“AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN”….THEN SOON CAME THE END!
“AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN”….THEN SOON CAME THE END!
Mark Owen
Genesis 7: 1, 4, 10, 16
“And the Lord said unto Noah, ‘COME THOU and all thy house INTO THE ARK; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation …For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth…And it came to pass AFTER SEVEN DAYS, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth … And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: AND THE LORD SHUT HIM IN”.
SEVEN DAYS BEFORE the long promised, yet long-delayed WRATH OF GOD was poured out upon the earth, the Lord called Noah INTO THE ARK, along with the clean and unclean animals and birds and beasts which God had assembled.
GOD WAS INSIDE THE ARK, when calling Noah INTO IT! He did NOT say GO into the ark, but “COME”!
They WAITED there in the ark for ONE WEEK, no doubt to allow any other people from the “WORLD” to escape.
The door REMAINED OPEN for one final week. Whosoever would but HEED the call of Noah, could yet be SAVED, but by the time of the last week the people were UTTERLY OBLIVIOUS!
There were TOO MANY OTHER AMUSEMENTS, DISTRACTIONS and ENTERTAINMENTS going on for them, to THINK TOO DEEPLY about the eccentric family with its menagerie of animals, clambering ABOARD the pitch covered ARK!
AFTER SEVEN DAYS of settling and WAITING WITHIN THE ARK, THE DOOR WAS SHUT and the raindrops began to fall.
Jesus said of them that it was BUSINESS AS USUAL for them, “…until the day Noah entered into the Ark, they KNEW NOT UNTIL THE FLOOD CAME AND TOOK THEM ALL AWAY …” (Mat. 24:39).
After seven days, GOD HIMSELF CLOSED THE DOOR!
As long as the DOOR IS OPEN, there remains a CHANCE for men to be SAVED from the COMING WRATH … But there does come a time when GOD CLOSES THE DOOR!
When JUDGMENT came, it came QUICKLY, and WITHOUT WARNING!
THERE WAS NO TIME FOR NOAH TO GIVE THEM ONE FINAL WARNING, AS THE LORD SHUT HIM IN!
THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYONE PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD … TO STOP WARNING … AND TO BOARD THE ARK, LIKE NOAH!
“BUT AS THE DAYS OF NOAH WERE, SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And KNEW NOT until the flood came, and took them all away; SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE” (Mat. 24:37-39).
The SAME will be true in the last days! There will be NO DRAMATIC INDICATIONS that “THE DAY” or “THE HOUR” (of judgment) has come!
TWO MEN will be in the field, going about their NORMAL DAILY ROUTINE; one will be TAKEN, the other will be LEFT! TWO WOMEN will be grinding grain, just as they NORMALLY WOULD; one will be TAKEN, the other will be LEFT (Mat. 24:40-41).
The APPLICATION is now spelled out in verses 42-44.
Since NO ONE CAN KNOW the day or the hour that the LORD WILL COME, we must be CONSTANTLY in a state of ALERTNESS, READY AT ANY MOMENT!
Have you ever wondered WHY it is that the WISE VIRGINS REFUSE to assist the FOOLISH virgins by SHARING A LITTLE OIL from their own lamps?
It WASN’T that the five wise virgins DIDN’T CARE; it was because there would NOT BE ENOUGH OIL FOR ALL TEN LAMPS!
IF SPENDING TIME, TEACHING OTHERS, IS DRAINING YOUR OIL … IT’S TIME TO STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING … AND TAKE TIME TO FILL UP YOUR OWN OIL LEVELS AT THE MASTER’S FEET, … INSIDE THE ARK, … IN ORDER TO BE RAPTURE READY!
“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” (Mat. 25:10-12).
In our text, the FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS are NOT given the time to REVERSE their folly, once the GROOM has come!
They had their OPPORTUNITY, and they LOST it. Now it is TOO LATE!
I believe that the five FOOLISH virgins had NO OIL, for the very same reasons people continue to RUN OUT OF GAS, even when the FLASHING MESSAGE on their INSTRUMENT PANEL tells them they are!
