The Word Must Spread [part 2 of 2] ...

Sometimes we modern Christians believe there is nothing left to do.  There are few, if any, new mission fields to discover.  It looks to us like the work of spreading the word has been all but accomplished in the days before our own.  Perhaps there is merit to this, except in one case.  There is a field yet to be truly planted.  There is one field left, perhaps more important than any the missionaries have suffered to explore.  It is the field of our very own hearts.  We modern Christians know all “about” Jesus, we may have studied scripture, even for as long as all of our lives.  Our historical knowledge may be unparalleled.  Our doctrinal knowledge unrivaled.  But our experiential knowledge no more than that of an infant.  This condition is a symptom of one small thing, the insertion of “self” into the process of our salvation.  So many of us have been taught that “bad” people end up in hell, and “good” people end up in heaven at the end of all things.  That simple idea leads us to “try” to be “good” people.  When we fail at it, we are told to ask for forgiveness and get up and “try” again, “try” harder, show more will power, until we stop failing.  And these actions teach us over time that “we” are responsible for the molding of our characters by abstaining from evil.  We are told we must do our best “before” God will “make up the difference”.

And in so doing, our hearts remain our own.  Even for those strong of will, who abstain from evil by the sheer force of their will in action; their hearts remain unplowed fields, still chained to the desires for sin, even if overcome by abstention, still longing for what they should not long for.  We remain addicts to sin, no matter where we are in our self-proscribed 12-step-programs for treating our sins.  We rely upon Jesus so seldomly to truly rid us of sin, we have little exposure to that method, little testimony of it, little witness to it.  Instead, we have a long history of warring against sin on our own, and ultimately failing.  Still addicted to what we cannot change; the desires in us to still want evil.  What we really know about Jesus is from what we hear in sermons, and what we read in scripture, and these days what we see in films or other dramatic interpretations of these events like in “the Chosen” TV series.  All of our knowledge is “about” Jesus, little of our knowledge is personal to us, and truly meaningful in how we live our lives being made free from the desire to sin, because we do not ask Jesus for that, nor expect it if we ask.

Thus our hearts are last great mission field that must be truly sown by the Holy Spirit, creating in us a longing to let our sins go, putting them in the hands of Jesus for more than just forgiveness but to be eliminated from our thinking and our desire, thus freed from our action by His nature that becomes our own, not by struggle of our will.  For so long we have preached a message about the soon coming of our Lord, the return of Jesus to take us home.  And for so long, the Lord has delayed His return.  His delay has been one of love, hoping to harvest as many as can be harvested.  And each time we have preached His return with urgency and urgency has not yielded to fruition, even those in the church have turned aside from that message and decided it is not as real as we thought.  Those who have sought to find signs of the end have found them, yet still the Lord does not return.  Those who have sought exact dates of the Lord’s return have been bitterly disappointed.  And we wonder why the delay, why the disappointment?  All the while seeking a salvation that would tolerate and excuse the sins of our hearts.

His delay in returning is because there is one mission field left, the one of our hearts.  To live in heaven, we need to be transformed to the total absence of sin, holding on to none of it.  So many of us cling to the one cherished sin we refuse to yield up, hoping God will somehow just wink at our weakness.  But God wants us to free us from the pain and death of our sins, not leave us to continue to suffer within them.  So He delays His coming hoping to see the fields of our hearts truly sown, planted, and reaping a harvest centered upon the transformative love of Jesus Christ.  But the time for that is now.  The aspiration of repeating the Day of Pentecost in our lives is no longer just a passing whimsy but a desperate need in order to truly make us ready for His soon coming.  It is time to seek righteousness and discover the only way of finding it.  It is time to seek perfection and realize it has always been possible, not in our own strength but in the strength of Jesus Christ and His transformation of who we are down to the core.  Luke recorded the sermon of Peter upon the Day of Pentecost, but that sermon was not meant for that audience.  It was meant for this one, for you, and for me; for the purpose of these last days.

