Can you love God but not love others?

Is it possible to hate another Christian and at the same time love God? Well, the short answer to this question is no. That’s right. I am saying that it is not possible to hate a fellow Christian and love God at the same time. Consider this verse:

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”  1 John 4:20

This verse seems very simple. What many people do not realize is that love, in the life a Christian, is an awesome responsibility. In this same chapter John gives a wonderful history of love from God to man, man to God, and finally man to man. Lets’ take a second and look at the order of love.

The Origin of Love

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”   1 John 4:9-10

John says that in the death of Christ, God’s love was “manifested.” The word manifested means “to come out in the open, to be made public.” Under the old covenant God was hidden behind the veil of the temple. Under the new covenant God has revealed His love openly.

The sending of Christ into the world was not prompted by man’s love and desire for God. Instead the coming of Christ was prompted by God’s love for mankind. Two reasons are given for the coming of Christ. In verse nine Christ came so that we could live through him. Second Christ came to be our propitiation.

The word “propitiation” has been used before.

1 John 2:2

The word “propitiation” means a “mercy seat.” In the Old Testament this word meant to cover or atone for. Christ is like the mercy seat in the tabernacle. It was to the mercy seat that the high priest came yearly to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people.

Jesus is our mercy seat. He has paid the price for redemption in His own body. Christ’s death was not an accident, his death was an appointment.

“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”  Romans 4:25

The truth is, that many people assume God saves people based on love. While it is true that God does love, He does not saved based on love. God can’t just let someone into heaven because He loves them. God is too holy to allow that. Therefore Christ had to come. Because God does love, Jesus was born to pay the penalty for our sins, and make a way for us to come to him.

Notice that all this was not done because we loved God. God loved us long before we ever loved Him. God does not even love us because we are lovable. God loves us while we are sinners. The person that states “God would not send anyone to hell because God is love” will find themselves mistaken. Because God loves He made a way for us to be saved, but be assured that a person who does not accept the work of Christ will spend eternity in hell.

The Order of Love

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”  1 John 4:11

Now that God demonstrated His love to us, it is our turn to display love. This is the natural order of things. God loved us, we have fellowship with God, and therefore we love others. Notice that displaying love is not a duty, but a privilege. We have been given God’s love, therefore we love. When we realize what Christ did for us, we should be willing to love others.

How did I say that Christ loved? Did Christ love us because we loved Him first? No, God’s love is not selfish.

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?”   Matthew 5:46

Notice what Christ said about love.

“I ye love me, keep my commandments.”   John 14:15

“This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.”   John 15:12

This is serious business. John is mentioning this over and over. It is terribly important that we are demonstrating God’s love in our lives.

The truth of the matter is that others cannot see the love of God in our heart. Maybe God has saved you, changed your life and you are in love with Him. Your neighbor isn’t able to see your heart. You must display that love for it to do your neighbor any good.

I wonder how many people have determined not to go to a church because some member is not displaying the love of God. I would hate to think that someone would refuse to come to my church because they saw me as hateful, angry or miserable. What good am I doing this world if I go around bitter and angry all the time? The answer is none.

Unfortunately we live in a day when many church members feel that it is there job to correct everyone around them, pick fights on some social network, and talk bad about others on Facebook for everyone to see. I understand that I’m not going to make many friends by pointing this out, but the truth is that all these things are hurtful to the cause of Christ. You will not win anyone to Christ in these ways. God help us to display Christ’s love in every area of our lives.

John finishes the chapter by stating:

“And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”  1 John 4:21

Are you in the habit of loving others? Why not, God commanded you to?

Woe, Woe, Woe

Revelation Chapter 9

As Revelation chapter 8 ends we witness an angel flying through the midst of heaven proclaiming three woes to the inhabitants of the earth. Beginning in chapter 9 we are given the first woe, and the beginning of the second woe. It will not be until chapter 12 that the final woe is come. Let us now look at some (in my opinion) most terrible judgments that will come during these seven years of tribulation.

First Woe (Fifth Trumpet)

When chapter nine begins we witness a “star” falling from the sky. The fact that this is not a literal star is pretty obvious. The fact that this star, or angel, falls from heaven does not imply that the angel is a fallen angel or Satan himself as some would imply. John simply is saying that this star descended from heaven at a rapid rate, so as to appear to be falling.

This is the same star angel found in chapter 20:1-3. The angel in chapter 20 is seen coming down from heaven with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. The angel binds Satan and casts him into the pit for 1,000 years. The work of both angels is the same, to unlock and lock the bottomless pit.

There is a great deal of speculation as to who the angel of verse one is. I think that it is not important, and does not add to the importance of the scriptures. There is little doubt that this angel is not Satan, and I do not believe he is Christ. This more than likely is an angel that has been tasked with opening and sealing the bottomless pit.

The “bottomless pit” mentioned in these verses is not hell, nor is it Hades. This is a place where wicked, disembodied spirits are held. In the New Testament this bottomless pit is also referred to as the “abyss”. This place is so terrible that when Christ cast the demons out of the maniac in Luke 8 the demons begged Christ not to send them into the “abyss”. They would rather have embodied a group of pigs than to go to this terrible “abyss.”

When the angel opens the bottomless pit a group of demon locust comes forth. These are not ordinary locust. We know this because they were a combination of horse, man, woman, lion and scorpion.

