WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTIONS 3/30/2009

I was reading online today and saw a news brief about a 23y/o man who Saturday fatally stabbed his 17y/o sister, attempted to kill his 9y/o sister with the same knife, stabbing and cutting her, and decapitated his 5y/o sister who was celebrating her birthday at that time, in fact, her birthday cake was on the table near her. I am reminded of several women who have killed their children, in Florida, on the East Coast (SC I believe) and several other places. I am shocked about the recent news of the father who is marrying a friend of his daughter, who disappeared and was presumed dead. There are so many tragic and terrifying reports of people who commit atrocities against their supposed loved ones, often for no apparent reason. These incidents have become more and more frequent in recent years. Now we are seeing sibling rivalry that is far greater than was previously seen. It is worse than Cain and Abel because the perpetrator is often not only cruel to their family, but actually desecrates their bodies in various ways. All of these situations are the fulfillment of the following prophecy.

2Ti 3:1 BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].
2Ti 3:2 For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.
2Ti 3:3 [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.
2Ti 3:4 [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.
2Ti 3:5 For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

If we cannot see this passage being fulfilled in our day then we are blind. America has become a nation of hedonists, those who love pleasure and entertainment above all other things. Even many who claim the name of Christ Jesus fall into this description that begins with people who are lovers of self. We see this in various TV programs, movies, almost the whole entertainment industry, professional sports, these relatively new (yet at the same time ancient) gladiatorial contests where spectators pay to see contestants beat each other to a pulp.

Our current financial crisis is the evidence of those who are lovers of money and greedy for wealth. We have businesses that will do almost anything to turn a profit including cause pollution, use slave labor, use exceedingly substandard materials, build their products to fail just so the consumers will have to buy them again and again, etc. We have children divorcing their parents, young adults who act as though they deserve anything they can cheat or steal. Morality is a foreign topic and many organizations have a code of ethics that are only used for lip-service or as a way to promote the agenda of those in power.

The people who make the largest salaries are those who give the most pleasure and entertainment to the largest audience. Therefore sports stars, movie stars, and music stars are those who are paid the absolutely highest salaries, while those who perform necessary services for all are generally paid much lower salaries, such as police, firemen, healthcare workers, and teachers. Not only are the wrong people paid the highest salaries but they are also those who are admired the most even (perhaps I should say despite) the fact that they behave the worst of all public figures. These are those we glorify and they are constantly being hauled to jail for drug use, alcohol abuse, their wild lifestyles are lifted up as examples for our young people to follow and THEN we wonder why those same young people live such sordid lives with little care for anyone but themselves.

I know several “christians’ who claim that we are not in the last days, that those days may be in our lifetimes, but not now. They site the examples of previous times of unrest when those who lived at that time thought they might be living during the last days, but these scoffers close their eyes to the multitude of prophetic fulfillment that is occurring every day. They do not want to face the truth. They love this world too much to be honest with themselves and God. They are far too involved in this world.

They are no longer strangers and aliens on this earth looking for a home, a city whose Builder and Maker is God! They are NOT aliens in this world at all, they are quite at home here and in fact will become indignant if anyone suggests that it will end soon or that they are friends with the world. (This of course, makes them enemies of God)

How like the world we have become in the Church. We promote ways to make money, programs to please our senses, entertainment in the midst of our worship and bring almost every pagan and unholy act into the Church, call it Christian and say Jesus has redeemed it!

Show me a New Testament verse that says God has ever redeemed a thing. I see plenty that talk about men being redeemed, but NOTHING about things, ideas, or practices. OR could it be that man has changed God truth for man’s doctrines?

Could it be that the Church has become a harlot and no longer lives for the Lord Jesus Christ? When was the last time we heard a sermon about going to the cross and actually dying there? When was the last time we heard anything about denying ourselves? When was the last time we heard something about giving up EVERYTHING so that we might possess eternal life?

Is that NOT what the Bible says? Or does it say, come to God, you can come as you are and never have to change, continue on in your sin, indulge yourself, enjoy everything the world has to offer and then you will have heaven too? Is that what the Bible says?

