Dearest friends and readers,
Peace and grace to you all in Jesus name!
My last post was some time ago because I have been rebuilding another ministry with the Lords help. Praise God the task is now complete and I am officially retired from that ministry for the second time!
When I say retired, I mean from a specific ministry, not from the Lord's work. NEVER! I continue to pastor my little flock of Simcha Fellowship and now have time to get back to writing. You might remember that although I write on a variety of subjects, my passion is Biblical prophecy. Some folks whose church or pastor do not teach things like fulfilled Biblical prophecy, sometimes are confused by that terminology.
I have been asked "Does that mean you teach people how to prophecy"? And of course the answer to that is no. Only the Holy Spirit of God can give utterance through His chosen vessels and when those few very anointed people speak it is extremely wise to listen. No, my choice of Biblical subjects often run to prophecies uttered by men and in some cases women of God more that 3,000 years ago.
Did you know that many of those prophecies are being fulfilled EXACTLY AS SPOKEN right now in our life time?
But another short clarification before we head down the prophetic path. Unfortunately, there are those in today's church who teach that all the prophets of God ceased to exist by the ending chapters of the Old Testament.
NOT SO!
Jesus Himself prophesied regarding the future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and you can find that in Matthew chapter 27 verse 2. You will also find it in Matthew chapter 17 verse 11 which was during His transfiguration. He was speaking of Elijah coming in the future and restoring all things. In Acts chapter 21 verses 8-9 we see reference to Philip the evangelist who had 4 virgin daughters who prophesied.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11 tells us that "He Himself---Jesus Christ (my emphasis added), gave some to be Apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers". So who did He give these offices to? The church.
And what was their purpose? "For the equipping of the saints and for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come into the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ".
Now I fully realize that some of you may have been taught that all those grandiose gifts and titles passed away with the last Apostles in the first century.
But have you ever seen the Bible say that? No.
Then there are those who say all the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians chapter 12 and Romans chapter 12 ) also passed away and are no longer needed in todays church.
But have you ever seen the Bible say that? No.
Or how about those who claim that the only way God speaks to His people is through the written Word? Well, that is true but is it the only way? No.
The problem is that Jesus said in John chapter 10 verse 27 "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me"! Hmmm, "hear my voice"? What does that mean exactly? FUTURE ARTICLE.
Or how about people who identify themnselves as Christian, who hate the Jewish people because they killed Jesus?
Well we cannot get around what Jesus Himself said in John chapter 10 verse 17-18 "Therefore my Father loves me because I lay down My life that I may take it again. NO ONE TAKES IT FROM ME, but I lay it down of Myself". Perhaps we should fact check what we hear with God's Word.
I titled this article, "a new day is dawning". But what does that mean?
Well a question first? Would you agree with me that today's world is a "class A mess ' and getting worse by the day? The Middle East is melting down. ISIS is threatening the world. Unparalleled drug addictions, violence on every quarter, beheadings, bombings, weird weather issues, old killer diseases recurring after eons of non existence, refugees by the hundreds of thousands, stock markets crashing worldwide and moral corruption becoming not only accepted but worshipped and celebrated even in some quarters of the church.
Do you remember the week after September 11th, 2001 when terrorists flew jet liners into the World Trade Center? Instantly the churches of the Western nations were crammed full of people looking for answers. Two weeks later those same churches were as empty as before disaster had struck.
Today is different. Today does not represent one horrific act of senseless violence. Today no one can get away from awful circumstances that were once thought to be impossible for civilized people in civilized nations.
A REALLY new day is dawning in which folks are getting Grandma's dusty old Bible out of the attic and beginning to look for real answers. As a pastor, I am seeing more and more of this and it is about time! It is time for people to awaken and begin to realize that the only hope they really have is in a Creator who gave Himself to be crucified on the cross of Calvary and who offered ALL OF MANKIND unconditional grace and Salvation for those who choose to repent for their sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
But here is a newsflash for you: You will never find the truth as long as you listen to people (pastors not withstanding) who try and allegorize the word of God. If you want the truth then read the Word of God with this thought in mind: "God said what He meant and He meant what He said" Period!
And as far as Biblical prophecy is concerned? Did you know that Jesus fulfilled over 100 Biblical prophecies at His first coming? And at least 23 of those were written in the Psalms in King Davids time?
Did you know that the prophet Amos said in chapter 3 verse 7 "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets"?
Did you know that a common estimate among pastors and scholars is that nearly 40% of the entire Bible is forward looking in nature? God definitely wants His people to understand what is about to engulf this old tired out world before Jesus returns for His people.
Remember this; Having a personal relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords does not guarantee a carefree life. What is does however, is bring an inner peace to those who believe.
Ephesians 2:14 "FOR HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE-----"!
Looking forward to catching up with you with many more articles to come...
God bless
Pastor Rance.
