Five-Fold Today

Christian Intolerance Today - Acknowledge Me As Lord - It Is Time To Be Prepared - The War Is On For the Millennial Generation

January 31st, 2011

Christian Intolerance Today

Alf Hutchison

'Religious intolerance is defined as being so attached to one's own belief as to be hostile to all others'.

Matt 10:15 "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

    In this passage of scripture Jesus is preparing His disciples to go out and spread the good news, but warns them that many of the towns they visit will be very intolerant of the message of salvation which they are the bearers of.   

10:16  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

10:17 "But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

10:18 "You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.

10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;

10:20 "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

 

   Jesus warns them of what they can expect when they evangelize the non believers, then Jesus makes a remarkable statement of what it will be like in the days just before His return, of what will happen amongst Christian believers.

 

10:21 "Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

10:22 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

10:23 "When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Intolerance has reached epidemic proportions in the Church today and what is intolerance, but a lack of brotherly love. "Now brother will deliver up brother to death. Ireland is a great example of Christian intolerance, but sadly it is not the only example, we have intolerance between Protestant believers today over contentious issues, like 'Which day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday? Is there a Heaven and a Hell? Should we celebrate Christmas and Easter?'

 But as the day of our Lord's return draws ever nearer, and 'prophetic seers' are looking into their eschatological crystal balls we probably face the greatest example of Christian intolerance of all; and it surrounds the theory of the so called 'Rapture' and it's timing.

1 Thes 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.  

 The dispensationalist view of when, where to, and why this event will take place, and who will be there and who will not, has put brothers and sisters in Christ into opposing camps, with swords drawn!. It has absolutely zero to do with our salvation issue; it has to do primarily with when this event described by Paul, to those at Thessalonica, will actually take place either pre, mid or post tribulation; and this all depends upon whether they are correct in their assumption that the 'seventh week of Daniel' will in fact be the time of great tribulation talked about by Jesus

Matt 24:21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  

If we don't have tolerance on these issues of doctrine, then we would have lost the most precious Holy Spirit gift of all. LOVE

Do you think that we are living in the 'last days,' just before the return of Jesus Christ? Will He find LOVE in you?  

Yours In His Name

Alf Hutchison

info@obadiahoutreach.org

Acknowledge Me As Lord

Ian Ross

"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:6

   "I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father." -- John 5:30

   "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure."  -- Phil 2:13

I have given all that I can give for you, My children, and you owe everything you have to Me. I have given you life and peace, and there is nothing good that I will not give you. But I am calling you to acknowledge Me as Lord.

My ways are above all things, and I am calling you to acknowledge that you need Me, more than the very breath you breathe. Your life is in My hands and I have a plan for you, but the foundation of that plan is that you trust Me and honor Me above all else.

I am with you, this day and forever. I am watching over you because I love you and because I am tender-hearted towards you. I know the way that you take, your rising up and your lying down, and there is nothing that escapes My attention concerning you. I have good things in mind for you, to give you hope and a future, for My love for you is secure.

Surrender your ways to Me, and receive My will for you; for there is no other worthy of your love and your life. Then I will guide you into green pastures and give you rest for your soul. And you will know My blessing and My peace, and everything I give you will be My gift to you.

I am calling you to total surrender to My will, for only in that will you completely find Me.

ian.ross@telkomsa.net

It Is Time To Be Prepared

Stephen Hanson

31 My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

 33 “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.’  Ezekiel 33

"Look inward and see what you find this day.  Do you see someone who is filled with my spirit, or are you dead? For much of the world is dead to my spirit, says the Lord.  There is none righteous.  For everyone has gone their own way. Who is the one who longs to please me?  Who is the one who would forsake their own way?   As Jeremiah said, 'All your righteousness is as filthy rags.'

You long to hear beautiful words from the prophets and teachers of this world.  You want to be told that things are OK.  Then go ahead and listen to them and be lulled to sleep; be lulled to sleep by a dream.  Do you want "feel good" words, or do you want words that speak the truth in love?

Do you think that my prophets of old were always accepted?  Were they always warmly welcomed?  They were thrown out of town. They were banished.  They were rejected.  But they were fed by my spirit.  They were given bread and water by the streams in the desert.  So again I ask you:  'Do you want to be lulled to sleep by a piper who sings beautiful songs or do you want the truth spoken from the lips from someone who knows me?

