“Living for the LORD in the Last days”
(Titus 2:11-14) “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Introduction:
There is no doubt that we are living in the very last of the last days before the return of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. Israel has been a restored nation for 75 years, a prophecy fulfilled in 1948 after almost 2,000 years of exile (Isaiah 66:7-9). Scripture is very clear that Israel is God’s prophetic time clock for the nations of the world. The Bible says much about the conditions that will mark the last days of this present age.
Rabbi the Apostle Paul writing his second letter to Timothy tells us that there will be terrible times. The Greek text can be translated as “times of stress” or as “fierce times” that are “hard to take, hard to approach, hard to bear, troublesome, dangerous, harsh, fierce and savage” (2 Timothy 3:1). This is the future of this present age and men and women in all levels of society, including many within wider Christendom, are being pulled downwards in the maelstrom of wickedness and extreme evil that leads to the dark depths of hell itself and eventually will lead to the complete breakdown of society (Isaiah 24:1-3).
The word “fierce” is directly connected to the occult. In Matthew 8:28 the two demon possessed men are described as “very violent” so that men avoided going near them. The same Greek word “fierce” is used in Matthew 8:28 that is used in 2 Timothy 3:1. Widespread violence is also a very strong feature of this present age as it was in the day of Noah before the flood (Genesis 6:11). In fact the same features of wickedness that marked the time of Noah before the flood are conspicuous today in all of the nations of the world, a fact prophesied by the Lord Jesus (Matthew 24:37-39).
Now in 2 Timothy Chapter three Paul goes on to list 19 spiritually defective moral and character traits that will saturate society in the last days. The list starts with lovers of themselves and lovers of money and ends with lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, a conspicuous mark of society worldwide in all nations especially in the materialistic western democracies traditionally and historically associated with Judeo-Biblical Christianity. Today these nations are neo-pagan! Paul also adds that these people living in the way he describes in his letter have a form of godliness but are denying the true power of godliness by their lifestyles. They will not let God change them deep down on the inside. These are people also within the Body of Messiah claiming to belong to the Lord Jesus but living a lifestyle no different from the way the unsaved are living in the world. Paul also connects these with a form of godliness without the power of it to false teachers and they are an infestation within the wider Body of the Messiah today (2 Timothy 3:1-9).
In the Word of God right through both Testaments there has always been a remnant of faithful believers that have always been in the minority. So it will be in the last days. Our Lord Jesus clearly stated that “because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who has endured to the end will be saved!” (Matthew 24:12-13). The word used for love is the Greek word “agape” which can only be experienced by those who have been spiritually reborn by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Many that have tasted the things of God and the spiritual realities of living in the kingdom of God will fall away in wholesale lots just before the return of the Messiah our Lord Jesus.
Today there is already a falling away increasing within wider Christendom unlike any falling away in previous generations which is a study in itself (2 Timothy 4:3-4) (2 Thessalonians 2:3) (Hebrews 6:4-6). In Revelation Chapter 12:4 we see Satan, through his man of sin and his beast empire as the tail of Satan, sweeping a third of the stars out of heaven and flinging them to earth. I would like to suggest that these stars are not fallen angels but professing Christians. In the Bible stars represent believers (Genesis 26:4) (Philippians 2:15)
We are now living in a time of wickedness and moral degeneracy never known in the past. With the advent of technology, virtual reality, the internet and personal iPads and smart phones people are being exposed to all kinds of wicked images and ideologies that can be accessed from their living rooms and bedrooms and when travelling to and from their places of employment or educational institutions. Even the imaginations of young children and teenagers are being hijacked by these ideologies and images through DVD’s and the internet that are an affront to the LORD and His salvation provided for all men through the blood of the Messiah shed for the sins of the whole world.
