-filled Christian who doesn't witness because it's the Spirit's ministry to testify about Jesus, that’s what He does. So, Spirit-filled people witness because the Holy Spirit directs them to do it. In other words, we are all given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit and the purpose of these gifts is to share the gospel. 

In John 15:27 Jesus gives an important qualification for being a witness when He says to His disciples, "Ye have been with me from the beginning." So, what is it that makes a witness legitimate? He has to spend time with the Lord. He has to have known what happened to Him and why and then be willing to share it. After all, you can't go into a court and be a witness unless you saw or experienced something. And the only person who is able to give a testimony for Jesus Christ is someone who has had the experience of coming to know Him and that takes our testimony out of the cold realm of the mind and puts it into the warmth of personal experience. The testimony itself is not just our personal experience but it also includes what we know about the Lord and what He has accomplished on the cross in terms of salvation for all who are willing to repent and trust Him.

Sarkozy to Press for 'tobin Tax'
Sep 20th, 2009
Daily NewsBBC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;World Government

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will urge fellow G20 leaders to introduce a special tax to reduce risky behaviour by banks, the BBC has learned.

Mr Sarkozy wants a levy known as a Tobin Tax to be applied to every financial transaction.

The move is aimed at cutting excessively speculative trades and encouraging long-term decision-making.

But senior EU officials told the BBC that the chances of getting a global agreement were "less than minimal".

The proposal does not yet have the formal backing of the EU or Germany - France's largest trading partner - and according to the BBC's business reporter Joe Lynam, it is widely expected to face resistance from Britain and the US, home to the world's largest financial centres.

The BBC has also learnt that the issue of bankers' pay, especially bonuses, will also be on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the US, next weekend.

There will be no suggestion of capping individual bonuses, our correspondent says, but it is likely that overall bonuses as a proportion of a company's earnings could be restricted.

There may also be a possibility of payment deferral and the option of clawing payments back should decisions by bankers prove to have been excessively risky or erroneous.

Old idea resurrected

The Tobin Tax is named after the US economist James Tobin, who first suggested it in the 1970s.

While it was originally supposed to be used for aid for developing countries, it could now be used to fund some of the bailouts in the financial industry or the multi-billion dollar stimulus packages under way to kick-start economies around the world.

The idea was resurrected in August this year by Lord Adair Turner, the chairman of Britain's financial watchdog, the FSA, as a way of providing buffers against another economic slowdown.

"Such taxes have long been the dream of development economists and those who care about climate change - a nice sensible revenue source for funding global public goods," Lord Turner told Prospect magazine.

According to our correspondent, the notion of a Tobin Tax is likely to be referred by the G20 to the Financial Stability Forum - the club of the world's top central bankers and financial regulators - to assess and translate into a workable set of rules to which all countries might be able to agree.

But its proponents face a tough battle.

Speaking in Brussels last Thursday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown voiced doubts about whether a worldwide tax was practical.

"If one or two countries refuse to adopt a common levy or action or taxation, then it makes it very difficult to implement," he said.

"If flows are under supervision in one set of countries, but not under supervision in other countries, then it makes it easy for people to avoid the action that even is agreed by most of the countries in the world."

Art's Commentary......This could be the start of a world system of taxation.

Revelation 13:11
Sep 20th, 2009
Exploring RevelationArt Sadlier
Categories: Commentary;Prophecy;Book Study

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”  In this verse we are introduced to another beast, this beast is called the false prophet, (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).

The first beast comes up out of the sea, this second beast comes up out of the earth. Some scholars believe that this second beast is Jewish, I do not believe that he is. We know that the first beast is of the Roman Empire, Daniel 9:26.

Some Bible teachers feel that because he arises out of the earth that this refers to the land of Israel. The word land often refers in scripture to Israel’s land, but this word translated earth here is the common word for earth and does not speak of any particular land. I do not believe this is evidence to conclude that this beast is Jewish.

Another reason that some give to suggest the idea that this beast is Jewish is because they do not believe that the Jews will follow one who is not Jewish. The whole scenario in this situation is deception, Israel will be totally deceived.  In John 5:43 Jesus said, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.” The whole concept is the wrapped up in the blindness of Israel, Romans 11:25.

