Revival Times 7

Useful Resources

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ISSUE: 07

In this section are a number of websites which can help inspire you to to seek the Lord in effective praying and in getting out there doing as well. As always, JESUS CHRIST is our greatest example and the one to whom we must compare ourselves and obey. The greatest resource is the Bible itself, so please spend your main study time in the Word of God, preferably the King James Version!

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Websites: www.omega-ministries.org www.biblegateway.com www.biblehub.com www.spurgeongems.org www.heartcrymissionary.com www.propheticvision.org.uk www.eurovisiontv.org www.thelastreformation.com www.propheticalert.net www.biblearchaeology.org www.fwponline.cc www.creation.com www.refornation.eu

Free material to download, booklets and tracts.

Online Bible versions for comparison Online Bible versions and Greek / Hebrew Lexicon and Interlinear Powerful messages from one of the great preachers of the 19th Century Equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries David Hathaway evangelistic website - recommended!

Revival preaching broadcasts to the world- David Hathaway Join the network of believers who want to see power evangelism Insights into current affairs and how to avoid deception A useful site for the latest in Biblical related finds A good source for some of the best Wesleyan texts and comment The best resource for creation material and news The Kingdom teaching of Wolfgang Simson will refresh your vision

If you have been blessed by anything in this magazine please be as generous as you can to any of these good Christian ministries to the poor and needy: www.bhct.org.uk The Beachy Head Chaplaincy - on mission to prevent suicides www.matthew25mission.org Helping feed the wandering and homeless in Eastbourne UK www.opendoorsuk.org Supporting outreach globally and supporting Christians in persecution www.teenchallenge.org.uk Helping people escape the problems of drugs and addiction www.capuk.org Christians Against Poverty, bringing the good news to the poor in UK hopenow.org.uk Working with Orphans in the Ukraine The way we practice and experience “church.”

Are we off by about 180 degrees?

The training of young men to be ministers.

Is our present practice more rooted in paganism?

Is there a better higher way to go about practising the entire Christian faith than is presently known?

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

What if you found out that nothing we Protestants practice originated in the first century?

What if you found out that almost all of the things we evangelicals practice originated in the last 500 years?

This book could make a radical out of you. For a few, it might even move you BEYOND RADICAL.

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

JESUS CHRIST

SEATED IN HEAVEN “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” Hebrews 8:1 aul the Pharisee probably never met Jesus of Nazareth as he was preaching in Israel during his brief 3.5 year ministry.

S

heaven once his mission was accomplished (John 3:13; 6:38; 13:3; 17:5; Luke 9:31 ). Jesus did accomplish his mission, to bring salvation to Israel and to the nations.

Sure he probably heard of him and how he died, because as Saul he actively opposed the first believers, seen approving of Stephen’s stoning. It was on that very occasion Stephen declared that he could see Jesus at the right hand of the Father in heaven above! (Acts 7:56-8:3).

This caused the Jews to react violently, because for them such a statement was considered blasphemy, as they believed no-one can see God and live.

But without a doubt Stephen did see Jesus (the Son of man) standing at the right hand of God confirming the truth that Jesus had indeed ascended into the invisible heavenly realm, approximately 3.5 years earlier (Acts 1:10-11). Jesus himself had always said that he came from heaven and was going back to

Where is Jesus?

Jesus is now seated in heaven on the throne of authority, which is where he came from, having now overcome sin and death on our behalf mediating for us as a man and priest (Heb 7:26).

This is the core of the good news message of the Kingdom, once we were slaves to sin and Satan’s kingdom of darkness, but by faith (confession & baptism) in the redemptive work completed

by Jesus Christ (Messiah) we are made a new creation freed and separated by his Spirit to be a son of the ‘heavenly kingdom’ where he now reigns (Rev 3:21). The book of Hebrews best explains this incredible paradox.

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From

henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

(Hebrews 10:12-17 KJV) Make no mistake this Covenant is truly NEW and not the old covenant renewed, because Jesus has become the all in all. He has fulfilled all the prophecies and laws that needed to be completed, not for his sake, but for ours. It is our belief and faith in this work which enables us to receive forgiveness of our sins and iniquities and not by any works we can do. This is the Gospel of Grace who’s mystery was revealed to us through the preaching of Christ crucified and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. At that glorious moment of conversion and transformation continued on page 3

INSIDE A Message for our times Part 6 • The Fear of God • Jerusalem Discoveries • The Form of Godliness & more...

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ISSUE: 01

Revival – God’s Way Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Revival times is a FREE publication offered to those who want to be encouraged and built up to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord God and saviour. It is published

by Omega Ministries which is a non-denominational prophetic movement of believers who want to see the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Please send all enquiries or questions to the email address given below.

We recognise all material copyrights and thank God that all contributors take no wages for their work of faith in order to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to revive his true church in our day.

All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible and or Greek and Hebrew, where appropriate, for clarity.

This paper and other teaching material is offered online for downloading and printing free of charge.

If you are inspired by the content of this paper please pass on to brothers and sisters for their encouragement.

Revival is a long lost concept in our modern society because the true Gospel has been perverted, watered down and twisted for personal gain by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Enough is enough and now the sleepers must awake from their spiritual stupor. The dead dry bones must live and the faithful army of the Lord arise and shine the beauty of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

The Call Has Gone Out Soldiers of Christ, arise And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His eternal Son; Strong in Lord of hosts And in His mighty power: Who in the strength of Jesus trusts Is more than conqueror They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Editor: Stephen Turnham © please copy and pass on Download the PDF here: www.omega-ministries.org email: info@omega-ministries.org

PAGE 2 REVIVAL TIMES

Where is the hope for Revival— God’s Holy Spirit outpoured Convicting of sin, and of judgement And righteousness of the Lord?

When nothing else is important— Only God’s presence Divine, When Christians quit worldly pleasures, Then God, His ear will incline.

Desperate prayer for Revival Will cleanse the Church by the Word.

Then clothed in spotless, white linen, The Bride clears the way for her Lord.

Prayer is the key to Revival, Prayer that is true Spirit-born, Nights of compassionate weeping— Intercession for all the forlorn.

Then will the burdens be lifted, Then all the sinners will cry, Then all the chains will be loosened And worldly passions will die.

The lost ones will yield to God’s Spirit When Christians, cleansed, weep and pray; God’s Living Water flows outward; This is “Revival—God’s Way”!

—Estelle Gifford Jackson FIRST THOUGHTS How Luther’s lips must at first have trembled when he ventured to say that the Pope was Antichrist! Why, Man, how can you dare to say such a thing? Millions bow down before him! He is the vicar of God on earth! Do they not worship our Lord God the Pope? “Yet he is Antichrist and a very devil,” said Luther. And at first he must have felt his ears burn and his cheeks grow red at such a piece of apparent wickedness. And when he found himself shunned by the ecclesiastics who once had courted Doctor Martin Luther’s company, think of what emptiness he must have felt!. Charles Hadden Spurgeon #601 1860

true seems inevitable in this life– however carefully we choose our company.

My next is a word of discrimination. Those to whom my text has nothing to say will be the first to take it home to themselves.

When I discharge my heart with a faithful sermon, certain trembling souls whom I would gladly comfort are sure to think that I mean them. A poor woman, in deep distress, comes to me, crying, “Sir, I have no feeling.”

Dear heart, she has ten times too much feeling. Another moans out, “I am sure I am a hypocrite.”

I never met with a hypocrite who thought himself one. And I never shall.

“Oh,” said another, “I feel condemned.” He that feels himself condemned may hope for pardon. If you are afraid of yourselves I am not afraid of you. If you tremble at God’s Word, you have one of the surest marks of God’s elect. Those who fear that they are mistaken are seldom mistaken. If you search yourselves and allow the Word of God to search you, it is well with you. The bankrupt trader fears to have his books examined.

The sound man even pays an

accountant to overhaul his affairs.

Use discrimination and neither acquit nor condemn yourself without reason.

If the Spirit of God leads you to weep in secret for sin and to pray in secret for Divine Grace. If He leads you to seek after holiness.

If He leads you to trust alone in Jesus, then you know the power of godliness and you have never denied it. You who cry, “Oh, that I felt more of the power of the Holy Spirit, for I know that He could comfort and sanctify me and make me live the life of Heaven on earth!” You are not aimed at either by the text or the sermon. For you have not denied the power. No, no, this text does not belong to you but to quite another class of people.

Let me give you a word of admonition. Learn from the text that there is something in godliness worth having. The “form” of godliness is not all— there is a blessed “power.” The Holy Spirit is that power and He can work in you to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.

Come to Jesus Christ, dear Souls.

Do not come to the minister, nor to the Church, in the first place.

But come to Jesus. Come and lay yourselves at His feet and say, “Lord, I will not be comforted unless You comfort me.” Come and take everything at first hand from your crucified Lord. Then shall you know the power of godliness.

Beware of second-hand religion, it is never worth the carrying home. Get your godliness direct from Heaven by the personal dealing of your own soul with your Saviour. Profess only what you possess and rest only in that which has been given you from above. Your heavenly life, as yet, may be very feeble but the grain of mustard seed will grow. You may be the least in Israel but that is better than being the greatest in Babylon.

The Lord bless these words and apply them to each one in his own way by His Holy Spirit.

You can make either a blister of them or a plaster of them, as conscience shall direct. God guide you, for Jesus Christ’s sake.

Amen.

Adapted from The C.H. Spurgeon Collection

The Last Word After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendour. With a mighty voice he shouted:

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’

She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’

Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

Revelation 18 & Daniel 2

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 23

of godliness must work within, or else God will not accept our offering. There is no value to man or to God in a religion which is a dead form.

Next, there is no use in mere formality. If your religion is without spiritual life, what is the use of it? Could you ride home on a dead horse?

Would you hunt with dead dogs? Would anyone like to go into battle with a pasteboard helmet? When the sword fell on it, what use would such a helmet be? What an outcry has been raised about bad swords! Is false religion any better? In the depth of winter can you warm yourself before a painted fire? Could you dine off the picture of a feast when you are hungry?

There must be vitality and substantiality—or else the form is utterly worthless. And worse than worthless, for it may flatter you into deadly self-conceit.

Moreover, there is no comfort in it. The form without the power has nothing in it to warm the heart, to raise the spirits, or to strengthen the mind against the day of sickness, or in the hour of death.

O God, if my religion has been a mere form, what shall I do in the swelling of Jordan? My fine profession will all disappear and nothing will come of it wherewith I may face the last enemy.

Peter called hypocrites “wells without water.” You are thirsty and you gladly spy a well. It is well surrounded with a curb and provided with a windlass and bucket. You hasten to draw water.

What? Does the bucket come up empty? You try again. How bitter is your disappointment! A well without water is a mockery. It is a mere pit of destruction—a deadly delusion.

Are some of you possessors of a religion which never yields you a drop of comfort? Is it a bondage to you? Do you follow Christ as a slave follows his master? Away with such a religion!

The godliness which is worth having is a joy to a man—it is his choice, his treasure, his all. When it does not yield him conscious

joy, yet he prizes it as the only source from which joy is expected of him. He follows after Christ with love, out of his heart’s desire after Him and not from the force of fashion, or the power of fear.

To have the form of godliness without the power of it is to lack constancy in your religion. You never saw a mirage, perhaps. But those who have travel in the East, when they come home, are sure to tell you about them. It is a very hot and thirsty day and you are riding on a camel. Suddenly there rises before you a beautiful scene.

Just a little from you are brooks of water, flowing between beds of osiers and banks of reeds and rushes. Yonder are palm trees and orange groves. Yes, and a city rises on a hill, crowned with minarets and towers.

You are rejoiced and ask your guide to lead you nearer to the water which glistens in the sun.

He grimly answers, “Take no notice, it is a mirage.

There is nothing yonder but the burning sand.” You can scarce believe him. It seems so real!

But lo, it is all gone, like a dream of night. And so is the hope which is built upon the form of godliness without the power.

The white ants will eat up all the substance of a box and yet leave it standing till a touch causes the whole fabric to fall in dust— beware of a profession of which the substance has been eaten away. Believe in nothing which has not the stamp of eternity upon it.

Be careful, poor Child—you may blow your bubble and the sunlight may paint it with rainbows. But in an instant it is gone and not a trace of it remains. Your transient globe of beauty is for you and your fellow children and not for men.

In reality, this kind of religion is in opposition to Christ. It is Jannes and Jambres over again—the magician of hypocrisy is trying to work miracles which belong to God only. In appearance he would produce the same marvels as the finger of God. But he fails. God grant we may never be guilty of resisting the Truth of God by a

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lying profession. False men do serious injury to true godliness.

For, like Ehud, they come with a pretended message from God and with their dagger sharpened at both edges, they strike vital godliness in its very heart.

Nobody can do so much damage to the Church of God as the man who is within its walls but not within its life.

This nominal godliness, which is devoid of power, is a shameful thing. I close with that. It is a shameful thing for this life, for the Lord Jesus loathes it.

When He passed by the fig tree, which was so early with its leaves but so empty of fruit, He saw therein the likeness of the vainglorious professor who has no real holiness and He said, “Henceforth let no fruit grow on you forever.” His Word withered it at once—it stood a terrible emblem of the end of a false profession.

How shameful will such a fruitless, lifeless professor be in eternity, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed!

What shame and everlasting contempt will await him when his falsehood shall be detected and his baseness shall fill all holy minds with horror! O, beware of the Hell of the false professor!

I have done when I have added a few words of instruction.

The form of godliness is most precious. Let those who feel the power of godliness honour it and use it. Do not despise it because others have damaged it.

Come forth and make an open profession of religion. But see that you have the power of it. Cry to God that you may never wear a sleeve which is longer than your arm—I mean may never go beyond what is really and truly your own. It will be better for you to go to God as a lost soul and cry for mercy, than to profess yourself saved when you are not.

Yet confess Christ without fail or fear. Do not be ashamed of Jesus because of the ill manners of His disciples. Regard the ill savour of false professors as a part of the cross which you will have to bear for your Lord. To be associated with some who are not

continued from cover

we moved from being Gods enemy to his child and a member of Christ himself!

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15 KJV) By this grace from the throne of eternity (heaven) Jesus revives us everyday when we call upon him, so that we might remain humble, contrite and free of the sin and iniquity in the world.

Instead of the earthly tabernacle or temple in Jerusalem our flesh has become the place where he wishes to dwell. If this is not your salvation experience then perhaps you’ve not yet truly received of his indwelling presence. Just as with the natural temple there are clear signs of his presence dwelling in us, what Paul describes as the fruits and supernatural gifts of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:1-12).

When we are born again of his Spirit we have an assurance of his salvation and know that he is our Lord and Saviour.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:15-17 KJV)

Meeting Jesus Paul (Saul) said he was ‘one born out of due time’ by grace (1 Corinthians 15:7-9). He was accosted by Jesus from heaven whilst on his way to Damascus intent on persecuting believers.

Jesus tells him that his actions were equivalent to persecuting him, thus proving that the ‘Body of Christ’ (his church) really is Jesus’ physical body on earth (according to Jesus!). His Spirit dwells in us and WE are his Temple (Acts 9; 1 Corin 6:15).

Normally those who hear the Gospel of salvation preached must choose whether to believe or reject Christ, but Paul had been selected as an example of God’s powerful grace to carry the Gospel to the nations, he was an elected Jew (Rom 9:11). He was

told up front that he would suffer for Christ, because the Kingdom message would offend many religious and political leaders of the day (Acts 9:15).

Paul tells us in his first apostolic letter that after his conversion (Galatians) that he was supernaturally given the mysteries of the Kingdom Gospel.

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it , but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.” (Galatians 1:11-17 KJV) In later letters Paul hints to us how this process of revelation took place: “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.” (2 Corinthians 12:1-5).

Most scholars agree that Paul was speaking of his former self (14 years previous) who was ‘caught up to the third heaven’ to a place which he calls ‘paradise’ (see also Luke 23:43). Here he not only received the revelation of the Gospel, but also saw the glories

of heaven itself (unspeakable words). This experience of Paul is key to understand how revelation comes, because Jesus never came down to Paul, but rather Paul was taken up to Jesus in heaven itself. Scripture teaches that all revelation comes from seeing or hearing the WORD from the throne of heaven.

This was also the experience of the Prophets of old and also of John the apostle (Isaiah 6, 66:1; 1

Kings 22:19; Psalm 11:4, 103:19; Rev 1) all inspired by the Spirit. Jesus

revealed this truth to Peter the disciple, explaining where the revelation of himself came from: “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said,Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 16:15-17)

The source of all life is from the Spirit of God in heaven - he is the Life! That true life is in heaven. The natural carnal mind, deceived by Satan, cannot grasp the reality of this revelation, nor accept it as truth, he sees only the material physical world. For the unsaved mind the only existence is a material one. This is the veil over their eyes (2 Corin 3:14; 4:4).

It is only removed by Christ.

John the baptist (the last old covenant Prophet) prepared the people’s thinking for Christ himself to minister to Israel and deliver the Gospel of the Kingdom of heaven. He knew, without a doubt, that heaven was the source of all things: “And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.” (John 3:26-28)

Beware False Christs Just before Jesus died and returned to heaven (with his risen human body), he pointed REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 3

out that Satan would try to mimic his ministry to deceive naive people and lead them astray, ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ (Matt 7:15). However he insisted that on no occasion will it be him (in disguise!), no matter who or where these imposters claim to come from.

“And he said,Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” (Luke 21:8) “Behold, I have told you before.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matt 24:25-27) Over the last 1,986 years there have been many who have claimed to be ‘Christ’ on earth, usurping the authority of Jesus who is in heaven. These men have literally led millions to perdition through their organisations or politics and potentially doomed them to the second death in the lake of hell fire! (Rev 20:14).

The apostle Paul and all the apostles experienced persecution, but there is no record of anyone claiming to be ‘Christ’ in those early days (as far as we know).

However, they knew of Jesus teaching that imposters would arise as part of Satan’s counter attack against the church. This would not be opposition from Jews, on theological grounds, but rather as an apostasy from within the church itself.

Paul called this person the ‘son of perdition’. This phrase was used deliberately as this imposter(s) would mirror the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the first ‘son of perdition’(John 17:12). This person and those following would allow themselves to be literally possessed by Satan, just as Judas was (Luke 22:3). Satan deceives them into believing that they are indeed Christ on the earth and serving God (John 16:2).

The apostates breath out blasphemies, heresies and laws against the true Gospel and kill

those who follow Jesus at his Word.

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”

(John 17:12)

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple (church) of God, shewing himself that he is God.” ( 1 Thess 2:2-4).

After Paul and all the apostles had died and gone to heaven to be with Jesus the judgement decreed against Israel and Jerusalem was released and Israel was destroyed by Rome in AD 70-135 in several wars (as Jesus had prophesied Matt 24:2).

This was a cataclysmic event of a magnitude never seen in history before or since. Never had a nation been erased from their land. This triggered a series of major events that rippled throughout Europe culminating in the fall of the Roman Empire and the leadership of Rome shifting to the Papacy (Holy Roman Empire).

Here there came the first ‘son of perdition’ who’s pride rose to such a level that he would claim to be ‘Christ on earth’, or the ‘Vicar of Christ’ just as Jesus and Paul had prophesied. This Roman Catholic religion was a spin-off from Pagan religion (Mithraism) and some Christian ideas combined. However, they had fallen from grace back to law, re-establishing priesthood systems and even idol worship! The Papacy still claims infallibility and authority over the earth itself - as if God in the temple! This is the great apostasy of which Jesus and Paul spoke.

This is the anti-Christ cult that has corruption the nations. As proof here are some of the many quotes made by Pope’s over the last 500+ years:

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“The Pope holdeth place on earth, not simply of a man, but of the true God” Pope Innocent III “I am in all, and above all. So that God himself and I, the Vicar of God, hath one consistory and I am able to do almost all that God can do.

I then being above all… seem by this reason, to be above all gods.

Wherefore, be it no marvel if it be in my power to dispense with all things, yea with the precepts of Christ.” Pope Nicholas “I alone am the successor of the apostles, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. I am the way, the truth and the life…”

Pope Pius IX

“The Pope is not simply the representative of Jesus Christ. On the contrary he is Jesus Christ, himself, under the veil of the flesh.

