Physical, tangible, sitting across the table

Revelation 19:15 says, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

“You see how it goes out of His mouth?" says Jordan. "Folks, when you’re facing the Lord Jesus Christ, as these people are, you know what you’re facing? It’s just like facing the Book.

"Listen, when you sit and read that Book, that’s like God Almighty sitting across the table from you talking to you. And when you read it, don’t you ever forget that!

"Now, if you won’t forget that, you’ll fall in love with that book in a way you never did before. And it will consume you. It will pull and tug at you and you won’t ever want to get too far away from it.

“But don’t you ever forget that when that Book begins to deal with you, that’s why it’s doing it. If God Almighty were to stand here tonight and say something to you and you’d do it because He stood here and said it to you, and you wouldn’t do it because that Book said it to you, there’s something wrong with you spiritually. It’s the same difference and that’s the design.”

*****

"Paul writes in Ephesians 4, [17] This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
[18] Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
[19] Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
[20] But ye have not so learned Christ;
[21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

“The word 'but' is a disjointive conjunction meaning ‘stop.’ When Paul says, ‘But you have not so learned Christ,’ he's saying, 'What you learned from Christ is the reverse of all that other stuff.'

“Verse 21 is an interesting verse because Christ didn’t hear for you to hear. People say, ‘Well, the Lord spoke to me,’ and my first question is, 'What kind of accent did He have?'

“I mean, Isaiah said, ‘I heard Him in my ear.’ You say, ‘Well, He didn’t speak with an audible voice.’ How do you speak without an audible voice?! You say, ‘Well, it was in my head.’ Well, you had to hear it in your head . . .

“How did you hear Him? Well, He isn’t standing here. He’s not personally here but He’s given us His thinking. Paul says in I Corinthians, ‘That you may have the mind of Christ.’ In Col. 3:16 he talks about how ‘the word of Christ dwells in you richly.’

“In I Timothy 6, Paul talks about ‘consenting to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ He’s talking about the epistle that he’s writing. You understand when you listen to Paul’s epistles, you’re listening to Jesus Christ tell you what His thinking is? You literally are hearing Him!

“That’s why, folks, if you don’t understand how to rightly divide the Scripture, you’re going to wind up absolutely out in left field in the dark.”

*****

"Prayer is constantly talking to God about everything going on in your life, applying what His Word says. All of a sudden you’re making all of your life under this wonderful, intimate communion with a heavenly Father who loves you and desires you more than anything else. He desires that fellowship and active communion with you taking what He says and bringing it into your experience by walking by faith.

"Paul writes in II Thessalonians 3:1: 'Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.'

“Paul’s saying, ‘I want the Word of the Lord to be set free; run without obstacles. Run without needing to stop and be glorified.’

“When you glorify something you demonstrate how valuable it is; how much of a treasure it is. How important it is. How would you glorify the Lord Jesus Christ? How do you demonstrate in your life that you cherish Him more than anybody else; His wisdom, His thinking?

“When you make decisions in life, whose opinion is the most valuable? You’re choosing HIS thinking, HIS attitudes, having HIS actions. I can’t live the life, but He gave me His life and that’s the life that’s going to count.

*****

"I Thessalonians 1:5 says, 'For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.'

"The power is in the power of God. As chapter 2:13 says, 'For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.'

"Jesus says, 'The flesh profiteth nothing,' meaning all of our wisdom, our resources, aren’t the issue.

“You’re constantly learning, 'It isn’t me; it’s Him.' Jesus said, ‘The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life.' The objective measure of the working of the Spirit of God in your life is God’s Spirit wrote a Book and it’s a physical, tangible connection between Him and you.

"You never appropriate that into your experience until you need that. If you don't know it, you can't appropriate it. The need is, 'Not I but Christ.' You're constantly learning that, 'It isn't me.' You learn this at a different level; that's part of what maturity in the Word is all about.

"Jesus said, 'The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.' The words on the pages are the words of the Spirit and when I believe that Word and put my faith in it it WORKS; it becomes energizing activity and life in him who believes."

(new article tomorrow)

Jesus marvels at smart people so dumb

Jesus Christ is the unique person of the universe who lived with the limitations of our humanity so He could demonstrate how God can live in our humanity.

"He didn't diminish His deity--you can't quit being who you are," explains Jordan. "He exercises His deity attributes at times, and at other times He doesn't; He limits them. But He does all of that based on a doctrinal understanding of what His Father has communicated to Him.

"In Mark 6:3, they're not admiring Him; they're mad at Him, jealous of Him. And you've got to understand their unbelief--their astonishment, their offense--came out of envy and jealousy. At the heart of hatred and unbelief is going to be those two things.

"Verse 4: [4] But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. He's making that point that He came to His own and His own received Him not. He's not without honor except that.

"Verses 5-6: [5] And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
[6] And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

"There are only two times it says Jesus marveled. One, He marveled at the centurion's faith in Luke 7--that a Gentile would have this great faith to believe the Messiah when Israel wouldn't. This centurion understood the Abrahamic blessing. He had blessed Israel, built them a synagogue. They come to Jesus and say, 'He's worthy of the Abrahamic blessing; he's blessed us.'

"These hometown folk in Mark 6 are a picture of what's going on in the nation. That's really the core issue here. It was their folly. They've got all this evidence to believe and they don't believe.

"These are not just isolated incidents in Christ's life; there's a bigger picture of Israel. He comes to His own country, His own people, His own kin, and although He's manifested and demonstrated Himself with the mighty works and the words of wisdom, they receive Him not.

*****

"Their jealousy and unbelief represents Jeremiah 2: [11] Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
[12] Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
[13] For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
[14] Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?