I tell you the truth and do not lie, ANYONE who is unwilling to suffer in their flesh for righteousness sake will fall! What does that mean to us today? Are we willing to lay down our entertainments, our favorite foods and restaurants, our TV programs, our habits whether bad or not, smoking, caffeine, etc, etc, etc? In order to get closer to God are we willing to stop going to anything that is not Godly? Can we stop attending sporting events, movies, theater, vacations full of distractions (e.g. Disney World, Six Flags, Hawaii, the Caribbean, cruises, etc) and cease filling up our time with emptiness?

If we are unwilling to lay down these things in order to seek God, get close to Him, be taught by Him, and allow Him to TRULY MAKE US HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, AND PURE, then when the tribulations come (and they are coming very soon) we will succumb to their temptations to please our flesh instead of crucifying it and following God.

The world has shown its colors. It is a cesspool of inordinate and continually growing, evil lusts and pleasure seeking. The Church has thrown in the towel in her fight against these things and instead has readily joined in the revelry. As Moses said about the Children of Israel,

Exo 32:18 But Moses said, It is not the sound of shouting for victory, neither is it the sound of the cry of the defeated, but the sound of singing that I hear.
Exo 32:19 And as soon as he came near to the camp he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses' anger blazed hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.

We have seen minister after minister exposed as terrible sinners, caught up in their various lusts all the while proclaiming the “easy gospel” of admit you are a sinner, ask Jesus to be your Lord, and you will go to heaven. Never talking about true repentance, the cross, death to self, denial of self, or forsaking sin!

I have become grieved by the condition of some I have called friends. Many no longer are concerned about the things of God but rather the things of this world. Even when discussed, the great events that are currently happening, the words of warning that have come forth, the very attitude is something like, “Oh, that is interesting. Did you notice I got a new car?” Or, “My baby is walking now, isn’t he/she cute?”

So many are walking and living in deception that they cannot even begin to understand HIS TRUTH! They read II Tim 3 and recognize that it will be bad when it happens, BUT THEY CANNOT SEE WE ARE LIVING IN IT AS I WRITE THESE WORDS! I have read some positive prophecies from certain people that tell us that God is looking out for us and that the current US financial situation will be taken care of by God. Besides there not being anything financially positive in the Bible regarding the last days, these supposed words actually say the opposite of the Bible and are therefore anti-christ. Yet, so many are immediately offended if anyone speaks against these “words” of prophecy.

The modern Christian world has become no different than idolatrous Israel, that Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke against. We are committing the same sins, have similar attitudes that God hates and although we are told in the New Testament that those things were written for our benefit so we could learn from them, all most “Christians” can see is Israel was pretty rotten and God judged them. They cannot see the very same attitude in the Church today and if anyone were to suggest that God is going to discipline and correct those same attitudes in the Church, these deceived people once again have the same attitude that Israel did, thinking that God would NOT judge His people; that we are under Grace!

However, once more Jesus is standing on the hill outside the camp and saying,

“Luk 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen [gathers] her young under her wings, but you would not!
Luk 13:35 Behold, your house is forsaken (abandoned, left to you destitute of God's help)! And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you shall say, Blessed (to be celebrated with praises) is He Who comes in the name of the Lord! [Ps. 118:26; Jer. 22:5.]”

It is unfortunate that the Church cannot understand that the Lord would ever speak about them in the same way!

Look and see the attitude in the following email I received today.

Happy Easter. To celebrate, we are preparing a special Easter Sunday virtual party online where there will be fun, games, a special virtual forum "Easter Egg" hunt with prizes!

We'll also take a break for a mass prayer. More details about the time and specifications to be announced soon.

Also, we have an Easter Sale going on right now for our subscription service. For only $15, you get a full 12 month subscription, no advertisements anywhere on the site, 50,000 blessings, and priority support access.

To subscribe today for this special price, go to:

http://www.christianforums.com/payments.php

Finally, we are proud to announce that we have finished upgrading our servers. You have probably noticed an improved speed on our forums. Unfortunately, this doesn't come cheap so be sure to take a second and click an advertisement or two so that you can support us if you can't subscribe.

Thanks and God Bless! See you on Easter Sunday!