Does the Pope speak, it is Jesus Christ who is speaking. Hence when anyone speaks of the Pope, it is not necessary to examine, but to obey” Pope Pius X

“We declare, say, define and pronounce, that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Pope Boniface XIII “No man outside of obedience to the Pope of Rome can ultimately be saved. All who have raised themselves against the faith of Roman Catholic church, and died in final impenitence have been damned and gone to hell” Pope Clement VI “Into the fold of Jesus Christ not man may enter unless he be led by the sovereign Pontiff and only if the be united with him can men be saved.” Pope Paul XXIII “Don’t go to God for forgiveness of sins, come to me.” Pope John Paul II “There is no hell.” “Jesus made himself the devil.” “The Holy Spirit creates all the differences among the churches, almost as if he were an apostle of Babel” “Inside the Holy Trinity they’re all arguing behind closed doors…but on the outside they give the picture of unity.”

Pope Francis

These blasphemies and many more are written into the constitution and laws of the Vatican and are adopted by every subsequent Pope. Of course the final word on this for now is that the word ‘Pope’ or ‘Papa’ means ‘father’ and Jesus himself continued on page 6

continued from page 14

eternity, so they fancy. And they fold their arms in calm security.

Meeting with godly people, they put on a bold front and speak up as bravely as if they were the true soldiers of King Jesus. Good people are charmed to meet with fresh Brethren and at once take them into their confidence. Thus they deceive others and help to strengthen themselves in their false hope.

They use the choice phrases of earnest Christians. Mixing with them, they pick up their particular expressions and pronounce Shibboleth in the most approved fashion. At last they take the daring step of denying the power. Being without it themselves, they conceive that others are without it, also.

Judging from their own case, they conclude that it is all an affair of words. They get on very well without any supernatural power and others, no doubt, do the same—only they add a little cant to it to please the very godly folk.

They practically deny the power in their lives, so that those who see them and take them for Christians say, “There really is nothing in it. For these people are as we are. They have a touch of paint here and a little varnish there but it is all the same wood.” Practically, their actions assure the world that there is no power in Christianity. It is only a name. Very soon, privately, in their hearts they think it is so and they invent doctrines to match. Looking about them they see inconsistent Christians and faulty Believers and they say to themselves, “There is not much in faith, after all. I am as good as any of these Believers and perhaps better, though I am sure there is no work of the Spirit in me.”

Thus, within their own hearts they believe, what, at first, they dare not speak—they count godliness an empty thing. Byand-by, in some cases, these people profanely deny the Divine power of our holy faith and then they become the greatest enemies of the Cross of Christ.

These traitors, nourished in the

very House of God, are the worst foes of the Truth of God and righteousness. They ridicule that which once they professed to reverence.

They have measured Christ’s corn with their own bushel.

And because they never felt the powers of the world to come, they imagine that no one else has done so either.

Look at the Church of the present day. The advanced school, I mean. In its midst we see preachers who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They talk of the Lord Jesus but they deny His Godhead, which is His power.

They speak of the Holy Spirit but deny His personality, wherein lies His very existence. They take away the substance and power from all the doctrines of Revelation, though they pretend still to believe them. They talk of redemption but they deny substitution, which is the essence of it.

They extol the Scriptures but deny their infallibility, wherein lies their value. They use the phrases of orthodoxy and believe nothing in common with the orthodox. I know not which to loathe the more—their teachings or their spirit—surely they are worthy of each other. They burn the kernel and preserve the husk. They kill the truth and then pretend to reverence its sepulcher—“they say they are Jews and are not but do lie.”

This is horrible, but the evil is widely spread and in the presence of it the children of God are framing compromises, selling their Lord and becoming partakers with the despisers of His Truth. “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” It is the sin of the age—the sin which is ruining the Churches of our land.

II. In the second place, we are to observe THE WICKED FOLLY of this hypocritical conduct.

Those who rest in the mere show of godliness are acting in a shameless manner and I will try to expose it.

First, they degrade the very name of Christ. Brethren, if there is no

spiritual power in godliness, it is worth nothing. We want no clouds without rain. Of shams and mere pretences we have more than enough. Those who have not the power of godliness show us a very damaging picture of religion. They make out our Lord’s religion to be comparable to a show at a country fair, with fine pictures and loud drumming on the outside and nothing within worth a moment’s consideration. The best of the show is on the outside.

Or if there is anything within, it is a masquerade where all act borrowed parts but no one is what he seems to be. Gracious Lord, never suffer us so to act as to make the world think that our Redeemer is nothing more than the clever manager of a theater, where nothing is real but all is pantomime. Brothers and Sisters, if you pray at all, pray God to make you real through and through. May you be made of true metal! It were better for you that you had never been born than that you should make Christ dishonorable among the sons of men by leading them to conclude that religion is all a piece of acting.

The folly of this is illustrated by the fact that there is no value in such a dead form. The form of godliness without the power is not worth the trouble it takes to put it together and keep it together. Imitation jewels are pretty and brilliant. But if you take them to the jeweller he will give you nothing for them. There is a religion which is all paste gems—a godliness which glitters but is not gold. And in that day when you will want to realize something from it, you will be wretchedly disappointed.

A form of godliness joined to an unholy heart is of no value to God. I have read that the swan was not allowed to be offered upon the altar of God because, although its feathers are as white as snow, yet its skin is black. God will not accept that external morality which conceals internal impurity.

There must be a pure heart as well as a clean life. The power REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 21

If the pilgrims indeed encamped around the Pool of Siloam during the pilgrimage festivals and used it as a ritual bath to purify themselves before entering the Temple, there must have been a road leading up from the Shiloah pool all the way to the Temple Mount. While probing the area for more clues, archaeologists found a wide stepped road paved with flat stone slabs, which led northward to the Temple Mount. The style of these steps curiously corresponded with the same pattern of the stairs leading up to the Huldah Gates on the southern side of the Temple Mount. The final ascent that millions of pilgrims made to Temple Mount was rediscovered. This Pilgrimage Road is again being cleared of stones in current excavation work, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold: “Pass through, pass through the gates!

Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.” (Isaiah 62:10) The water drainage tunnel underneath this massive road was also excavated. It revealed a far more sad narrative than that of the happy festival days. Fully intact cooking pots were found.

But meticulous breaks in the road at the lower end of the hill, as well as a Roman sword, were also sighted. The puzzle pieces fell in place when archaeologists turned to the book of Josephus Flavius, the only historian who described the siege of Jerusalem methodically in his book History of the Jewish War against the Romans. He describes the fate of the rebel refugees as follows: “For when all who showed themselves had been either slain or taken prisoner by the Romans, the victors instituted a search for those in the tunnels, and tearing up the ground, slew all whom they met; here too were found upwards of two thousand dead, of whom some had been destroyed by their own and some by one another’s hands, but a greater number by famine.”

The Jerusalem Watch Coin lies at the heart of the Jerusalem Watch, whose purpose is to empower those passionate about Biblical Jerusalem to connect to her on a deep, personal level.

The true location of ancient Jerusalem was only rediscovered a mere 150 years ago, located 400 meters to the south and outside the walls of what is today known as the Old City. Significant archaeological discoveries were made in the City of David over these 150 years, but ongoing excavations have only been done over the last 25 years. These excavations provided us actual physical proof of the authenticity of the Bible. It is not hard to see that our generation is witnessing wonders that so many longed for, but never merited to see.

Visit www.jerusalem-watch.com continued from page 3

He protected this people from generation to generation through the holy remnant who believed ensuring a pure spiritual and genetic line for the body which he would inhabit by birth in the earth (Heb 10:4-6). This made Jesus Messiah fully God, but fully man at the same time, God was in heaven (Father) and on earth (Jesus) and demonstrated his power (Holy Spirit) to turn us back to himself.

It was necessary to defeat Satan and sin as a man, in order for justice to be done and Satan condemned to eternal punishment. Our salvation depends on being separated from Satan and his kingdom, PAGE 20 REVIVAL TIMES

because God has determined to destroy the creation, in order to make a new one without sin and death. Obviously Satan and his hordes disagree with this plan and hence the angelic war between them and God’s people.

The world system ‘governed’ by man, and often influenced Satan, tries to save itself from this inevitable destiny by denying the truth. Until unbelievers hear the Gospel, believe and are baptised, by the grace given, they cannot escape the kingdom of darkness.

Jesus and the apostles make this clear in all their teaching (John 3:16; Acts 26:18; Col 1:13).

Our inner spirit is renewed by being reconnected to God’s

Spirit, so that we are no longer naked or scared of God Almighty.

We become ‘clothed’ with Christ (Spirit) and as such are called a new creature of heaven. Paul tells us that when we are born of the ‘Spirit’ we are effectively ‘raised up with Christ’ and ‘seated with Christ in the heavens’. It is essential that we understand what Jesus has given us by His Spirit dwelling in us and focus on the Kingdom of heaven above, because this will last forever, but heaven and earth as we know will pass away and there is no escape except through Christ.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”

Living in The Fear of God Learning to Revere His Holy Name

“The fear of the Lord (Adonai) is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10) Whom Should I Fear?

“But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.” (Luke 1:30).

M

any times in the Bible we read the words “Do not fear” or “Do not be afraid” spoken to the servants of God. God said it through the angels, He said it through the Prophets, He said it through Jesus, He said it through the Apostles. He said ‘DO NOT FEAR!’ Why would God make such an effort to tell his servants ‘Fear not’? Put simply as fallen human beings we have been conditioned to be worried, anxious and fearful of the world around us. The sinful heart of mankind also means that we try to hide from God, just like Adam and Eve did after they fell from grace, taking on the nature of fear, of Satan himself. Not only this our weak human flesh now crumbles in the face of the spiritual reality of Yahweh’s awesome presence.

However, for the believer and true follower of Christ Yahweh your heavenly Father wants you to know the amazing truth that you, as a believer in His Son, ‘have found favour’ with him, and that favour is his grace expressed in Christ (Messiah), and “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). So, as his spiritual child he does not want you to be afraid of him, he wants you to draw near without fear of death, because you have found favour with him, so there is no need to fear his love, God is now with you, in you and you are safe in him. Don’t let your past experience (of your natural parents) stop you approaching him with boldness.

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:3)

The angel of the Lord came to Mary and said “Do not be afraid, you have found favour with God”. If you have received Jesus into your heart by faith in his death, burial and resurrection, you have also found favour with God, (just as Mary received Jesus Spirit into her womb) you have received Christ into your heart by the Holy Spirit (a greater work!) and this has pleased the Father and filled him with great joy! (Luke 15:7) and the angels rejoice! This is no small thing, it is the mystery of the ages and more precious than gold!

The Power of Evil The Bible tells us that ‘earthly’ fear is an evil force (an evil spirit) that seeks to hinder you and stop you from receiving from God as your Father. This

negative fear could have hindered Mary when she saw the glory of the angel, that’s why the angel said “Do not be afraid”. The things of God are not to be feared – they are good news and to be received with open hearts of faith, trust and thanksgiving.

Mary chose wisely not giving way to fear, but instead choosing to believe the message of the angel from God’s throne in heaven. Any carnal fear on her part may well have stopped God’s will from being achieved in her life. It’s the same for your life too.

The Wrong Kind of Fear Fear can take many forms, for example; the fear of death, the fear of the dark or the fear of spiders (arachnaphobia). In fact it is possible to be fearful of almost anything! Someone may have the fear of confined spaces (claustrophobic) whereas someone else may have fear of open spaces (agoraphobic).

Fear is therefore not object oriented, i.e. things in themselves are not the fear, but it is an attitude in mind and inspired by a demon spirit. This creates an irrational state of mind towards an external object, person or imagination.

These kinds of fears, called ‘phobias’, take away your freedom and liberty which have been paid for by Christ’s shed blood, they create bondage and unhappiness in the mind and soul. These fears are not from God, but they are the characteristics of Satan, they are the fruit of his evil spirit. Fear was the first direct influence that Adam felt after submitting to Satan: “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?”

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Gen 3:9-10) “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”. (Psa 23:4) The Greek root word used for these evil fears is ‘PHOBOS’ which literally means ‘to be terrified’. It’s no surprise as Satan himself is a fearful spirit being, a terrified fallen angel because he is absolutely terrified of what God will do to him when the last judgement arrives. He has no way of escaping the eternal punishment God has ordained for him and his evil cohorts, the fallen angels and the demons (Rev 20:10). He does all he can to slow this final day from coming and he puts his fear in man to stop faith rising up against him. His destiny is the lake of burning sulphur a place of everlasting torment.

If you draw near to Satan you begin to experience continued on page 7

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expressly tells us never to call anyone on earth our father.

“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matt 23:9) Yet again we see Jesus telling us to focus on heaven where the Father dwells and where he now dwells in human form as High Priest. Jesus’ flesh was changed and glorified into what Paul calls a ‘quickening spirit’ (1 Corinthians 15 ). We should no longer regard Jesus as just a man on the earth but rather as the risen conquering King who holds the keys to all life.

“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev 1) “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:6-11)

The King of Gold Many years ago (during the time of Daniel) king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was called the ‘head of gold’ (Dan 2:38), was given a revelation of this truth, that heaven rules over earth.

He was humbled for 7 years by God because he claimed that he had made himself great. He ate grass and lived like an animal in the woods! When God restored PAGE 6 REVIVAL TIMES

him back to sanity and restored his position as king again Nebuchadnezzar wrote a letter, recorded in Daniel chapter 4.

“And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”

He concludes his letter with these words: “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”

By now it should be getting very clear that Jesus Christ is in heaven ruling as he always has over the affairs of men to achieve his purposes and not ours. This confuses the world which is in utter rebellion against God’s will and, however hard it strives, succeeds only in destroying itself and the creation (even space!). This is because the liar Satan is polluting them with his corruption of pride and iniquity and men choose this darkness rather than come to the light of heaven. Like Nebuchadnezzar they walk in pride thinking that they have achieved great things by themselves.

God’s purpose through time Why is it all this way? Why is earth ruled by heaven? Is history pre-ordained by God and we have no choice? These are the kind of questions that naturally come to mind when meditating on the truth of Scripture and the answer is not easy to take if you

are not saved in Christ!

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again,The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. ” (1 Corin 3:19-23) Since the beginning of time, God desired to have sons who would be like him. That’s why he made us in his image, spirit, soul and body. However, one of his key characteristics is ‘freewill’, i.e. in his holy goodness the Almighty can do as he pleases. As love he only intends for there to be good and not evil. However, in order for us to have ‘freewill’ and be like him we must also be ‘free to choose’ to reject him.

Since the beginning This is why Adam and Eve where given the choice in the garden between obeying him or disobeying in order to gain ‘knowledge’ from Satan.

By yielding to Satan’s testing (temptation) and accepting his teaching and authority Eve, then Adam, fell from grace into the law of sin and death loosing their supernatural cover of protection God’s Spirit.

This is why they felt naked when God the Son approached, causing them to hide. In his love for humanity, and his desire for a family, the all knowing Father had already anticipated this problem of sin and prepared a plan that would redeem mankind from their bad choice whilst at the same time create true sons and daughters for eternity who choose him out of love.

The rest of the Bible describes this process through history as man struggles with good and evil until God himself comes as a man to do what Adam should have done - cast Satan out! As we know Jesus gave his flesh to remove the barrier or veil from our minds.

A chosen nation Through Abraham God chose the smallest nation out of the world that would be precious to him and be the delivery system for his arrival in the earth at the appointed time (Gal 4:2). continued on page 10

it above everything else or you may die in your sins!

Remember only the pure in heart will see God - it’s not negotiable on the day he comes back or you die.

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

NO-ONE serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Tim 2:3-5).

These are the spiritual rules that God himself has placed in the universe! If we are unwise and fail to seek and serve God as he has chosen, in Christ we will fail and die. The devil has devised many

distractions from these truths, so that millions are on the road to destruction. Paul calls these distractions, ‘civilian affairs’. What are these “civilian affairs”?

Surely it’s the interests and pleasures of the flesh that the whole world lives for. The Lord will show you personally what things are hindering you, it is up to you to ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). This is it, this is where the rubber really hits the road, this is the WAY of Christ so let’s walk in it! The grace of God be with you. n

AN EXTRACT FROM: WWW.JERUSALEM-WATCH.COM Jerusalem’s narrative can literally be traced using the various foundation layers from several time periods. Ten different ancient civilizations have been identified, the earliest of which dates back nearly 4,000 years. These include the Canaanites, Israelites, Romans, Byzantines, Persians and early Muslims. It is like looking at the different rings of a tree stump or peeling away the layers of an onion, until you reach the bedrock, the heart – where it all began. Every layer is a different chapter in this narrative. These man-made layers have been formed over the course of over 3000 years, but they have only been uncovered, perhaps even “redeemed,” during the past 25 years. The City of David, ancient Jerusalem, has been rising from the ashes and shaking off chapters of dust. And she has slowly begun to reveal her secrets…

The Gihon Spring gets its name from a Hebrew word meaning “to burst forth“. It was the main water source of the early Canaanite city, Jebus, which was conquered by King David. It is also the very spring where King Solomon and other kings of Israel were anointed (1 Kings 1:38 -39). The waters of the spring are also referred to by Isaiah as the living waters (Isaiah 12:3) and this spring played a key role in the water drawing ceremony that reached its peak on Hoshana Raba during the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles). Tradition tells us that this was one of the most joyous occasions of the year.

“A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the wadi that flowed through the land, saying, ‘Why should the Assyrian kings come and find water in abundance?’” (2 Chronicles 32:4) The fear that the abundant water flowing outside the city could be used by the Assyrian army gave King Hezekiah of Judah no rest. He therefore diverted the waters of the Gihon to a tunnel cut through the belly of the rock. Hezekiah’s tunnel diverted the water to the Shiloah Pool, built within the walls in the southern part of the city (2 Chronicles 32:30). The winding tunnel was hewn simultaneously from both ends for a length of approximately 533 meters. The height differential between the source of the spring and the end of the tunnel is a mere 30 centimetres (an average slope of 0.06 percent) – a truly amazing engineering feat. The Shiloah Inscription describing the dramatic meeting of the two groups of diggers, each digging toward one another one group from the Gihon Spring and the other from the Shiloah Pool, was found in the tunnel itself. It was discovered in 1880 by two boys who came upon it a few meters from the southern exit to the tunnel. “Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?” (2 Kings 20:20)

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with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(Matt 20:25-28)

So you must be honest with yourself and ask, “am I right now, today, doing anything to help someone else improve their relationship with God or to help lift them out of a human difficulty?” Serving Jesus is about being a slave to our fellow man.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

3. Seek Peace And Pursue It The third essential understanding of the fear of the Lord holds everything together. The Hebrew word used by David for PEACE in Psalm 34 is the well known Hebrew word “SHALOM”, but this word actually means more than just ‘peace’. A better word would be ‘wholeness’ or ‘wellbeing’. It incorporates health, abundance and true prosperity, all the things the Bible associates with an abundant life.

Remember Jesus said; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) (Shalom).

The Apostle John reveals that God’s people are to be well in every good sense; “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3 John 2).

“Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honour and life.” (Prov 22:4).

David is encouraging you to not only seek peace but pursue it, what does this mean?

It reveals that peace is continually on the move.

Like Jesus who didn’t stay long in one place and the people had to seek him out. When they found him they pursued him, because they didn’t want to miss any of the action. This is still true for us today. Jesus is the prince of peace and he is always encouraging us to actively seek him to know his peace.

His will for you will become clearer when you pursue him daily in your own life, then you will experience his peace which passes all understanding.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7).

Peace is vital for guarding your heart, the very thing that Solomon told us we should do back in Proverbs when he said: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”.

(P rov 4:23).

A Practical Daily Lifestyle So where do you go from here?

Here are some recommendations: Firstly, humbly confess all known sins in your PAGE 18 REVIVAL TIMES

life, especially anything you have said which was injurious to others or yourself. Then confess words spoken in the past which you have forgotten about, but which were evil ‘seeds’ that you are now reaping! Ask Jesus in his mercy to cleanse it all away from your life by His blood sacrifice. Let the Holy Spirit cleanse your heart and mind without restraint, throw yourself on Him. Realise your true condition before a Holy God! Keep this spirit of repentance daily before him to be fully sanctified (made holy). You will make mistakes but he will refine you like silver seven times over. When the dross comes to the surface and you see your true state repent and receive the cleansing from heaven and be free from deception! His grace was given for this because you are willing to change. Read the Word out loud as much as possible.

Secondly, diligently seek him with all your heart, consider spending days fasting each week to show God that you are seriously turning away from the desires of the world. Put away (repent) the things that stop you getting into the Word and prayer each day, things like junk TV, computer games, Apps, religious activities, hobbies and going out socialising etc. and begin to feed your heart the food it needs to develop - his Words. You need a new lifestyle in Christ based around periods of reading the Bible and prayer. Like a new born infant go from feed to feed in order to grow strong. Spend time with God as you would your best friend, not 5 minutes but hours even days!? Take days off work just to be with him and study his truth!

