1 Thes.
4:14-18
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
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Listening
to the Holy Spirit "Caught Up!"
August 2009 |
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Greetings
Friends and Partners,
Some
day, history will record a magnificent event. An event that has never occurred before. It will fulfill the prophetic words
written in Thessalonians and at the same time confound, confuse and amaze the world. Christians have the great hope given
to us in this passage of scripture which promises that Jesus Christ shall descend from heaven with a shout, and we which are
alive and remain here on Earth shall be caught up with Him to heaven, where we will be with Him forevermore. Hallelujah!
As
a believer, I am excited and have hope in this promise. It is comforting to know that our Lord shall not allow the Church
to tarry forever in an ever increasing hostile world. Though we are seeing a rise in violence, the spirit of antichrist and
all manner of evil, God is faithful to remember His Words and His promises are yea and amen. Where sin abounds, grace doth
much more abound, Romans 5:20.
The
urgency we have to minister to the lost and dying souls of this world is made even more important when the times in which
we live are considered fully. The Great Commission given to us in Matthew 28 to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout
the world to all creation has always been an urgent matter. People are born into this world everyday and people die everyday
also. Every minute of everyday, for centuries, precious souls have left this life and passed into eternity. Some of those
people have entered a wonderful eternal life, while others face hell and damnation. This has always been a serious and urgent
matter. To every soul winner, the thought of someone dying without accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior is a heavy
burden. But today, with the prophecies in the Holy Scriptures being virtually fulfilled as it pertains to the rapture of
the Church, and end time events quickening their pace, the urgency has become critical.
Thousands
are still coming to know Christ in our world everyday, but oh so many are still lost and face an eternity of the damned. .
Mark 16:15-16
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Friends, none of us can afford to be deceived. It has broken my heart over the past few years to see the deception occurring
within our culture, society and even within the church. I know that the Word of God reveals that this time would come upon
us, but I am no less sad to see it happening before my very eyes.
2 Peter 2
False Teachers and Their Destruction
1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will
follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you
with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them into gloomy dungeons[b] to be held
for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah,
a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes,
and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed
by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous
soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)- 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to
hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.[c]10This is especially true of those who
follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature[d] and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11yet even angels, although they are stronger and
more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12But these men blaspheme
in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed,
and like beasts they too will perish.
13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They
are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.[e]14With eyes full of adultery, they never
stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed-an accursed brood! 15They have left the straight way and
wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing
by a donkey-a beast without speech-who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
17These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth
empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping
from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity-for a man is a slave
to whatever has mastered him. 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have
been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the
sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"[f]and, "A sow that
is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
Oh my friends, the Word of God is so clear. Why would anyone be deceived who is full of the Holy Ghost and power? Simon
Peter is so very clear in his epistles. Please receive what the man of God had to say for it relates to us today. Allow
the Holy Ghost to open your eyes of understanding as you read the final chapter of the second epistle.
2 Peter 3
The Day of the Lord
1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome
thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior
through your apostles.
3First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.
4They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning
of creation." 5But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of
water and by water. 6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7By the same word the present
heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like
a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone
to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by
fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.[a]
11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by
fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and
a new earth, the home of righteousness.
14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace
with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom
that God gave him. 16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some
things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their
own destruction.
17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error
of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
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His
Servant,
Jason Rapert
Holy Ghost Ministries
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Brothers and sisters in Christ, did you catch what the
author had to say? Peter was not naïve to the distortions of scripture by ignorant and unstable people in his day,
and neither should we. We must be on our guard that the fundamental elements of the New Testament be not overlooked
or distorted. Even those who have been Christians for many years must continue to be on guard that they be not deceived
by pop culture preachers and teachers that abound today.
We must all be in prayer and seek God diligently.
May the Holy Ghost be our daily guide and comfort in all things.
God blessyou and may the Lord move mightily in your life today!
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