1. Jesus Is Coming Back For A Powerful Church
Jesus Christ is coming back for a powerful church. In John 14:12, Jesus showed how the believers or church would do greater works. In John 14:12 it says "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." We see from this passage that Jesus was talking about "greater works" because He was only one person and was limited to how many places He could visit, but the church, after receiving the Holy Ghost, could reach many places at one time. In John 20:28-30 it says "28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:"

In Luke 10:19, Jesus Christ has given the church power over the enemy or the devil. In Luke 10:19 it says " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." We know that a serpent is a type of the devil. In Revelation 12:9 it says "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Also, the scorpions are a type of fallen angels or evil spirits. These are the same angels that fell with satan. In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus says "17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Also, in Daniel 11:32 it says "And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." For more information on how to walk in God's power see our newsletter titled "Why The Church Has No Power" in the March/April 2001 edition of The Prophetic Messenger.

2. Jesus Is Coming Back For A Humble Church
Jesus Christ is coming back for a humble church. In Luke 9:23 Jesus said " And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." In James 4:6,10 it says "6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble...... 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." In I Peter 5:5-6 it says "5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:" Also, in Galatians 2:20 it says "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

In Romans 6:3-14 it says "3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." The apostle Paul is telling the Christians that the "old man" must die.

The apostle Paul showed humility in his testimony in I Timothy. In I Timothy 1:12-17 it says "12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

In closing, one way to deny yourself is to fast. In Matthew 6:16-18 Jesus says "16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Also, in Isaiah 58:6 it says "6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" For more information on about fasting see our newsletter titled "Fasting" in the September/October 2000 edition of The Prophetic Messenger.

Heaven A Prepared Place-Part I. Read this article in the next issue of The Prophetic Messenger.

As Christians if we want to live in victory and if we want to be able to share the Word Of God with others we must know the Word of God ourselves. Let's see what the Bible says about this. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11. " If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." John 8:31. We encourage you to put the following scriptures in your heart: Hebrews 2:14, James 5:19-20, Ezra 4:4-5, Acts 3:6-9, I Thessalonians 5:15-18, Job 5:21-23, Jeremiah 10:23-24, Judges 2:7-8. Use only the Old King James version of the Holy Bible. (If you have any questions about this please see the book New Age Bible Versions, by G.A. Riplinger ©1993, ISBN 0-9635845-0-2.)

To order the book Why Are So Many Christians Confused About Bible Prophecy? send a check or money order for $20.00 with your name and address to: Mysteries From The Word Of God Ministries, P.O. Box 6391, Vancouver, WA 98668. You can also order on-line at www.bookonprophecy.org or order it at your favorite book store ISBN 0-9711584-0-1

We invite you to worship with us on Sundays! Our church is called The Ingathering Fellowship. We meet at 9400 NE 72nd Ave, Vancouver, WA (The Barberton Grange). Sunday School is from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. Church service begins at 1:45 pm. If you would like a map, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Mysteries From The Word Of God Ministries, P.O. Box 6391, Vancouver, WA 98668. Request the map to the church service.