The temptations on New Covenant believers in this age are horrendous and many are struggling to spiritually survive, being confronted with temptations not previously experienced by past generations of believers and that primarily due to the media. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air (the word for “air” is the atmosphere just above the surface of the earth) where the electronic waves of television, radio, internet and satellite images encircle the earth captivating the minds of billions on the planet. This is Satan’s domain (Ephesians 2:2; 6:12) (Job 1:6-7; 2:1-2).
Rabbi the Apostle Paul writing to Titus, a faithful pastor sharing in the common faith being experienced by all of God’s faithful servants, emphasises that the way we choose to live our lives as New Covenant believers is vitally important if we want to spiritually survive in these last days.
The Grace of God:
Now “grace” in the Bible is “the unmerited, unearned favour which God bestows upon those who are undeserving of it.” This grace of God towards us all as fallen sinful people was fully revealed in the Lord Jesus of whom we are told “And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth…For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus The Messiah. (John 1:14, 17).
It is only through God’s grace accompanied by faith that we are saved and that not of works but it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-10). However, this grace is no licence to sin and to live as we want to live. If we have been joined to the Lord Jesus and made a member of the Body of Messiah then we will be spiritually changed deep down on the inside of us by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We have been made new spiritual creations in the Messiah with the old way of living gone and the new way of living active in our spiritually regenerated spirit man. Our spiritually reborn inner spirit is united to the LORD and is one in spirit with Him, having become a partaker of God’s divine nature and life (John 3:3) (2 Corinthians 5:17) (1 Corinthians 6:17).
As the Apostle Peter also writes; “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
The example of grace at work was fully manifested in our Lord Jesus and God wants that same grace to reside and to operate in us as it did in His Son. We have the very same life of grace that resided in the Lord Jesus dwelling on the inside of us by the indwelling Holy Spirit who is Himself the Spirit of Grace (1 Corinthians 3:16) (1 Timothy 1:14) (Ephesians 2:2) (Ephesians 3:17) (Colossians 1:27) (John 14:23) (Zechariah 12:10).
Now if we are saved by grace through faith and the agape of God has been shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit, then grace will also be our teacher. If we have experienced the grace of God then it requires a response from us. Grace is free but it is not cheap! Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes about this grace and how it will operate in our lives as New Covenant believers in the Body of the Messiah in the last days. It is written in relation to the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. In the New Testament many exhortations to live lives separated to God are given in relation to the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3:10-14).
God’s grace towards us and in us is a work in progress which will have its culmination at the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. At the moment this occurs our old mortal decaying bodies will be transformed by the Spirit of God at the rapture and resurrection to be the same as the Messiah’s glorious resurrected indestructible body!
As Paul writes; “But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Messiah, who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body” (Philippians 3:20-21).
In light of God’s grace what does this grace teach us in relation to how we should be living as New Covenant believers in this crooked and perverse generation? Let’s now look at this…
Titus 2:11-14 : Exposition:
(Titus 2:11-12) “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
God’s grace was seen in the way the Lord Jesus God’s only eternal Son spoke and lived and ministered, having been born into this world as one who was fully human yet fully divine and who did not have original sin, neither did He sin while living on earth after His incarnation, even though as a man He was tempted in every way as we are tempted yet never gave in to the devil. The same indestructible spiritual and eternal life and power that resided in Him resides in us who have been spiritually reborn by the Spirit, having been redeemed and cleansed by the blood of the Messiah and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:7, 13-14) (1 John 1:7) (1 Peter 1:2) (Colossians 1:27) (Hebrews 7:16).
The Lord Jesus, being our great and faithful High Priest who is a resurrected man sitting at the right hand again of God His Father. As our faithful High Priest He is able to understand when we are tempted because He also was tempted when on earth. As the author of Hebrews writes; “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
The Lord Jesus had to live a life of self-denial and the pressure from Satan to get the Lord Jesus to compromise must have been horrendous. In the Garden of Gethsemane the mental, emotional and physical pressure was so intense that our Lord Jesus sweated great drops of blood in the intensity of that struggle which is beyond our human comprehension. We struggle against temptation but His struggle, who can really understand it? Only in glory will we understand it fully when we will know as we are known by God.