Make the decision that no matter what happens the Word of God is the final authority in your life, and seek to obey it as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you on a daily basis. If you don’t eat every day you will die spiritually! As Jesus pointed out to the church of Laodicea: “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Rev 3:14-18) Thirdly, don’t be afraid of God or think he is against you and is trying to punish you with trouble. This is not true! God is for you and wants you to mature and be whole, you need to co-operate with him more to realise the blessings promised to God’s people. The Lord disciplines those he loves – he just really loves you! You are to overcome life’s trouble and Satan’s lies with him. Remember you are in a WAR and the devil is out to destroy you, so you need Jesus to help you everyday! Satan has not overcome you yet, but he will never give up trying. He is like a terminator seeking whom to destroy. So take your spiritual life seriously and put

the same fear that he has - the fear of death.

All phobias originate with Satan and his demons and are sent to trouble your soul, giving you a morbid sense of impending punishment (from God) and creating insecurity. This sense of impending punishment is the root of all fear, propagated by demon spirits upon those whom he has managed to infiltrate or influence from inside or out. If you accept these fears as part of your self you will be ruled by them. Satan can only rule by fear, domination and control, he has no love in him.

God does not want his people trapped or influenced by these fears, he came to release the captives, so that they can receive blessing from him. These fears surround the unbeliever because they are the children of Satan and his kingdom which relies on the power of fear to control, but God wants his children free of ALL fears, because His Kingdom runs by love and not by fear; “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7) “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears (phobias).” (Psa 34:4) “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

(Rom 8:15)

David the King was delivered from fear many times, he was famously ‘fearless’ in the face of the enemies of Israel. He knew that God was with him and was fighting for him. You too need to be delivered from any phobias which you may have retained from when you were in the kingdom of darkness, you don’t need to keep them. Jesus is the deliverer and it is the power of his love that delivers us from these fears. He really does care about you! All fear is defined as ‘an expectation of punishment’. Faith, however, is ‘an expectation of good’ shown to us by Jesus the creator. Perfect love drives out fear just as Jesus drives out Satan.

So often when something bad happens in life Satan tells us that ‘God was to blame’ and that it proves he doesn’t love us – this is a lie from the pit of hell! Satan is the destroyer not God. The last thing Satan wants is for you to turn against him and cast off his fear and sickness! Love brings you security, the knowledge of acceptance, confidence, encouragement and ability. This is how God wants you to be in this life right NOW! God is love and is seeking to perfect you in love. God is love and knowledge of him is the key to life.

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18; see also Hebrews 10:26) Clearly God wants you ‘phobia free’ hallelujah! He wants you to be fearless in the face of trouble or danger, knowing he is there to protect you and see you through. He has made it possible for you to be

completely free of ALL fears by his love. When you have a deep revelation of his unending love you will never have to put up with fear again! The apostle Paul prayed continually for believers who needed this revelation of God’s powerful love; “I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this knowledge of love - that you may be filled to the measure of the fulness of God.” (Eph 3:16-19) Notice here that Paul is not praying that you receive his love, but to ‘grasp it’, to ‘know it’, because as a believer you have already received the love of God – his Holy Spirit in you. You just need to perceive it! “..God HAS poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he HAS GIVEN us.” (Rom 5:5) If you are born again by the Spirit you can begin to thank God right now for the love he has poured into your heart and this will ‘drive out’ all evil phobias.

Confess whatever fear you have to God, renounce it (that spirit belongs to Satan not you) then repent and do not allow it to come back, tell it to go. The power of God’s love WILL set you free.

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7)

Fearing God? So you may be asking, what does the Bible mean when it appears to say the opposite in many places ‘fear the Lord’? Surely this is a contradiction! Jesus and the prophets reveal the answer to us.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear Him who, after the body is killed, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7) In this passage Jesus deals with the subject of ‘whom to fear’ and ‘why’. When Jesus spoke this parable many thousands of people were trying to see him. Jesus had spoken separately to his Twelve disciples warning them about hypocrisy (yeast of the Pharisees), expressed in the outwardly religious lifestyle of saying one thing but doing another.

The scripture reveals that the head Pharisees were fearful of the power of the Romans, thinking that they would be punished and loose out because of what Jesus was doing and saying.

Jesus recognised that they had the ‘fear of men’ and this always results in a lifestyle of hypocrisy and compromise. The Pharisees were afraid and not prepared to stand with Christ, but preferred to support the Roman authority for their own gain.

Jesus turns to those listening and warns them that this attitude is selfish and short term only. He says that the Romans can only kill the body. If they are going to be terrified, Jesus says, they should rather continued on page 14

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 7

A Message For Our Times PART 6 - By Stephen Turnham

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7” The sixth of 12 parts looking at who the ‘church’ really are and why.

PART 6 - HUMBLE YOURSELF AND SERVE OTHERS? “But Jesus called them unto him, and said,Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your slave: Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:25-28) “And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, and said unto them, whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.” (Luke 9:48) esus is the King of peace and love and this is bestowed upon him because he has proven himself to be the servant of all mankind by laying down his life to serve us by saving us.

In his church (house) the chief, greatest or leader is not the one who sits on high above others making the decisions, but rather it is the one who seeks to serve God alone and lift up the others to achieve God’s will. Practically speaking this means that they have given up their own rights to be first, it means that these servants see the others as if they were serving Christ himself. It means that humility is the main characteristic of a member of the body of Jesus, it means that mercy and forgiveness is the atmosphere in the household.

In the body of Christ having the right mind and the right attitude really is everything, just being right is not good enough, rather we must speak the truth in love and humility not in an attempt

J

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to justify our views (Eph 4:15), but the goal of gathering is to edify and lift up those for whom Christ died. To equip the young to know him and to make them disciples.

Paul expresses this beautifully in his letter to the Ephesians: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph 4:1-6).

Members of a home have as much authority to tell others what to do as a small child has over an adult - absolutely none!

Rather like Jesus, the apostles and like Paul we must beseech or plead our case based on the Words of the Father whose heart is of love. There cannot be a hidden agenda of any kind because this is always from Satan and appeals only to the carnal mind of pride. True Christians have crucified the desires of the natural flesh and the carnal selfish mind-set preferring to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to live in holy obedience.

They obey Jesus and the apostle’s call to ‘deny yourself and carry your cross daily’ and to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. (see Luke 9:23; Gal 2:20, 5:24; Rom 6:6)

This message is presented with the view that those who are prepared to have this attitude of humility and eagerness to serve the truth should come together as he intended and be his church in these final days. But some may ask; where would we gather together and does this matter to the Father? Listen to the words of Stephen the deacon from the

book of Acts as he spoke to the religious people in Jerusalem (approx three years after Pentecost): “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, ‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?’ Hath not my hand made all these things?” (Acts 7:48-50)

So what is God saying to us?

Firstly you can never contain him or restrict him.

Secondly, you can never tell him what to do because he made all things for his pleasure (God has freewill and is Almighty!)

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

(Rev 4:1)

But what is his greatest pleasure?

The clue for us is how he refers to himself so many times in the Scripture and especially in the new covenant writings FATHER. However he is not a bad father who is selfish and neglectful, like so many of us might have experienced, rather he is the perfect Father, our Father in Heaven! As was just stated by Stephen God said, ‘Heaven is my throne’ (that’s big) and as Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Our Father which is in Heaven’ (Matt 6:9).

How many times have we prayed this prayer and not truly grasped the significance of it and realised where Jesus Christ is right now?

Stephen saw with his own eyes just before he was stoned to death by the Jewish hypocrites: “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I

continued from page 15

to have life in abundance and His words are Spirit and life (John 6:63).

The Heart of The Problem is The Problem of The Human Heart How on earth do you work with the Spirit to control your tongue? Glad you asked as Jesus has the answer: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45; see also Prov 4:23) If there is any ruin in your life, it was probably something you said! Your tongue reflects what is really in your heart of hearts - your spirit. Whatever your heart is full of will spill out into the words you speak and these will set the direction of your life. In order to change your tongue you need go to the source of the words and actively store up good things in your heart (hint: these good things are God’s Words).

If you seriously want to fear the Lord and follow him you must store up good things in your heart.

God’s Word is the nourishing food for your heart, your spiritual heart or inner man. You need to give yourself a balanced diet of all the Words of God in the Bible especially the Messiahs Truth. That’s why saints of the past died to ensure that the Scriptures and writings of the apostles were preserved and distributed, it’s real food, the true manna from heaven.

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut 8:3) If the Word is not in you, how can it come out! It’s a change process that takes time, the sooner you start the sooner you will grow stronger as you continue to feed yourself the Word of God and stop feeding on the falsehoods in Newspapers, TV or even religious books (you need less TV and more KJV!).

The more concentrated time you spend in the Word of God the faster it will begin to come out your mouth, only then will it benefit you like a sword in the hand of a skilled warrior. When it comes from the redeemed heart, God’s Word in your mouth will be as powerful as God’s Word in his! Only those who live this way achieve the first step of fearing the Lord, control of the tongue.(see also Rev 1:16).

2.Turn From Evil & Do Good David’s second requirement for revering the Lord is to do with having a servant heart. What does he mean when saying ‘turn from evil’. It may seem obvious, but what does it really mean.

All sin and iniquity is based in pride. A person of pride is unable to lower themselves to serve others in a way that really costs them on a personal level.

A man or woman of pride feels that people should serve them and holds on to their own life tightly.

The pride of life also justifies sinful behaviour because ‘everyone does it’ and ‘we are only human’

and other common excuses. An unredeemed heart is conscious of doing evil but ignores the inner conscience convicting them that their actions are wrong. These are pleasure orientated souls who give in to temptations and worldliness. Hypocrites are those who live like this but claim to be religious and go to church or attend other faiths.

This should cause you to ask the question; “Who do I care about the most? Who do I spend my time and money on and why?”

If the answer is mainly ‘Myself’ then perhaps you need to re-examine your life in Christ?

Jesus wants you to be eager to do good, even as he exampled. Love must not be seen as separate from practical action and it’s more than just giving money, it’s about laying down your life for others.

Paul encourages us to spur one another on to love and good deeds (righteousness), for this is why God redeemed us.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present evil age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14).

Jesus saved us to do something positive and good for others, true righteousness (generosity). God wants us as his people to be eager to do good as witnesses in a selfish and spoilt world. He has a ministry for each member of the body of Christ to do. You need to find out what that calling is and be dedicated to it! Only then will you be fulfilled in your service for the Lord and his people (Eph 2:10 & 2 Tim 3:16-17). Even more than this, we are to continually encourage one another to help those in need as we are able; “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Heb 13:15,16).

We can easily forget to do good for others, especially in a society which is very self centred and individualistic.

“What good is it, my brothers, if man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, “but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14-17).

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbour, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow-when you now have it with you.””

(Prov 3:27-28. see Titus 3:8 3).

also

M att 5:38-48 Eph 6:7-8; 1 Pet 2:15;

To truly revere the Lord we must turn away from serving ourselves and lay down our lives for others.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 17

don’t support them in any way whatsoever and they will either wake up or fade away. If they are genuine believers they will be humbled and led to repent of their sin and iniquity by your example. But beware because, just like Stephen discovered, the religious leaders will not be impressed with you and they will persecute you and may even attack you. However, in saying that there may also be some, like Nicodemus, who will want to listen and who will turn to Christ and eventually give up their traditional religious ways.

As we have said, Jesus did not set up an hierarchical system with a management structure with departments etc. - it’s simply not there in the Bible which is our guide to check against in these last hours of history. Jesus said, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him’ (John 14:23) The wonderful miracle is that he comes to us where we are - your heart, home and family - can you

see this wonderful grace towards you and ALL men!? Emmanuel ‘God with us’.

Persecution always comes One look at history and you can see where genuine believers have been persecuted and killed for standing up against the hierarchical systems of the ‘apostate church’ (even Martin Luther who was trying to reform the Roman Catholic system never fully escaped!). Just about every major denomination has some kind of skeleton in the cupboard where they have resisted the Holy Spirit and invented a whole host of additional religious practices putting them onto people as if it was God’s will.

How many have corrupted the Word of God in Scripture for their own ends, taking offerings, tithes and selling the gospel for profits to spend on themselves!

According to Paul this is indeed evil and a doctrine of Satan (Titus 1:11; 1 Tim 6:9-10; 2 Pet 2:3).

None of the apostles of Christ were made rich from the gospel preaching, rather they laid down

everything and followed Jesus even to death because they stood against false religion! The level of deception we are currently surrounded by is gigantic and global in its extent, being spread through new media such as TV and Internet!

How to escape the system So again we ask, can you humble yourself and serve your brothers and sisters in Christ and not serve a system or an organisation, but genuinely care for your fellow man everyday for no pay or reward? This means that you must lay down your life, this means at times it may well be very inconvenient and cost a lot.

Jesus said we must see ourselves as servants who have only done our duty!

“So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

(Luke 17:10)

OFF THE CHARTS - WEATHER, EARTHQUAKES, FLOODS, POLLUTION, MURDER! The Holy Bible explains that these changes and disasters are increasing and worsening to warn humanity of an even worse day to come! It’s like a harvest that is ripening to its end! Yes it will get much worse, because God has ordained a limit on the length of time mankind has in his sinful condition (Daniel 8). Just look at the prophecies below and how they tell of the judgement, but also the only hope that is found through Jesus Christ. I hope you can see the signs of the times and connect with the creator KING JESUS!

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” ROMANS 8:20-22

Sea Levels Rising fast

“And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” DANIEL 8:19 “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” ISAIAH 51:6 “Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.’” LUKE 21:10-11 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” MATTHEW 24:35 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” ROMANS 6:23 PAGE 16 REVIVAL TIMES

OFF THE CHARTS - THE BIG PICTURE Download our special climate change document here which reveals how the earth systems are collapsing because of man’s original sin. https://issuu.com/omegaministries/docs/ off-the-charts

see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56).

True Worship So what is the Father’s greatest pleasure? It is this one thing - His one and ONLY Son Jesus Christ!

That’s why Jesus was raised up to his right hand as he is equal with God, that’s why there is no other name by which we must be saved - Yeshua (Hebrew).

Just think for a moment where Jesus would meet and teach his disciples; by the sea, on the road, in homes, in the old temple courts, by the well, in a rented upper room, in the Pharisees house, in a tax collectors house, in a synagogue, on a boat, in the street and in a garden! This shows that at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter to the Father where on earth we gather, as long as it’s not in pagan temples full of idols. The important thing is that we really grasp the reason why we do it, and it’s not for us, but for his Son’s sake to give glory and honour to him alone. If any of us take any credit or position for anything we do then we have failed, because all such pride is of the devil. The Father is looking for those who worship him and his Son in spirit and truth, that is by the Holy Spirit. He explained this to the woman at Jacob’s well: “The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ).When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

This form of ‘worship’, of which he speaks is not optional, Jesus

said we ‘must worship in spirit and truth’. But how and why? And why didn’t Jesus have a guitar?

Well it’s because this honouring of God is first ‘holy’, ‘spiritual’ and nothing to do with earth or this world. He said it’s not about ‘where’ and ‘how’ you worship, but about ‘why’ and ‘who’! True spiritual worship is little to do with good singing or fancy tunes.

God is worthy of this praise, but it’s not necessarily worship (anyone can sing). Spiritual worship is much more about how you live your life before a holy God in truth.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom 12:1-3) He is watching your every step and observing your every breath, so that by any means he can be with you to do you good and bless you! He cannot help but see all that’s going on, because he is omnipresent in creation!

Just think of the horrors he must endure! (Heb ) True worship is about bowing the knee in loving submission and bowing before his holy throne in total and utter adoration to do his good will.

Sin prevents God coming too near us, because his holy fire would destroy the unholy - not what he wants. The Father backs away in order to protect us.

That’s why he had to cleanse us by his only Son’s blood - to take away sin and so break our connection to Satan - who is continually judged and destined for the lake of fire.

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15) This all means that we must give up all our old ideas about ‘going to church’ because it’s ‘falling backwards’ just the same as the woman at the well thought,

‘going to this mountain’ or ‘going to the temple’. We must give up the idea of the traditional ‘house of worship’ as having some kind of holy importance, some kind of holy ground. Places like cathedrals and temples etc. are man’s ideas to try and contain and control God’s people for their own ends and it’s just not the apostolic teaching - it’s simply not there in the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, it’s a deception that has done great damage. So we must stop it and no longer support it! The Scriptures call these traditions of men ‘iniquity’. This so often leads to further heresy and the worship of demons! This error is no small thing, but it’s a huge hindrance against God’s plan. It’s roots are found in Babylonish, Romanistic, Greco teaching and tradition and not from Jesus or the apostles.

Think about it, big temples and tall buildings actually inspired God’s wrath! (Gen 11).

See how did Jesus responded to the apostles when they told him that by condemning the doctrines of the Pharisees (i.e. Traditions) he had really upset them?

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (Matt 15:9-14) Do you want to fall into a ditch?

Do you want to be led astray?

Do you think that their religious ways and buildings will benefit you eternally? Don’t be fooled by the seducing words, false promises and comfortable chairs of modern day Pharisees! Take Jesus’ advice and ‘Let them alone’, continued on page 16

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 9

continued from page 6

THE FORM OF GODLINESS WITHOUT THE POWER NO. 2088

JUNE 2, 1889,

BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

2 Timothy 3:5.

PAUL warns us of certain characters which will appear in the last times. It is a very terrible list. The like have appeared in other days but we are led by his warning to apprehend that they will appear in greater numbers in the last days than in any previous age. “Lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” These will swarm like flies in the decay of the year and will make the times exceeding perilous. We are nearing that period at this very time.

That these people would, some of them, be within the Church is the most painful part of it.

But they will be so, for they are comprehended in this last clause of the black catalog, which we have taken for our text—“Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”

Paul does not paint the future with rose-coloured glasses—he is no smooth-tongued Prophet of a golden age into which this dull earth may be imagined to be glowing. There are sanguine Brothers and Sisters who are looking forward to everything growing better and better and better, until, at last, this present age ripens into a millennium.

They will not be able to sustain their hopes, for Scripture gives them no solid basis to rest upon.

We who believe that there will be no millennial reign without the King and who expect no rule of righteousness except from the appearing of the righteous Lord, are nearer the mark.

PAGE 10 REVIVAL TIMES

Apart from the second Advent of our Lord, the world is more likely to sink into a pandemonium than to rise into a millennium. A Divine interposition seems to me the hope set before us in Scripture and, indeed, to be the only hope adequate to the occasion. We look to the darkening down of things.

The state of mankind, however improved politically, may yet grow worse and worse spiritually.

Certainly, we are assured in verse 13 that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” There will spring up in the Christian Church and round about it, a body of faithless men who profess to have faith— ungodly men who will unite with the saints—men having the form of godliness but denying the power.

We may call these hard times, if we will, but we have hardly yet come to the border of those truly harder times when it will go hard with the Church and she shall need, even more than today, to cry mightily unto the Lord to keep her alive. With this cloud upon our spirit, we come to the text itself. Let us consider it carefully and may the Holy Spirit help us!

True religion is a spiritual thing but it necessarily embodies itself in a form. Man is a spiritual creature but the human spirit needs a body in which to enshrine itself. And thus, by this need, we become allied to materialism.

And if not “half dust, half Deity,” as one has said, we are certainly both matter and soul. In each of us there is the form or body and the soul or power. It is so with religion—it is essentially a spiritual thing but it requires a form in which to embody and manifest itself.

Christian people fall into a certain outward method of procedure, a peculiar outward mode of uttering their faith, which becomes to true godliness what

the body is to the soul. The form is useful, the form is necessary, the form ought to be vitalized— just as the body is useful and is necessary and is vitalized by the soul. If you get both the form, as modelled in the Word of God and the power, as bestowed by the Spirit of God, you do well and are living Christians. If you get the power alone, without the ordained form, you somewhat maim yourself. But if you get the form without the power, then, you dwell in spiritual death.

The body without the spirit is dead. And what follows upon death with flesh? Why, corruption—corruption so horrible that even love itself has to cry, “Bury my dead out of my sight.” So that if there is in any the body of religion without the life of religion, it leads to decay and thus to corruption—and that has a tendency to decompose the character. The raw material of a devil is an angel bereft of holiness.

You cannot make a Judas except out of an Apostle. The eminently good in outward form, when without inward life, decays into the foulest thing under Heaven.

You cannot wonder that these are called “perilous times,” in which such characters abound.

One Judas is an awful weight for this poor globe to bear but a tribe of them must be a peril, indeed.

Yet, if not of the very worst order, those are enough to be dreaded who have the shadow of religion without its substance.

Of such I have to speak at this time—from such may God give you Divine Grace to turn away!

