A Holy Wind

By Rick Renner

When I was growing up, I didn’t understand what the Spirit-filled life was about. To me, the Holy Spirit was a divine force, a kind of mysterious divine blob that would pulsate over the congregation, usually during the invitation. If you were in sin, He would fall on you, and suddenly your heart would begin to beat and palpitate, and you would understand, “Oh, I’m in sin. The Holy Spirit is convicting me.” Then when the service was over, the Ghost would rise and go out. That was it. The whole idea that you could partner with the Holy Spirit was completely beyond my realm of comprehension. I did not understand that the Holy Spirit wanted to be my partner until 1974 when I was gloriously filled with Him and introduced to the Spirit-filled life, which I have been living ever since.

Friend, that’s the life that God wants you to have, and I want to help get you excited for the work He will do in you, but I also want to prepare you for the overwhelming things that happen when His power enters the room and moves in everyone around you. One of the best places to look is the day of Pentecost, so I want to show you Acts 2:2, which says, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

The word “suddenly” in Greek is aphnō (ἄφνω), which describes something that took them completely off guard and by surprise. They had been waiting for 10 days, 120 of them gathered and praying together in the upper room, waiting for the wind of the Spirit. Then it suddenly entered the room, and it was so sudden and powerful that it completely caught them off guard. Sometimes that’s how the Holy Spirit moves, and it can take you by surprise. In fact, the verse goes on to say, “…suddenly there came….” — the words “there came” are a form of the Greek word ginomai (γίνομαι), which again describes something that comes unexpectedly, so twice in this verse, we find this was a sudden, surprise event.

More specifically, the verse describes it as a sudden “sound.” The Greek word for “a sound” is ēchos (ἦχος), where we get the English word “echo.” This word specifically describes a loud blast, a roaring, or a loud sound — so loud that Jesus used this very word in Luke 21:25 to describe the sound of the sea and waves at the time of His second coming! This is a sound so loud that if the person standing next to you tried to talk to you, you wouldn’t even be able to hear them. You would have to yell at each other just to hear each other, and that is the word that is used to describe what happened when the Holy Spirit moved in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. This was not a quiet, peaceful affair. It was a loud, boisterous event — a “rushing mighty wind”

The word “rushing” is a form of the Greek phereo (φέρω), meaning to bear, to carry, or to drive along. Here we find that the Holy Spirit was really moving; His power was shifting around, and His wind was being born right into the room where those early believers were standing. It came rushing, and it was loud. In fact, it was mighty. The word “mighty” describes something powerful and overwhelming, so when you put everything we’ve talked about together, you find that when the Spirit of God moved on the day of Pentecost, He moved suddenly and unexpectedly, and it was so loud that it was like the roaring of the sea during a storm. It sounded violent because of just how much energy was being released.

That finally brings us to the word “wind,” which is interpreted from the Greek pneuma (πνεῦμα), describing a wind so loud one may be tempted to cover his ears because the sound of it is so overwhelming. This picture always reminds me of my childhood. Growing up, we were accustomed to an abundance of wind because we lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is in the very middle of an area with so much wind that it is called “Tornado Alley.” I remember that sometimes my mother would have to take me and my siblings into the bathroom and shut the door, and we would hunker down to wait until tornados passed over us. When we came out, it sometimes looked like a whole different world, with entire trees uprooted and electrical lines laying across the street, sparking as they hit each other.

There’s so much power in the wind, friend, and it usually makes people think of destruction like I just described, but that is not the full story. If there was no wind on the earth, the whole planet would be stagnant and stinking because of pollution and decay. However the wind causes things to move around and keeps the air fresh and clean.

Wind is also very useful. Mankind has always sought to harness its power. Before the days of steam- or nuclear-powered engines, vessels had to depend on the wind to blow in their sails. If there had never been wind, there would have been no exploration, windmills for energy, or development of civilization as we know it today. Wind is essential for progress.

Of course, Wind can’t be seen, but it can certainly be felt, just like the Holy Spirit. The believers in the upper room must have been terrified that they were dealing with a destructive, violent, tornado-type wind when they heard that roaring sound, but the Spirit wasn’t coming in to harm them. He was moving in that upper room so that things could be moved around and cleaned out and so that those believers could move forward and progress in their walk of faith.

I understand that there are people who like things to be calm and peaceful, and their idea of a movement of the Holy Spirit is when something sweet, quiet, and peaceful takes place, but I have to warn you, when the wind of the Spirit begins to move, it is rarely quiet. However, I also want to encourage you that you don’t have to be afraid of it. Romans 8:14 tells us, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Paul says we are “led” by the Spirit. He shows us where to go, what to do, and what to say. Jesus has very similar words on this subject in John 16:13:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

The Spirit guides us! He is the Spirit of truth, and we can trust Him to only lead us on the path and with the instructions that God has specifically set out for us.

I want to share with you a time when I experienced the leading of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way. Many years ago, Denise and I and our family had uprooted our whole lives and moved across the world to the former Soviet Union, and as I began our TV ministry, I had it on my heart to broadcast the Bible in a certain Muslim republic. At that time, that republic was in a time of war, so it was incredibly dangerous to go there, and many people were telling me not to go. But I knew the Holy Spirit was leading me to do it, so as soon as the fighting died down enough, I got on a plane and flew to that republic to negotiate for TV time.

On top of all the danger that we were facing, the TV director who we were going to negotiate with was a muslim man, which could have been a serious barrier to us being able to share our teachings, but I’m telling you, friend, I was being obedient to the Holy Spirit, so He just opened the heart of that TV director. When I came into his office, one of the first things he asked me was, “Can you just show me one of your programs? Let me see what you brought.”

The series I had brought was a series of teachings on marriage, so I showed him one program, and when it was finished, he asked me, “Do you have another one you can show me?” When that one was finished, he asked again, “Do you have another one?” I did not know this at the time, but that TV director was having troubles in his marriage, and by the time I had showed him three episodes of this series on marriage, God had wrapped His hand around the heart of that Muslim TV director, and he looked across the table at me and said, “How often would you like to broadcast, and what do you want to pay?”

Rather than give me the requirements to proclaim the Gospel in that nation where there was so much turmoil, he asked me to set the terms! It wasn’t because I was so smart or convincing — it was because I was led by the Holy Spirit. That is what He can do in your life if you will accept His help!

Friend, I want to encourage you today that He wants to lead you too. He wants to release power into your life on a daily basis. If you will listen to Him and follow Him, He will lead you to exactly where you need to be. He wants to move in your life like wind and remove all stagnation, breathe energy into you, and cause you to move in His will. He wants to supernaturally lead you, but you’ve got to trust Him, so don’t be afraid of the holy wind — just breathe it in.

The Healing Power
of Jesus

By Rick Renner

We have a God who is in the business of restoration. In the course of Jesus’s short ministry, He healed all sorts of illnesses, cast out demons, and released people from their sins, but the most important piece of restoration was yet to come.

Friend, even as Jesus was in His darkest moment, He continued to be a force of compassion and healing, and He maintained this position even unto the Cross, where the ultimate restoration — our reunion with God — was paid for. If you are needing healing in your life, then I want you to pay attention, because I’m going to take a close look at Jesus’ actions on the night that He was betrayed and show you how He maintained His ministry of restoration.

Luke 22:41-44 gives us a clear picture of the strain that Jesus was under that night in the Garden of Gethsemane:

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Jesus was facing the reality of horrific abuse and humiliation at the hands of the religious leaders and the Romans, so His intention that night was to go far off, to be separate, so that He could receive strength from the Father, but He was already under such spiritual pressure that He could only go as far as “a stone’s cast,” a short distance. Then the Bible says, “he kneeled down,” but the Greek actually means that He collapsed to His knees. This was not Jesus just getting down on His knees to pray — because of the intensity of the strain on Him, He literally collapsed, falling hard to the ground!

The Bible says that He was in “agony” as He prayed, which comes from the Greek word agōnia (ἀγωνίᾳ), describing a fierce, violent struggle. It pictures two wrestlers throwing each other to the mat, fighting for the victory, and this tells us that Jesus was wrestling fiercely within Himself. We can see His struggle in His words as He prayed, “Father, if it’s possible — if it’s at all possible — let this cup pass from Me” (see Luke 22:42).

This was a wrestling match with His own will. Jesus understood that it was the will of the Father for Him to drink that cup, to go to the Cross and restore our relationship with God. He knew in His heart that He was born for that very moment, but who would want to drink that cup? Who would want to go to the Cross? Who would want to spend three days in Hell? The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus prayed this prayer three separate times! His mind was screaming, “No, don’t do it!” But His heart said, “Do it, for it is the will of the Father.”

This was a battle of such intensity that His mind and body were almost at the breaking point, and He literally began to sweat blood. The Greek here is very specific, and it tells us that Jesus was suffering from a very real medical condition called hematidrosis. When an individual is under intense enough mental pressure, his mind begins to send signals to the body until the body perceives itself to be under actual, physical pressure. Under this strain, the body begins to do something very strange. The top layer of skin separates from the second layer and forms a vacuum, which fills with blood. Eventually the blood pushes out of the individual’s pores and runs down the body like sweat.

Maybe you’ve been under pressure or experienced spiritual warfare, but most likely, you have never experienced such a struggle that you sweated blood. Jesus’ mind and heart were in a battle that we can’t even imagine as He fought to yield to the will of God. But in the end, He won the struggle against His flesh. Right there in the Garden of Gethsemane, the battle was truly won, because that is where Jesus yielded to the plan and chose to be the Lamb of God!

