What Does the Future Hold?

What does the immediate future hold for all of us? Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1, “...in the last days perilous times shall come.” He describes a time of mass corruption and a breakdown of law and tradition. Times of danger, of persecution and of trial. Truly these are desperate times but the party continues in the world as they appear to be oblivious to the judgment coming upon us. The Bible tells us that as it was in Noah's time so shall it be at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matt. 24:38, “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,”

In spite of Noah's warning, this verse describes the reckless way that the people went on their usual course, pursuing their pleasures with doom hanging over them. Life continued as though nothing was amiss. Because of sin and disobedience, the world was on a collision course with the judgment of God. God gave them warning and opportunity to repent but they laughed at the message and mocked the messenger. For one hundred and twenty years God left the door of redemption open but when time (God's time) was up, He closed the door to salvation.

Matt. 24:39, “And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

The people of Noah's day “knew not until the flood came.” They did not recognize the signs of the coming judgment. Their attention was upon their own carnal pleasures. Flesh was the driving force in their lives rather than care of the soul.

The Lord Jesus assures us that similar recklessness and unbelief will be found at his coming. We are living in the day that Jesus talked about. The conditions in our world parallel those of Noah's time. The general attitude toward the last days message is that of unbelief and a false security that refuses to heed any warning. Life continues as though nothing is amiss. Mankind continues to seek his way of life which is focused on selfish, carnal desires. He lives in pursuit of another enticement that will thrill the senses. All he sees is the momentary pleasure, the temporary highs. He doesn't see that he is sowing carnal seeds that will be brought into judgment. Our world is on a collision course with the judgment of God. The whole of mankind is reaping the seeds of sin.

Noah's ark was set in the middle of their daily lives. You might say it was like an elephant in the room. How could they walk around it everyday and still ignore the message of God. It sat before them as visual reminder that God's judgment was coming. They looked at Noah working every day but refused the message of salvation. Why did they do that? Because they were driven by the temporary pleasures of this life. They could not accept that anything could change what they perceived to be in their future. God made believers out of them but it was too late when it started to rain. The door to their salvation had been shut by the hand of God. No one could open it.

Just as God brought judgment in Noah's generation, He is in the process of doing the same in our world. The greatest failure of a man is to exclude God from his life. You can allow what is to come to do the work of conviction and repentance to accepting Jesus in salvation. Or, you can continue in your own way, failing to heed God's warning, and suffer the same destruction of Noah's day. Judgment is upon us. We will reap what we have sown. Hear Jesus' voice today, repent and be saved!!!

Pursuing His Spirit!

fb.me/7EmuZD1mf. This is a link to a message by then General Presbyter Sam Clements. He preached this message at the General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy in 2010. Still very relevant to our day.

A Message from the Heart of God

//pmailletvideos.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-message-from-heart-of-god.html

Time for the Harvest

Today as I enter into a time of prayer and meditation, my heart is heavy with the task of reaching the lost. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to the present human condition. All men must hear the message of redemption and freedom in Christ. Jesus left the responsibility of evangelizing the world to the Church. Matt. 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” The Body of Christ is commissioned to carry the message into all the world. In verse 18 Jesus states that He has all power. It is the exaltation of our Lord Jesus, having overcome death, hell and the grave that is emphasized here. When the Father awoke Him from death,the humiliation of flesh came to an end. At the resurrection He entered into heavenly glory. The limited conditions of the human life were removed. Therefore, He could say, “all power is given unto me...” He possessed in His glorified nature absolute power to procure all things necessary to establish His Kingdom. In union with the Father, He was free from all limitations.

Why is that important? In the very next verse, Jesus outlines the task of those that remain to carry the Gospel to all nations. “Go ye therefore...” doing what He had done, saving the lost, healing the sick, teaching to observe all the things that Jesus had taught. And because He had all power, He anointed with power to accomplish the commission given. He validated this fact by, “I am with you always.” The Christ with all power promised to always be with His disciples in every generation.

The role of the Church is to facilitate or implement the Harvest. We are to gather, prepare, send and reap. We are given the task to gather people into the kingdom, prepare them for service in the Lord's work and send them forth to reap the Harvest. This responsibility is ordained by God and empowered by God.

The commission of Christ is one that we must accept individually and collectively as the Church. So today, we have either embraced His call or settled for something less than complete surrender. Without total abandon for Christ, we introduce the arm of the flesh into a spiritual body. The result is the creation of a humanistic social order rather than the Body of Jesus Christ. Jesus will reach the world through a Spirit filled, Spirit inspired and Spirit empowered Church. Our success will be determined by how well we have followed His instructions. It is for this reason that I offer this prayer for all engaged in the Harvest of souls.