Peace and grace to you all in Jesus name!
My last post was some time ago because I have been rebuilding another ministry with the Lords help. Praise God the task is now complete and I am officially retired from that ministry for the second time!
When I say retired, I mean from a specific ministry, not from the Lord's work. NEVER! I continue to pastor my little flock of Simcha Fellowship and now have time to get back to writing. You might remember that although I write on a variety of subjects, my passion is Biblical prophecy. Some folks whose church or pastor do not teach things like fulfilled Biblical prophecy, sometimes are confused by that terminology.
I have been asked "Does that mean you teach people how to prophecy"? And of course the answer to that is no. Only the Holy Spirit of God can give utterance through His chosen vessels and when those few very anointed people speak it is extremely wise to listen. No, my choice of Biblical subjects often run to prophecies uttered by men and in some cases women of God more that 3,000 years ago.
Did you know that many of those prophecies are being fulfilled EXACTLY AS SPOKEN right now in our life time?
But another short clarification before we head down the prophetic path. Unfortunately, there are those in today's church who teach that all the prophets of God ceased to exist by the ending chapters of the Old Testament.
NOT SO!
Jesus Himself prophesied regarding the future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and you can find that in Matthew chapter 27 verse 2. You will also find it in Matthew chapter 17 verse 11 which was during His transfiguration. He was speaking of Elijah coming in the future and restoring all things. In Acts chapter 21 verses 8-9 we see reference to Philip the evangelist who had 4 virgin daughters who prophesied.
Ephesians chapter 4 verse 11 tells us that "He Himself---Jesus Christ (my emphasis added), gave some to be Apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers". So who did He give these offices to? The church.
And what was their purpose? "For the equipping of the saints and for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come into the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ".
Now I fully realize that some of you may have been taught that all those grandiose gifts and titles passed away with the last Apostles in the first century.
But have you ever seen the Bible say that? No.
Then there are those who say all the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians chapter 12 and Romans chapter 12 ) also passed away and are no longer needed in todays church.
But have you ever seen the Bible say that? No.
Or how about those who claim that the only way God speaks to His people is through the written Word? Well, that is true but is it the only way? No.
The problem is that Jesus said in John chapter 10 verse 27 "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me"! Hmmm, "hear my voice"? What does that mean exactly? FUTURE ARTICLE.
Or how about people who identify themnselves as Christian, who hate the Jewish people because they killed Jesus?
Well we cannot get around what Jesus Himself said in John chapter 10 verse 17-18 "Therefore my Father loves me because I lay down My life that I may take it again. NO ONE TAKES IT FROM ME, but I lay it down of Myself". Perhaps we should fact check what we hear with God's Word.
I titled this article, "a new day is dawning". But what does that mean?
Well a question first? Would you agree with me that today's world is a "class A mess ' and getting worse by the day? The Middle East is melting down. ISIS is threatening the world. Unparalleled drug addictions, violence on every quarter, beheadings, bombings, weird weather issues, old killer diseases recurring after eons of non existence, refugees by the hundreds of thousands, stock markets crashing worldwide and moral corruption becoming not only accepted but worshipped and celebrated even in some quarters of the church.
Do you remember the week after September 11th, 2001 when terrorists flew jet liners into the World Trade Center? Instantly the churches of the Western nations were crammed full of people looking for answers. Two weeks later those same churches were as empty as before disaster had struck.
Today is different. Today does not represent one horrific act of senseless violence. Today no one can get away from awful circumstances that were once thought to be impossible for civilized people in civilized nations.
A REALLY new day is dawning in which folks are getting Grandma's dusty old Bible out of the attic and beginning to look for real answers. As a pastor, I am seeing more and more of this and it is about time! It is time for people to awaken and begin to realize that the only hope they really have is in a Creator who gave Himself to be crucified on the cross of Calvary and who offered ALL OF MANKIND unconditional grace and Salvation for those who choose to repent for their sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord.
But here is a newsflash for you: You will never find the truth as long as you listen to people (pastors not withstanding) who try and allegorize the word of God. If you want the truth then read the Word of God with this thought in mind: "God said what He meant and He meant what He said" Period!
And as far as Biblical prophecy is concerned? Did you know that Jesus fulfilled over 100 Biblical prophecies at His first coming? And at least 23 of those were written in the Psalms in King Davids time?
Did you know that the prophet Amos said in chapter 3 verse 7 "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets"?
Did you know that a common estimate among pastors and scholars is that nearly 40% of the entire Bible is forward looking in nature? God definitely wants His people to understand what is about to engulf this old tired out world before Jesus returns for His people.
Remember this; Having a personal relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords does not guarantee a carefree life. What is does however, is bring an inner peace to those who believe.
Ephesians 2:14 "FOR HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE-----"!
Looking forward to catching up with you with many more articles to come...
God bless
Pastor Rance.
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