"That's the idea of marveling. 'Just be astonished. Let it scare the britches off of you.' He says, 'They've forsaken me. I'm the source of life! But they didn't just forsake me, they went out and tried to make a substitute that can't even hold water, much less the water of life!'

"They've taken the Word God gave them, the oracles of life, forsaken it and gone after a vain religious system that can't do anything. Jeremiah told them, 'Listen, you want to be astonished, you want to marvel, you want to let your 'what-in-the-world's-going-on' hang out . . .' That's the situation in Israel and there they are.

"When it says in Mark 6:5, 'He could there do no mighty works,' this is one of these things where faith healers will tell you, 'Well, you just didn't have enough faith to get healed.'

"Here's a bunch of people in unbelief, and when unbelief is prevalent, all they could do is get healed! He couldn't do any mighty works; He'd just go out and heal a few people. Now, the few opposed to the many; the point is it's the little flock amongst the apostate nation.

"All this stuff where people use the Bible to abuse you . . . what religion does with that is they use the Bible to put you under a guilt trip so you'll send them more money to get you out from underneath that guilt trip. There's a lot more dangerous things to teaching people tithing than just getting their money. It's putting them under a guilt trip where you cripple them with guilt, shame, failure and fear. That's what unbelief does.

*****

"In Matthew 13, it says, [58] And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. He did not do them because He could not do them.

"That's like in John where it says they did not believe that Isaiah 53 might be fulfilled, therefore they could not believe. You see, the 'could not' comes after the 'did not', because of the hardness of their heart in their unbelief.

"John 7 says He's been speaking words of wisdom that they recognize. They're just mad about it because those mighty works make Him the standout and they say, 'Hey, he's just one of us; he's from our town. He's our neighbor; he's raised just like we are. He's not any different than us; he can't teach us anything.'

"You see how dumb that is? If He can't teach anybody anything because He came from your town like you are, that means you can't either. You just condemned yourself. That's what Christ is marveling at; how stupid unbelief is, how counterproductive. You look at any kind of unbelief and it will always be that way.

"John 7:14 [14] Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.
[15] And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
[16] Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

"Now you're back in the same situation as in Mark 6. Jesus answered them and said in verse 17, 'If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

"That's a startling kind of a statement. He said, 'If you have in your heart a willingness to God's will that will create the capacity for detecting the divine authority of what Christ is saying.'

"You have to always remember that unbelief comes, not because there isn't enough evidence, but because there's a disposition in the heart that doesn't want God's will.

*****

"The 20th Century evangelical industrial complex today has created a mammoth diversionary 'evangelism' movement where they think they're going to go and win people through fighting evolution and presenting evidence for creation, for design, for the Creator. And all that evidence is supposedly going to convince people they need to go trust Christ. The answer to unbelief is to preach the Word.

"You know what the problem is with what's called intelligent design? If you prove there was intelligent design behind creation, who is that? That doesn't prove it's the God of the Bible.

"At the end of Ben Stein's Expelled movie he talked to Richard Dawkins and two other science guys and asked, 'Where do you think things came from?' All three of them answered, 'Creatures from outer space.' That is a standard response today, that intelligent life out there came here to Planet Earth, deposited life and left. But that begs the question, 'Well, where did that life come from?' But you see that's the problem.

"That's what Christ is saying: 'I marvel at intelligent people, with smarts, skills to figure things out, and they can't see it.' Why? Because there's a heart problem. 'The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.' Paul writes, 'When they did not like to retain God in their knowledge he gave them over to a reprobate mind.'

"The answer isn't trying to convince them their head's wrong; the answer is their heart's wrong. They believe they can figure it out. God says, 'No, you're not going from puddle to paradise; you're going from paradise to the puddle,' which is the opposite of evolution. You're on a course of de-evolution.

"Mark 6:6 ends, 'And he went round about the villages, teaching.' That's a lonely little sentence. It's stuck in there. Verse 7: [7] And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

"He commissions the 12 apostles. His answer to unbelief was to preach the Word. That's the point. What did He do in the midst of their unbelief? He just went about the villages, teaching, and then He took His apostles and said, 'Hey, dudes, you 12 disciples, I'm going to make you apostles and send you out with words of wisdom and mighty works.' "

Early life and ministry of Jesus no picnic

After doing mighty works, Jesus Christ comes back to Nazareth and the reaction there is they don't want Him now either.

Luke 4:22 says, [22] And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

"It's, 'That's Joe's kid! When did he get so smart? Where does he get off saying all these things?' " explains Jordan.

Verses 28-29 say, [28] And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
[29] And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

"The first time He was there teaching in that synagogue it didn't end well, to put it in a way. He's gone out, He's preached, He's done all these mighty miracles and wonders and then He comes back to His own.

"Mark 6 begins, [1] And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
[2] And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

"When it says they were astonished it doesn't mean they were, 'Woo, wow, He's doing a great job!' It's, 'Who does this guy think he is anyway?!' You see how Mark says in verse 6, [6] And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

"They're suspicious of what He's doing; they're not there being happy about it. Verse 2 has them asking, 'From whence hath this man?'

"You see that 'this man'? They're saying, 'Who is he to elevate himself over us?! I mean, he's Joe's kid; he's no big deal.'

"They're offended at Him because they think He's trying to make something of Himself--'He ain't no better than we are!' They're scandalized.

"They're suspicious of where He got the power and His ability to teach and preach it with authority like He did. They don't believe it's come from a legitimate source. They really think it's come from the underworld of evil.

"We've looked at passages saying this, [22] And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
[23] And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

"They're claiming He's got the spirit of Beelzebub. They say, 'God didn't send you.' They're reasoning in Mark 6:2 is based on verse 3: [3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

*****

"In verse 3 you get a glimpse into the early life of Jesus Christ. This passage is probably one of the more revealing ones. At 12 years old, Jesus knew He was, He had an awareness. He'd learned from the Scripture His identity.