These terrible creatures are instructed to torment those who do not have the seal of God on their forehead. This torment is so great that it lasts for five months. During this time of suffering men and women will be in so much pain that they will desire to die, but death will not be allowed. Can you imagine suffering pain so great that you wish you could just die and end it all, but death will not come?

These locusts have a king over them. The name of this king is “Apollyon” which means “The Destroyer.” Since Satan is not called by this name in the scriptures, this cannot be their king. Instead this demon is simply the king of the bottomless pit.

Second Woe (Sixth Trumpet)

When this trumpet blows four wicked angels are loosed. We know they are wicked angels because up until this point they have been bound. These four angels are the leaders of 200 million demonic horsemen. We can assume that they have been bound near the river Euphrates, where Satan’s seat was in ancient days, and where the New Babylon will stand.

Again these are not ordinary horses. Their heads were as the head of a lion, their tails like serpents and smoke, fire and brimstone comes out of their mouth. The invasion of this cavalry will leave behind millions of dead for they are commanded to kill 1/3 of all living. They will kill around one billion people. Men will die either by being burnt to death by fire, by suffocating on the smoke or by the sting of the serpent like tail.

They are sent to punish men for their idolatry, demon worship, murder, sorcery, fornication and theft. The staggering thing is that the men who are not killed still are unwilling to repent of their sins.

This is amazing for we have seen the release of 13 judgments, seven seals, and six trumpets. One would think that after experiencing these judgments men would begin to think of eternity, but this is not so, they continue to rebel. We are told in the word of God that men will not repent of their sins even after they have been placed into hell. In hell they continue to gnash their teeth and wail out against God. They are angry with Him and are not willing to repent.

These verses tell us of five sins that man would rather hold onto than turn to the Lord.

1.      Occultism – This will be a time of pronounced devil worship. We know that many will fall down and worship the image of the beast, but this is currently seen today. We see the same today however, on our street corners and televisions. What do you think psychics and astrologers are?

2.      Murder – In this day murder becomes a sport, it is pleasurable to them. Today we see the acts of terrorism and hate crimes that people commit without any remorse.

3.      Drug abuse – The word used for sorceries is “pharmicia” and is translated today as pharmacy or pharmaceutical. In all of the Old Testament and in the book of Acts the word sorcery is translated and means witchcraft and should be translated as such. There are five instances however in the New Testament where this word is translated differently.

These next two are interlinked. In an effort to support their drug abuse women will sell their bodies and men will steal.

4.      Fornication

5.      Stealing

What a terrible time to live in. I’m glad I will not be here. How about you?

The Rapture of the church! Revelation chapter 4

Chapter four begins the third division of this book. You will remember in chapter one that Jesus told John to write the things that “thou hast saw, the things that are and the things that will be hereafter.” This tells us that the book is written in chronological order, past, present and history.

John begins this chapter with the phrase “after this.” Well that brings up the question “after what”? After the time of the seven churches is fulfilled. After the church age is over John sees a door in heaven open and hears a voice from heaven cry “come up here.”

This cry is no doubt the rapture of the church. It will be at this time that the Lord will return to this earth and call away millions of believers who are upon this earth. This rapture will send the world into a state of panic. Millions of people will go missing. Airports, highways and hospitals will be shut down.

Husbands and wives will be missing from their beds. Workers will go missing from their job. Every child will be gone all at one time. This will open up the door for the man of sin to enter the scene with an explanation of what is going on in the world.

This rapture will be a literal return of Christ in bodily form to literally call believers to heaven. Many do not believe that Christ will come bodily to call away the church, but we are told in Acts 1:9-11 that Christ will return in like manner as He went away.

How did Jesus leave?

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”   Luke 24:39

Jesus possessed a literal, physical body that could be seen, touched and heard. When Jesus returns He will have a body and those that are going to be called to meet Him will see him.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doeth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”    I John 3:2

This time that we call the rapture is the first stage of the second coming of Christ. Some will say that the rapture is not a Bible teaching because the word rapture is not mentioned in the Bible. Well the word Bible is not mentioned in the Bible, but nobody seems to have a problem with it. The rapture is different however than the revelation of Christ which is the second return of Christ.

Rapture                                                                Revelation

Described in chapter four                            Described in chapter 19

Precedes the tribulation                              Follows the tribulation

A meeting in the air                                       A return to earth

Removes the believer from the                Restores the believer after the judgment                           judgment

This call in verse one is the same call as in I Thessalonians 4:16-17. So this answers the question, “will the church be on earth during the tribulation hour?” The answer is NO! The church will not be on earth during the time of the tribulation. The church is mentioned 16 times in chapters one through three but is not mentioned in chapters 6 through 18, which deal with the tribulation judgments.

Why is the church not mentioned you may ask? First of all the tribulation is Israel’s judgment according to the scriptures.

“Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble: but he shall be saved out of it.”   Jeremiah 30:7

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince that standeth for thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.”      Daniel 12:1

Not only this but the first 69 weeks of Daniels vision was directed and spoke about the nation of Israel. If this is the case would it not make since that the 70^th week also be toward Israel.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”     Daniel 9:24

Let me therefore state again that the church cannot be seen in the book of Revelation between chapters 6 through 18. You do see however the Jew and Jewish terminology mentioned over and over again.