Now if we have tasted the grace of God in our lives then we have a duty to respond to it and not take it for granted. What does this grace from God that has brought us salvation in the Lord Jesus teach us? Let’s briefly look at this…
Notice we are to be; “Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts” The word “denying” in the Greek text is “to deny one’s self” “to disregard one’s own interests” or “to act entirely unlike his natural self” or “not to accept but to reject and to refuse something offered.”
The word used for “ungodliness” in the Greek text is “wickedness and irreverence for God.” It is to be flippant and act carelessly in the presence of God and to not take His Word seriously. One living in this way will open themselves up to worldly lusts that captivate the emotions, the mind and the will and consequently control the physical body expressed in inappropriate speech and in acts of wickedness and disobedience to the LORD. As the Lord Jesus said; “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man,” (Matthew 15:18-20a). One just has to listen to the tenor of a person’s perpetual conversation in social interaction and it will become clear what is really happening deep down on the inside of them. This is true in pagan circles and in Church circles.
The word “lusts” in the Greek text is “to desire, to crave, to long for, to desire for what is forbidden.” This reflects what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6). These lusts are clearly defined in Paul’s letter to the Galatian assembly; “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).
Likewise the Apostle John writes in His first letter; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
As we seek to walk in the Holy Spirit and obey the commandments of the Lord Jesus because of our love for Him, Satan will dangle many tantalising things before our eyes that are intended to incite our fleshly self-centred, self–gratifying fallen sinful nature and evoke our propensity to sin. As New Covenant believers we are in a constant spiritual battle and when we are experiencing this struggle between the desires of the Spirit with the desires of the flesh on the inside of us striving to control us, it is an indication that we are walking with God and that we are making progress in our spiritual life. Our conscience is also very sensitive to right and wrong in God’s sight according to His revealed Word the Bible.
Added to this, the blessed Holy Spirit will always give us the power to overcome whatever the devil throws at us and the most powerful weapon we have is the blood of Jesus the Messiah. When we are attacked in our minds and emotions and our families are attacked, if by faith we confess what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does for us, we will beat the devil every time and drive him away! (Revelation 12:11). If at such times of great and persistent temptation we submit ourselves to the LORD we will be empowered by the Spirit to resist the devil and he will flee from us knowing we mean business with the LORD! After we have resisted we must draw near to God to replenish our spiritual strength for when the next assault from Satan comes and it will! When resisting Satan it is also important to gaining a victory over him is to make sure we have had our heart and conscience purified by the blood of the Messiah and that we are not in two minds when approaching the LORD seeking His deliverance (James 4:7-8).
Sometimes we will need to claim the protective covering of the blood of Jesus several times a day especially when we find ourselves in a situation that we know will lead us into temptation to sin. Satan knows all the tricks in the book and he knows our weak points and he is very smart and clever to disguise his spiritually seductive tactics and present them to us in a grey format, where things are neither black nor white. God’s Word is absolutely clear in that we are either walking in the light or walking in the darkness and there is no grey area or neutral zone. As the beloved Apostle John writes; “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5-6).
This is all part and parcel of denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily and following after our Lord Jesus. In doing this we will be acting entirely unlike our selfish nature but according to God’s own nature deep down on the inside of us. Taking up the cross daily is where our will and God’s will cross! We are either controlled by the flesh or by the Spirit, and the nature we feed the most is the one that will ultimately control us (Romans 8:1-9, 12-15) (Galatians 5:16-25). There is no middle or neutral ground in the life of a New Covenant believer. Either we are for the Messiah our Lord Jesus and gathering others with Him for God’s kingdom, or we are not for Him and scattering others away from Him and from God’s kingdom. As He Himself said; “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matthew 12:30).
