by David Brenneman
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3:1-7
"Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:10-17.
Really...unless your head is in the sand...you see all that the warnings of Paul to Timothy are about. Ignorance is no excuse. Willfully ignoring what we are being fully warned about is of no excuse. Choosing to only focus on what we define as good is only going to get you steamrolled. You are going to find yourself in the fights of your life.
We certainly live in these days my Dear Reader. Jesus said that we're to be the salt of the Earth. Salt is used as a preservative. Salt irritates wounds as well.
To grow in Christ takes on the connotation of a physical, spiritual, mental training in order to be prepared for what lies ahead.
If you're driving along, see warning signs and ignore them, you will find yourself in trouble. Either the inconvenience of figuring out how to reverse direction or possibly getting a citation because you didn't heed the warnings.
In living life in a Godly way the Spirit posts warnings of who and what to avoid and who and what to expect.
Are you staying on the alert as Jesus said? He said it years before the Apostle Paul.
The instructions to Timothy aren't just for Timothy. The instructions are some of the training that we've been given to live a life in Godliness.
We are going to face obstacles in living life for our Savior.
Guess what...for Believers...we will face obstacles in life by trying to avoid what the Spirit is trying to teach us. Those lessons will be revealed and they will be repeated.
The work of the Spirit of God is manifold. Protect the Word of God. Seal those in Christ Jesus for salvation. Sanctification of all Believers. What God has said God will do.
Willful obstinance will get you all the wrong kinds of attention from the Spirit of God.
We don't come to Christ in order to get a paradise here on Earth until we die.
1 Thessalonians 4:3a "For this is the will of God, your sanctification;"
My Dear Reader...in your praying...don't you expect the God and Savior Jesus Christ...to listen and address your concerns, thoughts and feelings?
This same Savior is working all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
The "for good" part is this sanctification.
A Biblical definition: Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare Latin: sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God.
In the world in which you live move and have your being...you who are in Christ Jesus are set apart for special use, for a special purpose...to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
We are set apart to do things in remembrance of Jesus. Also known as Three-Fold Communion. A love feast, a footwashing, the bread and cup.
Jesus said we are blessed when we do these things.
Our world will never get better until after the Rapture of the Church, the 7 year Great Tribulation as written in the Bible.
We actually prolong the wait for these events by willful disobedience in our sanctification.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That mission was passed on to the first Believers and has been passed on to all future generations to this very day.
As we just read..."and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
He is with you and I when we are living in obedience and when we are not.
Heed the warnings, engage in the training that the Spirit provides. Set your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world.
You're not stepping out into anything but a sin cursed fallen world. A world where judgment awaits that starts when the Church of Jesus Christ is taken up in glory.
You're stepping out into enemy occupied territory. It's not at all what the world wants you to believe.
You're an enemy to this world. That's the hard truth. The world hated Jesus because He testified to the Truth. He said they hated Him they're going to hate you too.
Pray up before you head on out.
Heed the warnings, hold tight to the promises of God.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
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