Conference yukon::christian_v7

Hi Thomas,

In describing the end times, Matthew 24 refers to apostacy in verse 10-11.  
the specific context is under persecution, but verse 12 goes on to say that 
because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

1 Timothy 4:1 says 
	"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the 
	 faith and follow deceiving spirits..."

2 Timothy 3:1 says 
	"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  
	 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, 
	 proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
	 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, 
	 brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, copnceited,
	 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of
	 godliness, but denying its power...."

The deep-rooted and progressive move of widespread areas of the world away 
from God and His righteousness is just one small straw in the wind 
confirming where we are in God's timescale.  The natural questions of 
origin 
	- where has the world/creation come from
	- where have I come from
	- where is the foundation of morality, right and wrong, 
etc, were formerly a moral reminder pointing mankind towards God, as in
Ecclesiastes 3:11 God ... has set eternity in the hearts of men'.  The 
rebellion has progressed to the point where men have deceived themselves 
with the idea of the world, life, and all that we see springing not from 
design, but from the evolution of something from nothing.  The foolishness 
of this may be evident as 'oppositions of science falsely so called' 
(1 Timothy 6:20), but the world uses it as an excuse to defend remaining in 
sin, and re-making their laws to include sin.

So evangelising starts from a basis of needing to awaken people to the
awareness of God and His laws, instead of a place where for the majority of
people, those naturally understood laws can be appealed to and find a
response in people's hearts. 

So the world around us does not honour God.  If He were to walk close to 
that world, it would bring judgement because of His righteousness.  
Instead, He leaves us to take Him there.  However, as the world becomes 
more entrenched in the worship of self, it is harder for people to remain 
on the fringe of church life, and the boundary between living for self and 
living for God becomes more clearly defined.  As a result, Christians are 
increasingly seen as offensive by the world, and the tension and opposition 
mounts.  We are [to be] the salt of the world, and as the end approaches, 
the sting of the salt increases - both in it's contrast with the world, and 
in the sting of the world's reaction upon the Christian.

Instead of filling an empty space with the gospel, we are trying to put it
into a space which has been filled with something else.  That's why it is
more difficult, and in one-to-one communication, we have to determine what
the preconceived notions are of theperson we're addressing. 


Just some lunchtime ramblings!

								Andrew

    See 795.795 :-)

      I have heard that our 'level of sanctification' can be thought 
      of as dependant on two things...
    
      1) The extent to which we believe what we presently do know
         about the gospel
    
      2) How much we really do know.
    
      Keeping in mind that true faith includes a heart responding to a
      revelation of the love of Christ, i.e. a warmed heart.
    
      Maybe a first step is somehow coming to grips, in a deep way, with
      the reality that our faith is pathetic and our present understanding
      of the gospel is pathetic.
    
      I am also beginning to believe that there is something to allowing
      God to chasten us (see especially Hebrews 12).  We need to begin to
      bear the pain inherent to our own sinful condition.  We need to see
      our sin in deeper lines.  This affliction will also help us to let
      go of sin and live more for God.
    
    						Tony

    re: .3
    
    >I am also beginning to believe that there is something to allowing God
    >to chasten us (see especially Hebrews 12).  We need to begin to bear
    >the pain inherent to our own sinful condition.  We need to see our sin
    >in deeper lines.  This affliction will also help us to let go of sin
    >and live more for God.
     
    I am starting to see that this sin is more than just us behaving badly,
    it is also us thinking that we can do anything on our own.  "If you
    think you know anything you know nothing" (1 Corinthians 8:2). 
    "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of
    the LORD our God" (Psalms 20:7).  Don't trust in yourself, in your own
    strength or in your mind.  Just trust in the Lord.  Trusting in
    yourself is sin too.  Anything that separates you from the will of God
    is sin.  He wants us to come to him like little children, totally
    dependend and trusting in Him. 
    
    Jill