ARMED WITH THE MIND OF CHRIST

“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.  And having been perfected ...” Jesus modeled the perfecting life we are to live before the Father as a son. “Suffered” means not only adverse and affliction, but also the suffering of Self denial, denying Self the tempting desires of life in this world: “For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world.” And, “He Himself has suffered, being tempted.” For, “In all things He had to be made like His brethren.” Jesus was made exactly like us so we could emulate His life, the overcoming life He demonstrated.

 Obedience under pressure produced perfection in the man Jesus... and it will do the same for you... and for me! “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps ... Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin” Wow! Now there is a conditional promise worthy of all we may be called to endure. We too learn obedience in “suffering” the pressures... the speed-bumps of life, becoming spiritually mature as we die to Self releasing the nature of the perfect Son within to live out His perfect life in and through us as our life. And God will, “after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

“LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS”

(1 Jn. 2:16; Heb. 5:8-9, 2:17-18; Matt. 5:48; 1Thess. 3:3; 2 Cor. 4:17;

2 Tim. 3:12; Phil. 1:29, 2;5; 1 Peter 2:21, 4:1, 5:10; and others)

EAGERLY WAITING FOR JESUS

We live between the times, the Cross in our rear view mirror as we move forward in time toward our Savior’s second coming, fixed at God’s timing in our future. Saints are, in a word, “waiting” for their Lord’s return to fetch them to their forever home. The writer of Hebrews, after speaking of the greatness of our Lord’s redemptive sacrifice ushering in the “new and better covenant” of the New Testament (Chapter nine), commented  in verse twenty-eight on how we should be waiting through the use of the Greek word  apekdechomai. This compound word means to watch for, to wait for, expect, to be about to receive, and expresses the saint’s lifestyle of patient expectation based on our Blessed Hope. “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time…” (NKJV) Stated in the present participle apekdechomai expresses continuous action into the future, a continuously expectant lifestyle. The Amplified Bible captures the full force of the Greek text: Christ will appear a second time to “those who are eagerly, constantly, and patiently waiting for and expecting Him.”

Christ Himself is the content of our expectation, our only hope of eternal salvation. Apekdechomai therefore characters Christian life – our “waiting” – as one of expectation of the greatest climatic event the world will ever witness, an event which gives this life and the whole of creation true meaning. And, do not let the elephant in the room go unnoticed! Christ will appear only (implied) to those who eagerly, constantly, and patiently wait for and expect Him. This truth is borne out by many scriptures and parables. As the Apostle Paul said, the Crown of Righteousness is given to “all who have loved His (Christ’s) appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:8)

EAGERLY… CONSTANTLY… PATIENTLY…

WAITING FOR AND EXPECTING HIM!

DADDY KNOWS

God is all knowing, ever present, and all powerful, three attributes that God and only God possesses, distinctly inherent parts of His divine nature. As the repository of all knowledge, words, and thoughts God literally knows everything that was, is, and will ever be… infinite knowledge. As the ever present God He is everywhere, throughout time and eternity, at the very same time… infinite presence. And, as the all powerful God, He is able to do anything, anywhere, anytime, all the time, at the same time… infinite power.  Selah… pause and calmly contemplate the awesomeness of our Father!

A Christian pilot flying a Jet at thirty thousand feet suddenly experienced engine shut down, spiraling out of control toward earth. Facing sure doom in mere seconds the pilot cried out “Lord, help me”! Our eternal Daddy, who knows the beginning and the end of all things, is not bound by time and is never surprised, rushed or forced into action. You see, God dwells outside our four dimensional space-time continuum in a humanly unperceivable infinitely dimensional spaceless-timeless eternal continuum we can’t begin to define let alone understand. Before the foundations of the world... before His seven day creation wonder, God foreknew this pilot’s dilemma, heard his prayer and answered, countless millions of years before the event occurred in time. Ditto God’s saints: God resolved all our adversity, healed all our afflictions, solved all of our problems and difficulties, and gave us complete restoration eons ago. We human kind live in the “Present” with the Past behind us as a memory, and  the Future ahead of us as an expectation.  God lives The Past, Present, and Future simultaneously in timeless eternity… all at the same time. We space-time dwellers simply have to learn patience...  and trust.  God’s answer to our prayer is waiting for us in our future, waiting for us to arrive at it in time.  You see… God owns time! Awesome!