Self-denial is a moment by moment action of our will and a calling on the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus to empower us to do it. With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible! (Job 42:2) (Luke 1:37) (Matthew 19:26) (Jeremiah 32:17). Obedience is not the result of an emotion but of the will laid down and subject to the Lord Jesus. It is a daily spiritual process. As the Lord Jesus also said; “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36 NASB). It is the faith of obedience to the Lord Jesus (Romans 1:5; 16:26).
Notice also that this grace teaches us “to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” The Greek text defines sobriety as “living with a sound mind or self-control and to act discreetly” Today we are living in a generation that is out of control where everything and anything goes, where discretion, sobriety of life, morality, ethics and spiritual matters are discarded for the sensational, the emotional, the mesmerising appetites, instantaneous gratification, the desires, ambitions, entertainments and pursuits after fame and fortune and self-centred ambition and greed that all militate against the Laws and Commandments of God and will ultimately lead those who practice sin to an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). It is to be unruly and undisciplined as one who is drunk with alcohol and out of control. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians that as New Covenant believers in the Messiah we are not to be drunk with wine but to be continuously filled or controlled or propelled in what we say and do by the Spirit of God (Ephesians 5:18). In the Greek text to be filled with the Spirit is a command, not an option and to be a continuous moment by moment experience.
Sobriety of spirit is desperately needed in many assemblies today within the wider Body of the Messiah where things in many fellowships are not controlled by the Spirit but by the latent power of the human soul or by demon spirits. The laughing revival is one example that hit the wider Body of the Messiah some years ago now where believers were out of control including those leading them who were luminaries attached to the hyper faith prosperity movement. It needs to be said that instruments in worship is Biblical and so are times of loud praises to God as we saw in the Temple worship with its singers and musicians, however, it was never out of control.
In the New Testament assemblies in the first century overseen by the apostles, the prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists spoke one at a time and allowed for others to speak as well in the local assemblies. The leaders were discreet in their counselling and trustworthy and transparent before the people of God under their leadership (1 Corinthians 14:29-30) (1 Corinthians 14:26-33) (1 Thessalonians 2:5-12).
And then we read that the grace of God teaches us “to live righteously.” In the Greek text it is to live “a straight life that does not deviate to the left or to the right that is governed by the Word of God.” It is to be living “a life of moral integrity and with right judgement.” It is “agreeing with God to what is right to say and to do and saying and doing it.”
To live righteously before God is to seek to be His obedient child. Of course this righteousness is not of our own making or effort because in our sinful fleshly nature dwells nothing good by God’s righteous standards (Romans 7:18). God’s righteousness is a free gift bestowed upon all who repent and by faith believe on the Lord Jesus and receive Him as Saviour and Lord. As a result of this saving faith God bestows upon all who believe in this way His very own righteousness which is also in the Lord Jesus. He is God the Son and His righteousness is God’s righteousness (Romans 3:21-24) (Philippians 4:7-11).
It is to be clothed with the garments of salvation and wrapped around with the robe of His righteousness as Isaiah the prophet writes; “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). One who is righteous is one who has been put into right standing with God through a saving faith in His Son the Lord Jesus and by the Holy Spirit’s power enabled to walk uprightly before God moment by moment according to His Word. As New Covenant believers we are to be regularly led moment by moment by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14). If we are not regularly being led by the Spirit and that by faith, then God is dishonoured and we will have no spiritual power accompanying out words and actions.
And then we read that God’s grace teaches us “to live godly.” It is to live a life that reflects God’s nature and character. It is to be a live a lifestyle that is progressively being conformed to the image and likeness of the Son of God and a mark of God’s elect people both individually and corporately (Romans 8:29). Living soberly, righteously, and godly is the mark of the elect people of God. Living this way in this present evil age will be the mark of God’s elect and chosen people and these are those who will be rescued out of this present evil age according to God the Father and from the wrath of God that is coming upon a Messiah hating, Messiah rejecting world! (Galatians 1:3-5). Those who are sheltering by faith under the blood of the Messiah will never experience the wrath of God (Romans 5:9). What else then does the grace of God instruct us to do as we seek moment by moment by faith to live soberly, righteously, and godly lives in the present age?
