Tribulation
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Tribulation is a basic necessity of walking with Jesus. There is no true follower of Jesus that will not be touched by it. From the first calling of Peter until the very end of the age, every follower of Jesus has a cross to take up, a life to lay down, and a will to die to:
Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
The presence of tribulation in the life of a believer is a mark of truth. Jesus came to deliver mankind from the strongholds of sin and death...which the fallen world is full of. If you are being pulled from one reality into the next, if it is really happening...if the Gospel is true...you should FEEL the transition. The uncomfortable feeling of tribulation is tangible evidence that God is giving me a new life...for real...transitioning the tempo and beat of my heart from the fallen and comfortable rhythms of a dying world to the true tune of heaven, which will never end.
God is skilled beyond measure in knowing how to precisely separate my heart alliances from the lesser false strengths of this world: money, health, security, provision...to cut the cords of trust I have attached to the physical realm so they can be reattached to God, where they always were meant to be. Tribulation is the scalpel in the master surgeon's hand:
Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Tribulation is the proving ground of faith and the battle field where fear is defeated. I heard a tv preacher once say that faith and fear are both spiritual "connectors." He was right. Faith connects me to what I hope for, fear connects me to what I am afraid of. There is only one good fear in the realm of my heart: the Fear of the Lord. Any lesser fear, a fear of lack, or embarrassment, or a fear of sickness, a fear of pain...these fears connect me to those very things they fill my gaze with...they give power to those things to drive my heart responses...But my Father...the one who owns it all, knows it all, controls it all...He wants to be the One whos voice drives my heart responses. He is the ONLY good Shepherd and wants no growling coyotes to move me left or right. The fear of only Him...which means making His voice the only one that drives me....is the only safe fear, for His voice only says words of love, power, and truth.
So if tribulation is good for...necessary for...every believer, then the Great Tribulation is truly great for the Bride...the one generation selected to reflect Jesus to the earth as a final witness to draw in the greatest harvest of souls the earth has ever seen. God is going to bring one generation to a final climax of intensity, the full maturing of righteousness in the midst of the full maturing of pride, sin, and perversion:
Matthew 13:29-30 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The light and dark are both maturing to an intensity the world has never seen. We are seeing the very beginning of this all around us, and even the beginning is intense. Even now, many are stunned by the confusion of the day. Most believers won't even watch the news because of how "depressing" it is. These are the first inklings of "offense" Jesus warned His followers PRIVATELY about.
Matthew 24:3, 9-13 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”.... “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Jesus warned the believers would need endurance to the end. The intensity coming REQUIRES a response of preparation, in advance. It requires a settling of one's heart on the fact that NOW is the time to EMBRACE the coming intensity...the coming tribulation...to run into the fear of it headlong so the master surgeon can begin His work of cutting away the fear and reconnecting those chords of trust to Him...while there is time.
Matthew 25:1-4 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
All ten of the bridesmaids in Jesus' story are looking for the king, they are all believers. Five prepared for the intensity...the long dark night....and five "waited to see" what might happen. The five that prepared had light in the darkness. The five that did not respond in advance saw their unready light extinguished in the darkest part of the evening. The oil of preparation Jesus was talking about cannot be shared with another...it is the oil of the secret yes, day after day, to prepare a heart for the coming intensity. To search out the details of the Groom's plans, embrace them rather than make them symbolic, and begin training my heart to agree with them in their brilliant and very real intensity.
Jesus never once mentioned his return without a warning of "be ready" it will come at an hour you do not expect. The unexpectedness indicates that time is of the essence. What He was saying is what the prophet Daniel said: it will come like a flood!
Daniel 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
A flood comes overnight and without warning. Once it starts you had better have started moving. If you start filling sandbags after the water is already ankle deep, you are too late. We can see the banks of the river swelling all around us. Jesus said "when you see all these things happening, know that your generation will see it all the way through":
Matthew 24:33-34 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
Jesus has already begun the process of transition to a new age. If you know the very detailed plans He has written out, you can see them escalating all around. The age to soon come is marked by an economy of strength and truth that is exactly opposite the one we have come to know. It is a time to "come out of" the faltering economy of financial strength, false stability of earthly position and prominence, and the rewards of moth eaten and rusting luxury the world embraces, and move into the now strengthening eternal economy of manna, and water from rocks, words of direction in the midst of persecution, and overwhelming victory despite the attempts of the world to thwart it...
Now is the time to trade a life dream of being rich, safe, secure, entertained, and comfortable for one that is more like Paul, Peter, James, John...and every other person we learned the truth of a relationship with Jesus Christ from by their own testimony. How is it that we study and celebrate the very real tribulation men and women of God endured, yet are so quick to convince ourselves that a good God would never want that for us? Most of those whose words we take as the inerrant word of God, which it is, died as martyrs!