May none of us ever be spots in our feasts of love, or clouds without water carried about of winds. But this we shall be if we have the form of godliness without the power thereof.

With great solemnity of soul I approach this subject, seeking from the Lord the aid of His

“The fear of the Lord leads to life:Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” (Prov 19:23).

“Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land.The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.” (Psa 25:12-14).

Do you want God to confide in you? Do you want peace and prosperity? If the answer is yes, then you need to understand how to live in reverent fear to the Lord.

A Change of Lifestyle David the King of Israel discovered how to revere God because he had a complete heart commitment towards him. In his Psalms he reveals a great deal about revering God, having a relationship and a friendship with God that few attain to. David shares with us in Psalm 34 how to properly revere the Lord, his words of wisdom speak directly to us; “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies1.Turn from evil and do good 2; seek peace and pursue it.3” (Psa 34:9-14).

David reveals that there are three areas of lifestyle change that God is calling us to do in order to revere him in spirit and truth: 1. Keep your tongue and lips from speaking lies 2. Turn from evil and do good 3. Seek peace and pursue it Remember that in each of these three areas (for revering God), the Lord is looking to bless you and not to curse you, this is true wisdom! Without Christ’s humility and by his indwelling presence these three areas are impossible to observe. Only by co-operating with the Holy Spirit within can we mirror David’s devotion. As David said, the fear of the Lord is just the beginning of wisdom, we can only go deeper in our friendship with God as we grasp these fundamental truths of God’s Word.

So let’s analyse these three areas to grasp how we can co-operate with his Spirit and give true ‘reverence’ to God our loving Father. With the grace of the Holy Spirit in you helping you, this is not beyond reach. Also all these qualities need to be seen in us simultaneously three in one!

1. Control Your Tongue The tongue is described by James the apostle as the most uncontrollable part of your body (Jam 3:1-6).

Crucially, however, it is also the most important part like the rudder on a ship, the guide, the thermostat of your whole life! It’s always guiding, always creating for good or for evil. If you are to revere God you must gain control of your unruly tongue, because it is a spiritual law that ‘what you say is what you get’. You ‘reap what you sow’. Only the Holy Spirit in you can help you to do the impossible

to control and train your tongue. So begin to cry out daily for his help!

“The Lord detests lying lips but he delights in men who are truthful.” (Prov 12:22).

But what is it to lie? Fundamentally you are lying when you disagree with God’s Word in what you say, in any form, you are not revering God and you are hindering yourself from receiving good things, because you quench the Holy Spirit with lies! Lying is evidence of unbelief in what God has said. Satan is the father of lies! Liars who don’t repent do not inherit the kingdom - very serious (Rev 21:8).

Lying is not just about blatant ‘deceptive lies’ that lead people astray, or even ‘white lies’, more than these it includes saying things about yourself (as a child of God) that are not true in God’s sight! e.g. you cannot say, ‘God doesn’t love me’, the Bible makes it plain that he does! By confessing this you are effectively agreeing with Satan and lying to yourself. Is there any hope for us? As Isaiah cried out to the Lord: “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5).

It’s God’s desire that you be like him, full of truth and speaking the truth. You have power in your tongue to affect your life and the life of others for good or bad. It’s a spiritual principle which God put into the universe, because that is how God operates, he speaks his Word and we are made in his image.

Still not convinced? This is what Jesus said about it: “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt 12:36-37).

You had better believe this! This is the first step of wisdom - realising the power of the spoken Word. That’s why this is the beginning of wisdom understanding the power of words in your mouth.

Being wise means you become more aware of what you are saying, your tongue needs to be trained to fear God, to submit to his will and not Satan’s.

It will take time to do it, training takes time, but it needs to happen at all costs because your tongue is guiding you every day. It’s the key to a successful or shipwrecked life. Cry out to him for your tongue to change, to speak only his words. Repent of careless words as soon as you realise what’s happened.

Jesus is our perfect model on how to speak effectively when he said; “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it”. (John 12:49) The Father wants to teach you what to speak and how to speak (not only what not to speak), because he has said; “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (Prov 13:3) The Father does not want you to come to ruin, but continued on page 17

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 15

continued from page 7

consider God’s eternal power, the power that will eventually cast the unbelieving sinners and fearful hypocrites to hell (along with Satan the ruler of such fears), because you go where the spirits in you take you! (Matt 15:14). The Pharisee’s hypocrisy was preventing them from seeing God’s Word, who was standing in front of them!

Conversely Jesus gave the disciples the words of security and love they needed to overcome any fear of men, and unbelief, “Don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows”.

Don’t be terrified, Jesus said, as if to say ‘God doesn’t want to kill you or judge you as an unbeliever, he sent me to save you!’ What was it that made Jesus apparently change his mind half way through his sentence? How can He say one minute “be fearful”, and the next “do not fear”? The answer is of course ‘sparrows’!

The Sparrow Sacrifice The sparrows mentioned by Jesus were those bought by poor repentant sinners, instead of doves, to offer in the temple as a sacrifice to cover their sins and give thanks to God. In the same way as God registered the offering of those sparrows to heaven, Jesus reassures the disciples that God sees their sacrifice in following him. He will not forget it because Jesus would be like those little sparrows the sacrifice or sin!

As a believer you should not be afraid of hell because we are not forgotten, in fact the opposite is the case. You are known in such intimate detail, that even the hairs of your head are numbered. Even with this knowledge of you and your faults God still accepts you but only because of Christ, if you will continue in him and boldly reject the fear of men to the end you shall be saved.

“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.” v8.

Praise the Lord! He wants you to be reassured of his love towards you a believer, even the hairs of your head are numbered! This is good news! God is looking to save and not to condemn and judge you. ( see

also

Dan 3:27).

The Beginning of Wisdom “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10) The Hebrew translated here as ‘fear’, is the word ‘YIRAH’ which can also be translated as ‘reverence’ or ‘reverent fear’ a form of high RESPECT towards one greater and superior, not like ‘terrify’ as in the Greek ‘Phobos’. So we discover that the writer (probably Solomon) is exhorting us to ‘highly respect’ God or to ‘revere Him’, or to ‘prefer him’ that is worship him.

Learning to revere God (put first), says the writer, is just the beginning of wisdom. If you seek to be wise then you urgently need to respect God for who he is, in order to understand him more deeply. To do this you need to have a personal knowledge of the Holy One, you need to know God and his Ways.

You cannot respect someone you don’t know or PAGE 14 REVIVAL TIMES

have only heard about! May your prayer be like that of the Psalmist: “Teach me your way O Lord and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may revere (YIRAH) your name.”

(Psa 86:11)

Whole Heartedness It’s impossible to revere God if you have a divided heart regarding the truth of the Word of God revealed in the Scriptures. This was pointed out to us by Jesus and later by the apostle James.

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.You cannot serve both God and Mammon. (money)” (Luke 16:13).

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:5-8).

Revering God means that you put him first in your ‘heart’ and ‘mind’, and that you expect him to do you good and not evil. God is out to bless you and make you free, not to put you in chains! He is FULLY committed in love towards you and has done all he can to enable you to receive his blessing in this life and the next. His sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate proof of this love.

We all do what is in our heart to do, what we are doing today is what we believe in the most. Ask yourself honestly, is meditating on the Word and prayer the most time consuming activity in my day? Do I love God with ALL my heart, soul and strength! This is the first commandment and one which Jesus highlights as part of the Royal Law. (Matt 22:36-40).

Don’t Bury Your Talent In the parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14) Jesus told how the servant who had been given only one talent, buried his treasure in fear (phobos) of the master. This servant displayed the wrong attitude towards his master, expecting to be ill treated. The others however sought to multiply what they had been given knowing their master would be pleased, and as it turned out generous also.

In Hebrews we read; “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb 11:6).

So you are not to be afraid of God, but expect his rewards when you show him reverence and faith, God IS love.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him” (Psa 33:8).

The Benefits of Faith Before we review what it means in the practical sense to ‘revere’ the Lord, here are some of the real benefits of fearing the Lord:

Spirit, who makes the Word to be a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. First, I shall speak of the men, and secondly, of their folly. And when I am done with that, I shall have some words of instruction to give by way of conclusion.

I. First, let us talk awhile of THE MEN. They had the form of godliness but denied the power thereof.

Note what they had and then observe what they had not. They had a form of godliness. What is a form of godliness? It is, first of all, attention to the ordinances of religion. These, so far as they are Scriptural, are few and simple.

There is Baptism, wherein, in figure, the Believer is buried with Christ, that he may rise into newness of life.

And there is the Lord’s Supper, wherein, in type and emblem, he feeds upon Christ and sustains the life which came to him by fellowship with Christ’s death.

Those who have obeyed the Lord in these two ordinances have exhibited in their own persons the form of godliness. That form is every way instructive to others and impressive to the man himself.

Every baptised person and every communicant at the Lord’s Table, should be godly and gracious.

But neither Baptism nor the Lord’s Supper will secure this.

Where there is not the life of God in the soul, neither holiness or godliness follow upon the ordinances. And thus we may have around us baptised worldlings and men who go from the table of the Lord to drink the cup of devils. It is sad that it should be so. Such persons are guilty of presumption, falsehood, sacrilege and blasphemy. Ah me, we sit beside such every Sabbath!

The form of godliness involves attendance with the assemblies of God’s people. Those who have professed Christ are accustomed to come together at certain times for worship and, in their assemblies, they join in common prayer and common praise. They listen to the testimony of God

by His servants whom He calls to preach His Word with power.

They also associate together in Church fellowship for purposes of mutual help and discipline.

This is a very proper form—full of blessing both to the Church and to the world—when it does not die down into mere form.

A man may go to Heaven alone but he will do better if he travels there with Mr. Great-Heart and Father Honest and Christiana and the children.

Christ’s people are called sheep for one reason—they love to go in flocks. Dogs do very well separately but sheep do best in company. The sheep of Christ love to be together in the same pasture and to follow in a flock the footsteps of the Good Shepherd. Those who constantly associate in worship, unite in Church fellowship and work together for sacred purposes have the form of godliness and a very useful and proper form it is.

Alas, it is of no value without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some go further than public worship. They use a great deal of religious talk. They freely speak of the things of God in Christian company. They can defend the doctrines of Scripture, they can plead for its precepts and they can narrate the experience of a Believer. They are fondest of talking of what is doing in the Church—the tattle of the streets of Jerusalem is very pleasant to them. They flavour their speech with godly phrases when they are in company that will relish it. I do not censure them—on the contrary, I wish there were more of holy talk among professors.

I wish we could revive the old habit, “They that feared the Lord spoke often one to another.”

Holy conversation causes the heart to glow and gives to us a foretaste of the fellowship of the glorified. But there may be a savour of religion about a man’s conversation and yet it may be a borrowed flavour—like hot sauces used to disguise the staleness of ancient meat. That religion which comes from the lips outward but does not well up from the deep fountains of the heart is not that living water which will spring up unto eternal

life.

Tongue godliness is an abomination if the heart is destitute of Divine Grace.

More than this—some have a form of godliness upheld and published by religious activity. It is possible to be intensely active in the outside work of the Church and yet to know nothing of spiritual power. One may be an excellent Sunday school teacher after a fashion and yet have need to be taught what it is to be born again. One may be an eloquent preacher, or a diligent officer in the Church of God and yet know nothing of the mysterious power of the Spirit of Truth upon the heart. It is well to be like Martha in service. But one thing is needful—to sit at the Master’s feet and learn as Mary did.

When we have done all the work our position requires of us, we may only have displayed the form of godliness. Unless we hearken to our Lord and from His Presence derive power, we shall be as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. Brethren, I speak to myself and to each one of you in solemn earnestness. If much speaking, generous giving and constant occupation could win Heaven, we might easily make sure of it. But more than these are needed. I speak to each one of you. And if I singled out anyone more than another to be the pointed object of my address, it would be the best among us— the one who is doing most for his Master and who, in his inmost soul, is thinking, “That warning does not apply to me.”

O my active and energetic Brother, remember the word, “Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” If any of you dislike this searching sermon, your dislike proves how much you need it. He that is not willing to search himself should stand self-incriminated by that unwillingness to look at his affairs. If you are right, you will not object to be weighed in the balances. If you are, indeed, pure gold, you may still feel anxiety at the sight of the furnace but you will not be driven to anger at the prospect of the fire. Your prayer REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 11

will always be, “Search me, O God and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

I need not enlarge further. You all know what a form of godliness is and most of us who are here present hold fast that form—may we never dishonour it! I trust we are anxious to make that form accurate according to Scripture so that our form of godliness may be that into which the earliest saints were delivered. Let us be Christians of a high type, cast in our Lord’s own mould. But do not become sticklers for the form and neglect the inner life—that will never do. Shall we fight about a man’s clothes and allow the man, himself, to die?

But now, as these people had not the power of godliness, how did they come to hold the form of it?

This needs several answers. Some come by the form of godliness in an hereditary way. Their ancestors were always godly people and they almost naturally take up with the profession of their fathers. This is common and where it is honest, it is most commendable.

It is a great mercy when, instead of the fathers, shall be the children. And we may hopefully anticipate that our children will follow us in the things of God, if by example, instruction and prayer, we have sought it before the Lord.

We are unhappy if we do not see our children walking in the God’s Truth. Yet the idea of birthright membership is an evil one and is as perilous as it is unscriptural. If children are taken into the Church simply because of their earthly parentage, surely this is not consistent with that description of the sons of God which is found in the inspired Scripture— “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God. ” Not generation but REGENERATION, makes the Christian. You are not Christians because you can trace a line of fleshly descent throughout twenty generations of children of God. PAGE 12 REVIVAL TIMES

You must, yourselves, be born again. For except a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Many, no doubt, lay hold naturally on the form of godliness because of family ties— this is poor work.

Ishmael is a sorry son of Abraham and Esau of Isaac and Absalom of David. Grace does not run in the blood. If you have no better foundation for your religion than your earthly parentage, you are in a wretched case.

Others have accepted the form of godliness by the force of authority and influence. They were, as lads, put apprentice to godly men. As girls, they were under the guidance of pious teachers.

And as they grew up, they came under the influence of persons of superior intelligence and character who were on the Lord’s side. This accounts for their form of godliness.

Many persons are the creatures of their surroundings—religion or irreligion is with them the result of circumstances. Such persons were led to make a profession of faith in Christ because others did so and friends encouraged them to do the same.

The deep searching of heart, which they ought to have exhibited, was slurred over and they were found among the people of God without having to knock for entrance at the wicket gate. I do not wish anyone to condemn himself because he was guided to the Saviour by godly friends—far from it.

But, nevertheless, there is danger lest we fail to have personal repentance and personal faith and are content to lean upon the opinions of others. I have seen the form of godliness taken up on account of friendships.

Many a time courtship and marriage have led to a formal religiousness, but a lacking heart.

The future husband is induced to make a profession of religion for the sake of gaining one who was a sincere Christian and would not have broken her Lord’s command to be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever. Godliness should never be put on in order that we may put a wedding ring

upon the finger—this is a sad abuse of religious profession.

Other kinds of friendship, also, have led men and women to profess a faith they never had and to unite themselves visibly with the Church, while in spirit and in truth they were never truly a part of it. I put these things to you that there may be a great searching of heart among us all and that we may candidly consider how we have come by our form of godliness.

Certain persons assume the form of godliness from a natural religious disposition. Do not suppose that all unconverted people are without religion. Much religiousness is found in the heathen and there are races which have naturally more of reverence than others.

The German, with his profound philosophy, is often free, not only from superstition but from reverence. The Russian is by race naturally religious, not to say superstitious. I am speaking after the manner of men—the usual Russian takes off his hat to Holy Places, pictures and persons—and he is little inclined to disbelieve or scoff. We perceive like differences among our own acquaintances— one man is readily fooled by skeptics, while another is ready, with open mouth, to believe every word. One is naturally an infidel, another is as naturally credulous.

I mean, then, that to some the form of godliness commends itself because they have a natural leaning that way. They could not be happy unless they were attending where God is worshipped, or unless they were reckoned among the Believers in Christ. They must play at religion even if they do not make it their life business. Let me remind you of the questionable value of that which springs out of fallen human nature. Assuredly it brings no one into the spiritual kingdom, for “that which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Only “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” “You must be born again.” Beware of everything which springs up in the field without the sowing of the husbandman, for it will turn

out to be a weed. O Sirs, the day will come when God will try us as with fire and that which comes of unregenerate nature will not stand the test but will be utterly consumed!

I do not doubt that, in these silken days, many have a form of godliness because of the respect it brings them. Time was when to be a Christian was to be reviled, if not to be imprisoned and, perhaps, burned at the stake. Hypocrites were fewer in those days for a profession cost too much. Yet, strange to say, there were some who played the Judas even in those times. Today religion walks forth in her velvet slippers. And in certain classes and ranks, if men did not make some profession of religion, they would be looked upon with suspicion and therefore men will take the name of Christian upon them and wear religion as a part of full dress.

The cross is at this day worn as a necklace. The cross as the instrument of our Saviour’s shame and death is forgotten, and instead thereof, it is made the badge of honour, a jewel wherewith ungodly men may adorn themselves. Is this indicative of the deceitfulness of the age? Beware of seeking respect by a hypocritical godliness. Honour gained by a heartless profession is, in God’s sight, the greatest disgrace. The actor may strut in his mimic royalty, but he must take off his crown and robes when the play is over. And what will he then be?

From the days of Iscariot until now, some have taken up the form of godliness to gain thereby.

To make gain of godliness is to imitate the son of perdition.

This is a perilous road and yet many risk their souls for the lucre which they find therein.

Apparent zeal for God may really be zeal for gold. The Emperor Maximilian showed great zeal against idolatry and published a decree that images of gold and silver should be melted down.

He was extremely zealous about this. The images were all to be melted down and the metal forfeited to the emperor.

It was shrewdly suspected that this great iconoclast was not altogether swayed by unselfish motives. When a business brings grist to the mill, it is not hard to keep to it. Some love Christ because they carry His money bag for Him. Beware of that kind of godliness which makes a man hesitate until he sees whether a duty will pay or not and then makes him eager because he sees it will answer his purpose.

Once more—I do not doubt that a form of godliness has come to many because it brings them ease of conscience and they are able, like the Pharisee, to thank God that they are not as other men are. Have they not been to Church? Have they not paid for their pew? They can now go about their daily business without those stings of conscience which would come of neglecting the requirements of religion. These people profess to have been converted and they are numbered with Believers. But, alas, they are not of them.

Of all people these are the hardest to reach and the least likely to be saved. They hide behind the earthworks of a nominal religion. They are out of reach of the shot and shell of Gospel rebukes. They fly among the sinners and they have taken up their quarters among the saints. Sad is that man’s plight who wears the name of life but has never been quickened by the Holy Spirit. Thus, I have very feebly tried to show what these men had and why they had it.

Let us now remember what they did not have. They had “the form” of godliness. But they were denied “the power.” What is that power? God Himself is the power of godliness, The Holy Spirit is the life and force of it.

Godliness is the power which brings a man to God and binds him to Him. Godliness is that which creates repentance towards God and faith in Him. Godliness is the result of a great change of heart in reference to God and His Character.

Godliness looks towards God and mourns its distance from

Him. godliness hastens to draw near and rests not till it is at home with God. Godliness makes a man like God. Godliness leads a man to love God and to serve God. It brings the fear of God before his eyes and the love of God into his heart. Godliness leads to consecration, to sanctification, to concentration. The godly man seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and expects other things to be added to him. Godliness makes a man commune with God and gives him a partnership with God in His glorious designs. And so it prepares him to dwell with God forever.

Many who have the form of godliness are strangers to this power and so are in religion worldly, in prayer mechanical, in public one thing and in private another. True godliness lies in spiritual power and they who are without this are dead while they live.

What is the general history of those who have not this power?

Well, dear Friends, their course usually runs thus—they do not begin with denying the power but they begin by trying to do without it. They would like to become members of the Church and as they fear that they are not fit for it, they look about for something which looks like conversion and the new birth. They try to persuade themselves that they have been changed—they accept emotion as regeneration and a belief of doctrine for belief in Christ.

It is rather hard at first to reckon brass as gold but it grows easier as it is persisted in.

Patching up a conversion and manufacturing a regeneration, they venture forward. At the first they are a good deal suspicious of themselves but they industriously kill every question by treating it as a needless doubt.

Thus, by degrees, they believe a lie.

The next step is easy—they deceive themselves and come to believe that they are surely saved. All is now right for

continued on page 21

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 13

will always be, “Search me, O God and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”

I need not enlarge further. You all know what a form of godliness is and most of us who are here present hold fast that form—may we never dishonour it! I trust we are anxious to make that form accurate according to Scripture so that our form of godliness may be that into which the earliest saints were delivered. Let us be Christians of a high type, cast in our Lord’s own mould. But do not become sticklers for the form and neglect the inner life—that will never do. Shall we fight about a man’s clothes and allow the man, himself, to die?

But now, as these people had not the power of godliness, how did they come to hold the form of it?

This needs several answers. Some come by the form of godliness in an hereditary way. Their ancestors were always godly people and they almost naturally take up with the profession of their fathers. This is common and where it is honest, it is most commendable.

It is a great mercy when, instead of the fathers, shall be the children. And we may hopefully anticipate that our children will follow us in the things of God, if by example, instruction and prayer, we have sought it before the Lord.

We are unhappy if we do not see our children walking in the God’s Truth. Yet the idea of birthright membership is an evil one and is as perilous as it is unscriptural. If children are taken into the Church simply because of their earthly parentage, surely this is not consistent with that description of the sons of God which is found in the inspired Scripture— “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God. ” Not generation but REGENERATION, makes the Christian. You are not Christians because you can trace a line of fleshly descent throughout twenty generations of children of God. PAGE 12 REVIVAL TIMES

You must, yourselves, be born again. For except a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Many, no doubt, lay hold naturally on the form of godliness because of family ties— this is poor work.

Ishmael is a sorry son of Abraham and Esau of Isaac and Absalom of David. Grace does not run in the blood. If you have no better foundation for your religion than your earthly parentage, you are in a wretched case.

Others have accepted the form of godliness by the force of authority and influence. They were, as lads, put apprentice to godly men. As girls, they were under the guidance of pious teachers.

And as they grew up, they came under the influence of persons of superior intelligence and character who were on the Lord’s side. This accounts for their form of godliness.

Many persons are the creatures of their surroundings—religion or irreligion is with them the result of circumstances. Such persons were led to make a profession of faith in Christ because others did so and friends encouraged them to do the same.

The deep searching of heart, which they ought to have exhibited, was slurred over and they were found among the people of God without having to knock for entrance at the wicket gate. I do not wish anyone to condemn himself because he was guided to the Saviour by godly friends—far from it.

But, nevertheless, there is danger lest we fail to have personal repentance and personal faith and are content to lean upon the opinions of others. I have seen the form of godliness taken up on account of friendships.

Many a time courtship and marriage have led to a formal religiousness, but a lacking heart.

The future husband is induced to make a profession of religion for the sake of gaining one who was a sincere Christian and would not have broken her Lord’s command to be unequally yoked together with an unbeliever. Godliness should never be put on in order that we may put a wedding ring

upon the finger—this is a sad abuse of religious profession.

Other kinds of friendship, also, have led men and women to profess a faith they never had and to unite themselves visibly with the Church, while in spirit and in truth they were never truly a part of it. I put these things to you that there may be a great searching of heart among us all and that we may candidly consider how we have come by our form of godliness.

Certain persons assume the form of godliness from a natural religious disposition. Do not suppose that all unconverted people are without religion. Much religiousness is found in the heathen and there are races which have naturally more of reverence than others.

The German, with his profound philosophy, is often free, not only from superstition but from reverence. The Russian is by race naturally religious, not to say superstitious. I am speaking after the manner of men—the usual Russian takes off his hat to Holy Places, pictures and persons—and he is little inclined to disbelieve or scoff. We perceive like differences among our own acquaintances— one man is readily fooled by skeptics, while another is ready, with open mouth, to believe every word. One is naturally an infidel, another is as naturally credulous.

I mean, then, that to some the form of godliness commends itself because they have a natural leaning that way. They could not be happy unless they were attending where God is worshipped, or unless they were reckoned among the Believers in Christ. They must play at religion even if they do not make it their life business. Let me remind you of the questionable value of that which springs out of fallen human nature. Assuredly it brings no one into the spiritual kingdom, for “that which is born of the flesh is flesh.” Only “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” “You must be born again.” Beware of everything which springs up in the field without the sowing of the husbandman, for it will turn

out to be a weed. O Sirs, the day will come when God will try us as with fire and that which comes of unregenerate nature will not stand the test but will be utterly consumed!

I do not doubt that, in these silken days, many have a form of godliness because of the respect it brings them. Time was when to be a Christian was to be reviled, if not to be imprisoned and, perhaps, burned at the stake. Hypocrites were fewer in those days for a profession cost too much. Yet, strange to say, there were some who played the Judas even in those times. Today religion walks forth in her velvet slippers. And in certain classes and ranks, if men did not make some profession of religion, they would be looked upon with suspicion and therefore men will take the name of Christian upon them and wear religion as a part of full dress.

The cross is at this day worn as a necklace. The cross as the instrument of our Saviour’s shame and death is forgotten, and instead thereof, it is made the badge of honour, a jewel wherewith ungodly men may adorn themselves. Is this indicative of the deceitfulness of the age? Beware of seeking respect by a hypocritical godliness. Honour gained by a heartless profession is, in God’s sight, the greatest disgrace. The actor may strut in his mimic royalty, but he must take off his crown and robes when the play is over. And what will he then be?

From the days of Iscariot until now, some have taken up the form of godliness to gain thereby.

To make gain of godliness is to imitate the son of perdition.

This is a perilous road and yet many risk their souls for the lucre which they find therein.

Apparent zeal for God may really be zeal for gold. The Emperor Maximilian showed great zeal against idolatry and published a decree that images of gold and silver should be melted down.

He was extremely zealous about this. The images were all to be melted down and the metal forfeited to the emperor.

It was shrewdly suspected that this great iconoclast was not altogether swayed by unselfish motives. When a business brings grist to the mill, it is not hard to keep to it. Some love Christ because they carry His money bag for Him. Beware of that kind of godliness which makes a man hesitate until he sees whether a duty will pay or not and then makes him eager because he sees it will answer his purpose.

Once more—I do not doubt that a form of godliness has come to many because it brings them ease of conscience and they are able, like the Pharisee, to thank God that they are not as other men are. Have they not been to Church? Have they not paid for their pew? They can now go about their daily business without those stings of conscience which would come of neglecting the requirements of religion. These people profess to have been converted and they are numbered with Believers. But, alas, they are not of them.

Of all people these are the hardest to reach and the least likely to be saved. They hide behind the earthworks of a nominal religion. They are out of reach of the shot and shell of Gospel rebukes. They fly among the sinners and they have taken up their quarters among the saints. Sad is that man’s plight who wears the name of life but has never been quickened by the Holy Spirit. Thus, I have very feebly tried to show what these men had and why they had it.

Let us now remember what they did not have. They had “the form” of godliness. But they were denied “the power.” What is that power? God Himself is the power of godliness, The Holy Spirit is the life and force of it.

Godliness is the power which brings a man to God and binds him to Him. Godliness is that which creates repentance towards God and faith in Him. Godliness is the result of a great change of heart in reference to God and His Character.

Godliness looks towards God and mourns its distance from

Him. godliness hastens to draw near and rests not till it is at home with God. Godliness makes a man like God. Godliness leads a man to love God and to serve God. It brings the fear of God before his eyes and the love of God into his heart. Godliness leads to consecration, to sanctification, to concentration. The godly man seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and expects other things to be added to him. Godliness makes a man commune with God and gives him a partnership with God in His glorious designs. And so it prepares him to dwell with God forever.

Many who have the form of godliness are strangers to this power and so are in religion worldly, in prayer mechanical, in public one thing and in private another. True godliness lies in spiritual power and they who are without this are dead while they live.

What is the general history of those who have not this power?

Well, dear Friends, their course usually runs thus—they do not begin with denying the power but they begin by trying to do without it. They would like to become members of the Church and as they fear that they are not fit for it, they look about for something which looks like conversion and the new birth. They try to persuade themselves that they have been changed—they accept emotion as regeneration and a belief of doctrine for belief in Christ.

It is rather hard at first to reckon brass as gold but it grows easier as it is persisted in.

Patching up a conversion and manufacturing a regeneration, they venture forward. At the first they are a good deal suspicious of themselves but they industriously kill every question by treating it as a needless doubt.

Thus, by degrees, they believe a lie.

The next step is easy—they deceive themselves and come to believe that they are surely saved. All is now right for

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consider God’s eternal power, the power that will eventually cast the unbelieving sinners and fearful hypocrites to hell (along with Satan the ruler of such fears), because you go where the spirits in you take you! (Matt 15:14). The Pharisee’s hypocrisy was preventing them from seeing God’s Word, who was standing in front of them!

Conversely Jesus gave the disciples the words of security and love they needed to overcome any fear of men, and unbelief, “Don’t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows”.

Don’t be terrified, Jesus said, as if to say ‘God doesn’t want to kill you or judge you as an unbeliever, he sent me to save you!’ What was it that made Jesus apparently change his mind half way through his sentence? How can He say one minute “be fearful”, and the next “do not fear”? The answer is of course ‘sparrows’!

The Sparrow Sacrifice The sparrows mentioned by Jesus were those bought by poor repentant sinners, instead of doves, to offer in the temple as a sacrifice to cover their sins and give thanks to God. In the same way as God registered the offering of those sparrows to heaven, Jesus reassures the disciples that God sees their sacrifice in following him. He will not forget it because Jesus would be like those little sparrows the sacrifice or sin!

As a believer you should not be afraid of hell because we are not forgotten, in fact the opposite is the case. You are known in such intimate detail, that even the hairs of your head are numbered. Even with this knowledge of you and your faults God still accepts you but only because of Christ, if you will continue in him and boldly reject the fear of men to the end you shall be saved.

“I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.” v8.

Praise the Lord! He wants you to be reassured of his love towards you a believer, even the hairs of your head are numbered! This is good news! God is looking to save and not to condemn and judge you. ( see

also

Dan 3:27).

The Beginning of Wisdom “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10) The Hebrew translated here as ‘fear’, is the word ‘YIRAH’ which can also be translated as ‘reverence’ or ‘reverent fear’ a form of high RESPECT towards one greater and superior, not like ‘terrify’ as in the Greek ‘Phobos’. So we discover that the writer (probably Solomon) is exhorting us to ‘highly respect’ God or to ‘revere Him’, or to ‘prefer him’ that is worship him.

Learning to revere God (put first), says the writer, is just the beginning of wisdom. If you seek to be wise then you urgently need to respect God for who he is, in order to understand him more deeply. To do this you need to have a personal knowledge of the Holy One, you need to know God and his Ways.

You cannot respect someone you don’t know or PAGE 14 REVIVAL TIMES

have only heard about! May your prayer be like that of the Psalmist: “Teach me your way O Lord and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may revere (YIRAH) your name.”

(Psa 86:11)

Whole Heartedness It’s impossible to revere God if you have a divided heart regarding the truth of the Word of God revealed in the Scriptures. This was pointed out to us by Jesus and later by the apostle James.

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.You cannot serve both God and Mammon. (money)” (Luke 16:13).

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:5-8).

Revering God means that you put him first in your ‘heart’ and ‘mind’, and that you expect him to do you good and not evil. God is out to bless you and make you free, not to put you in chains! He is FULLY committed in love towards you and has done all he can to enable you to receive his blessing in this life and the next. His sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate proof of this love.

We all do what is in our heart to do, what we are doing today is what we believe in the most. Ask yourself honestly, is meditating on the Word and prayer the most time consuming activity in my day? Do I love God with ALL my heart, soul and strength! This is the first commandment and one which Jesus highlights as part of the Royal Law. (Matt 22:36-40).

Don’t Bury Your Talent In the parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14) Jesus told how the servant who had been given only one talent, buried his treasure in fear (phobos) of the master. This servant displayed the wrong attitude towards his master, expecting to be ill treated. The others however sought to multiply what they had been given knowing their master would be pleased, and as it turned out generous also.

In Hebrews we read; “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Heb 11:6).

So you are not to be afraid of God, but expect his rewards when you show him reverence and faith, God IS love.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him” (Psa 33:8).

The Benefits of Faith Before we review what it means in the practical sense to ‘revere’ the Lord, here are some of the real benefits of fearing the Lord:

Spirit, who makes the Word to be a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. First, I shall speak of the men, and secondly, of their folly. And when I am done with that, I shall have some words of instruction to give by way of conclusion.

I. First, let us talk awhile of THE MEN. They had the form of godliness but denied the power thereof.

Note what they had and then observe what they had not. They had a form of godliness. What is a form of godliness? It is, first of all, attention to the ordinances of religion. These, so far as they are Scriptural, are few and simple.

There is Baptism, wherein, in figure, the Believer is buried with Christ, that he may rise into newness of life.

And there is the Lord’s Supper, wherein, in type and emblem, he feeds upon Christ and sustains the life which came to him by fellowship with Christ’s death.

Those who have obeyed the Lord in these two ordinances have exhibited in their own persons the form of godliness. That form is every way instructive to others and impressive to the man himself.

Every baptised person and every communicant at the Lord’s Table, should be godly and gracious.

But neither Baptism nor the Lord’s Supper will secure this.

Where there is not the life of God in the soul, neither holiness or godliness follow upon the ordinances. And thus we may have around us baptised worldlings and men who go from the table of the Lord to drink the cup of devils. It is sad that it should be so. Such persons are guilty of presumption, falsehood, sacrilege and blasphemy. Ah me, we sit beside such every Sabbath!

The form of godliness involves attendance with the assemblies of God’s people. Those who have professed Christ are accustomed to come together at certain times for worship and, in their assemblies, they join in common prayer and common praise. They listen to the testimony of God

by His servants whom He calls to preach His Word with power.

They also associate together in Church fellowship for purposes of mutual help and discipline.

This is a very proper form—full of blessing both to the Church and to the world—when it does not die down into mere form.

A man may go to Heaven alone but he will do better if he travels there with Mr. Great-Heart and Father Honest and Christiana and the children.

Christ’s people are called sheep for one reason—they love to go in flocks. Dogs do very well separately but sheep do best in company. The sheep of Christ love to be together in the same pasture and to follow in a flock the footsteps of the Good Shepherd. Those who constantly associate in worship, unite in Church fellowship and work together for sacred purposes have the form of godliness and a very useful and proper form it is.

Alas, it is of no value without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some go further than public worship. They use a great deal of religious talk. They freely speak of the things of God in Christian company. They can defend the doctrines of Scripture, they can plead for its precepts and they can narrate the experience of a Believer. They are fondest of talking of what is doing in the Church—the tattle of the streets of Jerusalem is very pleasant to them. They flavour their speech with godly phrases when they are in company that will relish it. I do not censure them—on the contrary, I wish there were more of holy talk among professors.

I wish we could revive the old habit, “They that feared the Lord spoke often one to another.”

Holy conversation causes the heart to glow and gives to us a foretaste of the fellowship of the glorified. But there may be a savour of religion about a man’s conversation and yet it may be a borrowed flavour—like hot sauces used to disguise the staleness of ancient meat. That religion which comes from the lips outward but does not well up from the deep fountains of the heart is not that living water which will spring up unto eternal

life.

Tongue godliness is an abomination if the heart is destitute of Divine Grace.

More than this—some have a form of godliness upheld and published by religious activity. It is possible to be intensely active in the outside work of the Church and yet to know nothing of spiritual power. One may be an excellent Sunday school teacher after a fashion and yet have need to be taught what it is to be born again. One may be an eloquent preacher, or a diligent officer in the Church of God and yet know nothing of the mysterious power of the Spirit of Truth upon the heart. It is well to be like Martha in service. But one thing is needful—to sit at the Master’s feet and learn as Mary did.

When we have done all the work our position requires of us, we may only have displayed the form of godliness. Unless we hearken to our Lord and from His Presence derive power, we shall be as a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. Brethren, I speak to myself and to each one of you in solemn earnestness. If much speaking, generous giving and constant occupation could win Heaven, we might easily make sure of it. But more than these are needed. I speak to each one of you. And if I singled out anyone more than another to be the pointed object of my address, it would be the best among us— the one who is doing most for his Master and who, in his inmost soul, is thinking, “That warning does not apply to me.”

O my active and energetic Brother, remember the word, “Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” If any of you dislike this searching sermon, your dislike proves how much you need it. He that is not willing to search himself should stand self-incriminated by that unwillingness to look at his affairs. If you are right, you will not object to be weighed in the balances. If you are, indeed, pure gold, you may still feel anxiety at the sight of the furnace but you will not be driven to anger at the prospect of the fire. Your prayer REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 11

continued from page 6

THE FORM OF GODLINESS WITHOUT THE POWER NO. 2088

JUNE 2, 1889,

BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

2 Timothy 3:5.

PAUL warns us of certain characters which will appear in the last times. It is a very terrible list. The like have appeared in other days but we are led by his warning to apprehend that they will appear in greater numbers in the last days than in any previous age. “Lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” These will swarm like flies in the decay of the year and will make the times exceeding perilous. We are nearing that period at this very time.

That these people would, some of them, be within the Church is the most painful part of it.

But they will be so, for they are comprehended in this last clause of the black catalog, which we have taken for our text—“Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”

Paul does not paint the future with rose-coloured glasses—he is no smooth-tongued Prophet of a golden age into which this dull earth may be imagined to be glowing. There are sanguine Brothers and Sisters who are looking forward to everything growing better and better and better, until, at last, this present age ripens into a millennium.

They will not be able to sustain their hopes, for Scripture gives them no solid basis to rest upon.

We who believe that there will be no millennial reign without the King and who expect no rule of righteousness except from the appearing of the righteous Lord, are nearer the mark.

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Apart from the second Advent of our Lord, the world is more likely to sink into a pandemonium than to rise into a millennium. A Divine interposition seems to me the hope set before us in Scripture and, indeed, to be the only hope adequate to the occasion. We look to the darkening down of things.

The state of mankind, however improved politically, may yet grow worse and worse spiritually.

Certainly, we are assured in verse 13 that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” There will spring up in the Christian Church and round about it, a body of faithless men who profess to have faith— ungodly men who will unite with the saints—men having the form of godliness but denying the power.

We may call these hard times, if we will, but we have hardly yet come to the border of those truly harder times when it will go hard with the Church and she shall need, even more than today, to cry mightily unto the Lord to keep her alive. With this cloud upon our spirit, we come to the text itself. Let us consider it carefully and may the Holy Spirit help us!

True religion is a spiritual thing but it necessarily embodies itself in a form. Man is a spiritual creature but the human spirit needs a body in which to enshrine itself. And thus, by this need, we become allied to materialism.

And if not “half dust, half Deity,” as one has said, we are certainly both matter and soul. In each of us there is the form or body and the soul or power. It is so with religion—it is essentially a spiritual thing but it requires a form in which to embody and manifest itself.

Christian people fall into a certain outward method of procedure, a peculiar outward mode of uttering their faith, which becomes to true godliness what

the body is to the soul. The form is useful, the form is necessary, the form ought to be vitalized— just as the body is useful and is necessary and is vitalized by the soul. If you get both the form, as modelled in the Word of God and the power, as bestowed by the Spirit of God, you do well and are living Christians. If you get the power alone, without the ordained form, you somewhat maim yourself. But if you get the form without the power, then, you dwell in spiritual death.

The body without the spirit is dead. And what follows upon death with flesh? Why, corruption—corruption so horrible that even love itself has to cry, “Bury my dead out of my sight.” So that if there is in any the body of religion without the life of religion, it leads to decay and thus to corruption—and that has a tendency to decompose the character. The raw material of a devil is an angel bereft of holiness.

You cannot make a Judas except out of an Apostle. The eminently good in outward form, when without inward life, decays into the foulest thing under Heaven.

You cannot wonder that these are called “perilous times,” in which such characters abound.

One Judas is an awful weight for this poor globe to bear but a tribe of them must be a peril, indeed.

Yet, if not of the very worst order, those are enough to be dreaded who have the shadow of religion without its substance.

Of such I have to speak at this time—from such may God give you Divine Grace to turn away!

May none of us ever be spots in our feasts of love, or clouds without water carried about of winds. But this we shall be if we have the form of godliness without the power thereof.

With great solemnity of soul I approach this subject, seeking from the Lord the aid of His

“The fear of the Lord leads to life:Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” (Prov 19:23).

“Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land.The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.” (Psa 25:12-14).

Do you want God to confide in you? Do you want peace and prosperity? If the answer is yes, then you need to understand how to live in reverent fear to the Lord.

A Change of Lifestyle David the King of Israel discovered how to revere God because he had a complete heart commitment towards him. In his Psalms he reveals a great deal about revering God, having a relationship and a friendship with God that few attain to. David shares with us in Psalm 34 how to properly revere the Lord, his words of wisdom speak directly to us; “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies1.Turn from evil and do good 2; seek peace and pursue it.3” (Psa 34:9-14).

