Spiritual Warfare

Robbing God

Ken

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8 KJV). But, you say, “We’re not under OT Mosaic law, requiring the paying of tithes (Leviticus 27:30).” And, you’d be correct. But, the concept of tithing was long before the OT Mosaic law, going back to Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20), and Jacob vowing to pay a tenth or tithe of all that God gave him (Genesis 28:22), because tithing represents, God takes care of my business, while I take care of His business. Tithing is not even mentioned in the NT, but the concept remains. I take care of God’s business, while He takes care of my business. On the other hand, offerings are different from the tithing a tenth of one’s income to those who labor for the benefit of God’s Church. 

In particular, the First Fruits Offering (Leviticus 23:10) was a dedication of a portion of the beginning of the farmer’s harvest or income flow, and not the net result of income or harvest after all expenses had been paid, requiring an act of faith for the farmer to pay the First Fruits Offering. “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10 KJV). 

LORD, teach Your NT Church the power of blessing You’ve promised to unleash upon Your Church, when we grasp how magnanimous a God You are when we give our tithes and offerings to support Your Church and advance Your kingdom on earth. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Preparing for His Appearing: Ministering to the Least

Ken

Our treatment of the least of Christ’s family of humanity gauges our treatment of Christ Himself. Though all of the human family will not finally be found in the Kingdom of Heaven, still all people are considered objects of His compassion (John 3:16). Better yet, it measures our concern beyond ourself. The Final Judgment of Christ separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). The Grand Truth of God’s Final Judgment is our treatment of humanity — not just our treatment of the Church — is our treatment of the LORD. The LORD is our first and highest love (Matthew 22:37); but, when did the LORD exclude all of Lost Humanity, even those who finally reject the Lord Jesus Christ, from being our neighbor? “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:39 KJV). Again, notice our treatment of our neighbor is to be equal to our treatment of ourselves. By the way, this is not to say we do not have a special obligation to the faithful. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). But, God’s Final Judgment will reveal the Church understood the Grand Truth and the World did not. The Church ministered to the World, as unto the Lord; while the World did not minister unto the “least of these” (Matthew 25:45), as unto the Lord. 

The Final Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46) 

“31 When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: 32 And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? 38 When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? 39 Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. 41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. 44 Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? 45 Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:31-46 KJV). 

LORD, may Your Spirit direct our actions in these Last Days that we may not squander our activities on self seeking actions, but may our efforts be placed, where You see fit. Return quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Preparing for His Appearing: Parable of the Talents

Ken

Stewardship of the goods entrusted to us by God is preparing for His appearing because it requires our trust in Him to comprehend, plan, execute, administrate, and maintain whatever undertaking God has delegated to us, until He returns. Immediately after His disclosure to His disciples about the nature of His Second Coming in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24), Jesus outlined thoroughly His expectations of how we are to prepare for His appearing in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) through our stewardship of His goods. 

First, faithfulness to Him is the primary thing our Divine Master expects from us, unlike the world’s preconceived expectations of monetary gain. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1Corinthians 4:2 KJV). 

Second, He gives to each of us goods to steward “every man according to his several ability” (Matthew 25:15).

Third, He mandates our trading with His property, i.e., “he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same” (25:16) and “likewise he that had received two” (25:17). 

Fourth, He considers it a Faithful Return On Investment (FROI) to receive back a doubling of His investment, e.g., five talents “made them other five talents” (25:16) and two talents “gained other two” (25:17). 

Fifth, His commendation is the same, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (25:21, 23). 

Sixth, He angrily regards us, if we wickedly have a low esteem of Him, feel Him to be unjust, unworthy of our labor, undeserving of our trust, and beneath our dignity to stoop. “24 Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 Thou wicked and slothful servant” (25:24-25, 26). 

Seventh, gaining from other’s labors is appropriate (25:26); a lawful gain for the use of money or simple bank interest is not unwarranted (25:27); and, the benefitting of the most resourceful from the loss of the least resourceful is also warranted (25:28). “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (25:29).

Father, may Your kingdom come and will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Grant Your servants understanding to transact Your business here below, until You take us Home to Heaven. In Jesus’ name, return quickly. Amen.

Preparing for His Appearing: Parable of the Ten Virgins

Ken

Ready to meet the Lord means more than having professed Him to be your Savior, but a continual practicing of the presence of God. “And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 KJV). Christ gave a Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), where the wise ones had prepared enough oil for their lamps to be ready to meet the Bridegroom and enter in at the wedding, while the foolish ones failed to bring enough oil and could not attend the wedding. “The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you” (1John 2:27) is the “oil” of the Holy Spirit. The Wise Virgins were the True Believers because they had the presence of the Holy Spirit (oil in their lamps), while the Foolish Virgins were the False Professors without the Holy Spirit (no oil in their lamps). 

The difficulty goes back to the Church teaching the free gift of grace for salvation does not require an active but equal “faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6) from us. To be clear, salvation without Christ is impossible. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God has created us with the capacity to choose or reject Him; and, He has taken special measures to draw us to Himself. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). Our response, sadly, has been to put the blame for our lack of success and perseverance upon Him, by labeling all His Love as Unconditional. 

In reality, Unconditional Love is given to all, even if it is rejected, as in, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Conditional Love, on the other hand, is only given to the obedient. “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21). Conditional Love occurs only with the obedience that accompanies faith. “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Failure to grow and persevere results from failure to teach the difference between Unconditional and Conditional Love. 

The Foolish Virgins were counting upon Unconditional Love alone to get them in to the wedding, not realizing Unconditional Love was only enough to get an invitation. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). The Wise Virgins understood Conditional Love requires Faithful Obedience, which secures a seat at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Father, You are the All Wise God, who we love for sending us Your Son. Cause the confusion about Your love to vanish away as You enlighten about Conditional and Unconditional Love. May Your Church answer Your call to Come Up Hither at the Rapture because we kept oil in our lamps. Come quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Fulness of Time

Ken

A cup becomes full of water, and time flows like the Spirit. “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4 KJV). Our 21st century mindset demands a digital time stamp. In our western mind, we become agitated, when we do not get what we want, when we want. Are we to conform to the Spirit, or are we expecting the Spirit to conform to us? Did we expect the Gift of the Spirit (Acts 6:38) to be another handy tool in our arsenal, or are we supposed to be made for our Master’s use? We will find peace, when we back down and are “led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14 KJV). Then, we will quit trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. LORD, You are our Master. We are Your servant. Give us the humility and understanding to let You be God. Work through us that we may influence those around us. Make Your peace to be our peace. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen. 

Finish the Job!

Ken

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6 KJV). God does not expect from us, what He does not expect from Himself — Finish the job! How can we expect to enter into Heaven, if we do not persevere to the end (Matthew 24:13; Romans 2:7; Revelation 3:11)? Do you say, it will happen anyway? But, if it took your cooperation and agreement for Him to begin the good work in you, why wouldn’t it take that cooperation to the end? It was never that we loved Him, but “He first loved us” (1John 4:19). Finishing the job and making it home to Heaven — sure, you must persevere — but, all the credit will be placed at the feet of our Lord, when we come into His heavenly presence. LORD, You were our help in ages past, and are our hope for years to come. Your Spirit working in us caused us to will and to do of Your good pleasure. Magnify Your name for every right hearted action of Your children. And, may every child of Yours justify the wisdom of Your decision to require us to persevere to the end, when we cross the Finish Line into Heaven. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Blessedness or Happiness

Ken

“Blessed [Hebrew, esher, happiness or blessedness] are the undefiled [Hebrew, tâmîym, whole, sound, healthful] in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 119:1 KJV). Yes, we are blessed or happy, but why? We are as Noah was a “just [Hebrew, tâmîym, perfect]” (Genesis 6:9 KJV), or undefiled by the physical and spiritual curse of the Nephilim, but why? We are undefiled, because we walk in the law of the LORD. True, we walk not in the “counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1), but we “delight” and “meditate” in the “law of the LORD” (1:2). If we stop there, we miss the point. It is the LORD’s law. Without Him, we have no source or focus. He alone is able to give meaning to the law. We learn of Him and His character by our association with that law. Unless we view our time around His Word as something more than a word study, then we escape the grand point of our existence — to “know Him” (Phillippians 3:10).

Why the Devil Needs UFOs

Ken

The Rapture and UFOs are forbidden topics for both respectable theologians and scientists because they deny credibility from each their respective mainstream. Once burned, twice shy. Students of prophecy walk carefully around setting any dates of Rapture, Tribulation, Second Coming, since scoffers love to remind of anything remotely resembling a failed date. Yet, even our Savior enflamed us with His closing promise of the NT, “Surely I come quickly [Greek, tachu, suddenly]. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20 KJV). Anyone who places any credence in the 1947 Roswell incident as anything other than a crashed weather balloon will lose immediate credibility for believing in a conspiracy theory. If you believe in neither a Rapture nor UFOs, then you’re on safe ground, as far as established theology and science are concerned. But, if there really is a Rapture, then what better opportunity for some world leader to step up with miraculous explanations for the Suddenly Missing People (SMP). Of course, the explanation will be a carefully crafted lie, which will be the work of the Antichrist. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:9). UFOs are those lying wonders. They are real, but not extraterrestrial, instead from another dimension, which is the Unseen Realm of both the good and evil. Not until Almighty God removes the Restraining Influence of the Spirit Indwelt Christians at the Rapture, will it be necessary for Satan’s Antichrist  to step in, explain, and miraculously bring seeming order to the chaos. “And now you know what is holding him back, so that he [Antichrist] may be revealed at the proper time” (2Thessalonians 2:6 NIV). This will be more than Alien Brothers bringing in a new era of peace, but most probably a Nephilim harnessing the power of “alien technology” to consolidate worship of himself as God. “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2Thessalonians 2:4). LORD, our fervent prayer is to be ready for Your Son’s soon appearing. May we calmly and faithfully advocate for Your people to continue their employments and doing whatever good You’ve shown us to do, in the meantime; but, open the hearts of those around us to receive Your Son. Return quickly, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Expectation: Look Out for Answers to Prayer

Ken

Praying without expectation of answer is faithless and unbelieving, yet how often do we do it? “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3 KJV). Why do we do it? Because we have such a low opinion of God. And, how do we fix that? We need to elevate our thinking about God, which the Holy Spirit has especially been given to accomplish in us (John 16:13-15). For instance, Jesus identifying Himself as one with the Father (John 14:9), would be understood as having said: “11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13). 

Our past negative experiences with God cause us to construct a more constrained picture of God, which we feel puts less pressure or expectation on God, when, in reality, it puts less pressure on ourselves. God, on the other hand, is calling us to a higher expectation of what He is capable and willing to do. Let us not force the future to look like a worse imitation of the past. “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). Shouldn’t we rather be so expectant, it could be said, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12)? 

Father, make us to be truly Your children by how we ask You with great expectation for answer to our prayers. But, may we grow in our understanding of You that we may have greater appreciation, praise, and worship of You in the coming days. “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5). In Jesus’ exalted name, we ask it — and, do return quickly. Amen and amen.