General Articles

Unity through Division :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

Luke 12: 49-53

49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

One of the hardest things to come to grips with as a Christian is that our love, devotion and worship of Jesus will often cause us to lose some of the people that we hold close. Often, it is not us leaving them, but them leaving us.

Being saved is the act of believing in Jesus as the Messiah, the sole person and power of salvation. Then, as we mature and grow in Jesus, we want to become followers of Jesus, not just redeemed, but begin to look, think, and talk like Jesus. We want to stand for the people and the things that He stood for. When we get to this point, then the resistance will come. It is okay to say I am a Christian, and I believe in Jesus. Some will scoff, some will laugh, and others will just ignore you. But once you begin to follow Jesus, once you begin to deny yourself and want to obey Jesus, this is where the rub comes. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says this,

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'”

One needs to deny self; even here, there is division. The natural thinking of our humanity is to affirm self, to love ourselves more than anyone or anything else. So, to be a true follower of Jesus, one must separate one’s identity from self and identify in and with Jesus. Thus, we need to look to Jesus and Him alone for our validation. When we do this, we begin the very difficult understanding of ‘unity through division.’ To be in unity with Jesus often requires division between self and others. Once we can deny self, and if I understand this, it is a daily thing, then we will begin to act, think and behave differently, and a lot of our acquaintances will no longer want to ‘hang’ with us. Jesus once had a multitude of followers, but when He began to teach hard things about living for God, many left. See John 6: 66-68,

“From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus asked the Twelve, ‘Do you want to leave too’? Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.'”

Once you and I are denying ourselves and we come to the realization that Jesus and He alone has the words of life, then the division becomes easier. It never becomes easy but a bit easier, and the loss of people we love because of Jesus is hard. The ones mentioned in the text verse refer to family members. Our homes will be divided about Jesus, divided about His Lordship, about His person, about His call to obedience, and maybe even if He is real or not.

Sadly, there is division over doctrine that adds to or takes away from the Gospel. There are persons who add works to the Gospel, and there are those who take the Gospel away from many, saying that Jesus only died for some. Others offer the Gospel of faith and grace, but lately, there has been a surge of those, even amongst conservatives, who think one can be unsaved if they do not work to keep being saved. These divisions rock churches and split churches. There are arguments, hurt feelings and all kinds of pain. But the truth is worth the pain.

This morning, I was reading Galatians, and even back in the first-century churches, there were people adding the law to grace; they could not just accept the beauty of salvation by grace and grace alone. No, surely, we have to do something to earn it. Paul fought that and spoke loudly against it.

The same truth that sets us free will enslave many others. They hate the freedoms we have in Jesus; they hate the simplicity of the Gospel, ‘believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved.’ This is offensive to many; this is divisive to many, and it is a stumbling block to others. But to those of us who have received eternal life by trusting in the simplicity of the Gospel, we are united; we can meet people from all across the world, maybe not even speak the same language or look the same, but there is a unity in Jesus that transcends every other division.

If you are living in division, I am sure it can be painful to be divided from those that you love. Maybe you can feel the tension when you speak, or maybe just in the same room. Make sure that the division is because you and I are seeking to be true and honest followers of Jesus. Make sure that the division is based on adherence to Biblical truths that you know and can cite. Make sure that the division is one-sided – them from you and not you from them. Make sure that our lives are not filled with pride and self-righteousness but rather a humble appreciation for Jesus’ saving grace and loving-kindness.

Only Jesus has the words of life. Only Jesus is the Way! Only Jesus can save. Only Jesus can transform us into His image. Only Jesus is coming to rescue this fallen and broken world, and only Jesus has the power to get us from this life to the next. If these stances cause division in our homes and with our families, so be it. But, if you ask God, He will put you into a community of believers that will offer unity around these very beliefs. And, as we get closer and closer to the return of Jesus, these divisions will become more and more pronounced. It will become more and more important to have a secure and safe place to be unified around Jesus. Paul tells us this very thing in Hebrews 10:25,

“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The Bible does not call us to division for the sake of division; rather, it calls us to trust in the person and finished work of Jesus; it calls us to surrender ourselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and to live in obedience to the clearly stated commands of God. We know, even just from reading about Jesus’ life, that these things will bring division.

