COMMITTED to train men and women
to have minds for the Lord Jesus,
hearts for the truth, and
hands that are skilled to the task.

"Judgment" Tagged Sermons

O LORD, PLEASE OPEN HIS EYES

Question of the week:
What difference does this truth make in your life, having your eyes now opened to the reality of this intense spiritual battle between God Almighty and the fallen angels, and how does this truth affect your behavior since you now know that your loyalty to God is being watched every day by both sides of the spiritual war?
Quote by Michael Heiser
“Many people think of the New Testament as a recounting of the life of Jesus and the apostles sprinkled with a collection of letters sent by Paul to churches with odd names. While we follow these men and their lives and read the correspondence, the New Testament is so much more.
The New Testament makes the rebirth of a struggle thousands of years in the making. The people of God have been isolated and under foreign rule. The divine presence of the days of Moses, David, Solomon, and the prophets is nothing but memory. When angels visit Mary and Zechariah to announce the impending births of Jesus and John, centuries of divine silence are broken. Thirty years later, JUDEA WILL EXPLODE. THE UNSEEN SPIRITUAL CONFLICT IS EVEN MORE VOLATILE.
Every chapter of the New Testament provides a glimpse into this conflict. The cosmic geography of the Old Testament is evident in the New. Where Jesus goes and what he says and does when he gets there is framed BY CONFRONTATION WITH UNSEEN POWERS. The conflict pursues him unto death – as God has planned and Jesus provoked. THE KINGDOM OF GOD ESTABLISHES A PERMANENT BEACHHEAD AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS AND THE DOOR OF THE EMPTY TOMB.
The rest of the New Testament draws heavily on Old Testament motifs. Jesus is gone but present, just as Yahweh was in heaven invisible yet on earth in human form. The seed of Abraham, scattered to the winds in exile, turn out to function like spiritual cell groups secretly planted in every nation under the dominion of the hostile gods. The kingdom spreads slowly but relentlessly, one new believer at a time. EVERY CHURCH IS A NEW POCKED OF RESISTANCE, EVERY BAPTISM ANOTHER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE MOST HIGH, EVERY CELEBRATION OF THE LORD’S SUPPER A DENIAL OF FELLOWSHIP WITH LESSER MASTERS AND A PROCLAMATION OF THE SUCCESS OF YAHWEH’S MYSTERIOUS PLAN.
The lines are drawn. The stakes are high. The enemy desperate. The fullness of the Gentiles will come, all Israel will be saved, and the Deliverer will come from the heavenly Zion.
IT’S JUST A MATTER OF TIME. Dr. Michael Heiser

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

Question of the week:
Hebrews 4:12 states that ”THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND ACTIVE, SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, PIERCING TO THE DIVISION OF SOUL AND OF SPIRIT, OF JOINTS AND OF MARROW AND DISCERNING THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEART.” What does this verse SAY TO YOU PERSONALLY, and what other Scripture verses can you find that will help you see the importance of feeding on the Word of God daily?