The first beast is a political leader. The second beast is a religious leader. The false prophet is a worship leader, we see that in verse 12.

In the woman riding the beast (Rev. 17) we have a union of the Harlot World Church with the World Government of the first beast. We have here a union of Church and State, therefore we conclude that the second beast is the leader of the World Church, possibly the Pope or whoever is chosen to that position.

The second beast fulfills a secondary role and supports the activity of the first beast. He receives the same power or authority as the first beast because he is also indwelt by Satan.

In this unholy trinity, the second beast or false prophet is the imitation of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity. The second beast directs worship to the first beast just as the Holy Spirit directs worship to Christ. Because the second beast is a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit he is called the false prophet. Jesus referred to these two in Matthew 24:24, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that , if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” There have been many false prophets and false Christs over the years, these two will be the personification of all that is false and deceptive.

Notice, it says of the false prophet , “ he had two horns like a lamb”, this man claims to speak for Christ but notice his real character, “he spake like a dragon”.  A lamb is a picture of meekness, this man hides behind a mask of meekness, that is a part of his deception.  No matter what he pretends to be he is Satan’s man, his speech reveals his true identity, but the rebellious world is deceived by him.

It is amazing that a world of rebellious men and women will refuse the true God, yet respond to a counterfeit. I think we have an explanation in John 12:35, to paraphrase, while you have the light walk in the light or the light will be taken away from you.  When men choose to obey  or reject the truth, they are actually choosing light or darkness. Men are therefore responsible for their own deception.

Obama to Hold Tripartite Meeting
Sep 20th, 2009
Daily NewsJpost
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

US President Barack Obama will host a meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in an effort to lay the groundwork for renewed peace negotiations, the White House announced Saturday night.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the three-way meeting would take place after Obama meets separately with each of the two leaders.

"These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the relaunch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed," the statement said.

However, the Prime Minister's Office said Sunday that the meeting will not serve as a preparation for negotiations and not constitute renewal of negotiations where they were left off, but rather be a preliminary meeting to lay the groundwork for further meetings.

Netanyahu, the statement continued, never set any preconditions for meeting the Palestinian leadership and was ready to travel anywhere in the world and meet any leader so long as the meeting would advance peace.

The announcement of the meeting came as something of a surprise, as earlier this week Mitchell failed to make progress in talks with the two leaders. Hours before Saturday night's announcement, Israel and the PA continued to squabble over which side was to blame for the current stall in peace talks.

On Thursday several PA officials hinted that such a meeting might take place, but stressed that the Palestinians would not drop their demand that Israel halt all construction in settlements before the resumption of peace talks. A PA official said that under the current circumstances, a decision by Abbas to meet with Netanyahu would only be because of the heavy pressure the Americans have been exerting on him in recent weeks.

In Saturday's statement, Mitchell said the planned meeting was "another sign of the president's deep commitment to comprehensive peace that he wants to personally engage at this juncture."

The meetings will take place in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

No announcement is expected at the meeting of the three leaders, according to an administration official. But Obama scheduled the meeting to show his personal commitment to making progress, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the discussions.

Obama Says Financial Regulations Must be Strengthened Globally
Sep 20th, 2009
Daily NewsBloomberg - Nicholas Johnston
Categories: Today's Headlines;World Government

 -- President Barack Obama said tougher financial regulations are needed worldwide to protect consumers, provide economic stability and prevent future crises.

With the leaders from the Group of 20 nations set to meet next week in Pittsburgh, Obama said in his weekly address on the radio and Internet that international cooperation has “stopped our economic freefall.”

“We know we still have a lot to do, in conjunction with nations around the world, to strengthen the rules governing financial markets and ensure that we never again find ourselves in the precarious situation we found ourselves in just one year ago,” Obama said.

The administration has proposed an overhaul of U.S. financial regulations including oversight of the systemic risk large financial institutions pose to the economy, new ways for the government to dismantle failed companies and a regulator to oversee financial products for consumers.

Obama reiterated his calls for Congress to act on his regulatory proposals, which he also made in a speech on Wall Street Sept. 13.

“As I told leaders of our financial community in New York City earlier this week, a return to normalcy can’t breed complacency,” Obama said in today’s address. “Our government needs to fundamentally reform the rules governing financial firms and markets to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

Oversight for Consumers

Obama said a central element to this regulatory overhaul is a new agency to oversee consumer products, including mortgages and credit cards.

