repent – Page 4

Repentance brings blessing

Posted on December 7, 2011 by elizabethprata

I listened to a very good sermon on Sunday afternoon. Don Green is the pastor of the Grace Life section of the Grace Community Church of John MacArthur. His preaching Sunday on the “The Call to Repentance” was an eye opener. The verses were from the Sermon on the Mount of Matthew 5 and also Matthew 4:17.

His theme was not what you might expect. Repent, yes, but the call to repentance always has with it another part to the message, one that is often forgotten. When Jesus calls people to repent, there is always a blessing associated with it.

Pastor Green’s point was that we of course should call people to repent, yes, but do not forget to tell them they are blessed if they do! Matthew 4:17 says, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is the summary statement of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In the sermon, He is explaining what repentance means. The verse from Matthew 4 is the summation, but the Sermon is Jesus explicitly teaching what He meant regarding repentance. Matthew 5:3-9, for example, is linked to the Matthew 4:17 verse in that Jesus now gets specific about what happens to a person on the inside when they repent.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Look how many blessings come when a person repents and allows the Holy Spirit to change them on the inside! Jesus ended His sermon with reminding us that it IS an internal change. He said in verse 20:

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” The scribes and Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day, but they were only righteous on the outside, with what they wore and what they said and how they acted. Their internal state was not one of humble repentance, and as a result they were cursed, not blessed. (Matthew 23:13).

The call to repentance is to:
–turn away from sin toward biblical righteousness
–in order to give irrevocable allegiance to Jesus
–and to receive divine blessing

Pastor Green’s sermon focused on understanding the third point, that with repentance comes blessing, and this shapes the way we explain the Gospel to people.

I’ll explain it this way. I watch a television show on TNT called “The Closer.” It is a police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. She is known as The Closer because she can elicit a confession from the worst criminal that will stick in court. She closes cases. As such, she is also known as a savant, brilliant in her detective capabilities. Because of her fearlessness, ability to close cases, and strong commitment to justice, she gets the bad guy almost every week. Justice is served.

This is the last season of the show. This season’s theme is love. Viewers have come to adore Brenda with all her foibles and dysfunctions in home life and in her professional relationships. Her almost total focus is on justice. There is little love in her life. Though her long-suffering husband loves her dearly and accepts her for who she is, the show is written in such a way that you long for him to receive the same amount of love that he gives her. This final season will be a reckoning of sorts for Brenda, that life is not only justice. There must be love, too. And of course we agree to the reverse, that there is no love without justice. A mother or father who loves their child will punish them when they do wrong. (Hebrews 12:6). Brenda’s fierce adherence to justice unhitched from love eventually becomes harsh, consuming her and leading her rather than her leading it. This week’s show gave us an insight into how a person devolves when there is too much emphasis on justice and not enough balance in love.

That is the same as the Gospel. We call for repentance and warn of the justice from the Highest Court in the universe, from the most perfect Judge. Punishment for sins is real and must be declared to the unbeliever. This is our duty. But don’t leave it there, Pastor Green urged. Because love is part of the equation, too. Jesus blesses His children. He bought us with His blood as pardon from the justice they would likewise receive but instead blesses them when they do repent.

Nine times in Matthew 5 (NASB) Jesus used the word “blessed”. Nine blessings are pronounced! Also in Matthew 11, Matthew 13, Matthew 24, more blessedness is offered to those who do not take offense at Jesus, to those upon those who see and hear the message, and on those slaves who are doing the Father’s will. The change brought about at repentance comes with is blessings that start there and continue on the growing believer.

When you share the Gospel, love them enough to tell them of the justice for the sins, but also love them enough to tell them of the Lord’s blessings waiting upon them if they do repent. This is a good lesson for me, too.
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bible jesus, end time, millennium kingdom, prophecy, repent

The Kingdom is coming, and it is real

Posted on November 9, 2011 by elizabethprata

Jesus is coming soon to judge sin, and to establish His Kingdom. (Daniel 2:44). It is going to last 1000 years and it is known as the Millennial Kingdom. (Isaiah 2:4, 42:1). He is also preparing a place called New Jerusalem for His church Age believers to dwell in. It will be established after the Tribulation and before eternity. It is a real kingdom, with real people, lands, and a ruler, namely Jesus and it will be on earth. (Luke 1:32-33). Jesus will have put satan in jail already for the entire duration, so there will be no devil tempting the un-glorified people re-populating the earth who live in the Kingdom. If you ever prayed The Lord’s Prayer, you have prayed for His kingdom to come:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).