Beyond simply yielding to the plan, Jesus also chose, under all this pressure, to continue acting in love toward the people around Him. You see, Jesus was not alone in the garden that night. He had brought Peter, James, and John and asked them to pray with Him. In all of His ministry, He was always there for them when they needed Him, He never failed them, but now, finally, in a very critical moment, He was the one who needed them. But when He went to them, they were sleeping on the job! Three times, He went to His closest friends, and they had fallen asleep. The last time this happened, Jesus didn’t even wake them — He just let them sleep on.

What is beautiful about Jesus’ example is that never in these Scriptures do you find that He was hurt or bitter about their failure. He understood that they did not comprehend what He was going through. Those disciples were good friends, and they didn’t want to fail Jesus, but they simply could not comprehend what He was bearing in that moment. But rather than be angry and disappointed, Jesus released them.

This is very important, because in your hour of trouble, you may be disappointed by your family and friends. Maybe it’s something you’ve already experienced, but you need to make sure you are doing right by them even in your pain. Your problem is your problem. Your burden is your burden. Even though your friends love you and want to support you, they will never comprehend what you feel, so even if they fall asleep on the job, release them. Let go of the disappointment and hurt and bitterness, just like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane.

When He returned to them again, Jesus said “Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand” (Mark 14:42). This was the equivalent of saying, “It’s time to go to the Cross. Let’s get going.” He had won the battle, and He went out to face His betrayer and the band of soldiers he had brought.

Before I move on, I want to show you something very important. John 18:3 tells us that Judas brought “a band of men” with him to arrest Jesus. The word “band” may sound like only a small group, but in the Greek, this is a very specific military term that refers to a Roman cohort, a group of 300 to 600 Roman soldiers! This word is never used for another purpose — 300 to 600 well-trained soldiers equipped with the finest weaponry of the day. Not only that, but there were also members of the temple police who worked for the chief priests and Pharisees. What had Judas told them about the power of Jesus that they thought it would take so many men to arrest Him?

Yet even this cohort was not enough to arrest Jesus. John 18:4-6 tells us, “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.”

When Jesus said “I am he” in verse 5, He was using the exact same words that God used in Exodus 3:14 to say “I Am that I Am.” Jesus was declaring that He was God in the flesh. He was telling them, “You’re seeking Jesus of Nazareth, but let Me make sure you understand who you’re really coming after — I Am.”

Then the Bible says that the band of 300 or more soldiers “went backward.” It was like a bomb had been detonated, and they were suddenly blasted back, staggering, trying to stand and resist, but they could not. The Greek word means they hit the ground hard. Without trying to fight back, Jesus simply stated His identity, and divine power was released, which pushed back the whole band of 300 to 600 soldiers as well as the temple police and religious leaders.

This release of divine power just shows us that there was no way they could have taken Him, but Jesus had already chosen to let them do it. That is what His struggle had been for, and now, He was committed to the plan to restore humanity.

Furthermore Jesus didn’t let shocking or stressful events shatter His commitment — instead, He used them as an opportunity to set an example for us and demonstrate His desire for restoration.

John 18:10 tells us that while the soldiers were on the ground, “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.”

This man, Malchus, was no regular servant. He was press secretary for the high priest, which means that for three years, he had been the mouth of the religious leaders, spreading all this false news and bad information about Jesus and His disciples, so when Peter saw him lying there under the power of God, trying to arrest Jesus but unable to move, he acted on his bitterness. He took a sword, and with a hard downward swing meant to kill, he completely severed Malchus’ ear from his head.

Friend, this night was already so difficult for Jesus as He faced the struggle within Himself, the betrayal of His close friend Judas, and the horrific death before Him, and now here was Peter, one of the future leaders of Jesus’ Church, in serious trouble for assaulting a public official. This was so serious, friend. The penalty for assaulting a public official with the intention to kill carried a sentence of death, which meant Jesus was about to lose one of His leaders. This attack would also have cost Malchus his job under the high priest, as no one who was disfigured could serve in the Temple premises.

But despite this mess that Peter had made, adding extra stress to this horrible night in Jesus’ life, Jesus continued to move in love and power. As all the soldiers started to get up, Jesus asked them very calmly, “Suffer ye thus far” (Luke 22:51). This literally means, “Excuse Me, I’ve got to stop this whole thing just for a minute. There’s something I need to fix.” Then Jesus touched Malchus, and He healed him. We don’t know if He picked the ear up and put it back on or just laid His hand on the stump, but when He removed His hand, Malchus had an ear, he could keep his job, and there was no evidence of Peter’s crime.

Friend, Jesus showed us how to behave in our dark moments. He showed us how to struggle well and maintain a position of faith and love throughout everything, but He also showed us His power. He proved that He is able to fight off a whole army and yet willing to put everything on pause to attend to our problem. Even on the way to the Cross, Jesus stopped everything to clean up Peter’s mess. He stopped everything to heal a man who had helped to spread so many horrible lies about Him. Jesus took the time to put everything in place and restore it to the way that it was meant to be, because Jesus is a restorer — it’s part of His nature!

A Purpose for Marriage

By Rick Renner

In mine and Denise’s marriage, the word “divorce” has never been spoken. It is not allowed — not even as a joke. Around the time when we got married, we started a ministry at the Baptist church where I was the pastor called “Starting Over.” This was a seminar for newly divorced people, which may sound strange given that Denise and I were newly married, but it taught us many things.

When we started this ministry, we thought that we might get a few people to show up to our seminar, but certainly not any major response. Oh, friend, we had no idea the kind of flood we were opening the door to! It was a cyclical seminar that we repeated again and again, and every single time, it was just packed with people who were able to get their lives saved and restored after the tragedy of divorce. In the first year alone, we had 1,100 new divorcees come through the “Starting Over” ministry!

Working with 1,100 divorcees in that first year of our marriage really taught us how tragic divorce is for the individual, for the couple, and for the children, and that’s why we have absolutely refused to even joke about it in our marriage. When people in marriage jokingly say, “I’m going to divorce you,” it is simply not funny. In fact, it can actually be very hurtful to your spouse and relationship, so you need to eliminate that word from your vocabulary. If you have already been through divorce, then you know how destructive it is, but Jesus is anointed to heal the brokenhearted, and He wants to heal you too. If you haven’t experienced divorce or if you’ve found a new relationship that you are trying to hold onto, then I want to encourage you to avoid the pain of divorce all together, and one of the best ways to do that is to lean into the purpose of your marriage.

In that first year of the “Starting Over” ministry and of my marriage, I began to really study what caused all these marriages we were seeing to fail, and one thing I noticed was that many of them did not have a purpose. You see, everything needs a purpose. As Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Likewise when a marriage has no vision, it begins to flounder until it eventually perishes.

Though this is not true for all cases of divorce, there are many cases where the marriage struggles because it is missing a goal bigger than the individuals in it. The spouses may truly love each other, but eventually they become frustrated and dissatisfied. They begin to think, “There has to be more than this.” Without a focus, people simply begin to drift and think about other things, and that will corrode the marriage relationship over time.

However, when you have a vision, when you know why you are here, when you know why your marriage has been formed by the Lord, it puts everything on a different level. When you have a shared mission, it holds you and your spouse together even when boredom or hardship might try to drive you apart. It gives you a goal for your marriage that is bigger than either one of you, and when you begin to have kids, it gives a binding purpose to the entire family.

This idea of a binding purpose is not just a man-made concept, either. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”

Everything, including your marriage, has a reason for existing. The following verses of this passage just emphasize the fact that we need to be living with intention:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

—Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

If there is a season for everything, then we need to be living lives with awareness about what kind of season we are in. If this is true in our individual lives, why shouldn’t we believe it for our marriages? Just as God creates every person with an individual assignment, when He calls two people together, He is creating that union for a divine mission.

Marriage is an amazing thing, friend. When God pulls two people together, there is a divine chemistry that takes place. As the Bible says, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). This verse literally says you get better results by being together in your work. This doesn’t just apply to your day-to-day activities — it applies to your purpose as a married couple. You have to recognize that God has given you and your spouse a calling, because when the two of you are working together on it, you will have an amazing result or reward.

I know I saw this in my own life. When I look at my forty-four years of marriage with Denise, I see that they are years of fruitfulness because our two gifts were brought together by God. We had to learn how to make those gifts come together at first, because we are gifted very differently, but God showed us how to do it, and He is still showing us how so that we continue to become more fruitful as a team. Our marriage, like any other, has needed patience, but I can say that God has been faithful to reveal what we need to do to make things work, and there has never been a reason to discuss divorce — not even as a joke.

I also want you to understand that just because all marriages depend on the same God does not mean they will all look the same. God has a unique assignment for every person, and in the same way, He has one for every marriage.

For example, ministry can be the purpose for a marriage. That is how it is for me and Denise. When we were married, we knew we were both called to the ministry as individuals, but now we were entering into it together. This was not a situation where I had my own ministry and Denise had hers, because God had called us together. Together our mission has been to reach the world, to take the teaching of the Bible to the ends of the earth, and to build up the body of Christ. We have worked on the front lines together. We have preached and pushed back darkness together. We have done what other people said was impossible, and we did it with each other and with the Lord, because He is in the middle of our marriage.

Our calling has been very clearly defined as one of direct ministry, but that may not be the case for you. Denise and I have a couple of dear friends whose shared mission is business. It may sound strange, but they are just anointed to make money and be blessed so that they can fund the Gospel all around the world. That is their purpose, and they have embraced it and have a good reward for their labor.

