THE *WORD OF MY PATIENCE* PART I

Beloved, the church has come to the universal trying of its faith. You and I will experience trials that continue to establish “the word of His patience” in every believing son. This season will be a time of testing for the entire church. However, To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, (God will grant) eternal life: (Rom. 2:7).

Revelation 3:10

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Revelation 14:12

Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

This study is focused on getting the church to the Millennium. However, between here and the Millennium is a time of great tribulation for the church and the nation of Israel. It is true the church will be raptured soon after The Great Tribulation begins, living through what the bible describes of those times will seem like an eternity. One writer writes…

Isaiah 28:19

From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

For us to even hope to make it through the end times we must first pass the tests of our daily lives in this present day. This is the dressing room in which we gird up for that which is to come. Many temptations have and shall continue to come our way. It is impossible to follow Christ and not be accosted by satan and the world. So let us take a good look at our true spiritual disposition and judge ourselves according to the Word of God.

SEDUCING SPIRITS

We have been warned to be careful of seducing spirits. They come to steal away the safety of our souls. Sometimes the temptation to move off course with God will come from those who are very close to us. There are many who have departed from the faith because they took on the iniquity of others. Judge yourself in these types of situations. Many were doing well, until they began to listen and take heed to seducing spirits of iniquity and offense. I cannot stress enough the importance of judging yourself in these matters. For I have seen many a saint become ensnared in webs of offense and iniquity that originally was not their own. Soul ties and unlawful loyalties have overshadowed the fact that offense and iniquity are the seedbeds for deception and spiritual blindness. You might wonder, what are unlawful loyalties? Jesus was very helpful in explaining that fact.

Luke 14:26

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

As always, truth is simple. If you are influenced by anyone other than the Spirit of Christ, then you cannot be the disciple of the Lord. Of late, I have seen situations in the lives of saints that I would liken to someone running a race and nearing the finish line, however, there is an obstacle on the track. The runner sees the object very plainly and begins to assess whether he is able to go around it without losing speed. The answer is, yes. He is skillful and fast enough to go around it or leap over it if necessary, without losing a stride. He keeps his eye on the object, knowing it could be disastrous for him, should he not do the things he was trained to do. But the closer he gets to the object, the larger it seems. Surprisingly he runs right into the obstacle and falls on the track; unable to finish the race. What happened? He had all the skills and abilities to leap over and beyond the rubbish on the track. Well, beloved, the obstacle did not get any bigger, the runner just got closer. He got so close watching the rubbish until he lost the momentum he needed to leap over it. But the runner was so close to the finish line. He could see it just ahead. All that he had trained for was right in front of him. Instead of concluding, “This is a piece of a cardboard box that has somehow found its way on the track;” he felt a need to slow down a bit, read the writing on it, and perhaps tell from whence it came. But he is a runner, running a race. He does not have time to read any writings or labels. It does not matter what was once in the box or where it came from. The truth is simple, “it is out of place. It has no business being on the track. It has become an obstacle that must be overcome.”

Saints, this is what happens when you lose sight of what God has done in your life, as well as how He did it. This is what happens when satan plants a familiar being in your lane on the track to be your distracting obstacle. Once you discern that all you are hearing is offense and iniquity, that is all you need to know. Do not slow down to study iniquity, speed up, run faster and keep a strong spiritual stride that will enable you to leap over the obstacle. If you slow down and begin to assess and reassess evil, you will become spiritually blind and surely fall out of the race.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

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;

We are trying to get to the Millennial Reign in which we will rule over the earth with Christ. Sad to say, many will not make it. What is even more sad is many saints were well equipped and capable of making it in; but gave their soul to the care and direction of those they knew to be off course with God; sometimes even to those whose pride has provoked the Lord to give them over to reprobate minds. They are castaways, estranged from God, even with all their religious doings. They have become even as satan. Being a castaway, he is satisfied to be a stumbling block to as many of the sons of God as possible. They have no care or concern for the souls of those they beguile, their only focus is to move souls who are loyal to them off track and out of the boundaries of the faith. They offer nothing but iniquity and vainglory as fuels for companionship.

The coming of the anti-Christ will not matter to some, because they have already taken themselves out of the race. They stagger around on the track, (moving from one church to the next), not accepting the fact that they are drunkards, full of the wine of iniquity. They are deceived because they truly have made themselves believe that somehow they are all right with God.

Revelation 3:10

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

God permits trials. (2 Corinthians 4:11, 12:9) Nevertheless, trials and tribulation have a beneficial purpose and effect. In addition to being instrumental in establishing us in the faith, trials serve to bring the church to walking in the Spirit. The trials of these last days are also used to prepare the saints to live in a hostel, anti- Christian environment. (1 Peter 4:12). When we pass the tests of our trials, we put forth the proof of a risen Christ and bring glory to the Father.

We have seen how pride, arrogance, offense, and iniquity will cause us to forfeit the race. Now we will look at how suffering and persecution will affect the sons in these last of the last days.

1. Patience is the capacity to suffer, bearing pain or trials

2. To manifest forbearance and tolerance under provocation or strain.

3. Patience is steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity.

James tells us that tribulation worketh patience. Therefore, without trials and suffering situations, there could be no development of patience:

James 5:7-8, 10

7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain.

8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh . . .

10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

We are to consider the suffering of the prophets and study their examples of faith and patience, in tribulation and persecution. We are to consider their plight, because we too, may experience the same:

1 Thessalonians 3:3

That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

We are appointed to suffering and affliction. Whom is Paul talking to? The church of course! I remember the apostles said that they were shamefully entreated upon arriving in Phillipi. The beatings and imprisonment, according to Paul, were allowed by God in order to try their hearts. This is the truth I want you to consider. The early church was established by and in the blood of the apostles and martyrs of the early church. These saints received the early rain. They were the first to receive the new birth experience and to declare themselves as sons of the living God. Many were killed, tortured and imprisoned for their faith. But after those days, the church faded into the dark ages. Decades and even centuries passed before the real Church began to emerge out of the ashes of religion and spiritual lunacy.

Nevertheless, we are here. We have come through the fires of unbelief, apostasy and apathy. We have laid hold on the truth and we refuse to let it go. It has changed our lives and our perspective of salvation. We know that this world is not our home and that our Master is soon to return. Those of us at Bible Teachers International who have truly submitted to the spiritual growth path God placed us on have been baptized and discipled in the mind of Christ. We know the truth and we know it will be tried and tested severely in the days of anti-Christ. We also understand that if we are unable to endure the suffering of inconveniences, aggravations and annoyances, then we will surely fall in the days of tribulation the church will experience at the hand of the anti-Christ.

I have been instructed by God to teach on these things, as the church is not prepared for that which is on the horizon. As Helen Miller sings, “Time is winding up.” Things are about to change.