PART TWO
"I pray that You should not take them out of the world, but that
you should keep them from the evil" (John 17:15).
This one verse alone disproves an idea that it is "godly"
to believe that the Lord would have you go off into the
wilderness to live a solitary life, where the mind-set is that
you deliberately come away from living in the society. Now, to be
sure there may be times when in persecution you must flee to the
hills (Jesus said so in Mat.24; Mark 13; Luke 21), but that is
not having a mind-set of deliberately deciding it is a Christian
way to live your whole life out of the sight of "the society."
There is no hint in the New Testament that any converts to
Christianity, formed groups and went into the hills or woods to
make sure they would stay out and away from the society, hiding
their light from the darkness of the world. What we find is the
exact opposite - the apostles and people of God lived in the
world, where the Gospel could be proclaimed, not only by the way
they lived, but also in evangelism, reaching out to the
unconverted, teaching the word of salvation and the Kingdom
through Christ Jesus.
What Jesus prayed for was that the Father would give His servants
strength to resist the evil of the worl, while they did the work of the Lord in
their various nations and societies.
You will also notice this verse 15 has no TIME LIMIT! It is
a perpetual truth for all the ages to the end of this age. Hence
it KNOCKS in the HEAD, does a DEATH blow, to the teaching of the
"secret rapture" and the "two phased" coming of Christ. The
"secret rapture" teaches that Jesus will come "invisibly" -
unknown, to snatch away His church either at the beginning of a 7
year tribulation (the last 7 years of this age) or in the middle
of this supposed 7 year tribulation), and the saints are flown
off to heaven, until they return with Christ in a "visible" glory
of power return.
This verse BLOWS AWAY any such teaching by Christ or any
writer of the New Testament! Jesus NEVER prayed for any such
event as some silly "secret rapture" to take His people OUT OF
the world. Jesus prayed JUST THE OPPOSITE! There it is in clear
print, mark it in your Bible. I did not put it there when you
were sleeping last night. This verse has been there for many
centuries: "I PRAY NOT that you take them out of this world, BUT
that You will keep them from the evil."
I have a number of studies on my Website devoted to
EXPOSING the false doctrine of the "secret rapture" and the crazy
teaching that the SECOND coming of Christ will be in "two phases"
one invisible and the other visible, with "ex" number of years
between them. EVERYWHERE in your Bible the teaching of the
glorious coming of Christ at the end of this age is given, it is
ONE POWERFUL AND GLORIOUS RETURN and that is it - PERIOD!!
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through Thy TRUTH: Thy WORD IS TRUTH!" (John
17:17).
Mark this verse also, put it in bright yellow, remember John
17:17. It is a LIFE SAVER! It is not the ideas of men or women,
it is not the "theological school" - it is not the DR before a
person's name, it is not the PhD after their name. It is not the
endorsement of a man or woman by the "clergy" proclaiming how
great a scholar this or that person is. It is not the patting on
the back of this guy or gal by others of his kind. It is NONE of
those things that is TRUTH! The TRUTH of God, His way of life,
His teachings, the truth of all topics disclosed in the Bible is
ONLY FOUND in the Father's WORD! As Isaiah wrote (Isa.8:20) "To
the law and the testimony (the Bible), if they speak NOT
according to this Word, there is no light in them."
You, your task, is to search the Scriptures daily, to see if
the Word of God stacks up with what you hear preached and taught
and written. It is the lesson of the wise people of Berea (Acts
17). I cannot give too much emphasis to Acts 17, and you
searching the Scriptures. Most will not do it, they read books
from people about what the author says the Bible teaches, they
watch DVDs from "religious fellows" BUT they will not take the
time to SEARCH the Scriptures, to check and see if what they are
hearing squares off with the Bible.
The true disciples of the Lord will be SANCTIFIED, SET APART
for Holy use and service BY THE TRUTH. Jesus prayed the Father
would set them apart by the very word of truth, God's word only,
which is TRUTH.
But YOU friend, must WANT the truth, you must LOVE to have
the truth, you must desire to be CORRECTED! You must hunger and
thirst after righteousness, then, and only then, will you be
FILLED!