"Jesus Christ literally worked in His daddy's business. When you look at Mark 6 where He's called 'the son of Mary,' evidently by this time Joseph was dead, because it doesn't call Him the son of Joseph.

"Evidently by this time the Lord Jesus is the breadwinner in the home and He's 'the carpenter.' He's the first-born and He would be the one who's the head of the house and responsible for its upkeep and protection and provision after His dad isn't there. And even when His dad was there He was working with His dad, learning how to be a carpenter.

"If you think about that, that's just a normal kind of a life. He lived in a normal, run-of-the-mill family. He's got four brothers and at least two sisters. Mary's got at least seven kids.

"It's a busy household with a normal family life, and what that tells you is the Lord Jesus Christ truly participated in our humanity. It was not a royal, palatial kind of a thing.

"When they call Him 'the son of Mary,' there is a background to that statement. In John 8, the religious leaders in Jerusalem say, 'You see what they said about Jesus?' John 8:41 says, 'Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.'

"They say, 'We know who are daddy is; you don't. We're not born of fornication like you.' There was an insufferable stigma attached to the reputation of His family. Think about it. His mother, engaged to Joseph, comes up pregnant. Joseph marries her anyway, but he's not the daddy and that became publicly known.

"There's this hint of a 'this man.' 'He's just a dude that works down at the corner and, by the way, there's that rumor about Mary.'

"By the way, Mary had four more boys and sisters (plural) after Jesus was born, Mary was not a perpetual virgin. That's just a lie taught by Romanists in order to propagate their worship of the Queen of Heaven, which is a pagan goddess that goes all the way back to Genesis 11 in Baal worship. The idea that it's a perpetual virginity is just part of the pagan ritual.

*****

"Jesus has cleansed the temple at the beginning of his ministry. John 2:16-17: [16] And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
[17] And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

"In other words, when Jesus cleansed that temple, the verse in Psalm 69:9 was being fulfilled. Psalm 69 is a messianic psalm that prophesies and foretells the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The verse reads, [9] For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

"Prophetically this is Christ talking in verse 8: [8] I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

"No new bible's going to know how to get rid of that one because they don't know it's there unless they hear somebody like you talk about it."

(to be continued tomorrow)

On a journey of BEING, not doing

"A friend of mine once told me about what happens on his meditation retreats, where attendees stay silent and engaged in some form of meditation for days on end," writes journalist Anne Helen Petersen. "At some point, usually a day or so in, most attendees find themselves weeping. Not because they’re suddenly enlightened, but because the experience of spending so much time in an unmediated encounter with one’s self, with no distractions, is terrifyingly intense.

"I’ve heard of similar reactions from long-distance runners, and long-term yoga practitioners, both of which make the body unignorable, the mind inescapable. We say we go on runs or meditate to 'get out of our heads,' but the real effect is to actually burrow deep inside them, to concentrate wholly on the self. For many of us, that experience is so rare that tears are the natural, involuntary result — like seeing a good friend, long neglected, after so many years."

*****

The most important thing in a person’s life is what he/she thinks about God and their relationship with/to Him.

“What you understand about God and who you think He is is the most important controlling factor in your life, because what you think and believe is where your life flows out of,” explains Jordan. “God wants you to be reconciled to Him and that’s what the Cross is all about.

“Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:17, ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’

“You see, God has so radically changed your identity that when you trust the Lord Jesus Christ, He doesn’t just forgive you your sins, make you acceptable to Him, give you His righteousness, accept you in the Beloved. He also does a radical change inside your identity and makes you a NEW creature!

“You became something CREATED in the Lord Jesus Christ and that happens to every one of us, so the connection we have is by being IN Christ.

*****

“Performance-ism is just another word for legalism. It’s that mindset that equates our identity and our value to our performance and our accomplishments. Your value, your identity in Christ does not come from that.

“That’s the way we do it in life; we get our value, our meaning, our validation, our purpose out of what we accomplish, what we’ve done, how we are performing and, when we find out we’re not performing well enough, ‘Well, I’ll try harder!’ That’s just performance-based acceptance. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit is not performance-ism. It’s not, ‘I’ll perform and therefore get there.’

*****

“Paul says in Galatians 2:20-21, 20] I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
[21] I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

“What he’s saying there is that, in the Lord Jesus Christ, you see the way God designed man to live . . . when you see that obedience of faith in God’s Word that led to the ultimate sacrifice at Calvary, trusting in the Father’s Word, you see the way He created mankind to live.

"It’s the way He created you and me to matriculate through life today. The challenges, the excitements, the excesses, the necessities of life as we experience them . . . 

“The Lord Jesus Christ had that kind of faith in His Father that He would say, ‘Of my own self I can do nothing.’ That’s the choice He made. He said, ‘I value and cherish my Father’s plan so much, I couldn’t even imagine being separated from it.’ You know what that is? That’s ‘the faith of Christ.’

*****

“He was not out here on a journey doing His own thing. He came to do the will of His Father and that’s what ‘the faith of Christ’ is. It’s HIS faith in the Word and the will of His Father, and that’s what Paul says our life as Believers is designed to be.

“That’s what it is to worship God in the Spirit. That’s what it is to have Christ as our life. These are not religious clichés even though sometimes we use them that way.

"Sometimes we get to trafficking in unfelt truth, but they weren’t for Jesus Christ and if they get that way with you, you need to sit down and look back at Him and see in Him who God designed you to be, because He’s the one living in you.

*****

“In John 14:10, Jesus says to Philip, [10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

“Philip doesn’t get it. He says to Christ, ‘We’ve been with you all this time and who you talking about?!’

"You’ve had a bad day like that, haven’t you? You’ve looked up and said, ‘Lord, where in the world are you today?! Don’t you care?! Are you on a trip?! What’s going on?!’