GotQuestions explains, “The purpose of the 1000-year reign is to fulfill promises God made to the world that cannot be fulfilled while Satan is free and humans have political authority. Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world, and creation. All of these will be fulfilled during Jesus’ 1000-year reign.”

However, it is an exclusive kingdom. Not all people will be allowed into it. Any person can claim citizenship, but if citizenship is rejected, they will be denied entry to this wonderful kingdom! Jesus will only allow people who have been cleansed from sin to enter, people who have repented of their sins and asked Jesus to forgive them. Refusing to repent is in fact rejecting of your citizenship into this kingdom of perfect peace and love.

He is preparing us to understand that the time is nigh. He said He would send signs of the end of the age, and those signs are getting stronger with each passing day. The hatred and rejection of Jesus is one of those signs (2 Peter 3:3-4), as well as the love of one another growing cold (2 Timothy 3:2-4) and the falling away of Christians from solid doctrine. (1 Timothy 4:1). There are many other signs.

God said He will open up end time prophecy for all to understand and interpret so we can prepare for His Second Coming. (Daniel 12:9-10). That is why you have been hearing so MUCH lately about the end times, and the rapture and it is why there are so many Christians are saying “repent, the end is nigh”. He is opening up prophecy and opening the hearts of Christians to understand prophecy because the time IS nigh. It is the Holy Spirit opening up the hidden things because it is now the time to know them.

Now, the rapture is not the Second Coming, they are two different events. The rapture happens at the beginning of the final 7 years of Tribulation, and the Second Coming happens at the very end of that final 7 years. Then Jesus sets up His kingdom to fulfill the promises He has made throughout the bible, as mentioned above.

He wants one and all to enter His kingdom and His city but He cannot allow the wicked unrepentant to come in. He even sets angels at the gates of New Jerusalem so that nothing impure will ever enter. (Rev 21:12, Rev 21:27). Please consider your lives carefully, and understand that this decision for Jesus or against Jesus (which is the same as saying you decide for your own sin or reject your own sin) is a permanent one. Jesus loves each and every single person on this earth from the beginning to now. He knows the name of each person who is living, all 7 billion of us, and He knows the names of each person who has already lived and died. He wants all of us in His kingdom, either on earth or in New Jerusalem, but if you have rejected Him then you will not be allowed to dwell in glory with Him.

Do you really have so much pride that you refuse to ever say, ‘I do wrong and that wrong is against a Holy God’? All the wrongs done in your mind or on your tongue or by your hands are deeds that are crimes against Jesus, and He will judge those sins. However, He died on the cross and shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice for your sins and thereby has pardoned them. That is how you claim your citizenship- by accepting His blood as a covering for your sins and accepting Him as your Lord.

I hope to see you there. He is coming soon. We who have already repented are eagerly awaiting the Blessed Hope. You who have not repented are running out of time to make that decision.
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repent, science

Two thoughts

Posted on October 11, 2011 by elizabethprata

“Remember, science, and scientific findings, do not make the bible true. Scripture is always true. It never needs verification. Scientific support of the scripture only means that the science is true, because we know that the scripture already is. My advice to any scientist is to always make sure that his findings coincide with God’s word.”

~From the movie Time Changer. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. Also, good movie BTW.

Jesus is coming soon to establish His kingdom. He can only accept perfect people into the kingdom, people without sin. Since none of us is perfect and without sin, no, not one, God sent His only begotten Son to come to earth and die in our place. Jesus is the sacrifice to pay the penalty for the judgment we would have gotten for our sin. All we need to do is believe in Jesus as the sacrifice, perfect and sinless, and the only One able to forgive us our sins. We will then be able to enter the kingdom and be with Jesus in joy forever.

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9/11, bible jesus, end time, repent

The day the tower fell

Posted on September 10, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There was a recent event that was much on everyone’s mind. A tower fell suddenly, killing many. It was unexpected and shocked the neighboring counties to the core. The first chance they got, they put the question to the highest authority they could find, and the question was, were those who were killed deserving of such a death?