Maybe your calling appears more mundane. Maybe it is to be a parent and raise godly children who have an impact on the world. There are all kinds of callings, and they all look different, but they all somehow serve God and His kingdom. You may not yet know what your vision is as an individual or as a married couple, but one thing you can be sure of is that God did not just call you and your spouse to sit in your house, eat food, go to bed, wake up, go to work, come home, and do it all again. That is what an animal does. Whether you are single or married, you are born to be more than an animal. Your life and your union are meant to be bigger than that.

Before I end this teaching, I want to leave you with Philippians 3:13-14, because I think that Paul gives us a wonderful example of this principle of purpose:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Just like Paul, we are called to reach ahead, to press toward the calling that God has for every one of us. This is true in your personal life, it is true in your professional choices, and it is certainly true in the godly union of your marriage. Denise and I can look at each other and say, “We are not done yet,” because we know the vision that God has called us to, and when we compare that goal to what we’ve already accomplished, we know that we still have work to do. When you find that mission to take on with your spouse, you won’t have to worry about falling apart, because you will always be held together by the shared purpose given to you by God.

The Parable of the 10 Virgins

By Rick Renner

Statistics show there is widespread awareness among Christians, unbelievers, and even among atheists that we are living in the very last of the last days. This reminds us of the need to make sure those we know and love are ready for what is coming, but it should also should cause us to look at our own hearts to see if we are really loving and longing and yearning for our Lord Jesus Christ and His coming (see 2 Timothy 4:8) — in other words, for the Rapture of the Church.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, Paul clearly wrote that Jesus is coming for those who are “alive” at the time of His coming. That word “alive” is translated from the words hoi zoontoi, a plural form of the Greek word zao, and it pictures those who are spiritually living, robust, thriving, vibrant, and vigorous. This means Christ is coming for those who are spiritually engaged.

Each one of us who has called on Jesus’ name must ask ourselves the question, Do I fall into this category of a spiritually engaged one who is keeping my heart alive and burning as I eagerly await the Lord’s return?

This brings to mind the passage in Matthew 25 in which Jesus describes ten virgins — five of whom had oil in their lamps and were ready for the arrival of the bridegroom, and another five who were not ready for the bridegroom’s arrival. In this parable, the second set of five virgins ran out of oil in their lamps before the bridegroom arrived, and as a result, they were barred from entering the long-awaited marriage celebration.

It is difficult to form doctrine on the Parable of the Ten Virgins or on any single scripture or passage without the corroboration of other verses, but scholars generally agree that this parable speaks of Christ’s coming, and the passage also compares this allegory with the coming of the Son of Man. In this light, the content of the passage gives a clear warning of the need to be spiritually alive, alert, and prepared at the time of His coming for the Church.

The Story Jesus Told

Let’s look at this parable in Matthew 25:1-13 in its entirety:

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The noted Bible scholar, Albert Barnes, states that these virgins represent the Church, and are intended to picture Christ’s intent to come for a Church that, like a virgin, is pure and holy.

Notice in the parable that all ten virgins — the wise and the unwise — had “lamps” with them. The word “lamps” is translated from the plural version of the Greek word lampros, which depicts an oil-based lamp with a long wick that could burn all night if it had sufficient oil. The fact that these virgins carried such lamps suggests they were ready to wait a long time if necessary. In Jewish culture, the marriage event usually started at night, and such lamps were needed to provide light for the bridegroom’s arrival at the ceremony’s venue. However, the ceremony occurred in phases, and the exact timing of the bridegroom’s arrival was not always known, so it was needful for those who were waiting to have enough oil to provide light until the bridegroom finally arrived.

The word “bridegroom” is from the Greek word numphios, and it means simply a bridegroom. In the New Testament, this word metaphorically refers to Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church. But it is interesting to note that in Jewish weddings, the bridegroom was responsible for going to prepare a place for his bride before he returned to take her to their new home, which reflects what Jesus said in John 14:2-3:

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

As the Bridegroom of the Church, Christ likewise went away to prepare a place for the Church. Since the time He ascended to Heaven nearly 2,000 years ago, He has been preparing a place, and one day soon, He will come again to receive us unto Himself!

In Matthew 25:2, we find that five of the virgins were “wise”, and five were “foolish.” These two categories are intended to represent two types of people, and this should let us know that there will be different kinds of people in the Church at the time of Christ’s return. First, the unwise virgins represent people who are spiritually dense, dull, or slow. Second, the wise virgins represent people who are spiritually intelligent, fully engaged in their faith, and therefore wise in the way they live as they await the Lord’s return.

Matthew 25:3 tells us, “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them.” The word “no” is a translation of the Greek word ouk, which is the strongest form of no in the Greek language. Here it is meant to stress that the five foolish virgins completely failed to do what was necessary to have enough oil to last until the bridegroom finally arrived.

On the other hand, Matthew 25:4 tells us, “But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” The word “but” is a translation of the Greek word de, which leads the reader to contrast. Jesus states in this parable that in addition to taking the oil that had been poured into their lamps early on, the wise virgins were prepared and knew to bring an extra supply of oil with them in case the bridegroom’s arrival came later than anticipated.

Again, I state that it is difficult to form doctrine on the basis of the parable of the ten virgins, but it is interesting to note that the word “oil” is interpreted from the word elaion, a word that describes olive oil, which typically is used in Scripture to picture the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 25:5 then says, “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” The word “tarried” is from a form of the Greek chronidzo, which means to delay, to linger, or to tarry, and it speaks of one who takes a longer time to do what others anticipated he would have done much sooner. We see this in the virgins’ behavior too — the fact that they all slumbered and they all slept alerts us that the bridegroom’s arrival came much later than any one of them initially anticipated.

Metaphorically, “slumbered” is used to picture those who waited and waited for the Lord’s arrival, but because it took longer than expected, they may have grown weary and fallen into a state of slumber — like indifference or even hostility and scorn — because His coming did not occur as soon as they expected.

Finally, in Matthew 25:6, we read, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Once the bridegroom’s arrival is finally announced, Matthew 25:6 says all ten virgins went forth to “meet” him. The word “meet” is interpreted from a form of the Greek word hupantesis, which depicts an encounter or a meeting. This is very reminiscent of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which uses another form of the same Greek word, as Paul declares, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air….” This Greek word pictures a grand encounter or a royal or VIP reception. It was a word that described the reception of a newly arrived official or newly arrived royalty.

In this parable, at about midnight, or in the darkest moment of the night, suddenly, all ten virgins clearly understand the announcement that the time has finally come for the bridegroom to arrive. In response to his approaching arrival, Matthew 25:7 says that “all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.” The word “trimmed” is interpreted from a form of the Greek word kosmeo, which means to put in order. To put their lamps in order, they had to look into their lamps to see how much oil remained. If the oil was depleted, it meant they needed to refill their lamps. The time to meet the bridegroom had finally arrived, so all ten virgins inspected their lamps to get things in order for his long-awaited arrival.

But here is where we see the important difference between the wise and unwise virgins. After the foolish virgins realized their lamps had run dry and they didn’t have an additional supply with which to refill them, Matthew 25:8 tells us that “the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.” The words “gone out” mean to extinguish and picture something depleted or that has run dry. The foolish virgins showed such a lack of diligence and forethought that they had completely run out of oil. Although they appeared to be ready because they carried lamps, those lamps ran dry because they had not made preparations to bring sufficient oil to refill them in the event the bridegroom’s arrival was delayed.

The unwise virgins pleaded with the wise virgins to share their oil with them, “But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves” (Matthew 25:9). In response, the foolish virgins left their posts and went away to see if they could quickly find more oil.

But Matthew 25:10 says, “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” The wise virgins — those who’d made sure they had enough oil to replenish their lamps — were “ready” and went in with the bridegroom to the marriage. This word portrays a person so diligent that he has exercised forethought, which results in the condition of being ready. The use of this word means the wise virgins had exercised enough forethought to ensure they had enough oil — even if the bridegroom’s coming was later than initially expected, the complete opposite of the unwise virgins.

These wise virgins went in with the bridegroom to the wedding, and once they were admitted, verse 10 says that “the door was shut.” The word “shut” is translated from a form of the Greek word kleio, which means to lock shut. It is a fact that in the Jewish wedding celebrations of ancient times, once the door was closed and locked shut, no latecomers were granted entrance. The virgins who were unprepared knew full well that having oil in their lamps was a requirement to be admitted to the wedding, so while this penalty is severe, it was their responsibility for not doing what was required for admission.

Matthew 25:11 says that after the door was shut and it was too late to be admitted to the wedding celebration, the other unprepared virgins cried out at the door, “…Lord, Lord, open to us.” The word “open” is a word that signifies the opening of a door to allow access, so even though they had failed to be ready on time, the foolish virgins somehow wrongly assumed that the bridegroom would nevertheless have mercy on them, overlook their lack of diligence, override the already stated conditions for entry, and open the door for them.

This verse says they cried out, “Lord, lord!” This is a translation of the Greek word Kurie and is verbatim the same exact word found in Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone that saith unto me [Jesus], Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Now, likewise, in Matthew 25:12, the bridegroom answers the five foolish virgins, “… Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” Twice the unwise virgins called the bridegroom, “Lord, lord,” but in the parable, he answered that he had no personal connection with them and did not know them. Even though they appeared to be virgins like the others, there was something inwardly so defective about them that the bridegroom did not recognize them at all.