"As You have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent
them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that
they also may be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:18-19).
Jesus sends us into the world, to proclaim the Gospel of
Christ, sent to be a witness of truth, of the holy way to live
and to act, to talk, and to think. We are not sent to put our
light under a bushel, but on the table where it can been seen and
give light to the darkness around. We are not called to go off
and live the rest of our lives in some cave, forest, mountain,
where the world will never see us, and where we will never see
the world. Jesus lived in the day to day world of His society. He
mingled with the people. He taught in the streets. He was
accessible by the all the people about Him. He moved in their
midst. He was a light of goodness and a trumpet to sound the
truths of God. He sanctified Himself with THE truth, and He here
prays to the Father that His disciples will also be set apart
with the same truth.
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on Me through their word" (John 17:20).
Yes, Jesus would build His church and the gates of death
would never kill it. It would always be here. Some, somewhere,
would carry on the torch of light and truth. It would be handed
down through all generations. The Father would always be calling,
always opening the minds of some, who would be willing to see, to
be taught, to be corrected. They would love the truth, would
desire with all their heart to grow in grace and knowledge. They
would be the ones studying their Bible, reading it from cover to
cover, and hungering for the light of truth.
Though the true flock of the Lord would be relatively not
very large, the salt of the earth, nevertheless the truth of God
would be handed on to others who would also love it, and hand it
on to their next generation. So it would be that light and truth
would never leave this earth.
"That they may be ONE; as You Father, are in Me, and I in You,
that they also may be ONE in US: that the world may believe that
You have sent Me. And the glory which You gave to Me, I have
given to them; that they may be ONE, even as We are ONE. I in
them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in ONE; and
that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved
them, as You have loved Me" (John 17:21-23).
Do you see the STRONG cry from Jesus to the Father, that
Jesus' disciples are kept as ONE, just as the Father and Christ
are ONE. Jesus earlier had asked for it, now with more passion He
asks again that all God's children will be as ONE. Here we have
the truth that ONE can be more than a single person. In Genesis 2
we find that two can become one, a husband and wife can be ONE.
The Father's arithmetic is not like ours, with us one plus one
equals TWO, but with the Father one plus one can equal ONE!
God is ONE, the Godhead is ONE, but the Godhead at present
consists of TWO beings - the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.
Hence we can understand John chapter 1, verses 1- 14.
Is the Father powerful enough to KEEP His children as ONE?
Oh you bet He is! Is the Father big enough to have His children
ALL understand the very foundational truths and doctrines of His
Word, correctly and all as ONE? I guess so!
Those today whom the Lord is working with, will come to find
the truth of all the basic doctrines of God, which are listed in
the first verses of Hebrews 6. Those basic truths are being
proclaimed MIGHTY POWERFULLY today via the Internet. My Website
is devoted to the truths of the Lord. Other servants of the Lord
have their Websites, and the foundational truths are the SAME.
God's people are ONE!! This request from Christ to the Father IS
BEING FULFILLED ON A LARGER SCALE THAN EVER BEFORE! A powerful
witness of the ONE unity of the Father's children is being
sounded around the world, like as never before in the ages since
the first century apostles.
The Father is loving Christ. He is loving all His children.
The Father is bringing the disciples of Christ into PERFECTION as
ONE. Instant and worldwide connection through the modern Internet
and email is making it possible for truth and unity to spread
like a wild-fire and gather into ONE, all the disciples of
Christ.
"Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with
me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which You have
given Me: for You loved Me before the foundation of the world"
(John 17:24).
And so it shall be my friends, it is the truth of the Bible.
The disciples of the Lord will be with Him. No, not when they
die, for death is sleep until the day of the resurrection. All
the truth of death and resurrection is expounded in detail in
various studies on my Website. But as sure, nay, more sure,
than the rising of the sun, will be the resurrection of the
saints. At the coming of Christ, the one and only glorious
coming, when the trump of God shall sound, the dead in Christ
(and all God's children since Adam) will rise from the graves,
then all the living saints will be change from mortal to immortal
in the twinkling of an eye. The angels will go forth to gather
them all into the air, into the clouds, to the sea of glass, and
to the presence of Christ (Mat.24:29-31; 1 Cor.15; 1 Thes.4:13-
18). What wonderful JOY and GLORY that will be, for we shall see
Christ in His glory and we shall be like Him, as it is written:
"And behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us,
that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world
knows us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we
shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:1-2).