The Last Judgment

For 1000 years the Old and New Testament saints will rule and reign with Jesus Christ on this earth. During this time, Jerusalem will be the city of the King. Finally, world peace, which since the fall of man has been promised by many but delivered by no human being, has been implemented by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Roman Empire was alive and well during those days. It promised the world PAX ROMANA. They promised to eradicate thievery on the highways and piracy from the seas. Most people believed them and felt secure for a brief period of time. Centuries later, the Pax Britannica, the British peace, calmed the world for about a century. It also brought a level of economic prosperity to many nations.
What about today? For a brief period of time after the 2nd world war, the United States of America believed that she can bring calmness and economic prosperity to the entire world. It did not last long. According to the Bible, another world power will arise soon, also promising world peace and an economic prosperity that will last forever. The problem with all these human efforts is the fact that there is only ONE WORLD RULER WHO WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS PROMISED PEACE ON EARTH, and that is Jesus Christ, the creator and owner of the entire universe.
It will be PAX MESSIAH. For that to happen, Jesus will return to this earth, bind Satan and invite the saints to reign with him for 1000 years.
God gave men and women free choice. Such implies the opportunity to choose from at least two options. How can you say you have free choice if you don’t have more than one option? That would not be loving or just, and God Almighty is both and much more.
We all know the story. How the Lord allowed Satan to enter the garden and tempt Adam and Eve, to see if they would freely choose to obey Him. Thats exactly what the Lord will do one more time AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM REIGN.
The 1000 year reign on this earth will conclusively demonstrate that people reject Jesus Christ not so much because of their environment, but because OF THEIR DEPRAVED, FALLEN NATURE.
Listen, not even 1000 years of peace will cleanse humankind of its sinful nature. This final rebellion after 1000 years of peace on earth will tell all creation why Jesus Christ had to die on Calvary. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 1000 years of righteous rule cannot eradicate the sin in people’s hearts. Only the crucified and risen Jesus Christ can perform that miracle, and it won’t happen unless WE CHOOSE TO SAY YES TO HIS CALL. That’s the only way we can obtain eternal life.
The Great White Throne judgment is reserved for all those who have chosen to reject God’s offer of salvation. They have refused the grace of God, now they will be judged by the things written in the books. This judgment is reserved for those who said: I do not need Jesus; I can manage just fine on my own. I am good enough. I will stand in my own works, on my own record.
The unbelieving dead will be raised at the end of the millennium to be judged in their resurrected bodies. They will already have died physically, now they will die spiritually.
Physical death means separation, your soul or spirit is temporarily separated from your body. But the second death involves a far worse separation; you will be ETERNALLY SEPARATED from the PRESENCE OF GOD.
Some of them will say: I DON’T BELIEVE IN HELL.
Let me tell you that the CHARACTERISTICS of God necessitate hell:
Justice, His love, and His sovereignty are just some of those.
So, all those who will stand before the final judgment, know exactly why they are there and that they are guilty before a holy God. While most of them have forgotten many of their sinful acts, God’s holy angels have not overlooked a single one of them. They are all written in the books and will be brought before them on that final judgment day.
Some people object to this Biblical truth, saying: If God is all merciful, why is He not giving the people one more chance to receive His mercy, even if they are in hell?
Answer: How can a place devoid of God’s mercy (hell) accomplish what no measure of His grace could accomplish on earth?
If hell could reform those who choose evil, then they could be saved without Christ, who is the sole means of God’s salvation.
Also, God cannot force free creatures to be reformed. Forced reformation is worse than punishment, for punishment honors the freedom and dignity with which God endowed His human creation. Humans are not objects to be manipulated; humans are subjects to be respected. God will respect their free choices.
Listen, the only alternative to eternal punishment is robbing persons of their freedom by forcing them into heaven. This would not be heavenly but instead would be “hell” for them, since they would be trapped in a place where everyone is loving and praising the Only they want most to avoid. Without an eternal separation of evil from good, there would be no heaven, an eternal preservation of good. As we all know, evil is contagious and must be quarantined, like a deadly plague. If God did not eventually separate the tares from the wheat, the tares would choke out the wheat; an eternal heaven necessitates an eternal hell.
And we should never forget, unbelievers prefer to be distanced from God in time. Why should we not expect this to be their chose state in eternity?

Preparing Christ’s Second Coming – Part One

We know that the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is primarily the revelation of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Throughout the entire bible from Genesis to Revelation, the main theme is always the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah and the Redeemer of mankind.
The Apostle Paul declares that Jesus Christ has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. And he goes on to say that by Him, Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah to the Jews, the king of the Jews, the Savior of the world, is the one who created everything that is in heaven and that is on the earth. All things were created through Him and for Him. And the book of Revelation is giving us the details HOW GOD HIMSELF IS PREPARING CHRIST’S SECOND COMING TO THIS EARTH. There is a condition that must be met before Jesus Christ will return to this earth to establish His VISIBLE KINGDOM.
According to Matthew, Jesus began His ministry in chapter 4. You can read this Gospel from chapter four until chapter twelve to find out that Jesus went around Israel proclaiming that He is the promised Messiah. The purpose of all His miracles recorded in those chapters was to authenticated His Messiahship and His message, the Gospel of the kingdom. In other words, all the miracles Jesus did were signs to the nation of Israel to challenge them to make a decision about Him. Everything changed regarding the purpose of His miracles and His message in Matthew, chapter 12, beginning with verse 22.
The people were not willing to come to a decision by themselves. They were looking for the answer from their religious leaders, the Pharisees. When they accept Him, when they authenticate Him, then we will accept Him as well.
Then, in verses 30-37 Jesus pronounced a judgment on the Jewish generation of that day. Why? Because that generation had committed the unpardonable sin: THE BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Listen, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was not an individual sin but a NATIONAL SIN. It was committed by that generation of Israel in Jesus’ day.
In other words, the content of the unpardonable sin was the national rejection of the Messiahship of Jesus while He was physically present, on the grounds that He was demon possessed. THIS SIN WAS UNPARDONABLE, AND JUDGMENT WAS SET. THE REALIZATION OF THIS JUDGMENT CAME IN THE YEAR 70 A.D. The Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, burned down the temple, slaughtered over one million Jews, and dispersed the rest world-wide.
It is interesting that from this point on in the Gospel of Matthew, special emphasis is placed on THIS GENERATION. Why? Because it was this generation that was guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Judgment was unavoidable, because there would be no forgiveness for this sin.
Listen, the book of Hebrews was written to a group of Jewish Christians who, because of persecution, were contemplating a return to Judaism. The book warned them that they must completely separate themselves from Judaism. If they failed to do so, they would be caught up in the judgment of 70 A.D. and suffer physical death. Only of they separated themselves from Judaism completely would they have the opportunity of escaping the judgment upon that generation. Of course, from Hebrews it is not known what the results were. But it is known from JOSEPHUS AND EUSEBIUS quoting HEGESIPPIUS, a Jewish Christian historian of the second century. These men recorded how the Hebrew Christians, in obedience to the book of Hebrews, separated themselves from Judaism. So when the revolt against Rome began in the year 66 A.D., the entire Jewish Christian community left the country and waited the war out in the town of PELLA, and the east bank of the Jordan River. Although 1,100,000 Jews died in this Jewish revolt against Rome, not one Hebrew Christian was killed. Because they did obey the book of Hebrews, they escaped with their lives, and they were freed of the judgment upon that generation.