“We need clear rules, clearly enforced. And that’s what this agency will do,” Obama said.

Obama said lobbyists for financial institutions are already fighting against new regulations.

“We cannot let the narrow interests of a few come before the interests of all of us,” Obama said. “We cannot forget how close we came to the brink, and perpetuate the broken system and breakdown of responsibility that made it possible.”

Art's Comments......The push for world government quickens, all in the best interests of the people. Watch what happens at the G20 meetings, though the real results may not be revealed at once.

National Security Adviser Says Iran Advancing in Making Medium - Range Missiles
Sep 20th, 2009
Daily NewsThe Washington Times - Bill Gertz
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

White House National Security Adviser James L. Jones says President Obama's decision to abandon a long-range missile defense site in Eastern Europe was driven by U.S. intelligence concerns that Iran is further along than previously thought in developing medium-range missiles that could strike Western Europe and the Middle East with nuclear warheads.

"We think they are heading toward weaponiz[ing] these missiles, which obviously we want to dissuade them from doing," the retired four-star Marine general told The Washington Times, explaining why U.S. officials dramatically shifted from years of focus on guarding against longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Gen. Jones also acknowledged that the policy shift announced on Thursday will pay "an ancillary benefit" to U.S. efforts to improve relations with Moscow, taking issue with a statement by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs that the change was "not about Russia."

"The fact is, there is clearly a relationship here in all of these issues," he said. "We are trying to reset the relationship with Russia, based on one of mutual respect and mutual interest."

In a wide-ranging interview Friday afternoon in his West Wing office, Gen. Jones said the government's top national security leaders met about 50 times since March before unanimously agreeing to scrap a 2006 Bush administration plan to put 10 long-range, ground-based interceptor missiles in Poland and a related radar tracking site in the Czech Republic. They are to be replaced by ship-based radar and interceptors better able to protect Europe from shorter-range missiles, he said.

The key driver, he said, was intelligence showing that Iran is stressing development of medium- and intermediate- range missiles that could reach the Middle East or Western Europe and is focusing less on ICBMs with ranges greater than 3,500 miles that might one day reach the United States.

"We concluded, the intelligence community concluded and recommended that the previous threat estimates about Iran's capabilities, vis-a-vis an ICBM, were not as imminent as we thought, which is to say the capability is further out," Gen. Jones said.

"The intermediate-range capability of Iranian technology is higher than we thought, which puts Europe at risk and many of our friends in the Gulf at risk," he said.

The new intelligence included a "pattern of Iranian testing and our observation of the tests, and the obvious range improvements they were getting, coupled with what we think is a plan to weaponize, maybe with nuclear warheads," he added.

Jordanian King, Abbas Say Israeli Settlements "major Obstacle to Peace"
Sep 20th, 2009
Daily NewsXinhua
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

AMMAN, Sept. 20 -- King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cautioned that not seizing the opportunity at hand to bring about peace threatens the security and stability of the whole region.

They urged the international community on Saturday evening to prevent Israel from rendering efforts to attain Mideast peace and end the decade-long conflict, emphasizing that the continuation of establishing settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories hinders any desired progress in peace efforts, according to a statement released by the Royal Court Saturday.

Art's Comments.....The Arab nations continue to urge the nations of the world to pressure Israel for them.

Changing Times and Unchanging Thirst
Sep 20th, 2009
Thought for the WeekA. W. Tozer
Categories: Meditation;Inspirational

There is a well-known saying which I think originated with the French, that the more things change the more they remain the same.
The wisdom of this saying may be seen in almost every department of human life, the reason probably being that of all the things that change and still remain unchanged, there is no better example than human nature itself.

And when do we see the unchanging quality of human nature more perfectly than at Christmas-time? Consider the radical difference between today's world and the world into which the Baby Jesus was born. Compared with our twentieth-century civilization, everything surrounding the wondrous Child was crude and primitive. Jesus was born in a stable, not in a hospital; His mother was attended by a midwife, not by a skilled scientist; His baby face was lighted by a tallow candle, not by an electric bulb; He traveled into Egypt on the back of the lowly burro, not by auto or streamlined train.