Making Preparations for the Approaching Battle

Don’t wait for the crisis to arrive and then determine what you will do! One area where so many fail is that while they know there may be problems, they make little preparation before they arrive. Every Christian should be wise enough to see some of what lies ahead and be ready.

Think about Jesus’ preparation for the temptation by Satan. Our adversary sought to destroy Him by using what John describes as “all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:15-17).  Have you considered where you might be had Jesus succumbed to the temptation? When Satan sought the soul of the Man who had fasted for forty days, suppose He had yielded to His fleshly desires. Suppose He had been overcome when His eyes saw all the kingdoms of the world. Suppose He had given in to the allurement of prideful boasting and leaped off the temple.

Yet, He was ready! Because in His earthly state He was like each of us in every way (Heb. 2:14), God did not just miraculously give Him those “It is written” verses. He had to acquire them in the same way we do. He was ready!

Think about the trials you can see before you. I am well aware that we cannot see them all, but are we making preparation for those we do know are coming? In our immoral world we all are faced with opportunities for sexual immorality. Are there character traits you need to be developing now, in order to deal with those times? Teenage Joseph did not have to decide what to do when Potiphar’s wife approached him. His character was such that when the occasion arose he fled! He was ready!

Think about the allurement of material possessions. I am amazed how corruptible “stuff” captures our lives and robs us of our eternal souls. Craving to live like those in Palm Beach is nothing compared to living eternally!

Let me suggest that you arm yourself with the sword of the Spirit, and write on your heart those verses, like Jesus did, which enable you to deal with temptations as they arrive. Let those words dwell in your heart and mold your character. Let them become the shield of faith by which you can deflect every fiery dart of the Devil (Eph 6:16). Failure to do this leaves you a ready prey for the enemy. Get yourself ready. A great battle lies ahead and preparation must be made!

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When Moses Saw God

When some people read those words of Jesus, “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18), they often think about Moses seeing God on Mt. Sinai and are perplexed. What they are not aware of is what Moses actually requested. “And he said, Please, show me Your glory” (Exo. 33:18). The reality is that one cannot behold His face and live (Exo. 33:20).

As we finish reading Exodus chapter 33, we fully expect the next chapter to reveal what God looks like, or at least to know what His backside is like. God did place Moses in a cleft in the rock, covering him with His hand, and removing His hand to allow the prophet to see the back side of God when He had passed. However, that appearance pales into insignificance when compared to what Moses saw. He had asked to see God’s glory and that is what he saw! When you finish reading this chapter you know what His glory is.

Take time to reflect on the goodness and glory of God which was seen on that mount. Hear God as he proclaims His glory, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7). This is His glory!

The apostle John made reference to this concept as he wrote about the coming of Jesus. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Read those verses from Exodus again and think of how each of them describe our Lord. God’s glory is His nature, and to behold Jesus is to see God living among mankind. He is Immanuel. He is God with us!

When Phillip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus replied, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Here is the answer to those who wonder what God “looks” like. Just look at Jesus. To see Jesus is to see the Father. To see the spiritual attributes of Jesus is the see the spiritual attributes of the Father.

The application of this to your life is to let this concept give you a renewed understanding of what it means to be godly and possess godliness. Have you seen God? More importantly have others seen God in you?

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The Truth About Mormon Poligamy

The news has brought the issue of Mormonism and polygamy to the forefront in the minds of many. However, few are aware of how specific the revelations given to Joseph Smith are when they speak about having multiple wives.

The Mormons have three books (The Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) they view as being equally inspired as the Bible. In fact, when those books contradict what the Bible says, these books are seen as more accurately giving the truths of God. What do these books teach about plural marriage?

On July 12, 1843, Joseph Smith, the founder of this religion and who received direct instructions from God, revealed these words from heaven, “If any man espouses a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then he is justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and no one else. And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore he is justified. But if one or either to the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment and to fulfill the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world” (Doctrines and Covenants 132:61-63).

