Sunday, December 12, 2021

To Our Generation He Speaks

To Our Generation He Speaks 

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Revelation 3:14-22 NASB 

We read this in light of the realization that each letter written was pointing to a generation of people.  This is the last letter written to the seven Churches.  It reflects a culture, in point of fact, it points to that generation in which you and I find ourselves. 

We are told and have read of other warnings of the New Testament, through the, of this last generation in which we find ourselves. 

When we read in Luke of the other words of Jesus about that generation that will be here when He returns we find the same as we read in Revelation. 

Luke 18:1-8 NASB "Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not become discouraged, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect any person. Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect any person, yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice; otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge *said; now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long for them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

And in Matthew 24:1-31 NASB "Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people.  And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

“Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand— then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! Moreover, pray that when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."

Much has been written to our generation. 

Our Generation is the most arrogant, self-righteous, self-centered that has existed since the days of Noah.  Lest we forget that part, let's read it too.

Matthew 24:37-39  NASB "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be."

Genesis 6:5  NASB "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually."

Look at our headlines in every corner of this world.  

We are living in those days that proceed Christ's return. We are seeing within the Church all the things happening that the Apostles warned the early Church about. 

We have seen the truth about the spirit of the Anti Christ that indeed there have been many in this world. 

We have seen, but are you looking?  Ignorance isn't bliss when it pertains to the consequences of sin. 

Living life as a believer in Christ and yet living with your head stuck in the sand is the same thing.  

Applying only what you want to hear from God's Word and dismissing the rest is not listening. 

It's certainly not seeing with your Spiritual eyes open. 

Our Generation is likely the last before Christ returns. If you made it this far in today's post you've read what the Bible says. 

We who are in Christ are those servants sent into the fields of this world to harvest those who have yet to come to Christ for salvation. 

We who are in the fields know that our King is coming. 

We know the importance of being found DOING the work He's given us to be doing.

Our generation in all its fighting against the true Church has been proving the Word of God. 

In their ignorance they prove the words that the Spirit used in writing the Bible. In every way!

Proved how people would be in the professing Church. Proved.

Are you living for Jesus?  Are you busy in the fields as you were called to be?

Are you looking for His return all the while doing what you do as unto the Lord?

"Living for Jesus, a life that is true, Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

Your deeds you do as a believer will be before you when you face Jesus at that day He returns.  What will yours show?

Will you suffer loss of rewards in Heaven because of your living for yourself?

We are told to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.  Colossians 1:10 NASB "so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;"

What would your life show? 

Would a life be seen that's lukewarm?  You read what Jesus said about that.

Would a life be seen that shows you employing the full armor of God?

Would a life be seen of a worker that was about the Father's business of His saving lives from eternity in Hell?  

We are to be those pointing people to Jesus for salvation. Just as Andrew did.

We are to shine in this increasingly dark world. Read of the prophecies in regards to the return of Jesus. Nothing really is left that needs to happen before He returns. The key is to still be showing ourselves faithful and to still be pointing people to Christ Jesus. When the last person to be saved prior to the Tribulation happens, then the Rapture will happen. People will come to Christ in the Tribulation but at great cost. Their very lives. 

Are you living a life that Jesus would spit out?  

The priorities of Christians today point not to the need to be saved, or of the consequences of sin, but to health, wealth and prosperity. The same as the next sentence in that letter to the Laodicean Church.  Preaching on the love of God but not on the consequences that befall the unsaved. 

Colossians 3:23-24 NASB "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

Are you wrapped up in living for your career, even your family, or are you living for Jesus?

You.

Cannot.

Live for yourself and God.  

That what we learn of the 4 Gospels that show how Jesus taught the Disciples. 

Are you looking forward to the return of Jesus with anticipation or anxiety?  Where you are in your obedience will say a lot in regards to this.


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