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Vernon Grounds writes, “A friend told me of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basketball in a nearby public school.
Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until they finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible. One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, ‘The book of Revelation.’ Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it. ‘Oh, yes,’ the man assured him. ‘I understand it!’ ‘What does it mean?’ Quietly the janitor answered, ‘It means that Jesus is gonna win.’”
A little boy walked into his Dad’s den just as his Dad finished reading a book. The son asked, "What were you reading?’
The Father replied, "I was reading the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible."
The little boy curiously asked, "What’s it about?
His Dad replied, "It’s about God’s final battle against evil."
The little boy excitedly asked, "Who won?"
The Father stooped down to his boy’s eye level and said, "God won."
WHAT DOES REVELATION MEAN?
A group of kids were playing basketball in the high school gym. An elderly janitor was reading the Bible while waiting patiently for the game to end. After the game, one of the kids said “What are you reading?”
The janitor said “I’m reading the book of Revelation.”
The kid said “I hear that Revelation is hard to understand. Do you know what it means?”
The janitor said “Yes I do.”
The kid said “What does it mean?”
Janitor says “It means that Jesus wins!”
(From a sermon by Marc Axelrod, The One Who Inspires Worship and Witness, 6/29/2010)
AN EASTER PARABLE: EDITH EASTER
Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas. She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns.
When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her.
Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying, "My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you believe about Easter?" Beverly said, "Well, it's all about egg hunts, going to church, and dressing up." Edith kept pressing her about the real meaning of Easter, and finally led her to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Phillips said, "Beverly, don't call Edith into the office quite yet. I believe there is another delivery taking place in the waiting room."
After being called back in the doctor's office, Edith sat down and when she took a look at the doctor she said, "Dr. Will, why are you so sad? Are you reading your Bible? Are you praying?" Dr. Phillips said gently, "Edith, I'm the doctor and you're the patient." With a heavy heart he said, "Your lab report came back and it says you have cancer, and Edith, you're not going to live very long." Edith said, "Why Will Phillips, shame on you. Why are you so sad? Do you think God makes mistakes? You have just told me I'm going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and my friends. You have just told me that I am going to celebrate Easter forever, and here you are having difficulty giving me my ticket!" Dr. Phillips thought to himself, "What a magnificent woman this Edith Burns is!"
Edith continued coming to Dr. Phillips. Christmas came and the office was closed through January 3rd. On the day the office opened, Edith did not show up. Later that afternoon, Edith called Dr. Phillips and said she would have to be moving her story to the hospital and said, "Will, I'm very near home, so would you make sure that they put women in here next to me in my room who need to know about Easter."
Well, they did just that and women began to come in and share that room with Edith. Many women were saved. Everybody on that floor from staff to patients were so excited about Edith, that they started calling her Edith Easter; that is everyone except Phyllis Cross, the head nurse. Phyllis made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith because she was a "religious nut". She had been a nurse in an army hospital. She had seen it all and heard it all. She was the original G.I. Jane. She had been married three times, she was hard, cold, and did everything by the book.
One morning the two nurses who were to attend to Edith were sick. Edith had the flu and Phyllis Cross had to go in and give her a shot. When she walked in, Edith had a big smile on her face and said, "Phyllis, God loves you and I love you, and I have been praying for you." Phyllis Cross said, "Well, you can quit praying for me, it won't work. I'm not interested." Edith said, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to let me go home until you come into the family." Phyllis Cross said, "Then you will never die because that will never happen," and curtly walked out of the room.
Every day Phyllis Cross would walk into the room and Edith would say, "God loves you Phyllis and I love you, and I'm praying for you." One day Phyllis Cross said she was literally drawn to Edith's room like a magnet would draw iron. She sat down on the bed and Edith said, "I'm so glad you have come, because God told me that today is your special day." Phyllis Cross said, "Edith, you have asked everybody here the question, 'Do you believe in Easter?' but you have never asked me." Edith said, "Phyllis, I wanted to many times, but God told me to wait until you asked, and now that you have asked..."
