A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Thursday,
March
4,
2021
"The Spirit
Of Lawlessness"
Message summary: Today
in the midst of this age of lawlessness let us
stand up for truth and righteousness and pray for
a Holy Spirit sent revival to descend upon our
world!
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7). "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4).
Listen to this message on your audio player.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work" (2 Thessalonians 2:7). "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4).
Fun fact about me that most
don't know. Early in my ministry I preached from
David Wilkerson's pulpit! It was a massive (by
today's standards) mahogany wrap around pulpit
with room to hide behind if needed, with a lower
ledge to hold notes, books, etc.! The only photo I
could find of the pulpit is in the background
where the Rainbow pre-schoolers are presenting a
musical program. Somewhere surely there's a photo
of me preaching, but at least I found a photo of
the pulpit!For
those who may not know the name, David Wilkerson
started a ministry called "Teen Challenge" which
has impacted thousands of lives since it was
founded 60 years ago. He left a rural Pennsylvania
church where he had pastored to work on the street
among teenage gang members and socially
marginalized people in New York City and is best
known for authoring "The Cross and the
Switchblade" which later became a well known
movie.
When
we moved to Pennsylvania in 1977 to begin a church
in Saint Marys, PA the church that Wilkerson had
pastored in Phillipsburg, PA donated the pulpit to
our church. I preached from that pulpit the entire
time we lived in that area till 1993.
David
Wilkerson wrote in his later years,
"For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work” (2 Thessalonians 2:7 KJV). The Greek
word Paul uses for iniquity in this passage
literally means lawlessness. Therefore, the
mystery is one of lawlessness — acting without law
or restraint.
Yet, this lawlessness is not simply a rebellion against the rule of man. It’s not about rebelling against civil authority or committing a violent crime. These things do provoke God’s wrath, but the mystery of lawlessness goes much deeper. It is an outright rejection of the truth that is in Christ — a casting aside of God’s Holy Word and His commands.
Yet, this lawlessness is not simply a rebellion against the rule of man. It’s not about rebelling against civil authority or committing a violent crime. These things do provoke God’s wrath, but the mystery of lawlessness goes much deeper. It is an outright rejection of the truth that is in Christ — a casting aside of God’s Holy Word and His commands.
The spirit of lawlessness is rampant in
our nation today. It is the very force behind the
legislation that seeks to banish God from our
society; the same spirit that Satan used to
deceive Eve when he told her, in so many words,
“God won’t punish you for disobeying. You can eat
the fruit and you won’t have to pay for it!”
Satan is using the same lie on Christians today; day after day, he convinces masses of believers that they can sin without paying any penalty. It is a demonic scheme to pervert Christ’s gospel of grace.
Satan is using the same lie on Christians today; day after day, he convinces masses of believers that they can sin without paying any penalty. It is a demonic scheme to pervert Christ’s gospel of grace.
The
spirit of lawlessness is indeed growing rapidly in
our time. Here in America we are dealing with
issues practically unimaginable a generation ago
(or for that matter, even five years ago!) These
issues surely signal a return to the turbulent
Biblical period of the Judges when the people
became their own authority and acted on their own
opinions of right and wrong. The writer portrays
the spiritual climate with these words: “Everyone
did what was right in his own eyes”
(Judges 21:25). It is also descriptive of our own
time period today, man-determined morality.
“Man-determined
morality” is expressed in our daily text, “There
is a way that seems right to a man, but in the
end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). It
is an infection wreaking havoc on a society;
rejecting God, His Word and standards. Mankind
raises a defiant fist to God declaring, "I’ll
do it my way". But God will not be mocked
and mankind will reap from that which they sow
(Galatians 6:7-9).
An interesting aspect of our daily verse is that it’s repeated twice verbatim in the book of Proverbs (see also 16:25). It seems that the Holy Spirit wants to make doubly sure we get this one right! It’s a clear and straightforward saying with a timeless truth.
“There is a way that seems right to a man.” The Benson Commentary states, “There are some evil actions or courses which people may think to be lawful and good, either through gross ignorance, or self-flattery, or through want of necessary diligence in examining them by the rule of God’s word.”
“But in the end it leads to death.” Man's way always leads to death. Sometimes this judgment is meted out visibly on this side, otherwise at the final judgment
We pray that God will give each reader deep discernment to understand the times as the spirit of lawlessness abounds and make a firm resolve to remain faithful to God and walk in His ways. In a remarkable prophetic statement in Daniel 12:10 we read, “The wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.”
Today in the midst of this age of lawlessness let us stand up for truth and righteousness and pray for a Holy Spirit sent revival to descend upon our world!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
An interesting aspect of our daily verse is that it’s repeated twice verbatim in the book of Proverbs (see also 16:25). It seems that the Holy Spirit wants to make doubly sure we get this one right! It’s a clear and straightforward saying with a timeless truth.
“There is a way that seems right to a man.” The Benson Commentary states, “There are some evil actions or courses which people may think to be lawful and good, either through gross ignorance, or self-flattery, or through want of necessary diligence in examining them by the rule of God’s word.”
“But in the end it leads to death.” Man's way always leads to death. Sometimes this judgment is meted out visibly on this side, otherwise at the final judgment
We pray that God will give each reader deep discernment to understand the times as the spirit of lawlessness abounds and make a firm resolve to remain faithful to God and walk in His ways. In a remarkable prophetic statement in Daniel 12:10 we read, “The wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.”
Today in the midst of this age of lawlessness let us stand up for truth and righteousness and pray for a Holy Spirit sent revival to descend upon our world!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we know there is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to
death. That’s why we cannot choose a man-based law
that stands in contrast to the Bible, for it will
lead us to a spiritual death and we will ultimately
spend eternity apart from You and all the untold
blessings You have prepared for us in heaven. For
those of us who seek to follow Your word help us not
to cave in to the spirit of lawlessness by cleverly
invented arguments that permits the law of man to
supersede the law of God. Through Christ we come to
You in prayer with a firm resolve to remain faithful
and fruitful. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental
Resources
Yesterday's "Focus On The
Family" broadcast featured a story of Bryan Koch, an area pastor from
Reading PA. "Journeying From Tragedy
to Triumph" Offering hope to those
discouraged by life's struggles, describes
how his faith in God helped him work
through the devastating loss of his wife,
and his own left leg, in a motorcycle
accident, and enabled him to forgive the
drunk driver who caused it. See here to listen to
episode. I have heard Brian share this
live and he has a remarkable story of
overcoming.
Send
a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
To receive the
"Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday
through email see this
page to subscribe to our email list. You can also
subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or
through a Wordpress email subscription.
(See the email subscription on the right side
after opening this page)
Permissions:
Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and
distribute any material on Daily Encouragement
Net, in part or in whole, in any format,
provided that you do not alter the wording in
any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of
reproduction. It is our desire to spread this
material, not protect or restrict it. We do
request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription
information intact.
We want to thank all who financially
support our ministry. We
realize there are many fine ministries and
causes requesting support but if the Lord
would lead you we surely need and appreciate
the financial support from our readers and
listeners. Our
ministry labor is comprised of approximately
half our time to Daily Encouragement and the
other half to our chaplaincy ministry to
companies for which we receive compensation.
Each of these ministries essentially is the
same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for
each of us. Our goal for many years is that
each would provide half of our ministry
expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note: We
also provide this easy option due to the
convenience, for international supporters,
and for those who may not be concerned
regarding receiving an official tax
deductible receipt. Click here to
send an offering using PayPal. This
will open to a page that states "Brooksyne
Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2021 Stephen C. & Brooksyne
Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA