-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: ben@...] [<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> archives/read online: http://associate.com/groups/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> <22 January 2003> Contents: ------------ 1) <Devotional> "Omnipresence" - (Pt-3) - Keith Cox 2) <Bible-Study> "Be wise as serpents..." (Pt-5/6} - Charles E. Wigg 3) <Prophecy> "Outline of prophetic events" (Pt-4) - B. Anstey 1) <DEVOTIONAL> <SLICE-OF-INFINITY> "OMNIPRESENCE" (PART-3) Keith Cox Is God really omnipresent? Let me make this theological question personal: Is He there everywhere and every-when that you are? Think about it. Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly believe that God exists, and I would venture to say that most who believe in God would also say that they believe Him to be omnipresent. I think this is the case because when we stop and reflect on God, and what sort of a being He must be, it makes sense that He is omnipresent. If you are one of the many who would agree with me that God exists and that He is omnipresent, let me ask you a question: Is your daily experience in accord with these beliefs? Do you consistently experience Him as present and attentive to your life? Most of us are not spiritual superstars, and so if truthful, we must answer that in our daily life, both external and internal, it does not seem that God is present. To put it plainly, as we go about our days we don't feel or know that God is with us. So it would seem that we have a tension here: on the one hand most of us believe that God is omnipresent, and on the other, most of us would admit that we hardly ever, if at all, notice God being around. How can we resolve this tension? As I see it, we have three options: First, we can change what we believe about God's nature and deny His omnipresence. Second, we might decide that God's presence just doesn't contribute one whit to the reality we can experience. Or third, we can affirm God's omnipresence and acknowledge that heretofore our daily experience has missed an incredible aspect of reality, namely God's presence. Briefly let me say, I do not believe that our first two options make sense of what seems to be true about God, and as a Christian I can tell you that I have experientially known the third option to be profitable, enriching, and true -God's presence is a central aspect of all of reality, and we must acknowledge this and adjust ourselves to this truth if we are to know Him. If you don't believe me, try an experiment: make it a habit of your thought life to acknowledge God's presence everywhere and every-when you are. I am confident that Christ spoke the truth when he said, seek and ye shall find. So as you seek Him in your thoughts, there shall you find Him. --- Copyright(c) 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries _______________________________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> "BE AS WISE AS SERPENTS, AND AS HARMLESS AS DOVES" - (PART 5 OF 6) Charles E. Wigg HAS GREAT PATIENCE: A serpent exercises great patience. It will lie still for hours while it waits for its victim to come. Experience has taught this creature just where the victim is likely to come. I learned this once while walking along a railway line. I saw a lovely bunch of black berries hanging from a bush on the top of a bank. I reached up with my hand to pluck the berries, but was frightened when suddenly a snake uncurled and slid away into the undergrowth. It was waiting there, knowing that a bird would come to that place to feed on the berries. THE POWER OF THE SERPENT IS IN ITS EYES: The serpent cannot speak with its mouth, but it does speak with its eyes. One of the purposes of speech is to convey a message, and the serpent does this with its eyes. When once its patience and wisdom has been rewarded, and it gets its victim held in its gaze, the poor victim will be full of fear, and the excitement that such fear brings. But try as it does, it cannot break away from the grip of the serpent. Though it makes much noise, and many excited movements, yet it cannot escape. The serpent will continue to look into the eyes of its victim, and coveys the message that the victim needs to calm down. If we could put it into words it is as if it says- "Why are you so fearful and excited? Do I look as though I would hurt you? I only seek your good, now calm down!" As the victim begins to relax the serpent will then say. "Now that's better calm down. All this excitement is not good for you, you need to rest for a little while, then you will feel better!" It will