AnotherCoffee Break:
Picturesof Tribulation & Wrath, Part 1
Greetings &Solutions!
Without any adolet's get right to today's discussion. By the way, I do have a French Press brimming with some very darkroasted French Roast. Come on over andset a spell with me. I might even have afew of those five-inch “vitamins” for you.
Inkeeping with the theme of the past two discussions, this Coffee Break can beregarded as part III of the Antichrist series as we endeavor to clear up some confusionin the body of Christ concerning some of the end time teachings and doctrineswe've all been exposed to. Again let mebegin with I Corinthians 13:9,10,12):
"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But whenthat which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be doneaway...... For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now Iknow in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
Asalready noted, my sharing with you comes out of the revelation Holy Spirit hasdownloaded in me and that which I have been walking personally -- especiallyduring the past 30 years. I do not claimto have all of the blanks filled in yet so bear with me if some of what I sharedoesn't seem to click in your spirit.
Inour last Coffee Break, I noted that Paul used the Greek word thlipsis in Colossians, and here we haveit translated "afflictions." Let's take a look at that for a minute.
"Although you were previously alienated and hostile in yourthinking by virtue of the wicked deeds you were engaged in, yet He [JesusChrist] has now reconciled you to the Father through the death of His fleshlybody [on the Cross] in order to present you before Him holy, blameless andbeyond reproach -- if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established andimmovable, and not removed in any way from the hope of the Gospel [of theKingdom] which you have heard, and which was proclaimed in all creation underHeaven -- that of which I, Paul, was made a minister. I rejoice now in my tribulation andsufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His Body(which is the Ekklesia) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ'safflictions. Of this Ekklesia I was madea minister according to the administration and stewardship from God impartedupon, in and through me for your benefit so that I might completely carry outthe preaching and teaching of the Word." (Colossians1:21-25, my translation & amplification.
Weactually see the word thlipsis twice in thispassage -- once translated as Paul's tribulation and sufferings, and once asthe afflictions of Christ. Notice whatthat thlipsis produced in Paul.
Itresulted in Paul's being able to share from a personal standpoint theafflictions that Jesus went through on our behalf. It produced the change of Paul's nature insuch a way that the Lord imparted a stupendous anointing. That anointing resulted in the efficacy ofPaul's being able to share a revelation of Jesus Christ such that 2000 years offellow-believers have been able to profit and grow in their relationship withthe Lord as a result.
Next,take a look at Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians.
"[We] sent Timotheus, our brother and minister of God, andour fellow-laborer in the Gospel of Christ, to establish you and to comfort youconcerning your faith: that no man should be moved by these afflictions: foryourselves know that we were appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we toldyou before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass and yeknow." (I Thessalonians3:2-4 KJV)
Hereagain, twice, we see the alternate translation of the word thlipsis as "afflictions" and"tribulation." Again, Paul istelling us that tribulation and afflictions for believers [who press forward inChrist Jesus] is the norm! Tribulationisn't something abnormal for the believer! Tribulation is a normal part of our existence as believers. To create an imaginary picture -- a fantasy,if you will -- in the mind that tribulation is something to be avoided is --once again -- a lie of antichrist. It isa false Christ that says You don't need to go throughtribulation! I'll just snatch you out ofthe way and keep you safe in Heaven during "the great tribulation." It is a false Christ -- a substitute Christ-- that suggests that A loving God would never put His peoplethrough tribulation!
We'vebeen quoting this verse from John's Gospel in the previous Coffee Breaks, andhere it is again! Jesus said (andcontinues to say!):
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye mighthave peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of goodcheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
It'sNOT the Lord that is putting us through tribulation and afflictions. These things are a byproduct of the fact thatsin is at work in the world. We areenemies of sin. We are residents andrepresentatives of a Kingdom that is in the midst of overthrowing Satan'sdominion in the earth today. For us tothink we're going to somehow escape experiencing tribulation is an absolutefantasy. It is a demonic fantasy!