The tower was the tower of Siloam, and 18 were killed. The question was posed to Jesus. Here is His answer–

Luke 13:1-9- Call to Repent

“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Matthew Henry says, “Mention was made to Christ of the death of some Galileans. This tragical story is briefly related here, and is not met with in any historians. In Christ’s reply he spoke of another event, which, like it, gave an instance of people taken away by sudden death. Towers, that are built for safety, often prove to be men’s destruction. He cautioned his hearers not to blame great sufferers, as if they were therefore to be accounted great sinners. As no place or employment can secure from the stroke of death, we should consider the sudden removals of others as warnings to ourselves. On these accounts Christ founded a call to repentance. The same Jesus that bids us repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, bids us repent, for otherwise we shall perish.”

The verses continue,

“And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

A warning indeed. Is the Lord giving us ‘one more year’? A tiny season further to produce fruit? Is He waiting even now, but has determined to cut the time off if there is not any to bear? “Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.” (Ecc 9:12).

This summary of the verse from Wikipedia of all places, says, “In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus mentioned the tragedy when he was told about some Galilean insurgents who were killed by the Romans. Those who told Jesus this may have expected him to say that their deaths were punishment for their rebellious and belligerent behavior. Yet, in mentioning the collapse of the tower of Siloam, Jesus taught that death can come upon anyone, regardless of how sinful they are. He went on to teach that the need for all people to repent is the true lesson from such tragedies.”

The wages of sin is death. That is why 9/11 happened. Because our default condition is evil and deceitful. We do not ask why this happened but should instead ask why does this not happen every day? Why are we protected to the extent that we are? Why should we enjoy pleasures and grace and His creation for one moment longer than we do? The Vineyard-keeper waits patiently for fruit, for growth, but oft times there isn’t any. We praise Him that He has not yet said ‘cut it down!’

One day the moment will come when He closes the church age and He calls His bride to Him for the consummation of the age. The vines will be cut down. The fig tree will be cut down. But He has promised a remnant. His people will be the stump and from that the Holy Seed will emerge. (Isaiah 6:13)

I read of an article about the one American who was off the planet on the 9/11/01 terror day. He took a photo of the tower in what they have come to believe is the moment it fell.

Remembering 9/11, Astronaut’s painful view from space

Is this what God saw when He looked down? A tiny planet, filled with teeming humanity, some his enemies and some His friends, killing each other in a false god’s name? But all of whom He loves?

Is this what God saw when He looked down at the moment His Son died, shedding a tear, as so evocatively portrayed in the Passion of the Christ movie?

Is my neighbor a worse culprit than me? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The warning is of repentance, and that by faith through Him no tower will ever be necessary in your life again. Why? HE IS THE TOWER.

“The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:3)

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10).

Be safe in your eternal destiny, and repent.
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end times, prophecy, repent

Blessed, not oppressed, by the times

Posted on July 6, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Iceland’s Most Feared Volcano Ready To Erupt
“An Icelandic stratovolcano, one the country’s most active, could erupt at any time according to a leading geophysicist. University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson said Wednesday that measurement instruments have shown “unusual” magma movements around the Hekla volcano in recent days. According to Ríkisútvarpið RUV – The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service – the GPS movements around Hekla in the past few days are real. Civil disaster authorities and local emergency authorities in the country also were notified Wednesday of the possibility of an eruption.” Irish Weather online has the story, plus more about Hekla.

Map source

You notice Eyja, Katla, and Hekla in the lower center of the country. The scale of miles shows the three volcanoes between 15 and 30 miles apart from each other, roughly.

You might remember Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland’s volcano that erupted between March-May 2010, disrupting the globe’s air commerce and causing travel chaos and revenue loss. At that time, all the airlines estimated their losses at $1.7billion. These natural disasters are costing the world billions and billions of dollars. It isn’t just the money loss, but time lost, transport of goods lost, employment lost. Time Magazine did a recent article on natural disaster sticker shock, “What extreme weather costs the US“. They wrote that “a study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research estimates that the bottom-line cost of all the meteorological craziness is a staggering $485 billion per year in the U.S. alone, as much as 3.4% of the country’s GDP.”

