Category: TESTIMONY

The church on earth is to be the testimony of Jesus on this earth. Jesus described it as a light set on a hill which cannot be hidden. This testimony is to be expressed by the Holy Spirit through individuals and companies of believers.

ENDURANCE

He Who Now Restrains

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2 Thessalonians 2:3-10. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
Revelation 12:1-4. A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were  seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.  And she gave birth to a son, a male child….’

The insight given by the Holy Spirit so long ago to the apostle Paul for the assembly in Thessalonica will shortly be fulfilled. No doubt ‘the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction’ is already somewhere on the world’s stage. As yet he remains hidden, awaiting his opportunity to come forth as some latter-day saviour. The present great global uncertainty is building up to the crisis that will provide the moment of his revelation widely across the whole world.

Almighty God is the one and only law giver, who formed all created things after His divine will and purpose. Lawlessness is that which denies and opposes to the utmost all that is the truth and reality of God. In this evil being there is no truth, only a deceitful opposition to all that is righteous, all that is holy, all that testifies to the love and the goodness of God. read more

DIVINE REVELATION

I Will Come Again

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“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11.

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also’. John 14:3. The purpose of this article is to attempt to determine the likely date of the birth of the Lord Jesus and thus establish the year of His death, resurrection and ascension and to use this to anticipate the time of His return to receive His own.

The last article posted, ‘The Seventy Weeks given to Daniel’, provides a strong probability of the date of Jesus’ crucifixion as 25 April in A.D. 31. There is every likelihood that the return of Jesus may be precisely two thousand years after His departure into heaven and thus be within a very short time; namely in 2031. This post looks back from that event to postulate when the tribulation of seven years may commence and looks forward to the possible time (not the day or hour) when the feet of the Lord Jesus may stand once again on the Mount of Olives at His return to ‘reign forever and ever’. read more

DIVINE REVELATION

The Seventy Weeks Prophecy given to Daniel

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Daniel 9:24-27. “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be *cut off and have nothing,

Philippians 2:5-8. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Rather than search for the very nebulous date of the decree issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus, this article will attempt  to establish the much more verifiable date of Jesus’ crucifixion and work backwards in time from that. It is the hope that not only the year can be established but the likely time of the year and a close approximation of the day when the decree was issued. read more

LOVE

God is Love

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1 John 4:16-19. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.
Romans 5:5. ….the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

God is the very nature and substance of love. This real and unique quality of ‘agape’ love contains within it no self-interest whatsoever. Self-interest is the antithesis of the love that is expressed  by God. Everything that God is and does is that which perfect love demands.

In contrast, the constant demands of our ‘self’ are expressions of enmity towards God, for self-love is not, nor could it ever be, in harmony with God. It was self-love that caused Satan forever to become the adversary and opponent of God. It was self love that drove Eve and then her husband Adam to disobey God and for sin to afflict all mankind thereafter. read more

OBEDIENCE

The Eyes of the Lord

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2 Chronicles 16:9. For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support

  • Those who are doing their very best to live a good Christian life?
  • Those who have experienced visions and spiritual manifestations?
  • Those who are ordained to be reverends, pastors or priests?
  • Those whose heart is completely His?

How easy it is to look at the outward appearance or spiritual gifts of those who profess and call themselves Christians. God looks not at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart and He strongly supports ‘Those whose heart is completely His’. This is the Lord’s one and only requirement; a completely surrendered life.

Jesus made this quite plain to all who have ears to hear. He told the rich young ruler, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 19:21. NKJV. The young man chose his ‘great possessions’ rather than parting with them in order to follow Jesus. read more

TESTIMONY

Antiphonal Hymn – Our Father’s Plan

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Galatians 3:26-28. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Our Father’s Plan

Son of God made Son of Man,
Jesus Christ, Thou art “I am”;
Took on You our great disgrace;
Safe in You, our resting place. read more

ENDURANCE

Made Perfect Forever

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Hebrews 5:8-9. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.
Hebrews 2:10. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.
1 Corinthians 15:45. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. Recovery Version.
Revelation 4:5. And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Exodus 31:2-5. “See, I have called by name Bezalel , the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship.”
Exodus 37:17,22-23. Then he made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work, its base and its shaft; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers were of one piece with it….Their bulbs and their branches were of one piece with it; the whole of it was a single hammered work of pure gold. He made its seven lamps with its snuffers and its trays of pure gold.
1 Peter 5:10-11. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself  perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 5:8-10. ….for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Matthew 5:14-15. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”

‘Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered’. Was not Jesus found to be perfect in all His words, deeds and conduct during His life on earth? Why then would He need to learn ‘obedience from the things which He suffered’?

Jesus was the Son of God and He was also the Son of Man. His mother was Mary, choice indeed. Yes! But Mary was conceived in sin as David, her forefather before her, was obliged to confess. As a son of man, just like one of us, Jesus was ‘tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin’. Hebrews 4:15. read more

BODY RELATEDNESS

The Precious Produce of the Soil

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Acts 1:13-14. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
James 5:7-8. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
Luke 10:2. And He said to them, “The harvest is great, but the workers few; therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest.” Recovery Version.

The Lord is utterly consistent, in all His ways, in the types that represent His truth, and in the patterns He has established for mankind to follow. If we examine an event or process that God has set in motion, it will reveal something significant about how He works. Such is the case when we read the account concerning the clothing with power of the around a hundred and twenty on that long ago day of Pentecost. The pattern of Pentecost is a defining one.