(Vs.13) “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus the Messiah,
While we are seeking to live soberly, righteously and godly lives in the this present evil age we are also to be looking for the blessed hope being the Second Coming of the Messiah when He appears from heaven with great power and glory to rapture and resurrect the saints, to rescue the surviving remnant of Israel, to destroy all earthly opposition to His Kingdom, and to inaugurate His Messianic reign on earth for a thousand years.
This “blessed hope” is not the hope of the world such as “I hope so” but the sure certainty deep down on the inside of every spiritually reborn child of God that what He has been promised in His Word the Bible will come to pass. This is Biblical hope. It is based on facts that have been supernaturally revealed by the Holy Spirit. As it is written; “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” (Proverbs 30:5). And again we read; “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). And then again we read; “Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
In the Greek text “the blessed hope” is connected to “the glorious appearing.” The glorious appearing is the visible return to earth of the Lord Jesus where every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7). This is the blessed hope of every born again child of God. The same word “appearing” is used in another Greek text that relates to the first coming of the Messiah. His first coming (“appearing”) was a physical and visible manifestation (2 Timothy 1:10; 4:8). Likewise His Second Coming (“appearing”) will be a physical and visible event, not a secret one! (2 Timothy 4:1).
Paul also writes that the Lord Jesus is also “our Great God and Saviour Jesus the Messiah” clearly designating that the Lord Jesus is God. He who has always existed from all of eternity as the Living Word of God Himself, one with God and who is God and the same as God in His divine attributes and the One who at His incarnation became a fully human being as well as continuing to be fully God in the one body. As we also read; “For in the Messiah all the fullness of the Deity (the Godhead-Trinity) dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). And then we read…
(Vs.14) “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Our Great God and Saviour the Lord Jesus gave His life for us. He was made to be sin with our sin, even though He was without sin, that we might be made righteous with his righteousness, because we do not have that righteousness acceptable to God. At the cross the Lord Jesus exchanged places with us. God credited to His account our sin and treated Him as if He was a sinner even though He wasn’t, so that God might credit to our account Jesus’ righteousness and treat us as righteous, even though by birth and nature we are not righteous but great sinners and rebels in God’s sight (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Romans 3:10-18).
The word “redeem” in the Greek language means “to release on receipt of ransom, to redeem, liberate by payment of ransom, to liberate, to cause to be released to one’s self by payment of a ransom, to redeem and to deliver: from evils of every kind both internal and external.” This why the blood of Jesus is so powerful when wielded by faith and through confessing what the Bible says the blood of Jesus does for us it will enable us to stand against all of the attacks of the evil one (Revelation 12:11).
The price of our redemption was the blood of Jesus, being the price paid to purchase us back to God and that brings for us the forgiveness of all of our sins and that brings justification and protection for us from the wrath to come (Ephesians 1:7) (Romans 5:9).
The word “to purify” in the original Greek language in the overall Biblical context means; “to make clean, to cleanse from physical stains and dirt from tools and utensils, food or to cleanse a leper by curing him, to remove something dirty by cleansing.
In a moral sense it means “to free from defilement of sin and from faults, to purify from wickedness, to free from guilt of sin, to purify, to consecrate by cleansing or purifying, to consecrate, dedicate, to pronounce clean in the sense of Levitical Law.”
So then we have been redeemed, purchased and rescued from every lawless deed and by this purified by God from these evil deeds to belong to Him, to be His own special people, to reflect His holy nature and character traits, to be zealous to do good works for Him and for the extension of His kingdom on earth, especially in these last days. True holiness will always be accompanied by a zealousness for God and for the things of God including walking in a lifestyle of faith that please Him and that runs contrary to the lifestyles of the unsaved (Hebrews 11:6).
