As the midnight hour of the Age of Grace draws ever closer; it is important for God’s people to recognize that every one of us, no matter what station of life we have been placed into, can be Ambassadors of His Kingdom. As much as many would like to bury their heads in the sand, our world is in deep trouble. Yet, we His representatives are still here. As long as we are still breathing and have not been removed into the presence of our Messiah, we have purpose — two in fact, that I would like to mention briefly.
- God uses the true Church through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be a restraining force on the earth. Note the words of the Apostle Paul to the Church at Thessalonica:
6 “And now you know what is restraining, that he (the man of sin) may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (emphasis added)
- We have been called to complete the Great Commission. Jesus foretold the Church fulfilling this task by the end of the age.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
The Restrainer is still in force today and the Good News of the Gospel has been preached around the globe. One of these days real soon, the last soul of the Age of Grace will be reached, and God will remove the Restrainer from this world. God’s faithful remnant will then be escorted HOME to live in His presence and in His Kingdom forever! But until that Day, each of us will continue letting our light shine.
There is a theological teaching that has been around for some years asserting that God lost control of Earth when Adam and Eve fell to sin in the Garden of Eden. The teaching continues that God has been searching for a ‘covenant people’ who will take back control of the earth from Satan. By exercising true faith and by adhering to the instructions of “last days apostles and prophets,” the Church will regain dominion over the kingdoms of this world — including the ‘kingdoms’ of sickness, disease, and financial problems, etc. This system of belief is that those who embrace this teaching will, as God’s people, ultimately take control of the government, education, science, and every other aspect of the world. They believe this will be achieved as believers use the miraculous Gifts of the Spirit and, as a result of the Church’s triumph, will usher in the return of Jesus Christ as KING.
There are a number of variations of this system of belief represented under different names. In the form described above, this presents some problems with what Scripture actually teaches. Yes, Jesus taught of the Kingdom of God and even said that the kingdom is within us as believers. He did not, however, say that the Church would bring the fallen world into subjection to the Kingdom of God. The Gospel would be proclaimed around the world but only Jesus, the Messiah — as God/King will bring this fallen planet into subjection to His Kingdom. This happens when He returns as foretold in Revelation 19 to engage the gathered armies of the world and their supernatural fallen puppet masters in the Battle of Armageddon. At that point, every knee will bow as is proclaimed in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians:
10 “…that at the name of Jesus every knee would bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11
In one of my devotional readings, I found some thoughts that speak to the subject:
“How did God accomplish salvation? By removing evil from the world? No. Salvation came through His presence, by His coming into the world, by becoming God with us — Immanuel. He didn’t take away our problems or remove them from the world. He did something better — He gave us the answer. He poured the answer into the world. Salvation is not the absence of sin. It’s the presence of God. Salvation is not the removing of the world’s darkness. It’s the shining of God’s light into the darkness. And by the light, the darkness is driven away.
“Salvation is the incarnation of God. It’s His presence. It’s Yeshua. It’s the ‘Immanuel Solution.’ What does it reveal? You don’t overcome the darkness by focusing on the darkness. You overcome the darkness by focusing on the light. And you don’t overcome sin by dwelling on sin. You overcome sin, not by dwelling on sin, but by dwelling on God. You overcome emptiness by dwelling on His presence. You solve your problem, not by dwelling on your problems, but by dwelling on the answer…by being filled with the Answer.” (Book of Mysteries, Jonathan Cahn)
This is a good description of what living the Christ-like life is all about. You and I won’t overturn every evil in this world, but we can bring light into the darkness where sin, wickedness, and death have such a grip. The god of this world is swiftly running out of time, and he knows it. Praise God, our KING is coming, and SOON!
Through the years, the House of Blessing has been focused on bringing the Light of the Gospel to people who, for the most part, have no idea what the “Good News of the Gospel” really is. As the Gospel is shared, the Spirit of God begins to work in the hearts of the people and they realize their need for salvation. The Gospel message does not necessarily remove evil rulers or government, nor does it guarantee freedom from troubles, sufferings, or persecution. It does, however, change the eternal destiny of people, one soul at a time.
