|
Chapter 42: So Ends my Tale – my Tale has been Told and
Recorded and the Matter ends here. My Tale has been Recorded and my Tale that
began with my birth in the Gateway to the Coal Fields of West Virginia where
the Coal Miners like my father and brother who worked in the Darkness of the
Shadow of Death was a foreshadowing of the pilgrimage I would make to the
Gates of the Enemy in the Galilee where those, like the Coal Miners in West
Virginia, walk about in Darkness in the land of the Shadow of Death. Our
Tales are a Progression:
Everyone’s Life and the Tale they have to Tell is a Progression that
begins at birth and ends with death.
And, so it is with our “Spiritual Life”. For the Believer, our spiritual life begins
when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we are reborn. However, unlike our life here on earth that
will end in death – our rebirth in Christ will last forever and we will spend
eternity with Christ. We know from 1 Timothy 4:15; Matthew 13:8-17; 1 Corinthians
2:1-23 and Luke 12:48 that just as our lives here on earth are a progression
that begins with our birth and ends with our death – our “Spiritual Life” is
also a Progression that begins when we are reborn: 1 Peter 1:23, John
1:12-13. However, unlike our natural
birth, our spiritual life that begins when we are reborn will last
forever. Sadly, the unbeliever will experience a second death and he will
spend eternity in hell. Unlike the
unbeliever, we will not experience a second death. Revelation 21:8 The
Way we Live our lives here on earth will determine where we will spend
eternity: Given that how we live our life here on earth will
determine where we will spend eternity and whether we will never die or
suffer a second death, then we need to examine ourselves and ask what does
our lives tell about us? Do we travel
on the Straight and Narrow Path that leads to Heaven or do we travel on the
broad path that leads to hell? Matthew 7:13-14 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through
the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the
many who choose that way. 14 But
the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few
ever find it. NLT And, the way we walk on the path we choose is a
progression. Life is a Progression from the day we are born until the day we
die. Our Spiritual Lives are a Progression that either
lead to everlasting life with Christ or Eternity in Hell separated from
Christ. It is a Biblical Principle that we are to Progress in our Walk
with the Lord. As we walk on the Path
of Righteousness we need to be mindful to progress in our spiritual gifts
because God gives his toughest and hardest spiritual battles to His strongest
and most mature soldiers who engage in Spiritual Warfare – 1Timothy 4:15;
Matthew 13:8-17. The Lord will
not ask a new Christian to go through what He will ask of a more mature
Believer. Paul encouraged Timothy to Progress: 1 Timothy 4:15. Practice these things, immerse
yourself in them, so that all may see your Progress. ESV The LORD GOD has enabled me make Spiritual Progress: Habakkuk
3:18-19 says it best! As I have travelled on the Straight and Narrow Path that leads
to eternal life with Christ I have had many trials and tribulations and just
as the Prophet Habakkuk said “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in
the victorious God of my salvation! The
Lord God has been my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army;
The Lord God has made my feet like hinds’ feet and He has made me to walk,
not to stand still in terror, but to walk and make SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
upon my high places of trouble, suffering and responsibility!” Amplified Bible Classic Edition The Lord God has enabled me to walk forward with Spiritual
Confidence on my places of challenge and responsibility. There is a Progression in the Believers
Walk: It is only those who listen to the teaching of
Jesus Christ, who will make that Progression (Matthew 13:8-17; 1 Corinthians
3:1-23; Luke 12:48; 1 Timothy 4:15) Matthew 13:8-17 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile
soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred
times as much as had been planted! 9Anyone with ears to hear should
listen and understand.” 10His disciples came and asked him,
“Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” 11He replied, “You are permitted to
understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12To
those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given, and they
will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening,
even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really
listen or understand. 14This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear
what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not
comprehend. 15For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears
cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and
their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot
turn to me and let me heal them.’ 16“But blessed are your eyes,
because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17I tell you the truth, many
prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see
it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. NLT Matthew 13:12 reveals that those Believers who faithfully use
and apply the knowledge and understanding that God has given them will
receive further Spiritual Revelation, Wisdom, Insight and
Understanding. However, on the other hand, those Believers who are
carnally minded and fail to go on to maturity in Christ will fail to grasp
the deeper meaning of God's Word and risk losing what little understanding
they have. And, Luke 12:48 reveals that those Believers who have been given
much, much will be required of us. Both my brother Grover and I
realized that our Apostolic Ministry, the blessings and opportunities that
God gave us, meant that we would be held more accountable as to how we used
God’s gifts for God’s Kingdom purposes. We are to use our gifts and
knowledge wisely for the advancement of God’s Kingdom purposes and be
prepared to give an account. We are to be responsible stewards of the
gifts and knowledge that God gives us. 1 Corinthians 3:1-23 1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you
as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid
food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you
are still not able; 3 for you are
still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among
you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I am of
Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not
carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and
who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord
gave to each one? 6 I planted,
Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So
then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives
the increase. 8Now he who plants
and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according
to his own labor. 9 For we are
God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was
given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another
builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each
one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be
revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone's work which he has
built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will
suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are the temple
of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God
will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If
anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he
may become wise. 19 For the wisdom
of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches
the wise in their own craftiness"; 20
and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile." 21 Therefore
let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the
world or life or death, or things present or things to come--all are yours. 23 And you are Christ's, and Christ is
God's. NKJV Hebrews 5:1-14 1 For every high priest taken from among
men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may
offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He
can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he
himself is also subject to weakness. 3 Because
of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices
for sins. 4 And no man takes this
honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to
become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My
Son, Today I have begotten You." 6 As He also says in another place: "You
are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek"; 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had
offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him
who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
8 though He was a Son, yet
He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the
author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest "according to the
order of Melchizedek," 11 of
whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of
hearing. 12 For though by this
time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the
first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and
not solid food. 13 For everyone
who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of
righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But
solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. NKJV Hebrews 6:1-8 1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the
elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward
God, So Ends
my Tale – my Tale on this Matter ends here: It has been Recorded! I have Written down for the Generation to come that the Gates of
the Enemy and Spiritual Borders are as Relevant today as they were when the
Bible was Written – It has been recorded that a People yet to be Created will Praise
the LORD. Psalm 102:18 teaches that it is important to always to keep
future generations in mind and this Book has been Written and Recorded with
Psalm 102:18 in mind. My Prayers are that just as the Lord has Established the Work of
my Hands, that the Lord will Establish the work of the hands of my Sons and
Daughters. Psalm 90:16-17 is an echo of Psalm 102:18 Psalm 90:16-17 16 Let
Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your glorious
power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the
work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the
work of our hands! ESV Psalm 90 – Lord let my Sons
and Daughters Continue my Work. Lord, let the Work of my hands be Established And, just as You called me to carry on the Work You began with
my Scottish Forebears, let my Sons and Daughters “Carry on” the Work You called me to –
Psalm 90:16-17 My Prayer is that just as the Lord Established the work of my
hands as well as the hands of my Scottish Forebears that the Lord will
Establish the Work of the hands of my Sons and Daughters. Again, Psalm 102:18 teaches that it is important to always to
keep future generations in mind and this Book has been Written and Recorded
with Psalm 102:18 in mind. And, that brings me to the close of this Book. It has been Recorded that the Gates of the
Enemy and Spiritual Borders are as Relevant today as they were when the Bible
war Written. Psalm 68:11 11 The
Lord gives the word [of power]; the women who bear and publish
[the news] are a great host. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition It has been written! I have Told my Tale! So Ends
my Tale – my Tale on this Matter ends here:
To the
Glory of God I have told my Tale:
Psalm 90 reveals that our years on earth is as a “Tale that is Told”. Our lives are likened to a Story that is to
be Told – a book that is being written all throughout our lives – and this
book is part of the Tale I want to Tell – it is part of the Tale I want to
leave for my sons and daughters who I will never meet before my death – a
story of my Walk with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. My Prayer unto the Lord is that
when I die my last words are of Praise unto Him – and that my life will not
end with the sigh of those who Mourn their own death. My prayer is that
the Lord will permit me to finish the work He began in me. And, I know
that He will because Philippians 1:6 reveals that we can be confident of this
very thing, that God who began the good work within us, will continue His
work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Lord,
I pray that You will not let my life end with the Sigh of those who the
Psalmist tells us of – those who mourn their own death. Let my Walk
with You be Established and let my Sons and Daughters “Carry on” the Work You
started in me just as You called me to carry on the Work You began with my
Scottish Forebears – Lord, permit me to finish the work I have started and
let my children carry on to completion my work. Psalm 90:16-17 Psalm
90:16-17 16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and
thy glory unto their children. 17 And let the beauty of the LORD
our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea,
the work of our hands establish thou it.
KJV The Tales that I have Told bear Witness that God’s Words are
“Living Words” (Hebrews 4:12). As
Moses said they are not just mere words, they are the very life of God’s
people and they are words that have the Power to change lives (Deuteronomy
32:47). Christ told His Disciples that we are to Be His Witnesses (Acts
3). Christ’s command emphasizes the
importance of our personal testimony.
To be a witness unto the Lord emphasizes the importance of sharing our
own personal experiences in our Walk with the Lord. And, so it is with the Tales I have
Told. My Tales are Biblically Sound
and Directly Related to my own Personal Spiritual Experiences. My Tales Bear Witness that God’s Word is a
“Living Word” and are Written to the Glory of the Lord. So Ends
my Tale – my Tale on this Matter ends here:
Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us that history only repeats itself and so it is and
will be with Israel’s conflicts with their enemies as well as the events here
in America. And, because history only repeats itself, Ecclesiastes 12
also tells us that the writing of many books (and I have posted much about
America’s History online) will only lead to exhaustion because there is no
end to history repeating itself – so before I am even more exhausted I will
end this matter with this book. However, the principles still apply to
history repeating itself in Israel’s tomorrows! Ecclesiastes
1:9-11 9 History merely repeats itself. It has all
been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes
people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever
truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in
future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. NLT Ecclesiastes
1:17-18 17 So I set out to learn everything from
wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this
is like chasing the wind. 18 The greater my wisdom, the greater
my grief. To increase knowledge only increases sorrow. NLT And, from all my studies and
writings has come much sorrow Ecclesiastes
12:12 12 But, my child, let me give you some further
advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you
out. NLT And, for the above reasons I
will only include pictures from my pilgrimage back to Metulla, Israel for the
Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) 2025, which will forever be
a very Blessed Memory. |