Well, you say, I believe that the call of verse one is a call for John only and does not apply to all of the church. Well if this be true then explain to me chapter 4:10. This verse states that the four and twenty elders fall down before the throne and begin to cast their crowns at the feet of the Lord.

When are the believers to be crowned? After the rapture of course.

“And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”    Luke 14:14

“And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”     I Peter 5:4

It is obvious that the judgment seat of Christ must take place before the believer is crowned. If this be the case then when John sees these believers in chapter four they have already been raptured and crowned. And again these are the things that are to happen hereafter.

As John begins to see this vision the first thing that John sees in heaven is a throne. This throne was not vacant, but one sat upon the throne. Many may not agree with me on this but I believe that the scriptures teach that it is God the Father that is sitting on this throne.

Not only do we see the throne and the person upon the throne, but we also notice the rainbow around the throne. The first mention of a rainbow in the Bible is found in Genesis 9:13-17. In these verses God speaks to Noah and makes a covenant with him that He would never destroy the earth again with a flood. But this rainbow was only a semicircle. In fact the rainbow that you and I see today is a semicircle. The rainbow in heaven is a complete circle around the throne. In this world we only see half of things, but in heaven we will see the whole of things.

In Noah’s day the rainbow was a sign of a covenant based on the sacrifice of Noah in Genesis 8:20-22. The rainbow about the throne in heaven is also a sign of a covenant based upon a sacrifice. This is the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross.

Why is it so important for John to see this rainbow? This proves that God is a covenant keeping God. While he is about to bring great judgment upon the earth He will keep his promise made to Noah thousands of years before

Now notice these twenty-four elders. Who do they represent? We know that they are not angels or “living creatures.” These twenty-four represent those who have been redeemed from mankind. The name elder never is applied to angels in the Bible; neither does the Bible mention that angels will ever wear crowns or sit on thrones. Only redeemed men will wear crowns and sit on thrones.

I believe that these twenty-four represent the saints of the Old and New Testament. These are those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. More than likely the twenty-four represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, meaning that these represent all redeemed from the Old and New Testament. This I believe is a good possibility for when we see the New Jerusalem come down from heaven in chapter 21 we are told that there are twelve gates that have inscribed on them the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. This city also has twelve foundations each foundation having the name of one of the twelve apostles written upon it.

Lastly notice the living creatures. The word here used, “living creatures”, literally means living being. These are not angelic beings, for they are distinguished from the angels who are mentioned in a class by themselves in chapter five. Neither are these creatures’ redeemed men for they do not join in the song of redemption sung in chapter five.

                                               

These living creatures do not wear crowns nor do they sit on thrones. These creatures are the guardians of the throne of God and they accompany it any where it goes according to Ezekiel 1:24-28.

The first mention of these creatures is in the book of Genesis 3:24 where they are called cherubim’s. They are placed at the entrance of the Garden of Eden to prevent the reentrance of Adam or Eve.

Then when God gave the instruction to build the tabernacle to Moses He instructed Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant with two Cherubim’s upon it. These two were the guardians of the mercy seat or the place where the presence of God came down and meet with the people.

But it was not until Ezekiel’s vision that we are given a description of these creatures.

We also can gather from the scriptures that there must be some sort of order of living creatures. For example in Isaiah’s vision of the throne of God he saw a Seraphim or different order of living creature. This Seraphim had six wings and cried “Holy, Holy, Holy.” But they stood above the throne, while Ezekiel’s creatures stood under the throne and John’s stood in the midst of the throne.

In verses 9-11 the four beasts begin to rejoice and it causes the elders to break forth in praise. As they begin to praise the one on the throne they fall down upon their knees and begin casting their crowns before the throne. What a tremendous day this will be when the saved of all mankind fall down before the one sitting upon the throne and cast their crowns before his feet.

For more information on this chapter watch the lesson I taught live from Landmark Baptist Church.  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15911927

Revelation 3

In my last blog we discussed the first four churches mentioned in Revelation chapter two. In this blog we will discuss the last three. Let me remind you that these seven churches not only speak of seven literal churches in Asia Minor, but they also represent seven periods of church history. The vision of the seven churches is sandwiched between two visions. In chapter one we have the vision of the glorified Son of Man and in chapter four the vision of the twenty four elders around the throne in heaven. Therefore there must me some prophetic significance to the writings in chapter two and three.

Sardis

This Sardis church began about 1520 A. D. and extends through 1720 A. D. This church however will continue into the tribulation period. This period covers the time period commonly known as the reformation period. This was a time of dead religion. This dead form of religion is still found in the Laodicean church of today.

The name Sardis means “the escaping one” or “to come out”. In the reformation period the predestine religion became a state sponsored religion and was embraced by millions that never truly came to know Christ. But during this time there were a few that were still alive. Men like Martin Luther who stood for truth, and the freedom to reproduce the scriptures in a language the common man could understand. It was October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg Germany.

Thus this church is the mother of dead religion. What was said about the Sardis church could be said of many churches today. We have a name that we are alive, but truly we are dead. I wonder how many churches today are dead in the eyes of the Lord, but in their eyes there is nothing wrong?

Once the Lord brings attention to the dead state of the church He calls upon them to repent. The Lord will lay out a five-fold plan for repentance.