I have received a story from the Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria. A group of male believers, Khalil, Bandar, Jawad, Abui Laila, and Laith, were on a mission to share Jesus Christ with the people. They met with some people who made a good pretense of being believers, but it turned out, they were enemies of the Gospel. A few days after they met, the brothers were provided a meal of rice, beans and tomatoes which had been cooked for them. As it turned out, there were some women among this group who attempted to cast a spell on the brothers by mixing into the meal a concoction containing menstrual blood which had been ceremonially cursed. Two female believers, Sonia and Jamila, also partook of the same meal along with the brothers. All of them became very sick and when contact with them was lost, four additional missionaries, two men and two women, traveled to their location to check on them. They soon learned what had happened and after considerable prayer and spiritual warfare, the power of the enemy was broken and they began the process of recuperating. Most of us know that true followers of Jesus cannot become demon possessed, but demonic attacks can very well be directed, even at Christians. They are very real.
I only have a few of the details, but the rest of the story is that the affected missionaries are now on the mend and have come back home but still need prayer for their total and complete recovery. There was good news that came out of the event though. The missionaries reported that the woman responsible for the demonic attack was set free of bondage and brought to faith in Jesus. In fact, all of the women involved asked for forgiveness and became followers of Jesus. In addition, another 460 people committed their lives to Christ after they saw the miracle that God did. Two mosques have now been closed and Christian fellowships established in their place. Amazing story!
I received another story written by a woman who does not speak or write English very well and so I had a bit of difficulty with the details. The account is of a woman named Shukria whose relationship with HOB goes back many years. I am told she knew Pastor Rashid very well and was in fact, one of the nurses that attended him. The woman who wrote the story and sent it to me was a close friend of hers. Shukria was the wife of a former sheikh by the name of Gaaga. She was much loved for many reasons. She had the reputation of being a mother or sister to all. She had a good knowledge of natural remedies to use including spices, herbs, vegetables, and other things to treat people with various illnesses and diseases. More importantly though, she was known for her strong faith and commitment to the Lord and she loved serving Him.
Shakria was 63 years old and was actually the second wife of her elderly husband. At 63, she had not been able to have children of her own. Her husband, however, who is nearly 80, had four grown sons from his first wife. The widows began praying for her (even at her age) and lo and behold, she became pregnant. This, however, soon became a problem as the four sons of her husband, who were not believers, along with many of their friends, accused her of having committed adultery even though it was untrue. The sons began to follow her everywhere she went and soon found out that she was an underground believer in Jesus. They hired four women to kill her. She was given one opportunity to deny her faith in Jesus but she refused to do so. They proceeded to viciously beat her until she died. Her husband, Gaaga, who is also an underground believer, was working on his farm at the time of the incident and was horrified when he learned what had happened. The four sons apparently did not take part in the beating themselves. Reports are that they had become much more radical in their Islamic beliefs since the new government came into power, and that likely eventually led to what had happened.
Shakria and her unborn child are in paradise with the Lord today and she has probably found Pastor Rashid. No more pain, suffering, or tears. Her funeral was this last Sunday.
I received a third story to share, although I only have the basics and not a lot of details. What I was told is that during a series of teaching classes, one of the younger women fell in love with one of the teachers. The father soon found out about it, and because of his strong Islamic beliefs, he and the family wanted to see the young woman killed. This relationship was not something that they were going to allow. When the family came to confront the teachers, the Lord opened the opportunity to share the Good News of the Gospel with them. The Lord touched their hearts and in a short time, another 85 souls were brought into the kingdom of God!
In closing, as the Scriptures tell us, the fields are white and ready for harvesting. As we keep an eye on the signs of the times that Jesus foretold, we know that the time is now very, very short. Many are being reached with the Good News of the Gospel, and there will be more stories to share.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. Pray for the safety of the missionaries. The times are as dangerous as ever. The month of Ramadan begins the last day in February and, as always, there is a great need for Bibles to distribute.
Forever in His Service,
Jake