Christmas Interlude - 2010.12.25

“…when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

Galatians 4:4-5

Someone has effectively paraphrased this text, “When the time was right…” When the time was right from the divine perspective, centuries, indeed millennia of waiting, anticipation and wondering were rewarded by the incarnation of the Son of God. When the time was right, He came to redeem.

Before He left with His mission accomplished He promised, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself…” And when the time is right, He will come again to receive His own into their everlasting habitation. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end" (1 Cor 15:58; Heb 3:14)

That is what Christmas is all about.

__________________

Dear Friends:

An annual greeting in the Savior’s name! For me it has been a pretty routine year. I am still working part time in the produce department of a local supermarket two or three days a week on average and 4-5 hours at a stretch. It gets me out and gives me needed exercise. My health remains good, given the number of years this body has served me. The family is well at present, with Dave and Linda living about twenty minutes from me and Sue and Doug in Littleton, MA. And, I hear from son-in-law Ange in France regularly, as well. The Lord is good. It was my privilege to fill the pulpit again for a friend in Clermont, FL for three prayer meetings and two Sundays, October 19-November 4. Then over Thanksgiving, I travelled with David and Linda to spend the holiday from Wednesday through Sunday with Sue and Doug. We had a fine trip in good weather and it was a great joy to be with the whole family again. They came over last Saturday to be with me through Christmas, and will leave Sunday morning to return home. We were having a snowstorm here as I wrote this letter and ultimately we got about two feet! So, we are having a “white Christmas.” We get “lake effect” snow from Lake Erie, and can get a lot of it in storms that occur before the lake freezes over. Now I trust your Christmas holiday has been filled with the joy of the Lord, and that the new year will be blessed with His tender mercies.

Sincerely in Christ,

“Pastor” Frasier

Revelation 13 - 2010.12.18

READY? OR NOT!

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” —Rev.13:11-17

The chapter from which our “nugget” for today is taken, considered by some to be one of the most difficult in all the Book of Revelation to interpret, predicts the emergence at the end of the age of universal world government under the joint control of two personalities called “the beast” and “the false prophet.” Behind that government is the invisible “power behind the throne,” the dragon (v.2) which is Satan (Rev.12:9).

These two nefarious personalities will combine their talents to exercise absolute control over the political and spiritual life of all mankind. The objective will be to obtain for Satan the authority and worship that belong to the Creator alone, which he coveted before the world began (see Isa. 14:12-14) and which he attempted to obtain by the seduction of Adam in the Garden of Eden.

The leverage in this last campaign will be twofold. First, a remarkable idol will be manufactured, “the image of the beast (v.14),” which will be invested with life and the power to speak (v.15). A decree will be issued, “worship this image, or pay with your life.” As improbable as this may seem, it happened once before on a smaller and less remarkable scale, when king Nebuchadnezzar made “an image of gold” and commanded that “all people, nations and languages” should “fall down and worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar…had set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace [Cf Dan. 3:1-7ff].” Worship or die!

The second demand will be in the political/economic realm. A requirement will be imposed upon all, at at every level and in every category of society that they receive a mark of identification with the satanic ruler either in hand or forehead, in order to buy or sell (v. 17). This mark will imply allegiance to the government and its self exalting head, and without it no commerce can be engaged. Without it one will be unable to buy groceries or other necessities of life, travel any significant distance nor obtain medical assistance, for example. To refuse it will be to sign one’s death warrant by starvation and disease.

If you read commentaries written more than fifty years ago, there will be no conjecture how this decree could be executed or enforced, but today with the UPC, credit cards, and computer chips implanted in our pets carrying their identification and medical history, the awesome possibility of some form of universal control is no longer science fiction. The first universal credit card was introduced in the 1950’s, and that technology alone has mushroomed since. What if you could not buy or sell without one?! And what if the only one you could use was issued by the government and subject to its conditions? And what if it was literally “under your skin?” Friend, that day is coming.

Now in the “what if” department, what if you were confronted with the dictum, “accept the mark and bow the knee to the image of the beast, or die.” Would you submit for survival’s sake, or suffer for Christ’s sake? Most Christians whose doctrinal views include the “pre-tribulational rapture” of the church will not think it important to face the question, because we are sure we will not be here in that awful day. For us, we think, it is a non-issue.

However, there is a contemporary parallel. What are we willing to suffer for Christ’s sake? The Lord Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels [Luke 9:23-26].” And there was a time earlier in the history of the church when those who declared for Christ did so literally at the risk of their lives. That is still true in some parts of the world today.

It would be well for us to ask ourselves from time to time, “What is the real nature of my worship of Christ? What is really more important to me: my self-gratification, or His glory?” And who knows whether, even before the rapture, the cost of being a real Christian may rise dramatically! Would we be willing to pay the price? How we are living for Him today will give a clue!

For His glory and our good,

"Pastor" Frasier

Revelation 12 - 2010.12.11

OVERCOMERS

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” —Rev. 12:10-11

The Spirit of God informs the believer that we are facing a spiritual battle, “Not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” or, as another translation renders it, “in the heavenlies.” The head of this campaign is identified in v. 9 as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” Many professing Christians, I fear, give little thought to this adversary, and some regard him as a fiction. Scripture clearly identifies both the commander and the campaign, warns us of the struggle and designates our equipment for victory in the inevitable battle, assuring us that “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds [II Cor. 10:4].” God has equipped us for victory.