Because of pressure from the government in 1890, the Mormons affirmed they would no longer practice polygamy. However, many continued, so a second manifesto was issued in 1904 repudiating the practice. Those in the news (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) have continued the practice.

What is often overlooked is that for anyone to be a faithful Mormon he must, even in the present day, believe in polygamy or he will be damned by God. The revelation about polygamy was announced with these words, “For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if you abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject his covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory” (D & C 132:4).

Mormonism is based on Joseph Smith as being a prophet of God, yet most Mormons reject what he said!

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Entering the Temple of God’s Revelation

I’m not sure how you feel about your Bible, but I hope you see it for the treasure that it is. Hear these words from David, “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver. . . . Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. . . . How sweet are Your words to my taste; sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 119:72, 97, 103)! Years ago I came across the following from an unknown author and it so vividly depicts that precious book that I wanted to share it with you. Read it, mediate on ii and then journey through the temple of God’s revelation.

Many years ago I entered the wonderful temple of God’s revelation. I entered the Portico of Genesis and walked down through the Old Testament art gallery where the pictures of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David and Daniel hung on the way.

I entered the Music Room of Psalms where the spirit swept the keyboard of nature and brought forth the dirge and wail of the “weeping prophet,” to the grand impassioned strains of Isaiah, until it seemed that every reed and harp in God’s great organ of nature responded to the tuneful touch of David, the sweet singer of Israel.

I entered the Chapel of Ecclesiastes where the voice of “the preacher” was heard, and into the Conservatory of Sharon, and the “Lily of the Valley’s” sweet-scented spice filled and perfumed life.

I entered the Business Office of Proverbs and passed into the Observatory Room of the Prophets where I saw many telescopes of various sizes, some pointing to far-off events, but all concentrating on the “Bright and Morning Star” which was to rise over the moonlit hills of Judea for our salvation.

I entered the Audience Room of the “King of Kings” and caught a vision from the standpoint of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I passed into the Acts of the Apostles where the Holy Spirit was doing his office work in the formation of the infant church, and into the Corresponding Room where sat Paul, Peter, James, Jude and John penning their epistles.

I stepped into the throne of Revelation where all towered into glittering peaks, and I got a vision of the King seated upon His throne in all glory, and I cried, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

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The First Step of Leadership

What does a leader look like? What are those qualities which are most important for one to have in order for him to develop so as to lead others to greater service to our Creator? Think about the difference in how the world looks at potential leaders and the way God sees them.

What would the world have ever seen in a man who was a failure at age forty and guilty of murder? What would the world have ever seen in that man who fled to a foreign country, took a meaningless job and dropped out of sight for decades? Who would have ever thought that lying dormant within him was the ability to lead a group which numbered in the millions? The world would never have seen Moses as a leader, but God did!

Who would have ever thought that a man who was described as “ignorant, uneducated, common, unlettered,  untrained, common, ordinary, illiterate, and an ignoramus and unlearned” (various translations of Acts 4:13) would ever have any future? Yet when Jesus called James, this is the way the world viewed the lowly fisherman. James, along with Peter and John, became part of the “inner circle” of the apostles! Who would have seen that!

Would the world have ever looked on a young man as having any potential when his own family did not see that in him? When God sent His prophet to Bethlehem to sanctify a particular family in which the next king of Israel was to be found, the youngest son was not there when the time came to anoint the new king! His own family had left him at home to tend the sheep. It appears they thought he might be a good shepherd, but that was about all! God said of him, “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel” (2 Sam. 7:8).

God looks at men far differently from the way the world does when it comes to great leaders. Paul was slow of speech; Peter crumbled and denied Jesus at the most critical time; Amos was a fruit gatherer; Levi was a tax collector. Yet God saw in them far more than the world saw in them.

Now think about yourself and the Leadership Workshop planned for this weekend. Let me urge you to stop seeing yourself through the eyes of the world and see in yourself what God can create there. The beginning step for a great leader for God is a willing heart, dedicated to Him. That kind of heart is up to you. The rest, being molded and shaped into a great leader, is up to Him. Think about this!

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