A tactical offset for men of God who are really ready to meet Jesus.
Brothers, it’s time for you to embrace your godly masculinity. Jesus is coming back soon and you need to be ready. Godly masculinity is what Christian men who love Jesus understand to be a defining element in their overall masculinity. In a world that attacks men at the very core of their sexuality through pornographic imagery in entertainment, advertising, sitcom emasculating comments (male putdowns), and in the culture at large, we need to stand strong in our faith in God and the masculine aspect of who He created us to be. We are men, warriors at heart, and servants of the living God, called of God to be His hands in this dark world.
We have many examples of what godly masculinity looks like in both the OT and NT. We have seen men of God in recent years demonstrate what it means to be faithful to the Lord, even under duress. We know in our heart, as a man of God, that the Lord is for us. He goes with us, and He will never leave us or forsake us. If we are in Christ and He is in us, than we are sealed unto the day of redemption, our redemption, the redemption of our lowly bodies. On that day we will be transformed into a glorious body, just like Jesus, when the Christ appears in the long awaited Rapture of the Church.
This blog is all about helping men to see themselves as the Lord seems them, perfect, complete, and desirous to be in God’s presence; serving Him in the capacity that we have been created for. This is our destiny and our ultimate purpose, to be with Jesus and all of those who have loved His appearing. While many men don’t really think about the Rapture per say, they should, and even more so as we see that day quickly approaching.
The subtitle of this blog is ‘A tactical offset for men of God who are really ready to meet Jesus.’ This has more to do with each one of us knowing for sure in our hearts that we are ready to go when the Master returns for His Church. A lot of men, when they think about the Rapture, think more about what they would do if they missed it. As believers in Jesus, we don’t (or shouldn’t) look at the Rapture that way, ‘what if we miss it.’ We should be excited about the experience of instantly transitioning from this life into heaven to be with Jesus.
The idea of a tactical offset has more do with those things, people, and attributes that we attach to ourselves that will provide us with a better, more stable platform, for a more efficient service to our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
For instance, if we are married, we must come to understand that God is going to use our wives to help get us ready for heaven. She is a representation of the NT Church and we, as her husband, are a type and shadow of the Christ Himself. Most guys view this statement with distain, however, the Apostle Paul said it this way,
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” – Ephesians 5:25-27
- While this is not a new concept for most men of God, we all need the reminder that we must lead our families in the ways and things of the Lord. Our sons and daughters will also benefit from our discipline of love and faithfulness to the Lord and to our wives.
PAW: One of the best way a father can love his children is to love their mother.
If you’re reading this and you are married, congratulations, you are in a covenant relationship that is representative of the kingdom of God. This is why the enemy is always trying to attack and destroy your marriage. He knows that since he can’t destroy the kingdom of heaven, he can attack a prototype of it, a godly marriage and family that is led by a godly man of God who loves the Lord and loves his wife.
A good tactical offset will allow more healthy things that you have allowed into your life or that you have intentionally attached to your life that will give you an advantage in your service of the King; and the advancement of His kingdom agenda here on earth.
I own some weapons as I am retired PD, among other things. I have attached certain tactical items to my guns that enable them to perform better. A laser sight, a shotgun shell barrel holster, a tactical handle grip, and so forth. In like manner to weapons and such, any offset that empowers or improves what you are already doing and being will only strengthen your serve and representation of heaven here on earth; beginning with your wife and kids.
As a watcher pastor I am very aware of the nearness of the Lord’s return; mainly because I have chosen to look in the right direction, which is up and around. I can see the shadow of the tribulation forming in the many arenas that make up this world and the kingdoms therein. I also know that God is in total control, which is a real comfort to me. I for one, don’t want to be here when the tribulation begins, however, up and until the Rapture occurs, I want to be as useful to the Lord as I can be, doing and being all that I can for His glory.
If we are really ready to meet the Lord, than it must show in how we demonstrate our SLF in practical and essential ways. I have devised 20 of the most relevant questions that pertain to a healthy tactical offset that every man of God needs to embrace to improve their spiritual life formation (SLF). By the way, your SLF are all the things that you personally do that enhance and develop our walk with Jesus. This usually begins with your prayer and devotional (Bible study) time, and it extends to your church involvement and witness. These include, but are not limited to, tithing, missions support, pastoral support, ministry involvement, domestic responsibilities, support of others, and most of all, how you show your love for Jesus each day. These are the spiritual life disciplines that make up your overall Christian life and thought and those disciplines that reflect your SLF and your love for Jesus.