Those gathered together, awaiting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, had been born again when Jesus had breathed into them and said, ‘receive the Holy Spirit’. Prior to that, the faith of each one of them had failed during the time of Jesus’ greatest trial. However, it was through their experiences of failure that they had been prepared and approved by God to receive the outpoured Holy Spirit. They no longer put trust in themselves. On the great day of Pentecost, after they had been clothed with power from on high, there was the beginning of a great harvest and the church, the body of Christ came into being. read more

OVERCOMING

The Weapons of Our Warfare

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Genesis 2:8-9. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2 Corinthians 10:3-4. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
James 4:7. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 6:11-12. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

When the Lord God created Adam, He ‘placed the man whom He had formed’ in Eden. The Lord laid upon Adam only one restriction; that he must not eat of the fruit of ‘the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’. Adam and his wife Eve had been gifted with freedom of choice. Their encounter with Satan and subsequent willful disobedience to God’s command brought sin and death upon all their descendants. The way to the tree of life was barred from them. Adam, in his creation is referred to as ‘the son of God’, Luke 3:38. But, following their rebellion the disobedient pair became orphans, having forfeited the right to call God, ‘Father’.

‘But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law….’ Galatians 4:4. ‘God sent forth His Son’. All who believe in Jesus may choose to follow their own inclinations or follow the leading of the Holy Spirit who indwells them. In Romans 8:14 we read, ‘For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God’. The ‘right to the tree of life’ and the right to be recognized as a ‘son of God’ have been given back in Christ to all who will continually devote themselves to ‘being led by the Spirit of God’. read more

BODY RELATEDNESS

One is Your Leader

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Can you imagine a defense force in which there were Field Marshalls, Generals, Colonels, Majors, Captains and Lieutenants, all of whom knew a good deal about withstanding enemy attack, yet their troops were largely stay at home civilians? In this example, the troops are expected to put on their uniforms and assemble on the parade ground at the army base once a week. For most of the time while they are on parade, they are simply required to stand ‘at ease’ listening to accounts of bygone battles and army regulations. At the end of each lecture they are brought to ‘stand at attention’ before they are marched off the parade ground, dismissed and allowed to return home, remove their uniforms and resume their civilian life? If this description bears some resemblance to the organization and operation of much of the church on earth today it is the intention to do so.

So let us open our New Testament and take a look at how God really does intend that His church should  operate and act as the testimony of Jesus Christ on earth today.

In the example above, only the Field Marshalls and Generals would have direct access to the Supreme Commander, whereas every member of God’s army, His church, is given the right to direct access to their Supreme Commander, at any time of day or night. Through Jesus we ‘have our access in one Spirit to the Father’. Ephesians 2:18. read more

DIVINE REVELATION

Live on Every Word

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Matthew 4:3-4. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'”
 Matthew 6:9-10. “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 7:20-21.“So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

“If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” In this interchange between the devil and Jesus there is both a specific message and a broader message. What Satan was suggesting to Jesus was this. You can do anything. You are the Son of God. What Jesus conveyed to Satan in His response was that He who stood in front of him was limited to be the Son of Man. He had no greater advantages than the first man, Adam, when he had stood before Satan as the serpent in the garden of Eden.

In this Jesus was telling Satan that, though physical bread has its place, there was another more essential nourishment to live by and that is, ‘every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ In its broader application, Jesus was informing all who would be His followers that they too must live on ‘every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ read more

ENDURANCE

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

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Hebrews 12:1-2. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Matthew 14:25-31. And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ” Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Proverbs 18:10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.
1 Corinthians 9:24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?

From the very instant that we turned to God from our hopeless and sinful state, the Spirit of the Living God joined Himself forever with our human spirit and we entered ‘the race that is set before us’. For the first time, as we fixed ‘our eyes on Jesus’, He became to us ‘the author…. of faith’.

During the time Jesus dwelt among us He ran the race His Father gave Him to run. Knowing only the joy that was set before Him, He ‘endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’. His race had been won. ‘For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’. Philippians 2:9-11. What a Victor! What a victory! read more

OVERCOMING

All Things New

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2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Revelation 21:5. And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

When our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell for Satan’s lie, sin and death reigned over all created things. Even the galaxies are terminal – in countless eons they too must all be gone. But when the Lord Jesus died, the works of the devil were destroyed so that when God’s great recovery plan shall have been completed, and time shall be no more, perfection and permanence will characterise all things as they were in the beginning. Satan and his fallen angels, together with death and Hades, will no longer have any place for them except in the lake of fire which will burn eternally. ‘….the old things passed away; behold, new things have come’.

God made the greatest sacrifice that could be offered when He gave His one and only Son. The purpose of this sacrifice was that what Satan had debased and ruined might be restored to perfection and newness. Within this mighty achievement and victory of the Lord Jesus the way was opened for man to repent and believe the good news and find entrance into the kingdom of heaven. So that all who had become corrupted by Satan’s lie might be recovered to be sons of God: For remember that Adam is referred to as ‘the son of God’ at his creation. Luke 3:38. Through the cross all the redeemed, united together as perfected ones, will become the centrepiece of a new creation in Christ, the new Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling place of God. read more