Peter mounts a defense for what some of Jews were questioning about the miracles seen on the Day of Pentecost in his day.  But Peter also speaks to us directly listen as Luke records picking up in verse 16 saying … “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; [verse 17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [verse 18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:”  The last days Joel referred to were never so needed as they are today.  We war against atheism that would deny us purpose and meaning.  We war against humanism that would entice us to believe “intentions” are the pathway of self-realization.  We war against the delays of His return to dull our faith and reduce Jesus to historical stories, not experiential life changing transformation in the here and now.  Christianity has all but given up on the notion of perfection, as we have too long relied upon self to achieve it, and failed.  It is our hearts that need revival, and more reformation.  It is now which has become our last days.  And so our need is greater now than it has ever been.

Joel speaks to that need.  Peter correctly points out how God longs to pour our His Spirit upon ALL FLESH, yet we have too long choked off the access point of our hearts from that very experience.  But what would happen if we restricted God no longer?  What would happen if we longed for the very thing Joel describes, and Peter recounts.  What would happen if we literally begged for this?  Are we ready to beg for it?  I am.  My need is so great of these events my heart breaks for it, and my soul aches for it.  I have seen my need and I know how great it is.  I am certain that if I continue to rely upon me to achieve perfection, then my perfection is ever to remain out of reach. If I am to be saved from myself, only my Savior Jesus Christ can save me.  The Lord has granted me vision to see beyond into what is happening beyond the realms of human sight.  I see what God longs to do.  He only awaits a group of believers who also long to receive it.  “Your” sons and “your” daughters will prophesy.  “Your” children, not the children of strangers, but your own.  Are you ready for that?  Will you hear the word of God they utter, or will you close yourself off to it, affirming the age old adage the prophet receives no glory in his own home.  Your young men will see visions.  Your old men will dream dreams.  On MY servants AND on MY handmaidens will I pour out MY Spirit and they will prophesy says our God.  God describes a group of believers beyond any particular church who are ready and longing to receive this outpouring.  Has there ever been more need of these than there is today?

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [verse 20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:”  These signs in the earth have already been in our history.  They could repeat themselves again if the Lord desires, but they are only hallmarks to point us back to readiness.  Not because we make ourselves ready, but that we would allow the Holy Spirit to make us ready.  God is looking for all of us.  God is longing for as many of us as will turn our hearts back to Him and long for Him in return.  Now!  During the time in our history when the ministry for this earth has changed.  We have moved from a period of investigative judgment to one of the final sealing of the people of God.  The investigation is over.  All that remains is to know who will allow the Lord to seal them before He returns.  The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the oil we have long sought, and the delays are finally coming to an end.  But because we have heard this message before will we ignore it now?  Will we treat it like just another boy crying wolf?  Or will we take it to heart, to our hearts.

Luke continues in verse 21 saying … “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  There it is.  There is the simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  To call upon “His” name.  For that is the only “name” of God we are certain exists in our knowledge.  Time for our prayers to become of singular nature, to ask forgiveness, and beg for the Holy Spirit if begging is what it takes.  Let us not face the end of all things on our own.  Let us face it armed with the Holy Spirit, and transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.  Devoid of sin, not just in action, but in desire, motive, even thought.  That is the kind of transformation that has always been possible, and is possible still.  If you have not found it yet, then join me as we pray in earnest for it, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Let us be of one accord, in this one thing, once more.  Let us shed our denominational labels and cling to the one thing that unites us in Jesus Christ, and in the power of His Spirit to bring us into alignment with Him.  Along the way we will find the truth in His Word that has been there eluding us all the while.  We will come to know what He wants us to know.  But I submit there will be no revelation of truth while our eyes are dimmed by a refusal to follow, or while we cling to the notion it is our will that will somehow save us.

Luke continues as Peter continues his sermon in verse 22 saying … “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: [verse 23] Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: [verse 24] Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”  Peter here gives a summary of the gospel word that has the power to save, to save even you from the desire to sin, let alone from the actions of sin.  Peter then goes back to the scriptures of his day to once again give argument for Jesus Christ.  He does not throw away the Old Testament, but instead embraces the truth of the Old Testament to prove out Jesus Christ, referring back to Joel, and now moving back even farther to David.  