Letme take this another step. What aboutour fellow-believers in China today? What about our fellow-believers in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and otherMuslim countries where folks worship a god who hates Yowd Hey Vav Hey (Jehovah)and His Son, Jesus Christ, with a purple passion?
Fatherand mothers kill their sons and daughters who convert to Christianity, and theyfeel absolutely justified in doing so. They cut off the hands or the feet of believers. They starve them to death in prison. They hang them on public display in order todemonstrate their utter hatred of the Lord Jesus Christ and all who believe inHim. They drill holes in the heads ofChristians and string wires through them, connecting those wires to electriccurrent in order to hopefully destroy their brains and rid them of any thoughtsof serving the Lord Jesus.
Tribulation! It goes with the territory, folks! The overwhelming majority of the tribulationthat committed believers suffer today is a direct product of other religiouspeople (and very often those who call themselves Christians) who oppose them asheretics, or simply do not want to hear a Gospel preached that requires them tobe anything other than passive "believers."
I'llshare with you some personal experiences for the sake of illustration.
Youall know that I grew up in the arctic, and that my parents were pioneermissionaries who went into communities where people either were hearing awatered-down Gospel, or they were still steeped in ancient traditions under therule of shamans. The churches that didexist in those communities were not challenging the status-quo and any conceptof deliverance from evil spirits was non-existent.
Wesaw a move of the Spirit in the late 1950's and early 1960's equal to anythingyou read about in the book of Acts. After several years of being absent from the far north, I returned inthe late 1970's to Barrow, Alaska. Itwas not my intention to start another church fellowship when I went, and Iexpected to work with the pastor who was serving in the church I'd helped myDad build.
BecauseI was not a part of my father's denomination any longer, all of a sudden I wasa threat. The current pastor of thatchurch in Barrow I'd helped Dad to build made it clear that I was not welcomethere. At the same time, elders in thelocal Presbyterian church who had known me from years prior came to me andasked me if I would serve in an interim capacity while they awaited theappointment of a permanent pastor by the Missions Board of thedenomination. I accepted gladly andserved there for four months. The new,permanent pastor and I became good friends and we were able to fellowship togetherfreely.
Whenpeople in the community realized that I was not going to serve at thePresbyterian church any longer, and that I'd been declared persona non grata atthe other church, they asked me to begin another non-denominational fellowship,and that I did.
Ibegan to teach and preach deliverance from evil spirits, from the traditions ofman, and began to teach on the reemergence of the Tabernacle of David (asociety of praisers and worshipers) as a practical and operational event in thebody of Christ, religious opposition began to rear its ugly head. When I began to teach and lead people in therealm of spiritual warfare, I became the target of real warfare andpersecution.
Myname was spoken of in the pulpit of the very church I'd helped my parents tobuild, and it was bandied about as that of a heretic. However my name was used, people wereencouraged to do everything in their power to drive me out of the community.
Formonths my phone would ring and a muffled voice on the other end would say wordsto the effect of, "The next time you step out the door, you're going toget a bullet through the face." Hate mail filled my mailbox. Mytwo youngest children were repeatedly attacked and beaten on their way homefrom school. My oldest daughter was shotat six times.
Drivingone day from my office, I heard a thud on the side of the van I wasdriving. I wasn't sure if I'd hitsomething so I stopped to take a look. There was a bullet hole that had punctured the side of the van justbehind my seat. The bullet passedthrough the van and out the other side. Not long thereafter, I was standing in a construction shack with one ofthe elders in our fellowship on property we had acquired for building a worshipcenter. We'd been standing in front of awindow studying the building plans when suddenly Holy Spirit yanked us apart. In that same split second, the windowexploded as a bullet passed a couple inches from my face.
Iopened the door to the shack and saw a man standing out on the road some 300feet or so away with a rifle and a scope. Running toward him as fast as I could, I hollered at him, "Hey,what do you think you're doing?" That obviously was the last thing he expected. He turned to run and dropped his rifle. He stopped to grab it off the ground and ranto a waiting vehicle with the motor running and sped away.
Afew days later when the construction crew was at work on the same propertygetting ready to sink piling into the ground, a group of young men showed upwith rifles in hand and told the construction foreman that "You eitherstop now, or we will kill you and your crew." He came to see me a few minutes later andtold me that they were all boarding a flight for Anchorage. "Call me if you ever get this messstraightened out," he said. "If we can actually get on with the work, let us know and we'llcome back. Otherwise, we're out ofhere!"
Wehad leased the community center from the city for our fellowshipgatherings. The building was in a severestate of disrepair, so we set about to restore the building. We put in new flooring, linoleum and carpet,painted the place and installed new bathrooms. Not long after the work was complete, we showed up one Sunday morningfor our services and the place was a wreck. The city manager had rented the place out on Saturday for some partiesand no effort had been made to clean it up. When I went to report it to the city manager, he let me know that thebuilding was not ours to use any longer and that our lease was terminated.
I'dbeen operating two for-profit businesses in Barrow as a means to fund ourgrowing ministry operations and to provide capital for the expansion of theministry of the Christian Broadcasting Network in Alaska. In the eight weeks that followed the loss ofthe community center, my store was broken into six times. Every time I tried to restock the merchandise(it was a high-end stereo and TV business), the store was broken into and theplace cleaned.
Inthe middle of these robberies, two employees who were managing mycommunications business embezzled $145,000 in cash and fled the town.
What'sfunny is that in the midst of all this turmoil we were seeing miracle aftermiracle take place in the lives of individuals. In my mind, all of these things just went with the territory. I'd seen Dad and Mom suffer persecution andopposition for the sake of the Gospel. Why should I think it would be any different with me?
Isent my two youngest children out of town to be with my parents for their ownsafety and protection. My oldestdaughter felt she could stick things out. She was nearing graduation from High School and didn't want to leave herfriends.
Therepeated loss of merchandise in my retail store eventually brought me to theplace where I didn't have the necessary cash to keep refilling the shelves, andI couldn't pay for the merchandise that had been stolen. It forced me into bankruptcy.
Withina matter of weeks after filing, there came a knock on our door. When I answered the door, police officersstood there with guns drawn. Theyannounced that they had a search warrant and told me to get out of theway. When I asked them what they neededor what they were looking for (and that I would be glad to get for themwhatever they thought I had) they pushed past me and began ransacking thehouse. They took clothing, bedding,personal papers, and some very expensive stereo equipment that I had in theliving room, and left.
BecauseI was closely linked to CBN in Virginia Beach at the time, I first called LynBarnes (who was Director of National Ministries and my direct supervisor atCBN), and then called CBN's Chief Counsel to let them know what washappening. Lyn’s reaction (and mirroredby CBN’s Chief Counsel) was to be expected, "This can't really behappening in America! This is not theSoviet Union! How do they think they canget away with this?"
Inthe end, I had no attorney to represent me -- none of the local attorneys (andthey were few!) wanted to touch the case -- and by the time I was able to getan attorney in Fairbanks (over 500 miles away) things had really gone downhillfast. In the end, none of the itemstaken were ever returned, and the stereo equipment wound up in the homes of twoof the police officers.
Despitethe furor and confusion, the opposition and the persecution, we were seeing theGospel spread through Christian television into the native communitiesscattered throughout Alaska. We werehearing miracle after miracle after miracle of changed lives, people receivinghealing, folks being set free from evil spirits.
The story I've justrelated to you is a fraction of all that took place. There's a whole lot more that I could share,but you've gotten the picture. It wouldfill a volume to just talk about the tribulation and the persecution. You see it don't you? This was not the wrathof God! This was nothing more andnothing less than what Jesus assured believers they wouldexperience....remember?
"Thesethings I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the worldye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome theworld."