What It All Means

In Matthew 25:13, Jesus finalizes this parable by warning: “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

At last, Jesus explains that the entire parable is about His coming for those who are waiting for Him with “oil in their lamps” — prepared and ready. Christ’s final declaration in His parable is that it is imperative that we respond to this message by determining to stay alert and to “watch therefore” for the arrival of “the Son of Man.”

The word “watch” is from the Greek word gregoreo, and it depicts one on high alert or one whose attitude is to never let up in being attentive, watchful, and wide awake. Then Jesus states the reason we must be watchful: “…Ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Even if we sense we are in the season of the Lord’s coming, it is emphatically not possible to pinpoint the exact day or exact hour when Christ will descend into the lower atmosphere to snatch away His people to Himself.

I want you to understand from this parable that Jesus knew that His coming would come later than many in the Church ever expected. Even the Early Church thought Christ would return at any time and lived their lives fervently — engaged and spiritually alive — according to that belief and blessed hope.

According to this parable, some of those who are living on the earth at the time of His coming will be spiritually wise and diligent all the way to the very end, and they will joyously be caught away, at which time they will be admitted to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Those who have gone before them in time — all the way back to the very first Christians — will be resurrected first as “the dead in Christ” (See 1 Thessalonians 4:16) as Jesus fulfills His promise exactly and gathers His own for a grand, heavenly celebration!

But this parable makes us ask if it’s possible that there will also be those who are found errant in their faith and will be “locked out” of the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. Second-guessing on this question is too serious, and failing to be ready is a serious misgiving and price to pay. Thus, we must respond to the Parable of the Ten Virgins as a divine admonition to be holy even as He is holy (See 1 Peter 1:15-16) — to walk closely with Him in a constant state of readiness for any moment that the Lord may come. He will come “as a thief in the night” (See 1 Thessalonians 5:2) — at any moment. Therefore, we must determine to continually have a full supply of oil in our lamps, maintaining the fires of the Spirit in our hearts that burned so brightly when we first believed.

To ensure we are ready for the moment Christ comes to rapture the Church, we must be willing to probe deeply into our hearts to determine our spiritual status. When Paul addressed the believers in 2 Corinthians 13:5, he said, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves….” The Greek word for “examine” here does not talk about a surface investigation, but of a deep probe into one’s own heart to see if he or she is really in the faith. As a phrase, the original Greek means, “Examine and deeply probe your lives to determine if you are really in the faith….”

Because I feel responsible to the Lord in the position He has given me, I must state again that it is difficult to form doctrine just from this parable. Nevertheless, this passage without doubt sends a warning of our need to be diligent and to do all that is necessary to be ready for Christ when He returns for His Church. It is imperative that we hear Christ’s sober admonition to be waiting, watching, and ready for His return and that we take it deeply to our hearts.

Prayers That Bring Healing

By Rick Renner

Healing is a very practical aspect of our faith, and Jesus truly wants us to have it, but we have to take the step to claim it for ourselves, otherwise we will miss out on the fullness of life that we have in Him. James 5:13-16 gives us very practical instructions on this subject:

Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

When James asks if anyone is “afflicted,” he is using the Greek word kakopatheo (κακοπαθέω), which is a compound of the two words kakos (κακός) and pathos (πάθος). Kakos is a terrible word that describes something foul, vile, horrible, and destructive. Pathos indicates the mind and emotions, so together, these words refer to the kind of horrible suffering that affects the mind and emotions.

Notice that what James tells us to do in a situation like this is to pray. In fact, James puts the responsibility of prayer primarily on the person who is going through the hard time. This tells us that if you are suffering, before you ask anyone else to pray, you need to be praying yourself. It is your responsibility first.

In the same pattern, James says, “Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.” Again, James is reinforcing the idea that we as individuals are responsible for responding to our situations. Just like the person going through a hard time should pray, the person being blessed should rejoice, which means you do not have to wait on anybody else to pray or rejoice with you. It may be disappointing when you’re excited about something and no one else seems to understand, but your response of rejoicing simply is not dependent on them — it’s up to you!

Of course, things happen sometimes that feel beyond our control, and that can tempt us to avoid responsibility for our responses. For such situations, I recommend you look at the next verse:

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:”

—James 5:14

The word “sick” that is used here is the Greek word astheneo (ἀσθενέω), a word that generally describes a person who is frail in health, so physically weak that they are unable to travel. That is why James’s command for such a person is to “call for the elders of the church.” This person is so sick that he cannot go to church, so James says that in this particular case, you need to call the church elders to come to you. Even in this situation when the sick person could be seen as helpless, unaccountable for his actions, James still puts ownership on the afflicted. This is an essential mindset for us to embrace, friends!

As verse 14 goes on, James gives very specific instructions for the healing of this sick person, and it gives us some insight into what is required for relief from sickness: “…let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

Many of us would expect prayer to be involved, but James further specifies that the elders should also anoint the sick person with oil. Now, oil itself has no healing properties. It is simply oil, but in both the Old and in the New Testaments, it symbolically depicts the presence of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. Although the oil itself does not heal, it is a point of contact for the sick person to believe that God’s presence is going to come upon him and bring healing to his body. The moment the oil is applied in prayer is the moment the sick person is to release his faith.

More importantly, the verse says the anointing should happen “in the name of the Lord.” The word “name” here, the Greek word onoma (ὄνομα), represents the full authority that exists in the person being named, in this case, Jesus.

This is very powerful and very important to the meaning of this verse. By praying in Jesus’ name, believers actually stand in the physical place of Jesus, who is in Heaven, and act on His behalf in the authority that He has invested in them as His official representatives. Thus, the power is not found in the oil being used to anoint the sick but in the expressed authority of Jesus’ name in the fellow believers.

In short, the prayer is prayed by someone who is standing by the bedside on Jesus’ behalf. Jesus is not there physically because He is in Heaven, but when you pray in the name of Jesus, you stand in His position to do what He would do if He were there. And what would He do if He were there? He would heal that person. There is no doubt about it. He would heal that person if He was standing next to them, and He will do just that through you. That is why James continues to say in verse 15:

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

The word “save” here is the word sozo (σῴζω), which is the old Greek word which means to heal. It conveys the idea of wholeness in every part of your life, which means this is not just a simple touch. This is a deep touch. This same word also means to deliver one from enemies, to protect, to keep safe, and to put one under protection. This is a major move of God to totally deliver the person that is sick!

All together, we see a process where prayer is lifted up in faith, and the church elders stand in the position and authority of Jesus, anointing the sick person’s head with oil to provide a touch point. Then the Bible says, “The prayer of faith shall raise him up.” In Greek, “raise…up” is the word egeiro (ἐγείρω), which means to raise and comes from the same root as the word that we get “resurrection” from. In other words, this sick person will be resurrected. He who was so gravely ill that he was close to death will be raised out of his situation, a change so miraculous that it will be as though he was resurrected from the dead.

James adds at the end of verse 15, “…and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

Healing and forgiveness are very closely related. As Jesus says in Matthew 9:5, “For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?”

With the prayer of faith, sickness can be healed, but it is so important for a believer to repent of his sins, especially since those sins may be what made him sick in the first place. When James talks about sins in this verse, it is the plural version of the word hamartia (ἁμαρτία), which means to miss the mark, to fall short, to repeatedly fail, or to do something wrong. By linking these together, James implies that in this particular case, the person may have done something wrong that has opened the door to his affliction, but if he confesses that wrong, he will be forgiven. Together, the prayer of faith and the confession of sins will deliver the believer from whatever it is that has made him sick.

This is why James says in verse 16, “Confess your faults one to another.” It is sometimes difficult to confess our faults, but no matter how it makes us feel, we have got to work up the nerve to do it. Confess your faults to one another and then, like James says, “pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” We need to confess to and pray for each other so we can find deliverance and freedom. We are not confessing things just to get them off of our hearts — we have an objective, and that objective is healing.

Before I finish, I want to tell you one more thing about healing. In this verse, “healed” is the Greek word iaomai (ἰάομαι). Iaomai means to cure, and in the ancient world, it usually described something that you were cured of over a period of time. We can take from this that sometimes, deliverance spans a long period of time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Just because a prayer is not answered immediately does not mean that the Lord is not answering it.

In fact, James addresses such doubt in the second half of verse 16, saying, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The Greek literally means, “the prayer of a righteous man has much power and much strength.” If you still don’t think that your prayer has the power to heal you, just look at James’ example of Elijah in verse 17. Elijah was a man like any of the rest of us, “subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17), yet he had great power when he prayed, power to keep the rain from falling for three and a half years!

Do not think to yourself that your struggles eliminate you from the opportunity to pray powerfully. Pray, release your faith, and be specific when you speak to God, and He will move. If you’re so sick that you can’t get to church to request prayer, request somebody come to your house. If you’re bound by some failure in your life, don’t stay bound — work up the nerve to blurt it out! Whatever affliction you are facing, you have the power and responsibility to respond to it according to God’s will, and when you do, you will find that your prayers avail much.

The Life of Joshua

By Rick Renner

When Moses died, the people of Israel were paralyzed for thirty days. Moses was their leader, their pastor, and most importantly, their contact with God. When they wanted to say something to God, they said it to Moses, and he represented them before God. When God wanted to speak to the people, He sent the message through Moses. Even in his own lifetime, Moses was already a legend. Deuteronomy 34:10-12 says that there had never been another prophet like Moses, and there never has been since, and when he died, the people were in shock.