“Lord, You have given me such an enormous responsibility. That which I accept willingly. However, I realize how much I am dependent upon you. I feel the helplessness of this frail human soul. I ask you in all humility to make me rise to the task. I need your intervention in every effort with every step I take. Open my heart to the Holy Spirit. Help me to hear your voice. I don't want to miss your cue. Help me to be ever aware of where I am and where you are. I need your abiding presence every step of this journey. I can't go without your approval and support. I don't want to be sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. I want to speak your WORD. Your WORD will go forth with power and authority. Your WORD will convict hearts and change lives. Your WORD will prepare our hearts for eternity.

Father, I pray for the Church, Your Church. Help us to cast off the works of this human flesh. Help us to return to the days of old where we walked in the power of the Holy Spirit. Renew in us an intense desire to experience a fresh wind of the Spirit. Burn away the sin and selfishness that we embrace so easily. Help us to see ourselves as you see us. Help us to be void of our own agenda and to know and perform your will daily in our lives. Help us to see vividly that your cause is most important and our goals are secondary subject to what you desire. Purge us and wash us clean of all our human ambitions and replace them with your high and lofty goals. Fill us up with your person that there is no room for ME. Father we offer this prayer in the name of your precious Son, Jesus, Amen.”

My Testimony

For those who don't know me, I am a licensed Bishop in The Church of God Prophecy. I have served as Evangelist, Pastor and Regional Presbyter. I served as Pastor in Alabama from 1975-2007. We took a leave of absence in 2007. Since that time I have been consumed with study concerning the last things or end times. Jesus will soon return! We must be actively engaged in the last days Harvest of souls. I have felt for quite some time that God has an end-time message for me to share. I don't have all the specifics as to how God wants me to do it but He and I are working on that.

A few months ago I expanded my study to include a small group of people with the same interest. During this time my searching has become intense. While I was praying for direction as to what to study and revelation as to what message God had for me to share, I had a dream on May 23, 2015. In the dream I saw a wall or a black structure. The wall was veiled by smoke or fog but I could see letters and for a period of time I could not identify the letters. As I stared intensely through the veil, I finally could read the letters as words. The words were, "study the Lambert prophecy." I was not acquainted with any work of anyone named Lambert. I was not familiar with any books or printed literature by Lambert. I had not seen any teaching on Youtube or any other resource. When I awoke from the dream, I went to my computer and Googled "the Lambert prophecy." There at the top of the page was the name "Lance Lambert." When I went to his web page I found the seven prophecies that he has published. Interestingly enough He had just died on May 10.

I have been studying the prophecies and am truly ecstatic about the journey I have begun. I am absolutely convinced that the dream was from God and wait with great anticipation the revelation of God that I may share His message with a world filled with darkness. We are sitting on the edge of the great abyss and only the grace of God can save those who will call on His Name.

I have identified at least five different themes contained within the prophecy. I have noted them as follows:
Judgment
Harvest
Preservation of the Bride
Restoration of Israel
Intercessory prayer

When I began to study the prophecy, my heart became weighted down with the proclamation of coming judgment. During a time of prayer on 7/4/15, I opened my bible to John chapter 19 and began to read. The Lord spoke to me as I began to read verse 11. “...Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”

Pilot's statement had been, “...I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee.” Jesus' reply was, you “...have no power...except it were given thee from above...” Pilot desperately wanted to release Jesus. But that was not the plan of God. That power was given to Pilot for God's purposes which made the death of Jesus necessary. As I meditated on these verses the Lord said, “You cannot change what is to come, only your response to it. You can be defeated by it (Judgment, my words added) or RISE above it.”

As I was preparing for church on Sunday morning 7/19/15 the Lord spoke to me again. He said, “There is a second component to judgment. It is harvest. This judgment is not judgment unto itself.” (My definition: judgment for the sake of judgment). “That will come later.” (My impression is that this judgment is the result of the law of sowing and reaping. Our world is reaping what has been sown.) “It is called the Nineveh Factor. Those who repent shall be saved. They are judged already and saved by the blood of the Lamb.” Romans 10:13-15, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14.How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15.And how shall they preach, except they be sent?...” It was at this point that I asked the question, “Why not until now?” The Lord's reply was, “Everyone must have their Elijah moment, must find that still small voice experience and hear what God is saying.” My impression was that this was my Elijah moment so now is my time.