In May 2011, Bloomberg Business News wrote, “Lloyd’s of London, the world’s largest insurance market, has estimated net claims of $3.8 billion before tax from this year’s Japan and New Zealand earthquakes and Australian floods.” Two billion of that was the Japan quake and tsunami alone. Can the world keep paying for disaster cleanup and reconstruction? No. Especially since they will keep occurring and on consistently larger scales. Just as one day we hear of Mount Soputan in Indonesia erupting this week, with Chile’s Puyehue still erupting, Nabro in Eritrea which never erupted suddenly going off, and now a resumption of Iceland’s volcanoes showing magma on the move is too much to keep up with. And three US nuke plants in trouble simultaneously – check physicist Michio Kaku’s essay on that one. No, we cannot afford the continual shaking of the world from below, surface and above. But neither can we ignore the spiritual shaking.

That is what this is all about, shaking un-believers from their stance that this is all natural. It isn’t of course. They are birth pangs, getting ready to ramp up into labor, which will result in a bloody mess that will finally produce a clean and pure Kingdom.

I’m sad at the process that will mean death and hell for many people caught in these disasters, but I am also thrilled at His power. He put us here at this time for a reason. Every believer has a purpose and aside from the common purpose of making disciples that applies to all of us, we each have a unique purpose to accomplish His will. Is it to ring the warning bell as a watchman? It it to exude peace in uncertain times? Is it to go on mission to Muslim nations? Is it to be a steady church-goer and encourage the body? Pray for His will to be revealed in your life. He has one and after the Apostles founding the church, this age is unique in all the church age! Feel blessed by the times, not oppressed.

How thrilling to watch the pages of the bible rip open each day as His words become alive in the world. We are living in biblical times as surely as the Israelites who saw the Red Sea parting, or who saw the Walls of Jericho fall down or who helped construct Solomon’s temple, or who saw Lazarus emerge from the tomb or who went on mission with Peter Paul and witnessed miraculous healing. I am in awe of the promises that are written coming true before my eyes. Each day brings miracles in themselves and I glory in Him who has the entire world in His hands, and in which, someone, somewhere may finally turn from their sin and say, this is not all a coincidence. Jesus, I believe.”
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laodicean church, prophecy, regeneration, repent

Where’s the beef?

Posted on June 1, 2011 by elizabethprata

Remember this Wendy’s commercial from the early 1980s?

I used to love Clara Peller, who was a breakout hit for several years in the ad cycle. Good for her.

In the world in general there is a steep decline in civility, modesty, and behavior that would comport with what the Lord advises is pure living. With all the millions of Christians claiming that they are Christian, you would think that there would be more modesty, cleaner language, more purity, stronger families, and higher regard for Godly things. There is a terrible disconnect and it all has to do with transformation.

Philippians 3:20-21 reminds us that we have a bodily transformation to look forward to: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

But before we get there, 2 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us that after submitting to the Lord, our transformation of mind and spirit is an ongoing process- “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”[emphasis mine]

We would expect such an ongoing transformation. When we first believe, He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our body. A supernatural occurrence begins to start the transformative process- the transfer of a divine being from heaven to our flesh. If you really mull through all the ramifications of this, it is mind-blowing. God sends a part of His very self to be planted inside our body which then works as an engine of transformation to His likeness.

Paul reiterated the transformative process in Romans 12:2- “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Our minds AND our bodies are being transformed by the Spirit into Jesus’ likeness.

What this looks like on the ground is a slow or a fast but a visible process where people eschew the same activities, recreation, language, and thoughts they had before. A beer-drinking, porn consuming, profanity laced man will become a gentle, moral, and upstanding husband or bachelor. Initially, the transformation is hard for the new believer but it gathers speed and becomes easier as His holiness spreads in us like a tapestry being enlarged, thread by thread. After a while, we notice that our eyes can’t stand the same television shows, books, movies, and computer activities we used to enjoy. We notice that not only has our own language cleaned up, but hearing it from others is jarring. Not only do we notice that our character is being transformed but being around unbelievers is a strain as the things they say and do hurt our gentle soul because they are an affront to God. Friends drop off, new ones are made. You begin to eagerly look forward to church, not counting it as a trial but a joy. The Spirit is transforming you.