With this monumental loss, the people needed a leader, and God raised up Joshua for the task. Friend, we can learn a lot about spiritual promotion from Joshua’s life, so I just want to take you through the first few verses of the Book of Joshua, and I want to show you what it takes to receive the spiritual power and promotion that God desires for you in your calling.

Be Faithful in your Current Position

The first thing we see in Joshua’s life is that before he was ever promoted to any kind of position of power, he was faithful. Deuteronomy 34:9 says, “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.”

When we look at Joshua 1:1, we start to see a pattern:

Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,

Notice that both these verses say “Joshua the son of Nun.” When Moses died, Joshua was already a pretty old man, yet he was still called, “The son of Nun,” and this is not very common in the Old Testament. The uniqueness of this repeated title gives us insight into the relationship that Joshua had with his father. It tells us that he respected his father, loved him, and submitted to him, so much so that he was still known as the son of his father. In his own home, God was watching, and He saw that Joshua was faithful in his position as a son. His conduct in this area was so pleasing to God that when the time came and Moses needed a minister, out of all of the candidates, God chose Joshua, the son of Nun.

In his new position as Moses’ minister, Joshua continued to be faithful, and it was certainly not an easy calling. His primary responsibility in life wasn’t to speak to the people or preach or build his own ministry or anything glorious like that — his primary responsibility was to be a minister to Moses. That was his whole job, and in fact, the word here translated as “minister” can also be translated “slave.”

When you are an assistant to a man of God or a president or the head of a company, it comes with great privileges. You get to go places other people don’t go. You get to see things other people don’t see. You get to hear things other people don’t hear. You get to live in the glory of your leader and have a bit of personal fame just because of your position next to him, but there are also times when you are tempted to feel that you’re nothing but a slave. If Joshua was like any of the rest of us, that is probably how he felt at times!

Whatever Moses wanted, he called Joshua for. We can see all through Moses’ life, he was God’s chosen prophet, but he could also be a very difficult man, and Joshua’s promotion meant that he was having to deal with Moses all the time. It would have been like having that boss who is always texting and calling and needing things done, and Joshua must have had moments when he just felt like that man’s slave.

But Joshua stayed in that position, and as a result, he got to soak in the power and glory and anointing that Moses had, and he served faithfully in that position for years. Finally, when this legendary man of God died, God promoted Joshua to a new position of leadership.

Friend, this is the most important step to spiritual promotion that you can take. If you’re trying to reach the next level in your calling, you need to realize that God is watching you right now to see how you will do with the current level. Joshua was faithful as the son of his father, so God promoted him to being Moses’ minister. He was faithful as Moses’ minister, so God promoted him to being the leader of Israel. Before God gives you a greater position, He will watch to see how you respond right now, and why would He promote you if you can’t even submit to the leader or pastor or employer that you work for right now? God is always watching, observing, and looking at our hearts, and when He sees that you are ready, He will promote you.

Claim Your Spot

The second thing I want to show you here is that when God promotes you to a certain position or calls you to a certain place, He will provide whatever you need, but you need to be taking the steps to move forward in His plan.

In Joshua 1:2, the Lord makes a very gracious promise to Joshua and all the people He will lead, but in verse 3, He qualifies that promise:

“…now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

—Joshua 1:2-3

There is a very clear responsibility here. Verse 2 says, “I’m going to give you the land,” but then verse 3 — “You’ve got to put your foot on it to make it yours.” Friend, God says, “I’ll give you all the land. That’s My reward to you, but I’m not just going to lay it out in front of you. You’ve got to put your feet on it. You’ve got to take it and make it your own.”

Most people think that God just comes and touches you, and bam, everything changes. But God knows that the rewards of our callings shouldn’t come to us like that. If God had given the Israelites the whole land immediately, they wouldn’t have known what was there. They wouldn’t have known the resources, the geography, the challenges, the blessings, or the curses. They would’ve had a great big piece of land that they knew nothing about and had no ability to manage. 

If you were to receive a million dollars or were suddenly promoted to being the head of a major corporation right this moment, you probably wouldn’t know what to do with it, but God knows that. He blesses you step by step so that as you take more territory, your knowledge grows, and your ability grows so you can manage what He gives you. I encourage you, be patient where you are, be faithful in your current position, but when the time comes for promotion, you need to take that step, do the work that God has set before you, because He is setting you up to have all the skills and knowledge you will need to fulfill His plan for your life.

Stick to Your Territory

The last thing I want to show you today is that, in Joshua’s life, he was given a blessing over everything he did, but he had to make sure he was staying in the territory God had blessed him with.

Verses 4-5 say, “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:4-5).

Friend, God did not say, “You get the whole earth, Joshua! In the whole world, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee, so just go wherever you want.” He gave Joshua a very specific territory and said, “There shall not any man stand before thee.” As long as he stayed in his place, he had a guarantee that he would be protected, that no man would be able to stand before him, that prosperity would always be with him, and that God would not fail him — all he had to do was stay within the boundaries of the blessing.

Friend, nobody’s big enough for the whole world. Sometimes I hear preachers say, “I’m going to take the whole world for Jesus,” and that just makes me think, “Don’t be silly, pastor. You’re a man, and you’re not big enough for the whole world.” God will give you part of the world. He might give you a household or a city. He might even give you a nation, but when God gives a vision, it always has boundaries. Some people are anointed for bigger territories or easier territories. Don’t be jealous of that. God knows what you were made for, and He wants you to be as effective in your work for Him as possible.

The apostles Paul and Peter are a great example of this. Paul stated that his apostleship was to the Gentiles, and Peter was the apostle to the Jews. The Gospel was for all — the same Gospel for the Jews as for the Gentiles — but Peter’s anointing was specifically for the Jews. That was his territory, his calling. He was never called to minister to Gentiles.

On the other hand, Paul was anointed for the Gentiles. He didn’t want that territory — he wanted to preach to Jews, but every time he tried, they stoned him, beat him, left him for dead, arrested him, and persecuted him. But every time he preached to the Gentiles, they got saved, they were filled with the Spirit, and they wanted to hear more. As long as Paul was in his territory, no man was able to stand against him.

Now all of us have a temptation to do more than we’re called to do, so let me remind you, you are not personally the Messiah of the world. You have a specific anointing for a specific thing. Don’t do a bunch of things that don’t contribute to your main calling. Minimize distractions, focus on your own business, and stay there. God will be with you there, blessing you.

Friend, no matter what level of your calling you are at, one of the greatest keys to success is knowing your place and staying in it. When you follow Joshua’s example, you will be faithful, confident, and blessed in every position you are placed in, and that will prepare you for the spiritual promotion that God is just waiting to give you.

Who is the Antichrist?

By Rick Renner

People are enamored with the subject of the Antichrist and his identity, and the Bible has much to tell us about this evil world leader, but before his identity is revealed, authentic Christians will be supernaturally removed from the earth, as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. He clearly states that when the restrainer, the Church, is removed, “…then shall that Wicked be revealed….” The word “then” in Greek is tote (τότε), and it means exactly then or precisely then. Thus, immediately after the restrainer has been taken out of the way is the exact time when the Antichrist will make his grand appearance and will rule for seven years.

Many speculate about whether or not the Antichrist is alive right now. The answer is that he may well be, but as noted, no one will know who he is until the Church has been raptured or evacuated from the world scene. When the Antichrist finally does step onto the stage to take the leading position, he will falsely lead the world to believe that he is the long-awaited, one-of-a-kind, unique, marvelous leader who has finally emerged to lead society universally into a new age. However, 42 months later — about three and a half years into the Tribulation — is when he will begin to show his true colors.

Before I dive into the reign of the Antichrist, I want you to be fully aware that his power is nothing compared to our Savior. In the second half of verse 8, Paul suddenly jumps in his writing to an even further point in the future — the end of the seven-year Tribulation when Christ returns in His Second Coming (or Second Advent) with the saints who will accompany Him. Paul declares that when Christ comes in His Second Coming (or Second Advent), “…the Lord shall consume [the Antichrist] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

The word “consume” is translated from anelei (ἀνελεῖ), a form of the Greek word anaireo (ἀναιρέω), which in this case means to abolish, destroy, kill, nullify, slay, or to take away the life of another. Thus, when Christ comes in His Second Coming, He will obliterate the Antichrist — and He will do it “…with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

The words “spirit of his mouth” refers to the breath of Christ. The word “spirit” is interpreted from the Greek word pneuma (πνεῦμα), which is usually translated spirit but can also refer to breath. “Mouth” is from the word stomos (στόμος), which is simply the Greek word for the mouth. Paul thus declares that on that day at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, the Lord will open His mouth and speak — and when He does, so much power will be released that it will permanently remove the Antichrist from the world scene. Although Satan will energize the Antichrist with demonic powers, this evil person won’t have enough strength to withstand one puff from the mouth of the Lord!

Paul also said the Antichrist will be destroyed “…with the brightness of his [Christ’s] coming.” The word “destroyed” is interpreted from a form of the Greek word katargeo (καταργέω), a word that Paul uses 25 times in his epistles. Paul consistently uses it to mean to abolish, to bring to nothing, to put out of commission, to reduce to waste, or to render inactive.