I have warned you about the things that are to come. I have told you about these things in my word.  They are clearly written down. A wise son prepares for winter, and even the animals in nature know when it is time to prepare for the cold months ahead.   So it is not a matter of being captivated by doom and gloom that one would speak of these things, but rather, it would be in preparation.   It is time to get your house in order.  It is time to look in all the hidden areas of your life. It is time to let me clean them out.   But it is also time to prepare for the difficulties that lie ahead.  It is time to fortify your walls.  It is time to be prepared for the onslaughts of the enemy.  It is time to inspect the walls and see if there are any gaps there. "

Stephen Hanson

http://www.angelfire.com/in/HisTruth

The War Is On For the Millennial Generation

-by J. Lee Grady

I know the battle I faced as a teenager. Today´s younger generation faces something more challenging.

It wasn´t easy for a guy to find pornography when I was a teenager. I remember giving into the temptation to buy a Hustler magazine when I was in high school. Inside the drug store I paced back and forth near the magazine rack for at least half an hour. My palms were sweaty. My heart was racing. I finally walked to the front of the store, put the magazine face down on the counter and avoided eye contact with the clerk as I forked over the cash.

I grew bolder in my sin when I graduated from high school. When I turned 18, I went to downtown Atlanta to visit an “adult bookstore’ (a strange label, really, since the men who frequented these seedy establishments did not act like mature adults). In 1976, anyone who wanted to see hard-core porn had to visit these awful places with garish signs and painted-over windows.

As I pulled into the tiny parking lot off of Ponce de Leon Avenue, the heart palpitations returned. I rushed inside the shop with my head down so no one would see me on the street. Then, when I saw the graphic images on the magazines that lined the wall, I almost fainted from a combination of adrenaline, fear, nausea and guilt. I bought a thin magazine that didn´t cost much and literally ran out of that place.

As I was leaving I caught a glimpse of a bumper sticker I had put on my car a few months earlier, in response to some decisions I had made in a Baptist youth meeting. It said: “THE DIFFERENCE IN ME IS JESUS.’ Suddenly I felt even sicker to my stomach. I was already convicted of my sexual sin; now I realized I was a hypocrite. All I wanted to do was get out of there. Before the night was over, the magazine I bought was in the trash and I felt miserable.

A few days later, while I was mowing my yard on a hot July day, I began to think about a Bible verse I had heard in church many times. I didn´t know the reference, but I was able to paraphrase it in my mind. It said: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it’ (Matt. 7:13-14, NASB).

I had never experienced a vision before, but at that moment I could see a fork in the road in front of me. I knew I was approaching a crossroads. I could either be a committed Christian, or I could choose a life of compromise. God was showing me that I needed to choose the narrow way before I took any more steps in the wrong direction. I was hit by a terrifying sense of the fear of God, but I also recognized this as His protective love. Within a few days I had surrendered my life to the lordship of Christ.

I shared this embarrassing story last week when I spoke to a group of students at a Christian college in north Georgia. I knew many of them were at a spiritual crossroads. I also knew that in today´s cybersex world, they don´t have to go to drug stores or adult bookstores to see porn. The voice that lured me to downtown Atlanta in 1976 has become more brazen and aggressive today, making porn available 24/7—on the Web, TV and even phones.

Young people today—the so-called Millennial Generation—are continually assaulted by temptations that kids didn´t face in the 1970s. The war for a generation is on—and it is intense. Families are in shambles. Many kids are fatherless. Media has entirely rewritten our moral values in a few short years. Casual sex is considered a`normal pastime for 14-year-olds. And many teenagers today haven´t been exposed to the gospel, so chances are slim that they might remember a Bible verse from childhood or feel the sting of guilt like I did years ago.

That´s why I´m devoting time this month to prayer for a spiritual awakening to touch the younger generation. The devil has claimed today´s youth, but the same God who averted disaster in my life can do it in theirs. As you thank Jesus for the grace He´s shown you, please ask Him to extend it to the millions of Millennials who are following the crowd down the wrong road.

http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/fire-in-my-bones/29961

fwd: http://www.JohntheBaptistTV.com/

Five-Fold Today Archives



The Lord has given Christians the grace to reconcile the children to their Fathers

As One Body

  • We prepare for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
  • Harvest the Fruit of the Latter Rain
  • Follow Him as the Army of the Lord into His Glory

Help To Prepare A Holy Bride!

Issue Oriented Discussion Newsletter

Index | Search This Site | Aristide.Org | The Latter Rain | Babylon the Great | The Kingdom | The Nicolaitans | Jezebel
The Baptism With the Holy Ghost | The Grand Delusion | World Trade Org | Liberation Theology | Jay Atkinson | Alphabetical Index



jay@latter-rain.com