A Word in Season
 Friends,
The focus this past year has been one of continuous
prayer and fasting. I am sure you too have felt how
intense the spiritual warfare has become. At the
same time, the world is spiraling downward at a
dizzying pace as the sodomite nature rises to
preeminence in every worldly facet of life. Friends, it
will not be long before we are looking at Satan
incarnate.
In an attempt to propel the Gospel of Jesus Christ
around the world, one of our main focuses has
become the Internet. Our
website has been updated with all of the Bible
Study messages for the past year, and more updates
are to come. We have a team in place that is
charged with managing this content and responding
to inquiries from around the world.
One of the benefits of having The Omega Times
distributed via email is that it is now easier for you to
share the newsletter with others. Please help us to
get the word out by forwarding these newsletters to
others you know. Simply use the "Forward Email" link
at the bottom of this newsletter.
Lastly, we are seeking partners who can commit to
supporting this ministry with consistent contributions
of at least $25 a month. You can make your
donation on-line via the Omega website or mail it in
to us. We need the support of dedicated partners
who can commit to keeping this ministry in prayer,
passing on the information to others, and
contributing consistent donations. We ask that you
prayerfully consider whether you can become an
Omega Ministries partner, supporting the ministry in
these regards.
There is nothing hidden that will not be uncovered.
As God begins to expose the hypocrisy and
perversion undergirding much of the religious world,
there needs to be a place of refuge for people to be
spiritually healed, physically cared for, and
empowered to be ministers of the Gospel
themselves. This is the mission of our church and we
invite you to be a part of that.
Maranatha,
Pastor Gary C. Price
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A Beaten Work - Part II
“All the commandments which I command thee
this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and
multiply, and go in and possess the land which the
LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt
remember all the way which the LORD thy God led
thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble
thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine
heart, whether thou wouldest keep his
commandments, or no.
And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger,
and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not,
neither did thy fathers know; that he might make
thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old
upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty
years.
Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a
man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God
chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the
commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his
ways, and to fear him. For the LORD thy God
bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of
water, of fountains and depths that spring out of
valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and
vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil
olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread
without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in
it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose
hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten
and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God
for the good land which he hath given thee.
Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in
not keeping his commandments, and his judgments,
and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built
goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy
herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy
gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the
LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the
land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led
thee through that great and terrible wilderness,
wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and
drought, where there was no water; who brought
thee forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed
thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers
knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he
might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;
and thou say in thine heart, My power and the might
of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is
he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he
may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy
fathers, as it is this day.”
Deuteronomy 8:1-18
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No Chastening Seems Joyous
We examined in the last newsletter how the golden
candlestick - representing the church - is made of a
beaten work of pure gold. Looking at the benefits of
this chastening helps us to understand more about
the work that God is doing in us and the results it
produces.
However, you seldom see a person excited to get a
beating. I have never heard a child say, "I
cannot wait to get home because my father is going
to give me a beating." Yet, Proverbs 3:11-12
indicates that the chastening of God is an illustration
of His delight in us! Therefore we should not despise
his chastening.
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD;
neither be weary of his correction: For whom the
LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son
in whom he delighteth.”
We first see these words uttered in Job, so let’s take
a closer look at that book. In the first chapter, we
know that Satan is testing Job, trying to get him to
turn from God. It should be noted that Satan had to
ask permission from God to do this, and at the same
time, it is God who first raised Job to Satan for his
consideration.
Job is informed that he has lost just about
everything he had: his oxen, his asses, his sheep, his
camels, his servants, his sons and daughters. Job’s
response? “Naked came I
out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return
thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken
away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job
1:21) And Scripture says that in all of this,
Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly.
Satan then asks for authority to afflict Job’s person,
believing that this would cause him to curse God.
Even Job’s wife urges him to do the same. Yet, Job
resists and maintains his faith in God. And we are
told still that in all of this, Job did not sin.
So what changed? 7 days and 7 nights. For a week,
Job grieved about his situation. I can imagine Job
sitting on the ground, waiting on the Lord. Believing
that the next minute, the next hour, his deliverance
would come; the Lord would come to his rescue -
even if that rescue was relief through the peace of a
grave. Yet, as one day led to the next, he grew
weary in waiting and began to dwell on his condition.
In his heart, he understood the providence and
goodness of God, but the going through; that is a
rough and arduous time. It is a time of testing what
you say you believe and know about God. It
is a time where, like Job, you may begin to question
your very purpose in life and standing before the
Lord. A time where your faith in God is the ONLY
thing you can hold on to.
Deuteronomy 8:5 indicates that God's chastening is
designed to "to humble
thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine
heart." It certainly did that for Job.