These questions are as follows:
1. Am I saved?
The foremost thing for anyone is that they are saved by God’s grace through placing their faith in Jesus. The importance of our salvation must be a priority in our lives; not so much to be saved, but to walk in a right relationship with Jesus.
2. How do I know that I am saved?
The Holy Spirit of God resides within you if you are saved. He will confirm with your spirit this truth and convict and console you on a daily basis, keeping you on course for the Kingdom as you allow Him to do so. (Romans 8:16)
3. What do I do to help improve my SLF?
These are intentional disciplines that you attach to your lifestyle (tactical offset) that will strengthen your walk with Jesus. They include (but not limited to) Bible reading, prayer, commitment to a local church, and sharing your faith with others.
4. What do I do that hinders a healthy growth in my SLF?
This can include removing those things (or people) in your life that are hampering your walk with Jesus. Media inlets that pollute your SLF, frequenting places that poison your faith, associating with people who are bad influences and such.
5. If the 5 closest people to me were to rate my SLF, what would they say?
These are the people who know you best. Your wife, kids, work associates, and colleagues. We all have people in our lives who really know us, They should not be hindered in sharing their insights with us if we allow them to do so.
6. Do I attend church on a regular basis?
This is not about just going to church, but being the church. If we want to be strengthened in our faith, we need to be in fellowship with like-minded believers who can help us grow in our faith and we them. This is the spirit of true koinania.
7. Am I involved in my church?
Healthy church involvement is of critical importance for any healthy and growing church; just ask any pastor; or better, become the pastor. The Lord set up the NT Church to be a community of Himself in this world. We must not forsake it.
8. Do I tithe faithfully and support missions with my financial giving?
Ten percent of everything you have belongs to the Lord. This is not just an OT thing. Some would argue this and my response is, ‘should it be less than a tenth for the NT?’ We must be good stewards of our tithes and offerings.
9. If I were to die tonight, will my ‘affairs’ be in order so as not to burden my surviving dependents?
This has more to do with estate planning and life insurance, as well, not being irresponsible with the things and people that God has entrusted to your care. Being prepared to die is part of being a good spiritual leader in your home.
10. What is the first thing I am looking forward to when the Rapture occurs? Why do I feel this way?
We all have something we are looking forward to when the Lord returns. Whatever that is for you will reflect on how your love the Lord and where your heart really is. Wanting to go because things are bad should not be our reason.
11. What is the thing that I dread most when thinking about the Rapture?
For an uninformed (ignorant) believer, the concept of the Rapture can be a frightful event, but it doesn’t have to be.
Having a ‘rapture confidence’ will only enhance what is to come. Identify any ‘dread’ and address it appropriately.
12. Do I adequately represent the Lord in my places of involvement or influence? Explain?
This has more to do with our witness and of the Christ to others, which includes the unsaved. We bring Jesus wherever we go and as we do, our representation of the Lord should reflect well.
13. If I believe that I am Rapture ready, this means that I am ready to die. What do I base this belief on?
There are too many people burning in Hell right now who never gave their mortality a thought; they just lived for the day and the moments therein. Each of us must stop and truly evaluate our view of death as compared to the Bible.
14. Do I project the joy of the Lord in my demeanor, even on a bad day?
The joy of the Lord truly is our strength. This joy doesn’t always manifest with happiness, which is more about happenstance than position. The joy of the Lord is the hope we have in Jesus that one day soon we will be with Him.
15. Do I have a man of God in my life that I have made myself accountable to? Why is this?
Being accountable to another man of God is of critical importance in the life of any Christian man. Attaching another safe man to your SLF will only enhance your walk with Jesus, and also his. Talk about a tactical offset.
16. If I could improve on three things in my life, what would they be and why?
This has to do with adding something to your spiritual life that will improve it. It must be intentional and purposeful that will bring about a positive result in your SLF.