Luke continues in verse 25 saying … “For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: [verse 26] Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: [verse 27] Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. [verse 28] Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. [verse 29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. [verse 30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; [verse 31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”  Peter outlines how David foretold of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  David in this sense was more than patriarch, he was a prophet.

Luke continues in verse 32 saying … “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. [verse 33] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [verse 34] For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, [verse 35] Until I make thy foes thy footstool. [verse 36] Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”  Peter again uses the same texts Jesus used when confronted by Pharisees who asked Him by what authority He spoke in the Temple.  Jesus uses this same story of David’s prophesy for which the Pharisees had no answer how to explain it.  But Peter does.  Now in retrospect Peter is able to use the exact same passages from the author David and the words of Christ to point out how they point to Jesus as the fulfillment of these passages.  And Peter again points out that all the servants of Jesus there, bare witness to these events from ministry, to crucifixion, to resurrection, to ascension.

And in all of this the singular goal of the Holy Spirit is achieved.  Jesus planted the seeds.  Peter becomes a vessel along with all the others in that place.  And the word is spread across the hearts of every person there.  It is undeniable.  And its impact and effects unmistakable.  This is what God wants for you and I in the here and now.  Luke continues in verse 37 saying … “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? [verse 38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [verse 39] For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. [verse 40] And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. [verse 41] Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

This sermon of Peter was meant for you, not just them as some sort of history lesson.  The effect of the Holy Spirit was “prick them in their hearts”, that is the recognition of our sins, and our guilt in embracing our sins.  That is the first thing the Holy Spirit does, convict us of what we need to lose.  And you will notice it is the heart that is the mechanism, or the field if you will, through which the Holy Spirit enters.  They respond as I hope you and I do asking – what shall we do?.  The answer is “repent”.  Then be baptized literally every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.  Notice not just forgiveness of sins (that is implied), but for the remission or the removal of sins from your life, from your hands and feet, mind and heart.  That is the work of transformation only Jesus promises to perform within you.  And we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit promised to each and all of us tp accomplish that work.  For the promise is UNTO YOU, and to YOUR children, to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God SHALL CALL.  That call is going out right now.  That call goes out in this text, but more importantly it goes out to your heart from the same Jesus you know so much about.  They gladly received his words and were baptized and that same day 3000 souls were added to his kingdom.

But more importantly than that precious harvest back then, is the harvest of one more, of you, of me.  Let us turn our hearts towards Jesus, let us too repent of our sins, of who we have become, and seek His baptism by the fire of the Holy Spirit.  Let us be transformed not by what we think to do, or try to do, but by the power of His love to make us new, here and now.  In mind and heart let us allow the Holy Spirit to make us One with our God and Lord Jesus Christ.  For it is only Jesus that has ever made us this offer, this promise.  There is no other way to the Father but through Jesus Christ.  And the power of the Holy Spirit is meant to make the gospel of Jesus Christ real in our hearts and minds, and be one with us as we face the end of all things.  Only then will our actions flow from our hearts, aligned with God, one with Him in the redemptive ministry to our world in these last few hours.  The nature of the ministry for our world has changed.  It has entered its final stage.  What will you do with what time you have left?  As for me and my house, clinging to the name and grace of Jesus Christ, we will serve the Lord …

 

The Word Must Spread [part 1 of 2] ...

How would we as a community of believers aspire to a repeat of the “Day of Pentecost”?  If the Gospel is to be spread, across the world, and across our hearts, what might be a recipe for a repetition of the outpouring of Holy Spirit in each of us?  The original event as noted by Dr. Luke in his letter to his friend Theophilus about what we believe and why in the Acts of the Apostles detailed several characteristics that were special about that time; then as they would be now.  First, the small community of believers was in one place.  Perhaps if we aspire to a repeat of the Day of Pentecost in our lifetime we might gain strength from the assembling of ourselves together.  In our day of social media, and tech enablement, we have perhaps become more isolated than we have ever been.  We have the ability to contact anyone, anywhere, and so we do, but our interactions become shorter, and less frequent over time.  We prefer small bursts of communication like twitter or tiktok.  One way communication to boost the self-importance of the sender, awaiting affirmation of such by the likes we receive.  All it takes is a significant pandemic to force isolation for a while, and even when the bulk of danger passes, the perfect storm to teach us to avoid groups is more engrained in our behavior.  Regular assembly with other believers just for joy of fellowship and strengthening of the body seems almost foreign to our thinking.

