PRODIGAL SUN
MAY 2023
Let your light so shine before men that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13)
This month’s issue will be considerably
longer than usual. I believe it’s another indication of the seriousness of
the times we are living in. I’m increasingly aware of the thin thread of
life that binds us to this world. Age has very little to do with it. Just
consider how many parents are burying their children or grandparents burying
their grandchildren. All are stepping across the line into eternity from
which there is no return, no reincarnation, as some believe. Are you, are
those you know or have influence with ready for the big step?
During a visit with friends recently the
spiritual climate of a city (Cairo, Ill.) became a brief topic. It was to me
the most spiritually oppressive place I have ever been (to date!). With that
also is a belief, a conviction, that it can be changed! God’s transformation
powers cannot be limited where the Gospel of Jesus is presented, believed,
and acted upon. There is an interesting Old Testament parallel that reveals
how God will use even the least likely people to bring about His purposes
and set the captives free.
In 2 Kings 6:24 thru 7:20 we read the
account of Syria besieging Samaria. The situation was so terrible, hunger so
great, that people were engaging in cannibalism. All hope was truly lost,
but God had not wrung His hands in despair. He was just waiting for the most
undesirable, even hopeless people of the day to rise up and do something.
Those people weren’t even in the city but were leprous outcasts sitting at
the gate. Let’s read the passage; 7:3 Now there were four leprous men at the
entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here
until we die? 4 If we say ‘we will enter the city, the famine is in the
city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now
therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep
us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” 5 And they
rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to
the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 6 For
the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots
and the noise of horses-the noise of a great army; so they said to one
another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the
Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”Therefore they arose
and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact-their tents, their horses,
their donkeys and they fled for their lives.
We know that Israel is God’s covenant
people, and even in their fallen and apostate state He will honor the
covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their punishments have been
many with more to come but God will always honor His word, His covenants. He
always has and always will for that is His DNA. He does not and will not
change. God summed up His covenant in Jeremiah 7:23 with the following, “But
this is what I commanded them, saying, “Obey My voice and I will be your
God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have
commanded you that it may be well with you.” God will never compromise His
Word, His holiness, His standards to meet any need we think we have. Jesus
is God’s final seal on His everlasting covenant with man. We either accept
Him as is written in the Bible or are eternally separated from God’s grace
and covenant promises.
God’s Word declares in Ephesians 2:8-9 For
by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” So many today
are perverting the salvation message by twisting God’s simple truth and
drawing followers after themselves by presenting another altered gospel.
I was with a group that went to an old age
home. We sang with them and someone would share a message from God’s Word.
Afterwards we would go around and pray for those who wanted prayer. I’ll
never forget one dear lady that after I asked if she would like prayer said,
“I don’t have any money.” The anger that rose up in me that day has never
gone away. There is a righteous anger that needs to rise up in anyone that
calls themselves a Christian against the works of Satan. Attaching a dollar
sign to the works of the Holy Spirit is directly out of the pits of Hell. In
Matthew 10:8 Jesus told His disciples “Freely you have received, freely
give.” Our salvation is free, the Holy Spirit is free, and our access to the
Father is free. All of these had a terrible price and it was paid in full on
the Cross by the Blood of Jesus.
Back to our passage. When did the lepers
arise? Twilight. When did the enemy arise and flee? Twilight! When God’s
chosen vessel(s) for the moment arise to their calling/purpose the enemy
will flee. In a following verse (9) one said, “We are not doing right. This
day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning
light, some punishment will come upon us.”
The morning Light is coming, and that Light
is Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 gives us a preview of this. It reads “For the
Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” A few verses further on we read
that day will come as a thief in the night; no advance warning except that
which we are to be giving now as we share the Word of God and our testimony.
We can study the Bible and recognize the type of season His return will come
in, but all will still be taken by surprise when it occurs. It will be too
late to repent of your sin, and ask for forgiveness based on Jesus sacrifice
for you. Your ticket for eternal salvation will have expired at the sound of
the trumpet. Those asleep (death) will arise to either eternal life with
Christ or reside in hell with Satan, also for eternity. Nothing experienced
here on earth by anyone can compare with the glory to be found with Christ
or the horrors of hell with Satan.
We, if true followers of Jesus Christ are
living in a day of Good News, but most have remained silent, thus punishment
has come upon us and our nation. Many leaders for untold years have led us
astray. Some were subtle, others became very bold as their nefarious
(extremely wicked) schemes and doctrines went unchallenged by the masses. If
the masses don’t keep their leaders
in check, and accountable according to the Word of God, the lesser
will eventually rule. We became
enamored with the spoils of war, enticed with lusts of the flesh, lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life. In our pursuit for the ‘good’ life we have,
as Esau, sold our birthright. We have given up the Book with the Words of
Life for the certification hanging on the wall that will soon be dust
covered and eventually stored away or burned by those inheriting it. Our
schools were designed with the
intent of teaching our children to read, especially the Bible, from which
our morality, patriotism, faith, and prosperity were grounded in but
have now become bastions of perversion.
Had not the lepers arose at twilight and
gone forth into the enemies camp the entire city may well have been lost.
God will on occasion raise up another should one fail to carry out His will.
However, there are those times that you or I may be the last person with the
opportunity to introduce someone to Jesus. Being a part of the ‘Now
Generation’ has stunted our spiritual acumen(discernment) and blinded our
eyes towards eternity. Many have lost their love of humanity but
occasionally replace it with a bit of pity. We try to do good on our own to
appear good instead of embracing the only one Who is Good and permitting Him
to live through us. Jesus is the One we are to follow.
It requires but little imagination to see a
parallel between the lepers saga and that of today’s true Christians here in
America. They are being ostracized in every facet of society, labeled as a
member of Hate Groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center among others, the
biggest threat to America’s ‘democracy’ according to government documents,
and mocked or marginalized by
deceived people who profess to be ‘Christian’ but in word and deed deny the
absolute authority of Scripture. They are the apostates spoken of in Jude
12-13 for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
The famine grows worse daily in the city and
the enemy appears to grow stronger when in fact the enemy wasn’t mentioned
as growing in numbers daily. They were encamped, settled in. The people were
growing weaker due to the famine thus their perspectives were changing as
all hope appears to be gone.
So too is the organized church structure in
America. They are bowing down to the gods of this world, giving in to
political correctness and everything else that is exalting itself above
God’s design as described in His Word. Amos 8:11-12 speaks of a famine of
‘hearing the words of the Lord.’ The context in Amos is somewhat different
because the famine of God’s Word was sent by Him. The famine of hearing what
God’s Word is saying today is because of the teachers, pastors, and priests
serving up a watered down version which the people eat up like dessert. Then
they go back to their own famished homes, towns, and cities but never share
the good news because they have not have not received it in it’s purity.
Let’s come to our senses as the lepers did,
decide and believe the issue is truly a life and death matter, then face the
enemy as led and see God’s deliverance.
kenhayesfleming9@gmail.com
Kenneth H. Fleming
www.wbcis.com
502 Market Street
(814) 687-3707
Fallentimber, Pa. 16639