“When you get that way, it’s not because you’re looking at Him. It’s because you’re looking at circumstances; self. It’s not because you’re trusting Him; it’s because you’re trusting your own resources. So don’t get too mad at Philip because you do this.

“Later in the same chapter, Jesus says to Judas, ‘He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.’

“You see, He was so perfectly abandoned to the will of His Father that the Father dwelt in Him and SPOKE through Him. It was the Father’s wills, words and works.

"What Jesus Christ is doing is demonstrating the supreme, absolute value of the way He cherished His Father and He did it by putting His faith in the Father’s Word, so that the things He did in His life were what the Father gave Him to do.

“He’s in the Garden of Gethsemane praying and He says in John 17:18, ‘[17] Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
[18] As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

“How did Christ come into the world? By faith in the will and the word of His Father. And He said, ‘So send I them into the world.’ The men were sent with the same commission as the Son received from the Father. To go live exactly the way He lived.

"Can I say the same is true of you and me as it was with them. Paul says, ‘[20] Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

“The realization to make is, ‘I’m here in His place, doing what He’d be doing if He was here. In fact, He is here in me, living His life out through me.’

“That’s why we’re called the Body of Christ. We’re the vehicle through whom He lives and works today. That’s why Paul says, ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’

*****

“We’re not talking about religion; we’re talking about a RELATIONSHIP with the God of heaven and earth, the Creator. The one who made you originally. The one whom your sins have alienated you from.

"Your self-will has taken you off in a different direction. Paul says, ‘I’m dead to that.’ How? ‘Through Christ. I died with Him. But I didn’t just die with Him; when He put away my sin, He gave me His life.’

“Paul says, ‘A spiritual transaction took place on a supernatural level inside of me, where I received His life and so that the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. I have His life and it’s Him living in me.’

“The way He does that is when I live in my flesh the way He lived in HIS flesh! How did He live? ‘Without the Father I can do nothing. The works I do, the words I speak, are the ones the Father gave me,’ and I just put my faith in the Father and I’m living the life He gave me.

“So how does Christ live in me? He lives in my flesh the way He lived in His own flesh, 2,000 years ago and faith is just the issue of depending. Whatever you depend on is going to control you.

“The Lord Jesus Christ, my friend, is most magnified, most exalted, when we’re satisfied in life with Him and He’s enough. All the other stuff, even if we lose everything else, we’ve got Him and we’re still ahead.

“Paul said, ‘For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ To live is to know Christ and to die is gain because now I just get more intimacy with Him. I’ve heard that word defined ‘in-to-me-see.’ That’s really what it is.

“More and more there’s the ability to see into Him, and Him to see into me, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. In your life, when He is preferred above everything else, that’s how He’s cherished and demonstrated to be the treasure.

“When we’re satisfied with Christ, when we’re prizing Him, cherishing Him, treasuring Him as a prize, and His gain is our heart’s delight above all else, that’s what Paul means in Philippians 3:9 when he says, ‘[9] And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
[10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

*****

“You notice ‘and be found in him,’ how that’s a passive voice? I’ve come to love the passives. The essence of life is not DOING! The essence of the Christian life is BEING, not doing! It’s who you are, not what you do.

“It’s who God has made you in His Son, and when that becomes the focus of your life, and you learn to just relax and enjoy life in the identity God has given you in Christ, rather than trying to do things and look over your shoulders and see if God’s happy with you, you’ll find yourself doing plenty. But it won’t be to gain something from God; it’ll just be because that’s who you ARE and that’s who people who ARE this, that’s the way they live.

“When I had cancer several years ago, someone sent me an email saying, ‘You’ll never know if Christ is all you need until he’s all that you have and when He’s all that you have, then and only then, do you discover that Jesus is really all that you need.’

“If you don’t count all that you can do ‘but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ’ . . .  if you’ve never come to that point in your life and you’re still trusting something of yourself, can I tell you that’s a dead-end road?

“Maybe you haven’t learned that yet, but when you do learn it, can I tell you it’s a dead-end road, and when you really do do what the Psalmist said (‘I came to the end of myself’) can I tell you there’s one standing there at the end of your rope who is the answer.

“You go bloody your nose to learn, ‘It ain’t me.’ Whatever it is you hope to rely upon, whatever it is you hope to cling to, whether it’s in yourself, if you’d be honest enough in your own self to know you can’t trust yourself . . . 

“We put the bravado on, but in your heart of hearts you know yourself. We kick at the slats, we don’t like to believe that, but the grace of God is only available when all of our resources are gone. You’ll never do it until you come to the end of yourself.

“Compared to everything else, He is the one who really is the treasure of your life. God help us to let that be the reality. Instead of screaming and hollering that, ‘But I’m going to lose it all,’ just say, ‘You know what, I’m really FINDING the real source of life.’ Paul said, ‘For me, Christ is gain. I just want to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness. That old song says, ‘Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me.’ ”

(new article tomorrow)

For those naive enough to think God wouldn't:

Just as God will give Believers a new spiritual body designed to function forever, perfectly suited for all eternity, He has another resurrection of the unjust.

John 5:29 says, [29] And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

"Revelation 20 has something called the 'first resurrection,' consisting of people who were Believers under the time past program who are resurrected into the kingdom, and then there's the 'evil resurrection,' " explains Preacher David Reid of Columbus, OH. "Obviously lost people are resurrected.

"Acts 24:15 says, [15] And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

"Revelation 20:13 says, [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

"The lost are resurrected from those locations in order to appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and stand trial. At the end of the trial, verse 14 says,  [14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

*****

"Revelation 19:20 says, [20] And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

"During the 70th Week, there is a satanic trinity that is a counterfeit of the true trinity. There's Satan, the beast and the false prophet. Revelation 20:10 says, [10] And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

"The devil is not cast into the lake of fire at the Second Coming like the beast and the false prophet are. He's put into the bottomless pit, locked up there for a period of time and then he gets out at the end of the Millennium to lead a rebellion.