The struggle faced by believers on earth is a reflection of a great spiritual conflict in heaven (Cf. Rev. 12:7), in the account of which the resources for the believer’s victory are outlined. This disclosure constitutes our nugget for today. Three basic elements are delineated.

The first is the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus Christ is foundational to our victory over sin and death, both in general and in the particular conflicts we encounter after conversion. It delivers us from the judgment of God and from the subsequent harassments of Satan. When God announced His judgment of Egypt in the death of the firstborn, in the book of Exodus, He instructed the Israelites to slay a lamb for every household and to strike the blood upon the doorway of their houses to mark them as His own. Then He gave them the remarkable promise, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you [Ex. 12:13].” Israel emerged from the plague unscathed, not by might nor by merit but, by simple faith in “the blood of the lamb.” So it is with the New Testament believer; distinguished by the blood of “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world,” we triumph not by any stratagem of ours, but by the sacrifice of the Son of God. The songwriter was right; “There is wonderful power in the blood.”

For this conflict, however, there is more. “And by the word of their testimony.” That word is the believer’s agreement with, conformity to and employment of the Word of God. Instructing the Ephesians in this solemn matter, the apostle Paul describes the Christian’s armor for the conflict, which includes only one offensive weapon: “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [Eph. 6:17].” Believers who neglect the scriptures are defeated already, and are no threat to Satan’s purposes. They have little or no significant testimony for Christ. They may, by grace, be saved, but are bound to be “ashamed before Him” when He comes.

And there is yet a third element here. “They loved not their lives unto death.” They are not necessarily literally slain for His cause, but their relationship to Him is such that if His will requires it, they are ready. This equates with a theme often heard in preaching campaigns years ago, but not so often now, “full surrender.” Most of us are, sadly, not only unprepared to die for Him, but little inclined to live for Him. “All that is in the world” allures us far more than the cause of Christ, and the progress of the gospel suffers for it.

Those whose relationship to Christ incorporates a functioning faith in His blood, a vibrant biblically based testimony for Christ and who love Him more than life itself are identified as “overcomers.” Recall the use of that term in the letters to the seven churches at the beginning of this book. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God [2:7].” “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death [2:11].” “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it [2:17].” “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations… [2:26].” “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life… [3:5].” “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out…and I will write upon him my new name [3:12].” “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne [3:21].” Clearly, to be an overcomer can be costly but, it pays eternal dividends!

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” —Rev. 21:7

Food for thought,

"Pastor" Frasier

Revelation 11 - 2010.12.04

ONE DOOR, AND ONLY ONE

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” —Rev. 11:15-18

The sounding of the seventh trumpet anticipates the regency of the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ. When His redemptive work was finished He “…sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified [Heb. 10:12-14].” From that day till the day prophesied in our “nugget,” history has been preparing the world for His millennial reign. “The day of His appearing will come at last.”

In anticipation of that great day, the senate of heaven engages in an act of worship, giving thanks to “the Lord God almighty,” the Lord of heaven and earth, for the exhibition of His power and the exercise of His authority. What is now anticipated by faith will soon be confirmed by sight. For now “we see not yet all things put under Him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man [Heb. 2:8b-9].”

For now that “glory and honor” which affirms His right to reign as Lord of all is hidden from the sight of those who are clouded by unbelief, but it gives assurance of the great day coming to those who by the eye of faith anticipate the time of His coronation described in our nugget for today. And, as it generates worship by the twenty four elders in heaven, so should it do now in the part of every redeemed soul on earth.

Several things follow which confirm great truths that are prominent in the scriptures. For example, the incorrigibility of the willfully unregenerate, the eternal reward of the redeemed and the final judgment of the unrepentant.

“”The nations were angry,” and God’s wrath is come and “the time of the dead, that they should be judged…” When that day arrives, the sin hardened majority of mankind will receive the tragic and terrible reward of unbelief, corporately and individually, and carry their outrage into the hell initially prepared for the devil and his angels. Even death itself will provide no refuge from the final judgment. The Savior said, “God sent not His Sin into the world to

condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God [John 3:17-18].” Here is the greatest tragedy in the history of mankind; not that man sinned, but that a remedy having been provided for that original transgression and its awful consequences, men should continue in sin rebellious and unrepentant until the end.

Today even some professing Christians seem to entertain the vain hope that God will make some kind of exception for some, if not all, of those who have rejected the Savior. Not so, our text affirms, and in so doing confirms the declaration of the Son of God, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me [John 14:6]”

Happily (for those not yet converted,) the day anticipated in our text has not yet arrived, and our day remains a “day of salvation,” offering hope to all the lost who will “repent and believe the gospel.” For those who will, there is a glorious alternative. The King will “give reward to [His] servants the prophets, and to [His] saints, and to them that fear [His] name, small and great.”

There are none so insignificant that He will not reward their faith, and no one so great as not to need and benefit by it. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” To continue in stubborn unbelief is to invite everlasting destruction, and that without excuse.

For the believer, serve the King until He comes, so that you may rejoice with Him when He comes!

For Him Who is “the Truth”,

"Pastor" Frasier