When you repent, you renounce yourself. You allow Christ to become in you more fully every day. Now, reformation is not regeneration. Reformation is a fleshly effort in our own strength to change our ways. Due to our sin nature, permanent reformation is impossible. We will fail. If we could reform ourselves to the extent necessary to become acceptable to God, then we would not need Jesus.

Regeneration means we are being knit by a divine, supernatural process into a new creation. But it doesn’t happen spontaneously. When we are saved, we are always saved. But are we growing? The writer of Hebrews acknowledged that even after some lengthy period of time, some Christians were not growing. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12). They should have been strong enough to have been teaching others at least the basics (‘first principles’) by then, but were disappointingly still ingesting milk and not strong meat! Do a self-check. Are you still on milk of the Word and not the meat?

When I say that regeneration is not spontaneous I mean that it takes effort of the Christian to apply himself to the process. Once you are saved you are always saved, but as for growth to produce good fruit, if the new Christian never reads the bible, never or rarely attends strong worship or listens to bible preaching, never studies, haphazardly prays, or only occasionally does any deeds, they won’t grow. They may have heard the word, but they are not doers of the word- in the aforementioned things.

James 1:21-27talks about being a doer. “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

This is the age of the Laodicean church. There are many who are hearers only and worse, what they prefer to hear is false doctrine that tickles the ears. They are not growing, and in truth, many of them are even deceived as to their natural state. Thinking themselves saved, they are not. If you never confess your own sins, thinking that your initial confession and forgiveness covered it all forever, you will not be regenerated. James urges us James 5:16, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” We all sin daily but if we confess daily then we are purified and the gratitude for this purification makes us submit even more to the Spirit’s work in us. It is a cycle.

Jesus said that there are true disciples and false disciples. (Mt 7:21-23). Many won’t make it into the kingdom, they will realize too late that their hearts deceived them. Check yourself. It is pretty simply really. “WHERE’S THE BEEF?” Do you have a fluffy exterior, big and laden with condiments, but if you peek inside, is there little to no meat? Has there been spiritual fruit borne of your deeds lately? Or not? If not, there is a problem.

Take another look at the commercial. Except let this script run through your mind:

“It certainly is a big church.”
“It’s a very big church.”
“A big, busy church.”
“It’s a very big, busy…[lifting the top to peer at what is inside]…church”
“Where’s the Gospel?”
“Some churches give you a lot less Gospel on a platter of tolerance.”
“Where’s the beef??”
Announcer extolling solid doctrine, un-watered down and meaty.
“Where’s the BEEF?? I don’t think there’s anybody back there.”

I hope you are asking yourself the important and ever-pertinent question- where’s the Gospel? Look at your church. Look at yourself. Are you on meat? Do you feel yourself being regenerated, part of an everlasting cycle of doing, hearing, growing? Or not? Ask yourself now. You don’t want to find out you belonged to a Laodicean Church when it is too late to change the outcome…

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earthquake, end time, prophecy, repent

Holy Fear: The Great Earthquake, Part 3

Posted on March 13, 2011 by elizabethprata

Read Part 1 here
Read Part 2 here

“The earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth.” (Psalm 18:7).

The USGS essay regarding the historical New England earthquake of 1727 and its aftermath continues:

“The people of New England were affected by this earthquake as they had never been before, being fearful of divine judgments for their sins and lax responsiveness to the call to religious duties. The clergy taught them that it was “a loud call to the whole land to repent and fear and give glory to God.” The next morning great numbers of the inhabitants of Boston gathered at the old North church for prayer and other religious services. The fear of further immediate danger was somewhat dispelled in the pleasant sunlight, but as soon as the sun had set their fright returned, and in greater numbers than in the morning the people crowded to the old Brick church, which could not hold them. The old South was then opened, and those who failed of admission to the Brick church flocked thither, and that was also filled. Rev. Thomas Paine of Weymouth, Mass., and some other ministers, tried to prove to their congregations that the earthquake had not a natural cause, but was a supernatural token of God’s anger to the sinful world.”

“The selectmen of Medford, Mass., appointed the next Wednesday as a day to be observed by fasting and prayer on account of the earthquake; and Lieutenant-governor Dummer recommended that Thursday should be kept in the same way for the same purpose throughout the province. Many sermons delivered on the latter and other days were printed and are still extant. In Salem, Mass., a meeting was held on Saturday at the upper meeting-house (then so called) which was attended by the largest congregation that was ever in that edifice.”