But our thinking is also perhaps foreign to a repetition of the Day of Pentecost in our lives.  Notice how Dr. Luke records the start of the conditions in Acts chapter 2 in verse 1 saying … “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”  As noted above the small community of believers was in one place.  Notice that perhaps proximity brought about unity of purpose.  In order to get along with a group of people you may find yourself becoming more patient, more tolerant of those different from yourself.  It may not mean you agree with everyone else, but to keep peace, you may find yourself being more quiet about your disagreements, and find yourself looking for the common ground you can both enjoy.  It takes humility to do that.  It takes a different kind of strength of character, not to compromise your values, but to consider the opinions and well being of a group ahead of the need to convert everyone else in that group to “your” way of thinking.  When your home and alone, you need zero humility to get along with yourself.  And getting along in your family group may also require less humility from you than doing it with a wider audience, whose beliefs, or values, you have little insight into.  In short, it is easier to be a good listener in a group of people, than to try to carry the conversation from exclusively your point of view.

Imagine too for a moment what effect isolation has on your perceptions of who Jesus is.  Being alone leaves you experiencing Jesus from just your point-of-view.  That perception can become very dominant as in your solitude, you never hear about how Jesus interacts with others, and perhaps what they have learned from that interaction.  It takes humility to stop talking and start listening to someone else describe their own interactions with Jesus.  And you will likely find they are radically different from your own.  In fact, each person you encounter is likely to have a different experience from yours, a unique one based on the needs of that person doing the sharing.  But there are also common threads there.  And there is joy in the discovery that each profile of Jesus you encounter may lead you to new wisdom, and deeper understandings of the love of Jesus you never considered before. 

Those perceptions do not exist in your point-of-view, they only can be found in the testimony of others.  To become of “one accord” we each need that testimony of the others in the group of believers.  Without shared experiences we just remain isolated individuals not ready for the outpouring we seek.  It is not only the victory stories we need to hear from each other, it is some of the failures as well.  Not to glorify the failures, but instead to provide strength to each other by listening, praying for each other, and sharing what we may have experienced with similar problems in our past.  Coming to truly rely on each other for encouragement is a hallmark of being of one accord as well.  You will note, this has yet to be a discussion about doctrine, or core beliefs – but Jesus is the common thread we should all be able to get behind no matter what denomination we carry on our sleeves.

Finally, one more small detail Luke points out to us in that first verse.  Luke notes when “the Day of Pentecost was fully come” that description may well imply that before the larger event, there was perhaps a series of smaller ones leading to the big one.  This is how I would read the word “fully”.  Just like our experiences with Jesus that grow over time, perhaps too, our experiences with the Comforter may also be of a growing nature.  In our aspirations of repeating the Day of Pentecost in our lives we might take this idea of a growing exposure to heart and realize it may not be just like a huge blast of water out of a firehose, but perhaps more likely starting as a trickle of water that increases slowly in volume, pressure, and speed – allowing us time to learn how to absorb it.  Looking for that “one and done” version of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit may not be what Jesus and the Spirit have in mind for any of us.  But instead they may be looking for us to develop a yearning for the Holy Spirit that grows in our hearts every day until His impact in our lives is clear and unmistakable.

Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [verse 3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. [verse 4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  Then it happens and you will notice Luke is careful to point out that it happens to every single person in that assembly.  Not just the disciples, or apostles, or just the men, but to every single person there.  Everyone hears the sound of a mighty rushing wind.  And everyone sees the cloven tongues of fire appear over the heads of everyone else.  They were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost.  And they began to speak in foreign languages, that is to say, languages from regions they had likely never been to, let alone learned in their simple lives.  But here is the big kicker.  They ONLY said, what the Spirit gave them utterance to say.  This was not a flea market of people just gabbing in small talk.  This was an assembly of brand new evangelists freshly minted by the Holy Spirit Himself.  The word of Jesus must be spread across the world, how better than to preach to everyone so they could understand it.

