First of all today I want to share THIS from 2 Thessalonians 2 from our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan from the Kenneth Wuest Translation:
1-4 Now, I am requesting you, brethren, with regard to the coming and personal presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, even our being assembled together to Him, not soon to become unsettled, the source of this unsettled state being your minds, neither be thrown into confusion, either by a spirit [a believer in the Christian assembly claiming the authority of divine revelation and claiming to give the saints a word from God], or through a word [received personally] as from us or through a letter falsely alleged to be written by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come and is now present. Do not begin to allow anyone to lead you astray in any way, because that day shall not come except the aforementioned departure [of the Church to heaven] comes first and the man of the lawlessness is disclosed [in his true identity], the son of perdition, he who sets himself in opposition to and exalts himself above everyone and everything that is called a god or that is an object of worship, so that he seats himself in the inner sanctuary of God, proclaiming himself to be deity.
5-7 Do you not remember that while I was still with you I kept on telling you these things? And now you know with a positive assurance that which [namely, the departure of the Church, the saints being assembled together to the Lord] is preventing his being disclosed [as to his true identity] in his strategic, appointed time, for the mystery of the aforementioned lawlessness is now operating. Only He [the Holy Spirit] who is holding [the lawlessness] down, [will do so] until He goes out from the midst [of humanity].
I am using this translation because it is one of the few that accurately defines the Greek word "apostasia" in this instance as "a departure". This IS the catching away of the Church of Jesus Christ BEFORE the wrath of God is poured out on a Christ rejecting world! We who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior will NOT see and suffer the wrath of God: 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9. The wrath of God that will be seen during the Tribulation will fall upon those who have rejected the free gift of Salvation; Jesus the Christ (Messiah)! They are referred to in the Word of God as the "children of disobedience": Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6. Refuse to be moved with fear at this time, but continue to stay filled with His Spirit, meditating on His Word, preaching the Good News of the Gospel and BEING the Light in YOUR world! AMEN! Now I want to share a portion of today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, because it pertains especially to these times!
God called Jesus Christ to what seemed unmitigated disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death; He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ’s life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God’s. But what seemed failure from man’s standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God’s, because God’s purpose is never man’s purpose.
There comes the baffling call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly; it is implicit. The call of God is like the call of the sea, no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in comradeship with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His purposes.
The reason that I am sharing this is so that we can realize that our "ministry" title is completely unimportant right now! The MOST important thing that each of us can do to fulfill our own personal ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18) is to be in daily intimate fellowship with Him so that we can be instantly obedient to what HE desires us to do, where HE desires us to be, what HE desires us to say and WHEN He desires us to do these things. I sincerely believe that our time on this earth is very short to get the job done. Let's pour it all out "on the field", leaving nothing undone that He has called, anointed and appointed us to do! Soon and VERY soon, we are going to see our wonderful King, so let's have no regrets! AMEN! Here is a great song of commitment that will help you step out in faith to DO those works that Jesus did! Hillsong United with "Oceans: Where Feet May Fail":
Shalom in Him!