They repented, the fasted, they prayed, and they entreated. The people fell down before a mighty God and supplicated in proper Holy Fear.

In his sermon “A Holy Fear of God and His Judgments” John Cotton defined Holy Fear:

–Trembling for fear of God implies our solemn an awful apprehensions of the great God, who brings such judgments upon us

–Trembling for fear of God means that we are sensibly touched and affected with the consideration of the judgments that are or may yet be brought upon us.

–Trembling for fear of God means our humbling ourselves exceedingly before Him who is thus visiting and threatening us.

Do we tremble? Rarely. We strut, we dismiss, we forget the power He wields, and holds back. Holy Fear, repentance, and awe of His majesty are not popular topics today. Prosperity, ecstatic experiences, all paths leading to heaven are the topics of today, when the bible is even referred to at all.

After a 9.0 quake, tsunami, and four volcanoes exploding, what should we ALL be doing? Repenting. Falling down on our faces. As Rev Cotton said, “It suggests that we so abhor them [judgments] that they make deep impressions upon our hearts; that our spirits are so sorrowfully affected with the tokens of the divine anger visible therein that we weep bitterly in secret places in the consideration thereof. Indeed, they have the power to make us cry out, “Oh that my head were waters, and mines eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night” (Jeremiah 9:1).”

We do not weep day and night for our own sins, faults, and failures. We do not weep for neglecting to give glory to God. We do not react thus: “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself.” (Habakkuk 3:16).

We shake our heads at the poor folks way over in Japan, and we move on. We do not do the first and proper thing: repent. I am not talking to only non-believers. I am talking to believers who have forgotten what it means to be a sinner falling into the hands of an angry God.

Why are not the churches in America full today? Why are not people weeping at altars, seeking forgiveness? Do we evidence a Holy Fear? No, we talk of prosperity with a flashy smile. As the USGS essay concludes, “Seriousness was the expression on the faces of most of the people, and in some towns, large numbers were added to the church. In the parish of Chebacco in Ipswich, Mass., for instance seventy-six persons became church members. The earthquake had its effect upon some licentious characters, who became truly reformed, and afterward led honorable and moral lives.”

Rev Cotton finishes, “Oh, what need we have then to cry mightily unto God that He will make the impressions lasting on the souls of parents, children, young, old, rich, poor, bond and free! We have done it already. We will continue to do it, and we hope the Lord will not turn away our prayers nor His mercy from us.” Will the dreadful impressions of God after the Japan quake last in you? I hope so.
Give glory to God for His power. Give glory to Jesus by living an honorable and moral life in Him.
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end time, holy fear, john cotton, judgment, repent

Holy Fear: The Great Earthquake, Part 2

Posted on March 13, 2011 by elizabethprata

Read Part 1 here

The events of late summer-early Fall in New England, described in Part 1 of this three-part essay, were fear-inducing to a high degree. The strange events culminated in an earth-shaking display of mighty power, ripping into the consciousnesses of thousands of slumbering Colonials at a quiet moment in the middle of the autumn night. People ran shrieking out of their homes in their night-clothes, never having experienced such an earthquake before.

Then as now, people try to make sense of the events. Many a preacher was spiritually burdened to preach about it on the next Sunday, and one such was the New England preacher, John Cotton. (1693-1757). The old Puritan preachers were learned, well-versed in the bible, and devout. Most importantly, they preached the correct response to an earth-shattering event: Holy Fear.

We don’t evidence much Holy Fear these days, it is not a popular topic. But Rev Cotton did, and here are a few excerpts to his eminently readable and wonderful sermon. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. Part 3 of this essay will examine how the people of today respond to a similar earth-shaking event. In his sermon, Rev Cotton lays out the procession of thought throughout:

DOCTRINE. The condition and circumstances of a people may be such that their flesh may well tremble for fear of God, and they may wisely be afraid of His judgments. In the prosecution of this doctrine I will show:
1. What is meant by the judgments of God and what judgments we are exposed to that we ought to be afraid of.
2. What is meant by trembling for fear of God and being afraid of His judgments.
3. That our condition and circumstance are such that we have abundant reasons and occasions to tremble and be afraid.