From the sea of glass, after the wedding feast of the Lamb
and His bride is completed, we shall in that day, not months or
years later, but in that day, we shall descend with Christ to the
Mount of Olives. In that day there will be only One Lord of lords
and King of kings. The nations of the Beast power and the kings
of the East, well they may gather at Meggido to unite to fight
against Jesus, the angels and the resurrected immortal saints,
but it will be "no contest" for Jesus will destroy them with the
brightness of His coming, their flesh will melt from their bones,
and the battle will be over before it could begin (Zechariah 14).
The disciples of our Lord Jesus will reign with Him for ONE
THOUSAND years, and all that is written concerning that age will
come to pass. At the end of that age, Jesus will hand over the
Kingdom to the Father (1 Cor.15:23-26). The Father will come to
earth, to the new earth, with the heavenly city Jerusalem. The
Father will dwell with His children. He will be their God, the
supreme One, the head of His family. Pain, sorrow, suffering, and
even death will be destroyed (Rev. 21 and 22).
Truly the disciples of the Lord will be with Him FOREVER,
for all eternity.
The Father has indeed loved Christ from eternity past, from
before the foundation of this earth.
This is the PROMISE of the Father. So it is written and so
shall it come to pass.
"O righteous Father, the world has not known You: but I have
known You, and these have known that You did send me. And I have
declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the LOVE
wherein You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John
17:25-26).
It is a wonderful BLESSING to know that you KNOW the
Father; to be called and chosen; to be granted mercy; to have
your sins washed away in the Passover blood of the Lamb. To have
Christ Jesus IN you, is the most blessed gift you could ever be
given. To be saved by grace through faith in Jesus as personal
Savior, is a gift beyond what human words can describe.
"God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in Him should NOT perish, but have everlasting
life" (John 3:16).
At this Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread time, we
reflect on the life and death of our Savior Christ Jesus. The
LOVE that both Christ and the Father have for all people, the
wish and desire for all people to REPENT, to humble themselves,
to see themselves in the light of their Holiness and Perfectness,
and say with the great Job, "I have heard of you both, by the
hearing of men, BUT NOW MY EYE SEES, and I repent in dust and
ashes."
The greatest thing you can do is to humble yourself under
the mighty hand of God, for He tells you:
"To this man will I look; even to him/her that is POOR and of a
CONTRITE spirit; and TREMBLES at my Word" (Isaiah 66:2).
Are YOU willing to LOVE God so much, and His way of life as
written in His word, that you will let nothing or nobody come
BETWEEN you and your personal relationship with the Father and
with Christ?
The LOVE they both have for you, is as wide as the universe.
They desire to share with you ALL that they have; eternal life,
glory beyond comprehension, perfect sinlessness, and the joy of
all the universe and whatever else the Father may want to do in
the ages of eternity.
Will YOU MAKE A DECISION to follow in the steps of Christ.
He set us the perfect example. His over-all life is for you to
read in the four Gospels. Will you pattern your life after His?
Oh, you will fall and stumble along the way; you are not made
perfect in the flesh; sin will be pulling at you, but we can take
encouragement by the passages of 1 John chapter one and the first
verses of chapter two. Keep them close by your side, as well as
Romans 7. Yes even the great apostle Paul fought the battle
against the flesh and sin.
That is what the feast of Unleavened Bread is all about -
fighting the battle against sin and the carnal pulls of the
flesh. You will need always to be humble, always in a repentant
mind-set, ready to admit to the Father you are a sinner, and ask
for His grace through the blood and work of Christ Jesus.
If you do this, then eternal life dwells in you. Then you
will be able to say with Paul:
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have
kept the faith; Henceforth there IS laid up for me a CROWN of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me
at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love
His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
.......................
Keith Hunt
Written on the evening of the first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread - April 2009.
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