I knew that the Lord was not finished with the 7/4/15 encounter as I wrote RISE in all capitol letters.  He spoke to me again on 7/21/15 concerning “judgment.” He said, “It (judgment, added) can cause you to shrink back into a defensive posture or, through prayer mount up (be empowered, added) to launch an offensive thrust into the harvest.” John 4:35-38, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. 36.And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. 37.And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38.I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” During this same encounter, the Lord said, “Our focus should not be the coming judgment but be central to the harvest. Judgment is on us. We cannot change that, but we can affect the harvest.” On 8/3/15, the Lord said, “This judgment is as natural as breathing.” My impression was that it will happen whether we think about it or not.

I feel that God is pressing us into the harvest. We can use the impending sentence of judgment as a tool to motivate believers and nonbelievers alike. This judgment can motivate believers to enter into intercessory prayer, be empowered by the ever abiding presence of the Holy Ghost and to become actively engaged in the harvest. This judgment can motivate nonbelievers to make the decision about their eternal destiny. The Nineveh Factor is “judgment is coming, repent and be washed in the blood of the Lamb unto salvation or be lost to eternal damnation throughout all eternity.” The message is grave but life giving. Sound the alarm in Zion, Jesus is coming. Make ready for His appearing.

Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly!

Joel 2:15, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16.Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

17. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?"

Joel repeated the call of 2:1. The difference here is a call to national repentance to be performed in a national gathering of all the people before God. The priests were to proclaim a day of humiliation for all the people regardless of age or distinction. Joel summons all ranks and classes to assemble in the Temple for this solemn service.

Sanctify the people! The people were to prepare themselves for this solemn time. Under the Law, they were to wash themselves and their clothes. They were commanded to cleanse themselves from all legal impurities, to have offered sacrifice for all transgressions of the Law. To be obedient was to be purged and made worthy to be presented before the Lord in His house.

Assemble the elders, children, babies. No one should be excluded. Even the bride and the bridegroom were to delay their festivities for this solemn assembly. Everything must stop and all attention to focus on the Lord of glory.

The priests, the ministers of the Lord were commanded to take the lead in this sacred work of penitence. They are compelled by the great of the national trespass to stand weeping and praying between the porch and the alter. It was here in the open court that the priests, with his face toward the inner court and the alter, that he turned his petition toward God in supplication for the sins of the people.

As I read this text today, I cannot help but think what would happen if God's ministers would approach God with the same intensity as was required here. Such fervency that would drive us all to our knees in convulsed groans of agony for the needs of the lost and Christ's Church alike. I am reminded of Jesus' encounter with the weight of His destiny as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Luke 22:44. Is not our destiny just a relevant. He (Christ) has given us as the Body of Christ the urgent task to carry the message of deliverance to all creation. Do we not languish in such a state of national trespass in desperate need of the sacred work of penitence. God help us to fall helplessly into His embrace and become an example and instrument of His salvation and deliverance. God send your fire among us. May the Holy Spirit set us ablaze that we will never be the same. Change us Lord into what you desire us to become. Make us instruments of your salvation.

My cry is that God would put us in a place of remorse where we can identify with the utter hopelessness and struggle of the present human condition. Jesus looked upon the crowds that followed him and was moved with compassion because they were sheep without a shepherd. Help us Lord Jesus to look upon mankind with the same love, the same concern, the same intervention reflected in your example before us. The lost of the world are condemned to death without hearing and accepting the good news of Jesus' saving grace.

And what about the Church, the Body of Christ? Joel's cry was to the elect, the chosen of God, His beloved. We must sound the alarm in Zion. Can we truly feel that we have obeyed God completely when there is such a great need in the Church. A need for our alters to be filled with saint and sinner alike seeking God for divine revelation and divine intervention. Haven't we realized by now that we cannot pilot this ship without Him. We need and must have a fresh wind of Holy Ghost power. We must return to Pentecost and receive anew the anointing power of the Holy Spirit. Then we can become actively engaged in the harvest of eternal souls.

Let us all cry out with the priests of God, "Spare the people, Oh Lord..." Joel's petition was to entreat God to deliver His people, not because they deserved it but for His own glory. Lord restore your reputation in your Church. Let it be said that the Lord of Glory dwells among His people.

God's presence among His people struck fear in the hearts of their enemies. They trembled in fear because they had learned that God secured the victory. They could not win against the Lord God of Israel.  When Israel followed God they could not be defeated.

