Love and Correction
Psalm 12 is a powerful end time Psalm. In this Psalm, David is seeing the same thing that Paul warned Timothy about:
II Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Paul was warning Timothy about what would come at the time of the end...the last days. Paul was talking about people who would be in churches. I LOVE the church. Jesus loves the church. Jesus is coming back for the church. But Jesus also corrects those He loves, and anyone in agreement with Jesus should be doing the same:
II Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
There is a time of trouble coming to the world, and particularly to the American church. There is a great judgment hanging over the American church. It is because of what we have been given. To whom much is given, much is required:
Luke 12:46-48 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
The church in America has been given MUCH. We have enjoyed more freedom to openly pursue, worship, and proclaim Jesus than any other place since Jesus ascended to the Father in 32 ad. For nearly 2,000 years believers all over the earth in every generation have been chased down, imprisoned, tortured...persecuted...for simply loving Jesus. But not here. Here, we are so far removed from persecution, many think we are "lucky"...or blessed...to have been born here. We are blessed. BUT, with that "much", comes great requirements.
We, the Church in America, mostly don't think about what is required. We are mostly shaped in our "desire" as consumers, not servants. Even in our serving, we mostly serve with a consumer mentality. "I am not called to that" is the churchy way of saying "I don't really want to do THAT, I'll wait for a more appealing way to placate my conscience." This is called self-centered. That is what Paul warned Tim about. When we let a selfish spirit have a home in our hearts all "cleaned up" by churchiness, Paul and Jesus said all kinds of bad spirits...seven more friends....come chill with it:
Luke 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
This is what Paul said (II Timothy 2) would come with self-centered, consumer-driven Church life...a form of Godliness that misses the power to actually transform a person in being Jesus-like:
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power...
Jesus loves the church, but the church...especially the American church who has been given so much...needs a serious gut check. There is a storm coming. This storm is being formed BY Jesus to wash the Bride...it is actually called the Revelation of Jesus Christ...intended to burn off the junk in the Bride, along with warning unbelievers of what life looks like apart from the author of life (death).
The refining of the double minded fiance is what David was talking about in Psalm 12. David was so frustrated by people who claimed to know God...even represent Him...but they had "double hearts"...divided hearts...holding to a form of godliness...going to the meetings and claiming to know God...lying...but not living lives surrendered to true power. Wanting their best life now, rather than the desiring One Thing, like David did. God assured David there was a refining coming in the last days:
Psalms 12:1-7 Help, Lord , for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things, Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?” “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord ; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord , You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
This is a promise and a warning. Refined in the fire seven times is referring to 7 seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls....it is referring to the fire of tribulation. God's people need to be ready. Every time Jesus talked about the last days...His return...He told His disciples to BE READY.
The warnings in the Bible are for God's people. Unbelievers don't believe or read the Bible. Believers are the warning alarms for unbelievers. The Bible is the warning alarm for God's people.
In Revelation 2 and 3, we meet the divided fiance... Jesus' Bride to be...and her seven characteristic personalities. He is going to make them One, as He is One. He is going to give her the right condition to be pure and spotless. How do you make a dirty white shirt spotless and wrinkle free? Don't you throw it in the wash with some strong soap? Lots of hot water (the Holy Spirit fire) and agitate it, rinse it, spin it, throw in the dryer for some more heat, and then iron it? That is what Revelation describes:
Revelation 19:7-8 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.