It is not so much that having fun is wrong. But THAT should NOT be our reason for gathering. Having fun should be a natural outcome as we submit ourselves to the Lord, worship Him and He blesses by changing lives. I once was talking to a former pastor of mine about having a men’s retreat. I was saying that we needed to get with the Lord and not to fish, barbecue and play games, etc. He told me something that took some time to really understand. He said that if that church organized a men’s retreat without the fishing and all the rest, almost no one would come. I immediately told him I would, but we still did not have a men’s retreat to seek God.

It is a shame, a SIN for that condition to exist in the Body of Christ; and that was in the Bible Belt. In other places, it is often worse. There is not even given a good excuse for men seeking God, it just rarely happens.

Now look at this passage>>>>

Joh 14:15 If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever--
Joh 14:17 The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you.
Joh 14:19 Just a little while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
Joh 14:20 At that time [when that day comes] you will know [for yourselves] that I am in My Father, and you [are] in Me, and I [am] in you.
Joh 14:21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]
Joh 14:22 Judas, not Iscariot, asked Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself [make Yourself real] to us and not to the world?
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.
Joh 14:24 Anyone who does not [really] love Me does not observe and obey My teaching. And the teaching which you hear and heed is not Mine, but [comes] from the Father Who sent Me.
Joh 14:25 I have told you these things while I am still with you.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

Do we believe this or do we rely on ourselves? Do we honestly believe that the SOURCE of all Wisdom and Knowledge is in our hearts OR do we act like we have get filled up all the time? How many of us TRUST that the Lord will give us revelation knowledge and the Holy Spirit will teach us the ABSOLUTE TRUTH of God?

Or do we use natural human reasoning to figure out what the Bible says? Who are we relying on?
Look at the last two verses in II Tim 3 from above.

2Ti 3:4 [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.
2Ti 3:5 For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

They will be inflated with self-conceit, and will hold to a FORM of true religion, they are absolute strangers to the reality of it and their conduct shows this to be true. Then we are told to avoid such people.

In today’s modern church world, this constitutes to being told to leave the organized church for this is how almost all Christians live today. There is little or no reality of the Power of God living through the conduct of their lives. They are NOT walking on this earth as Jesus walked while He lived here!!! Many churches either close or even have a special fellowship on Super Bowl Sunday just to WATCH this vain amusement. There was a Florida Church that advertised itself as the DRIVE-THROUGH CHURCH, because you could literally never get out of your car and go to their service.

The must be a new REVOLUTION in the TRUE Body of Christ. Unfortunately, the best I see in the scriptures is that there will be a remnant that IS Dedicated to the Lord. But Jesus was not very convinced about the condition of the Church when He returns.

Luk 18:6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said.
Luk 18:7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
Luk 18:8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

He also had this terrible revelation about the condition of the Church when He returned.

Mat 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name?
Mat 7:23 And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands]. [Ps. 6:8.]

NOTICE, these people THOUGHT they were His people. They called on His name, they did miracles and healed in His name and even drove out demons in His name, yet HE will say that HE NEVER (and that does mean NEVER) Knew them!!! Not only does Jesus say this, but He tells them what they were doing was sinful, it was wicked! They did NOT obey His commands, just as it says in II Tim 3.

Brothers and Sisters, I am NOT advocating we start a new Church, leave the one we are in, or anything like that. I am saying we need to STOP doing Church as we are so used to doing and lay down ALL of our pre-conceived notions and ideas, ALL of our doctrines, every teaching we know and THINK we understand and get with the Lord HIMSELF. Do not listen to any man, no pastor, no apostle or prophet, myself or even our own selves; DO NOT LISTEN TO YOURSELF! Stop relying on you.

Be willing to be wrong about everything you have EVER learned about the Bible, the Lord, or Christianity. Then admit your failure to do things the way HE desires, confess and repent from trying to figure it out yourself. Trust the Lord to teach you by the Holy Spirit through REVELATION KNOWLEDGE, and then confirm it all with the Bible. Then believe Him above and beyond anything you have ever held dear. If He teaches you something about walking with Him, then believe HIMI even if it goes against everything you have ever learned up to this point.

I tell you the truth; the LORD will NEVER contradict Himself OR the Bible. If you do not believe me right now, take every doctrine you currently hold and find every verse in the WHOLE BIBLE that speaks on that doctrine. If your doctrine came from God it will NOT contradict ANY of those verses. How many of us are willing to trust the Lord that far?

