The Elect

Philippians 1:20-21

20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

The mystery of suffering is a perspective of the Gospel that seems to have almost completely eluded the church. The church has become even as the children of Israel in the days of old. We have traveled through the wilderness, moving from doctrine to doctrine and from preacher to preacher; searching for the right way of the script. But in the midst of this our mindset is revealed.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

3. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Now I am in no way saying that there are no sound preachers in our time, in fact there are many. It is undeniable, however, that a majority of the Body of Christ has gravitated to doctrines of devils. Righteousness has become an offense to us and our ears itch for whatever will satisfy our flesh. The scriptures teach to present the body as a living sacrifice, yet the flock is taught to make provisions for the flesh. The few who have remained faithful to the commission to perfect the church in holiness, are often stifled by their traditions. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand yet we are constantly fighting over days of worship and baptisms. The church is not standing, it has indeed fallen away.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

1. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

3. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Apostle Paul speaks very plainly here. Before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our rapture unto Him, there will first be a falling away of the church. We who read this writing today are in the midst of this scripture. It therefore means that the coming of our Lord is soon, and the revelation of the antichrist is upon us.

2 Thessalonians 2:4-9

4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

5. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

8. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9. Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

The mystery of iniquity has infiltrated the church to the point where the righteousness of God has become offensive to us. Consider the devilish doctrines the church has accepted. The doctrines of Dual Nature, Faith and Prosperity, Dominion Now, Once Saved Always Saved just to name a few, are all doctrines that point the church to sin.

The influence of these doctrines has worked in the church to the point where the church cannot recognize God, and the simplicity of the truth becomes fanaticism. However, the revelation of the antichrist is upon us and is closer than many think. The timeline appointed for the preaching of the Gospel is winding down to a close. Chaos is about to be unleashed on this world like never before. The question we need to ask ourselves therefore is, are we ready?

In a part of his message a minister mentioned that the majority of the Western Church has been trained to lust after the things of the world. A huge leeway has been given for sin but the leeway is cloaked as righteousness. If the worldly things they desire do not manifest, they throw a tantrum and the preacher attempts to console them by encouraging the people to ‘have more faith’. He then compared the Western Church to the Eastern Church where Christians are being persecuted and tortured daily because of their testimony of Jesus Christ. Terrorist groups such as ISIS target them and seek to wipe them from the face of the earth. Their persecution is published throughout the world and yet they will not deny God. They are willing to accept any form of torture and are found rejoicing in it. Do we see this great distinction?

He said that if a member from the Western Church was placed in the situation that the Eastern Church faces, the person would not know what to do, and would ultimately deny Jesus Christ. This is a result of the fact that when a person is trained to save their life and is placed in a situation that would cost them their life, they will do just what they were trained to do. But where is the church now? There seems to be this great spirit of apathy and presumption as it relates to the scriptures. The church has turned the grace of God into lascivious and still believes that God is with us. The Word is clear.

Matthew 16:1-3

1. The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

2. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

3. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

The Word of God urges us to watch for the coming of our Lord. The signs of the times are evident. There are wars and rumors of wars, pestilences and diseases. Famine is in the world and there are earthquakes in divers places. Moreover, many false prophets have risen; some who have even attempted to prophesy the end, but were wrong. If after all these signs are upon us and we yet deny that the end is upon us, are we not hypocrites even as the Pharisees were? This is no attack on the church but it is most necessary that the Body of Christ move into a state of urgency. We must tend to our doctrines and submit to Apostolic Order that we may be unified. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4:14)

Now is the time for the church to return to the Spirit. The church is unprepared for the revelation of the antichrist, but we can still find refuge in the scriptures.

Ephesians 4:11-13

11. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Matthew 24:9-14

9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

God has given the five-fold ministry to perfect the church. God will rapture a spotless and sinless church. The scripture testifies that despite the end, the Gospel must still be preached. There will be an elect who will not deny the God of holiness. They will walk worthy of the Kingdom of God, preaching the Gospel to the whole world, even during persecution. But how do we get there? How does the church move from the state that it is in to the glorious elect the scripture testifies of?

WE MUST AGREE WITH SUFFERING

As a body, we must enter into the fellowship of the suffering of Christ. The only way we can embrace suffering is to agree with it. We have to move from the wildernesses of false doctrines that appease the flesh and enter into the promise land of the Spirit. We must all come to agreement with the Word of God and realize that when we walk in the Spirit we have no emotions that are against God’s word. God has not given us a Spirit of fear but of power, love and of a sound mind; so we do not have to fear suffering. Our weapon against fear is belief. Even as I write this it is made evident to me that the true perspective of the Gospel can only be seen and embraced through the eyes of the Spirit. There are some things I would like you to consider.

First and foremost our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, born of a virgin, the promised Messiah of His people. He was born into the world and upon reading the scriptures He noticed they testified of Him. They also testified of many sufferings He would face and that He would ultimately die a gruesome death. So we may ask ourselves why would God have a son and lead Him to suffering? Why would God take on an earthen body and lead it straight to death? The answer for this is simple. The suffering and death of the flesh was the purpose for Him being in the flesh in the first place.

Hebrews 2:9

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

I pray the light of the Gospel will shine in your hearts and illuminate your soul. God entered into a body in which the scripture testifies is an infirmity and corruptible.

Jesus was made lower than the angels for the purpose of dying because it is in the death of the flesh that the Spirit is revealed.

Consider the following:

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (God is the treasure within these earthen vessels. However, the power is manifest in that we are not distressed, nor destroyed when we are troubled and persecuted.)

10. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

At salvation, God quickens our mortal bodies and raises us up from the dead. Our bodies are raised a new man because the Spirit of Jesus Christ is in it. However, the scripture above speaks of the dying of the Lord Jesus in the flesh. One may ask, “Why would God raise a body from the dead and lead it into death?” Herein we see the purpose of Christ. The dying of the new man is how the life of Christ is revealed and it is the proof that the old man is dead. Many of us may get confused and question whether the death I speak of here refers to the spiritual death. The answer is no, but it can be included. The death I speak of is the mortifying of the deeds of the old man even unto a physical death, if necessary. When we reckon the old man as dead we prove that we have indeed been made new and manifest that Jesus is alive! Saints, we cannot run from this ministry, it is at the root of the Gospel. The dying of the new man is the hope of the world.

2 Corinthians 4:11

For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

It is the death of our will, way and personage that will manifest the life of Christ in us. We must connect the dots here. The scripture says that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. Through His death (and resurrection) God received glory. Well, saints, Jesus is in these bodies once more. He is again made lower than the angels and for the same cause. Now we must be willing to give up our lives for the brethren and to bring a testimony unto God. Herein we see that we have the same call as Jesus. He was sent to show, by His dying that God was in Him. Likewise, by the dying of our mortal bodies we prove that Jesus is in us.

What a glorious privilege we have to be called sons of God! Let us not forget the hope of our calling. We can rejoice in death because we have a joyful expectation to be resurrected with Jesus at His return. We will be given a new body that can neither die nor receive harm. We will reign with our Lord because we remained faithful to His suffering here on earth. We can therefore rejoice because we were chosen worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake and if we remain steadfast and unmovable we will see His face in peace.

THE ELECT

The church must agree with suffering. It is the call of the sons of God. It is the only way God is glorified here on the earth. The antichrist is upon us; however, we will glorify God if we agree with Him concerning suffering. Also, we can be strong and of good courage because we are not alone. God has left His seed in the flesh to keep our souls at peace as He accomplishes the will of the Father. Now we can look past our suffering and fix our eyes on the joy set before us and be at peace knowing that we are pleasing the Father.

Romans 8:18

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.