GOD OWNS TIME

“FOR THIS YOU KNOW”

This phrase occurs only once in scripture (Eph. 5:5) declaring emphatically something all saints should know. “For you know this”: No person who practices sexual immorality (fornication) of any sort, or morally impurity (uncleanness) in thought or life, or one who greedily desires (covetousness) to have more, worshiping (idolatry) the god of wealth, will have any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God... “For because of these things the wrath of God comes.” This phrase is a direct appeal to the saint’s conscious understanding of the eternally assured unalterable incompatibility of such sins with our inheritance in the Kingdom of God. We know because God has written it in our heart. The Apostle Paul wrote this to the church in Ephesus in 60/61 AD. What is commonplace in the 21st century church has been damned from the get-go!

The Amplified Bible makes God’s expectations crystal clear: “But immorality (sexual vice) and all impurity of lustful, rich, wasteful living, or greediness must not even be named among you, as is fitting and proper among the saints, God’s consecrated people. Let there be no filthiness, obscenity, indecency, nor foolish, sinful, silly and corrupt talk, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting or becoming; but instead voice your thankfulness to God. For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous, who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain -- for he in effect is an idolater -- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one delude and deceive you with empty excuses and groundless arguments for these sins, for through these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of rebellion and disobedience. So do not associate or be sharers with them.”

“LET IT NOT EVEN BE NAMED AMONG YOU”

(Ephesians 5:3-7, Amplified Bible and NKJV)

IN HIM

Our experience of God’s presence is not more real when we “feel” something – goosebumps and the like – and less real when we feel nothing, or at least it shouldn’t be. Our experience of God’s presence should be based on our oneness with the Godhead. Saints, our union in the Godhead is a constantly abiding reality. We are in Christ, Christ is in God, and Christ is in us… so God is likewise in us. And, we are the temple, the Holies of holies, of the Godhead, the place where God’s Spirit dwells: As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Our union with God is all of His doing and nothing of our doing, an act of amazing grace, imparting divine life into vessels wrought with imperfection, so that His Life might become our life, “for in Him we live and move and have our being.” Our life is “In Him”, nowhere else… but In Him. So… whether we “feel” anything or not is of little consequence and even less importance. The lack of feelings cannot in the least inhibit the amazing reality of our ever present God who states emphatically in His word: “Fear not for I AM with you … “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Never? Never! Nothing can hinder, restrain, or prevent God’s presence from overshadowing His saints.

Endnote: Feelings are, for the most part, what we do to our self when we acknowledge God’s presence, and the emotional circumstances surrounding the experience play a significant role, such as during worship or prayer. An overreliance on feelings as an indicator of God’s presence can erode our faith in God’s ever abiding presence, a bad thing! Our experience of God’s presence should be our knowledge of His word mixed with our faith in its undeniability: God is always present with us… Period! When feeling come we should embrace them as icing on God’s cake – unexpected but appreciated -- never forgetting God’s cake is awesome plain… without icing.

“THE LORD IS MY HELPER; I WILL NOT FEAR”

(Jn. 14:11,20; 1 Cor. 3:16-17, 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6; 16; acts 17:28; Is. 41:10; Heb. 13:5-6)

CHRIST IS OUR PORTION

Partaker: “One who has a portion, participates in, possesses or shares the nature or attributes of something.”: “For we have become partakers of Christ.” The Christian life is not an imitation of Christ; it is a participation in Christ. An “imitator” mimics the nature of Christ, professing a reality they do not possess. A “partaker” allows the nature of Christ to take control of their life and flow through them as their life. Self masquerades as Christlike, but only the indwelling Holy Spirit is Christlike. To be a partaker Self, our carnal fleshly nature, must give up the reins of control to the Holy Spirit of God so He can release the Christ-Life within.