Edith Burns took her Bible and shared with Phyllis Cross the Easter Story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Edith said, "Phyllis, do you believe in Easter? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is alive and that He wants to live in your heart?" Phyllis Cross said, "Oh I want to believe that with all of my heart, and I do want Jesus in my life." Right there, Phyllis Cross prayed and invited Jesus Christ into her heart. For the first time Phyllis Cross did not walk out of a hospital room, s...
HELL--GOD'S WASTE MANAGEMENT CENTRE
On a hot, clear day a gentle breeze would blow the repulsive smell of the refuse towards our house and we would be reminded that we lived way too near the city dump (or as we like to call it today - "Waste Management and Recycling Centre").
It is a sickly, acrid, repulsive stench that makes you curl your face into an involuntary grimace and hold your nose. In the Valley of Hinnom, outside Jerusalem, refuse is burned continually day and night. It is gross to the max and Jesus uses it as a picture of HELL.
As reluctant as I am to speak about hell, Jesus isn't. He speaks of people being separated from God for ETERNITY. Jesus points to the smoldering, disgusting rubbish dump, like a lake of fire and smoke, and says that it is a portrait of what hell is like. The city's Waste Management Centre is called GEHENNA. Imagine God thinking that my life is not only a waste on earth but also for eternity.
The Book of Revelation in the Bible says that all those who don't have their names written in the Lamb's book of life with be thrown into Hell, described as "THE FIERY LAKE OF BURNING SULPHUR" in Revelation 20:14-15. Matthew 18:8 (NLT) says it is an "ETERNAL FIRE" which is "UNQUENCHABLE" (Mark 9:43-49). It is described as "THE SECOND DEATH" but one which is suffered for eternity.
ADONIRAM JUDSON RETURNS TO THE LORD
Adoniram Judson graduated at the top of his class in college, then he headed to New York City to seek fame and fortune as an actor and/or writer. He had left the God of his father, thinking he was beyond such "primitive notions."
But such a life was empty for him. He was disillusioned, so he headed back to his home in Plymouth, Massachusetts, stopping for a night at a wayside inn. Adoniram had trouble sleeping that night, because a man in the next room was critically ill and moaning and groaning in pain. Obviously, his neighbor in the next room was dying. In the darkness of his room, Adoniram thought about the possibility of his own death and whether he was prepared for it. At times during the long hours he thought about returning to the Christian beliefs of his father, but then he imagined what his college chum Jacob Eames would say about his father’s faith. He waited for morning to come so that the terrors of the night would be forgotten.
Early the next morning, Adoniram went to the innkeeper. "That poor old man in the next room. How is he?" he asked.
"He passed away early this morning,” came the reply. "And he wasn’t old at all. He was a young man, about your age."
For some reason, Adoniram asked, "What was his name?" It was a rather stupid question, because Adoniram certainly didn’t know anyone in that section of the country.
The innkeeper replied, "His name was Jacob Eames." It was Adoniram’s college friend whose skepticism had turned Adoniram against the faith of his father.
Dazed, Adoniram Judson returned to Massachusetts and to his father where after three months of a mental and spiritual battle, he "made a solemn dedication of himself to God."
(William J. Petersen, 25 Surprising Marriages, Baker Books, 1997. From a sermon by C. Philip Green, Back to Bethel, 4/13/2011)
Michael McCartney
"I DON'T NEED THE CHURCH."
I stopped a few years ago to encourage someone who had left the church. This was the response I received from that person for asking her why she gave up on church. "God is everywhere! I don't need to go to church! Church is people helping others and most churches fail to do that!" She said. I agreed with all that this person said. But I also reminded her that Jesus established the universal church and the local church. Just go read the New Testament and you will see that God's desire is for people to be involved in the local church because the local churches make up the universal church. Just read the book of Revelation the first few chapters stress the roles of the local churches. It also reveals their divine mission.