The first thing the Lord asks this church to do is to be watchful and alert. 

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”   Romans 13:11

Second they are to strengthen the things that remain. Do everything possible to strengthen and keep alive the little bit of true religion they had.

Third they were to remember therefore how thou hast received and heard. They were commanded to remember the early days of their salvation, the days when they were alive with passion, zeal and a hunger to do the things of God.

Fourth they were to hold fast the truths of the gospel. God wanted them to get rid of the baggage or the excess things and hold fast to the truths of the gospel.

Five they were to repent. This was a church wide repentance not merely an individual repentance.

Even in the midst of this deadness there were a few that were true to the scriptures. These are promised the white garments of verse 4 and then they are promised the following in verse 5. The white raiment mentioned in this verse will be found on the bride of Christ when we see her at the marriage supper of the Lamb. In addition to this we are promised that our names will remain in the book of life for eternity.

Philadelphia

The Philadelphia church began in 1750 A. D. and continued until 1900 A. D. Again, this church will be found on earth until the time of the rapture. The name Philadelphia means brotherly love and this well describes the type of church this was.

This is one of the greatest churches in history. They had an open door, which probably speak of missions. Notice that this open door is promised by the one who holds the key of David. During this period in time doors were open in Korea, China, India, and Africa.

Although this was a great church it was not a church that was with little strength. This church was like a man coming back to life. It is the dead Sardis church revived. This is also a good way to describe this church era. It is a time of great revivals.

Revivals of great men like George Whitfield, D. L. Moody, Charles Finney and John Wesley.

With the little strength they had they stood for the word of the Lord and they did not deny the name of Christ. Because of this many were won to God.

Christ promises that He will make the false brethren bow before His feet. This will no doubt happen one day at the time of judgment.

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”    Romans 14:11

Finally they are promised that they will not have to endure the great tribulation that will soon come upon the whole world. This does not mean that this church would never have a hard time or face opposition, but that they would not be present when the time of great tribulation came upon the world.

This further proves the fact that the true church will not endure one minute of the great tribulation, but rather will be removed before that time begins.

Laodicea

The Laodicean church period covers the time from 1900 A. D. until the tribulation hour. This church is a working church, but they are working in a lukewarm fashion. This church is no doubt a type of the churches today. We will have revival meetings with paid singers and preachers, but we are missing the presence of God. This condition is so vile that it makes the Lord want to throw up. Christ would rather a church be freezing or on fire.

In this age the church is very prosperous monetarily. They are richer than they have ever been. If you look at churches today you will see that millions of dollars are being invested in fancy buildings, stained glass window and ultra plush pews.

In the midst of this building and money spending we lose the sight of the Lord. On the outside we appear rich, but truly we are poor. (Notice the contrast to the church in Smyrna who thought they were poor, but Christ said they were rich.)

This church is blind for they cannot see the millions around them dying and going to hell. If you were to visit one of these churches they would show you their great building, talk about all the programs they have to offer, maybe even brag on their fine preacher. All the while they are incapable of seeing their true condition.

Probably one of the saddest verses of scripture is Revelation 3:20. The church is told that Christ is standing, excluded on the outside of the church. What makes it even sadder is that this church has no idea that Christ is no longer there. They did not ask Christ to leave for they are carrying on like nothing had ever happened. Somewhere along the line Christ had removed Himself. He was no doubt removed because of the sin and lukewarmness of the church.

So how does Christ get back into the church? It is simple He must be invited. There is no need for a vote for committee. Christ simply says that if any man will open the door He will come in. Individually the members of the church must open their heart allowing Christ the rightful place He deserves.

In my next blog we will move to chapter four and deal with the rapture of the church.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

This past week I began teaching through the book of Revelation again. The study of Revelation is one of my favorite studies, but one of the most difficult as well. I enjoy this book so much that I used the study of Revelation when writing my thesis when receiving my doctorate. Most people are intrigued with the event relating to the future, but at the same time they do not understand much of what they read in the books of Revelation and Daniel.

I may try to blog through this book the best I can over the next several months. Beginning this coming Sunday you will also have the ability to watch to these lessons by clicking on http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thoughts-of-theology-josh-sharp . 

In this blog I would like to give you a few tips to remember when studying this book as well as a brief run down of the chapter.

In Mark 13 the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him when the things that He prophesied against Israel would come to pass. In verse 32 Jesus answered the disciples and said, “but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.” It seems that when Jesus came to this earth as a man He forfeited certain information. Some have a hard time believing this, but when you consider the verse mentioned along with verses like Luke 2:40 you will have to agree this is true.

Knowledge about these end time events must have been some of the information He did not have. After His resurrection Jesus received from His Father the information that the disciples asked Him for. Before the close of the first century, while at least one of the disciples were still living, Jesus appears to John and reveals to him the information asked for many years before. This information is recorded in the book of the Revelation.

Points to consider

This is a prophetic book, not a historical book. This book does not record the past, but the future. This book is the summary and fulfillment of all prophecy left unfulfilled. There has been no new revelation since this one. Any person who claims to have a “new revelation” is in danger of the plagues promised in chapter 22.

This is the only book in the Bible to begin with a blessing and end with a curse. God promises a blessing to anyone who reads or hears the writings of this book. God also promises a curse to anyone who dares take away from, or add to the writings of this book.