In other words, the Antichrist will be brought to nothing and put out of commission, and this will happen “with the brightness of his coming,” referring to Christ. The word “brightness” is actually the Greek word epiphaneia (ἐπιφανείᾳ), and it is wrongly translated in the King James Version. In classical Greece, the word epiphaneia was used specifically to describe the sudden and surprise appearance of the Greek gods. Paul was adeptly reaching into classical literature to borrow this word to tell us that Jesus’ Second Coming will take the Antichrist by surprise and that this evil world leader will be utterly disabled by His coming with splendor and glory.

We do not have to be worried, friend, because that God, the true God who is greater than even this evil world-leader, is the one who we believe in, and if we keep the faith, He will protect us from this evil.

The Power of the Antichrist

In verse 9, Paul returns to the time of the Antichrist’s reign. He states that the coming of the Antichrist on the world scene will be “…after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).

The word “after” is translated from the word kata (κατα), a word that carries a sense of domination. The word “working” is interpreted from a form of the word energeia (ἐνέργεια), which would be better interpreted as activity or operation. This immediately alerts us to the fact that the Antichrist’s activities and operations will be energized or dominated by Satan, who is the archenemy of God.

Paul adds that the Antichrist will come “…with all power and signs and lying wonders.” The Greek emphatically declares that the Antichrist will come with all power — implying that he will make his grand appearance with all kinds of power and supernatural displays. The word “power” is translated from a form of dunamis (δύναμις), which carries the idea of explosive, superhuman power that comes with enormous energy and produces phenomenal, extraordinary, and unparalleled results.

In the New Testament, the word dunamis often depicts mighty deeds that are impressive, incomparable, and beyond human ability to perform. It denotes miraculous power or miraculous manifestations. Thus we find that Paul has already informed us that when the Antichrist comes, his activities and operations will be dominated and energized by Satan, and when the Antichrist makes his appearance to the world, he will come operating in all types of supernatural activities that are way beyond the ability of mere man to perform. The Antichrist will come with every imaginable kind of shocking wonder that will cause the world to be awestruck and baffled at his powers that are designed to deceive. In fact, the world will be in such a state of awe and wonder that they will show great reverence for these wondrous displays of supernatural power. Revelation 13:4 says, “…They [the entire world or the whole world] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast….”

The word “worshipped” is translated from the word proskueno (προσκυνέω), which depicts one who is collapsed or fallen to the ground or who bows prostrate before a superior. It means to adore on one’s knees, or to worship with all the appropriate physical gestures of worship. Although the world may not realize it, Revelation 13:4 says they will, in reality, be worshipping the “dragon.” The word “dragon” in Greek is drakon (δράκον), the word for a serpent or huge snake — it is a word used in the Bible to denote Satan and satanic forces.

The word “power” in Revelation 13:4 is translated from exousia (ἐξουσία), which implies delegated authority and great influence. Thus the devil will delegate authority to the Antichrist and give him a position of great influence before the world. Furthermore, Revelation 13:4 refers to the Antichrist as a “beast,” a form of therion (θηρίον), which pictures a brute beast or a savage animal, which reveals the real nature of the Antichrist. Although he will project himself as a great progressive leader of a new world, at his very core, he will be beastly, brutish, and savage.

Those Who Are Deceived

Returning to 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul continues his warning, saying that those whom the Antichrist leads astray will be led astray “…because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

Paul is describing those who had an opportunity to receive the love of the truth, but instead of welcoming its saving and transforming power, they chose to reject it. Had they received the truth, Paul said they could have been “saved.” The word “saved” is sothenai (σωθῆναι), which implies eternal life, but it also includes deliverance from evil in this life. It encompasses the meanings of being kept from evil or of being saved, rescued from harm, or delivered from danger. Embracing the truth would have assured these people eternal salvation and temporal safety, but because they chose to reject it, they will be wasted and destroyed.

In fact, in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, Paul said, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” When the people during the Tribulation — who are living in the epoch of the Antichrist — choose not to receive the truth, but to believe a lie, God will release to them “strong delusion.” The word “strong” is a poor translation of a form of the Greek word energeia (ἐνέργεια), which we’ve already discussed means activity, energy, or an operation of some type. This word was used in the Greek and Roman world to depict an energy that brought about changes and results.

Rather than producing good results, however, this verse speaks of an activity, energy, or operation that will produce “delusion.” The word “delusion” in verse 11 is from the Greek word plane (πλάνη) and describes a deception, a moral wandering, or a person or nation that has veered morally from a solid path and is now adrift. This word plane or “delusion” depicts the behavior of one who once walked on a solid path but is now drifting and teetering on the edge of a treacherous route. This person has either already departed from his once-solid path and has lost his bearings as a result or he is in the process of departing from it. The word “delusion” means he is going against all that was once a part of his core belief system, and he is deviating from his formerly solid moral position to a course that is unreliable, unpredictable, and even dangerous.

Paul further says in Second Thessalonians 2:11 that these delusions will come, “…that they [the people at that time] should believe a lie.” The word “believe” is from pistis (πίστις), which is the Greek word for transforming faith.

We must remember that our faith empowers what we believe to become a reality. If we believe the truth, the truth will become a manifested reality in our lives. If, however, we believe a lie, that lie will become a manifested reality. Our faith empowers whatever we believe, and Paul says that the generation that is led astray by the Antichrist will believe a “lie,” which is the Greek word simply meaning that which is bogus, false, or phony, or an outright lie. The generation at that time will be fed a lie — and because they choose to believe it instead of the truth, the lie will become their reality.

The culture most of us knew as we were growing up was established on Judeo-Christian values, but now, as the winds of change are blowing, we are witnessing a near abandonment of truth and a throwing away of moral foundations. As a result, confusion abounds, and society is teetering on a treacherous path. The spirit of this world is working furiously to eliminate all remnants of a godly foundation from society and replace it with a last-days deception that will ultimately usher in a time when the Antichrist rules a lost world.

We are already living in the day the prophet Isaiah warned about when he said, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20). People are approving of and celebrating what is abominable in the sight of God. It already seems as if a tsunami is sweeping over our culture, attempting to eradicate all evidence of a spiritual and moral framework. But what is being experienced now is only a foretaste of the disappearing of all barriers and restraints that will occur when the Church has been removed at the end of this age.

During the seven-year period of the Tribulation — when the Church is gone and restraint has been removed — even though people will recall the truths of what is right and wrong in biblical terms, they will freely practice what is morally vile and will approve of those who celebrate and practice it along with them. Spirits of delusion will stealthily, methodically, and seductively entice people into doctrines and concepts that are advanced by demon spirits. The devil has been looking for a way to unseat God’s authority in the earth. Satan has been conspiring to enact a master plan — a hidden and long-laid agenda, plot, and conspiracy — intended to clandestinely lead the entire world into the lap of the Antichrist. This operation is so stealthy that the population of the world will bite the bait without comprehending that it is being led astray. And because people reject the truth, the delusion they embrace will be activated and empowered to radically take the world of the Tribulation period in a wrong direction, and all of it will take place under the rule of the Antichrist — the long-awaited and predicted Son of Doom and Destruction.

Thinking Right about Temptation

By Rick Renner

I really love the Book of James because it is just so practical. Paul was an apostle, so His letters are deep and theological, but James was a pastor, and he was practical. His is the oldest book in the New Testament, written at a time when doctrine was not yet highly developed, and it deals with some of the very basic issues in people’s lives, such as everyday temptation.

That is the subject I want to tell you about today. Temptation is something that we all have to live with at some time and in some form, but James gives us some very simple wisdom about temptation and the attitude and response we should have to it.

First, he tells us, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). This verse clearly says that God would never tempt us with evil. It is against His character. There’s nothing evil in God. He doesn’t even know evil, so He would never tempt us with it.

This is a fundamental concept to understand when we deal with temptation, because if we believe that God is the one tempting us, then we will not respond appropriately to temptating situations.

Let me give you an example. When Denise and I began in the ministry, we were pastors of a ministry for single adults. Some were simply unmarried, some were widowed, some divorced, but they were all single, and that meant that many of them didn’t really have anybody to open their hearts to about what they were thinking or what they were struggling with, so they would talk to me and Denise. 

In that ministry, there was one young man, a really good-looking businessman, and he was constantly falling into sexual sin with his girlfriend. Every time he would fall into sin, he’d come knocking on my door and say, “Pastor, I fell again.” 

This was such a regular conversation that one day, I asked him, “Where are you when you always fall into sin?” 

He said, “I’m in my girlfriend’s apartment.” 

I said, “Have you ever thought maybe it’s not wise for you to be there alone with her? Maybe you shouldn’t put yourself in that position.”

Well, he gave me a very religious answer. He said, “Pastor, what do you want me to do — run from sin? God wants me to stay there. I think God has arranged this situation to see how strong I’ll be.”

He was absolutely convinced that God was arranging this situation to test him, so he just kept going back.

There are two big problems with this attitude. First of all, it shows a misunderstanding of God’s nature. God is not stupid — He already knows about our weaknesses, so He doesn’t need to test us to find out what we’re going to do. Number two, it serves as an excuse to not be responsible. The wise choice for this young man would have been to move his feet and get out of that apartment, but instead, he insisted that it was a test from God, and that became an excuse for him to stay there and keep falling into sin again and again!

That’s the attitude James was trying to eliminate when he said, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God…” (James 1:13).

The phrase “of God” implies God doing something from a distance. It implies that the believers would religiously say, “Well, we know God is not personally tempting us, but God is God, and He could stop it if He wanted to. Since He has not stopped me or prevented me from doing it, maybe He has allowed this.”