A Holy Fear of God and His Judgments
by John Cotton (1693-1757); Preached November 3, 1727
“My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee; and I am afraid of Thy judgments”
Psalm 119:120

To fear God means that we adore His sovereignty and righteousness even in His awful dispensations and that we employ our serious, devout, and solemn thoughts on these an other glorious excellencies and perfections of Almighty God displayed in His judgments. They must be the subject of our frequent and solemn meditations so that we may always maintain in our hearts suitable apprehensions of the great God who sends His judgments upon us.

Surely the consideration thereof should fill us with the greatest fear and concern of spirit that God has been so provoked that He has had to come out against us in His anger and to threaten our utter ruin and desolation

Did we ever have more reason to stand trembling before God under fearful apprehensions of impending vengeance when we consider the many scandalous, provoking evils abounding among us including oppression, injustice, fraud, deceit, falsehood, evil speaking, pride contention, intemperance, drunkenness, unchastity, excessive and inordinate love of the world, and may I add, the rudeness and profaneness of young people? God Himself, and our duty to Him, is evidently neglected and forgotten by many, and a form of godliness is maintained and kept up without the life and power of it. The sacred and dreadful name of God is dishonored and blasphemed by profane cursing and swearing. His holy Sabbaths, instead of being strictly observed and sanctified, are very much profaned by idle, vain, trifling and unsuitable conduct. Some forsake the house of the Lord, frequently neglecting and needlessly staying away from the public worship of God. Has not manifold contempt been put upon the Lord’s holy ordinances and institutions? Are there not many who disregard coming to them in a serious and worthy manner? Must we not acknowledge that mutual Christian love and charity grow cold? Are not both the love of men to God and the love of men to their neighbors treated with a visible coldness and indifference that clearly mark the lack of the power of godliness? Alas, for this people!

Are not the iniquities I have just described, and many more, prevailing among us and testifying against us, loudly proclaiming our impiety and great degeneracy, declaring that we are an impenitent, incorrigible, and unreformed people still, ripening rapidly for a destruction without remedy? Surely then, if this is the case with us, we have reason to tremble for fear of God and to be greatly afraid of His judgments. We might wisely be afraid of temporal plagues and judgments of a far heavier and sorer nature than we have yet been visited with, for the transgressions of God’s covenant people are exceedingly provoking to Him and richly deserve to be severally punished. I beg of you, do not forget that our sins are the more offensive and provoking to God for we are a people in covenant with Him.

What awful symptoms there are of blindness and hardness of heart right in our midst. Ought we not to fear that men are dreadfully blinded and hardened in their sins when there is not so much as external reformation in connection with such an awful judgment of God as this earthquake?

We learn from this text that it is not cowardly to be afraid of God’s judgments but very agreeable to true Christian courage.

God is no fit match for us to contend with. No one has ever hardened himself against Him and prospered (Job 9:4). He is our Creator, we are His creatures. We are as clay in the hands of the potter. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. God cannot err on His end, as the princes of this world may in the execution of their displeasure through impotency or want of knowledge, for He is infinite in knowledge, wisdom, and power, and there in no comparison between infinite and finite. It is not cowardly then to fear God. Our Saviour advises us,

“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

Such wise fear is agreeable to true Christian courage. This should be expressed in our lives by maintaining a reverential fear of God upon our minds, in fighting against the enemies of our salvation; in mortifying our lusts; in steadfastly persevering in all the duties of our holy religion; in not disobeying His commands, despising His judgments, scorning His rod or setting ourselves in opposition to His threatening, which is the most daring and prodigious folly and madness and will be found so in the end.

How very surprising and amazing was the first sudden shock and convulsion we felt! Our houses and beds were shaking, and the earth was trembling and reeling under us like, I suppose, none ever felt in this part of the world before. And how many times has the awful noise been repeated, though not to such a fearful degree? Well may the people in this city and in the country round about be filled with the surprise and consternation of which we see and hear. Multitudes seem to be under great conviction, distress, and concern about their soul and eternity. Oh, that the impressions might abide until conversion to God is accomplished and the great work of their salvation is completed.
—————————————–
Rev Cotton was fearful that the initial impressions regarding a just, angry, and powerful God would diminish in the light of day and diminish even further as time passed. How well the Reverend knew the sinful nature of craven men. But the response Cotton preached is the ONLY proper response to a God who is wroth with us. He is the Creator, we are His creatures! We are clay in the hands of the potter. We should fall down before Him, seeking forgiveness as we entreat Him to forgive our sins. But do we? Part 3 coming up.
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end time, great earthquake, prophecy, repent

