Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

My book: 'The Imminent Invasion of Israel' (available on Amazon) discusses in detail the unfulfilled prophecy in Ezekiel 38 of an invasion of the Mountains of Israel in the latter days, by a coalition of nations led by Russia, Iran and Turkey. God Himself will intervene and judge the invaders, resulting in his Name being glorified in the nations (a world-wide revival). See also my 5-part youtube series: 'The Imminent Invasion of Israel'.

Everything is in place for this invasion to take place. All that is needed is a catalyst to cause Russia to step into the leadership of this coalition. In my book, I discuss 2 possible catalysts: (1) Israel bombing Iran's facilities used to develop a nuclear bomb, and (2) Israel increasing its settlement activities or even annexing the West Bank.

The recent conflict with Hamas in Gaza and the associated internal unrest within Israel between the Jews and Arabs made me aware that a future conflict of this nature could also be a possible catalyst for the Ezekiel 38 invasion. If such civil unrest took place again and Israel felt forced to impose itself more strongly on the Palestinian Arabs, especially in the West Bank, then Russia could see this as an opportunity to create an international coalition of mostly Islamic nations to invade and take over the West Bank in the name of protecting the Palestinians and establishing a Palestinian State there, thus enforcing the 2-state solution, in accordance with UN resolutions. However, the prophecy points out that the real motive of the invading nations is the financial reward from increasing their military footprint and power in the Middle-East, as well as this being the first step towards the ultimate destruction of Israel (which would certainly be the main motive and objective of Iran and Turkey).

It is this unlawful attempt to seize God's covenant Land, which He has given to Israel, and this existential threat against God's covenant People, which stirs the Lord to take action against the invading armies to destroy them, and thereby glorify Himself in the eyes of the nations (see Ezekiel 38:14,16 and 39:7, where God speaks of: 'My people Israel', and 'My Land', and describes Himself as: 'the Holy One in Israel'). When this prophecy is fulfilled in detail, just as the Bible predicts, many will realise that the God of Israel, the God of the Bible, is alive and well, and that therefore the rest of the Bible must be true.

The Christian life is the expression of our personal love relationship with the Lord. The spiritual disciplines are for the purpose of drawing closer to God, and deepening our relationship with Him, and thereby growing spiritually. Derek shares how to introduce a new believer to the life of a disciple of Jesus, based on God's love and grace to them. It's all about loving God based on His amazing love for us, and this includes spending time with Him in the Bible and Prayer. Our love for God will also cause us to want to please and glorify Him in the way we life our life. Derek points out the 2 opposite ditches of indiscipline and legalism. When we love God we give Him our heart, and this will be naturally expressed in a disciplined life of seeking God, and obeying His revealed will.

The essence of the Christian life is our love relationship with God rather than following a list of rules. A disciple is a follower of the Person of Jesus, who wants to be as close as possible to Him. This does involve discipline. There are important disciplines that are part of being a disciple, like Bible reading and having a devotional time with God every day, with praise, prayer and confession, being faithful in Church, and finding ways to serve God and people. But we do not do them for their own sake but as expressions of our love for the Lord, in order to be close to Jesus and glorify Him.

We are precious to the Lord. Above all, He wants our heart. He wants us to give Him our heart, which starts by opening (the ears of) our heart to Him, to receive His words of love and His grace to us, for our ears are the receivers of our heart (Isaiah 55:1-3). Then as He fills us with Himself (His life and love), He takes possession of our hearts by his Spirit (Presence), and our hearts become fully His, so that we then love Him with all our heart.

Ephesians 2:5-9 describes our salvation by grace through faith (the New Birth of our spirit), when the Holy Spirit imparted the resurrection life (grace) of Christ to our spirit giving our spirit (1) life, (2) victory and (3) dominion, for we were (1) made alive together with Christ, (2) raised together with Christ fall above all enemies, and (3) seated with Christ above all.

As we were saved by His grace, so now we are to live by His grace, for the grace (the life of Christ imparted to us by the Spirit of grace) that saved us is now also available for us to live our life. God's grace (operational power within us) is freely available to empower us (Ephesians 1:19) for our life, imparting life, victory and dominion to our souls. We are to receive His grace by faith into our souls, like a yacht receives the wind to fill its sails. The Wind of the Spirit flows out from our spirit (Galatians 6:18) and empowers us for living and doing the good works that God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10).

We can't control the Wind of the Spirit, for it blows where it wishes (John 3:8), so we must surrender to His Spirit of Grace and let Him carry us along, teaching and empowering us. It only works if we give up trying to run our own life and surrender control to His Spirit of Grace that is flowing out of our spirit and working within our soul. Only then are we operating under (the power and authority) of grace.

"Those who wait (with expectancy) on the Lord shall renew their strength (pass to power);

they shall mount (raise) up their wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). As we wait on Him and look to Him in faith, believing His wind of grace is blowing from our spirit and is available to fill us, we open our heart (the sail of our soul) to Him to receive and be lifted up and carried along by His grace, just as eagles raise up their wings to catch the wind, empowering them to swiftly soar high above, carried along by the wind. Likewise, by receiving His strength (wind) to fill our souls, we pass from weakness to power, and as a result of being empowered by His grace and carried along by His Spirit, we'll make swift and steady progress in our life.

Romans 1:16-17 tells us the Good News of Christ is that the POWER of God unto SALVATION is freely available for all who believe, for the righteousness of God is revealed (1) from (saving) faith to (2) (living) faith; as it is written, “(1) The righteous (by faith) shall (2) live by faith.” First (1) through saving (justifying) faith, we received the IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ, then (2) through living faith we continually receive His IMPARTED RIGHTEOUSNESS (His Spirit of life and grace).