Sitting on the ground, covered in boils, and having
suffered a great loss, Job came face-to-face with
what he called his greatest fear: “For the thing which I greatly
feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid
of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had
I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.”
Job 3:25-26
Job’s one fear was that no matter what he did – all
the praying, all the sacrifice, all the fasting, etc. – it
would not be enough to prevent trouble. And it
wasn't. People need to understand that the
chastening of God is just as much a promise as the
blessings of God. God does not promise that we will
have lives free of suffering.
It is in his response to Job's lament that Eliphaz the
Temanite says:
"Behold, happy is the man
whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou
the chastening of the Almighty: for he maketh sore,
and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make
whole." (Job 5:17-18)
God makes sore, but He binds up! He wounds, but
he makes whole! The chastening is not so bad; the
hard part comes in the enduring while we wait for
His deliverance. It is during such times that we can
grow weary, the perfect environment for Satan to
creep around sowing doubt. Even Job's friends could
only add salt to his wounds. "If you are innocent,"
they asked, "then why has this happened to you?
Why doesn't God redeem you?" Oftentimes this is the
case in our own lives. There are those around us who
lie in wait to see us fail, to see us swallowed up so
they can rise up in self-righteousness and condemn
us. Job's friends saw prosperity as proof of God's
favor and hard times as proof of his judgement. This
not only prevented them from having compassion on
Job, it put them at odds with God because they
judged Job unjustly.
The amazing reality behind the chastening is that
God desires to bless us abundantly! Deuteronomy
8:16b states "...that he
might humble thee, and that he might prove thee,
to do thee good at thy latter
end." God desires to do us good at
the latter end; to bless us with all spiritual blessings.
He wants to take us into a good land where we lack
nothing. Yet before He can do that, He has to grow
us up through purging & proving which reveals to us
what is really in our hearts so that we may repent.
The word of God indicates that we cannot possibly
know our own hearts and that the heart is
desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). God
cannot provide these blessings if the desires of our
heart are not in line with His; we would only
squander what He provides and waste it on selfish
pursuits. Like a tube of toothpaste, we just don't
know what is inside until pressure is applied. Under
pressure, Job came face-to-face with his worst fear,
which led him to challenge God. But once he
repented, Scripture says, "The LORD blessed the latter
end of Job more than his beginning." (Job
42:12)
We often see the current circumstance, but God
sees the latter end. God is growing up sons and
daughters; forging a Body that is made in the image
of His Son...and He knows that He can trust His Son
with every gift and blessing. The problem with man is
that he does not want to suffer. Instead of enduring
the chastening, the flesh instinctively looks for a way
out - but there is only one way of escape.
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A Way of Escape
About 2 months ago, the police began trying to
identify the victim of a brutal assault captured on
cellphone video. In watching the video, you could
almost see the thinking process of the victim.
Initially he fought back, going blow for blow with the
attackers, but it didn't take long to realize that he
was outnumbered and outpowered. He then tried to
run away, however they blocked his way out of the
room. Finding no way of escape, he focused on
trying to defend his face and mid-section, using his
arms and legs to block the blows. Lastly, having tried
all and failed, he curled up on the floor in the fetal
position and simply resigned himself to the fact that
he was beaten. Here, the video ended. Once he
stopped resisting, his attackers simply left him alone.
He was in fact so motionless, that the police
wondered if he was not dead.
Thankfully, the police were able to track down the
man and found out that he was still alive.
Interestingly, the reaction to this beating is very
similar to the reaction of the flesh when we are being
chastened by God. Jesus said that if we are to gain
life, we must lose our life. He is referring to
offering up our soulish life in order to gain eternal
life. Yet our carnal life is not going to give up
without a fight. The flesh, by nature, resists God and
His correction; it must be forced to submit to the
spirit. If instead you succumb to the flesh, you will
notice some of the following evidences in your life:
- The flesh will fight against God
- The flesh will seek to run from God
- The flesh will seek to protect sensitive areas from
God
The Flesh will Fight Against God
"For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh:
and these are contrary the one to the other: so that
ye cannot do the things that ye would."
Galatians 5:17
The flesh fights against the Spirit; it is not
compatible with God or His ways. When the flesh is
allowed to fight against God, we will choose our own
way instead of God's. We know what to do, but
cannot or will not. We know what God says, but find
reasons to justify ourselves instead of changing.
Another taletell sign? We cannot confront error in
lives of others, in love. We either condemn others
in self-righteousness to compensate for our own
short-comings or say nothing at all. God is
longsuffering, but He will not put up with resistance
always, neither will He force His will on us.