This individual replied, "I was in church last week helping my neighbor work on her bathroom!" I responded, "It's great to help others out that is very important part of church life but the first four commandments talk about our relationship with God." So I asked, "How did you worship God on Sunday? Did you raise your hands and sing songs to Him in the bathroom as you were putting tile on the wall? Is just helping someone out by serving them worshipping God? Is this all I need to do? Am I not instructed in the Bible to have prayer time with God and with others? Am I not encouraged to sing worship songs to God with others? Hebrew's tells us to worship together with others and is this not what God wants?
I challenged her on some of her comments and things got real quiet and awkward. Then I asked her how the kids were. This was her response, "They are into their drugs and party life. They have dropped out of school. But they will be fine learning things the hard way. She adds. "They are in trouble with the law and owe over $500 dollars in fines but so what." She uses a few choice words to tell me how she can't wait to get rid of them. Interesting I thought?
Then I asked her how she was doing. This person looks at me with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth with a tinge of anger seeping out at my questions and says, "I am right where God wants me!" I thought to myself "I don't think so!" Then I challenged her once again on the importance of having a relationship with God and His Church. We did a little small talk and I left her home that day shaking my head. I drove down the road and as I was driving I prayed that God would reveal to her how deceived she is in her thinking.
Then I prayed for her and her family. I talked to God in the car and thought here is a person telling everyone she is "Born Again" and "Serving God". She is telling everyone she is where God wants her and she says she does not need the church! How sad! A few thoughts raced through my mind -- this is not God's plan for her and her children. This family disintegrated over the years, she lost her house, her children became drug dealers and went to prison. I have lost contact with her and have no idea where she is at today. While they were part of New Life up North, they were thriving spiritually, the kids were actively involved in kids ministry and youth group. But she became offended at something in the church -- I still don't know what -- she became unforgiving and bitter and threw God's Church away and in so doing threw her children away to drugs and bondage.
She is like some Christians today who have a distorted view of the church and a distorted view of God. This deception has affected her life, her kid's lives and it's affecting the divine mission of the Body of Christ. Because she tells everyone she is a "Born Again Christian". But in reality her testimony--her life, her actions--did not align with God's Word as it defines a disciple of Christ in the New Testament.
Vernon Grounds writes, “A friend told me of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basket ball in a nearby public school.
Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until the finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible. One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, ‘The book of Revelation.’ Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it. ‘Oh, yes,’ the man assured him. ‘I understand it!’ ‘What does it mean?’ Quietly the janitor answered, ‘It means that Jesus is gonn...
Insurgency! (11.08.05--Christian Soldiers!--Revelations 12:7)
What war? That was the response that I got from a friend recently when I referred to Operation Iraqi Freedom as a war. I looked at him and asked: “How would you define a war?” His response? “A war is when freedom is at stake and our well-being as a nation is challenged. I don’t see how anyone could define what is happening in Iraq in these terms!”
Because Pearl Harbor had not been bombed by the Japanese or the Lusitania had not been sunk by the Germans, my friend simply could not equate the events in the Middle East with his understanding of what war is. Even though the Twin Towers had been attacked and thousands more had died than on the Lusitania or at Pearl Harbor, the fact that it was not a “definable” enemy made all the difference in the world to him. If he couldn’t put the face of a nation on the face of an enemy, he could not equate the struggle against international terrorism as a legitimate war.
But, what about the battle against Satan and his minions? Do Christians take a similar viewpoint on who is the enemy and who is not when it comes to the war against God and His people here on earth?
In his book which provides a statistical analysis of religious beliefs in America, George Barna cites several fascinating statistics which are based on a national survey. In chapter four he states, “The Devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” Then asking that segment of his survey respondents who have identified themselves at being Christians, he states, “Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with that statement?” The population reply with 32 percent agreeing strongly, 11 percent agreeing somewhat and 5 percent did not know. Thus, of the total number responding, 48 percent either agreed that Satan is only symbolic or did not know! (What Americans Believe, pp. 206-212).