"Some folks teach annihilation, saying that what happens to the lost in hell is they're not tormented forever; they're destroyed and they cease to exist.

"But what does that verse tell you? The beast and the false prophet have been there for a thousand years suffering torment. Satan's cast in there and it's about to start for him, and it's just the beginning of how it's going to be. What they say to him is, 'It doesn't get better.'

"The word 'torment,' when you look in the dictionary, means torture. The verse says the lost are 'tormented day and night forever and ever.'

"The lake of fire, if you will, is the trash can of the universe. God throws into the lake of fire everything He hates. Death and hell are cast in there and then, as Revelation 20:15 states, 'whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.'

*****

"Revelation 21:8 says, [8] But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

"How many murders do you have to commit to be a murderer? How many lies do you have to commit to be a liar? According to that verse, all liars shall have their part.

"Let's say you went through life and the only sin you ever committed was to lie a single time. Where would you end up? In the lake of fire.

"Now, your punishment would not be as severe as someone who sinned more, but one sin by itself is sufficient to merit the lake of fire. So then you just extrapolate that and think about what happens to a people who live their normal human life being the normal sinners we are? Well, the punishment has to be just devastating.

"Romans 2 says, [3] And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

"That verse is identifying exactly how people think. They have this vain hope that they're going to somehow escape the judgment of God. It's wishful thinking.

"Verse 4: [4] Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

"On that verse just think about the dispensation of grace. When Stephen is stoned, he says, 'I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing.' In Acts 2, Jesus Christ is seated, but in Acts 7,  He's standing. Why? He's standing to judge His enemies.

"Stephen sees the son of man standing and it's an absolutely clear testimony to everyone hearing his voice that judgment is coming. Anyone with a brain ought to have expected that what was next on the agenda was the pouring out of God's wrath. But what God does, in His incredible grace, is He says, 'Time out, I'm going to give this time of longsuffering in grace.'

"Verse 4 is what happens to the lost man who rejects the dispensation of grace. Imagine living during this time, where God offers amnesty to the world as a free gift by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and someone says, 'Nah, I'm good. I'm a good person. I don't need that.'

"You despise the riches of goodness and forbearance and longsuffering! Do you see how brash and bold and ridiculous that statement is?!

"See the end of verse 4? Verse 5-6 say, [5] But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
[6] Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

"Verse 5 is the reality for every one who has rejected what Jesus Christ did for them. 'After thy hardness.' That's what you have to be to reject the gospel. Notice it says you 'treasurest up unto thyself wrath.'

"Have any of you ever cleaned out the house of an elderly person after their death and realized they just kept everything? They just had all this stuff they didn't want to get rid of. People like to collect things, don't they? Some people collect Hummels or little statues or jewelry? It's man's desire to treasure and to collect and amass; it's a form of lust. It's their desire for more manifested.

"Once you sort through all that physical nonsense, you know what's really happening with lost people? What is the one thing they're really treasuring up? According to that verse it's wrath.

"Which is better? Is it better to die as an infant or to live a long and full life as a lost person? You know what you've done in your long life? You've treasured up wrath. The longer you live the more you accumulate.

"Is anyone so naive to think that they go a 24-hour period without sinning? What happens with every extra hour of life you have? You add more sin, and when the books are opened, Revelation 20:12 says what happens? You just keep writing new chapters! There's more sin after more sin after more sin.

"Is God a righteous judge? He is. Is there any of those He can just say, 'Well, look, I already caught him on three felonies so I'm going to let him skate on this one.' He can't. It's inconsistent with His character.

"When people show up at that judgment it's going to be exhaustive. It's going to demonstrate beyond any doubt all their crimes, all their wrongs against God. It's going to demonstrate, I believe, every single time they rejected the gospel. Think of how that would burn?

"If the gospel is a command to believe, then the failure to perform that command is in itself a sin, so at the Great White Throne Judgment people are shown every time they rejected the provision Christ made for them. The fact demonstrated is there was all this evidence, all this information given them that they discounted."

God really will do what He says to the lost

Hell is a jail for the lost, but it's not their ultimate state. Revelation 20 says, [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

"Do lost people get out of hell?" asked Preacher David Reid of  Columbus Bible Church in Columbus, OH. "They do and they're released for the purpose of going to trial, to court at the Great White Throne Judgment.

"II Thessalonians 1:7-9 says, [7] And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
[8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[9] Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

"The way to think about the gospel is it requires obedience. The Philippian jailer says in verse 30, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' That's the most important question ever asked.

"Acts 16 says, [31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

"People think the gospel is something you optionally choose to do or not, but it is a command, and when you fail to believe it you fail to obey the gospel, so the rejection of the gospel is itself a sin.

*****

"At the time of the Great White Throne Judgment there will be people who've been punished in hell for thousands of years. For God to be just, they have to have been guilty of things deserving of that punishment.

"After the Great White Throne, people are going to be placed in the 'lake of fire' for eternity. So in order for God to be just the Great White Throne has to be an absolutely convincing proof of guilt of ever sinner who ends up in the lake of fire.

"Matthew 12:36-37 says, [36] But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
[37] For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

"The Great White Throne Judgment is not just about felonies people have committed. It's about every single little thing. There's no injustice to small to escape the justice of God. The judgment is terrifying. The books that are there contain everything people have ever done. Every nasty word, every evil thought. It's just absolutely horrifying.

"Luke 12:47-48 says, [47] And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
[48] But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

"When judgment occurs it is based upon the responsibility that was given to people.