This is a symbolic book. In the first verse we are told that an angel signified these things to John. The main word of signified is “sign”. This is a book of signs and symbols.

This book is not only symbolic but it is literal as well. This is where most get confused when reading or studying Revelation. This book should be taken literally whenever possible. Most things in this book are self-explanatory.

This book is given in consecutive order. The main events are as follows, seven seal judgments, seven trumpet judgments and seven vial judgments. Some claim that these three groups of seven are the same judgments repeated from three different viewpoints. This is not true. These are seven unique judgments that God will release upon the earth.

Tips for study

Do not seek to find hidden meaning to the words of the scripture. Be satisfied with the explanation that God gives to us and do not try to add something to it. For example all of us have read the emails that take a person’s name and transform the letters in their name to come up with the number “666”. I can’t tell you how many emails I have gotten trying to convince me that Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, George Bush and now Barak Obama is the antichrist.

Next you need to forget the idea that prophecy can only be understood after it is fulfilled. If this is true then prophecy has failed at its job. Why tell someone in advance what is going to happen if they are going to be unable to understand? That makes no sense. All true prophecy is clear in itself.

Lastly do not interpret God’s own interpretation of any symbol or prophecy, or change God’s meaning from what is plainly clear. If God clearly tells you what something is, looks like, or does, do not try to change it to mean something else.

Chapter One

In this chapter we are introduced to the main character of the book. The main character is Jesus Christ. It has always bugged me that most bibles will place a chapter heading over this chapter that reads “the revelation of saint John the divine.” This is not the revelation of John, but the revelation of Jesus Christ according to verse one.

Let me also say that this is not the book of “Revelations” as so many refer to it as. This is the book of the “Revelation”. This is a singular word. This book is not filled with many revelations, but it is one revelation. The word “revelation” means to unveil. It is like an artist removing a cloth that covers a statue so to unveil it.

In chapter one Jesus is seen by John in His glorified state. Jesus no longer is the humble carpenter walking along the Sea of Galilee. He is the risen, soon coming, and king of glory. When John sees the resurrected Christ he is so shocked and humbled that he falls at His feet like a dead man. Understand that John is a man that walked and talked with Christ while upon this earth. John had ate with Him, saw Him do miracles, watched as he was transformed, even laid his head upon Him.

As he does this the Lord tells him to fear not. This is the same message that Christ is sending today. I do not believe that Christ wants us to live in fear. What are we to fear? If Christ be for us who can be against us? Why be fearful of death? Why be fearful of hell? Christ holds the keys for both. Christ controls death and controls hell, so why fear, why not simply rest in Him?

Lastly we are given the key, or order to this wonderful book.

The things which thou HAST SEEN – This is described in chapter one. This is the revelation and appearance of the glorified Christ.

The things which ARE – These are the things wrote to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3.

The things which SHALL BE HEREAFTER – These are the things that shall take place once the dispensation of the seven churches is finished. This is the future of the world described in chapters 6 and following.

(If you enjoyed the blog please click the new +1 button at the bottom)

A parents lesson

This week was a pretty big one for our family. Our oldest daughter turned eleven Wednesday. It seems so hard to believe that it was eleven years ago that God blessed us with a healthy baby girl. Those eleven years have flown by. I was looking over these past eleven years in my mind while driving to work. Over these years I’ve learned a lot about myself and about God.

(Picture of my girls holding hands in Wal-Mart)

You may ask, “How have you learned about God by becoming a dad?” I personally believe that we can learn more about God by everything in life. Having a child teaches you a lot however, about the love that God shows us as our Heavenly Father. I thought I’d share some of these things with you.

I have learned that the love of a parent is not affected by circumstances. Raising two children hasn’t been the easiest thing my wife and I have done. (I’m afraid that it could get harder considering the teenage years are coming.) My children have not gotten into a lot of trouble, but they for sure have done things that I wish they would not have done. They have done things that I have told them not to do. In spite of this I have not stopped loving them. I’m sure that they could do things that would break my heart, but I don’t think they could do anything to make me stop loving them.

This reminds me of the love of Christ. I would love to say that I have never done anything to disappoint God, but I would be lying. In fact I’ve done things that I know I should not have done. Does this change the fact that God loves me? Absolutely not! Paul assures us in Romans 8 that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God. God’s love is the love of a parent who cares at all times and in all circumstances.

I have learned that being a parent requires a lot of patience. (Read the paragraphs above.) Sometimes it takes more patience than I have. Thinking of this makes me glad that God is a patient God. Wow, I’m sure glad that God does not “fly off the handle”, as we like to say here in the south, but rather is long suffering toward us. God is even long suffering to those that are not his children. God displays his mercy and kindness to those who reject Him. Jesus died for the entire world, but knew that the entire world not accept Him.

I have learned that parents know more than the kids think they do. Remember when you were younger and how you thought you had all of the answers. So many times we wouldn’t understand why our parents would give us certain rules, or make us do certain things. What we learned as we grew up is that our parents did this because they knew better than we did what was best for us.

God does this for us all the time. We don’t understand why God won’t give us something we have been asking for. Maybe God knows that it will be harmful for us. We don’t understand when God brings certain circumstances in our life, but God knows that through the trial we will be strengthened and become a better Christians.