17. If I could remove three things in my life, what would they be and way?
This has to do with removing things from your life that will improve it. These are things that are causing harm or hindering your walk with Jesus that need to go. It’s the stuff that Jesus would remove from your life if you let Him.
18. Are there any similarities on your list from questions 16 and 17?
Sometimes things that are added that make for improvement can only work with other things are removed first.
PAW: You have to allow the people to exit an elevator first, before more people can enter.
19. Do I spend time with the Lord in prayer and His Word every day?
This most critical SLF discipline will enhance your walk with Jesus just like the food that you eat will enable you to go about your day in a healthy manner. Physical food helps our outer man just as spiritual food empowers our inner man.
20. Is my longing for the Rapture based on getting out of here or longing to be with Jesus? Why is this?
While this question is similar to question 10, it focuses more on what you are looking forward to about the Rapture, not what you are looking back on and are glad to be rescued from. It’s a ‘forward facing’ question to encourage you.
These 20 questions are designed to help you to better self-assess your own SLF and make the needed adjustments as the Spirit of the Lord prompts you to do so. This is what we are charged to do as men of God, always adjusting and improving that which the Lord has entrusted to our care. We must begin with ourselves, and extend it to how we reach out to those around us. Those people who are closet to us should get the ‘lion’s share of our time and effort
Your personal SLF has everything to do with being Rapture Ready; which has everything to do with being ready to die. Most guys don’t even think about their own death until it’s too late. I am not talking about life insurance here so much as I am about life ‘assurance.’ We can be assured of eternal life in Christ if we have received Him into our heart as both our Savior and Lord. He is our Savior because He has saved us from the consequence of our sin, which plainly put is an eternity of hell fire and damnation. He is our Lord when we obey His voice. We must see this divine exchange as a package deal, Jesus must be my Savior and Lord. The problem is that too many men who have received Jesus as their Savior, have not received Him as their Lord; and thus, ‘the deal’ is forfeited.
While this blog is not so much about this principle as it is about our understanding of where we stand with Jesus on the basis of our faith in Him and our obedience to Him. This is how we can be truly Rapture ready, truly saved by God’s grace through our faith and obedience to Jesus. I get that it can be difficult for some dudes to see themselves as a ‘bride of Christ.’ It goes against the grain of our manliness and our flesh, however, this is how we are presented in the holy text of scripture; as a ‘bride,’ the bride of Christ, the NT Church. What helps me to bridge this ‘gap,’ as it were, is to see myself walking with the disciples in the time of Jesus, learning from Him, working with Him, and growing in Him with a genuine love for Him and the other brothers who are also walking alongside. This comradery between men tends to create this type of spiritual synergy that enhances my faith in Jesus because I am with other mortal men who wear the same plumbing as I do and who understand the ‘pressures’ associated with it. One thing is for sure, I, for one, will be glad to not have to wear this plumbing in my new heavenly body. It has created a lot of stress and anxiety in my life, especially when it comes to being a faithful husband, which I have been, and a pure man, which I strive daily to be.
In times of combat, soldiers we trained to refrain from developing close friendships with other soldiers because of the emotional pain they would endure if their soldier friend was killed in battle. This goes against the grain of who God crated us to be, that is friendly, warm, and sociable. As we grow in our faith, so we will grow in our ability to relate to other man in a non-awkward and restricted manner. We will be able to appropriately embrace the men around us for who they really are, brothers in Christ.
This topic leads into the first stop after the Rapture occurs, the Bema Seat Judgment. Most guys don’t even know what that means, but a quick recap of the words of Paul will remind us that we will all stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives, both good and bad, at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
“For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” – Romans 14:9-12
“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good (Greek: agathos) or bad (Greek: kakos).” – 2 Corinthians 5:8-10
- The Bema is nothing to be worried about so much as it is where the Lord will reward us for our faith in, and love for, the Lord, as we lived it out in our lifetime. Again we will all lose something and most likely cry over it, but the Lord will wipe every tear from our eyes and show us what we did gain in our service of Him.
Some guys struggle over the phrase, ‘good and bad’ in this passage, but a better understanding of the words used by Paul will clear up the matter.