Holy Fear: The Great Earthquake, part 1

Posted on March 13, 2011 by elizabethprata

The greatest earthquake that New England has probably experienced since its settlement by the English occurred October 29, 1727. The people had suffered much in various ways through the summer and early autumn. A drought continued from the middle of June to the middle of September, the month of July and the first week of August being exceedingly hot. No rain fell in April after the first week, and but twice in May, only one of two slight showers occurring during the sultry, parching heat of the summer. The earth dried to a great depth, and many wells and springs, which had never failed before were now dry. There was much lightning and thunder, but very little rain. On the evening of August 1, at the close of a scorching day, the heavens burst out into a blaze of flame and a roar of thunder, the terrific display continuing for two or three hours. The flashes occurred so frequently that the sky was continually light with them and a writer of that time said it seemed “as if the heavens being on fire were dissolving and passing away with a great noise, and the earth also with its works was to be burned up.”

After the drought was broken a violent northeast storm came on, doing much damage among the vessels along the coast, and the trees on shore. This occurred September 16. It caused a high tide which carried away about two hundred loads of hay from the marshes at Newbury, Mass., and drove eight or nine vessels ashore at Salem and thirty-five at Marblehead.

After the lightning, thunder, and tempest the country was visited by a tremendous earthquake. October 24, 1727, the weather was very cold; three days later, snow fell, and on the 28th the temperature was still exceedingly low for the season. Sunday, the 29th, was fair and pleasant, and in the evening the moon shone brightly, the air was calm, and no noise disturbed the peacefulness of nature. People retired at their usual hour, and were fast asleep, when at twenty minutes before eleven o’clock a terrible noise followed by a roar and a rush suddenly woke them, and in about half a minute, before they had time to become conscious of what was taking place around them, there came a pounce as if gigantic cannons had rolled against each other from opposite directions. Latches leaped up and doors flew open, houses rocked and trembled as though they would collapse, timber worked in and out of mortises, hearth-stones grated against each other, windows rattled, tops of chimneys pitched and tumbled down, cellar walls fell in, beds shook, pewter fell off shelves, lids of warming pans jumped up and fell back with a clang, and all movable things, especially in the upper rooms, tossed about.

Most people got up in a moment, and many of them ran out of doors in their night clothes, being so frightened that they knew not what to do. The earth shook so much that they could not stand, and were compelled to sit or recline on the ground.

People that were awake when the earthquake came said that a flash of light preceded it. It was seen as it passed the windows, and a blaze seemed to run along the ground, dogs that saw it giving a sudden bark as if frightened. Before they had time to consider the source or cause of the light a sound like a gentle murmur floated to them on the still evening air, followed by a slight ruffling wind. Then came a rumbling as of distant thunder, which approached nearer and nearer and grew louder and louder till it sounded as if innumerable heavy carriages were being rapidly driven over pavements, or like the roaring of a great furnace, but incomparably fiercer and more terrible, having a hollow sound as if it came from under the earth. Then the shock came suddenly and severely and the houses were felt to totter and reel with the trembling and heaving of the ground.

The noise and shake came from the northwest, and went in a south-easterly direction. The whole disturbance occurred within the space of two minutes of time. The cattle ran bellowing about the fields, being thoroughly frightened at this sudden and fearful commotion in the still hours of night. They acted as though suffering from the greatest distress. “the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the tress of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto Thee;…” (Joel 1:19, 20).”

Source: USGS Historic Earthquakes. More at link

Stay tuned for part two, coming up momentarily
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end time, repent

Beloved, shall we gather at the river?

Posted on March 12, 2011 by elizabethprata

Listening to “Shall we gather at the river”, and thinking about all my Christian friends I’ll see there. Let us gather at the river now, in our hearts, and worship Him, acknowledge His power and His love. His grace delivers us, we lay our burdens down. I praise Him today and all days. He is waiting for us there, arms outstretched and in perfect love He will envelop us. He is on His throne, and He reigns. Again, I praise Him today and all days.

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