But it's not just the Bride. The Groom is giving the perfect setting...the storm that is a washing machine. She will overcome the storm with the blood of the Groom and the word of Her testimony:
Ephesians 5:25-27 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
So, out of this end-time Church, Jesus, through the seven fold refining, is going to get a Bride "without fault"...one with Him, one with eachother, before He arrives....He is coming home to a ready Bride who overcame the tribulation. He is serious about her getting ready, and He has warned her HOW to overcome. Every church in Revelation 2 and 3 is promised rewards for overcoming, and warned about what will happen if they refuse:
Revelation 2:5, 7 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
The church in America is full of each of the seven personalities, but one is predominant. Laodicea is clearly describing the vast majority of consumer-driven people in Jesus' body. Now is the time to heed the warning given to her. The day is at hand:
Revelation 3:14-22 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
II Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Paul was warning Timothy about what would come at the time of the end...the last days. Paul was talking about people who would be in churches. I LOVE the church. Jesus loves the church. Jesus is coming back for the church. But Jesus also corrects those He loves, and anyone in agreement with Jesus should be doing the same:
II Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
There is a time of trouble coming to the world, and particularly to the American church. There is a great judgment hanging over the American church. It is because of what we have been given. To whom much is given, much is required:
Luke 12:46-48 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
The church in America has been given MUCH. We have enjoyed more freedom to openly pursue, worship, and proclaim Jesus than any other place since Jesus ascended to the Father in 32 ad. For nearly 2,000 years believers all over the earth in every generation have been chased down, imprisoned, tortured...persecuted...for simply loving Jesus. But not here. Here, we are so far removed from persecution, many think we are "lucky"...or blessed...to have been born here. We are blessed. BUT, with that "much", comes great requirements.
We, the Church in America, mostly don't think about what is required. We are mostly shaped in our "desire" as consumers, not servants. Even in our serving, we mostly serve with a consumer mentality. "I am not called to that" is the churchy way of saying "I don't really want to do THAT, I'll wait for a more appealing way to placate my conscience." This is called self-centered. That is what Paul warned Tim about. When we let a selfish spirit have a home in our hearts all "cleaned up" by churchiness, Paul and Jesus said all kinds of bad spirits...seven more friends....come chill with it:
Luke 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
This is what Paul said (II Timothy 2) would come with self-centered, consumer-driven Church life...a form of Godliness that misses the power to actually transform a person in being Jesus-like:
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power...
Jesus loves the church, but the church...especially the American church who has been given so much...needs a serious gut check. There is a storm coming. This storm is being formed BY Jesus to wash the Bride...it is actually called the Revelation of Jesus Christ...intended to burn off the junk in the Bride, along with warning unbelievers of what life looks like apart from the author of life (death).
The refining of the double minded fiance is what David was talking about in Psalm 12. David was so frustrated by people who claimed to know God...even represent Him...but they had "double hearts"...divided hearts...holding to a form of godliness...going to the meetings and claiming to know God...lying...but not living lives surrendered to true power. Wanting their best life now, rather than the desiring One Thing, like David did. God assured David there was a refining coming in the last days:
Psalms 12:1-7 Help, Lord , for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things, Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?” “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord ; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O Lord , You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
This is a promise and a warning. Refined in the fire seven times is referring to 7 seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls....it is referring to the fire of tribulation. God's people need to be ready. Every time Jesus talked about the last days...His return...He told His disciples to BE READY.
The warnings in the Bible are for God's people. Unbelievers don't believe or read the Bible. Believers are the warning alarms for unbelievers. The Bible is the warning alarm for God's people.
In Revelation 2 and 3, we meet the divided fiance... Jesus' Bride to be...and her seven characteristic personalities. He is going to make them One, as He is One. He is going to give her the right condition to be pure and spotless. How do you make a dirty white shirt spotless and wrinkle free? Don't you throw it in the wash with some strong soap? Lots of hot water (the Holy Spirit fire) and agitate it, rinse it, spin it, throw in the dryer for some more heat, and then iron it? That is what Revelation describes:
Revelation 19:7-8 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.
But it's not just the Bride. The Groom is giving the perfect setting...the storm that is a washing machine. She will overcome the storm with the blood of the Groom and the word of Her testimony:
Ephesians 5:25-27 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
So, out of this end-time Church, Jesus, through the seven fold refining, is going to get a Bride "without fault"...one with Him, one with eachother, before He arrives....He is coming home to a ready Bride who overcame the tribulation. He is serious about her getting ready, and He has warned her HOW to overcome. Every church in Revelation 2 and 3 is promised rewards for overcoming, and warned about what will happen if they refuse:
Revelation 2:5, 7 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
The church in America is full of each of the seven personalities, but one is predominant. Laodicea is clearly describing the vast majority of consumer-driven people in Jesus' body. Now is the time to heed the warning given to her. The day is at hand:
Revelation 3:14-22 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
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