by its gaze remove the victim's fear, and cause it to go to sleep. Then it will open its double hinged jaws, and swallow the victim whole. If we are wise enough to emulate the ways of the serpent, then we would be much more effective in our service, and witness for the Lord. If we approach a person to share the Gospel with them, usually they raise their guard instantly. The thought comes to their mind, 'this person is after me, I must be careful' We greatly need patience, lest we scare away those that we are seeking to win for the Lord. If we but had the patience to hide our own self interest, to keep self out of sight. To convince those we seek to witness to, that we are really interested in their happiness. If we could only look into their hearts, gain their confidence, they will then let down their guard. It may be that they will listen to us then, and we may have the joy of leading them to the Lord. Thus we need to be as wise as serpents. AS HARMLESS AS DOVES: The dove is a very plain but beautiful bird. It is very grave, and has a sweet sad song. It is completely free of all bitterness. I am told that all other birds have a small bag of green liquid attached to their liver. This is called gall and it is the bitterest substance known to man. But the dove has none. We are warned in Hebrews chapter twelve to beware lest there be in any of us a root of bitterness, and many be defiled by it. Heb. 12:15. In the service of the Lord we often meet with disappointment. Often people treat us badly, and it is so easy to be bitter. HOLINESS: When the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, Noah sent out two birds, a raven and a dove. At evening the dove returned, but the raven did not. The reason was that there was no place for the dove to find rest for the sole of her foot. She could not find any rest in what was corrupt or unclean, whereas the raven was perfectly at home feeding and resting on what was unclean. The remains of the decaying corpses of those destroyed in the flood.. Thus we are able to see that the Lord Jesus requires holiness in the personal lives, and the associations of those He would send out. [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced by permission] _______________________________________________________________________ 3) <PROPHECY> "OUTLINE OF PROPHETIC EVENTS" (PART-4) B. Anstey THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN "THE RAPTURE" AND "THE APPEARING OF CHRIST" It is of utmost importance to understand the distinction in Scripture between the rapture and the appearing of Christ. The two events should not be confused. Although the Lord comes out of heaven on both occasions, the rapture and the appearing of Christ are distinctly different. The rapture is when the Lord comes for His saints (Jn. 14:2-3); the appearing of Christ is when He comes with His saints which were taken to glory at the rapture. (Jude 14, Zec. 14:5) The rapture could take place at any moment; but the appearing of Christ will not happen until about 7 years after the rapture. At the rapture the Lord comes secretly, in a twinkling of an eye 1 Cor. 15:52); at His appearing He comes publicly and every eye shall see Him. (Rev. 1:7) At the rapture He comes to deliver the church (1 Thes. 1:10 J N Darby Trans.); at His appearing He comes to deliver Israel. (Ps. 6:1-4) At the rapture He comes in the air for His church because they are His heavenly people (1 Thes. 4:15-18); at His appearing He comes back to the earth (the Mount of Olives) for Israel because they are His earthly people. (Zec. 14:4-5) At the rapture the Lord gathers His saints Himself (1 Thes. 4:15-18, 2 Thes. 2:1); but at His appearing He sends His angels to gather together the elect of Israel. (Mt. 24:30-31) At the rapture He takes the believers out of this world and leaves the wicked behind (Jn. 14:2-3); at His appearing the wicked are taken out of the world for judgment and the believers (those who have been converted through the gospel of the Kingdom that will be preached during the tribulation) are left to enjoy blessing on earth. (Mt. 13:41-43, 25:41) At the rapture He comes to deliver His saints [the church] from the wrath to come (1 Thes. 1:10); at His appearing He comes to deliver the wrath. (Rev. 19:15) At the rapture He comes as the Bridegroom, to receive His bride, the church (Mt. 25:6,10); at His appearing He comes as the Son of Man in judgment upon His rejectors. (Mt. 24:27-28) At the rapture He comes as the "Morning Star" which rises just prior to daybreak (Rev. 22:16); at His appearing He comes as the "Sun of Righteousness," which is