It is interesting that the phrase used in the NASB for “His own special people” is translated “a peculiar people” in the KJV. In other words those who have been redeemed and purified and set apart to God for His exclusive will and foreordained purposes are considered “peculiar” or “odd” by the unsaved world. As we see the end of this age rapidly approaching let us determine dear brothers and sisters by faith to stay the course God has set for our lives and very soon we will receive the reward when the Lord Jesus comes back to take us to Himself and who will say to us “Well done My good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of Your Lord!” Isn’t this all the reward we could ever desire? Indeed it is!!!
Epilogue:
As the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus comes closer seeking to live in a way that pleases God will become, and is becoming increasingly more difficult in this present evil age. The temptations and lures of the world, the flesh and the devil are a very strong current to swim against metaphorically speaking. We can only develop our spiritual muscles by continuing to swim against the flood tide of Satan’s power in this wicked and perverse generation.
But how do we continuously do this?
It is not by the power of our human will or effort because these cannot stand against the power of Satan or the power of the flesh. It is only by the power of the Word of God, by the power of the Spirit of God, by the power of the blood of Jesus accompanied by praying continuously in the Holy Spirit that we will develop spiritual muscles and be able to resist Satan. Our confession is also important. We can launch the Word of God by the trigger of our mouth into that unseen fallen spiritual realm and by our confession of faith stem that flood tide of wickedness arrayed against us as New Covenant believers (Mark 11:22-25).
There is no situation that the Word of God does not cover. Whatever situation we are facing we can use those scriptures, in context of course, that cover our situation to shut the devil’s mouth and nullify the effect of his accusations being the accuser of the brethren (and sisters) who is constantly accusing them day and night before our God (Revelation 12:10). As we launch the missiles of the promises of God with the confession of our words into confronting situations we must not forget to also add praise and thankfulness to the LORD. When we praise and thank God in childlike faith whatever the circumstances we stop the enemy and the avenger or the adversary in his tracks and shut down his accusations against us (Psalm 8:2). Of course we must also make sure there is no unconfessed sin in our lives because if there is then our prayers and petitions and confessions of faith will be wasted and Satan knows this (Psalm 66:18).
Make much of the blood of Jesus dear brothers and sisters. Keep short accounts with the LORD. When you are conscious of having sinned don’t run from God but run to Him and to the cleansing blood of Jesus the Messiah, that eternal and cleansing fountain opened at Jerusalem for uncleanliness and sin (Zechariah 13:1). Settling things with the LORD openly and without excuse will bring his forgiveness and cleansing every time. When He pardons He pardons abundantly (Isaiah 55:6-7). He is more willing to forgive us than we are to repent, but repent we must if we would be forgiven and cleansed.
When we confess and name the sin we are agreeing with what God says about it in His Word and He is always faithful and just to forgive our sins and by the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The spiritual, divine and eternal life of God is in the pure and spiritually untainted blood of Jesus, in the Spirit and in the Word of God, and these are our greatest refuge in times of trial, troubles and especially in the hour when we are experiencing a heaviness of soul through manifold temptations. As it is written; “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10). His name can do anything He can do!
Brothers and sisters Satan now knows that his time is short and he is in a great rage as he seeks to undermine our faith in God and in the Word of God and in God’s pre-planned purposes for our individual lives, plans prepared from all of eternity. This world is destined for the judgement of fire as the ancient world of Noah’s time was destined for the flood. In that day only a remnant will be saved, being those who through faith have been redeemed, justified, sanctified and cleansed by the blood of Jesus and sealed by the Holy Spirit for the Day of Redemption, these will not experience this wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9).
The Apostle Peter writes about how those who belong to the LORD will be seeking to live in light of the coming fiery deluge to hit planet earth at the return of Jesus the Messiah.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless (2 Peter 3:10-14).
In closing, let’s keep on keeping on by faith because without this kind of faith we cannot please God but with it we can, and it is a faith that pleases Him and brings His reward (Hebrews 11:6).
As we read; “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector (finisher) of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1`-3).
Being the author and finisher of our faith the Messiah our Lord Jesus fully intends to finish what He has started! Selah.