Exceedingly great and precious promises have been given to us “that through these we may be partakers of the divine nature.” Christ is our portion. We participate in His life as He lives His life through us. We possess His indwelling nature... His DNA. At least this is the way our life is supposed to be lived. Saints, the real question is have we “become partakers of Christ”? To what extent are we possessing and releasing His nature -- His character, His virtues, His values, His attitudes -- in place of our old self-consumed Self-nature? We must transcend the natural realm, immersing ourselves in the supernatural nature dwelling within, relinquishing our Self-Life to be possessed by the Christ-Life. Saints, this is our overwhelming need, the only thing of importance after salvation, the only way to effectively fulfill God’s plans and purposes for our earth-life. We must relinquish control of our life through submission to the Lordship of Christ and death of Self: *To “be conformed to the image (nature) of His Son.” *To “become partakers of Christ”, partakers of His nature. *To “be renewed in the spirit of our mind.” *To “be transformed by the renewing of our mind.” *To “have the mind of Christ.” *To fully become Christlike! Nothing else will satisfy our Daddy...

 PARTAKERS OF CHRIST

(Heb. 3:14; 2 Peter 1:4; Eph. 4:23; Rom. 12:2, 8:29; 1 Cor. 2:16)

DEATH IS STILL OUR DESTINY

Saints are called upon to move against disease and suffering in prayer:

*Even though “for now we see in a mirror, dimly”

*Even though healing does not always occur

*Even though healing does not restore our glorified-body nature lost in man’s fall

*Even though healing does not stop the insidious disease of aging

*Even though we should be “eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body”

*Even though healing delays our translation through death’s door into the presence of the Lord, which is “far better”

*Even though healing is only a Band-Aid, a temporary fix, the desire of an earth-bound mindset

Hear the words of the Apostle Paul: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better … For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven … Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee … We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

Saints are still called upon to move against disease and suffering in prayer. But remember, death is the destiny of every saint until the Lord comes to Snatch Away His Jewels... So, we have to die sometime… And, we have to die of something…

“WE HAVE A BUILDING FROM GOD,

A HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS,

ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS”

(1 Cor. 13:12; Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 5:1-8; Phil. 1:21-23)

“SO THEN DEATH IS WORKING IN US”

Affliction and adversity allows us the audacity to hope, to demonstrate trust in our Savior -- shining brightly in the face of Bad -- knowing our Lord is in control. It is this “If I perish, I perish", this “Though He slay me I will trust Him" attitude of the heart that hands satan his greatest defeat. You see, our victory isn’t found in whether we live or die, but in our attitude of absolute trust in God as we live or die. The enemy may pursue us with adversity and affliction but we are never forsaken... never alone. And he can bring us to our knees but he cannot destroy the Blessed Hope we have in our Lord -- he cannot touch our eternal life in Christ!  When we refuse to deny God our trust during the onslaught of Bad, disregarding the physical outcome, we demonstrate great faith.

Listen to the words of the great Apostle Paul : “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So then death is working in us...” Notice the purpose for being “delivered to death”... delivered to adversity and affliction: “That the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” Our struggles with adversity and affliction bring submission to the Lordship of Jesus and death to Self, allowing the Christ-Life to emerge within replacing our Self-Life as our life. This is how we are “conformed to the image (nature) of His Son”, predestined to be Christlike. “So then death is working in us ... I am crucified with Christ.”

STRUCK DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED

(Ester 4:16; Job 13:15; 2 Cor. 4:8-12; Rom. 8:29; Gal. 2:20)

WE ALL MUST GO THROUGH THE THORNS

The Sower Parable depicts four heart conditions, the way we respond to life… lifestyles by choice. One of these is life in the thorn bushes.