daybreak. (Mal. 4:2) At the rapture He comes without any signs, because the Christian walks by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7); at the appearing His coming will be surrounded by signs, because the Jews seek a sign. (Lk. 21:11, 25-27, 1 Cor. 1:22) The coming of the Lord at the rapture is never referred to in Scripture as a "thief in the night;" but His appearing is referred to as a "thief in the night." (1 Thes. 5:2, 2 Pet. 3:10, Mt. 24:43, Rev. 16:15, Rev. 3:3) There is the Lord's coming to His own (His first coming - Jn. 1:10-11, Heb. 10:7), His coming for His own (the rapture - Jn. 14:2-3, 1 Thes. 4:15-18), and His Coming with His own (the Appearing) (Jude 14). The bodies of the saints "caught up" to meet the Lord at the rapture will undergo a tremendous physical change. They do not exactly receive new bodies, but rather "changed" bodies. (1 Cor. 15:51-52, Phil. 3:21, Job 14:14) Their bodies will be glorified like the body of the Lord Jesus Christ when He appeared to His disciples in resurrection. (Rom. 8:17, 28-30, Phil. 3:21, Lk. 24:39) The saints "caught up" at the rapture will also experience a permanent moral likeness to Christ as well as having a physical change in their bodies. This moral work in the saints, which is effected by the silent work of the Spirit of God, has already begun while they are still on earth, but then it will be complete. (Rom. 8:28-30, 2 Cor. 3:18) They will all be like Christ physically (Phil. 3:21) and like Christ morally. (1 Jn. 3:2) This will be a fixed condition that will continue forever. The fallen sinful nature in the saints "caught up" will be eradicated. They will never sin again. (Heb. 11:40, 12:23 - "made perfect" refers to the whole person - spirit, soul, and body, Num. 24:20 "Amalek" is typical of the flesh - the fallen sinful nature). Children under the age of accountable responsibility for their sins, whose parents [or even one parent] are redeemed, will also rise to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Cor. 7:14 - "holy") Unbelievers with their children will be left behind to enter the tribulation. As these children grow up in the tribulation they will have an opportunity to hear and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom which will be preached in that day. If some should be killed during the seven years of tribulation, their souls would be safe with Christ in heaven. (Matt. 18:10-11, 2 Sam. 12:23) This would be a mercy anyway, for if they were left to grow up into adulthood, apart from the grace of God working, they would be like their unbelieving parents and turn out to be rejectors of the gospel and consequently come under judgment. (Gen. 19:15) Contrary to some people's ideas, the world will not be emptied of children at the rapture. C.H. Brown used to say, "God will not rob the cradle of the unbeliever at the rapture." He leaves their families intact. The Spirit of God will also be taken out of the earth in the present capacity in which He is now functioning. (2 Thes. 2:6-7) Presently He abides on earth in the church; it is His dwelling place. (Eph. 2:22) The Lord promised that the Spirit would never leave the church once He had taken up His abode in it. (Acts 2:1-4, 1 Cor. 12:13, Jn. 14:16) When the church will be called to glory, He too will rise out of this world never to dwell in it again. This does not mean the Spirit will cease to work on earth, but hereafter He will work in the world from heaven as He did prior to Pentecost [in Old Testament times] He will continue to work in a diversity of actions (Rev. 1:4), such as quickening souls, etc. From this time forward, the Bridegroom [Christ], the Bride [the church], and the friends of the Bridegroom [Old Testament saints, etc.] will be together forever. (1 Thes. 4:17, Heb. 11:40) He and I in that bright glory, One deep joy shall share, Mine to be forever with Him, His that I am there. The church will not go through the tribulation. It will be taken to glory at the rapture. "I will keep thee out of the hour of trial which is about to come upon the whole world." (Rev 3:10) See Appendix 'C' for further discussion on this important point. All the above points will take place "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." (1 Cor. 15:51-56) [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced by permission] ---------------------------<BrethrenVoice>--------------------------- Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: www.brethrenvoice.net <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32 _______________________________________________________________________