First, MEN DON’T BELIEVE THE WARNING SIGNS!
They DON’T think things are as BAD as they are reported to be!
“I must have MORE GAS than that!” Or, “I’ve gotten THIS SAME MESSAGE BEFORE, and I’ve ALWAYS been able to get to the gas station, BEFORE RUNNING OUT”!
Those who RUN OUT OF GAS (or refuse to buy oil), are the people who REFUSE TO HEED THE WARNINGS of God’s Word!
Those who DON’T PURCHASE FUEL are those who DON’T THINK THEY NEED IT, at least at the moment!
Those who RUN OUT OF FUEL, are those who WRONGLY SUPPOSE that they still have PLENTY OF TIME TO GET IT LATER!
WE KNOW when our gas gauge is LOW!
THEY..WE CAN SEE THE FLASHING LIGHTS on the dash, but we LULL OURSELVES into thinking that there is still PLENTY OF TIME TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM!
This FALSE CONFIDENCE has gotten many people into TROUBLE!
The COMING OF OUR LORD will be SUDDEN and UNEXPECTED, and when He comes, all chances of CHANGING our course, have been FORFEITED!
JESUS CONCLUDED ALL HIS MESSAGES to the 7 CHURCHES in the book of Revelation, by saying: “He that hath an ear, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAITH UNTO THE CHURCHES” .
GOD’S VOICE is heard only by those SHUT UP WITH HIM IN SECRET PRAYER!
God is VERY CAREFUL to whom He speaks. It is only to those who VALUE His voice so much, THEY SHUT OUT THE WHOLE WORLD TO GET ALONE AND WAIT FOR HIM:
- God’s voice came to MOSES, when he was shut up ALONE with HIM.
- The word came to JOHN THE BAPTIST, ALONE in the WILDERNESS.
- The voice of God came to JACOB, in the DESERT of Haran.
- God spoke to JOSHUA, when he went OUT of the camp, ALONE, before Jericho.
- The voice of God came to PAUL, ALONE in the DESERT.
- The voice of the Father came to JESUS, ALONE on the MOUNTAIN in PRAYER.
God says to us, “If you WANT TO HEAR My voice, SHUT yourself up in the SECRET CLOSET of PRAYER”!
BUSYNESS, LUSTS, COVETOUSNESS, and the CARES of life, CHOKE OUT THE VOICE OF GOD!
Jesus gave us a DREADFUL WARNING against becoming TOO BUSY, TO STOP AND HEAR HIS VOICE! In the PARABLE of the SOWER, the WORD is HIS VOICE:
“These are they which are sown among THORNS; such as HEAR THE WORD, and the CARES of this world, and the DECEITFULNESS of riches, and the LUSTS of other things entering in, CHOKE THE WORD, and it becometh UNFRUITFUL” (Mark 4:18-19).
I fear there are SOME READING THIS RIGHT NOW, who have been CHOKING the voice of God!
Choke here, means “TO CROWD” or to DROWN OUT His voice!
God ONCE spoke so CLEARLY to you! It was such a JOY to you. You still LOVE Him, but you have LESS and LESS TIME FOR HIM!
Your BUSYNESS now calls you – your RICHES, your CARES, your PROBLEMS, your FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK, and all the other things CONSUMING YOUR TIME!
The voice of God now GROWS DIM! He is CALLING you, WOOING you; WARNING you:
“KEEP THIS UP, AND YOU WILL TOTALLY CHOKE AND DROWN OUT MY VOICE IN YOU”!!!
It is NOT OF GOD and it is NOT HOLY GHOST DISCERNMENT – unless it was born in the SECRET CLOSET, out of a DEEP COMMUNION, a BROKEN SPIRIT, and MUCH TIME SPENT ALONE IN HIS PRESENCE!
I am convinced that ALL God’s people would be able to HEAR HIS STILL, SMALL VOICE, if they simply would lay down SIN and IDOLS and would get SHUT IN WITH HIM ALONE – and not leave until He speaks!