Jesus spoke thispromise in order to ensure that we would be at peace in the midst of it. Tribulation, persecution and opposition allpale into insignificance when you see Holy Spirit at work otherwise. None of it moved Paul. Consider what he said as he prepared to betaken to Jerusalem: (See Acts 20:22-24)
"And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghostwitnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me,neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my coursewith joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testifythe gospel of the grace of God."
Lateron Paul would write to Timothy and say, "But thou hast fullyknown my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering,charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me atAntioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; whatpersecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord deliveredme. Yea, and all that will live godlyin Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (II Timothy 3:10-12)
Nowlook again at the last half of verse 11: "what persecutions I endured: but out of themall the Lord delivered me."
I'veoften wondered why so many Christians are anxious to avoid suffering,persecution, affliction and tribulation when God's Word makes it repeatedlyclear that this goes with anyone who "will live Godly in ChristJesus."
Withoutquoting the entire passage (and I refer you to II Corinthians 6:4-10) Paulmakes the point that Father God demonstrates the difference between those whohave His approval and those who do not by the grace with which they livethrough tribulation, afflictions, tumults, imprisonments, necessities,distresses and every other form of thlipsis. How so? By the way in which He vindicates His Word!
I'verun out of time today to take this where I wanted to go, so we'll continue withthis topic next week, but let me finish up today by saying that in the midst ofall the persecution, the opposition, the losses that I suffered, theaccusations that were leveled against me, and all the attempts that were madeon my life, when all the smoke cleared away, the Lord vindicated His Word --that same Word He had sent me to Barrow to deliver -- in ways that simply leftme breathless and astonished.
Tribulation? Yesssirrrreeee!!! Anyone who thinks they can live in this worldand walk as lights in this generation without suffering tribulation is simplydeluding him or herself.
Greattribulation? You bet! Getting raptured or caught away out of it sothat you don't have to experience great tribulation? NOT if you want the Glory of the Lord to berevealed in the here and now!
Nextweek I'll take you into the sixth chapter of Revelation for a picture of greattribulation. Then we'll look at theeighth chapter to see the wrath of God poured out.
"A phenomenal opportunity to encounter and embrace our Heavenly Father isbeing given to the Church around the world today. It is one that must bewelcomed and protected. With the dawning of this new day in Church History, theanointing of Heaven is disbursed in the spiritual atmosphere so those trulyseeking Truth can lay hold of it and obtain great insight with understanding.As Sons of the Kingdom ask with sincerity for this deposit, it will bereceived. Our spiritual eyes will be illumined to see the Scriptures fromHeaven's perspective, not merely man's.
The spiritual realities that are being birthed inthe earth now will have no end. They will literally flow into the Millennial age and thecoming manifestation of His Kingdom on the earth.
Though we do not knowwhen those days will be fully revealed, we do know that the purposes now beingbirthed will advance directly into that age. We will begin to tastethe good Word of God and the power of the age to come. Like the beloveddisciple John in his notable revelations, we will be allowed to eat the openbook containing the full manifestation of the Lord's redemptive plans andpurposes. This will be the tasting of His Kingdom Word and a demonstration ofKingdom might, in order to wonderfully introduce the Lord Jesus in truth andpower, to an entire generation. (Prophetic Word from Paul Keith Davis)
Blessings on you!
Regner
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 515-0133
All CoffeeBreak articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but authorization forreprinting, reposting, copying or re-use, in whole or in part, is granted –provided proper attribution and this notice are included intact. OlderCoffee Break archives are now available at http://regnersrangers.multiply.com/journal/and are being slowly added at http://www.AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. Coffee Break articles are normally published weekly.
If you would like to have these articles arrive each morning in your email,please send a blank email to: Subscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to Unsubscribe@AnotherCoffeeBreak.com.
CAPENER MINISTRIESis a tax-exempt church ministry. Should you desire to participate and covenantwith us as partners in this ministry, please contact us at either of the aboveemail or physical addresses, or visit http://www.RiverWorshipCenter.org.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder