Revelation 17:14 Bible Study

"These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." Rev.17:14 NKJV

I recently read this in my daily devotions. This verse spoke to me years ago and it still speaks to me and to us today. What we do is not high tech and hard to do. It is a work of God and it does take God's involvement to do what we do.

God is faithful to do what only He can do. What is our part? 

First, we must be called. Being a pastor, evangelist, or missionary, is not a career choice we make. It is not just doing what we have a knack for. It is first and foremost a Divine calling. 

"Then He said to them, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Mat.4:19

Jesus calls men to do what He wants them to do.

Second, we must be chosen. Chosen by God, chosen by Christ, chosen by our pastor.

" For many are called, but few are chosen." Mat.22:14

Chosen means that we have sanctified ourselves to be worthy of being chosen. It is a spiritual, and moral, and financial place of doing right. Called is like a big net. Chosen is like a hook and a pole. Chosen will be seen and recognized and agreeable to the local church who must support God's calling on your life.

Finally, we must be faithful. All ministry is a result of faithfulness over time. Anyone can be faithful for a day or a week. Show me a man of God and I will show you a man who has been faithful. Faithful to his wife, faithful to the Bible, faithful to preach and to teach and to counsel. 

"Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?" Prov.20:6

If a man is called, chosen, and faithful, there is no limit to what he can do for God. Amen!

 

A Mystery

 It's funny how when I do a Bible study no one reads what I write. But other things and readers magically appear. I wonder why that is?

Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!

 In my Bible reading I read Luke chapter 21, which is Luke's account of the end times Jesus spoke about. Here are some thoughts about what Jesus said.

v.8 Be not deceived. Deception is the key to the end times.

v.9 war and commotion, but not yet.

v.11 natural disasters, but not yet.

v13 Testimony is a key to our responsibility in this time.

v.22 all will be fulfilled. Everything leads up to an end.

v.27 is the second coming of Christ.

v.28 Look up, not look around.

v.32 the last generation. Of who or what? 

v.33 God's word will be fulfilled.

v.34 Take heed to yourselves.

v 36 watch and pray

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

The Times of the Gentiles

 "And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Luke 21:24 NKJV

A recent Bible study brought me to this verse. I did a quick study to find out if I could better understand what it means.

First, this times of the Gentiles statement is only used in this verse. There are a couple of places where a similar thought is conveyed, but not in this exact manner. Romans 11 talks about the fullness of the Gentiles coming in. Ezekiel 30 talks about the day of the Lord and the times of the Gentiles.

The word times is a word that in the original language means an appointed time. It is used to define a definite period or a particular season. What this means for us is that the times of the Gentiles is a definite time that happens at the right time. Gentile rule of Jerusalem is not an accident or a coincidence.

Some theologians suspect that the times of the Gentiles began at the Babylonian captivity and continues to this day. Even in light of 1967 and the Six Days War, Jerusalem has not been without Gentile rule or influence. To this day with the temple mount under Muslim control and Gaza inhabited by Palestinians, Jerusalem and Israel is almost but not quite a sovereign nation.

I suspect that the times of the Gentiles ends at the rapture in Revelation chapter 4. Israel still has a part to play and the Gentile nations are doomed to judgement after the church is gone.

I wonder if rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem will trigger the rapture, or if the chaos after the rapture will allow Israel to build a new temple. I wonder if we, the church, will see these things come to pass.

There are events in Bible prophecy that the church will not see first hand. I am grateful for that!

If Only

When I was in high school I applied to the US Coast Guard academy. I did not make it in. I ended up in Prescott, Arizona to go to Prescott College instead. It was as a first year student that I ended up at the Door and got saved. That was in 1973.

I know how life is made up of time and chance sometimes. What would have happened if, since I did not make it into the academy, if I had enlisted as a sailor with the Coast Guard instead? I would have had a career, maybe I would have gotten married and had children. Like most people I would have lived life. But no matter how good life might have been, eternity would have been not so good.

All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Looking back, I am glad that my parents did not give me advice or guidance and that I was able to go my own way. Today, I am still saved, still Spirit filled, and still a part of this great Fellowship. 

I have a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Amen!

Heroes? Really?

It seems like Memorial Day is a hard day to preach about. Memorial Day is not a Christian or Jewish holiday. There is nothing directly linking this day to anything in the Bible. Pastor talked about heroes, and how important heroes are to our lives. Here are my thoughts on heroes.

1. Heroes inspire us. Not that we can choose to be heroic. Rather, that we can aspire to be our best.

2. Heroes are rare. They do not come around every day. They are unique for a special time or place.

3. Heroes need extraordinary times to emerge.  My thinking is that combat is one of the times for heroic action. First responders get opportunities for heroic deeds. Most of us, while we can be great or successful, will never get the chance to be heroes.

4. Heroes are so rare that we give them medals or erect monuments in their honor. 

Making heroism common lessens it's value. Calling everyone a hero makes being a hero of little worth.

As a church we can honor and remember those who died in military service on Memorial Day. Calling them all heroes is missing the point. 

What Makes Us Pentecostal?

What marks us as a Pentecostal church? Is it that we clap our hands to up tempo songs? It it that we lift our hands when we sing worship songs? Is it our song service that makes us Pentecostal?

Are we Pentecostal because we stand on a busy street corner and preach? Is it street preaching that makes us Pentecostal?

Is it that we focus on evangelism and soul winning that we are Pentecostal? It it because we make disciples, and we plant churches, that we are Pentecostal?

There is one thing that makes us Pentecostal and that is what happened on the day of Pentecost.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. We still need to all be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues. Speaking in tongues for prayer or for worship is what defines a Pentecostal church. Everything else comes after that singular event. It was important to them, it ought to be important to us.

"Jesus answered and said to them, go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them." Mat.11:4-5.  

We put at the top of our list what Jesus put 6th (or last) on His list. Those are things that Jesus did, not different aspects of a sinner's life. Healing is still needed today.

If evangelism is the most important thing, then we are an Evangelical church, not a Pentecostal church. Evangelicals do not believe in anything supernatural except the saving of a soul. They do not speak in tongues. They do not heal the sick. They do not deliver the oppressed. They are more Sadducees than Christians.

There are many things printed in red in my Bible.  We do well to follow all of those important things. Not just the exciting ones.

In Acts, the tongues of fire come before the eager feet and multitudes saved. We need to tarry until we are filled. Then we can go ye.