May the Lord give us the grace to accept the division and the loss graciously and that we would resist the temptation to sacrifice following Jesus in order to maintain a temporary relationship here on earth. Lord, please help us, help me, increase our faith.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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The Middle East Is Cranking Up! :: By Keith Black

Published on: by RR10

The Middle East war engine has CRANKED UP. This current war started when the Hamas terror group, on October 7, 2023, TURNED THE KEY.

Israel is the SPARK PLUG (see Zechariah 12:6 “In that day will I make the governors of Judah an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.“)

It first sparked when the red heifers were brought into Israel, intended to be sacrificed to obtain the ashes needed to build a temple on the Temple Mount. The Muslim Palestinians were angered about this and started the war.

The spark plug sparks each time Israel wipes out a high-ranking terror leader. It sparked when Israel wiped out several Iranian military leaders in Damascus, including generals. It also sparked when Israel killed a high-ranking Hezbollah leader in Lebanon. Israel was also blamed for the assassination of a high-ranking Hamas leader visiting Iran. It is not fully known who killed him. Sparks also fly when Israel builds “settlement” housing in Judea and Samaria. When Jews visit the Temple Mount to pray, sparks fly also.

Iran is the CRANKSHAFT. The crankshaft turned when Iran fired 300 missiles aimed at Israel.

Iran’s proxy terror groups – Hamas, Palestinians, Hezbollah, Houthis, and other Muslim terror groups – are the PISTONS that turn the crankshaft.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab States are the GASOLINE. If Iran attacks Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states by destroying the Saudi oil fields and refineries as well as the other oil fields in the Persian Gulf, then oil prices would go as high as several hundred dollars or Euros a barrel. A major Mid-East war could result in the destruction of the Mid-East oil fields and refineries by Iran and its proxies.

Iran sees Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and some other Gulf states as allies of Israel. A few years ago, Iran fired missiles at Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery. In a big Mid-East war, expect all that to get destroyed. Another way for Iran to disrupt oil trade is to sink a few ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That would block the path.

When the Mid-East cranks up, expect terror attacks by Iran and its proxies to increase. It also drives up anti-Semitism. Muslim protesters are endangering Jews around the world, including in Europe and in the USA. The Jews no longer feel safe in their home countries of birth. The violent anti-Semitism is forcing them to flee to Israel for safety. With all the Jews that are fleeing to Israel, Israel is running out of land to build housing units for all these people. So, Israel must build high-rise housing units in Judea and Samaria.

More than half of the world’s Jews are still outside Israel. Most are in the USA. There are 15 million full-blooded Jews. When you count partial-blooded Jews also, that adds up to 25 million. If all the remaining Jews (full & partial) flee to Israel, Israel is going to have to build high-rise housing units everywhere they can, including in the West Bank. Can you imagine 25 million Jews (part & full) if they are all in Israel? That will be very crowded. That would be more than the New York City metropolitan area. The core part of Israel is barely bigger than the NYC metro land area. The NYC metro area has 20.1 million people. This would be a very big spark to start the Mid-East war engine.

There is one benefit to having the Mid-East war engine cranked up: the timing of the Rapture is pretty much tied to what happens in Israel. The more it is cranked up, the more it will probably push the Rapture forward. God must intervene as the Mid-East gets cranked up.

When God steps on the ACCELERATOR PEDAL, off we go up in the Rapture. Then Russia (Gog), the GREAT WHITE SHARK, GETS REELED IN AS IF ON A FISHING LINE (Terry James wrote an article called Fishing for Gog. Link: https://www.raptureready/2024/07/10/fishing-for-gog-by-terry-james-3/).

So, the Mid-East gets CRANKED UP EVEN MORE as Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, Sudan, and other Muslim nations join Russia. All the armies of Ezekiel 38 & 39 will get mostly wiped out as they try to invade Israel.

The diplomats at the UN, the EU, and others will cringe at this. Zechariah 12: “And I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people.”

If you do not yet have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, accept him now and avoid the Tribulation.