The Most Important End Times Sign.

 "...the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Mat.24:3b

Wanting to know the future is a common issue with people. Wanting to know Bible prophecy is common to many believers. Let someone stub their toe in the middle east and it's the end of the world to some preachers. By focusing on issues happening that Jesus clearly said "the end is not yet", we miss the important things about Bible prophecy.

Jesus says that there is one word to define the nature of the end times and that word is deceive. To answer the disciples question about when, Jesus gave this reply.

"And Jesus answered and said to them: take heed that no one deceives you." Mat.24:4

Jesus used the word deceive 4 times in this chapter. Simple biblical interpretation tells us that words repeated are important to understand. The Greek word is planao. It basically means to lead into error, to cause to wander, to lead astray, or to seduce. There is a mental and spiritual and moral element in deception. Eve was not intellectually beguiled to eat the fruit, she was seduced by the serpent.

Satan is a master deceiver. Deception is his nature. His main activity in the end times is to deceive the nations.

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth..."Rev. 20:7-8a

The promise of general AI is to make people super human, almost like making them gods. AI is more a sign of the end times than the Arab/Israeli conflict. There are plenty of people living today who would love to rule the world. They are evil people.

"...For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth." Rev.18:23-24

Just remember, man as god is chaos. God as a man is grace and salvation. God is way ahead of this game.

Past, Present, Future

 Recently I talked to my old high school friend who I haven't seen in many years. It was nice to talk to him. I spent some time reminiscing about my high school days. And then I realized something. I do not live in the past.

Some people talk about the good old days like they were current events. It is fresh to them. Not me. I have memories, mostly fond ones, but I have to work to remember those things. I find that I live in the present, and I am looking towards the future.

I left Prescott partly because I felt that I was being smothered by memories there. I moved here partly because I had no memories here.

Some people love reminiscing. Some love to talk about the past. Some people get comfort from remembering what once happened. I love to ponder what might happen next.

My 50th high school reunion was two years ago so I missed all of them. The 50th one might have been fun to attend. We have all reached an age where accomplishments and degrees are not as important as they once were. Old age is a great leveler of people.

The houses where I grew up are still there. A few of the people I knew growing up are still around the old home town. My aged mother still remembers those early days. I wonder what happened to all of the kids I went to school with. Are they still alive? 

I would enjoy talking with some old friends. I am a lot smarter now than I used to be. It might be fun to visit on the phone. I do not see myself traveling to see any of them in person. At least not right now.

Child Like, or Childish?

 "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." Psalm 37:25

In a youth oriented society, older folks sometimes have a hard time finding their place or fitting in. They feel ignored, or irrelevant, or unimportant, to the rest of society. No one sells them anything anymore. No one tries to get their support anymore. They are not as strong or as wealthy or as healthy as they once were. I think that part of this is somehow,  we grow up with a fear of growing old. 

This is not just a problem for society. It is a problem for the church world as well. Evidently it has been a problem for a long time. In many towns you can find old church buildings with just a handful of old folks who meet there. In our Fellowship we have first wave saints who got saved a long time ago and we do not have a clear idea of how they fit in or what they are good for.

I am not advocating that we send out senior citizens. I'm not calling for a conference on aging saints.

Prescott is trying to do something. They have a pastor on staff whose job is primarily to care for senior citizens. They have a music scene for older folks who used to be the cutting edge of coffee house evangelism and who have aged out of the whole scene. They call it Cafe One80.

The worst thing you can do is to make people think that the key to revival is to act like a teenage new convert again. Run for your life if your pastor advocates acting childish. The call of the gospel is child like, not childish.

My prayer is that pastors will find a way to retire, and that older saints will be appreciated for their contribution to where we are today. We are here because they were there.

God Keeps Good Books

 "...the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." Prov.13:22

This proverb is no doubt based on something that king Solomon saw in real life. It was not wealth gotten by evil schemes that caught his attention. It was good money gathered or earned by evil people that he noticed. It is not because God is unjust. It is that God keeps good books. And all the wealth of the world is God's. It is those who chose to love money instead of loving God that is unjust. They probably did not pay their tithe much less give offerings. It will pain the heart of the covetous on that day when their wealth is transferred to someone who will honor God with it.

"but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give it to him who is good before God." Eccl.2:26.

