Exhortations For The Church: Volume 11

Preface

The apostle Paul exhorts us to continue in the steadfastness of our faith in Christ ...

Col. 2:7 ... Rooted and built up in HIM, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

As we think on various concepts taught us in the Bible, we water our root system, building our faith on those things that are really true and keeping our faith in God and that which HE says.

In the world, we hear things that would trouble us greatly except for the fact that we ground ourselves in that which God has said, doing those instructions authored by God by HIS Spirit.

Instructions such as the following:

Phil. 4:6 ... Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Pray when you hear something that concerns you ... when you see in this world a news story that troubles you ... "let your requests be made known unto God" ... talk to God about this.

Phil. 4:7 ... And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We have hope and stability through Christ, through prayer, through knowing the Word of God.

For example:  Because of II Peter 3, we know that no man will destroy the present earth.  We know this heaven and earth will be destroyed in the end by God but no man can ever do this.

Knowing this, why would we ever be caught up in the worries of man concerning such things as the ozone layer or the "Greenhouse" effect?

Don't we know the truth?

II Peter 3 ...  10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.


The wrath of God will come to judge this world but we who are of God are not appointed to wrath.

I Thess. 5 ...  1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day:we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.


Don't we know that Jesus will come for us to deliver us from that which is coming on this world?  And not only does Jesus come for us, but when HE comes the dead in Christ will also rise to be with HIM.

I Thess. 4 ...  13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent
(precede) them which are asleep (dead). 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 


Those who are still alive on this earth at that time, will be changed from these present physical bodies in the "twinkling of an eye", instantly, immediately ... blink your eyes ... that is how fast this will happen.  (I Cor. 15)

And such will be given new bodies which are not subject to the pain of this present flesh ... nor will we have sorrow of any kind ... nor hatred ... nor resentments which are of this flesh.

We will be taken, transported, with them to the "new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" ... that "new Jerusalem" spoken of by the apostle John in Revelation 21.  

 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:for the former things are passed away.  

Knowing these truths from the Bible, how can we sorrow as this world sorrows?  

How can we rejoice in this present world and seek after this present world as if it is the end of all things?  For us it is not the end.  We are just passing through this present world.  And God has made a way through faith in HIM that we can spend our days on this earth "in peace" ... "without spot and blameless" ... when we understand the concepts of God set forth in the New Testament. 

Instead of fretting over rulers and governments of men as this world does, we are instructed to pray. 

I Tim. 2 ... 1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

In January, 2017, I prayed that Donald Trump not make decisions that would cause a "Gone With The Wind" situation to come upon us ...

When we do the things instructed in Bible and when we believe the concepts of the Bible, we enter into a peace of God this world cannot know.

The following exhortations, in this book, are based on concepts given by God to encourage us in ways of God that we might go in ways of God while we live on this present earth.

As Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world," (Jn. 18) ... neither is our kingdom of this world.

When we understand this, so many of those things that once troubled us will not trouble us now.

Joan Boney   



Foundational concepts for all who are of God


We, who are of God, believe Jesus Christ to be the "Messiah" of the Old Testament, the Son of God, the Eternal ruler.  Jesus was with God before the creation of the heaven and earth and all things and all creatures were created by HIM (The Word).   Jn. 1 & I Jn. 1

Jesus came to this world in the flesh in the form of a man but born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit and the will of God.


Jesus knew what it was to feel things as our flesh feels, pain/sorrow/temptations, but Jesus was without sin, paying for all our sins by laying down HIS own life according to the will of God and the plan of God.

God raised Jesus from the dead and God will raise us also from the dead.  I Thess. 4

Indeed we are raised from the dead of this world when God reveals HIMSELF to us and causes us to be born again of HIS Spirit.  We are changed from the person we once were, now having a desire toward God.  We grow into the ways of God bit by bit as we continue to live on this earth and try to do according to the will of God in the various encounters of this life.


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As we live on this present earth, like the children of God who lived before us, we wait patiently for the coming of Jesus,  the second time Jesus comes to gather the church to HIMSELF. 

Jesus will come in the air with a great shout that wakes the dead and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Jesus in the air.  (I Thess. 4)

Some people of God will still be alive on this earth when this happens and they will be changed immediately, in the twinkling of an eye, in a blink of the eye, leaving behind these current physical bodies which are subject to physical pain and decay of the flesh, and they will rise to meet Jesus and those who have been raised from the dead.  (I Thess. 4 & I Cor. 15)

Now all will have a new body as it pleases God.  We will not have these current physical bodies.  (I Cor. 15) 

Notice that Jesus does not come to this present earth but we rise to meet Jesus "in the air".  (I Thess. 4) 

This present heaven and earth will be destroyed by God. (II Peter 3)  It will no longer exist.  

There will be a new heaven and a new earth, the new Jerusalem spoken of by the apostle John in Revelation 21. 

In the new heaven and new earth, there will be no sorrow, no pain as we have now for we will have "new bodies" which are not subject to the flesh as is this current physical body.  (I Cor. 15)

As we wait for this second coming of Jesus, we glorify God as we walk in HIS light, going HIS way, doing what HE shows us to do.

The world glorifies itself as they seek personal greatness and achievement.

We glorify God as we do what God says to do.  That is our role on this earth.

As we obey God, it is different and they notice that difference ... others would choose to rant and rave and demand their rights ... we are waiting patiently ... That is like a light, a beacon on a hill, shinning all around.

One major difference between us and the people of this world is like Jesus, our kingdom is not of this world.  Jn. 18:36

This world is their life ... it is all they have.  So they grab it and squeeze it and try to get as much out of it as possible.

For us, things of this world don't usually live up to expectations.   Even when we try them, they often fall flat for us and go dead.

And we realize there is another "country" set up for us by God.  We are like the people described in Hebrews 11 ...

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

So our role as we live on this present earth is to endure, glorifying God as we obey HIM in that which pertains to this present life.  And we eventually come to realize we are just waiting for that which is "expected" ... the new creation, the new heaven and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, where there is no evil and no pain, and no sorrow as we have in this world.  Where there is constant joy and rejoicing and it does not grow dim as it does on this earth.  And it is forever, a concept most of us can't imagine.


The following, which Paul told Timothy, is a very good plan for us also.

I Timothy 4:13 ...  Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

This is a very good daily plan for us also that we might have a proper root system and be grounded and stay grounded in God as we live on this present earth.


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Exhortations For The Church:  Volume 11
Available from amazon.com in paperback and eBook



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