God is speaking a fresh word every day, TO ALL WHO WILL HEAR; but many CANNOT HEAR IT, because their HEARTS ARE GROWING HARD!
In Hebrews we read, “… TODAY, if ye will hear His voice, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS …” (Hebrews 3:7-8).
God’s voice is a “TODAY” voice!
“He that hath the BRIDE is the BRIDEGROOM: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and HEARETH HIM, REJOICETH GREATLY because of the BRIDEGROOM’S VOICE: this my JOY therefore is fulfilled” (John 3:29).
OUR GREATEST JOY SHOULD BE: “I HEARD HIS VOICE! I stood alone, waiting, and I heard Him speak to me!”
The Holy Spirit will STRIVE FOR A WHILE, then it CEASED, when GOD SHUT THE DOOR!
The ARK brought Noah from the OLD WORLD to the NEW – from the valley of SORROW to the mountain of REST!
You must ENTER IN, for TODAY the door is OPEN! Soon God shall SHUT THE DOOR!
DON’T WAIT FOR THE TRUMPET TO SOUND!
On that day, it will be TOO LATE for the ones who NEGLECTED TO TAKE TIME TO HEAR WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY, and it will also be TOO LATE for the ones who WERE PREPARED THEMSELVES, to prepare ANYONE ELSE!
“WATCH YE THEREFORE, AND PRAY ALWAYS, that ye may be accounted WORTHY TO ESCAPE ALL these things that shall come to pass, and to STAND before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
Written by a whole lot of inspiration and insight, from the Holy Ghost!
Abiding
Fruitfulness is Found in Abiding in Christ [podcast]
“A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” Proverbs 28:20
Jesus is the True Vine
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:1-7
“The understanding is, if I am truly abiding in Christ (the Vine, my first love) then the fruit will come from Him, and not from me—of my own making—but through me. Again, it’s relationship with Christ that is the root of the matter, and not just outwardly keeping a list of rules (living under the law).
‘Abiding fruitfulness’—so loaded with meaning!
-
- for your own state of abiding in Christ
- for the fruit that is brought forth because you are abiding in Christ (the Vine) Who gives life to and bears the fruit
- that the fruit itself (fruit of the Spirit, souls of men and all good works that are born of the Spirit) will abide (remain) and flourish in God’s kingdom on earth and in eternity.” Debbie L.
IF JESUS is purging you, rejoice—because that means He’s born good fruit in your life and wants to bring forth more! Boom.
“Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” John 15:2
*Read that again.
IF you are not a DOER of God’s Word, it proves you are not saved and are a lukewarm hell bound rebel. Repent now and bring forth fruit to prove it (Matthew 3:7-10; 7:21; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:4; Revelation 2:26, etc.).
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22
HOW DID JESUS tell us to know/discern ourselves and others?
The FRUIT of our lives (Matthew 7:16,20).
The root determines the fruit.
Are you rooted in Christ?
Our works are the good fruit born out of Christ’s salvation and present work in our lives. Those good works do not save us but are a mere outworking of His great salvation in us.
FRUIT vs GIFTS
There are lots of people bragging about their GIFTS which alone tells you they are not in Christ who taught that the greatest among us will be the SERVANT of all—the FRUIT of God’s love in the true remnant disciple (Matthew 20:24-28; 23:8-12).
Gospel Hint: God is interested in a real relationship with those who choose Him. That relationship will always bear good fruit. FRUIT is the crop of an abiding relationship with Jesus which is the stated reason that God the Father sent His only begotten Son (John 15:1-16; 17:3). Anyone can operate in or even fake gifts. Gifts are glitter. Fruit is foundation! The root determines the fruit. What fruit is being born, produced in your life? Are you asking God to make you one with Him? Read John 17.
In the divine economy, FRUIT is much more important than GIFT because good FRUIT can only come out of relationship.
