Fri.’s Devo - The Messenger and the Hour of Temptation

Read Rev. 3:10 The messenger of the age was William Carrey, the father of modern missions. He was a village shoemaker, who pastored the Particular Baptist Church at Moulton, England. He preached that it was our obligation to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth until Christ returns. Though he was a humble cobbler, he taught himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, and other languages. He married and had 7 children of which 3 died young. He felt led to go preach the gospel to India, so he moved his family there and got a job managing a factory. He learned their language and ended up translating the Bible into their language. He trained many missionaries to go forth and preach the gospel. This was door to missions was the open door to the sheep fold to which Jesus was the door. Verse 10 says that God will keep his true church from the hour of temptation which will come upon the earth. The Bible teaches a rapture of his children, but we are already seeing this temptation beginning. This hour of temptation will be when the government takes over the churches. There is such a move toward that in the movement of “tolerance”. Today being “politically correct” is a strong power. One slip of the tongue and you are crucified like Paula Dean. Noone wants to hear a sermon on sin, but they will flock to one on grace. When the government takes over, you will have to conform to their guidelines or lose your job or church funding. The temptation will be to comply and think you can serve the government and God. That is the lie. You are a servant to whomever you yield to. The true believers won’t be deceived. This move will end in the image erected to the beast which will happen after the church is taken up. Lord, help us to keep our eyes on You and not be tempted to conform to anything but your Word.