The Book of Revelation isn't mostly about tribulation any more than the Book of Acts is mostly about tribulation. The Book of Acts chronicles the overwhelming victory of 120 people in the upper room starting a fire that has engulfed the whole planet with life giving good news. The Book of Revelation is the final chapter of that same story, where the generation that sees the King of Kings split the sky has brought in the harvest which those first great ones planted a couple of thousand years before hand. Revelation is the story of the overwhelming victory of the Bride in the midst of the most intense generation the world has ever seen. Those who are wise get themselves ready, and lead many into righteousness:
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Tribulation is a basic necessity of walking with Jesus. There is no true follower of Jesus that will not be touched by it. From the first calling of Peter until the very end of the age, every follower of Jesus has a cross to take up, a life to lay down, and a will to die to:
Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
The presence of tribulation in the life of a believer is a mark of truth. Jesus came to deliver mankind from the strongholds of sin and death...which the fallen world is full of. If you are being pulled from one reality into the next, if it is really happening...if the Gospel is true...you should FEEL the transition. The uncomfortable feeling of tribulation is tangible evidence that God is giving me a new life...for real...transitioning the tempo and beat of my heart from the fallen and comfortable rhythms of a dying world to the true tune of heaven, which will never end.
God is skilled beyond measure in knowing how to precisely separate my heart alliances from the lesser false strengths of this world: money, health, security, provision...to cut the cords of trust I have attached to the physical realm so they can be reattached to God, where they always were meant to be. Tribulation is the scalpel in the master surgeon's hand:
Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Tribulation is the proving ground of faith and the battle field where fear is defeated. I heard a tv preacher once say that faith and fear are both spiritual "connectors." He was right. Faith connects me to what I hope for, fear connects me to what I am afraid of. There is only one good fear in the realm of my heart: the Fear of the Lord. Any lesser fear, a fear of lack, or embarrassment, or a fear of sickness, a fear of pain...these fears connect me to those very things they fill my gaze with...they give power to those things to drive my heart responses...But my Father...the one who owns it all, knows it all, controls it all...He wants to be the One whos voice drives my heart responses. He is the ONLY good Shepherd and wants no growling coyotes to move me left or right. The fear of only Him...which means making His voice the only one that drives me....is the only safe fear, for His voice only says words of love, power, and truth.
So if tribulation is good for...necessary for...every believer, then the Great Tribulation is truly great for the Bride...the one generation selected to reflect Jesus to the earth as a final witness to draw in the greatest harvest of souls the earth has ever seen. God is going to bring one generation to a final climax of intensity, the full maturing of righteousness in the midst of the full maturing of pride, sin, and perversion:
Matthew 13:29-30 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The light and dark are both maturing to an intensity the world has never seen. We are seeing the very beginning of this all around us, and even the beginning is intense. Even now, many are stunned by the confusion of the day. Most believers won't even watch the news because of how "depressing" it is. These are the first inklings of "offense" Jesus warned His followers PRIVATELY about.
Matthew 24:3, 9-13 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”.... “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Jesus warned the believers would need endurance to the end. The intensity coming REQUIRES a response of preparation, in advance. It requires a settling of one's heart on the fact that NOW is the time to EMBRACE the coming intensity...the coming tribulation...to run into the fear of it headlong so the master surgeon can begin His work of cutting away the fear and reconnecting those chords of trust to Him...while there is time.
Matthew 25:1-4 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil.
All ten of the bridesmaids in Jesus' story are looking for the king, they are all believers. Five prepared for the intensity...the long dark night....and five "waited to see" what might happen. The five that prepared had light in the darkness. The five that did not respond in advance saw their unready light extinguished in the darkest part of the evening. The oil of preparation Jesus was talking about cannot be shared with another...it is the oil of the secret yes, day after day, to prepare a heart for the coming intensity. To search out the details of the Groom's plans, embrace them rather than make them symbolic, and begin training my heart to agree with them in their brilliant and very real intensity.
Jesus never once mentioned his return without a warning of "be ready" it will come at an hour you do not expect. The unexpectedness indicates that time is of the essence. What He was saying is what the prophet Daniel said: it will come like a flood!
Daniel 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
A flood comes overnight and without warning. Once it starts you had better have started moving. If you start filling sandbags after the water is already ankle deep, you are too late. We can see the banks of the river swelling all around us. Jesus said "when you see all these things happening, know that your generation will see it all the way through":
Matthew 24:33-34 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
Jesus has already begun the process of transition to a new age. If you know the very detailed plans He has written out, you can see them escalating all around. The age to soon come is marked by an economy of strength and truth that is exactly opposite the one we have come to know. It is a time to "come out of" the faltering economy of financial strength, false stability of earthly position and prominence, and the rewards of moth eaten and rusting luxury the world embraces, and move into the now strengthening eternal economy of manna, and water from rocks, words of direction in the midst of persecution, and overwhelming victory despite the attempts of the world to thwart it...
Now is the time to trade a life dream of being rich, safe, secure, entertained, and comfortable for one that is more like Paul, Peter, James, John...and every other person we learned the truth of a relationship with Jesus Christ from by their own testimony. How is it that we study and celebrate the very real tribulation men and women of God endured, yet are so quick to convince ourselves that a good God would never want that for us? Most of those whose words we take as the inerrant word of God, which it is, died as martyrs!
The Book of Revelation isn't mostly about tribulation any more than the Book of Acts is mostly about tribulation. The Book of Acts chronicles the overwhelming victory of 120 people in the upper room starting a fire that has engulfed the whole planet with life giving good news. The Book of Revelation is the final chapter of that same story, where the generation that sees the King of Kings split the sky has brought in the harvest which those first great ones planted a couple of thousand years before hand. Revelation is the story of the overwhelming victory of the Bride in the midst of the most intense generation the world has ever seen. Those who are wise get themselves ready, and lead many into righteousness:
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
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