GOD is interested in FRUIT that only comes from a ROOTED abiding relationship! See Matthew 3:7-10; John 15, etc. Jesus foretold that on Judgment Day “MANY” will call out to Him with “Lord, Lord” as they boast of the GIFTS they operated in. “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:19-23).
Taking up the cross, suffering the death of self, is not earning us salvation… it’s simply rendering worship-filled “obedience to the faith” (Romans 1:5) – faith in the ONE who bled on that cross to earn salvation for us, all by Himself!
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Articles
Chosen for Holiness [podcast]
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:4
Holiness comes by the Savior in self denial (death and burial – the cross), not by self will or effort. Surrender is the cross – “NOT my will but thine be done” (Lk. 22:42) and “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). We surrender to Christ by saying “Not my will but thine be done” dear Lord, by Your grace and the deliberate act of my own will I submit to the cross, the crucified life – where You alone reign supreme in this vessel (Luke 22:42; Galatians 2:20, etc.). I love You LORD Jesus! You must increase but I must decrease! (John 3:30)
Holiness, not happiness, is the divine command, the chief purpose and end of Christ’s salvation.
Of holiness, one disciple writes:
“Holiness speaks more to nature than it does conduct. Good conduct is the spontaneous byproduct of the new nature of the new creation man thru the cross and death to the old nature. We are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-18). To preach holiness as conduct without the new nature thru the cross understanding is legalism. Holiness is actually derived from ‘wholeness’ meaning the thorough transformation of the whole tripartite man (1 Thess 5:23). So many of these ‘holiness’ preachers are preaching nothing but conduct under law. Law arouses sinful passions and causes sin to increase and was given in order to provoke transgressions (Rom 7:5; 5:20; Gal 3:21). They are enemies of the cross!”
Holiness comes by way of the cross, not by way of the flesh. Just as sin was conquered by the cross of Christ, so sin in the life of the saint is conquered by the daily cross – the crucified life (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3, etc.). It’s time to stop trying harder and to simply die deeper.
NOTICE: When a believer or group of believers backslides, they no longer separate from the transgressors who are unrepentant:
Fornication Defiles
“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have (Gr. possessed and wouldn’t repent) his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:1-2
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Abiding
“They that are Christ’s” [podcast]
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24
We “fight” by dying and not by rising up:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12).
When we die downward, Christ, who is “the resurrection and the life” raises our lives upward, in His infinite divine power to glorify Him (John 11:25). This is exactly how our LORD Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave!
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” Hebrews 2:14
You may be wondering why you haven’t overcome sin. Here’s how to overcome sin—and beware of those not preaching this cross! (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6; 1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 2:20; 5:34, etc.).
“He that is dead (crucified with Christ) is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7
Read that again!
No one is “freed from sin” until they are “dead”—crucified with Christ.
The truly God-fearing man realizes his utter need for the grace of Christ. He realizes that he must continue, to abide in Christ, to “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12). He views salvation as a present reality and responsibility—to remain in an intimate, abiding relationship with Christ (John 15:1-16); Colossians 2:6-7).
Those who don’t walk in the cross lifestyle, will revert to type— sinful type.
The authentic disciple builds his whole life around the Bible, the cross and the throne of God (Jeremiah 17:12; Hebrews 4:14-16).
WHEN our love for God is supreme, we will daily seek Him.
When we are hungering and thirsting after His righteousness, He is filling us with His overcoming, victorious grace (Matthew 5:6).
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27
WHATEVER you do, never get away from the cross message—the crucified life to which Jesus calls every one who will be His.
Many fancy their devotion to very intelligent men in ministry and yet, only God knows what’s in their hearts. Having mega intellectual knowledge, understanding and the ability to articulate, in no way means a man is crucified with Christ. And if he’s not “crucified with Christ” he’s not overcoming sin—which means he’s living in sin.
“He that is dead (crucified with Christ) is freed from sin.” Romans 6:7
The Only Solution to Man’s Sin [podcast]
Prayer: I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Moments with Our Master [book] 365 Day Devotional book available at the STORE page and amazon. English and Spanish.
The Only Solution to Man’s Sin [podcast]
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