"Matthew 11 says, [21] Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
[22] But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
[24] But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

"Not only does God know everything that ever happened and everything that will happen, He also knows everything that would have happened.

"The Lord destroys Tyre for their sins and it was just, but what He says to Chorazin at Bethsaida is, 'Guys, woe unto you. Your sin is so grievous the works that have been done in you make you deeply accountable.'

" 'You've seen things that are an absolute demonstration of the truth and you've rejected it. These demonstrations are so profound that, if they were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented, and yet those cities were destroyed! You guys have seen greater signs.'

"In verse 22,  he's saying, 'To whom much is given, much is required.' Sodom was so wicked God couldn't find 10 righteous men there. So Sodom, as evil as it was, would have repented if those works had been performed.

*****

"There are degrees of judgment because there are degrees of responsibility and information given. There's degrees of sin, and if God is just, there have to be degrees of punishment. It's inescapable.

"What would you think of a judicial system that punished parking tickets the exact same way as murder? They should have the exact same punishment? Wouldn't you say that's unjust? Doesn't the punishment have to fit the crime? Isn't there just a basic proportionality to things?

"If you read the Old Testament, you see that again and again and again. There are different sins that have different punishments. That same principle plays out at the Great White Throne Judgment.

"What's terrifying is the books are open and you know what the folks demonstrate? Here's the real truth. You ready? What we all think about ourselves, especially the lost, is, 'You know, I'm basically a good person. I've done some things I shouldn't have, but basically I'm a good person.'

"The Great White Throne Judgment demonstrates your thousands of sins in conclusive detail. Can you get to the end of that and still say, 'Yeah, I'm basically a good person'? You can't. You're shown to be guilty beyond any sort of doubt.

"It's utterly terrifying, there's no escape clause, there's no leniency, there's no free pass."

(to be continued tomorrow)

Grafted to seal the deal

James 1:21 says, "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."

“That’s a great expression—‘the engrafted word,’ " says Jordan. "You have God’s work grafted into your soul. A graft is a living kind of thing. In horticulture, you can make a graft, cut a slit into a trunk, graft in a cutting from another tree, bind it up and cause it to grow. It’s a thing about putting life into something.

“Hebrews 4 says, 1] Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
[2] For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

“If the Word’s going to profit you, you don’t just hear it and know it. It has to be mixed with faith. In other words, you have to believe it. And when you believe it, it gets engrafted by faith into your soul. There’s a spiritual transaction where that Word literally gets implanted into your inner man.

*****

"If ever there was a passage of Scripture that succinctly reveals how eternal salvation is brought into a person's life, Ephesians 1:13-14 is it:

[13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
[14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

“The Holy Spirit comes in to seal you (He 'seals the deal,' we would say) when you believed, and you believed when you heard the Word of truth.

"The moment you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, relying exclusively on Him to be the Savior He died and rose again for you to be, God goes into action and seals you.

“Now, when He seals you WITH His Spirit, the personal residency of the Spirit of God in your life is the seal; it’s the guarantee.

"He says ‘that seal which is the earnest of our inheritance.’ It’s the down payment; it’s the first installment of the eternal glory that you’ll have forever.

“A seal in the Bible is a sign of a done deal. The thing is accomplished. It’s a sign of ownership. II Timothy 2:19 says, [19] Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

“You see, the seal tells you that He knows you. You’re His so you have 'the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.' It also says you should depart from iniquity. Now that’s our part. We should live in the identity God gives us.

“Ephesians 4:30 says, [30] And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

“Your security isn’t in what you do; it’s in who Jesus Christ is. Your security is the fact you’re sealed WITH the resident agency of the Holy Spirit. That’s a secure seal.

“The seal is an issue of security, but that security doesn’t produce carelessness; it produces appreciation. Because of who we are, we should live in line with and in cooperation with what the Spirit of God’s doing in our life. That’s the sum total of what the Christian life is all about.

H.A. Ironside writes in a commentary, "The seal speaks of something that is settled. One draws up a legal document and seals it and that settles it. And so Christ and His loved ones have entered into an eternal relationship, and He has given us the seal, the Holy Spirit. That seal is the pledge of His love."

(new article tomorrow)

No need to get anointing when you're anointed

You hear a lot of people talk about how "you've got the anointing." The name "Christ" or "messiah" means "the anointed one." It means He's '"the chosen one."

"When Samuel came to David and said, 'God has sent me to anoint you king over Israel,' he meant he was the chosen one to be the king," explains Jordan. "When God put you into Jesus Christ He said, 'I'm putting you in the position of being my chosen. I'm anointing you. I'm appointing you.'

"Ephesians 1:3-4 says, [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
[4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

"Notice it didn't say He chose us to be in Him. That's what religion says. Religion says, 'Before the foundation of the world God chose so-and-so to be in Christ and you not to be.' Calvinism says 'election' means God chose some people to go to heaven and some to go to hell; some people to be saved and some to be reprobated.

"That isn't what the verse said. When you run into these kind of theological conundrums people throw at you, and there are theologians who write books this thick, one good verse can throw out a lot of bad theology.

"If you're in Him, you're one of the people God before the foundation of the world chose. You see, choosing, election, has to do with the fact God put you in Jesus Christ and you share His identity and He is the chosen one, the elect.

"The chosen, the elect, is a title God gives to people who are in Christ. I Corinthians 1:21:[21] For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
[22] For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
[23] But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
[24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

"The sovereign free will of Almighty God back here in the so-called 'eternal decrees,' when He decreed what He was going to do, was to save them that believe.

"When you trust Jesus Christ to be your Savior, believing He died for you and was buried and rose again in order to be your Savior, the Holy Spirit of God put you into Christ, and when you get into Christ you are in what God has chosen to do today.