The last thing I will mention is that I have learned responsibility. I have always found the story of Enoch an interesting one. We all know that Enoch walked with God and that he did not see death because God simply took him. What most don’t realize is that the birth of Enoch’s first child was instrumental in this walk. The book of Genesis tells us that Enoch walked with God after he “begot Methuselah”. I can see Enoch looking down into the eyes of his new baby and realizing that he needed God in his life.

I believe if being a parent doesn’t teach us anything else, it should teach us our need for God. We that are parents or grandparents must walk in the footsteps of God, because we have little feet following us.

Next time you look at your children remember that God sees you as one of His children.

National Day of Prayer

As most of you already know today is the day that our nation has set aside as a day to pray. While I believe that everyday should be a day of prayer, it is wonderful that we set aside a day to remind us of the need to pray.  I can’t help wonder how our nation, our world, or even our homes would be different if we pledged to make every day one of prayer.

 

I thought I would take just a second and share my prayer with you today.

“Lord, I’m so thankful today. I have been blessed beyond what I deserve. You have blessed me with a wonderful home, with health and with happiness. Most of all you have blessed me with the privilege of knowing you as my savior. I’m so glad that on February the 23, 1993 you saved a 14 year old kid who was on his way to hell. From that point I have never been alone. You have me your Spirit who lead, guides, and comforts me every day.

Today I pray for my family. I love my wife and two girls. I’m glad that you placed them into my life, and could not imagine my life without them. Bless them today, give them protection and happiness. Please bless mine and my wife’s family, my church family, my pastor and his wife.

I pray for those that we love who are suffering today. I pray for those who have sickness, heartache and suffering. I pray for those who are sick in sin. I have family that is lost. I lift them up to you today pleading for their soul. Lord please don’t let any of my family die lost. I pray for that small group of people who I am privileged to minister to. I pray for my Sunday school class, the children I minister to at church and for the one who is reading this blog.

I ask your protection over our country. America is not what she once was. We have allowed too many distractions to come into our lives that have caused us to take our eyes off of you. Please send revival to our country once again. Let it begin with the local church and move throughout our communities, our states and our nation.

God you are good, your mercy is great and your truth endures through all generations. You are worth our love and praise.

In Jesus name, Amen.”

That is my prayer today. What is yours? Have you prayed today? Let me finish by saying that if it has been awhile since you last prayed, today would be a good day to fix that problem.

Your friend in Christ,

Joshua Sharp

Is God glad we killed Osama Bin Laden?

I usually don’t post two blogs in one day, but this is something that has been on my mind all day. I thought I would share my thoughts on this subject in this blog. So, Is God glad we killed Osama Bin Landen? The answer to this question is two-fold. Truthfully the answer is yes and no.

Let me begin by saying that the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the unrighteous. God spoke through Ezekiel telling us “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”  There has never been a sinner die and go to hell and God be pleased about it. “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

In my blog earlier today I talked about the death of another wicked man by the name of Haman. (If you did not read my earlier blog it's entitled "It's time to listen to the voice of God.) Haman was a man not unlike Bin Laden. He hated the Jews, he hated the one true God and he was willing to murder and kill if that is what it took to promote his cause. It is wasn’t for the hand of God moving on behalf of the Jews Haman would have succeeded and eliminated the Jewish population. But before God allowed Haman to be killed he warned him on more than one occasion to repent of his ways.

Had Osama Bin Laden been willing to repent of his ways and turn to God then I believe he could have found salvation. John 3:16 tells me that God sent His Son to die for the sins of the whole world. Osama Bin Laden is burning in hell as I write this blog, and although he was a terrible man, God takes no pleasure in his death.

While God does not take pleasure in the death of the unrighteous, He does from time to time have to eliminate them. A lot of praise will go out to a lot of people for finding and killing America’s number one enemy. The fact of the matter is that if God was willing they never would have found him.

I believe that Bin Laden's hatred for America was because we supported Israel. His number one enemy was the Jew and that meant we were his enemy as well. The trouble with being the enemy of the Jew is that, when you are the enemy of the Jew you are also the enemy of God.

Way back in the book of Genesis God told Abraham that he would make him a great nation. Along with the promise came another promise. God promised to bless them that blessed Abraham (his decedents the Jews) and curse them that cursed Abraham. God has made good on that promise. One of my heroes J. Vernon McGhee was famous for saying “The Jews have been around to attend the funeral of every enemy who tried to kill them.”

Osama Bin Laden was an old enemy with a new name. His name could have just as easily been Pharaoh, Caesar, Haman, Hitler or Stalin. Each of these men have in one way or another tried to eliminate the Jewish people and each of these men have suffered a similar fate to that of Bin Laden.

Woe unto the person, or nation that turns to harm the Jew! It is my hope that America will forever be the friend of Israel. God will bless those that bless the Jews. The day we turn our back on our Jewish friends is the day God turns his back on us. Let us, as the people of God, pray that that day never comes.

God took no pleasure in the death that took place late last night, but the enemy of the Jew is the enemy of God. Osama Bin Laden picked the wrong fight.

It's time to listen to the voice of God

Have you ever heard the saying “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”? Well that could not be said for Haman in Esther chapter 6. The fact is, as when chapter six begins it will be the last day of the life of Haman.