Both saving and living faith involve (1) submission to Christ's Lordship and (2) dependence on (trust in) His saving power. To be saved by grace we must receive Christ as (1) our Lord and (2) our Saviour, realising that we cannot save ourselves. Likewise, to live by grace, we have to (1) SUBMIT to Jesus' leadership, and (2) TRUST (depend upon) His Spirit to fill us and empower us to live our life, which requires that we BELIEVE the Good News that His grace is freely available to us, flowing out from our spirit (John 7:37-39). In this way, by FAITH we SURRENDER to God's RIVER in us, allowing Him to fill us and carry us along in our life, realising that without Him we can do nothing.

The Spirit of God within and flowing out from our spirit is also like the WIND (invisible and powerful), but also personal, for He blows where He wishes (John 3:8). We cannot control where the wind of the Spirit blows (goes) and where He will take us. We must open the sail of our soul to Him, so that He can fill us with His grace, which will then carry us along through life. For God's grace to flow in and through us, we must be 'under grace' (under the authority and power of His grace), submitting to His authority and depending upon His power. In this way, we surrender control to Him, knowing that we can make no progress (achieve nothing of worth) in our own strength.

God is whole hearted and wants us to be the same - not half-hearted or double-minded. He wants us to trust in Him and be fully committed to Him. While we are on the fence, in a place of indecision, we're not safe. This is seen in Joab's revenge on Abner, when he lured him into the gates of Hebron (2Sam 3:27). The gates of a city represent the place of decision, where you are neither in or out. Hebron was a city of refuge (a picture of Christ) and Abner was safe while inside the city (trusting in Christ), but when Joab (the enemy) persuaded him to meet with him in the gates (the place of indecision), he was unsafe, and the enemy was able to destroy him. This is why David said that Abner died the death of a fool. Likewise, when we remain in two minds about whether we should respond to Christ or trust in His Word or whether to obey God or not, we are 'in the gate', which is not a safe place. We are vulnerable to the enemy. God wants us to get off the fence!

Believers are those "who have fled for refuge" to Jesus to find salvation in Him (Hebrews 6:18). God assigned 6 Cities of Refuge to Israel, to which a man could flee if he killed someone by accident, and find safety. Jesus offers Himself to us as our City of Refuge, and if we run to Him we will be saved (Proverbs 18:10).

Many are concerned about taking the Covid Vaccine, because it could be something to do with the Mark of the Beast, and therefore spiritually dangerous. Others are concerned about the natural risk of taking it. Pastor Derek discusses these issues in the light of the Bible.

To follow Jesus, for His sake (because we love Him), we must deny (ownership of) ourselves and relinquish control of our own lives, surrendering ourselves, our independence, and our every blessing to His Ownership and Lordship (Matthew 16:24). When we do this, although we are poor (owning nothing), we are able to possess and enjoy all things which God freely gives us, with thanksgiving (Matthew 5:3, Luke 6:20, Revelation 5:12). We must realise that we belong to God, as well as His grace within us, and every blessing of life. On the other hand, pride (trying to hold onto final control over our life, acting as our own owner), and covetousness (trying to claim ownership and take control of the blessings of life) cuts us off from God's blessing, for "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). So we must release all control of self, of His life in us and of all things in our life to God, our Owner, and continually trust in Him as our Source (Saviour).

True faith consists of our surrender to Christ as our Owner and Lord (trusting ourselves to His ownership and control), and putting our trust in Him as our Saviour. The degree of our surrender determines the degree that we can trust in (receive, appropriate) His saving life.

We can only surrender to Christ as our Lord and put our trust in Him as our Saviour, to the degree that we believe in His offer to us through the Gospel to be our firm Foundation, our all-sufficient Source of life, love and salvation. Through the Gospel, God imparts the knowledge of Himself and His love that we need in order to be able to surrender our heart to Him and to put all our trust in Him, for our life now and for all eternity. Once we know and believe that He offers Himself to us to be our God, who promises to love us fully, faithfully, continually and eternally, we can trust in Him and give Him (the surrender of) our heart, but the choice is ours. The more assured we become of His love for us, the more we are able to surrender (give) our heart to Him, which is what He desires above all. The more fully persuaded we are of the power of His grace toward us to uphold us, satisfy us, protect us and provide for all our needs, the more we can trust in Him to uphold (save) us forever, and give Him our whole heart. The more we realise His infinite love for us and our total need for Him, the more we will naturally and willingly and completely give ourselves to Him in surrender and trust in Him with all our heart.

When we surrender to Him and trust in Him as the living Foundation for our being and whole life, our heart rests in Him, and as a result we enter into rest (we no longer have to try and hold ourselves up), and His love for us becomes manifested as His grace within us, being poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, and filling our souls, like rivers of living water (Proverbs 21:1), so that He becomes our life and our full salvation.

The main key to possess our Promised Land is to embrace the truth that God is our Owner and that He owns every blessing of grace that He gives us to possess (Matthew 16:24-26, 1Corinthians 6:19-20). The essence of sin is rejecting God as our Master and Owner and going our own way, independent from God, taking control of our own soul and life (pride), and trying to own the blessings of life for ourselves (covetousness), because we do not trust in God's goodness and love for us (unbelief). This is the choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden, setting the whole human race on the path of sin and destruction, but Christ came to purchase us back to God, so that by trusting in His love and surrendering to His Lordship and Ownership, our soul can be saved and possess all the blessing and blessings of God.