"You're the chosen, you're the anointed! That's super to know. You're somebody special in the program of God. We live in a world that cries out for identity. The problems of mankind are EVERYWHERE.

"We live in a turbulent, troubled, dangerous world. The times we live in demonstrate that. As Believers we need to understand who we are in that world. We get our identity from who God has established us to be in Jesus Christ and as a member of the Body of Christ. You're the chosen vehicle through whom He's working in the world today.

"II Corinthians 1:22 says, [22] Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

"God takes you and puts you into Christ, making you a part of what He's chosen to do before the foundation of the world, and then He makes sure you can't get out and He puts a seal around you.

"Ephesians 1: [13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
[14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

"You see it says He sealed you WITH the Holy Spirit of promise? It's by one spirit you're taken out of Adam and put into Christ. He does that.

*****

"When you're canning vegetables you have a water bath and boil the vegetables, putting that lid on them. The minute you hear them 'pop' that lid seals. They were sealed WITH that gasket. You live literally live in the encapsulized environment of the person of God the Holy Spirit.

"God the Holy Spirit Himself is the present guarantor of your salvation. A seal is designed to provide security, but the seal is not any better than the person who does the sealing. In Revelation 20:1, it says, [1] And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
[2] And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
[3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

"Jesus Christ takes Satan, puts him in the bottomless pit and sets a seal on that and you know what? Don't you think Satan would beat on the door a little bit and try to get out? Sure, he's not a passive submissive, but he couldn't get out. Why? Because when God puts in a seal you can't break it.

"You'll remember in Matthew 27 when they put Jesus, after He died, in that tomb, the Jews went to Pilate and said, 'You know, He says He's going to rise again. We better do something,' and Rome put a seal on the tomb.

"But you know what happened two days later? The Lord Jesus Christ came out of that tomb and some angels came along and slipped that stone away and broke the seal. No, a human seal won't do.
When God seals it, it ain't going to let go.

"Your security is guaranteed by God Himself. God the Holy Spirit puts the down payment of His own presence in your life as the guarantee forever."

*****

Song of Solomon 8 says, [6] Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
[7] Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

Bible expositor Cora MacIlravy (circa 1916) writes,  "This passage is one of the most intense and passionate expressions of the love of the bride that is found in the whole book. It is evident that her words in the sixth verse look forward to a prolonged absence; and she is clinging to Him as love ever clings to the adored object when it is faced with an indefinite separation.

"All her strength has gradually disappeared, and she is leaning upon His breast; her arm, or strength, finds support only in His arm, or strength. She would have the pressure of her head upon His bosom, remain ever before His eyes as the impress of a seal upon His heart and affections.

"She would have the pressure of her dependence upon Him remain as a seal upon His arm, or strength. As she looks forward to His departure to His Father's house, whither He goes to prepare a place for her, she implores Him to uphold her by His arm and to hold her in His heart, so that upon His breast and upon His arm shall she ever appear, as He stands before God on her behalf."

Molech, Pachamama and Pope Francis

The Roman Colosseum, owned and operated by the Vatican since the Middle Ages and said to be the most-visited tourist destination in the world, now has a statue of Molech, the Canaanite deity heavily associated with child sacrifice, at its grand entrance! 

"The Colosseum was once a place that saw Christians fed to lions, killed by gladiators, or rolled into pitch and set on fire as torches," reads an article posted to PulpitandPen.org. "The Vatican has ownership and authority over the Colosseum and all of its displays, exhibits, and functions. As Breaking Israel News writes… 'There is no way that such a thing could be done without direct permission from the highest levels of the Vatican. The Colosseum of Rome is owned by the Vatican, and specifically the Diocese of Rome, also called the Holy See. If anyone wants to do anything there, they must get permissions from the office of the Diocese of Rome. This exhibition, called 'Cathargo: the immortal myth' could not be held there at all unless permissions were granted at high levels.' ”

Last month, during closing Mass of its shamanistic Amazon Synod, the Vatican accepted a pagan offering to the “earth goddess” known as Pachamama. 

"The cult of the 'earth goddess' — or demon — is alive and well in the remote reaches of the rainforest, where animal and even human sacrifice is still practiced," writes Catholic blogger Steven Mosher.  "Infanticide is still common among the Yanomami and other Amazonian tribes, and children born handicapped are said to lack a soul and are often sacrificed.

"Much has been written about the disturbing shamanistic ritual that was carried out in the Vatican gardens, but a couple of details have been overlooked, including Pope Francis’s role in the ritual.

"The ritual was presented as a 'tree-planting ceremony' celebrating St. Francis of Assisi’s love of nature, but this was just a smokescreen. During the course of the ritual, Pope Francis received and blessed a Pachamama idol and was given a pagan necklace, an offering of soil to Pachamama, and a Tucum ring.

"The Tucum ring is a black wooden ring made from an Amazonian palm tree. It is often taken to symbolize a commitment to Liberation Theology, a Marxist distortion of the Faith that emphasizes liberation from poverty over liberation from sin.

"But in shamanistic Pachamama rituals, such as the one conducted in the Vatican gardens, it has a deeper and darker meaning. Here a gourd rattle and occult spells are used to direct demonic energy to the Tucum, which comes to represent a spiritual marriage with the 'earth goddess' or demon."

Take a look at this article posted to LifeSiteNews:

CHICAGO, November 8, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago defended the use of the “Pachamama” statues during the Amazon Synod, saying the church has “always adopted pagan elements in its traditions and especially its liturgical rites” while quoting from a Vatican document about “inculturation.”