It's funny that seeing wealth earned by the wicked to give it to the righteous offended Solomon. He called this vanity and grasping for the wind. Evidently Solomon was a grasping kind of man.

The Christian life is not just pie in the sky, in the sweet by and by. It is seeing the goodness of God in the land of the living. Amen!

Sunday Thoughts.

 Years ago pastor Mitchell said that America's greatest sin was covetousness. It wasn't abortion or homosexuality or murder. It was the love of money that was at the top of the list. The love of money is behind unaffordable housing and unlivable wages. Greed has provoked more armed conflicts than religion in the modern world. Politics is no longer about character or ethics or morals. It's about the economy, stupid. One preacher said that covetousness is the fear of not having enough. Is that what motivates the uber rich to want even more? Are they just plain scared of not having enough?

Pastor Mitchell also once preached a sermon on being kingdom builders or earth fillers. Whether we, as the church, are focused on building ourselves bigger, like the people in Babel, or whether we are more interested in filling the earth to fulfil the great commission. God has a great kingdom. For planet earth God's plan has always been to fill the earth and subdue it. Going into all the world to preach the gospel is consistent with God's earth-filling mandate.

It costs a lot of money to do what we do. We must be careful not to let money become our focus. We must be careful that we focus on making people Christian and not creating a Christian nation.

If our vision has become boring to you, maybe you ought to retire and let someone with fresh faith take over. And remember, it would be a demotion to go from behind your pulpit to winning an election.

Pastor Mitchell once said that truth is hard on church growth. He was right on all accounts.

Is Our Story Too Small?

"Then said I, lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me," Psalm 40:7

Pastor Warner preached a deep sermon Friday night. He reminded us that the Bible is God's story. It is a book about God not us. It is a great story with a beginning, middle, and end. There is a plot, a protagonist, a villain, and a hero. It tells us a far reaching story about God's plan of redemption and Christ coming to do God's will on the cross.

I wonder if maybe we as Pentecostals have made God's story too small.

Some people have a simple answer to the biggest, most complex problems. They play the God card and that solves everything. Except when it doesn't. Always playing the God card only tells us how immature you really are. Besides, if God is the answer for everything, where are the miracles we have heard about?

The Bible is readable and easy to understand because God deals with people throughout history just as He deals with people today. People are people no matter where or when they lived. And God, who is a great story teller, included people in His story to help us understand how God works in history.

There are times in the Bible where God breaks out with words that blow us away. Prophets might see visions of God's grandeur or speak words that are so much greater than their learning or intellect might justify. This is evidence that it was God speaking, not the prophet.

One more thought. God is more than willing to help ignorant and unlearned men and women. As long as we involve ourselves in God's story and God's work we will receive God's help.

 

Help My Unbelief!

 "Then many came to Him and said, John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this man were true." John 10:41

As Pentecostal believers we believe that God is an active presence now. We pray for the sick. We preach the Gospel. Some get healed, and some don't. Some get saved, and some don't.

But our job is to tell about the one who never fails, who always heals, even if we do not see healing happen, our testimony will convince people that all we say about Jesus is true.

There was an old time evangelist who came to Prescott. When someone asked him what he does if he prays for someone and they do not get healed he said, bring me the next one. He did not let results dampen his enthusiasm and zeal.

I prayed for my wife many times. Pastor Mitchell prayed for my wife many times. And in the end she died too young. I still believe in Divine healing even though it did not work for me. I still believe that the Bible is true.

Often the lack of results is blamed on us, not on Christ.

"Now he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Mat.13:58

Lord, help my unbelief!

Why Conference?

 Back in the early days, conference was as much for the people as it was for the pastors. There was ministry for everyone, not just the leaders. But, as time has moved on, the focus has shifted from the people to the pastors and evangelists and those who desire that ministry.

For the rest of us, it is our duty to serve the conference body. We provide the infrastructure and we provide the services that make a conference work. We are blessed to serve, though we get very little out of the sermons.

I have tried to watch the Tucson conference services. I get next to nothing from what is preached even there. I need help to be a better Christian, not how to be a better preacher or pastor.

One final thought. Without a pastoral focus, conference is just a big revival meeting. And that may be all the faithful folks want or need.

Conference is to keep leaders on track. Conference is to remind pastors and leaders what is important. Conference is for keeping our main thing the main thing. Evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Conference is for keeping the Vision fresh and alive in our pastors hearts.

My Thought For Today

 "It's a poor workman who blames his tools." A craftsman will use his superior skills to make it work. He will not blame his tools or the blueprints or his coworkers. He will earn praise from those around him by getting the job done.

It's a poor theologian who blames the Bible. It's a poor pastor who blames his church. It's a poor church who blames it's city. It's a poor Christian who blames God. 

You get my idea yet?

The One True Sign

 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Acts 10:38

I have written about this many times before, so I will not belabor this idea again today. Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus born of the virgin, the real flesh and blood Jesus, did what he did because God was with him and because God anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Jesus of Nazareth did not do what he did because he was God in the flesh.

People who say that Jesus was God before the resurrection say it to make excuse for their lack of power in the Holy Spirit. They are often Christian Humanists. They take certain Bible truths and add them to their humanist philosophy. They do not speak in tongues. They do not heal the sick. They do not raise the dead. They do not deliver the captives. They rely on human ability and charisma.

We as Pentecostal followers of Christ, need to contend for the greater works that Christ said we would do by the power of the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues in prayer and worship is a start. If you do not speak in tongues you are missing the one thing that defines us as genuine followers of Christ.

"For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, can anyone forbid water, that these should be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" Acts 10:46-47

Peter the apostle said that speaking in tongues identified these gentiles as genuine Christians, just like Peter was. He did not mention that they had accepted Christ as savior, but he heard them speak in tongues, and then he baptized them in water.

We are obligated to search the scriptures to find out if what we believe and who we are lines up with the ancient revelation. Unless you think that you are smarter than God.

Acting Young And Growing Old

 Something that I notice is the tendency of some people to either act younger than their age or to yearn for their younger days. I wonder if they are afraid of aging. I wonder if they feel the future is not bright and so they revert back to a time when everything was before them and not behind them. I am not an expert, but I do observe the world around me, and I see this happening to my generation. I call it the Peter Pan syndrome. They seem to be older people who won't grow up.

This ties in to our youth oriented society where everything targets youth and youth is viewed as the best time of life. The only thing advertising sells me are prescription medicine. We view youth with such high esteem that there doesn't seem to be any value left to bestow on those who have gone before us.

I am processing growing older pretty well. I am not pining for my younger years. I do not try hard not to be as old as I am. I am content just as I am.

I agree that discipleship is youth oriented and it is best to send out young couples. Sending out middle aged couples just means that in a year or two you will bring them back with medical issues.

He that endures to the end will be saved. You do not have to behave like a new convert teenager to be saved. Just because our Fellowship ignores us does not mean that God has forsaken us as we get older.

I have never walked out on a sermon. I am still the grownup in the church. But more and more I find that sermons seem to target folks much younger than me.

Ancient Words That Still Apply

 Remember when most cars had a stick shift? When automatic transmission was an option you had to buy? Now, it's hard for the average person to buy a car with a stick shift.

Remember the world before television? When radio was all you had? Remember the world of TV antennas before cable? Before everything became digital?

It seems to be the nature of life that things change and that nothing remains the same. 

One thing that does not change is the Bible. We are today reading words that were written thousands of years ago. And the wonder of it all is that it still applies, it is still important, and it still works! I can go to church on Sunday and hears words from the Bible that apply to my life in the 21st century.

So do not fret if things are not the way is used to be. Life has moved on. The world is different. Just remember that on Sunday you can go to church and hear ancient words that still apply today.

PS: Sunday is the Lord's day. It is church day, not golf day or beach day or fishing day. I will be in church on Sunday. Will you?

Important Things

Juan Pablo Cardo ministered to families last night. I was glad to hear words in support of our families. It is so rare that we hear a sermon on marriage or family or any other such important issues. I wonder if people whose children are grown and gone have forgotten the challenges of raising children and staying married through it all. I wonder if pastors who have been married a long time forget the trials and tribulations of staying married.

We give a call for people to be saved in every service. That doesn't mean that every sermon has to be an evangelistic message. You can preach on getting and staying married and if there are unsaved people there God can save them. If getting people saved is so important to you, take time every week to go witnessing.

