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No, Not Yet... but He's Coming!
Hebrews 12:22-29 (NKJV)
"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Hear the Heavenly Voice See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire."
Dear Friends, Brethren, and Co-Workers;
Greetings in the name of Jesus! While we have all been overwhelmed by the hurricane news and information overload of the past few weeks fore sure. We have also learned that mankind is very limited as to weather forecasting ability. We all may know the storm is coming but we don't know exactly where it will land, how strong it will be, and how hard it will hit. We humans love a sense of "normal" though. So, we have a "normalcy bias" that causes us to deny what is coming, no matter how sure we are of its certain arrival. Some are calling the events of late Apocalyptic, which means "prophesying complete destruction" but mankind really doesn't understand what that word means.
Again, This reminds me of God's unique perspective on what else is coming. From our viewpoint today it still looks like a hurricane called IRMA, just another flicker on radar they have been tracking for days that's now hitting Florida. But from God's vantage point, He's already seen the landfall, experienced the event and knows the outcome. I find myself often having to remind myself and others that what we are seeing is NOT a movie. Those afflicted by these disasters are dealing with the reality of things they never imagined possible because of their own "normalcy bias". Now, they will never be the same!
For now, God's people must be reminded that we can have God's miraculous protection irrespective of the current disasters. However, there is a reason that God protects those who experience such things. We are called to be witnesses of His Judgement upon this world. The clearest verse in Scripture on this truth one that people tend to only quote or remember partially. Today, we must remember it COMPLETELY;
Psalms 91:7-8 (NKJV) A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
If we are indeed living in the Last Days and seeing the beginning of the end of the world as we know it, God's people are being protected to serve as witnesses of Christ's return as well as God's judgement upon the wicked. Yes, there is an Apocalypse coming but it bigger than any hurricane, tornado, earthquake, asteroid or even nuclear war! Today, I will turn to the Mount of Olives in Matthew 24. Perhaps looking into the future disturbs you. After all, for most of us, dealing with today's is a challenge is enough. This teaching, known as the "Olivette Discourse", is a challenge for all of us. God tells us this so that WE must take the time to project ourselves into the future chaos to come in order to be prepared for what could happen now at any moment.
There are two realities that are intertwined in this teaching; [personal observation]
1. There are constant and re-occurring signs of it's immanent occurrence. Like labor before birth maybe even false labor ...
Braxton Hicks Contractions.
2. There are larger and grandiose fulfillment of God's Word to come that are bigger than anything we've ever seen. This will be full blown birth of a
new universe... We have been warned that once it starts the "baby" is coming!
- Today Jesus will share with us the anthology, the Story, of the
Super-storm that will be His return. - TODAY, we need to ask ourselves; .... Are We Ready? Have we taken God's warning seriously about something that is a sure as the sun rising in the morning.
To Gain some perspective on what we are witnessing today I invite you to
Join us and listen to this message titled:
Thanks again for your continued prayer and faithful support! Don't forget that if your phone works better than your internet connection, you can listen to our last sermon in this series here by dialing
423-797-8277 and following the prompts given. The quality isn't the best but a number are enjoying this service. God bless you all!
Your Brother in Christ:
After the Storms Have Passed...
An Urgent Missionary Update...
Missionaries We Helped Train and Sponsor Now Serving
in the middle East
Dear family, August, 2017
With affection, we greet you, hoping that you will continue to stand firm, Always know that I remember you. I ask in front of the Creator for everything you need to be supplied and to be able to patiently face the problems of this life, remembering that everything helps us trust him more. Also, we want to thank everyone for having us present in your lives, thanks for remembering us in your prayers before Him. We have been facing everything with patience and strength.
This time for us as a family is a new stage of the work here, learning and challenges, which we have to face with patience, my wife and I have begun to study the next level of the language. On the other hand, our children have begun to assimilate this culture and take on challenges in their lives, it is difficult for them to accept the culture, the language, etc. But now they have decided to study the language, get more into the culture and make local friends, it has not been easy for them, all these changes! (Culture, language, friends, food, school etc).
As parents we are happy to see our children make decisions without our having to force them. So, thank you, thank you all, for remembering us and being part of this story!
We send this with affection to our dear family from here in the Middle East. Peace be to you all.
With love,
Please send us your offering with a note that the gift is for Irrael Bravo Family. Thank you!
NOTE: Any Offering sent through The Rest of God Ministries will pass through 100% to these missionaries.
A Special Prayer Request for our brethren suffering persecution from Islamic Extremists (Click the picture link below from The Voice of the Martyrs...)
More Biblical Teaching; Our Resurrection Series for 2017 by Elder Gregg Hall
It is our practice in this ministry to take the weekly Sabbath following our Passover Lord's Supper to consider the truth of the Resurrection. This year Elder Gregg Hall, a former Southern Baptist Convention pastor, shared how his journey from Sunday to Sabbath was influenced greatly by a study of Matthew 28:1 in the Greek texts. Now I will share this important message for your consideration titled "Resurrection Sabbath" from Elder Greg Hall;
A study well worth your time to understand God's Grace and our high Calling in Christ...
- How many Christians suffer because of being deprived of this assurance? Missing God's Guarantee?
- How many through the ages lived their lives in depression of spirit because of the inability to understand the meaning of what can be and clearly was intended to be seen in the cross?
- How many professing Christians today, that view the cross as payment for sin alone might see the broader application of the cross which is his commitment to bring us into union with him so that we should overcome sin and become living evidence of that covenant relationship to the world around us?
- What effect might we see in the lives of believers were this orientation and emphasis taught to them in order that they might respond to this GOOD NEWS?
The very definition of the "Gospel" is being discussed here. The covenant, the curse, and the cross are inexorably joined in order to focus our attention on the perfect love and character of our God and that in response to that love we might partake of the New and Eternal contract so we can be brought by our faith in HIS ABILITY into union with the Holy God through Jesus Christ.
Here's a reminder about another excellent series of ours concerning the impact of TRUTH in our world... Just tap the link below and listen to them all!
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