The Flesh will Seek to Run from God
"For it had been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness,
than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy
commandment delivered unto them. But it is
happened unto them according to the true proverb,
The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the
sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
II Peter 2:21-22
When running from God, we will try to stay away
from the truth. We stop fellowshipping with the
saints, stop studying God's word, stop praying or
taking part in any activity that brings forth the
transforming power of God.
One of the best hiding places is in church. We will
gravitate to religion and use performance as a
sign-off that we are right with God. Being a Christian
no longer becomes about denying one's self, but
about "going" to church, paying one's tithe, etc. In
this position, we lose all accountability before God.
Our standing with God becomes defined by our
submission to the dictates of religious organizations
and we blind ourselves to the true condition our
lives.
God is always moving, so in relation to Him, we are
always moving. We are either moving closer to, or
farther from, God. There is no standing still, no
demilitarized zone, no middle of the road. If you are
not progressing in God - moving from glory to glory -
then you are indeed running from God.
The Flesh Will Seek to Protect Sensitive Areas
from God
"The spirit of man is the
candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of
the belly." Proverb 20:27
There are hurts, thoughts, beliefs, behaviors that
each man has which are not pleasing to God. This is
why we need the spirit to search through our inward
parts, illuminating those areas. Like a surgeon, God
will explore and probe our souls and when He places
His finger on a site of infection, it may hurt. Yet, it
is only once the hurt is revealed that we can be
healed. If we are to be made whole, we cannot
hold back ourselves from Him, not even in part. We
must serve Him with our whole hearts.
A clear sign that we are protecting sensitive areas in
our soul is that we get offended when certain truths
are raised or discussed. When faced with these
truths, we become indignant and angry. Even if we
don't express it outwardly, on the inside we know
that we are bothered. We not only resent the truth
being told, but we resent any vessel that bears
witness to that truth.
If we find ourselves offended, we should look more
closely at, "Why?" Our first response (instead of
becoming defensive) should be to seek God about
the truthfulness of the matter. If it is true, repent
and move on. If it is not, forget it and move on still.
The point is to keep progressing with God.
Resignation, Submission, and Peace
"And whosoever shall fall
on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it
shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matthew
21:44
Those are the options - and the only two: be
broken or be ground to powder. There is no getting
around the chastening of God if we are to be His
children.
"And ye have forgotten
the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of
the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But
if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we
not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days
chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our
profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be
joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto
them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up
the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that
which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it
rather be healed." Hebrews 12:5-13
God is chastening us to make us partakers of His
holiness and to produce in us the peaceable fruit of
righteousness. It is the holiness and righteousness
of Christ that is born in us as we undergo God's
chastening and are purged to be more like Him. It is
the means by which we are healed!
Jesus came for those who are in need of a physician;
who understand how terribly wretched and lost man
is without God. He is the only Way out of the
chastening.
"For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to
will is present with me; but how to perform that
which is good I find not. For the good that I would I
do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do
it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law,
that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
but I see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched
man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of
this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of
God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans
7:18-25
I thank God that I can be delivered from this fleshly
body of death by Jesus Christ. Amen! Friends, this is
good news! The death of the flesh on the cross is a
freedom maker. God is waiting for us to stop
fighting, stop running, stop protecting our particular
ways. We must not procrastinate or take lightly the
work which must be done to prepare us for these end
times.
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent." Revelation
3:19
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The Light of the World
So, is this a message of gloom and doom? On the
contrary, this is a message of liberation and hope!
Let's look back at the text in Deuteronomy:
"But thou shalt remember
the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power
to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant
which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
Deuteronomy 8:18
God chastens because He is establishing His
covenant in us; every blessing, every right, every
need is held in that covenant.
For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency
of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are
troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not
forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always
bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made
manifest in our body. For we which live are alway
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life
also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal
flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is
written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we
also believe, and therefore speak; Knowing that he
which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also
by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things
are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might
through the thanksgiving of many redound to the
glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but
though our outward man perish, yet the inward man
is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look
not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen
are temporal; but the things which are not seen are
eternal." II Corinthians 4:6-18
This is a time to seek God like never before. As the
days grow darker, God's church will grow brighter -
and who takes a light and puts it under a bushel? Is
your light growing brighter? Have you sought the
Lord to have Him reveal your purpose in life and place
in His Body? Every day, in every situation, we should
be looking to see who needs encouragement, who
needs a word from the Lord. I guarantee that they
are all around us. If we are the Body, then our lives
will be poured out to accomplish His work.
Do not look at your current circumstance. Don't get
embittered by the chastening, but look to the end of
the matter. Place your hope in Him; stay steadfast
in your faith, knowing He who has promised is faithful
to complete the work. A work that takes beaten
gold and turns it into the light of world because the
source of the Light is Himself in our midst.
"But the path of the just
is as the shining light, that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day." Proverb 4:18
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