It has been my experience that most people are unwilling to do what I have just said. They will give excuse after excuse that they were taught by godly men and the Lord; that they believe the whole Bible; that they have already gone to the Lord and asked Him what to believe. But then they will not take even ONE of their doctrines and find out if it contradicts the Bible anywhere. They like to be in control, to determine what they believe. They are still eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; analyzing everything and figuring out for themselves what is right and wrong; what is good and evil. They want to retain that ability for themselves and NOT rely on God to teach them HIS ABSOLUTE TRUTH! They want to determine what THEY see as the Truth, thinking they can do as good a job as God.

This is why we have so many denominations and so few real, dedicated Christian disciples living today. If anyone thinks they are His disciple, let us look at what Jesus said were the conditions of being a disciple first.

Mat 10:24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant or slave above his master.
Mat 10:25 It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant or slave like his master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub [master of the dwelling], how much more will they speak evil of those of His household. [II Kings 1:2.]

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].
Mat 16:25 For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

Mar 8:34 And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
Mar 8:35 For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel's will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].
Mar 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
Mar 8:37 For what can a man give as an exchange (a compensation, a ransom, in return) for his [blessed] life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
Mar 8:38 For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous (unfaithful) and [preeminently] sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory (splendor and majesty) of His Father with the holy angels.


Luk 14:26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his [own] father and mother [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise] his wife and children and brothers and sisters--[yes] and even his own life also--he cannot be My disciple.
Luk 14:27 Whoever does not persevere and carry his own cross and come after (follow) Me cannot be My disciple.

Luk 14:33 So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Is this enough to prove the vast majority of those who Claim to belong to Christ Jesus in reality do NOT; they are not His disciples at all? Yet today, you can come to Church, not hear any of this talk about laying down, about denying yourself, or forsaking all. All you have to do is come as you are, pray a prayer that admits you are a sinner, know you can’t get to heaven on your own merits and ask Jesus into your heart. There is not even any talk about the Power of God coming to change our lives, or that we must be baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. Just pray and then you are a Christian; RIGHT????

Not according to Jesus. Not according to Paul, or John, or James, or even Peter. We are in the midst of the GREAT FALLING AWAY and this will culminate when many in the “church” recognize that their hope of rapture is a false hope and they will lose their faith completely. We do not have much time. The Great Tribulation is almost upon us. Soon, there will be only two choices left; with Jesus Christ or the rest of the world. There will be no denomination, no sect. It will be TRUE DISCIPLES of Jesus Christ against the rest of the world. The really fascinating, and glorious thing is, we do not have to win, we do not have to beat the world and convert them all. We have to remain faithful to the Lord and speak the truth then HE does the winning. We can even lose our lives for His sake and still “win”. These disciples, this remnant, will KNOW the Lord intimately, will walk with Him all the time, He will teach them His ways, and they will be LIGHTS to the world, even when they are persecuted, tortured, and are killed, NO ONE can touch their life in Christ Jesus.

To the natural mind, to those who have not been really changed in their spirits, in their thinking from the world, this type of life sounds like defeat, like misery, not like living as kings and priests on the earth. But that is because we are relying on our own understanding instead of relying on the Lord and what HE says. We do not really understand what it means to live victoriously. We think we must have riches, possessions, influence with the world, etc. But that is what the Gentiles thought when Jesus walked this earth and Jesus even told His disciples that was NOT how it was to be among His people.

We do not like to face that and would prefer things our own way. Yet we will have to face the Lord Himself one day. I personally believe we need to do things the way HE said, because, He IS the One who made the rules in the first place.

So, we can continue on, living in II Tim 3 or we can live the victorious life found in Christ Jesus, that could very well end in our physical death along with the loss of all material possessions; never having a home, never make a name for ourselves, and on and on; all of those things the modern church talks about and has in their hearts. The choice is ours. I cannot make that choice for you. But as for me, I choose to follow Jesus the way HE commanded us to. It may not be pleasant to our flesh, but it sure is a lot safer in the end.

God bless you all!

A bondslave in Christ Jesus, Dirk