The word for ‘good’ (Greek: agathos)means ‘good in its character and constitution, it’s beneficial in its effect, its used of things and behavior that is morally honorable and pleasing to God; therefore beneficial.’
The word for ‘bad’ (Greek: kakos) used here means ‘the lack in a person or thing of those qualities that should otherwise be possessed by them. It’s being bad in character, morally by way of thinking, feeling, or acting; it’s injurious or baneful. It is the opposite of agathos.’
NOTE: The word ‘baneful’ is an adjective, meaning ‘harmful or poisonous.’ The root word is ‘bane’ and refers to a person who is a constant cause of misery, worry, and anxiety; always getting on someone’s nerves.’
While the word kakos doesn’t infer to sin so much as it can certainly lead to it. However, at the Bema, our sin issues are NOT in question, as they have been completely removed at the cross of Christ. At the Bema, only that which is non-sin, but not good either or beneficial, will be judged. The kakos stuff won’t yield a reward, only loss, but the individual being judged is saved.
Jesus said it this way, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle (Greek: argos) word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Matthew 12:35-37
- The word for ‘idle’ (Greek: argos) that Jesus used here means ‘inactive, idle, unfruitful, barren, ineffective, and worthless.’ We can see how we can do things, or not do things, that are not sin so much, but can lead to it, but is more about leading to a lack of reward at the Bema.
I am sure that we will all lose something at the Bema, but thanks be to God it’s not our salvation. Whatever loss is measured there, it can’t be compared to our reward that we have in Christ. A clear understanding of this should help us to live a more productive life for the Lord, being more intentional in our service of the King, and doing what He has called us to do when He does prompt us.
Jesus reminds us to ‘lay up for ourselves, treasures in heaven.’ This command is given because the Lord knows what awaits us at the Bema; and we should too. Our striving to serve the Lord should not be based on rewards or loss of rewards, but rather, an expression of our love for the Lord and our desire to be pleasing to Him.
To put it plainly, when we’re Raptured, the first place we go is to our Bema, then from there we go to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where we will celebrate our resurrection, reward, and relationship with Jesus and all of those who have also loved Him for the next seven earth years.
In essence, the Bema burns up all of the ‘worthless things’ that we ever said or did, and its where we receive the rewards that God has for us for all the good that we did do. As far as our sins go, that was decided at the cross of Christ, Who has removed our sins as far as the east if from the west. (Psalm 103:12)
Knowing what is coming will help us to be properly prepared for the return of the Lord. We can have a confidence in knowing that when Jesus does return for us, we will be ready to be received by Him because we were Rapture ready. We can have this confidence, this ‘God-fidence’ and an assurance in knowing that at the moment of the Rapture, we will be caught up with all of those who have loved His appearing.
The 50% Theory (in brief):
In Matthew 25:1-13 Jesus tells the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Five are foolish and five are wise. The fooling virgins have no oil in their lamps while the five wise do. The idea being conveyed here is that 50% of people who identify as Christian, are not. The oil is the Holy Spirit, confirming our salvation.
As men of God, we must keep our lamps full of oil, that is, we must walk by faith in our salvation that is provided us through the grace of Christ Jesus. Our works can’t save us, but they do make a statement of our love for the Lord and our gratefulness for the salvation He has provided for us though His precious blood. The work that we are to be doing always begins in our home, with our marriage and family.
To be Rapture ready, we must live intentionally for the Lord, embracing our own godly masculinity, and making sure that everyone in our life is blessed because of how we demonstrate our love for Jesus by loving them.
Anything that we can attach to our SLF that will empower us to do and be better believers, we must embrace. This will give us a tactical advantage as we fight the good fight of faith, looking to Jesus who is the final author and perfector of our faith.
Maranatha!
For more sermons from Pastor Rob Lee, just Google ‘Pastor Rob Lee sermons’ and many will come up. I have posted well over 400 Bible studies and sermons on YouTube under Restoration Church, Gardena and GVAG. I also have several teaching videos on Eschatology posted on our church website CrownPointeChurch.com; just scroll down to ‘End Times’ videos. I can be reached via this blog site or at my personal email at robpopslee@gmail.com. Time is short, really short, like hours, if not minutes away. Please be and stay ready. All glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hoorah!!!
Encourage Men 