Revelation 4:1-3 “Come up here!” Prophecies of the Rapture, part 1

“The Sword and the Priest,” a message from Hebrews 4:11-16. All of us who have become children of God by faith in Christ Jesus are taking a test. Jesus, the Savior Who will evaluate us at His judgment seat, is helping us with the test when we turn to Him, and He has already given us the book by which we’ll be evaluated, so that we can be growing stronger in the faith each day until then. He also functions as our priest before the Father, and seeks to help us live victoriously now, for our benefit both now and in eternity.

As modern Christians sometimes we live in a stupor, greatly underestimating how much is riding on our faithfulness or lack of it toward the One who saved us. This message looks at a passage in Hebrews that warns us and exhorts us to persevere and obtain all that a good God wants us to have in His eternal kingdom when we get there.

Jesus, the Proven God.

In Christ’s resurrection of Lazarus, He proved Himself and proved the veracity of His promise to be resurrection and life to all who believe on Him. An Easter Sunday topical look at John 11.

Today’s message from the heart of Hebrews 3 brings us God’s admonition to Finish Well by Faith, recognizing that after Christ has saved us, subsequent unbelief is a wicked act by those deceived by sin. And while our justification and eternal life cannot be lost, there is much to lose in this life and the next if we don’t trust and obey.

Today’s message from the church on Hebrews 3:1-6 helps us focus on Christ Jesus as the greatest, and the only One worthy of our highest attention. Focus on Jesus.

Revelation 3:14-22

Christ’s letter to the church of Laodicea shows He has tested a church in the latter days that thought that since it was rich and strong in the ways the world would define riches and strength, that they were His representatives on earth. The letter would shock them to learn they were destitute, sick and lame, and Christ Himself had been banished to the outside. He wished they were cold like the false pagan religions, instead of lukewarm—something that looks kind of like His followers but unsaved, apostate. While this church (which could be identified as the vatican and eastern orthodoxy in our generation) had dismissed Him from their presence, He still called them to repent, promising that any individual dying spiritually within the church’s walls for lack of knowing Christ at all, could hear His voice of invitation, open the door of their heart to Him, and He would save and have fellowship with them despite the fact that they might be alone with Him leaving most of the false church that raised them behind. What’s more, He promises those individuals who wake up, hear His voice (from the Bible), believe on Him, and fellowship with Him from that day on, that they will join all His faithful disciples in not just eternal life but reward in His kingdom.

The sermon video also includes a closing worship song at the end.

A concise look at the issues of pregnancy and abortion, focusing on things that every woman needs to know and consider if she is pregnant, but didn’t want to be.

My wife leads worship at the church I pastor here in Cluj, Romania.
Here’s a sampling of each of the songs from our worship service this past Sunday morning.
The last of the five songs is one she wrote, and it proclaims, “Your blood has saved me/ Your blood has cleansed me/ I’m cleansed, guiltless, spotless, before You!”

Jesus provides strong encouragement to churches and Christians who are weak and feeling like their ministry life is inconsequential in this letter to the church of Philadelphia. By focusing on Who He is and the great power He holds to open opportunities for us, we can live fruitfully and be greatly rewarded in His soon-coming kingdom. No obstacle of man can stop it from happening.

What the Spirit says to the Churches IV – Thyatira, the church of Jezebel’s corruption. In Christ’s fourth of seven letters to the churches in Revelation, He commends Thyatira for its growing dedication to good works of service in the world, but finds a disturbing and destructive trend in them that they allow and listen to false prophecy that opens the doors for idolatry and fornication. That comes with important lessons for us as Christians today. If you have an ear to hear, listen to what the Spirit says.

Revelation 2: Pergamum, the compromised church. In Christ’s third of seven letters to the churches, He addresses Pergamum, a church that does well what it does right, but is spiritually compromised by the religious culture of the world. We learn from it for today, as well as from the story of Balaam that Jesus references in correcting them. Instructions for a church serving in a city where Satan dwells and reigns.