What a shame that so many Christians aren’t able to put a face on the enemy when it comes to the most crucial and fearsome battle ever fought on the face of this earth--the war against God. Declared long ago when he was thrown from heaven, Satan has been waging an all-out battle against God since the beginning of time. Although Christ crushed Satan on Calvary, he is still a dangerous foe. Like the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, He lurks waiting to bring his brand of terrorism to bear against any unsuspecting Christian unwilling or unable to see his face as that of the enemy. Now is not the time to drop the shield and sword. The Devil is for real and his war against you and I will not end until Jesus returns. Until that time it is our responsibility to know who the foe is, believe that he is powerful, and join actively in the fight.
I FIRST BEGAN THE STUDY OF GOD’S WHITE STONE IN REV. 2 MANY YEARS AGO, AT MY FIRST PASTORATE, BECAUSE OF A GEOLOGIST IN THE CHURCH THAT ELUDED TO THE WHITE STONE VERSE,IN A BIBLE STUDY LESSON I HEARD HIM GIVE. I LATER WAS STUDYING THE REVELATIONS AT D.B.U., UNDER DR. BELL, WHO IS ONE OF THE FOREMOST NEW TESTAMENT AUTHORITIES OF OUR GENERATION. OUR STUDY, CONCERNED THE BACKGROUND MATERIAL OF THE BOOK, BECAUSE THE REVELATION CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD APART FROM IT’S SETTING, JUST LIKE OTHER BOOKS IN THE BIBLE.
GOD WOULD MAKE A PROMISE, AND THAT PROMISE WAS MADE TO THE INDIVIDUAL, WHO IS INVOLVED IN LIVING THE VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE. WE LEARNED THAT CHRISTIANS WERE UNDERGOING GREAT SUFFERING, AT THE HANDS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, PARTICULARLY IN THE PERSECUTION OF DOMITIAN AND NERO. AT THAT TIME, LITTLE GROUPS OF CHRISTIANS WOULD GATHER IN A HOME TO WORSHIP GOD, SING, PRAY AND STUDY GOD’S WORD. NOW, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, THAT MANY STATEMENTS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, WERE ADDRESSED TO THE CHURCH AS LOCATED IN A PARTICULAR HOME OR HOUSE, BECAUSE IN THOSE DAYS, CHRISTIANS WERE INVOLVED IN THE BUSINESS OF BUILDING CHURCHES, NOT CHURCH BUILDINGS. AT THAT TIME, THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM HAD APPROXIMATELY 12,000 MEMBERS BEFORE IT EVER HAD A BUILDING. NEVER-THE-LESS, WHILE THIS SMALL GROUP OF CHRISTIANS WERE ENGAGED IN WORSHIP, THERE WOULD COME TO THEIR EARS THE SOUND OF THE IMPLEMENTS OF WAR. THE DOOR WOULD BE BROKEN DOWN AND ROMAN SOLDIERS WOULD SUDDENLY BE UPON THEM. BABIES WOULD BE HELD BY THEIR FEET, HANDS AND THEIR HEADS DASHED AGAINST THE WALL, TO