David reveals that there are three areas of lifestyle change that God is calling us to do in order to revere him in spirit and truth: 1. Keep your tongue and lips from speaking lies 2. Turn from evil and do good 3. Seek peace and pursue it Remember that in each of these three areas (for revering God), the Lord is looking to bless you and not to curse you, this is true wisdom! Without Christ’s humility and by his indwelling presence these three areas are impossible to observe. Only by co-operating with the Holy Spirit within can we mirror David’s devotion. As David said, the fear of the Lord is just the beginning of wisdom, we can only go deeper in our friendship with God as we grasp these fundamental truths of God’s Word.

So let’s analyse these three areas to grasp how we can co-operate with his Spirit and give true ‘reverence’ to God our loving Father. With the grace of the Holy Spirit in you helping you, this is not beyond reach. Also all these qualities need to be seen in us simultaneously three in one!

1. Control Your Tongue The tongue is described by James the apostle as the most uncontrollable part of your body (Jam 3:1-6).

Crucially, however, it is also the most important part like the rudder on a ship, the guide, the thermostat of your whole life! It’s always guiding, always creating for good or for evil. If you are to revere God you must gain control of your unruly tongue, because it is a spiritual law that ‘what you say is what you get’. You ‘reap what you sow’. Only the Holy Spirit in you can help you to do the impossible

to control and train your tongue. So begin to cry out daily for his help!

“The Lord detests lying lips but he delights in men who are truthful.” (Prov 12:22).

But what is it to lie? Fundamentally you are lying when you disagree with God’s Word in what you say, in any form, you are not revering God and you are hindering yourself from receiving good things, because you quench the Holy Spirit with lies! Lying is evidence of unbelief in what God has said. Satan is the father of lies! Liars who don’t repent do not inherit the kingdom - very serious (Rev 21:8).

Lying is not just about blatant ‘deceptive lies’ that lead people astray, or even ‘white lies’, more than these it includes saying things about yourself (as a child of God) that are not true in God’s sight! e.g. you cannot say, ‘God doesn’t love me’, the Bible makes it plain that he does! By confessing this you are effectively agreeing with Satan and lying to yourself. Is there any hope for us? As Isaiah cried out to the Lord: “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5).

It’s God’s desire that you be like him, full of truth and speaking the truth. You have power in your tongue to affect your life and the life of others for good or bad. It’s a spiritual principle which God put into the universe, because that is how God operates, he speaks his Word and we are made in his image.

Still not convinced? This is what Jesus said about it: “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt 12:36-37).

You had better believe this! This is the first step of wisdom - realising the power of the spoken Word. That’s why this is the beginning of wisdom understanding the power of words in your mouth.

Being wise means you become more aware of what you are saying, your tongue needs to be trained to fear God, to submit to his will and not Satan’s.

It will take time to do it, training takes time, but it needs to happen at all costs because your tongue is guiding you every day. It’s the key to a successful or shipwrecked life. Cry out to him for your tongue to change, to speak only his words. Repent of careless words as soon as you realise what’s happened.

Jesus is our perfect model on how to speak effectively when he said; “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it”. (John 12:49) The Father wants to teach you what to speak and how to speak (not only what not to speak), because he has said; “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (Prov 13:3) The Father does not want you to come to ruin, but continued on page 17

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 15

don’t support them in any way whatsoever and they will either wake up or fade away. If they are genuine believers they will be humbled and led to repent of their sin and iniquity by your example. But beware because, just like Stephen discovered, the religious leaders will not be impressed with you and they will persecute you and may even attack you. However, in saying that there may also be some, like Nicodemus, who will want to listen and who will turn to Christ and eventually give up their traditional religious ways.

As we have said, Jesus did not set up an hierarchical system with a management structure with departments etc. - it’s simply not there in the Bible which is our guide to check against in these last hours of history. Jesus said, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him’ (John 14:23) The wonderful miracle is that he comes to us where we are - your heart, home and family - can you

see this wonderful grace towards you and ALL men!? Emmanuel ‘God with us’.

Persecution always comes One look at history and you can see where genuine believers have been persecuted and killed for standing up against the hierarchical systems of the ‘apostate church’ (even Martin Luther who was trying to reform the Roman Catholic system never fully escaped!). Just about every major denomination has some kind of skeleton in the cupboard where they have resisted the Holy Spirit and invented a whole host of additional religious practices putting them onto people as if it was God’s will.

How many have corrupted the Word of God in Scripture for their own ends, taking offerings, tithes and selling the gospel for profits to spend on themselves!

According to Paul this is indeed evil and a doctrine of Satan (Titus 1:11; 1 Tim 6:9-10; 2 Pet 2:3).

None of the apostles of Christ were made rich from the gospel preaching, rather they laid down

everything and followed Jesus even to death because they stood against false religion! The level of deception we are currently surrounded by is gigantic and global in its extent, being spread through new media such as TV and Internet!

How to escape the system So again we ask, can you humble yourself and serve your brothers and sisters in Christ and not serve a system or an organisation, but genuinely care for your fellow man everyday for no pay or reward? This means that you must lay down your life, this means at times it may well be very inconvenient and cost a lot.

Jesus said we must see ourselves as servants who have only done our duty!

“So likewise you, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

(Luke 17:10)

OFF THE CHARTS - WEATHER, EARTHQUAKES, FLOODS, POLLUTION, MURDER! The Holy Bible explains that these changes and disasters are increasing and worsening to warn humanity of an even worse day to come! It’s like a harvest that is ripening to its end! Yes it will get much worse, because God has ordained a limit on the length of time mankind has in his sinful condition (Daniel 8). Just look at the prophecies below and how they tell of the judgement, but also the only hope that is found through Jesus Christ. I hope you can see the signs of the times and connect with the creator KING JESUS!

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” ROMANS 8:20-22

Sea Levels Rising fast

“And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” DANIEL 8:19 “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” ISAIAH 51:6 “Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.’” LUKE 21:10-11 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” MATTHEW 24:35 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” ROMANS 6:23 PAGE 16 REVIVAL TIMES

OFF THE CHARTS - THE BIG PICTURE Download our special climate change document here which reveals how the earth systems are collapsing because of man’s original sin. https://issuu.com/omegaministries/docs/ off-the-charts

see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56).

True Worship So what is the Father’s greatest pleasure? It is this one thing - His one and ONLY Son Jesus Christ!

That’s why Jesus was raised up to his right hand as he is equal with God, that’s why there is no other name by which we must be saved - Yeshua (Hebrew).

Just think for a moment where Jesus would meet and teach his disciples; by the sea, on the road, in homes, in the old temple courts, by the well, in a rented upper room, in the Pharisees house, in a tax collectors house, in a synagogue, on a boat, in the street and in a garden! This shows that at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter to the Father where on earth we gather, as long as it’s not in pagan temples full of idols. The important thing is that we really grasp the reason why we do it, and it’s not for us, but for his Son’s sake to give glory and honour to him alone. If any of us take any credit or position for anything we do then we have failed, because all such pride is of the devil. The Father is looking for those who worship him and his Son in spirit and truth, that is by the Holy Spirit. He explained this to the woman at Jacob’s well: “The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ).When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

This form of ‘worship’, of which he speaks is not optional, Jesus

said we ‘must worship in spirit and truth’. But how and why? And why didn’t Jesus have a guitar?

Well it’s because this honouring of God is first ‘holy’, ‘spiritual’ and nothing to do with earth or this world. He said it’s not about ‘where’ and ‘how’ you worship, but about ‘why’ and ‘who’! True spiritual worship is little to do with good singing or fancy tunes.

God is worthy of this praise, but it’s not necessarily worship (anyone can sing). Spiritual worship is much more about how you live your life before a holy God in truth.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom 12:1-3) He is watching your every step and observing your every breath, so that by any means he can be with you to do you good and bless you! He cannot help but see all that’s going on, because he is omnipresent in creation!

Just think of the horrors he must endure! (Heb ) True worship is about bowing the knee in loving submission and bowing before his holy throne in total and utter adoration to do his good will.

Sin prevents God coming too near us, because his holy fire would destroy the unholy - not what he wants. The Father backs away in order to protect us.

That’s why he had to cleanse us by his only Son’s blood - to take away sin and so break our connection to Satan - who is continually judged and destined for the lake of fire.

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15) This all means that we must give up all our old ideas about ‘going to church’ because it’s ‘falling backwards’ just the same as the woman at the well thought,

‘going to this mountain’ or ‘going to the temple’. We must give up the idea of the traditional ‘house of worship’ as having some kind of holy importance, some kind of holy ground. Places like cathedrals and temples etc. are man’s ideas to try and contain and control God’s people for their own ends and it’s just not the apostolic teaching - it’s simply not there in the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, it’s a deception that has done great damage. So we must stop it and no longer support it! The Scriptures call these traditions of men ‘iniquity’. This so often leads to further heresy and the worship of demons! This error is no small thing, but it’s a huge hindrance against God’s plan. It’s roots are found in Babylonish, Romanistic, Greco teaching and tradition and not from Jesus or the apostles.

Think about it, big temples and tall buildings actually inspired God’s wrath! (Gen 11).

See how did Jesus responded to the apostles when they told him that by condemning the doctrines of the Pharisees (i.e. Traditions) he had really upset them?

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (Matt 15:9-14) Do you want to fall into a ditch?

Do you want to be led astray?

Do you think that their religious ways and buildings will benefit you eternally? Don’t be fooled by the seducing words, false promises and comfortable chairs of modern day Pharisees! Take Jesus’ advice and ‘Let them alone’, continued on page 16

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A Message For Our Times PART 6 - By Stephen Turnham

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7” The sixth of 12 parts looking at who the ‘church’ really are and why.

PART 6 - HUMBLE YOURSELF AND SERVE OTHERS? “But Jesus called them unto him, and said,Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your slave: Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matt 20:25-28) “And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, and said unto them, whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.” (Luke 9:48) esus is the King of peace and love and this is bestowed upon him because he has proven himself to be the servant of all mankind by laying down his life to serve us by saving us.

In his church (house) the chief, greatest or leader is not the one who sits on high above others making the decisions, but rather it is the one who seeks to serve God alone and lift up the others to achieve God’s will. Practically speaking this means that they have given up their own rights to be first, it means that these servants see the others as if they were serving Christ himself. It means that humility is the main characteristic of a member of the body of Jesus, it means that mercy and forgiveness is the atmosphere in the household.

In the body of Christ having the right mind and the right attitude really is everything, just being right is not good enough, rather we must speak the truth in love and humility not in an attempt

J

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to justify our views (Eph 4:15), but the goal of gathering is to edify and lift up those for whom Christ died. To equip the young to know him and to make them disciples.

Paul expresses this beautifully in his letter to the Ephesians: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Eph 4:1-6).

Members of a home have as much authority to tell others what to do as a small child has over an adult - absolutely none!

Rather like Jesus, the apostles and like Paul we must beseech or plead our case based on the Words of the Father whose heart is of love. There cannot be a hidden agenda of any kind because this is always from Satan and appeals only to the carnal mind of pride. True Christians have crucified the desires of the natural flesh and the carnal selfish mind-set preferring to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to live in holy obedience.

They obey Jesus and the apostle’s call to ‘deny yourself and carry your cross daily’ and to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. (see Luke 9:23; Gal 2:20, 5:24; Rom 6:6)

This message is presented with the view that those who are prepared to have this attitude of humility and eagerness to serve the truth should come together as he intended and be his church in these final days. But some may ask; where would we gather together and does this matter to the Father? Listen to the words of Stephen the deacon from the

book of Acts as he spoke to the religious people in Jerusalem (approx three years after Pentecost): “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, ‘Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?’ Hath not my hand made all these things?” (Acts 7:48-50)

So what is God saying to us?

Firstly you can never contain him or restrict him.

Secondly, you can never tell him what to do because he made all things for his pleasure (God has freewill and is Almighty!)

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

(Rev 4:1)

But what is his greatest pleasure?

The clue for us is how he refers to himself so many times in the Scripture and especially in the new covenant writings FATHER. However he is not a bad father who is selfish and neglectful, like so many of us might have experienced, rather he is the perfect Father, our Father in Heaven! As was just stated by Stephen God said, ‘Heaven is my throne’ (that’s big) and as Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Our Father which is in Heaven’ (Matt 6:9).

How many times have we prayed this prayer and not truly grasped the significance of it and realised where Jesus Christ is right now?

Stephen saw with his own eyes just before he was stoned to death by the Jewish hypocrites: “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I

continued from page 15

to have life in abundance and His words are Spirit and life (John 6:63).

The Heart of The Problem is The Problem of The Human Heart How on earth do you work with the Spirit to control your tongue? Glad you asked as Jesus has the answer: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45; see also Prov 4:23) If there is any ruin in your life, it was probably something you said! Your tongue reflects what is really in your heart of hearts - your spirit. Whatever your heart is full of will spill out into the words you speak and these will set the direction of your life. In order to change your tongue you need go to the source of the words and actively store up good things in your heart (hint: these good things are God’s Words).

If you seriously want to fear the Lord and follow him you must store up good things in your heart.

God’s Word is the nourishing food for your heart, your spiritual heart or inner man. You need to give yourself a balanced diet of all the Words of God in the Bible especially the Messiahs Truth. That’s why saints of the past died to ensure that the Scriptures and writings of the apostles were preserved and distributed, it’s real food, the true manna from heaven.

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut 8:3) If the Word is not in you, how can it come out! It’s a change process that takes time, the sooner you start the sooner you will grow stronger as you continue to feed yourself the Word of God and stop feeding on the falsehoods in Newspapers, TV or even religious books (you need less TV and more KJV!).

The more concentrated time you spend in the Word of God the faster it will begin to come out your mouth, only then will it benefit you like a sword in the hand of a skilled warrior. When it comes from the redeemed heart, God’s Word in your mouth will be as powerful as God’s Word in his! Only those who live this way achieve the first step of fearing the Lord, control of the tongue.(see also Rev 1:16).

2.Turn From Evil & Do Good David’s second requirement for revering the Lord is to do with having a servant heart. What does he mean when saying ‘turn from evil’. It may seem obvious, but what does it really mean.

All sin and iniquity is based in pride. A person of pride is unable to lower themselves to serve others in a way that really costs them on a personal level.

A man or woman of pride feels that people should serve them and holds on to their own life tightly.

The pride of life also justifies sinful behaviour because ‘everyone does it’ and ‘we are only human’

and other common excuses. An unredeemed heart is conscious of doing evil but ignores the inner conscience convicting them that their actions are wrong. These are pleasure orientated souls who give in to temptations and worldliness. Hypocrites are those who live like this but claim to be religious and go to church or attend other faiths.

This should cause you to ask the question; “Who do I care about the most? Who do I spend my time and money on and why?”

If the answer is mainly ‘Myself’ then perhaps you need to re-examine your life in Christ?

Jesus wants you to be eager to do good, even as he exampled. Love must not be seen as separate from practical action and it’s more than just giving money, it’s about laying down your life for others.

Paul encourages us to spur one another on to love and good deeds (righteousness), for this is why God redeemed us.

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present evil age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:11-14).

Jesus saved us to do something positive and good for others, true righteousness (generosity). God wants us as his people to be eager to do good as witnesses in a selfish and spoilt world. He has a ministry for each member of the body of Christ to do. You need to find out what that calling is and be dedicated to it! Only then will you be fulfilled in your service for the Lord and his people (Eph 2:10 & 2 Tim 3:16-17). Even more than this, we are to continually encourage one another to help those in need as we are able; “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Heb 13:15,16).

We can easily forget to do good for others, especially in a society which is very self centred and individualistic.

“What good is it, my brothers, if man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, “but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14-17).

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbour, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow-when you now have it with you.””

(Prov 3:27-28. see Titus 3:8 3).

also

M att 5:38-48 Eph 6:7-8; 1 Pet 2:15;

To truly revere the Lord we must turn away from serving ourselves and lay down our lives for others.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 17

continued from page 5

with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

(Matt 20:25-28)

So you must be honest with yourself and ask, “am I right now, today, doing anything to help someone else improve their relationship with God or to help lift them out of a human difficulty?” Serving Jesus is about being a slave to our fellow man.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

3. Seek Peace And Pursue It The third essential understanding of the fear of the Lord holds everything together. The Hebrew word used by David for PEACE in Psalm 34 is the well known Hebrew word “SHALOM”, but this word actually means more than just ‘peace’. A better word would be ‘wholeness’ or ‘wellbeing’. It incorporates health, abundance and true prosperity, all the things the Bible associates with an abundant life.

Remember Jesus said; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) (Shalom).

The Apostle John reveals that God’s people are to be well in every good sense; “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3 John 2).

“Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honour and life.” (Prov 22:4).

David is encouraging you to not only seek peace but pursue it, what does this mean?

It reveals that peace is continually on the move.

Like Jesus who didn’t stay long in one place and the people had to seek him out. When they found him they pursued him, because they didn’t want to miss any of the action. This is still true for us today. Jesus is the prince of peace and he is always encouraging us to actively seek him to know his peace.

His will for you will become clearer when you pursue him daily in your own life, then you will experience his peace which passes all understanding.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7).

Peace is vital for guarding your heart, the very thing that Solomon told us we should do back in Proverbs when he said: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”.

(P rov 4:23).

A Practical Daily Lifestyle So where do you go from here?

Here are some recommendations: Firstly, humbly confess all known sins in your PAGE 18 REVIVAL TIMES

life, especially anything you have said which was injurious to others or yourself. Then confess words spoken in the past which you have forgotten about, but which were evil ‘seeds’ that you are now reaping! Ask Jesus in his mercy to cleanse it all away from your life by His blood sacrifice. Let the Holy Spirit cleanse your heart and mind without restraint, throw yourself on Him. Realise your true condition before a Holy God! Keep this spirit of repentance daily before him to be fully sanctified (made holy). You will make mistakes but he will refine you like silver seven times over. When the dross comes to the surface and you see your true state repent and receive the cleansing from heaven and be free from deception! His grace was given for this because you are willing to change. Read the Word out loud as much as possible.

Secondly, diligently seek him with all your heart, consider spending days fasting each week to show God that you are seriously turning away from the desires of the world. Put away (repent) the things that stop you getting into the Word and prayer each day, things like junk TV, computer games, Apps, religious activities, hobbies and going out socialising etc. and begin to feed your heart the food it needs to develop - his Words. You need a new lifestyle in Christ based around periods of reading the Bible and prayer. Like a new born infant go from feed to feed in order to grow strong. Spend time with God as you would your best friend, not 5 minutes but hours even days!? Take days off work just to be with him and study his truth!

Make the decision that no matter what happens the Word of God is the final authority in your life, and seek to obey it as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you on a daily basis. If you don’t eat every day you will die spiritually! As Jesus pointed out to the church of Laodicea: “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” (Rev 3:14-18) Thirdly, don’t be afraid of God or think he is against you and is trying to punish you with trouble. This is not true! God is for you and wants you to mature and be whole, you need to co-operate with him more to realise the blessings promised to God’s people. The Lord disciplines those he loves – he just really loves you! You are to overcome life’s trouble and Satan’s lies with him. Remember you are in a WAR and the devil is out to destroy you, so you need Jesus to help you everyday! Satan has not overcome you yet, but he will never give up trying. He is like a terminator seeking whom to destroy. So take your spiritual life seriously and put

the same fear that he has - the fear of death.

All phobias originate with Satan and his demons and are sent to trouble your soul, giving you a morbid sense of impending punishment (from God) and creating insecurity. This sense of impending punishment is the root of all fear, propagated by demon spirits upon those whom he has managed to infiltrate or influence from inside or out. If you accept these fears as part of your self you will be ruled by them. Satan can only rule by fear, domination and control, he has no love in him.

God does not want his people trapped or influenced by these fears, he came to release the captives, so that they can receive blessing from him. These fears surround the unbeliever because they are the children of Satan and his kingdom which relies on the power of fear to control, but God wants his children free of ALL fears, because His Kingdom runs by love and not by fear; “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7) “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears (phobias).” (Psa 34:4) “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

(Rom 8:15)

David the King was delivered from fear many times, he was famously ‘fearless’ in the face of the enemies of Israel. He knew that God was with him and was fighting for him. You too need to be delivered from any phobias which you may have retained from when you were in the kingdom of darkness, you don’t need to keep them. Jesus is the deliverer and it is the power of his love that delivers us from these fears. He really does care about you! All fear is defined as ‘an expectation of punishment’. Faith, however, is ‘an expectation of good’ shown to us by Jesus the creator. Perfect love drives out fear just as Jesus drives out Satan.

