Unity versus Uniformity, Accepting Others, Mark of the Beast (transition but some End Times stuff)

  If you’re online or in a building, you can tell classmates of Jesus. You know things people worry about now, people are so caught up in these crises. There are lessons in prophecy for us, too, though stuff like the mark of the Beast won’t come till the Tribulation. One is about service and allegiance.

In Mat. 6:24, Jesus says “No man can serve 2 masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” We can love two Earthly ones – like parents – and serve different ones – chores help your family at home, schoolwork helps you learn. But here, Jesus is telling us to build treasure in Heaven. “Mammon” are worldly things people get greedy for: money; power; fame; etc.. These are treasures we have on Earth. They will disappear one day. (Addictions also lead to greed but they don’t even produce treasure, they rob us of even Earthly ones.) Earthly treasures are the opposite of Heavenly ones which last forever.

We struggle with greed in this world. We serve flesh to get what we want, ignoring God’s commands. Jesus suffered in all ways like us, yet never sinned.(Heb. 4:15) He knows what it’s like to be tempted, and always provides a way of escape if we’ll take it.(1 Cor. 10:13) Matthew and Luke 4 show, the devil tempting Jesus with what He needs for basic survival and even with the whole world. Jesus refused to bow down and worship him. 

Revelation has a clear warning not to take the mark, but it isn’t just the act of taking a mark. The Bible warns an image of the Beast will be created, but not till Rev. 13. The Mark isn’t mentioned till Rev. 13:16. It says all will be ordered to receive it in their right hand or forehead. Verse 17 says noone will be able to buy or sell unless they have “the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (the “666” I mentioned last week).

This is where people get scared. We need to reassure them. Some think any vaccine is the mark, or will lead to it. The idea of taking the Mark is to make you worship the devil, who runs the Beast’s government system. But, it isn’t here yet. We who know Jesus as Saviour don’t have to worry. Could something that is produced now lead to the Mark? Maybe. But, those who trust Jesus as Saviour during the Tribulation are the ones who will have to die for their faith if they don’t take the Mark. We won’t be here for that.

The important lesson for us is: Who are we serving? It would be sad to be caught up by Jesus while looking at a bad website or trying to be popular with bad friends. Jesus understands, though. A slip right before He appears would just lead to a gentle reminder from a loving mom, like, “I said no sweets before dinner, remember?” It will not be a harsh rebuke.

 But, if you keep doing or following things that turn you away from God, it can lead to far worse stuff, even addictions. You don’t want the Creator to say, “I warned you! You could have been serving Me, and more would have trusted in Me.” You want Him to say “well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Just like you want praise for doing your chores. This is another reason to avoid sin. It can make us greedy for things other than God so we stop serving Him. And, He could call us home anytime, even without the Rapture.

But, we have free will. We can choose to serve Him or not. He doesn’t want us to be mindless robots. It’s okay to like a certain sport or love learning family history or other hobbies. The key is, does that interest draw you closer to God or away from Him? Sure, with some it’s “neither” – you won’t get closer to God liking barbecue than you will liking spaghetti. But with food – like with that sport or history or collecting or whatever other hobby– the key is, are you honoring God in it and thanking Him for it.

This is because we are all of the body of Christ. I’ve shared how we are many members, and all have different functions, skills, and interests. This is unity. We’re united in the goal of honoring Jesus, and celebrate our diverse interests, backgrounds, etc.. Unity of believers means we should never look down on people because they don’t come from our part of town, any more than the face should say, “Feet, you’re way down there, you’re not important.” Feet help us get places, and eyes help us see where to go. We might not hang out with everyone. For instance, I don’t hunt or fish due to my handicaps, or talk about it. But, I like discussing other things with those who do. We’re all equal at the cross. But, we still have different interests, personalities, etc., so we will have a lot of diversity in Heaven.

Uniformity is different. That means everyone has to be the same. Originality isn’t there. It is what the one world government of Revelation will force. People won’t be able to believe in Jesus as the only way to be saved from our sins and get to Heaven like the Bible teaches. Some think masks are part of it, but masks have nothing to do with it. People had to wear them in 1918 in the Spanish Flu, and those were all the same. Have you seen the many different ones now? This is why I say to make a straight line for the Gospel if someone worries about anything. The devil is using something we need to trick us. But, you have the truth, as I shared; you can use the truth of the Bible and understand signs of the times based on the Bible.

The devil always tries to take our focus off of God. Remember when Peter asked if he could also walk on water? Jesus said “come.” He did – till he realized what he was doing. He sank when he took his eyes off of Jesus, and he cried out “Lord, save me!” Jesus picked up him and walked back in the boat with Him.(Mat. 14:22-33)

This is why I say, it’s okay to have fun as long as you follow 1 Cor. 10:31, do all to the glory of God. Jesus is warning us if our whole focus is on money or fame or something, we can’t serve Him like we should. It’s not life or death like it will be in the Tribulation. But, it could be a matter of someone else’s, since they will be watching us to see if what we say is real. It’s vital for people to trust Jesus as Saviour now and not wait. First, a person might not survive. Also, as one pastor likes to say, “If you’re not willing to gdt saved and live for Jesus before the Rapture, what makes you think you’ll be willing to die for Him after the Rapture.”

So, share the Gospel with everyone, whenever you can. See the front at gcyouthquake.org for a simple way. But, at the same time, we should never expect the Rapture so much that we don’t live for today. It’d be like hoping for Christmas now, not knowing it’s only August. You don’t want to be disappointed when September comes and we still haven’t had Christmas, right? Nobody knows when Jesus will return. He said to occupy till He comes(Luke 19:13) – like that ambassador that knows a country is a volcano ready to erupt. Yes, we have to help people here, but the most important thing is to get the people to want to get off that island.

So, while you are telling others Jesus, I want to share about our golfathon. Because, if the Lord tarries, we must be ready.