THEIR DEATH. AT SPEAR-POINT, THEY WERE DRIVEN TO THE ROMAN JAIL AND CAST INTO A DARK AND FILTHY DUNGEON WHERE THEIR BODIES WERE INFESTED WITH LICE BY DAY AND NIBBLED ON BY RATS, AT NIGHT. MANY TIMES, THE MEN AND WOMEN WERE CROWDED TOGETHER IN SMALL CELLS WITH NO SANITATION FACILITIES; ALL OF THIS FOR NO OTHER CRIME, THAN THE FACT THAT THEY WORSHIPED GOD. ON A SPECIAL ROMAN FESTIVAL DAYS, THIS LITTLE NOMADIC GROUP OF CHRISTIANS WOULD BE BROUGHT INTO THE COLISEUM THAT STILL STANDS TODAY IN ROME. FAMILIES WOULD BE HERDED INTO THE CENTER OF THE ARENA AND AT A SIGNAL FROM THE ROMAN RULER, IRON GATES WOULD BE RAISED AROUND THE WALLS AND WILD, HALF STARVED BEASTS FROM THE JUNGLE WOULD BE TURNED UPON GOD’S PEOPLE. A BABY WOULD BE TORN FROM IT’S MOTHER’S ARMS; AND THE FATHER WOULD WATCH HELPLESSLY AS HIS FAMILY WAS TORN TO SHREDS. TEEN-AGE BOYS AND GIRLS WOULD GO DOWN IN SCREAMS WHILE THEY WERE EATEN ALIVE. AFTER A WHILE, NOTHING WOULD BE LEFT EXCEPT A FEW BLOODY RAGS AND THE ECHO OF SOBS AND ALL THESE PEOPLE WERE PERSECUTED FOR, WA WORSHIPING A TRUE AND LOVING GOD. WHEN BEASTS WERE DRIVEN FROM THE ARENA, THE BARS WERE LIFTED IN FRONT OF THOSE WHO SURVIVED AND ROMAN ARCHERS MARCHED INTO THE ARENA AND USE THEM FOR LIVE TARGET PRACTICE. A SOLDIER WOULD RAISE HIS BOW; AN ARROW HISSES THROUGH THE AIR TO LODGE IN A SHOULDER, THEN ANOTHER ARROW IN A THIGH, THEN A LEG, UNTIL THE BLOOD DRIPPING FROM THE ARROWS. THEN FROM THE SHEER LOSS OF BLOOD AND WEIGHT OF THE ARROWS, THE CHRISTIAN’S HEAD WOULD DROP FORWARD, GASPING IN DEATH, BUT NOT ALL OF THE PEOPLE WERE PUT TO DEATH LIKE THIS, MANY WERE BURNED AT THE STAKE. A ROW OF STAKES WOULD BE SET UP AND GOD’S PEOPLE WERE BROUGHT OUT TO BE BOUND WITH ARMS AND LEGS TIED TO THESE STAKES. BRUSH WAS PILED AT THEIR FEET AND AT A SIGNAL, A SLAVE CAME AND STUCK A TORCH TO THE BRUSH AND THE ODOR OF BURNING FLESH FILLED THE AIR. MANY OTHERS WERE PLACED ON A CHOPPING BLOCK TO HAVE THEIR HEADS SEVERED FROM THEIR BODIES. ALL THIS, FOR NO OTHER CRIME, THAN SIMPLY BEING A CHRISTIAN. THE HEIGHT OF BARBARISM FOR THESE ARISTOCRATIC ROMANS CAME, IN WHAT WAS DONE TO THE CHRISTIAN WOMEN. MANY OF THEM WERE BROUGHT TO A ROMAN COURTYARD BY NIGHT TO BE NAILED UPSIDE DOWN TO CROSSES.
YOU WILL REMEMBER THESE EARLY CHRISTIAN WOMEN DID NOT CUT THEIR HAIR, AND AS THEY WERE NAILED TO THESE CROSSES AROUND THE COURTYARD WITH THEIR HAIR HANGING DOWN, THEIR BODIES WERE SATURATED WITH WHALE OIL AND AT A GIVEN SIGNAL, A SERVANT CAME WITH A TORCH AND SET FIRE TO THEIR HAIR AND THEY BECAME LIVING TORCHES, FURNISHING LIGHT FOR THE WILD ROMAN ORGIES.
WHAT A PRICE TO PAY, FOR LOVING THE LORD!!