Writing in the diocesan newspaper Chicago Catholic on Wednesday, Cardinal Cupich asserted that the “artwork” at the Vatican depicting Pachamama — a fertility goddess venerated by indigenous people of South America — was merely “a pregnant woman, a symbol of motherhood and the sacredness of life, that represents for indigenous peoples the bond humanity has with our “mother earth,” much as St. Francis of Assisi portrayed in his Canticle of the Creatures.” Cupich was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in November 2016. 

Catholics around the world were outraged last month to see a pagan ceremony take place in the Vatican Gardens before the opening of the Amazon Synod where people bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Pachamama idol as Pope Francis and other top-ranking prelates looked on. The October 4 ritual, captured on video, shows Pope Francis blessing the pagan statue before receiving it as a gift. 

*****

When Paul warns Timothy that "perilous times shall come," the term "perilous" is the idea of dangerous. Talking about his life, Paul writes in II Corinthians 11:26, "In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren."

“All of those conditions are dangerous conditions that can kill you, can overwhelm you; they're horrendous and can overpower you,” explains Jordan. 

“In Romans 8, Paul uses the term in an interesting way. Verse 35 says, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?’

“Perilous times can have to do with you just being taken out and slaughtered. They’re dangerous times.

“When he describes them in II Timothy 3, the nature of the age under grace—it’s not going to be getting better.

“I remember in the ’80s, right after I’d come up from Alabama to Chicago, preaching a message at North Shore Church and I quoted a verse in Ecclesiastes. Afterward, I had three people come up to me and ask, ‘Where is that verse?’ I thought everybody knew the verse but I came to find out people don’t read the Book of Ecclesiastes.

“Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, ‘Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.’

“Isn’t that what Peter said about the dispensation of grace? II Peter 3 says, ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’

“Man doesn’t say, ‘Wow, I’m glad I missed the wrath! Thank you for not destroying me!’ He says, ‘Oh, He doesn’t see. I’ll go out and do some more.’

“Isaiah 26:10 says, [10] Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

“You know what the longsuffering of God demonstrates? The complete depravity of humanity. And the longer the dispensation of grace goes on, the longer you’re going to see a more and more mature depravity overtake mankind.

"De-evolution, not evolution, is man’s pattern. That’s why that image in Daniel 2 starts at the head and winds up at the feet. Man doesn’t go from the dust to glory; he goes from glory to the dust."

'Legion' is military term for armies of Adversary

In Mark 5, darkness is in the northern territory of Israel because it's the seat of where the Baal worship is. After Jesus throws the devil out of the Maniac of Gadara, Mark 5:19 says, [19] Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

"Jesus says, 'Get out of that business up there and go home,' " explains Jordan. "The man had been living up there in the caves and the tombs. Verse 20 says, [20] And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

"You see, he didn't really live up there in that territory; Decapolis is the southern part of the Sea of Galilee and south of that. He had been up there out of the normal social things he would have been in.

*****

"When you read Mark 5:6-7, you go, 'What?!' It says, [6] But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
[7] And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

"What's that? If he's caught up in this terrible religious system that hates God and hates God's people, why, when he sees Jesus, does he fall down and worship Him?

"He knows who He is! He says, 'I adjure thee that thou torment me not.' If you're worshipping the guy, why would you think He's going to torment you? When you read that, if you don't pay attention to who he is and what's going on, there will be confusion. The worship he's doing there is the worship Baal worship produces. It's the worship the vain religious system of the Adversary is designed to produce.

II Kings 17:33 says, [33] They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.

"They feared Jehovah but then they're worshipping all these false gods. We call that assimilation, amalgamation. Nothing is sacred and holy; you just bring it all together.

*****

Verses 26-27: [26] Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
[27] Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.

"It's heathen who believe in territorial spirits. That's paganism and that's how they think. If you count down in verses 30 and 31, they fill the land with seven false gods and the land of the northern kingdom is filled up with these false gods.

"That's how they got in the condition of Mark 5. They feared the Lord, the God of the land, AND they worshipped all these other gods. One wasn't better than the other; we just worship them all. That's assimilation.

"This guy in Mark knows who the Lord Jesus Christ is and thinks of Him like any other god. He says, 'This is your land; I'll worship you. You're like everybody else.'

"Jesus is just another one on the mantle. He understands what's on the table; he just doesn't believe it.

*****

"Notice how he identifies the Lord as 'the Son of the most high God.' That's Satan's goal. Genesis 14: [18] And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
[19] And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
[20] And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

"If you put JER in front of that name Salem you've got the city of Jerusalem later on. The most high God is a title that describes God as the one who possesses the heaven and earth. They're His. That's why in Isaiah 14:15 Satan's goal ultimately is to be LIKE the most high God. His policy is to be like Him.

*****

"Mark 5: 8-9 says, [8] For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
[9] And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

"Jesus says. there's one spirit who is controlling all the other spirits in the man. That term 'Legion,' if you look at the end of verse 13 where the parenthesis is, they're were about two thousand unclean spirits in that guy: [13] And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

"Legion is a military term that describes the organization of the armies of Rome. It also describes the organization of the armies of the Adversary. God uses exactly the same terminology to describe the world you can see and the invisible spirit world that you can't see. That world is as real as this world. This world is organized in a certain way and that world is organized just like it.

"That guy is there for the purpose of a military conflict, and when Jesus Christ shows up, He comes to repossess His possession. That guy's there to keep Him from doing it; he didn't want to give it up.

"In verse 10, he didn't say, 'Don't throw me out of the man.' He said, 'Don't throw me out of the land.' There's one Israeli with 2,000 unclean spirits in him. That tells you two things. No. 1 there weren't enough Israelis to have it be one on one.

"In other words, Satan's brought all of his demonic forces back in to the land of Israel at that time because Christ is there. If you're going to have a fight, you want your soldiers there. He's got his army gathered together to keep his palace. What Christ has come to do is literally throw the Adversary out of the land."

(to be continued tomorrow)