When I taught this lesson to my class at church I titled chapter six “It’s Time to listen to the voice of God.” If Haman would have listened to the voice of God this day may have went different. Before the chapter is over Haman will be warned many times about his wickedness, and on each occasion Haman will ignore God’s voice. Haman continues to run head first into his wickedness.

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”   Ezekiel 33:11

The fact is that God has no pleasure in the death of a sinner. God does not want anyone to die lost and go to hell. The Father rejoices, the Son rejoices, the Spirit rejoices, and the heavens rejoice when a sinner is saved. If Haman would have turned to God he could have been saved. God would have loved to save Haman.

God speaks His will, verses 1-3

Many times God speaks to us without us even realizing it. We assume that when God speaks He does it in such a way that there is no way we can misplace His voice. This is not always true.  Sometimes God speaks in a “still small voice” as He did to the prophet Elijah. Sometimes He speaks through an event in our life. Sometimes He speaks through others. Maybe He speaks to us through something we read, or hear. In chapter six He will speak through a sleepless night.

I believe it is important that we train ourselves to hear the voice of God. There have been many times that God has spoken to me. Most of the time when God speaks He does it in a small way. A nudge saying maybe you should do this, or not do that. I try my best to listen.

This night in Shushan was a sleepless night. Haman is up all night supervising the construction of the gallows that he intends to hang Mordecai from. The king is up all night as well.  Shakespeare wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” King Solomon agreed by saying,

“The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.”  (Eccl 5:12)

I’m sure that the king had spent many nights awake. No doubt the king had many responsibilities and worries that kept him up at night. He worried about the finances of the kingdom. He worried that someone would try to take his life. Maybe he ate too much at the queen’s feast. We don’t know why he is awake, but God is keeping him awake for a purpose. This night however will be one of the most eventful in history.

Since the king is unable to sleep he orders one of his servants to read to him. Again, this is the hand of God working. The king had many forms of entertainment at his disposal. He could have called for a musician to play music or a troubadour to tell him a story in a song. He could have called for some of his officers to come play a game. He could have called for a woman to come to his chamber. Instead the king asks one of his servants to read to him.

The Persians had a strict order of honor and rewards. This kept the people loyal to the king. As the servant reads the account of something in the mind of the king clicks. It’s like a light going off. He realizes that nothing was ever done to honor Mordecai for saving his life.

You can almost picture the servant reading and the king sitting up in his bed asking, “You didn’t read what was done to honor that man. What did we do for him?” The servant looks over his notes and replies, “Nothing was done to honor him.” If Mordecai would have been honored 5 years before, the events of this day could not have occurred. There was a definite reason that Mordecai’s deed was wrote down, but no honor was given.

God speaks to the wayward, verse 4-14

God takes no pleasure in the unrighteous, but he also takes no pleasure in the unrighteous person’s death. The bible is clear that God does not bring judgment without first bringing a warning. Before Judas betrayed Christ he was warned. Paul tells us in his epistles to warn the unruly. God does not just judge someone without first giving them the opportunity to repent.

I have seen God warn people about their sin. I have also seen people ignore the warnings of God. To see someone ignore the warnings of God is one of the scariest things you can watch. In these verses we will watch Haman ignore the warnings of God. We will also see what happens to a sinner that continues to ignore the warnings of God.

Haman hasn’t slept this night either. He has been up all night supervising the construction of the gallows he intended to hang Mordecai on. Once they are built he goes to the palace early to get permission to kill Mordecai. I’m sure Haman thought that if he would get permission early then Mordecai would have to hang there all day, giving everyone the opportunity to see his dead body.

When Haman arrives the king hears someone stirring in the court so he asks who is outside. When he finds out that it is Haman he calls him into his bed chamber. Again, the hand of God is moving. Had Haman arrived an hour later the king may have already consulted with one of his other advisors. God wanted Haman to be the first one there. God wanted Haman to be the one that spent the day honoring Mordecai, not killing him.

When Haman is called for the king asks him a question without giving the background of the question. “What should be done to the man the king wants to honor?” Haman thought the king meant him. After all, he was the prime minister. He had been given the ring of the king. He was given permission to destroy the Jews. Surely the king was thinking of him. Little did Haman know that before the day was over the situation would be reversed. Haman would spend the day honoring Mordecai and the gallows that were meant for Mordecai would hold his body.

Imagine the sequence of events. First he has to go find Mordecai and bring him to the palace. He has to put the royal clothes on him and get him on the king’s horse. Next, he had to walk up and down each street of the city proclaiming that this was the man that the king wanted to honor. When all this was done he was to take Mordecai back to the palace, remove the clothes from him and send Mordecai away. This was quite a day.

When the day is over Haman heads home. He has his hood over his head like someone has died. He has been publicly humiliated and does not want anyone to see his face.  When he arrives home he again gathers his family and friends like he did in chapter five. What a difference a day can make. This time he does not call them to brag, but to share his humiliation. When he tells his wife and friends about the day he has had his wife speaks up. What she says is very interesting.

Basically his wife is saying that there is no way Haman can prevail over Mordecai. God is sending another warning to Haman. Had Haman repented of his deeds and asked for forgiveness, God would have forgiven him. This may have spared the lives of himself and his ten sons. I don’t know if she thought the day was a bad omen or if she knew the history of the Jews, and God’s promise to Abraham. She did know something was not right. Just as Pilot’s wife warned her husband not to have anything to do with Jesus because of the dreams she had the night before. Haman’s wife is warning him about bad things that lay ahead.