And the lesson for us … are we ready to shut up, and then say only what the Holy Spirit gives us utterance to say.  Quit preaching, quit lecturing, quit talking, and just be quiet until God wants to speak thru us.  Perhaps what God needs is NOT for us to condemn some sin sick soul with what we see is clearly against the precepts of the Bible.  Perhaps instead the message was to be more like the writing in the sand that Jesus did when presented with someone clearly caught in the act of sin.  Jesus did not excuse the sin, or make light of it.  But He also did not discuss it or use it to condemn her.  Instead, He forgave her and freed her from this in her life going forward.  You cannot do that for anyone else, but you can LOVE them and LIVE your own life in such a way free from sin, that they might look at you and want to know how you do it?  In that simple question comes the pointing to Jesus to relieve every pain and sin in their lives.  To start them on a course that will see them free from the very thing you were ready to condemn them for only moments ago.  But instead, you shut up, and let God say thru you what He wants to say.  And in so doing you become partner in His work of salvation for the lost, including yourself.

And if everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit on that day, then that means everyone will be a witness of His power, His glory and His love.  Not just the young, but the old as well.  Not just the men, but the women as well.  Each one an equal messenger, yet each one used uniquely according to His good will.  And if the Holy Spirit has decided who He will use in the ministry of God, who are we to reject the vessel because we just don’t like them, or think that role belongs to that kind of person?  If your 5-year-old begins preaching to you from the Holy Spirit, perhaps you should quiet yourself and listen to what God has to say, and get past that part it is coming out of the mouth of your 5-year-old child.  And if the woman of ill repute begins testifying from the Holy Spirit, perhaps you should get over how she is dressed, and focus more on what she is saying.  Are you ready to ignore the word of God because it is coming from a package you know to have had sin in her life?  Who among us has lived a sinless life outside of Jesus?  It is not the package of the word that counts, it is the truth of the word from God meant for you to hear.

The word must spread.  Not only to others but to us.  Not only as mission in the fields, but as mission in our hearts and minds, in order to see us transformed by the singular power of Jesus Christ.  What happened on the Day of Pentecost was not just for the sake of the show.  It was not just the precursor to Barnum and Baily circus, it was done for a specific reason with a specific outcome in mind.  This was not just gibberish, it was clear language heard clearly by the recipients each in their own native tongues.  Luke continues in verse 5 saying … “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. [verse 6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. [verse 7] And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? [verse 8] And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?”  And here is the miracle.  Everyone heard the gospel, the word of Jesus Christ, the story of Jesus, each man in his own native language.  Again, this was not just some small talk you might hear at a party, this was a message from God with intent.  The miracle only brought the power of the delivery home to the listeners.

Luke then takes the time list out at least 15 distinct languages spoken on that day, probably more as some of the regions listed (like Mesopotamia for example) had more than one language spoken across that region.  Rest assured if the dialect was listed, there were listeners there from that area, who needed to hear the word of God.  Luke continues in verse 9 saying … “Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, [verse 10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, [verse 11] Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. [verse 12] And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?”  This audience was intended for the devout worshippers who had come to Jerusalem from nearly every corner of the world at that time.  They would go home with this message and this miracle fresh on their minds, and word would be carried everywhere, all from just one single encounter.  Would God it were so in our minds and hearts.  Would that we too would accept the word of Jesus in our hearts so deeply we let Him completely change in us, whatever He sees fit to change, holding nothing or no one back from His tender mercies.

But then as now, there are always those who see the miracle, and have to find some other explanation for it.  Someone is healed, and they credit the medicine, the doctors, the surgeries, and never once consider they prayers offered on their behalf.  Someone gets the job they long for, and they think their resume must have been more effective, and the interview must have gone well, and they must have just done a real good job.  Never once do they consider the prayers sent up on their behalf.  Many credit “intentions” as if the world can be molded to the power of our will because we will it so.  Yet those same people living the life of blessings do not acknowledge the prayers said for them by loving parents and believers who refuse to leave them to the errors of their thinking.  In a contest between intentions and the love of God, who do you believe wins?  Yet some refuse to see what is right in front of them.

