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Steadfast Unto The End Heb. 3:14 “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;” There are too many contemporary teachings today that exclude the admonition that we must endure to the end, that we must continue to abide in Him, and that we must bear much fruit. Why? Because deception is a ruling force among church members! Jesus addresses three questions in His dissertation found in Matthew 24:3: When will these things be? What will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end of the age? What was Jesus’ immediate response? Verse 4 – Don’t allow man to deceive you. Given the nature of deception, how are we to keep from being deceived? If we knew when we were deceived, we would not be deceived. So it does not matter how strong you are, anyone can be deceived. Notice the Lord did not say be careful Satan does not deceive you, but that man does not deceive you. Yes, deception originates with Satan, but he doesn't have the power to deceive the elect of mankind. Only when we are in a position of a lie that we believe can the power of Satan enter. No one can keep self in the truth except Jesus Christ rules that life. (2 Thes. 2:9-11) With unrighteousness comes deceit. We are living in a world that is under the power of Satan. Man has been placed under the power of Satan. God has sent Jesus Christ so that we can escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. God has commanded that we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, not striving for happiness, but righteousness. If you are not seeking righteousness first, then the ability of unrighteousness is lurking at your doorstep. Happiness is an attempt to restore Paradise to the earth before the curse has been lifted. The pursuit of happiness comes when we place family, jobs, recreation, and desires before the things of that produce righteousness, thereby making us vulnerable to deception. The Bible is clear about patience accompanied by a considerable amount of tribulation. But Satan uses people and opportunity to present us with desires that fill our minds to satisfy the cravings of the flesh. And he does it in a manner that makes it feel right. There seems to be much “ministry” but the “testimony” of God, which is His Person, His way, His will, His kingdom, has been destroyed. The damage is done. Everyone wants to be happy – that is natural. But God wants you to be righteous. And that righteousness is very costly. Peter tried to keep the Lord from going through suffering and displeasure, but Jesus rebuked him. The Lord resisted Satan’s attack through Peter so He would not become deceived. This illustration shows us that the voice of Satan can come to us through the most earnest Christian. We must be cautious in listening to voices that appeal to our happiness. That is why it is so important to know His Voice and His Word. Teachings and voices that proceed from the Lord do not conflict with scriptures. We will be judged based on what we listen to and adhere to. We won’t be able to place the blame on others; the blame is ours when we are not diligent in making certain that we are not being deceived. Matt. 24:6 “But the end is not yet.” The existence of wars and rumors of wars shows us the end is not yet. The sign of the end will be worldwide peace brought about by the antichrist spirit. There will be a peace apart from God, a peace that comes by man’s happiness. Are we not getting closer? From verse 8 He tells us this sign, called the “beginning of birth pains,” is significant. We have been told prophetically “we are in birth pains.” This is the way we have been seeing the future – the increase in darkness heralds an end of good times and goodness in general. Isn’t that what has been preached? No, the beginning of birth pains is the beginning of all that is good in God. The darkness is preparing us for the Day Star that is about to rise in our hearts and lives. At the darkest hour of life, we can lift up our heads and know redemption--our release of glory--is at hand. Jesus says in verse 9 that we will be hated. What I believe is now happening is a rise of democracy across the globe because it focuses on the rights of people and on human happiness. It encourages self-glorification while true Christianity calls for crucifixion of self-will and self-glorification. Democracy and the cross have become enemies that will finally result in hatred toward all true believers. Don’t let ministers of the Gospel tell you that you will be raptured away before these things take place. They are deceivers. It is your responsibility to see you are not deceived – that you are making godly decisions about your family and life. Does this exhortation from Jesus give you any indication that you won't be here when this happens? Think about it. The enemy of the Christian is not tribulation. Tribulation is redemptive. Tribulation teaches us patience. Let me tell you a secret – the Lord says over and over and over again “patience.” It is fruit of the Spirit and we must have it. There is not one single person I have yet met and spoken to about the end times that believes we will go through any tribulation. The love of many is cold and people don’t even know it. Tribulation is not to be feared, it produces strong Saints. But deception must be feared because it will destroy many. (2Th 2:3) “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;” The day of the Lord will not be fulfilled until there come “a falling away first.” And it will happen because the love of many will grow cold. This coldness will result in mutiny against authority, known as “the mystery of iniquity” (vs.7). All sin and iniquity results from pride of self-exaltation. Now look at this verse – Antichrist, who is “the abomination that produces desolation,” is held in check today by the Spirit of God in true Christians. But the democracy that is coming forth today is a deception which will cause believers to grow cold in faith and in trusting Christ alone. And once the destruction of faith in the majority of believers has occurred, the power that is hindering the full revelation of Antichrist will take place resulting in great tribulation. Matt. 24:13 tells us to endure to the end! We need a revolution in Christian thinking (a new mind set) about salvation: Salvation takes place first when we place our faith in the Lord Jesus and are baptized in water. Salvation takes place as we daily live, working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Salvation comes in the future when the Lord appears with the saints and angels, if we endure to the end. Heb 3:14 “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” In other words, if we take what we received originally through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus and hold on to it without being shaken to the very end, we will be saved. -Pr. Steve January Newsletter 2006 | Steadfast Unto the End | The Eye of a Needle part 2 of 2 Pastor's Journal January 2005 | Understanding Habits part 1 of 2 | God's Breath part 1 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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