BELIEVERS! DO NOT LET WHAT YOU SEE AND HEAR CAUSE YOU TO FEAR!

THE RAPTURE (CATCHING AWAY)

OF BELIEVERS IN CHRIST!

Yesterday's post was a warning to unbelievers of the soon coming our-pouring of God's wrath upon the this planet!  Today, I want to assure all those who are born again believers in Jesus Christ, that you have nothing to fear; Jesus promised He would come for us before that dreadful day!  These verses are meant to comfort us, especially as we see the world plummeting into chaos.

John 14:1-3, 6 - Let not your heart be troubled:  you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions (dwelling places):  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I AM, there you may be also. . . . I AM The Way, (I AM) The Truth, and (I AM) The Life:  no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.

Acts 1:9-11 - And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; who also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven?  This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:50-54 - Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:  for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 4:13-18; 5:9-11 - . . . you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Who delivered us from the wrath to come. . . . But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so those also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (not precede) those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:  and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words. . . . For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.  Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also you (already) do.

Revelation 3:10; 4:1-2 - Because you have kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. . . . After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show you things which must be hereafter.  And immediately I was in the spirit:  and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

BELIEVERS HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR!

WE ARE COMFORTED BY FAITH IN 

THE PROMISES OF THE SON OF GOD!

WARNING: GOD'S WRATH IS COMING!

WARNING:

GOD WILL SOON POUR OUT HIS WRATH!

Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men . . . .

Ephesians 5:5-6 - For this you know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no man deceive you with vain words:  for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Revelation 6:15-17 - And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelation 15:1, 7-8; 16:1 - And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. . . . And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, Who lives forever and ever.  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. . . . And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Revelation 19:11-16 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.  And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood:  and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of His mouth went a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron:  and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And He had on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS WILL

BE SAFE FROM THE WRATH OF GOD!

John 3:36 - He that believes on the Son has everlasting life:  and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

Romans 5:8-9 - But God commended (demonstrated) His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 - For they themselves show . . . how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Who delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 As I understand the passage - But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have died, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so those who died believing in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who have died.  For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:  and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 - For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

JESUS DIED TO PAY FOR YOUR SINS!

GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD!

ACCEPT HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR,

BEFORE GOD'S WRATH IS POURED OUT!

WE ARE IGNORANT BUT GRATEFUL!

ROMANS 8:26-33

Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities (our limited understanding of God's will - see Isa. 55:8-9):  for we know not what we should pray for as we ought:  but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  And He Who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.  For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren (born again children of God).  Moreover whom He did predestine, them He also called:  and whom He called, them He also justified (declared righteous):  and whom He justified, them He also glorified (we are no longer mere sinners who fall short of the glory of God - see Rom. 3:23).  What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us (who can overcome us)?  He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect (who shall convict us of sin)?  It is God that justifies (declares us righteous - see 2 Cor. 5:21).

APART FROM GOD'S WORK ON OUR BEHALF,

WE ARE SINNERS DOOMED FOREVER!

JESUS BECAME SIN FOR US SO THAT WE COULD

BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM!

WITH FAITH IN GOD'S WORK ON OUR BEHALF,

WE ARE HIS CHILDREN FOR ALL ETERNITY!

BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS ARE SAVED TO SERVE!

SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT, TO BE

FOLLOWED BY A LIFE OF SERVICE!

The other day, a fellow wrote that I was a legalist for suggesting born again believers ought to be working to share the Gospel; his point was that a person is saved by grace and not by works.  I responded by saying that I was not talking about being saved by works, but that those who have been saved are to be about God's business.  He then told me I was not saved!  Even though I had quoted these verses, he refused to accept them as truth:

Ephesians 2:8-10 - For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God:  not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

So today, I want to show that born again believers have been saved to serve Almighty God!  Here are a few verses to support this:

Luke 4:8 - And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get behind Me, Satan:  for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shalt you serve.

Luke 16:13 - No servant can serve two masters:  for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

John 12:26 - If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be:  if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.

Acts 27:23 - For there stood by me this night the angel of God, Whose I am, and Whom I serve.

Romans 1:9 - For God is my witness, Whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.

Romans 7:6 - But now we are delivered from the Law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Romans 14:17-18 - For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  For he that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

Galatians 5:13 - For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Colossians 3:24 - Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance:  for you serve the Lord Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 - For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto (the welcome we had from) you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

2 Timothy 1:3 - I thank God, Whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of you in my prayers night and day.

Hebrews 9:14 - How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 12:28 - Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO BE

A LIFE OF SERVICE TO GOD 

AND TO ONE ANOTHER!

TRUST AND OBEY JESUS!

WHO IS THE JESUS OF THE BIBLE?

Matthew 2:1-2, 11 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He Who is born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him. - - - And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him:  and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts:  gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 8:1-3 - When He was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, if You will it, You can make me clean.  And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will it; be clean.  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew 14:25, 33 - And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. - - - Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth You are the Son of God.

John 1:1, 14, 17 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - - - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. - - - For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (Israel's Messiah).
John 9:35-38 - Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Do you believe on the Son of God?  He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?  And Jesus said unto him, You have both seen Him, and it is He that talks with you.  And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him.

Philippians 2:5-11 - Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 1:1-6 - God, Who at sundry times (various times) and in divers manners (many different ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds (Jesus is the Creator); Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins (our Savior), sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.  For unto which of the angels said He at any time, You are My Son, this day have I begotten You?  And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?  And again, when He brought in the First-Begotten* into the world, He said, And let all the angels of God worship Him.

* [Note:  Jesus, when He was born, was the Only Begotten of the Father (John 1:14; 3:16), but since that time, many have been born again and are the begotten children of God (1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 3:2; 5:18).]

SEEING THAT JESUS, AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE,

IS THE CREATOR GOD, AND WORTHY OF WORSHIP,

DON'T YOU BELIEVE YOU SHOULD OBEY HIM?