GIANTS In The Land

As we will learn this morning, this story is all about strongholds; Strongholds that hinder us to enter into God’s promises. Salvation is a gift given by God, yet many who have received the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, struggle in their Christian walk, because they fail to take down strongholds in their lives. While we claim to have liberty in Jesus Christ, we have become slaves to those strongholds.
One day, a student asked Ravi Zacharias, a Christian Apologist, the question: “Sir, can you define freedom for me?” Ravi’s answer is something we all should never forget, because it is packed with spiritual truth. “It’s not the liberty to do whatever we want, rather the strength to do what we should.”
Christians today do not know or do not want to know about their responsibility as parents. They simply believe that they have the freedom, the liberty to do whatever they want to do.
When Jesus says that He came to give us LIFE AND LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY, he makes a promise. Life, spiritual life is a gift from God to those who come to Him. Life more abundantly speaks of a rest, a peace, a fruitful life, belonging to those who are taking God’s Word for face value, implement God’s Word in their lives, living according to the Word of God, and believing that we are soldiers, engaged in a spiritual battle where Satan and his helpers setting up strongholds in our lives from which he will launch his attacks so we cannot find the promised rest.
Assess your situation: Be honest with yourself. What is it in your life that exalts itself against the knowledge of God? What is your stronghold, or strongholds from where Satan can keep you as a child of God incapacitated?
They made up their minds that the problem they saw was bigger than the promises God made. What was their solution? Get rid of their leader. Let’s go back to where we have been delivered from. They never recognized that Moses was bringing them the message which he received from God. Moses never promised them the land, it was God Himself.
Sometimes we are so in the grip of a stronghold, a habitual behavior that seems to keep us in bondage for the rest of our life. Instead of taking the Promise of God’s word to heart and to believe the messenger, we fear the enemy and believe the lie that we have to live with that destructive life style for the rest of our lives. That’s contrary to God’s word. Whatever your stronghold or strongholds may be, don’t fear them. TRUST GOD AND HIS WORD. Yes, we do have spiritual enemies, we do have spiritual giants opposing us to inherit God’s promises, but don’t let that fact fill you with fear.
Lesson: We cannot take on strongholds in our lives when the Lord is not in it. Our reliance has to be on the Lord, His power and His might. We have to be strong in the Lord, not strong in our own judgments. Well, that’s the way I see it. It does not matter. How does God see it? How many times have you tried to take down one of your strongholds only to find out that it did not work? The Giants, the strongholds are still there, occupying territory in your life. There is no rest, no victory without doing it God’s way, according to God’s word.

The Lamb Of God

Why did John call for a water baptism?
The ritual of water baptism was applied to Gentiles, unclean people, who wanted to convert to Judaism. Ritual baptism was never administered to Jews, only to non-Jews who converted to Judaism. Why? Because Gentiles were considered unclean and needed to go through a purification rite, to take a bath – in order to be welcomed and received into the covenant community of Israel.
However, John the Baptist primarily directed his calls for repentance to Jews. With that, he told Israel “the Messiah is about to arrive but you are not ready for Him. It is you, the people of Israel,that are unclean. That’s the reason why John called the Jews to submit to a ritual of cleansing that up to this point had been administered only to Gentiles. The typical procedure when a Gentile was going through the proselyte baptism, he was never baptized by a Levite or by a priest, who normally performed all the other purification rites in Israel. The convert was to baptize himself. No wonder the religious leaders asked themselves: Who does this man think he is, to call us, the children of Abraham, to undergo a cleansing rite?
The Lamb of God is also prefigured in the Passover, when God prepared to bring His final plague on the Egyptians, the death of every firstborn male of the Egyptians, including the crown prince of the Pharaoh (Exodus 12:3-31). Just as the blood of the lamb caused the people of Israel to be spared from God’s wrath, the Lamb of God redeemed His people from the penalty that was due for their sin.

A Glimpse of Hope

There are times when troubles just seem to pile up. It is during those times that we need some relief. We need to know that everything will turn out all right. In other words, no matter how spiritual, how mature, how long we have been saved, we need ASSURANCE that a brighter day is coming.
When we hear what is going on in our world right now, we can easily be overwhelmed by all the bad news that which are relentlessly coming our way every day. It is during those days that IT IS VERY EASY TO LOSE THE SIGHT OF THE PROMISES OF VICTORY GOD HAS GIVEN US AND ASSURED US IN HIS BOOK, THE BIBLE.
Throughout the book of Revelation, John heard many voices, voices from individual angels, voices from the four living creatures, the voices from the 24 elders before the throne of God, the voices of the innumerable angelic beings, the voices of the 7 angels who hold the seven trumpets. Now finally, here in chapter 14, John hears the voice of Jesus once again. A glimpse of hope.