So often when something bad happens in life Satan tells us that ‘God was to blame’ and that it proves he doesn’t love us – this is a lie from the pit of hell! Satan is the destroyer not God. The last thing Satan wants is for you to turn against him and cast off his fear and sickness! Love brings you security, the knowledge of acceptance, confidence, encouragement and ability. This is how God wants you to be in this life right NOW! God is love and is seeking to perfect you in love. God is love and knowledge of him is the key to life.

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18; see also Hebrews 10:26) Clearly God wants you ‘phobia free’ hallelujah! He wants you to be fearless in the face of trouble or danger, knowing he is there to protect you and see you through. He has made it possible for you to be

completely free of ALL fears by his love. When you have a deep revelation of his unending love you will never have to put up with fear again! The apostle Paul prayed continually for believers who needed this revelation of God’s powerful love; “I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this knowledge of love - that you may be filled to the measure of the fulness of God.” (Eph 3:16-19) Notice here that Paul is not praying that you receive his love, but to ‘grasp it’, to ‘know it’, because as a believer you have already received the love of God – his Holy Spirit in you. You just need to perceive it! “..God HAS poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he HAS GIVEN us.” (Rom 5:5) If you are born again by the Spirit you can begin to thank God right now for the love he has poured into your heart and this will ‘drive out’ all evil phobias.

Confess whatever fear you have to God, renounce it (that spirit belongs to Satan not you) then repent and do not allow it to come back, tell it to go. The power of God’s love WILL set you free.

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7)

Fearing God? So you may be asking, what does the Bible mean when it appears to say the opposite in many places ‘fear the Lord’? Surely this is a contradiction! Jesus and the prophets reveal the answer to us.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear Him who, after the body is killed, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:4-7) In this passage Jesus deals with the subject of ‘whom to fear’ and ‘why’. When Jesus spoke this parable many thousands of people were trying to see him. Jesus had spoken separately to his Twelve disciples warning them about hypocrisy (yeast of the Pharisees), expressed in the outwardly religious lifestyle of saying one thing but doing another.

The scripture reveals that the head Pharisees were fearful of the power of the Romans, thinking that they would be punished and loose out because of what Jesus was doing and saying.

Jesus recognised that they had the ‘fear of men’ and this always results in a lifestyle of hypocrisy and compromise. The Pharisees were afraid and not prepared to stand with Christ, but preferred to support the Roman authority for their own gain.

Jesus turns to those listening and warns them that this attitude is selfish and short term only. He says that the Romans can only kill the body. If they are going to be terrified, Jesus says, they should rather continued on page 14

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expressly tells us never to call anyone on earth our father.

“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matt 23:9) Yet again we see Jesus telling us to focus on heaven where the Father dwells and where he now dwells in human form as High Priest. Jesus’ flesh was changed and glorified into what Paul calls a ‘quickening spirit’ (1 Corinthians 15 ). We should no longer regard Jesus as just a man on the earth but rather as the risen conquering King who holds the keys to all life.

“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev 1) “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:6-11)

The King of Gold Many years ago (during the time of Daniel) king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who was called the ‘head of gold’ (Dan 2:38), was given a revelation of this truth, that heaven rules over earth.

He was humbled for 7 years by God because he claimed that he had made himself great. He ate grass and lived like an animal in the woods! When God restored PAGE 6 REVIVAL TIMES

him back to sanity and restored his position as king again Nebuchadnezzar wrote a letter, recorded in Daniel chapter 4.

“And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”

He concludes his letter with these words: “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”

By now it should be getting very clear that Jesus Christ is in heaven ruling as he always has over the affairs of men to achieve his purposes and not ours. This confuses the world which is in utter rebellion against God’s will and, however hard it strives, succeeds only in destroying itself and the creation (even space!). This is because the liar Satan is polluting them with his corruption of pride and iniquity and men choose this darkness rather than come to the light of heaven. Like Nebuchadnezzar they walk in pride thinking that they have achieved great things by themselves.

God’s purpose through time Why is it all this way? Why is earth ruled by heaven? Is history pre-ordained by God and we have no choice? These are the kind of questions that naturally come to mind when meditating on the truth of Scripture and the answer is not easy to take if you

are not saved in Christ!

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again,The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. ” (1 Corin 3:19-23) Since the beginning of time, God desired to have sons who would be like him. That’s why he made us in his image, spirit, soul and body. However, one of his key characteristics is ‘freewill’, i.e. in his holy goodness the Almighty can do as he pleases. As love he only intends for there to be good and not evil. However, in order for us to have ‘freewill’ and be like him we must also be ‘free to choose’ to reject him.

Since the beginning This is why Adam and Eve where given the choice in the garden between obeying him or disobeying in order to gain ‘knowledge’ from Satan.

By yielding to Satan’s testing (temptation) and accepting his teaching and authority Eve, then Adam, fell from grace into the law of sin and death loosing their supernatural cover of protection God’s Spirit.

This is why they felt naked when God the Son approached, causing them to hide. In his love for humanity, and his desire for a family, the all knowing Father had already anticipated this problem of sin and prepared a plan that would redeem mankind from their bad choice whilst at the same time create true sons and daughters for eternity who choose him out of love.

The rest of the Bible describes this process through history as man struggles with good and evil until God himself comes as a man to do what Adam should have done - cast Satan out! As we know Jesus gave his flesh to remove the barrier or veil from our minds.

A chosen nation Through Abraham God chose the smallest nation out of the world that would be precious to him and be the delivery system for his arrival in the earth at the appointed time (Gal 4:2). continued on page 10

it above everything else or you may die in your sins!

Remember only the pure in heart will see God - it’s not negotiable on the day he comes back or you die.

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

NO-ONE serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.” (2 Tim 2:3-5).

These are the spiritual rules that God himself has placed in the universe! If we are unwise and fail to seek and serve God as he has chosen, in Christ we will fail and die. The devil has devised many

distractions from these truths, so that millions are on the road to destruction. Paul calls these distractions, ‘civilian affairs’. What are these “civilian affairs”?

Surely it’s the interests and pleasures of the flesh that the whole world lives for. The Lord will show you personally what things are hindering you, it is up to you to ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12). This is it, this is where the rubber really hits the road, this is the WAY of Christ so let’s walk in it! The grace of God be with you. n

AN EXTRACT FROM: WWW.JERUSALEM-WATCH.COM Jerusalem’s narrative can literally be traced using the various foundation layers from several time periods. Ten different ancient civilizations have been identified, the earliest of which dates back nearly 4,000 years. These include the Canaanites, Israelites, Romans, Byzantines, Persians and early Muslims. It is like looking at the different rings of a tree stump or peeling away the layers of an onion, until you reach the bedrock, the heart – where it all began. Every layer is a different chapter in this narrative. These man-made layers have been formed over the course of over 3000 years, but they have only been uncovered, perhaps even “redeemed,” during the past 25 years. The City of David, ancient Jerusalem, has been rising from the ashes and shaking off chapters of dust. And she has slowly begun to reveal her secrets…

The Gihon Spring gets its name from a Hebrew word meaning “to burst forth“. It was the main water source of the early Canaanite city, Jebus, which was conquered by King David. It is also the very spring where King Solomon and other kings of Israel were anointed (1 Kings 1:38 -39). The waters of the spring are also referred to by Isaiah as the living waters (Isaiah 12:3) and this spring played a key role in the water drawing ceremony that reached its peak on Hoshana Raba during the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles). Tradition tells us that this was one of the most joyous occasions of the year.

“A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the wadi that flowed through the land, saying, ‘Why should the Assyrian kings come and find water in abundance?’” (2 Chronicles 32:4) The fear that the abundant water flowing outside the city could be used by the Assyrian army gave King Hezekiah of Judah no rest. He therefore diverted the waters of the Gihon to a tunnel cut through the belly of the rock. Hezekiah’s tunnel diverted the water to the Shiloah Pool, built within the walls in the southern part of the city (2 Chronicles 32:30). The winding tunnel was hewn simultaneously from both ends for a length of approximately 533 meters. The height differential between the source of the spring and the end of the tunnel is a mere 30 centimetres (an average slope of 0.06 percent) – a truly amazing engineering feat. The Shiloah Inscription describing the dramatic meeting of the two groups of diggers, each digging toward one another one group from the Gihon Spring and the other from the Shiloah Pool, was found in the tunnel itself. It was discovered in 1880 by two boys who came upon it a few meters from the southern exit to the tunnel. “Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?” (2 Kings 20:20)

continued on page 20

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If the pilgrims indeed encamped around the Pool of Siloam during the pilgrimage festivals and used it as a ritual bath to purify themselves before entering the Temple, there must have been a road leading up from the Shiloah pool all the way to the Temple Mount. While probing the area for more clues, archaeologists found a wide stepped road paved with flat stone slabs, which led northward to the Temple Mount. The style of these steps curiously corresponded with the same pattern of the stairs leading up to the Huldah Gates on the southern side of the Temple Mount. The final ascent that millions of pilgrims made to Temple Mount was rediscovered. This Pilgrimage Road is again being cleared of stones in current excavation work, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold: “Pass through, pass through the gates!

Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.” (Isaiah 62:10) The water drainage tunnel underneath this massive road was also excavated. It revealed a far more sad narrative than that of the happy festival days. Fully intact cooking pots were found.

But meticulous breaks in the road at the lower end of the hill, as well as a Roman sword, were also sighted. The puzzle pieces fell in place when archaeologists turned to the book of Josephus Flavius, the only historian who described the siege of Jerusalem methodically in his book History of the Jewish War against the Romans. He describes the fate of the rebel refugees as follows: “For when all who showed themselves had been either slain or taken prisoner by the Romans, the victors instituted a search for those in the tunnels, and tearing up the ground, slew all whom they met; here too were found upwards of two thousand dead, of whom some had been destroyed by their own and some by one another’s hands, but a greater number by famine.”

The Jerusalem Watch Coin lies at the heart of the Jerusalem Watch, whose purpose is to empower those passionate about Biblical Jerusalem to connect to her on a deep, personal level.

The true location of ancient Jerusalem was only rediscovered a mere 150 years ago, located 400 meters to the south and outside the walls of what is today known as the Old City. Significant archaeological discoveries were made in the City of David over these 150 years, but ongoing excavations have only been done over the last 25 years. These excavations provided us actual physical proof of the authenticity of the Bible. It is not hard to see that our generation is witnessing wonders that so many longed for, but never merited to see.

Visit www.jerusalem-watch.com continued from page 3

He protected this people from generation to generation through the holy remnant who believed ensuring a pure spiritual and genetic line for the body which he would inhabit by birth in the earth (Heb 10:4-6). This made Jesus Messiah fully God, but fully man at the same time, God was in heaven (Father) and on earth (Jesus) and demonstrated his power (Holy Spirit) to turn us back to himself.

It was necessary to defeat Satan and sin as a man, in order for justice to be done and Satan condemned to eternal punishment. Our salvation depends on being separated from Satan and his kingdom, PAGE 20 REVIVAL TIMES

because God has determined to destroy the creation, in order to make a new one without sin and death. Obviously Satan and his hordes disagree with this plan and hence the angelic war between them and God’s people.

The world system ‘governed’ by man, and often influenced Satan, tries to save itself from this inevitable destiny by denying the truth. Until unbelievers hear the Gospel, believe and are baptised, by the grace given, they cannot escape the kingdom of darkness.

Jesus and the apostles make this clear in all their teaching (John 3:16; Acts 26:18; Col 1:13).

Our inner spirit is renewed by being reconnected to God’s

Spirit, so that we are no longer naked or scared of God Almighty.

We become ‘clothed’ with Christ (Spirit) and as such are called a new creature of heaven. Paul tells us that when we are born of the ‘Spirit’ we are effectively ‘raised up with Christ’ and ‘seated with Christ in the heavens’. It is essential that we understand what Jesus has given us by His Spirit dwelling in us and focus on the Kingdom of heaven above, because this will last forever, but heaven and earth as we know will pass away and there is no escape except through Christ.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”

Living in The Fear of God Learning to Revere His Holy Name

“The fear of the Lord (Adonai) is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov 9:10) Whom Should I Fear?

“But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.” (Luke 1:30).

M

any times in the Bible we read the words “Do not fear” or “Do not be afraid” spoken to the servants of God. God said it through the angels, He said it through the Prophets, He said it through Jesus, He said it through the Apostles. He said ‘DO NOT FEAR!’ Why would God make such an effort to tell his servants ‘Fear not’? Put simply as fallen human beings we have been conditioned to be worried, anxious and fearful of the world around us. The sinful heart of mankind also means that we try to hide from God, just like Adam and Eve did after they fell from grace, taking on the nature of fear, of Satan himself. Not only this our weak human flesh now crumbles in the face of the spiritual reality of Yahweh’s awesome presence.

However, for the believer and true follower of Christ Yahweh your heavenly Father wants you to know the amazing truth that you, as a believer in His Son, ‘have found favour’ with him, and that favour is his grace expressed in Christ (Messiah), and “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). So, as his spiritual child he does not want you to be afraid of him, he wants you to draw near without fear of death, because you have found favour with him, so there is no need to fear his love, God is now with you, in you and you are safe in him. Don’t let your past experience (of your natural parents) stop you approaching him with boldness.

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:3)

The angel of the Lord came to Mary and said “Do not be afraid, you have found favour with God”. If you have received Jesus into your heart by faith in his death, burial and resurrection, you have also found favour with God, (just as Mary received Jesus Spirit into her womb) you have received Christ into your heart by the Holy Spirit (a greater work!) and this has pleased the Father and filled him with great joy! (Luke 15:7) and the angels rejoice! This is no small thing, it is the mystery of the ages and more precious than gold!

The Power of Evil The Bible tells us that ‘earthly’ fear is an evil force (an evil spirit) that seeks to hinder you and stop you from receiving from God as your Father. This

negative fear could have hindered Mary when she saw the glory of the angel, that’s why the angel said “Do not be afraid”. The things of God are not to be feared – they are good news and to be received with open hearts of faith, trust and thanksgiving.

Mary chose wisely not giving way to fear, but instead choosing to believe the message of the angel from God’s throne in heaven. Any carnal fear on her part may well have stopped God’s will from being achieved in her life. It’s the same for your life too.

The Wrong Kind of Fear Fear can take many forms, for example; the fear of death, the fear of the dark or the fear of spiders (arachnaphobia). In fact it is possible to be fearful of almost anything! Someone may have the fear of confined spaces (claustrophobic) whereas someone else may have fear of open spaces (agoraphobic).

Fear is therefore not object oriented, i.e. things in themselves are not the fear, but it is an attitude in mind and inspired by a demon spirit. This creates an irrational state of mind towards an external object, person or imagination.

These kinds of fears, called ‘phobias’, take away your freedom and liberty which have been paid for by Christ’s shed blood, they create bondage and unhappiness in the mind and soul. These fears are not from God, but they are the characteristics of Satan, they are the fruit of his evil spirit. Fear was the first direct influence that Adam felt after submitting to Satan: “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?”

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Gen 3:9-10) “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”. (Psa 23:4) The Greek root word used for these evil fears is ‘PHOBOS’ which literally means ‘to be terrified’. It’s no surprise as Satan himself is a fearful spirit being, a terrified fallen angel because he is absolutely terrified of what God will do to him when the last judgement arrives. He has no way of escaping the eternal punishment God has ordained for him and his evil cohorts, the fallen angels and the demons (Rev 20:10). He does all he can to slow this final day from coming and he puts his fear in man to stop faith rising up against him. His destiny is the lake of burning sulphur a place of everlasting torment.

If you draw near to Satan you begin to experience continued on page 7

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out that Satan would try to mimic his ministry to deceive naive people and lead them astray, ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ (Matt 7:15). However he insisted that on no occasion will it be him (in disguise!), no matter who or where these imposters claim to come from.

“And he said,Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” (Luke 21:8) “Behold, I have told you before.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matt 24:25-27) Over the last 1,986 years there have been many who have claimed to be ‘Christ’ on earth, usurping the authority of Jesus who is in heaven. These men have literally led millions to perdition through their organisations or politics and potentially doomed them to the second death in the lake of hell fire! (Rev 20:14).

The apostle Paul and all the apostles experienced persecution, but there is no record of anyone claiming to be ‘Christ’ in those early days (as far as we know).

However, they knew of Jesus teaching that imposters would arise as part of Satan’s counter attack against the church. This would not be opposition from Jews, on theological grounds, but rather as an apostasy from within the church itself.

Paul called this person the ‘son of perdition’. This phrase was used deliberately as this imposter(s) would mirror the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the first ‘son of perdition’(John 17:12). This person and those following would allow themselves to be literally possessed by Satan, just as Judas was (Luke 22:3). Satan deceives them into believing that they are indeed Christ on the earth and serving God (John 16:2).

The apostates breath out blasphemies, heresies and laws against the true Gospel and kill

those who follow Jesus at his Word.

“While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.”

(John 17:12)

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple (church) of God, shewing himself that he is God.” ( 1 Thess 2:2-4).

After Paul and all the apostles had died and gone to heaven to be with Jesus the judgement decreed against Israel and Jerusalem was released and Israel was destroyed by Rome in AD 70-135 in several wars (as Jesus had prophesied Matt 24:2).

This was a cataclysmic event of a magnitude never seen in history before or since. Never had a nation been erased from their land. This triggered a series of major events that rippled throughout Europe culminating in the fall of the Roman Empire and the leadership of Rome shifting to the Papacy (Holy Roman Empire).

Here there came the first ‘son of perdition’ who’s pride rose to such a level that he would claim to be ‘Christ on earth’, or the ‘Vicar of Christ’ just as Jesus and Paul had prophesied. This Roman Catholic religion was a spin-off from Pagan religion (Mithraism) and some Christian ideas combined. However, they had fallen from grace back to law, re-establishing priesthood systems and even idol worship! The Papacy still claims infallibility and authority over the earth itself - as if God in the temple! This is the great apostasy of which Jesus and Paul spoke.

This is the anti-Christ cult that has corruption the nations. As proof here are some of the many quotes made by Pope’s over the last 500+ years:

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“The Pope holdeth place on earth, not simply of a man, but of the true God” Pope Innocent III “I am in all, and above all. So that God himself and I, the Vicar of God, hath one consistory and I am able to do almost all that God can do.

I then being above all… seem by this reason, to be above all gods.

Wherefore, be it no marvel if it be in my power to dispense with all things, yea with the precepts of Christ.” Pope Nicholas “I alone am the successor of the apostles, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. I am the way, the truth and the life…”

Pope Pius IX

“The Pope is not simply the representative of Jesus Christ. On the contrary he is Jesus Christ, himself, under the veil of the flesh.

Does the Pope speak, it is Jesus Christ who is speaking. Hence when anyone speaks of the Pope, it is not necessary to examine, but to obey” Pope Pius X

“We declare, say, define and pronounce, that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Pope Boniface XIII “No man outside of obedience to the Pope of Rome can ultimately be saved. All who have raised themselves against the faith of Roman Catholic church, and died in final impenitence have been damned and gone to hell” Pope Clement VI “Into the fold of Jesus Christ not man may enter unless he be led by the sovereign Pontiff and only if the be united with him can men be saved.” Pope Paul XXIII “Don’t go to God for forgiveness of sins, come to me.” Pope John Paul II “There is no hell.” “Jesus made himself the devil.” “The Holy Spirit creates all the differences among the churches, almost as if he were an apostle of Babel” “Inside the Holy Trinity they’re all arguing behind closed doors…but on the outside they give the picture of unity.”

Pope Francis

These blasphemies and many more are written into the constitution and laws of the Vatican and are adopted by every subsequent Pope. Of course the final word on this for now is that the word ‘Pope’ or ‘Papa’ means ‘father’ and Jesus himself continued on page 6

continued from page 14

eternity, so they fancy. And they fold their arms in calm security.

Meeting with godly people, they put on a bold front and speak up as bravely as if they were the true soldiers of King Jesus. Good people are charmed to meet with fresh Brethren and at once take them into their confidence. Thus they deceive others and help to strengthen themselves in their false hope.

They use the choice phrases of earnest Christians. Mixing with them, they pick up their particular expressions and pronounce Shibboleth in the most approved fashion. At last they take the daring step of denying the power. Being without it themselves, they conceive that others are without it, also.

Judging from their own case, they conclude that it is all an affair of words. They get on very well without any supernatural power and others, no doubt, do the same—only they add a little cant to it to please the very godly folk.

They practically deny the power in their lives, so that those who see them and take them for Christians say, “There really is nothing in it. For these people are as we are. They have a touch of paint here and a little varnish there but it is all the same wood.” Practically, their actions assure the world that there is no power in Christianity. It is only a name. Very soon, privately, in their hearts they think it is so and they invent doctrines to match. Looking about them they see inconsistent Christians and faulty Believers and they say to themselves, “There is not much in faith, after all. I am as good as any of these Believers and perhaps better, though I am sure there is no work of the Spirit in me.”

