I had a great time at the prophecy conference last weekend. Thank you so much to all of you that came out and said hello. I hope you enjoyed it. There was some great information given. 

Personal highlights for me:

1. My wife was with me!

2. David Hocking said he listens to and loves my radio program! What!?!?! The guys has been teaching the Bible for 52 years and is one of my favorite teachers. Wow. Glory to God. Kate and I were trippin!

On another note, during my teaching I said the word “damn”. I know, not a good idea from the pulpit. Sometimes the english language (or at least my vocabulary of it) fails me and I reach a little further and it goes there. The context in which I dropped the controversial bomb? I was talking about the desire to go be with the Lord when He comes in during the Rapture. I was referring to the fact that some people call the Rapture fanciful and escapism. I said something like, “You’re damn right it is escapism. I want to escape this world and be with Jesus!” What?! Paul said the same thing essentially in 2 Corinthians 5:8… but without the ‘damn’ part.

Well, some people were upset. But here is what upsets me. I also had mentioned in the message that there were several thousand unreached people groups in the world. Nobody even flinched. Why are Christians more upset about the word ‘damn’ than they are about the plight of the ‘damned’. I mean, those who are lost and need to hear the Glorious Gospel! You tell me, which should offend our Christian sensibilities more? Ughhhhh!

Anyway, if you want to hear/see the conference you can find the teachings here:

www.realradioactive.org

I have the honor of having been invited to speak at the Southern California Prophecy Conference happening this coming weekend in Chino Hills. I am really looking forward to it. I mean, guys like Jack Hibbs, Tim LaHaye, David Hocking, Mark Hitchcock and Ed Hinson are speaking at it… so I am just stoked to be going!

I have been asked to speak on “Why God Has Given Us Bible Prophecy”. This is a very important topic. There seems to me to be today among young churchgoers, pastors, and leaders a real tendency to shun Bible Prophecy. The current trend seems to be toward valuing very practical theology. I am encouraged that there does seem to be a renewed desire to really dive into theology. I think we are seeing a theologically hungry and astute generation of churchgoers and leaders, that is good. And the fact that they value pragmatism and practicality is good as well. What is not so good is that Bible Prophecy is seen largely as irrelevant and peripheral. In short, Bible Prophecy is in danger of being dismissed in the current young church climate.

But Bible Prophecy is relevant and practical in its implications. About twenty-five percent of the Bible was prophetic in nature at the time of writing. One out of every ten verses in the epistles has to do with the Second Coming of Christ. In whole, the Second Coming is mentioned 1,845 times in the Bible. Surely we cannot ignore the topic of Bible Prophecy-the return of Christ being the centerpiece thereof-but to our own theological and practical detriment! We don’t need to obsess about it, but nor should we discount or ignore it. When God communicated to us in the Bible He saw fit in HIs wisdom to make a significant portion of that communication prophetic and eschatological in nature. Surely as the God who cares about us and how we live our lives meant His eschatological revelation to have a meaningful bearing on our existence.

Jesus expected the inhabitants of Jerusalem to understand the times in which they lived as they related to His coming. The same holds true for us. We need to be aware. Not setting dates and all that drama, but aware. The reality of Christ’s return and our general chronological orientation with regards to it should radically affect our approach to and fervor for mission.

After the Ascension the disciples expected Jesus to return soon. So, they got their rears in gear and got on mission. Similarly, Paul expected to see the Return of Christ on his lifetime and so ran the race to win. Every generation is to have a view of His imminent return and so be radically engaged in His mission. When we lose that perspective we are in danger not only of not being faithful to Scripture, but not being faithful to the Great Commission.

Most importantly, a correct understanding of eschatology yields in us a greater passion for, and understanding of, the Glory of Jesus Christ. Which is what it is all about my friends! I’ll talk a bit more about that this weekend.

I hope to see some of you at the conference. Here is a link with all the info. If you make it, please come by and say hi.

socalprophecyconference.com

I just got back from a week in London. I went there with Pastor Tim Chaddick from Reality LA to visit Mark and Lizzie Dyrud who are planting a Reality over there. It was an amazing time! Mark and Lizzie are doing very well in the Lord and just got a new place in Notting Hill in West London which is where we plan to start the church. I love Notting Hill, it has a great feel and cool community vibe.

While there we attended 5 different churches and visited a few more just to look around, including Metropolitan Tabernacle where Charles Spurgeon pastored!! There is a picture below of Tim and I in front of a portrait of the man himself.

One of the highlights of our London church hopping experience was All Souls Church. All Souls is the church that John Stott pastored for about 50 years. John Stott is one of my all time favorite pastor/authors. Though he was retired and is no longer at the church it was an amazing experience none the less… great church!

We also visited Hillsong London which is the largest congregation in England now. The worship was great! The Bible teaching was heretical and perhaps the worst I have ever heard. The pastor actually said, “The Bible says there is one Jesus but there are actually two… even Jesus was confused about who he was.” That my friends is heresy. This doctrine was condemned as heresy at the Council of Ephesus in 431 and at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. We were deeply grieved. There were so many people there that seemed so hungry for the Lord and they were being fed crap.

I also got to visit my dear friends Marshall and Debbie Alnutt and attend the church they lead. It was a wonderful time. Marshall and Debbie are the real deal.

We are so excited about Reality London. Check out the website at realitylondon.co.uk

Please be praying for Mark and Lizzie as they follow the Lord!

The boys with the man