Deception is, literally, mental blindness. The thorns of this world create toe-holds in our heart, patches of ground we have given to the enemy, doors of access. At first we struggle, then we acquiesce, then we embrace “the cares of this world”, and our desire for “pleasure”, “riches”, and the “other things”, the nonspiritual things of this life. Under control of Self -- our unregenerate carnal fleshly nature -- the impulse of desire in the human heart seizes the enticements of the world, holding them fast, giving birth to sin. It is, ultimately, our own desires that entice us, bating the trap that ensnares us. This is how we fall away... one thorn at a time, till we are so thorny we no longer perceive God, literally suffocating the Christ-Life like a flame deprived of oxygen.

Thorn pricks are the direct result of misplaced love: “Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world itself.”

God commands our love and measures it by our obedience: “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength … If you love Me, keep My commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments … The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who really loves Me; and whoever really loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him ... And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever.”

DON’T YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER…

(Reference: The Sower Parable; Read all three Gospel passages to get the whole story; James 1:12-16; John 14:21 and 1 Jn. 2:15-17 in the Amplified Bible; Mk. 12:30; JN. 14:15; 1 Jn. 5:3)

CLEANING UP THE COW PIES

Saints, we should not be deceived by our own perception of our own perfection and faithfulness. Nowhere is the old adage “The blind leading the blind” more to the point than when we try to evaluate our own righteousness. Remember what God said about satan “the anointed cherub … full of wisdom… perfect in beauty” who stood upon the holy mountain of God standing guard over the throne of the Most High God:  “You (satan) were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.” We have the same free will satan has, and look how far he fell from the grace of God. Iniquity is simply any and all unrighteousness, anything that removes us from right standing with God. We tend to accept our little “shortcomings”, such as pride, anger, hostility, selfishness, unforgiveness, contentions, jealousies, divisions, envy, slander, deceit, hatefulness, foolishness, and the like; and of course, idolatry… putting anything before God in our desires and love. These are all iniquity in God’s eyes. The great deceiver of mankind traps his human prey with the bait of iniquity he finds in their hearts, or, as James puts it, we are “drawn away by our own desires and ensnared.” It takes “Knee Time” before the Lord to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”, Knee Time!

Notice that holiness must be “perfected”, brought to maturity, and it all starts with the desire to be like Jesus… the desire to be holy. Iniquity contaminates everything it contacts, so it is a bit difficult to desire godliness with iniquity lurking about in our heart. Now this is not rocket science, but it is God science. Remember, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Doubting God or His word, the Bible, in any fashion is unbelief… iniquity, and places us in the category of the fool. The root of sinful deeds lie within our heart, “For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts.” Life is lived first in our mind; our thoughts are our playground. Unfortunately, our thoughts are satan’s playground also: We live out our thoughts as actions and words, so wrong thoughts can be most deadly to our spiritual life. As saints, we need to clean up the cow-pies in our playground by “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” as we “set our mind on things above”, and put up no trespassing signs to the powers of darkness. They won’t dare trespass if our playground is holy ground!

KEEPING OUR HEART RIGHT

 (Ezek. 28:15; Gal. 5:19-21; Mk. 7:19-23; James 1:14-15; 2 Cor. 7:1; Ps. 14:1; Mk. 7:21-23; 2 Cor. 10:5; Col. 3:2)

KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE IS UNDERSTANDING

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ ... Be diligent (study) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing (interpreting) the word of truth.” 

These two commands of scripture are essential to our spiritual maturation into overcoming saints, light-bearers to a world lost in darkness. We grow in knowledge of our Lord through diligent study of God’s “word of truth.” The Amplified Bible translation adds clarity to these two verses:

“Grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah) … Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.”

Proverbs 9:10 explains the relationship between wisdom, knowledge and understanding: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One (the Lord) is understanding. Knowledge is facts and information. Understanding is to take in, grasp, assimilate and comprehend the facts and information. Wisdom is the application of understanding to produce good judgment – God’s judgment – in all matters of life: In our thoughts, words, and actions. Knowledge of God produces understanding of God which in turn produces wisdom of God. This is why studying “The word of Truth” is so essential and requires diligence.

Saint’s, we need to take this command to “grow in the knowledge of our Lord” to heart and develop the discipline of diligent study of God’s word. To this end, here are six study precepts that are sure to fuel our growth: *God hides truth in plain sight... in the context. *Let the scriptures interpret themselves. *When the plain sense makes perfect sense, seek no other sense. *Truth is a mosaic which God disperses in His word; find all the pieces and you’ll find the whole Truth.   *The New Will defines our life in Christ under the New Covenant: Our focus is, therefore, the New Testament where God “speaks to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:2), by and through all revelation birthed in the Son’s words, life, and ministry. *Workman plow – meditate upon -- God’s word for a spiritual harvest.

If our heart’s desire, our vision, is to become mature saints “fully equipped for the work of ministry” – if doing the Lord’s work here on planet earth is our “ministry”, our vision – then growing in the knowledge of God – becoming spiritually wise -- is essential. And, a vision without a plan is just… wishful thinking!

BE DILIGENT TO GROW IN KNOWLEDGE…

(Prov. 9:10; 1 Tim 2:15; 2 Peter3:18; Eph. 4:12)

LIKE A GLOW IN THE DARK PLASTIC CROSS...

The modern church is a paradox: Great masses of world class debaters defending their favored denominational flavor or brand while embracing cobbled together half-true doctrines that promote and satisfy worldly desires: Devoid of demonstrable agape love, requiring no sacrifice for others, expecting no denial of Self, experiencing no transformation into Christlikeness, and producing not a hint of humility. The focus is on making converts – a change of belief – when we should be making disciples – a personal follower of Jesus who is disciplined in His ways -- and building bigger buildings (barns), as if ministry size implied God’s favor. Love, Sacrifice, Passion, Obedience, and Humility, these five characteristics capture the reality of God’s heart  Like a glow in the dark plastic cross the church is a cheap substitute for a divine reality.

The true “ekklesia” needs not man’s “forms of godliness”, for God’s ekklesia, which takes no form as a particular building or denomination, is at work everywhere often working under the radar of church structures. It would do us well to study the history of the modern church to understand how this man-made pretender came to represent God’s Church. We are entering the times of the Great Apostasy, when the modern church will be shaken, and God’s ekklesia will take visible form much like the first century church, as small organic gatherings under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed...

Disclaimer: This is not to be construed as an attack on all churches, the sincerity of members, or justification to ignore the call to assemble together as believers. I have been blessed to have been a part of several good churches. But the majority of churches fit this narrative, and the church as we know it will undergo dramatic change as the Church Age winds to an end.

“GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES

TEACHING THEM

TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED”

(Matt. 28:18-20)

THE MIND OF CHRIST

Having the nature and mind of Christ involves not only how we respond to life but how we approach life, the character, virtues, values and attitudes we project into life, and the mindset we maintain. Let’s deconstruct this:

Character is the mental qualities, personality, nature, disposition, and temperament we possess. The Character of Christ: Godly wisdom, humility, a resolute peaceful temperament, and a sacrificial disposition, all flowing with and through the Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control.

Virtues are the moral standards we espouse. The Virtues of Christ: Holiness, found in complete submission to God, and unwavering obedience to God.

Values are our judgments of what is truly important in life. The Values of Christ:  A singular passionate focus on His Father’s will, hearts aligned, saying and doing only what He hears and sees from the Father.  Jesus was, and is, a person of “One Thing”, totally controlled by the Holy Spirit of God.

Attitudes are ways of thinking reflected in a person’s behavior. The Attitudes of Christ: A settled way of thinking that is totally dependent on the Father, trusting Father-God completely, reflecting godliness with contentment, with a mind-set frozen on “things above.”  