Thus, within their own hearts they believe, what, at first, they dare not speak—they count godliness an empty thing. Byand-by, in some cases, these people profanely deny the Divine power of our holy faith and then they become the greatest enemies of the Cross of Christ.

These traitors, nourished in the

very House of God, are the worst foes of the Truth of God and righteousness. They ridicule that which once they professed to reverence.

They have measured Christ’s corn with their own bushel.

And because they never felt the powers of the world to come, they imagine that no one else has done so either.

Look at the Church of the present day. The advanced school, I mean. In its midst we see preachers who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They talk of the Lord Jesus but they deny His Godhead, which is His power.

They speak of the Holy Spirit but deny His personality, wherein lies His very existence. They take away the substance and power from all the doctrines of Revelation, though they pretend still to believe them. They talk of redemption but they deny substitution, which is the essence of it.

They extol the Scriptures but deny their infallibility, wherein lies their value. They use the phrases of orthodoxy and believe nothing in common with the orthodox. I know not which to loathe the more—their teachings or their spirit—surely they are worthy of each other. They burn the kernel and preserve the husk. They kill the truth and then pretend to reverence its sepulcher—“they say they are Jews and are not but do lie.”

This is horrible, but the evil is widely spread and in the presence of it the children of God are framing compromises, selling their Lord and becoming partakers with the despisers of His Truth. “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” It is the sin of the age—the sin which is ruining the Churches of our land.

II. In the second place, we are to observe THE WICKED FOLLY of this hypocritical conduct.

Those who rest in the mere show of godliness are acting in a shameless manner and I will try to expose it.

First, they degrade the very name of Christ. Brethren, if there is no

spiritual power in godliness, it is worth nothing. We want no clouds without rain. Of shams and mere pretences we have more than enough. Those who have not the power of godliness show us a very damaging picture of religion. They make out our Lord’s religion to be comparable to a show at a country fair, with fine pictures and loud drumming on the outside and nothing within worth a moment’s consideration. The best of the show is on the outside.

Or if there is anything within, it is a masquerade where all act borrowed parts but no one is what he seems to be. Gracious Lord, never suffer us so to act as to make the world think that our Redeemer is nothing more than the clever manager of a theater, where nothing is real but all is pantomime. Brothers and Sisters, if you pray at all, pray God to make you real through and through. May you be made of true metal! It were better for you that you had never been born than that you should make Christ dishonorable among the sons of men by leading them to conclude that religion is all a piece of acting.

The folly of this is illustrated by the fact that there is no value in such a dead form. The form of godliness without the power is not worth the trouble it takes to put it together and keep it together. Imitation jewels are pretty and brilliant. But if you take them to the jeweller he will give you nothing for them. There is a religion which is all paste gems—a godliness which glitters but is not gold. And in that day when you will want to realize something from it, you will be wretchedly disappointed.

A form of godliness joined to an unholy heart is of no value to God. I have read that the swan was not allowed to be offered upon the altar of God because, although its feathers are as white as snow, yet its skin is black. God will not accept that external morality which conceals internal impurity.

There must be a pure heart as well as a clean life. The power REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 21

of godliness must work within, or else God will not accept our offering. There is no value to man or to God in a religion which is a dead form.

Next, there is no use in mere formality. If your religion is without spiritual life, what is the use of it? Could you ride home on a dead horse?

Would you hunt with dead dogs? Would anyone like to go into battle with a pasteboard helmet? When the sword fell on it, what use would such a helmet be? What an outcry has been raised about bad swords! Is false religion any better? In the depth of winter can you warm yourself before a painted fire? Could you dine off the picture of a feast when you are hungry?

There must be vitality and substantiality—or else the form is utterly worthless. And worse than worthless, for it may flatter you into deadly self-conceit.

Moreover, there is no comfort in it. The form without the power has nothing in it to warm the heart, to raise the spirits, or to strengthen the mind against the day of sickness, or in the hour of death.

O God, if my religion has been a mere form, what shall I do in the swelling of Jordan? My fine profession will all disappear and nothing will come of it wherewith I may face the last enemy.

Peter called hypocrites “wells without water.” You are thirsty and you gladly spy a well. It is well surrounded with a curb and provided with a windlass and bucket. You hasten to draw water.

What? Does the bucket come up empty? You try again. How bitter is your disappointment! A well without water is a mockery. It is a mere pit of destruction—a deadly delusion.

Are some of you possessors of a religion which never yields you a drop of comfort? Is it a bondage to you? Do you follow Christ as a slave follows his master? Away with such a religion!

The godliness which is worth having is a joy to a man—it is his choice, his treasure, his all. When it does not yield him conscious

joy, yet he prizes it as the only source from which joy is expected of him. He follows after Christ with love, out of his heart’s desire after Him and not from the force of fashion, or the power of fear.

To have the form of godliness without the power of it is to lack constancy in your religion. You never saw a mirage, perhaps. But those who have travel in the East, when they come home, are sure to tell you about them. It is a very hot and thirsty day and you are riding on a camel. Suddenly there rises before you a beautiful scene.

Just a little from you are brooks of water, flowing between beds of osiers and banks of reeds and rushes. Yonder are palm trees and orange groves. Yes, and a city rises on a hill, crowned with minarets and towers.

You are rejoiced and ask your guide to lead you nearer to the water which glistens in the sun.

He grimly answers, “Take no notice, it is a mirage.

There is nothing yonder but the burning sand.” You can scarce believe him. It seems so real!

But lo, it is all gone, like a dream of night. And so is the hope which is built upon the form of godliness without the power.

The white ants will eat up all the substance of a box and yet leave it standing till a touch causes the whole fabric to fall in dust— beware of a profession of which the substance has been eaten away. Believe in nothing which has not the stamp of eternity upon it.

Be careful, poor Child—you may blow your bubble and the sunlight may paint it with rainbows. But in an instant it is gone and not a trace of it remains. Your transient globe of beauty is for you and your fellow children and not for men.

In reality, this kind of religion is in opposition to Christ. It is Jannes and Jambres over again—the magician of hypocrisy is trying to work miracles which belong to God only. In appearance he would produce the same marvels as the finger of God. But he fails. God grant we may never be guilty of resisting the Truth of God by a

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lying profession. False men do serious injury to true godliness.

For, like Ehud, they come with a pretended message from God and with their dagger sharpened at both edges, they strike vital godliness in its very heart.

Nobody can do so much damage to the Church of God as the man who is within its walls but not within its life.

This nominal godliness, which is devoid of power, is a shameful thing. I close with that. It is a shameful thing for this life, for the Lord Jesus loathes it.

When He passed by the fig tree, which was so early with its leaves but so empty of fruit, He saw therein the likeness of the vainglorious professor who has no real holiness and He said, “Henceforth let no fruit grow on you forever.” His Word withered it at once—it stood a terrible emblem of the end of a false profession.

How shameful will such a fruitless, lifeless professor be in eternity, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed!

What shame and everlasting contempt will await him when his falsehood shall be detected and his baseness shall fill all holy minds with horror! O, beware of the Hell of the false professor!

I have done when I have added a few words of instruction.

The form of godliness is most precious. Let those who feel the power of godliness honour it and use it. Do not despise it because others have damaged it.

Come forth and make an open profession of religion. But see that you have the power of it. Cry to God that you may never wear a sleeve which is longer than your arm—I mean may never go beyond what is really and truly your own. It will be better for you to go to God as a lost soul and cry for mercy, than to profess yourself saved when you are not.

Yet confess Christ without fail or fear. Do not be ashamed of Jesus because of the ill manners of His disciples. Regard the ill savour of false professors as a part of the cross which you will have to bear for your Lord. To be associated with some who are not

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we moved from being Gods enemy to his child and a member of Christ himself!

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15 KJV) By this grace from the throne of eternity (heaven) Jesus revives us everyday when we call upon him, so that we might remain humble, contrite and free of the sin and iniquity in the world.

Instead of the earthly tabernacle or temple in Jerusalem our flesh has become the place where he wishes to dwell. If this is not your salvation experience then perhaps you’ve not yet truly received of his indwelling presence. Just as with the natural temple there are clear signs of his presence dwelling in us, what Paul describes as the fruits and supernatural gifts of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:1-12).

When we are born again of his Spirit we have an assurance of his salvation and know that he is our Lord and Saviour.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:15-17 KJV)

Meeting Jesus Paul (Saul) said he was ‘one born out of due time’ by grace (1 Corinthians 15:7-9). He was accosted by Jesus from heaven whilst on his way to Damascus intent on persecuting believers.

Jesus tells him that his actions were equivalent to persecuting him, thus proving that the ‘Body of Christ’ (his church) really is Jesus’ physical body on earth (according to Jesus!). His Spirit dwells in us and WE are his Temple (Acts 9; 1 Corin 6:15).

Normally those who hear the Gospel of salvation preached must choose whether to believe or reject Christ, but Paul had been selected as an example of God’s powerful grace to carry the Gospel to the nations, he was an elected Jew (Rom 9:11). He was

told up front that he would suffer for Christ, because the Kingdom message would offend many religious and political leaders of the day (Acts 9:15).

Paul tells us in his first apostolic letter that after his conversion (Galatians) that he was supernaturally given the mysteries of the Kingdom Gospel.

“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it , but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.” (Galatians 1:11-17 KJV) In later letters Paul hints to us how this process of revelation took place: “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.” (2 Corinthians 12:1-5).

Most scholars agree that Paul was speaking of his former self (14 years previous) who was ‘caught up to the third heaven’ to a place which he calls ‘paradise’ (see also Luke 23:43). Here he not only received the revelation of the Gospel, but also saw the glories

of heaven itself (unspeakable words). This experience of Paul is key to understand how revelation comes, because Jesus never came down to Paul, but rather Paul was taken up to Jesus in heaven itself. Scripture teaches that all revelation comes from seeing or hearing the WORD from the throne of heaven.

This was also the experience of the Prophets of old and also of John the apostle (Isaiah 6, 66:1; 1

Kings 22:19; Psalm 11:4, 103:19; Rev 1) all inspired by the Spirit. Jesus

revealed this truth to Peter the disciple, explaining where the revelation of himself came from: “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said,Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 16:15-17)

The source of all life is from the Spirit of God in heaven - he is the Life! That true life is in heaven. The natural carnal mind, deceived by Satan, cannot grasp the reality of this revelation, nor accept it as truth, he sees only the material physical world. For the unsaved mind the only existence is a material one. This is the veil over their eyes (2 Corin 3:14; 4:4).

It is only removed by Christ.

John the baptist (the last old covenant Prophet) prepared the people’s thinking for Christ himself to minister to Israel and deliver the Gospel of the Kingdom of heaven. He knew, without a doubt, that heaven was the source of all things: “And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.” (John 3:26-28)

Beware False Christs Just before Jesus died and returned to heaven (with his risen human body), he pointed REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 3

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ISSUE: 01

Revival – God’s Way Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Revival times is a FREE publication offered to those who want to be encouraged and built up to know JESUS CHRIST as their Lord God and saviour. It is published

by Omega Ministries which is a non-denominational prophetic movement of believers who want to see the Kingdom come on earth as in heaven. Please send all enquiries or questions to the email address given below.

We recognise all material copyrights and thank God that all contributors take no wages for their work of faith in order to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and to revive his true church in our day.

All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Bible and or Greek and Hebrew, where appropriate, for clarity.

This paper and other teaching material is offered online for downloading and printing free of charge.

If you are inspired by the content of this paper please pass on to brothers and sisters for their encouragement.

Revival is a long lost concept in our modern society because the true Gospel has been perverted, watered down and twisted for personal gain by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Enough is enough and now the sleepers must awake from their spiritual stupor. The dead dry bones must live and the faithful army of the Lord arise and shine the beauty of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

The Call Has Gone Out Soldiers of Christ, arise And put your armour on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through His eternal Son; Strong in Lord of hosts And in His mighty power: Who in the strength of Jesus trusts Is more than conqueror They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Editor: Stephen Turnham © please copy and pass on Download the PDF here: www.omega-ministries.org email: info@omega-ministries.org

PAGE 2 REVIVAL TIMES

Where is the hope for Revival— God’s Holy Spirit outpoured Convicting of sin, and of judgement And righteousness of the Lord?

When nothing else is important— Only God’s presence Divine, When Christians quit worldly pleasures, Then God, His ear will incline.

Desperate prayer for Revival Will cleanse the Church by the Word.

Then clothed in spotless, white linen, The Bride clears the way for her Lord.

Prayer is the key to Revival, Prayer that is true Spirit-born, Nights of compassionate weeping— Intercession for all the forlorn.

Then will the burdens be lifted, Then all the sinners will cry, Then all the chains will be loosened And worldly passions will die.

The lost ones will yield to God’s Spirit When Christians, cleansed, weep and pray; God’s Living Water flows outward; This is “Revival—God’s Way”!

—Estelle Gifford Jackson FIRST THOUGHTS How Luther’s lips must at first have trembled when he ventured to say that the Pope was Antichrist! Why, Man, how can you dare to say such a thing? Millions bow down before him! He is the vicar of God on earth! Do they not worship our Lord God the Pope? “Yet he is Antichrist and a very devil,” said Luther. And at first he must have felt his ears burn and his cheeks grow red at such a piece of apparent wickedness. And when he found himself shunned by the ecclesiastics who once had courted Doctor Martin Luther’s company, think of what emptiness he must have felt!. Charles Hadden Spurgeon #601 1860

true seems inevitable in this life– however carefully we choose our company.

My next is a word of discrimination. Those to whom my text has nothing to say will be the first to take it home to themselves.

When I discharge my heart with a faithful sermon, certain trembling souls whom I would gladly comfort are sure to think that I mean them. A poor woman, in deep distress, comes to me, crying, “Sir, I have no feeling.”

Dear heart, she has ten times too much feeling. Another moans out, “I am sure I am a hypocrite.”

I never met with a hypocrite who thought himself one. And I never shall.

“Oh,” said another, “I feel condemned.” He that feels himself condemned may hope for pardon. If you are afraid of yourselves I am not afraid of you. If you tremble at God’s Word, you have one of the surest marks of God’s elect. Those who fear that they are mistaken are seldom mistaken. If you search yourselves and allow the Word of God to search you, it is well with you. The bankrupt trader fears to have his books examined.

The sound man even pays an

accountant to overhaul his affairs.

Use discrimination and neither acquit nor condemn yourself without reason.

If the Spirit of God leads you to weep in secret for sin and to pray in secret for Divine Grace. If He leads you to seek after holiness.

If He leads you to trust alone in Jesus, then you know the power of godliness and you have never denied it. You who cry, “Oh, that I felt more of the power of the Holy Spirit, for I know that He could comfort and sanctify me and make me live the life of Heaven on earth!” You are not aimed at either by the text or the sermon. For you have not denied the power. No, no, this text does not belong to you but to quite another class of people.

Let me give you a word of admonition. Learn from the text that there is something in godliness worth having. The “form” of godliness is not all— there is a blessed “power.” The Holy Spirit is that power and He can work in you to will and to do of God’s good pleasure.

Come to Jesus Christ, dear Souls.

Do not come to the minister, nor to the Church, in the first place.

But come to Jesus. Come and lay yourselves at His feet and say, “Lord, I will not be comforted unless You comfort me.” Come and take everything at first hand from your crucified Lord. Then shall you know the power of godliness.

Beware of second-hand religion, it is never worth the carrying home. Get your godliness direct from Heaven by the personal dealing of your own soul with your Saviour. Profess only what you possess and rest only in that which has been given you from above. Your heavenly life, as yet, may be very feeble but the grain of mustard seed will grow. You may be the least in Israel but that is better than being the greatest in Babylon.

The Lord bless these words and apply them to each one in his own way by His Holy Spirit.

You can make either a blister of them or a plaster of them, as conscience shall direct. God guide you, for Jesus Christ’s sake.

Amen.

Adapted from The C.H. Spurgeon Collection

The Last Word After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendour. With a mighty voice he shouted:

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’

She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself.

In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’

Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

Revelation 18 & Daniel 2

REVIVAL TIMES PAGE 23

Useful Resources

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ISSUE: 07

In this section are a number of websites which can help inspire you to to seek the Lord in effective praying and in getting out there doing as well. As always, JESUS CHRIST is our greatest example and the one to whom we must compare ourselves and obey. The greatest resource is the Bible itself, so please spend your main study time in the Word of God, preferably the King James Version!

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 Websites: www.omega-ministries.org www.biblegateway.com www.biblehub.com www.spurgeongems.org www.heartcrymissionary.com www.propheticvision.org.uk www.eurovisiontv.org www.thelastreformation.com www.propheticalert.net www.biblearchaeology.org www.fwponline.cc www.creation.com www.refornation.eu

Free material to download, booklets and tracts.

Online Bible versions for comparison Online Bible versions and Greek / Hebrew Lexicon and Interlinear Powerful messages from one of the great preachers of the 19th Century Equipping and mobilizing indigenous churches and missionaries David Hathaway evangelistic website - recommended!

Revival preaching broadcasts to the world- David Hathaway Join the network of believers who want to see power evangelism Insights into current affairs and how to avoid deception A useful site for the latest in Biblical related finds A good source for some of the best Wesleyan texts and comment The best resource for creation material and news The Kingdom teaching of Wolfgang Simson will refresh your vision

If you have been blessed by anything in this magazine please be as generous as you can to any of these good Christian ministries to the poor and needy: www.bhct.org.uk The Beachy Head Chaplaincy - on mission to prevent suicides www.matthew25mission.org Helping feed the wandering and homeless in Eastbourne UK www.opendoorsuk.org Supporting outreach globally and supporting Christians in persecution www.teenchallenge.org.uk Helping people escape the problems of drugs and addiction www.capuk.org Christians Against Poverty, bringing the good news to the poor in UK hopenow.org.uk Working with Orphans in the Ukraine The way we practice and experience “church.”

Are we off by about 180 degrees?

The training of young men to be ministers.

Is our present practice more rooted in paganism?

Is there a better higher way to go about practising the entire Christian faith than is presently known?

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

What if you found out that nothing we Protestants practice originated in the first century?

What if you found out that almost all of the things we evangelicals practice originated in the last 500 years?

This book could make a radical out of you. For a few, it might even move you BEYOND RADICAL.

Available from: www.seedsowers.com

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

JESUS CHRIST

SEATED IN HEAVEN “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” Hebrews 8:1 aul the Pharisee probably never met Jesus of Nazareth as he was preaching in Israel during his brief 3.5 year ministry.

S

heaven once his mission was accomplished (John 3:13; 6:38; 13:3; 17:5; Luke 9:31 ). Jesus did accomplish his mission, to bring salvation to Israel and to the nations.

Sure he probably heard of him and how he died, because as Saul he actively opposed the first believers, seen approving of Stephen’s stoning. It was on that very occasion Stephen declared that he could see Jesus at the right hand of the Father in heaven above! (Acts 7:56-8:3).

This caused the Jews to react violently, because for them such a statement was considered blasphemy, as they believed no-one can see God and live.

But without a doubt Stephen did see Jesus (the Son of man) standing at the right hand of God confirming the truth that Jesus had indeed ascended into the invisible heavenly realm, approximately 3.5 years earlier (Acts 1:10-11). Jesus himself had always said that he came from heaven and was going back to

Where is Jesus?

Jesus is now seated in heaven on the throne of authority, which is where he came from, having now overcome sin and death on our behalf mediating for us as a man and priest (Heb 7:26).

This is the core of the good news message of the Kingdom, once we were slaves to sin and Satan’s kingdom of darkness, but by faith (confession & baptism) in the redemptive work completed

by Jesus Christ (Messiah) we are made a new creation freed and separated by his Spirit to be a son of the ‘heavenly kingdom’ where he now reigns (Rev 3:21). The book of Hebrews best explains this incredible paradox.

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From

henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

(Hebrews 10:12-17 KJV) Make no mistake this Covenant is truly NEW and not the old covenant renewed, because Jesus has become the all in all. He has fulfilled all the prophecies and laws that needed to be completed, not for his sake, but for ours. It is our belief and faith in this work which enables us to receive forgiveness of our sins and iniquities and not by any works we can do. This is the Gospel of Grace who’s mystery was revealed to us through the preaching of Christ crucified and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. At that glorious moment of conversion and transformation continued on page 3

INSIDE A Message for our times Part 6 • The Fear of God • Jerusalem Discoveries • The Form of Godliness & more...