Luke continues in verse 13 saying … “Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. [verse 14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: [verse 15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.”  Up to now it has been the sound of many witnesses speaking.  But now Peter takes the lead to debunk this non-sensible accusation.  The believers are not drunk as it is only 9am.  That is just common sense.  And find me a drunk person who speaks better, let alone in another language.  Also find me a drunk person who clearly articulates the word of God so as to draw people to the story of Jesus with the power of Holy Spirit.  These words had their intended effect, they converted many.  Not many drunks to take that kind of credit either.

But there is more to say on this event …

 

The End of Roe; and 5 Virgins start scrambling ...

[Spoiler Alert]  This will have nothing to do with sex:  But it will have everything to do with a beginning of the time you have left.  Something has changed in America.  No, not the obvious change our conservative supreme court enacted in the decision to punt abortion regulation back to the states.  “That” was merely a symptom.  The underlying causation is far more dangerous and marks the falling of the first domino, or perhaps better stated a “change” in the ministry of our world, from casual to desperate.  The ending of Roe v. Wade sends the first salvo in an effort to “reclaim” our “Christian” country, not by the supremacy of ideology, but by the power of the state.  Going forward, “laws” will be the tool we rely on to urge the populous into conformity with a morality the church deems as needed.  Unfortunately, it is not the witness of the lives of Christians who seem as bound to sin as unbelievers that could accomplish the lure of love Jesus intended.  Instead, Christians are determined to just accept themselves as they are, warts, sins, and all, and instead of aspiring for perfection, we intend to legislate it.

What will happen next:  Abortion has long been a topic Christians across all faiths have considered morally wrong, at least at some point in the process of pregnancy.  Now that abortion rights are in recession, or at least seem bound to fade from our society even if slowly but surely, there are other topics the Christian community seems equally unhappy with as well.  Gay marriage, Trans rights, and the absence of prayer in public school to name a few.  Christians may foster ideas of equality, but they are tired of a Hollywood-based-agenda that seems to negate all Christian values in order to promote “equality” as if it is a zero-sum game.  Especially where it comes to what our children are exposed to, and when; parents in the church seem hyper-vigilant to eliminate an “agenda” that is at odds with the ideals our Lord enumerated in scripture.  And there is commonality to how Christians feels about these topics across the breath of different denominations holding the name of Christ.

Given this general common agreement, and a general feeling that “the church” has long been persecuted by “the worldly influences” in government, the time to “reclaim” our country has officially begun.  What you will see happen next is not so hard to deduce.  Rights of groups that disagree with biblical prescriptions will be rolled back to better align with the Bible.  And as this effort begins you will be hard pressed to find a single Christian who will speak out against it.  In our hearts we know what the Bible prescribes is a better way to live, even if in our practice we continue to come up short.  So perhaps we will attempt to use laws to bring back our ideas of equality where it comes to the Christian lifestyle.  As if making something a law in any way changes the desires of the heart, only Jesus can do that.  But as these prior errant granting of rights like gay marriage, trans rights, etc. begin to recede, Christians will only become more emboldened to continue on this highway.  Wanting to take on more and more.  Include more and more.  Until finally the divisions between denominations begin to emerge and only large topical areas like Sunday laws are the only fields left for legislation.

Seventh Day Adventists have long predicted the close of probation in the ministry of the United States would end at the signing of laws promoting Sunday worship, at the exclusion of Saturday worship upon pain of death.  And everyone in modern society looks at the SDA doctrine and laughs out loud.  How, in this country, with all the freedoms we enjoy, could that ever come about?  It does not begin with “what day to worship on” legislation, but it does end there.  And the removal of Roe is the first domino in the process.  For that “teaches” the American public to accept the ideas of legislating morality.  When gay rights decline, and prayer comes back to public school, and our country looks more “Christian” (in statute if not in practice) than it ever has; the hunger for more will only increase.  The speed, and breathe of topics to be legislated, will only be limited by the imaginations of what believers think we “need” to get back to being a Christian nation.  All the while becoming more accepting and complacent to the idea of legislating morality even if at the cost of our freedoms.  Our reliance on these laws will replace our reliance on Jesus for true reform, and believers will become even more complacent, and tolerant of the sins they embrace and foster.