It is God’s goal, and therefore our determined purpose, that we become Christlike, possessing fully His character, having the highest of moral standards, embracing Kingdom values. With the character of Christ and His highest of moral values we can select what is truly important in life, living life in the center of God’s heart. Our attitudes become a settled way of thinking, reflecting godliness and contentment wherein we bask in the joy of the Lord.

Saints, the Fruit of the Spirit should be hanging all over us: Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. Our mindset: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Why you ask? “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” We can’t get very far without realizing the importance of death of Self – Self rule – and submission to the Lordship of Jesus. Rejection of the world and all its Fools Gold is the price we pay for the mind of Christ:  “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” It is the Holy Spirit’s job to renew – make new again – our mind by infusing us with the mind of Christ. “But we have the mind of Christ”: Saints, we have accessible to us the mind of Christ – the mind of God – which we apprehend through faith and obedience. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus … Arm yourselves also with the same mind.” Yes, Let It Be…

ARM YOURSELVES 
WITH THE MIND OF CHRIST

(Col. 3:2-3; Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:1-2 Phil. 2:5; 1Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5; 1 Peter 4:1)

KAIROS TIME

“It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:7)  Chronos, here translated “Time”, is a period of measured time... the passing of moments, a quantity of time. Kairos, here translated “Seasons”, considers time qualitatively, a specific, decisive point in time featuring divinely ordained events. The Father has set within His own authority both the predestined events marking specific kairos time periods and their length. There is no English equivalent for the Greek word karios which is a timed manifestation of God’s plan for man occurring at the opportune time... the right time... God’s time. The use of “season” here is misleading since we can and should recognize the season -- the social climate -- conducive to foreordained events much the same way we predict tomorrow’s weather by the weather patterns of today.

That no man knows the day or hour of our Lord’s return is true. But Jesus also chided the Jews because they did not discern the “season” of His first advent, and clearly described the times before His second advent, so saints would know the season of His return! There have been many misguided attempts to forecast the date of our Lord’s return apparently ignoring the simple truth of Matt. 24:36 which directly declares that only the Father knows this date... not even the angels or Jesus know. But millions more ignore or are ignorant of Matt. 16:2-3: “Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.” Jesus calls them “hypocrites” for being able to discern the weather by looking at the sky while failing to discern the season of His first advent – the coming of the Messiah -- by the “signs of the times”, that is, the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom in the person of Jesus. There simply is no excuse for failing to discern we are living in the “last days” – the times of the signs – the season of “Your (Christ’s) coming, and the end of the age.”

Many, if not most, of the people we come into contact with daily are lost and hell-bound: Spiritual discernment of the season we are living in should drive us to reach out to them with the simple message of God’s love and the Blessed Hope we have in Him – should if His agape love is operational in our life.  Living in the “times of the signs” should produce urgency, unless we are Plaster-Saints... people who claim to be Christians without the love of God flowing from their heart.

TIMES OF THE SIGNS

NOT PERFECT YET: PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL

But whatever former things I had that might have been gain to me, I have come to consider as one combined loss for Christ’s sake. Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege, the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish, refuse, dregs, in order that I may win (gain) Christ the Anointed One.

And that I may actually be found and known as in Him, not having any self-achieved righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands -- ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired -- but possessing that genuine righteousness which comes through faith in Christ the Anointed One, the truly right standing with God, which comes from God by saving faith.

For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness, even to His death, in the hope that if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while in the body.

Not that I have now attained this ideal, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of, grasp and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus the Messiah has laid hold of me and made me His own. I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own yet; but one thing I do… it is my one aspiration: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

So let those of us who are spiritually mature and full-grown have this mind and hold these convictions; and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make that clear to you also. Only let us hold true to what we have already attained and walk and order our lives by that.

CONTINUALLY TRANSFORMED

IN SPIRIT

INTO HIS LIKENESS

(Phil. 3:7-16, Amplified Bible)