Anyway, focusing on one issue can inadvertently cause us to forget or ignore other important issues that need to be ministered to. Pastor Cardo did a fine job doing just that last night.

How Great We Were

 We have been trying to blame the quirks of this generation on the iPhone. That it is screens that are ruining our children. Technology is blamed for the corrosion of the nuclear family. Social media is the cause of teen suicide. And it goes on and on. Most of the people who say this are too young to remember previous generations and how their lifestyles were put forth as the end of life as we know it. Part of the problem is we fail to understand history and we tend to focus on ourselves as the most important generation to have ever lived. 

Every generation throughout history has one job and that it to do something memorable or to leave a mark on the world. Some generations have outside events like war or natural disasters to define them. Then it is a matter of how did we deal with life as it came to us. Some generations have innovation and creation that improves the world for the future. Whether it comes from within or without, every generation gets a chance to leave it's mark on the world. I think that only history will tell if something important to us was truly important. I think that blaming high tech is missing the point. Will history show that the iPhone was really revolutionary? Will anyone remember Facebook in the future?

It is foolish to criticize the younger generation for doing their best. What worked for you may not work for them.

My final thought is that it is too bad we outlive our usefulness and our relevance. So that we live out our lives reminiscing about how great we were. 

Headship

 A thought came to me today about headship. That God, who created us as social beings, designed us to thrive under a covering of headship. In all of creation blessing flow down, not up. And it is plain that the need for headship is common to all people.

"It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments." Psalm 133:2

This idea of headship is found in all of life. In the home, in business, in school, and in our church. There are those in charge who make decisions and who give direction and there are those who do the work and who follow those in charge.

So to make life simple and to live a blessed life, allow those in charge to be in charge over you.

King David in Old Age

"Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm." 1 Kin.1:1

"The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her." 1Kin.1:4

"Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king" 1Kin.1:5

First Kings chapter one tells us the story of king David at the end of his life. I see three things related to David's old age playing out in this story.

First, David had physical issues. He was no longer the healthy strong warrior king he had once been. He could not get warm. He had circulation issues. His ill health affected his ability to do his job as king.

Second, David had lost his virility. They brought him a beautiful young woman and he could not have sex with her. He couldn't respond. Sex into your eighties is a myth.

Third, David had lost his ability to rule. He had chosen an heir to his throne. Another son thought to take advantage of David's old age. It took great effort to get the king to focus on doing his job.

Age is not just a date on a calendar. We are no more able to function in old age than David was. David was a shadow of his old self in his last days. So was pastor Mitchell.  Only the Rapture will save you from getting old.

Our Message

"and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses." Acts 3:15

A thought came to me in my daily devotions this morning. In the first days after Pentecost, the message of the apostles was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As our verse today says, they were witnesses of this important event. 

In the early days in Prescott, our message was the love of God and a changed life. Jesus loves you and He can change your life. This was an important message for a generation lost in space.

Over the years I heard the young guys in Prescott follow different streams in their message. For a while it was knowing right from wrong. As in, I grew up in a good home knowing right from wrong. Other times it was taking the time to list particular sins that would send you to Hell. Having sex with someone you are not married to for instance.

As we get farther from our origins it seems that our message becomes longer and a little harder.

The Gospel is a message to every generation and it will work if it is preached. 

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isa. 6:8

Lessons in Relationships

 "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Rom.12:15

These words seem so easy to read, but they become hard to apply sometimes. After my wife died I shed tears until I would sob, and no tears would come. No one shared those tears with me. I went through the hardest time of my life alone.

Recently I received some financial good news. I told one of my pastors and he rejoiced with me. I was glad that I told him. I shared it with some friends and they all rejoiced with me. I shared this good news with another guy who managed to find a dark cloud in my sunny sky. What if, he asked. Be careful he advised. They might take it back was all he could tell me. I was sorry that I had shared my good news with him.

If someone has good news, let them tell their story. It is their time to shine. If someone is broken hearted, be a listening ear to hear them. Keep your sad stories to yourself for another day.

Some people are so full of themselves that they have no capacity to hear what you have to say. They are the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. I have a word for those kind of people.

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" Mat.7:3

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces." Mat.7:6

Prideful people who are full of themselves will not hear what you have to say and in the end they will hurt you.