Enter 5 Virgins Scrambling:  There is nothing that can be done to prevent this from happening.  There is no hope in prolonging our historical ways of separating church and state any longer.  That bell has already been rung, and it will not be un-rung.  For hope to be found it must be found in looking in another place.  All of these events herald the finality of the end of days, the end of time, perhaps even the end of the church as we know it.  What matters now is our singular defense, predicted by our Lord nearly 2000 years ago.  Jesus told us of a parable of 5 wise virgins, and 5 foolish.  The wise had enough oil already accumulated to last the through the delay in our Lord’s return.  The foolish were left scrambling at the end, to try to find oil when no oil was there to be found.  If we consider the Holy Spirit to be our oil in this parable, and our prayers the method of asking for it.  The time to ask has never been more important than it is today.  The surrender we make of ourselves to Jesus, of our desires, our thoughts, our decisions, in order for Him to transform us and make us “truly holy” is our only defense in the end of all things.  And asking for these things is no “one and done” event, it is a daily process that must begin now if it is ever to begin at all.

At the close of probation for the United States, there will be a final declaration made in Heaven, that “it is finished, let He who is Holy be Holy still, and let he who is unholy be unholy still”.  The release of the angels holding back the 4 winds will be set loose.  Satan will be given full control of our world, and only those sealed by God will be beyond Satan’s reach.  In short there will be no more Holy Spirit to find for those who have not already found Him.  There will be no more time for transformation to be made.  There will be only two classes of people in that day, those who have the love of Jesus and live naturally according to His precepts, and those who are filled with hate at all who disagree with them, screaming for the death of any who dissent.  It is perhaps more ironic that as in the days of Christ, when the church of Jesus’ day was the one screaming for his death; it will now be the Christian church who begins this same dissent into madness and lust for control, and the church eventually becomes the most avid proponent for pursuing death for any who disagree with it.  New penalties will be introduced to moral legislation to end the lives of those who believe differently.  Worship will have become a mandate of the state.

What can you do in all of this?  The answer depends upon who you have determined to be.  You can be one of the Christian faith who thinks this is all frankly a good idea.  These 5 foolish virgins will just go along with what is happening, not noticing the signs of the end, or even agreeing that they are signs indeed.  The end of this path is not the one you think it to be.  Right now, while Satan is still held in check, and we are not yet at the end of the road; you cannot imagine yourself calling for the death of those who disagree with you.  That is as far from you as night and day.  But the slide to that end is certain.  The 5 wise virgins is the other path to choose.  To begin right now with surrender of your life to Jesus in a way that allows Jesus to root the sin from out of you, down to the desires you hold to keep sinning.  To allow Jesus to change your choices, your desires, your very thoughts.  To pray daily, to pray continually, asking for the Holy Spirit to fall over your life.  Ask and you shall be given, seek and you will find.  These promises are not idle, they are real, as real as Jesus is.

The next dominos are already beginning to fall:  Clarence Thomas in his opinion on Roe, declared it is the “duty” of the supreme court to revisit past bad decisions such as gay marriage and contraception.  And the Monday following the Friday of Roe the supreme court reversed a position for the football coach who wanted to pray after football games on the 50 yard line.  News outlets have already dubbed that case a reversal on the separation of church and state.  The signs appear to be falling already in rapid succession.  All that is left for you to decide as a believer is what kind of virgin you will be?  Will you turn away from these signs and/or nod in agreement; or will you face this and begin a regimen of pleading for transformation now, and asking for the Holy Spirit every day of your life.  What you do will decide your fate.  The time to secure the precious oil of Jesus parable is fast coming to an end.  As for me, I still tremble at the coming declaration of Holy or unholy still.  My transformation has begun, but I am anxious to reach the end of it as I know I am not there yet.  So I trust to my Jesus to save me to the uttermost, and I try to daily remember to ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon me and my family.  I fear there is no other way.  And given what I have seen, I fear there is little time left to see it completed …