In response to that attitude, James said, “Stop it! Don’t even talk like that. God never puts you in a difficult position. God never tempts you with evil.” He wanted to make sure they understood the true nature of temptation, so he began explaining to them in the next verse: 

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

—James 1:14

First of all, this verse says “every man,” meaning that every single person has to deal with some kind of temptation. This is a biblical promise — every one of us will be tempted.

It further says that everyone will be tempted “by his own lust.” That is an interesting phrase, and it’s actually something that I’m sure many of us have already experienced. What this phrase is saying is that every person has his own personal weaknesses. What tempts one person does not tempt another, and the other way around. Some people are just naturally tempted to be offended. Other people are tempted with sex. Then, there are people that have grown up in the church, and they’ve never been tempted sexually, but they might be tempted to steal. Some people’s temptation is food or not eating healthy. I can tell you that that is my temptation.

Every one of us deals with our own issues, and James calls this being “drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” In the original Greek, those words “drawn away” and “enticed,” are actually fishing terms.

Imagine a fish in the river, just hiding behind a tree or a rock, minding his own business, and all of a sudden — “plunk” in the water — something falls right in front of the fish. A good fisherman will begin to slowly reel his line in, and the lure in front of the fish begins moving, and the fish follows it, as if hypnotized. Then the fisherman stops, and the lure begins to fall, but then, the fisherman will jerk the line to make that lure looks alive and then keep reeling it in, and the whole time, the fish is just watching this lure. After the fish watches for enough time, it finally becomes so hypnotized that when the fisherman jerks the lure again, the fish drops all resistance and strikes it. 

That is a wonderful picture of the way temptation speaks to us. It says, “Come out. You have a reason to be offended. Think about it. Think about what they did to you” — it draws you out, and draws you out — “It won’t hurt anyone if you steal this little thing. You’ll be alright if you have this one unhealthy snack, and it will taste so good.”

This is the way temptation speaks to us. There’s something right in front of you, and you know you shouldn’t do it, but it draws you out, and every time it moves, you follow it. It doesn’t matter what kind of temptation you have, because they all operate the same way.

James gives us another picture of temptation in the next verse:

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

—James 1:15

James is giving us the picture that our lusts, our temptations, can only conceive sin and death, and I want you to think for a moment — how does a woman conceive? If a husband is in one room and the wife is way over in the other room, how are they going to conceive? They can’t. It is only by closeness that conception occurs.

With these images, James is telling us how temptation operates. It will call to you, “Come out. Come out. Think about it. Look at it. Ponder on it,” and finally, when you get so close to it in your mind, it conceives sin. What you conceive in your mind, you will perform, and the Bible says that when you do, you will produce death.

With these ideas of temptation in mind, James commands the Church, “Do not err, my beloved brethren” (James 1:16). In other words, James is saying, “Okay, brothers. I just told you how temptation works, and you can stop it at any point, so don’t fall into it.” Friend, you can stop it at any point. If you know that it’s going to call to you, then you can stop it right there and just not respond. If you have already responded, you can still stop it — just don’t bite the bait. If you’ve already conceived it — if you’ve been living with this temptation in your head and you’re about to act on it — it’s still not too late! Repentance can still bring you back.

Now, I’m not saying that this is an easy process — temptation wouldn’t be so dangerous if it was easy to ignore — but it is simple. The first thing we have to do is recognize that our problem just isn’t that special.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man….”

When the Bible says temptations are “common to man,” it’s the word anthropinos (ἀνθρώπινος) which means it’s just regular. It’s just what every human being goes through. This is so important to know because when you’re being tempted, that temptation feels huge. It seems like a mountain that you cannot climb, but what Paul is talking about here is the correct thinking we should have about that temptation. We have to minimize it, not maximize it. We have to say, “This feels big, but it is nothing that other people haven’t faced and defeated.”  

This verse continues, saying, “…but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” This tells us the next step we need to take when dealing with our temptations. “Escape” is the Greek word ekbasin (ἔκβασιν) which means to walk out of something.

When you are in a situation where you are being tempted, and you’re praying to God for strength, this verse says that you already have the answer — two feet. That’s exactly what the verse means: “When there is temptation, God will enable you to walk out of it.”

For example, if you’re watching a film, and suddenly something sexual comes on that’s upsetting you, rather than sit there in the movie and pray for strength against your temptation, use your feet. Walk out of the movie. If walking isn’t enough, 2 Timothy 2:22 says to “flee” from lusts, to run as fast as you can from it. Think of Joseph in the Old Testament. When Potiphar’s wife made a move on him, what did he do? He ran. Running from temptation is the right thing to do. Put a distance between yourself and whatever is tempting you. It’s very simple. 

People don’t want it to be simple because it makes them responsible for it, but I think this is a wonderful thing. Just think about how easily you can apply this in your everyday life. Maybe there’s somebody who upsets you all the time, and for years you’ve been praying, “God, help me, not get upset at that person.” What should you do? Maybe what you really need is to quit spending time with them. You’ll love them better from a distance. If alcohol is a temptation, put space between you and people who drink. You don’t need to be with them. If smoking is a temptation, then don’t hang out with smokers. If you keep falling into sin with your boyfriend or girlfriend, don’t allow yourselves to be alone together. This is about taking responsibility for your life, and it’s really just as simple as making a decision to put space between you and that thing.

Even in a marriage, if Denise and I are talking and we’re somehow not understanding each other or if we’re offended or upset with each other, it doesn’t always help to stay there and keep talking. If we stay there too long, we may be tempted to fall into strife, so sometimes the answer is to say, “Let’s put some space between us and the conversation. Let’s take a break from this conversation.”

We have control over our lives, friend. Whatever we are tempted with, we have the opportunity to escape. First, we have to recognize that temptation for the evil that it is and realize that it does not come from God and we have no excuse for it. Then, we have to realize that, no matter how big it feels, it is just common to man. It is just a regular problem that other people have struggled with and fallen into and had victory over before. Once we have our minds right about our temptations, we are free of the illusion that we have to stay in them, and we can just use our feet to get us out, following the escape path that God is faithful to provide for every one of us.

Lot’s Big Mistake

By Rick Renner

We live in a time when sin runs rampant and is even treated as fashionable in certain cases. In fact, it has become popular practice for Christians to compromise on their beliefs and tolerate the sin in the world, which can seem frightening and confusing to believers doing their best to follow the Lord and His commands. That’s why I want to take the time today to encourage you: this is not a new problem. The Bible is filled with stories of sin and the tolerance of it, and I want to tell you one of those stories today as both an encouragement and a warning.

Abraham’s nephew, Lot, had a great beginning to his spiritual walk. When Abraham and Sarah left Haran and began to follow God to the land of Canaan, Lot was traveling right beside them. When Abraham decided to build an altar to dedicate himself to God, who do you suppose helped him collect the stones for it? Very likely, it was Lot. When Abraham and Sarah went to the land of Egypt and lied to Pharoh, Lot was right there observing the hand of God working in both justice and blessing towards his family. Abraham is praised for his walk of faith, and he was certainly the leader, but we often forget that Lot was right beside him every step along the way.

Lot was truly blessed with a strong foundation of faith, but unfortunately, like many believers today, he soon placed himself in a situation of moral compromise. God had richly blessed Abraham’s family, but that started to become a problem when there was just not enough room for Abraham and Lot to live in the same place with all of their animals and servants. To avoid strife, they decided that it was best that they part ways, and Abraham offered Lot first choice of where he wanted to go.

Right here, before he had even separated from Abraham, is where Lot’s mistake of moral surrender began. The Bible tells us in Genesis 13:10–11: 

“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.”

Lot had followed Abraham faithfully for years, but the moment he was presented with a choice of his own, he immediately began to make bad decisions, and it caused a separation between him and his spiritual father.

You see, the place where Lot pitched his tent was right near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and we see all throughout the Bible that these were some of the most evil places in all of history. Right after Lot decides to move there, the Bible tells us, “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13). Right at the beginning, we learn how evil this place is, and this idea has been repeated by many biblical writers throughout history. In Deuteronomy 29:23, Moses said Sodom and Gomorrah were so horrible that when God destroyed them, nothing would grow there. In Isaiah 3:9, Isaiah specifically stated that their sin was shameless and out in the open. Jeremiah 23:14, Ezekiel 16:49, 2 Peter 2:4–6, and Jude 7 talk about the various sins that filled those cities, such as adultery, lies, pride, lasciviousness, and sexual perversion. Amos wrote that if other cities did not repent, they would be judged just like Sodom and Gomorrah (Amos 4:1–12), and in Revelation, John described Sodom as the symbol of sin and all kinds of defilement (Revelation 11:7–8). Even Jesus spoke about Sodom and Gomorrah on several occasions.

These cities were purely evil, so horrible that God Himself overthrew them, so why in the world would a man like Lot — a man who had walked with Abraham on the path of righteousness and who knew God — move toward Sodom and Gomorrah?

The answer is tragically simple: he was lured in by the financial opportunity there.

