God
continues to connect the dots and give meaning to the things He has
spoken to my heart...
Recently
it has come to my remembrance that before I left the church,
every time I would arrive at the church parking lot, I would
experience the feeling that there were bars on the doors and windows.
The welcome mat was out, and for all appearances the church looked
welcoming, but I sensed I was being shut out. I now understand that
it was more than those in the church who were unwelcoming to me. God
was calling me out.
"You
do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
John 13:7
There
is a distinction between serving God and serving the church. God
is in the process of destroying the great religions of the world and
testing mankind to see if we love Him and His Truth above everything
else. The test is simple and is being applied without partiality.
There
is coming the time when God will require everyone to leave his or her
church for the sake of Truth. The object of our deepest affection
will then be revealed to those who love Him above all else. Some
people will discover they love their church more than they love God.
When a contest exists between God’s Truth and God’s Church, then
and only then, can humans detect the distinction that exists between
serving God and serving the church.
This
test of loyalty is already being applied, and still most people
cannot understand the problem. Remember, in Jesus’ day, the
Pharisees could not figure out how they could be as blind as Jesus
claimed. The same is true today.
The
time is coming when God’s Truth will conflict with the teachings of
EVERY church, and everyone will have to make tough choices. We
are seeing that many people cannot separate themselves from their
church, even when presented with the plainest evidences of truth.
To
help us make up our minds, God will allow the devil to appear on
earth. The devil (the Antichrist) will dissolve all the religions
of the world and forcibly create a new global church.
This
event in itself will help motivate those people who could not leave
their church for the sake of Truth.
On
the other hand, people who are cowardly will prostitute their faith
and join the newly created church because the devil will establish
stringent laws so that everyone who refuses to join his church will
be put to death.
Notice
in this context that God considers cowardice as great a sin as murder
and sexual immorality... But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic
arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Revelation
21:18
One
more point should be made.
Why
does God use such a tiny number of people to proclaim the everlasting
Gospel during the end time? Given the fact that over seven
billion people now live on Earth, it seems that the work would be
much easier if He chose one million or ten million people to
accomplish His task. In human terms, the 144,000, like Gideon’s
army, are too few to accomplish the task.
By
choosing such a tiny number, God will again demonstrate that He
is not dependent on flesh to accomplish His purposes. . . . Not by
might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6
Even
the stones could cry out if necessary. Luke 19:40
The
church today wants what Jesus has but they don’t want Jesus. I
want only Jesus and will follow the Truth no matter where TRUTH leads
me.
Jill
Soto
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