God's presence in the Church strikes fear into the heart of Satan. He trembles in fear in the presence of God. He is well acquainted with the power of almighty God. He knows when the Church follows God, we cannot be defeated. May God manifest Himself in the daily lives of each member of His Body. Through His abiding presence we will throw off the encumbrances that have silently crept in. Throw off the doubt that has slipped in due to a lack of seeing the manifestations of Christ's presence in the Church. Break the chains of oppression that have gripped us due to the lack of freedom in the Holy Ghost. Throw off the cloud of ignorance that has anesthetized us because of the lack of hearing a fresh Word from the Lord. Wake us O' Lord to the full measure of your truth. We will not be content with only the similitude  of truth. Baptize us in your TRUTH. Immerse us in your personage. Let us everyone put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

The Day of the Lord is Near!

 Joel 2:1, "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand."

Everywhere I look I see the hand of God's impending judgment. Wars, tyranny, civil unrest, spiritual discontent, oppression, death, disease, starvation, helplessness, hopelessness and on we go with a list too large to include here. Jesus said it would be this way. He told His disciples in Matt. 24 that there would be wars and rumors of more wars. He said there would be famines, pestilence, earthquakes but these things are only the beginning of sorrow. The worst is yet to come.

The call of Joel 2:1 is to awaken the people of Judah to the judgment of God hanging over their head. God sought through Joel to correct their Godless living and return in repentance to Jehovah. Joel sees the plague of the drought and locusts as judgment for the sins of Judah. He makes a direct correlation between sin and judgment.

How can a people believe that they can live anyway they choose and not reap the consequences of their choices. God created man higher that any other creature and gave us the unique God given quality of freedom of choice. However, all must understand that there are consequences attached to each and every choice.

We know according to history that Jerusalem was destroyed along with the Temple of Solomon, the land was laid waste and the people carried away to Babylon in 587 BC by king Nebuchadnezzar. Judah suffered in captivity because of their unwillingness to heed the voice of God and return in repentance to Jehovah.

So then, what is the answer to the present human condition? What shall we do in the face of overwhelming judgment. Restitution and repentance come to mind. Make right what we can and seek God for forgiveness for the rest.

We must be empowered by the Holy Ghost to impart God's warning and invitation. Like a watchman upon the wall we are mandated to sound the alarm. People, God's most precious creation, must be made aware that sin has consequences. Romans 6:23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death..." We will reap what we sow. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. 6:7-8. If we sow righteous deeds we will reap a righteous reward. If we sow sinful deeds we will reap a sinners reward.

The world system has become so jaded. Almost nothing is viewed as wrong. Our society has been conditioned over time to accept sinful lifestyles. Gradually the enemy has crept in and performed his despicable work, undermining the very foundation of our existence. From the beginning, our social order was built upon the family unit. God's design for the family has been manipulated to fit every desire and convenience imaginable to mankind.

Paul wrote to Timothy of the evil in the last days in 2 Tim. 3:1-5 identifying the total depravity of the human state. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." As Christ's return draws near, the depraved conditions will increase. "But evil men...shall wax worse..."v.13. Paul describes mass corruption and lawlessness. The warning is that the condition of the world ultimately presses into the Church. "Having a form of godliness but denying the power..."v5. Having the resemblance of Christian service but without the spiritual dynamic of the Holy Spirit. Peter said, "These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest..."2 Peter 2:17. The barrenness of this false religion mocks the thirsty soul by promising refreshment but can not deliver. Perhaps Jude states it best in vs.12-13, "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear; clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."

In. Eph. 6:11 Paul instructs the Church to "put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." The emphasis is on the "whole armor of God" in its completeness providing power against "the wiles of the devil." In Romans 13:12-14, he writes "...put you on the Lord Jesus Christ..."
Paul addresses the armor of God as a complete covering. Its completeness corresponds to the divine perfection of Christ's humanity. We are "to grow up unto Him in all things." Eph. 415. We are to put on His image in all the harmony of truth, righteousness, peace and faith. We are to receive the spiritual energy and power of Christ as the "Word."

So what is the answer to the present human condition. Jesus Christ is the solution. He is the embodiment of our power and authority to defeat the "flesh."
If we are to win this war and the Church will most certainly have victory over sin, then we individually must put on Christ. We must seek for and receive the power of the Holy Ghost to permeate every fiber of our being so that we become an extension of Christ Himself.