While they are discussing these things a knock is heard at the door. It is an escort come to bring Haman to the banquet Esther is making. As Haman leaves he has no idea he is headed to his last meal. Oh, how things would have been different if Haman would have listened to the warnings of God.

It's Time to take action

Esther Chapter 5

In the fourth chapter of Esther we read the account of Mordecai’s mourning. This mourning eventually comes to the attention of Esther. Mordecai explains to Esther the evil plot of Haman to destroy the Jews. Haman has convinced the king to sign into law a decree that allowed the Persian people to kill the Jews, take their possession, and the Jews were not even allowed to defend themselves. When Esther is presented with these facts she determines that she will go before the king (a potentially deadly decision) and beg for the lives of her people.

I have titled chapter five “It’s Time to Take Action.” Just to determine to help was not enough to save the Jewish people. If the Jews were going to be helped, Esther would have to act on what she had determined.

A church was praying one night that God would do away with the new night club that was built right next to it. While gathered around the altar praying the congregation heard sirens, ran outside and saw the night club burning up in flames. The congregation was so surprised that God had answered their prayers. Then the pastor notices one of his members running around the back of the church with a can of gasoline in one hand and a lighter in the other. The pastor asks what the member is doing. The dear sister replies “sometimes you have to put legs on your prayers.”

I’m not saying that you should do something this crazy, but I am saying that sometimes we need to put legs on our prayers. Just think what would have happened if David would have just prayed that Goliath would go away. What if Moses would have just prayed for God to make a way around the Red Sea? What if Jesus had have just prayed that God would provide a way for us to be saved? What if Esther would have just prayed for God to change the kings mind?

No doubt all of these people prayed, but each of these people put some legs on their prayers. Sometimes it is not enough just to pray that God will save your family. Maybe you will have to go after them. Sometimes it is not enough just to pray that God will restore your home. Maybe you have to make it happen. It is not just enough for you to pray for God to use you in His service. You have to get busy. Esther is about to get busy putting legs on her prayers.

Take Action on the things you Ask for

When chapter 5 begins we see the king sitting on his throne. No doubt he is surrounded by his attendants and officers. He is conducting some sort of official business. While the king sits on the throne, in an alcove stands a very nervous Esther. Esther had been preparing for this moment for three days. When she steps into the throne room the moment is dramatic. I can picture Esther stepping into sight and just standing their nervously waiting for the king to notice her. The question is will the king raise his scepter to her? We have no record of this, but I would imagine in that moment Esther prayed.

You can almost see as the king looks up and notices Esther. In the midst of the crowd of people around the king, he notices Esther. She must have been striking. In that moment the king’s heart is moved toward Esther and he raises his scepter to her. Can you see her smile? I can. She goes forward and places her hand on the end of the scepter.

He knows that she has come with a need. Something is troubling the queen, maybe she is trembling. Seeing this, the king wanting to make Esther feel comfortable, tells her that she can ask whatever she wants and he will give it to her. Instead of making her request known, Esther invites the king and Haman to a lunch. She wants Haman there when she lets the king know that he has tricked the king into the death of the Jews, her death.

The question is, “Why didn’t Esther just go ahead and tell the king Haman’s evil plot?” Dr. Wiersbe says there are at least four reasons.

1. It wasn’t the right time? The king was unprepared to receive this shocking news. It could have been that the king would have considered her accusation an act of treason, or maybe just gossip.
2. It wasn’t the right place. It would have been against palace etiquette for the queen to make her plea publicly.
3. Esther wanted Haman, and only Haman present when she told the king about the evil plot.
4. One more event had to occur before she could share her burden with the king. This will happen that very night. We will see this in the next chapter.

Take Action on your Attitude

The chapter ends with the wicked Haman calling his friends together and bragging about the day he has had. Haman is so excited. He was the honored guest of the king and queen. He has also been invited back the next day to another banquet.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”   Proverbs 16:18

There are a few things that men like to brag about. They like to brag about their riches, the money they make. They like to brag about their children, or grandchildren. Then they like to brag about their promotion or position. Haman boasted about all three of these things. Notice the number of times the word “his” is used. He is so full of himself.

The last thing men like to boast about is how great they are with the women. Haman is bragging that the queen invited him to lunch, and then tomorrow he will eat dinner with her. If Haman knew what the queen had in store for him, he would have turned down the invitation. Things are not going as well as he thinks.

But, all of these good things are meaningless as long as Mordecai will not bow to him. The size of the man can be determined by the size of the things that irritate him. Mordecai was only one man, a man that Haman should have ignored. Instead Haman complains that all the good things that have happened to him are meaningless because Mordecai will not bow to him.

Haman’s malice is so great that it has infected his wife and friends. It is suggested by Haman’s wife that they build gallows for Mordecai. So that night Haman had built gallows 75 feet tall. I would like to point out that the name Mordecai means “little”. Mordecai was a short guy. Why build gallows that tall? The reason that Haman does this is because of the hatred he holds in his heart. Satisfied with this plan Haman ends the night with construction of the gallows that will eventually end his life.