The Coming of Christ to Teach His People To Live by His Life
The Coming of Christ to Teach His People To Live by His Life
If you will study the following passage carefully, you will see that it is telling us we are to live by the Life of Christ:
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:19,20)
The above is what it means to be "in Christ." So much depends on our being "in Christ." The dead "in Christ" shall rise, the Bible says.
Perhaps we believe that once we have gone through the religious exercise and have "accepted Christ," from now on we are "in Christ." This may or may not be the case!
There is a simple practice of mine that will reveal to us whether or not we are living in Christ and He in us.
Frequently throughout the day and night I ask Jesus two questions: "Right now am I doing what I am supposed to be doing?"; and "Right now am I where I am supposed to be?
Christ may or may not say yes or no. But you can sure that God will see your sincere determination to do His will. If you are not doing what Christ desires, or you are not where you should be, God will guide you into His perfect, complete will if you keep praying.
I believe we Americans all realize that fearful times are coming to our nation. We are saturated with abortion, drunkenness, weird sexual practices, the love of entertainment, and the worship of money. No nation of the past has lived in this manner and survived.
God is seeking a house, a place of rest, and a place where He can establish His Throne. We have been created to satisfy these three needs. Christ, and the members of His Body, are God's house, place of rest, and the location of His Throne.
The four Divine interventions I am emphasizing are occurring during the present dreadful hour of spiritual darkness. No power can prevent the four preparations coming to pass in us except our unbelief and occupation with the distractions of the American culture.
At the height of the coming spiritual darkness, no Christian will be able to stand and assist others who have needs unless that believer can say in truth, "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I am living. Yet it is not I who am living but Christ who is living in me."
That should be our goal these days. We should be pressing into it every moment, asking the Lord Jesus to be our life.
The Coming of Christ to Examine What We Have Done With His Treasures
Christ has given us so much: forgiveness, deliverance, and His own life lived in us! In addition there may be natural talents, such as music, or spiritual talents, or a gift of wisdom or knowledge.
What have we done with the gifts and abilities we have been given? Have we used them to build the Kingdom of God, or have we gone about our business in whatever manner pleases us?
It is incumbent on every sincere Christian to seek the Lord until they know what their treasures are—especially which ministry or gift they are to be emphasizing or utilizing.
Some Christians have many gifts. Some have only one. And it is the person with only one gift who is apt to ignore what they have and occupy themselves solely with the task of making a living.
We might think that not seeking and using what Christ has given us would not be a grievous sin, like adultery or murder. But look how Christ addressed the person who had buried their one gift!
For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:29,30—NIV)
How would you like that to happen to you?
Tell me. Do you know what Kingdom treasures have been given to you? Why not? Have you gone to Jesus about this? Are you earnestly asking Christ for the best gifts? Are you faithfully putting to use what He has given you? If not, you may be a good person in other respects, but you are in danger of being thrown into the Land of Darkness.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1,2—NIV)
Then Paul goes on to talk about several areas of responsibility that are to be fulfilled faithfully and consistently if we are to hear the "well done" of Jesus Christ when we stand before Him.
We American people are overstimulated by the things of our materialistic culture. There are numerous Christian believers who expect to be praised by the Lord when they appear before Him, or to be caught up to a mansion any moment now in an unscriptural "rapture." Yet, it hardly could be said of them that they are patiently bearing their cross of deferred desires behind the Master!
They are living in deception. They have not been taught what the Bible says about using our talents, about seeking earnestly the best gifts that we may help with the task of building each member of the Body of Christ to the full stature of Christ.
Honestly, the spiritual blindness of our American believers is astounding. I believe this blindness is largely true also of some of the other Western nations, the so-called Christian nations.
Thankfully, the Lord has given us a period of time in which to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ to catch up the prepared believers to His staging area in the air above us. The present period of time is the third great day of redemption.
The Coming of Christ To Catch Up His Prepared People to Himself </p> The purpose of Christ's next appearing is to give resurrection life to prepared believers and to catch them up to His staging area in the air, from which He will descend and establish His Kingdom on the earth.
The popular teaching of the "rapture," in which all who have "accepted Christ" are caught up to Heaven to escape the Great Tribulation, is not scriptural. It has succeeded in disarming God's people so they do not pay anywhere near enough attention to the several passages of the New Testament that warn them if they continue in the sins of the flesh they shall not inherit the Kingdom; they shall destroy their own resurrection.
There shall be a shout, the voice of the Archangel, and the trumpet of God. This is not a secret "rapture." It is the beginning of the Battle of Armageddon, in which the forces of Satan shall be destroyed. Antichrist and the False Prophet shall be thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Satan Himself shall be confined in the Bottomless Pit for a thousand years.
Then Christ shall lead His two armies of saints and angels throughout the earth, destroying all the institutions of Antichrist.
What a marvelous scene indeed!
The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:10,.11)
But we can see at once that the believers who are caught up to the staging area in the air, in preparation for their descent with Christ, will have to be wise; will have to be free from the sins of the flesh and from self-will; will have to be living by the Life of Christ; will have to be faithful with His treasures given to them.
They will not be the, casual church-goers of our day who treat the church as some sort of social institution to which they belong and give some of their money.
The true, eternal Israel, and the warrior angels with them, form a great and mighty army. They will strike terror into all the forces of Satan. They will prepare the "sheep" of the earth for the government of Christ and His saints; for the rule of the rod of iron.
We of today have been given a period of time to prepare ourselves, should we be lacking in any of the areas I have mentioned. Let us not be like the foolish virgins who were looking forward to attendance at a festive affair, only to have the door slammed shut in their face.
How about you and me? If we were in the middle of our business in the office, or school, or down town shopping, and there was a terrific trumpet blast, what would we do? We would know it was the Lord calling us to join Him in the attack of Armageddon.
What if it was at the crucial moment of some sports event on television? Would we wait to see the outcome?
If we were away from home, would we join the panic-stricken people as they ran to their cars and then jammed the highways, as we were shaking with fear as to the fate of our children?
Think about this scene. Think seriously about it. And then call to mind that Jesus warned us to "Remember Lot's wife."
Next Part Remember Lot's wife! (Luke 17:32—NIV)