Abraham stayed in the land of Canaan, in the promise of God, but Lot began to lift up his eyes and look to the opportunities in Sodom and Gomorrah. He was not ignorant about these cities and their sin, but he beheld the beautiful Jordan valley in front of him, and it appealed to his flesh. He was mesmerized by the affluence and prosperity of all the cities there, loaded with business opportunities that he could seize. In many ways, that area was also very similar to Ur of the Chaldees, which he had left to travel with his uncle, so his heart’s strings were tugged to go back to what he had been delivered from. So he left Abraham and, as the Bible tells us in Genesis 13:12, pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Lot had been walking the hard road of faith with his uncle Abraham for a long time, and the idea of going somewhere that was a little easier was very alluring to his flesh, but unfortunately, Lot did not turn around or even just stop there. Initially, he lived outside the cities in the plain of Jordan, but the Bible says he pitched his tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah. He would sit under the flap of his tent, seeing the lights, hearing the sounds, and smelling the smells of the city. Like a magnet, those cities began to pull at his flesh, to allure him, tantalizing him to move closer and closer and closer until he finally found himself living right in the middle of wicked Sodom.

Lot placed himself in temptation, moving closer and closer to Sodom, and now, that wicked city had claimed him. Lot had coaxed himself into believing that because of the opportunities that were there, it was alright for him to move in, no matter how evil it was. This was the tragic mistake of moral surrender. He compromised his morals for the sake of opportunity, and if not for Abraham, it would have cost him everything.

The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah — the sin in those cities — was so horrible that God Himself could hear it all the way in Heaven, and He decided that He would destroy them. We see the beginning of this story in Genesis 18:1–2:

“And the Lord appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,”

Two of these men were angels, and one was the Lord, and Abraham prepared and served a special meal for them. At the end of this meal, the Lord revealed to Abraham what was about to happen: The angels were being sent into Sodom and Gomorrah to determine whether the outcry of wickedness that God had heard in Heaven truly reflected the situation there, and if it did, the cities would be destroyed.

The Bible says Abraham stood yet before the Lord. He knew that when the angels arrived in the cities and saw the decadence and the perversion — they would destroy it. Rather than just throw up his hands and say, “Well, there’s nothing I can do for my nephew,” Abraham drew near to the Lord and interceded on behalf of his family, and the Lord agreed to spare the cities if He could find just ten righteous men.

We return to Lot as the two angels approach the city in Genesis 19:1:

“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;”

Here, we get a glimpse of how far Lot had morally sunk. Those who sat in the gate of the city were usually the leaders of the city, so if Lot was there, he was clearly one of them, but the picture only gets more bleak as the story continues. Lot invited the angels to stay at his house, and that was when something truly shocking happened:

“But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

—Genesis 19:4-5

These men, all of Lot’s neighbors, were asking him to give up his guests so that they might sexually know them by force, and Lot’s response shows how far he had fallen. He said to them, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.” (Genesis 19:7-8).

Lot’s thinking had become so twisted that he was able to look at the faces of these wicked men and call them all “brethren” — his identity was truly compromised. When he tried to tell them what was right and wrong, they grumbled against him, wondering how he dared to judge them, because by compromising, Lot had lost his moral authority. Further, even though he recognized that it would be evil of this crowd to rape the angels, he offered his virgin daughters instead! Lot, who once walked in step with Abraham, had become so reprobate in his thinking that he recognized and accepted the evil of this horrible, twisted city.

As the crowd continued to press Lot, the angels took back control, and they warned him of the coming destruction and urged him to gather up his family and leave. He tried to convince his sons-in-law to come, tried to act in righteous faith, but they refused to believe him — again showing that Lot had given up his moral authority — and the next morning, only Lot, his wife, and his two daughters fled the city. 

Still, even with the coming destruction, the Bible says “And while he lingered” (Genesis 19:16). He lingered! Even after all the evil he had seen and the promise of destruction, Lot’s heart was still attached to Sodom, and he was only saved from fire and brimstone by God’s mercy and Abraham’s intercession.

Friend, this is why it is so important to maintain our morality in the face of an evil world. Lot had a strong beginning to his walk, but as soon as he went out on his own, he allowed the temptations of the flesh to enter into his life, and he lost his identity, his safety, and his moral authority. If it had not been for Abraham, who remained righteous and interceded for him, Lot would have been lost. I urge you friends, do not be a Lot in today’s morally compromised world, giving up your identity and authority for the sake of comfort. Be an Abraham, righteous and unyielding, so that you can lead back and strengthen those you love when they stray from the only path to eternal life.

The Breath of God

By Rick Renner

In 2 Timothy 3, we are forewarned that in the end times, just before the Lord’s return, the world is going to get very dark. Through the Holy Spirit, Paul describes all the terrible things in society that will occur in the last days, and they are enough to intimidate any person: 

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

—2 Timothy 3:12-13

You can imagine that when Timothy was first reading this, it might have been a little overwhelming to him, but the purpose of this letter was not to overwhelm or terrify but to advise and prepare. Clearly, we need to carefully consider how we should be preparing for the last days, how we are going to survive these times, and what we can do to ensure we build families that are strong and safe, and fortunately, the Bible tells us precisely the answer in the very next verse:

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;”

—2 Timothy 3:14

Paul says to Timothy, and to all of us, “Continue in the things which thou hast learned.” With this word, “continue,” He indicates a sense of constancy, even in the changing times. He is basically saying, “Stay with the truth that you know. Even if the thinking of the world changes, don’t allow it to change you. Continue to stand firmly upon what you know to be the Truth.”

This is a message we must take to heart, friends. Just because the world around us changes does not mean that we have to change with it. The world will always be altering its philosophies and morals, but as children of God, we have godly principles that will remain constant for the rest of eternity. Friend, the Truth never changes, so even as we see this shift in the world taking place and perhaps feel like everything is falling apart and passing away, if you and I will remain in the things that we know are right and true, then we will be found standing at the end of it all!

However, our responsibilities do not stop with ourselves and our own knowledge and faithfulness. From this letter, we also get to see the important responsibility of families. We know that Timothy was raised and trained to know the Word of God from a very young age, and if you read the beginning of Paul’s letter, you will learn where Timothy received His faith and knowledge from: 

“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

—2 Timothy 1:5

Timothy undoubtedly learned much from the apostle Paul, but his spiritual learning was grounded in his being raised by a family of devout and faithful believers. Even though the Christian faith was new at that time, Timothy’s grandmother and mother were believers, and the Bible tells us their faith was passed from Lois to Eunice before it was finally passed on to Timothy. The same faith that they possessed now was living inside him, and it was a real and authentic faith that laid the foundation for the work Timothy would do with Paul on the missions field. 

Like Timothy, I come from a family of faith — It is in my blood. My grandmother was a pioneer, one of the first Pentecostals in the United States, and she lived an incredible life. She had a healing and a miracle ministry, she preached the Gospel in Native American territory, and she even witnessed the supernatural intervention of angels that fed her own family. My grandmother was a woman of powerful faith. When somebody got sick, she laid her hands on them and said, “We are going to believe God.” In fact, she wouldn’t even let her family go to the doctor. She said, “We are Pentecostals, and Jesus is our Healer.”

That woman had faith, and she passed it down to her children, down to my mother, who passed it on to me, so I grew up in a church where the Bible formed our very character. That wonderful faith now lives in me, and as a father, I have passed it down to my sons, who have given it to their children too, and that is such a privilege! Friend, if you are the first generation of faith in your family, I want you to see what an opportunity God has given you to create further generations of faith — generations of those whose lives will be built upon the Word of God after you, generations who know who they are and who know their God. What a blessing you’ve been given!

This is so important, and it is why Pail wanted Timothy to understand that it doesn’t matter how drastically the world changes; Timothy was to continue in the things that he knew — those things which were given to him by his grandmother, by his mother, and by his spiritual father, Paul. Paul goes on to define these things in verse 15:

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” —2 Timothy 3:15

The word “salvation” in this verse can be translated as deliverance or preservation, so this verse tells us that when the Word of God — the Holy Scriptures — abides in your heart and is the standard by which you live, it has the power to save, deliver, preserve, and carry you through the worst of times. The world will only get darker, but as you hold on to the Word of God and live by it, it will absolutely deliver you even in the darkest of times. It will save you from any kind of trouble or difficulty you face. 

Further, Paul tells us that the Bible “…is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

When the Bible says that it is “given by inspiration of God,” it is saying that the Bible is not just a book about God, but it contains His very presence. He is in this Book. God took the words of men — just normal words — and He breathed into them, and when God was finished breathing, all those human words came together to form this book. Therefore, this book contains the very breath of God, and that’s why it’s called the Holy Bible.

More than that, the word “inspiration” in this verse is also the ancient Greek word that was used for perfume, which gives us the picture of something that brings the aroma of God. Are you tired of your life stinking? Then bring the Word of God into it, because this amazing Book can change your sinful aroma into something beautiful and powerful! Paul describes this transformation in verse 17, listing all the ways that the Word can change us: “…for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

Clearly, friend, the Bible is the only answer for this generation and these times. It is even the answer for your own life right now. As Ecclesiastes 8:4 says, “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?”

The Bible is the Word of our King. When He breathed His powerful breath into human vocabulary, men began to write, and they produced this incredible Book unlike any other. No other book in the world has the presence of God in it, and if you will take the time to study it, live by it, and continue in it, it will be profitable for you. It will bring reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. When you release your faith in the Bible, the power of God will begin to flow into your life and equip you with everything you need.

Friend, I truly pray that you will stand strong in this powerful Word. When you do, you will be able to withstand everything that is coming in the days ahead and prepare others to do the same. God has been merciful enough to give us His word and equip and empower us to pass through every season of life. Through Him, victory is ours, so we need to repent of the times we’ve ignored His Word and make a fresh commitment to make it a priority in our lives. When we read it, believe it, and live by it, just as we have been taught, we prepare ourselves to stand, unchanging, in a world that is falling apart.