Tina Dean
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Joined: 06/05/2008
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Posted: 07/30/2008 at 6:45am
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Sanctuary
Michael Boldea
Thursday, July 17, 2008
http://mikeboldea.blogspot.com/
I have been working on, and praying about this article for a
few days now. It was much harder to write than I had anticipated. It may anger
some of you, and open the eyes of others. I can but only be faithful to the
Word. May God bless all of you, guide you, keep you and protect you. My trip to
Romania is not permanent, I need to return for a few weeks to check up on some
projects we are working on, and see my brother Daniel who is finally out of the
hospital. Thank you all for your prayers on his behalf.
Sanctuary: A place of refuge or asylum; the state of being
protected or safeguarded from danger or hardship.
Refuge: That to which one turns for help when in
desperation; a source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble.
For those who have long chosen to dismiss the prophetic with
the wave of a hand, and a roll of the eyes, these can be some unnerving and
disturbing times. How could one believe the words of impending judgment, of
financial collapse, of natural disasters and of unprecedented tensions, when in
the physical all they could see was prosperity, smooth sailing and good times
ahead?
I believe that for some time now we have entered into the
realm of fulfillment when it comes to the prophetic warnings concerning this
land we love called America, and those wise among us, with the spiritual
foresight to see beyond today, and believe the word of God, are not taken by
surprise as one improbable event after another takes place.
Even those of the house of God who have only maintained what
they considered to be a relationship with the Father simply because they
believed if they faked it well enough, He would bless them abundantly are
stunned, speechless, seeing the pieces of the last days puzzle coming together
seamlessly as it was foretold in the Word. The writing is on the wall and
though many see it as Belshazzar saw it, due to their deeply held doctrine of
never seeing hardship or trouble, of being caught away at the first signs of
adversity, they are somehow able to justify indifference toward a loving God,
and refuse to prepare themselves for what is about to unfold. ‘Why should we
worry about tomorrow, if we won’t be here to see it?’ This is the deadpan
answer I have received so often when attempting to teach on end time prophecy
and on end time events. ‘It’s all well and good brother, but at best this is an
intellectual exercise. We’ll all be in heaven, and have a front row seat
watching the times of trouble unfold on the earth. It is interesting, you’ve
put allot of thought into this, but in the end quite pointless.’
Times are changing, life is becoming increasingly difficult,
prophecy is being fulfilled, and those who refuse to see the truth of the
Gospel continue to keep one eye firmly fixed on the heavens, thinking to
themselves, ‘any minute now, He’s got to show up in the clouds any minute now.’
This article is not for such people. Even when one can prove
Biblically that we will be here far longer than they had previously thought,
they still refuse to believe it, dragging out the old tired line, ‘that’s the
way you choose to interpret it brother, I see it different.’ It is not about
interpreting the Word, it is about reading and receiving it as is, without
allowing our personal feelings or emotions to cloud the truth of Gospel.
Matthew 24:29-31, “Immediately after the tribulation of
those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the
stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then, the sign of the Son of man will appear in the heaven, and then all the
tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
In the context of this passage, knowing that Jesus Christ,
the Son of God and Savior of mankind spoke them, I would like to broach the
subject of sanctuary, or refuge during these times. As of late I have been
asked by a growing number of brothers and sisters, what it is that they should
do, and where it is that they should go, knowing the season that approaches. I
will begin by saying that there is no easy answer. What may be God’s perfect
will for me, and what may be my place of safety, may not be thus for my
brothers or my father. We must acknowledge the fact that our faith is not
collective, and thereby the place of refuge is not a singular geographical
location, where all believers will congregate eventually.
For the past decade or so, men have been popping up
throughout this land, claiming to know the place of refuge for all of
Christendom, that one specific location wherein God’s children will be
protected and spared. These locations change of course, from one individual to
another ranging from Belize, to Chile, to Argentina, to the Ural Mountains, and
some easily swayed souls who were not grounded in the Word packed up and moved
away without a second thought. If anyone reading this article today is
considering packing up and moving out based on another man’s advice, please,
please reconsider. If God told him to move to Belize, then by all means
brother, have a safe flight, and look out for the spiders. The fact that God
told one individual does not mean it is a blanket statement for the entire body
of Christ. When it comes to something such as this, God will speak to each of
His children individually, and yes, some will be told to leave, but most will
be told to stay, that they may be a testimony of God’s ability to protect even
in the eye of the storm.
Our place of sanctuary is not a geographical location. Our
place of sanctuary is in the will of God, under the shadow of His wing. If we
have not grown and matured in God, if we have not learned to trust Him
implicitly in every area of our lives, then it will not matter where we go
geographically speaking. When someone leaves a nation out of fear for what is
coming, and not due to the fact that God told him or her to do so, they have
removed themselves from under the covering of God’s protection.
Amos 5:4, “For thus says the Lord of the house of Israel:
‘seek Me and live.”
Yes, I have been praying and petitioning God to allow me to
move back to my homeland because it is the desire of my heart, yet here I will
stand until He tells me to go. If He never tells me to go, then here I will be
for I know that here is the only place where I will find myself in His perfect
will and thereby be spared the judgments that are ready to be poured out upon
the ungodly.
Psalm 33:13-21, “The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the
sons of men. From the place of His habitation He looks on all the inhabitants
of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their
works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not
delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it
deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who
fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and
to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and
our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him because we have trusted in His
holy name.”
Oh that we would understand this sacred passage and know
where our refuge and our sanctuary truly are. Oh that we would open our eyes to
the reality that our strength, our storehouses, our plans and notions of what
will keep us safe are worthless. Oh that we would see the truth of God’s word
and know that those who fear Him, and hope in His mercy will be delivered from
death and kept alive in famine.
Dear friend, if God tells you to go, then by all means go.
However, if God has not spoken, do not make the mistake of presuming to know
the mind of God, do not make the mistake of walking out of His perfect will
thinking that you know better than He. If I can encourage you with anything, it
is with the reassurance that God is able to protect both you and your family,
no matter what may come.
The judgment of God is reserved for the ungodly, just as the
plagues were reserved for Egypt. In the midst of Egypt there was a land called
Goshen, where the children of Israel happened to be. They had not been told to
go anywhere; they were protected exactly where they were. While the plagues of
God rained down upon the land of Egypt, Goshen was at peace, for the children
of God dwelt there.
‘But brother Mike, what about the scripture that tells us to
come out of her My people?’ My answer to this, is how can you go when you were
not sent? It is easier to presume a physical exodus from this land, than search
our hearts to see if we have come out of Babylon spiritually. There are
countless souls who are still tethered spiritually to the spirit of Babylon,
and God in His infinite wisdom is admonishing His people to come out of her,
while they may.
Proverbs 14:26-27, “In the fear of the Lord there is strong
confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord
is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death.”
It is not in South America, it is not in the Congo, it is
not in Paraguay that the children of God will have a place of refuge it is in
the fear of the Lord. If we are obedient children, He will guide and protect us
like a loving Father. If the fear of the Lord is ever present in our hearts,
and as such we remove ourselves from the world, and we learn to hate evil, for
the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, then we have strong confidence, for the
fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, and causes us to avoid the snares of
death.
No, the judgment that is about to descend, not only upon
this nation but upon the world is not intended for the children of God, for
just as Israel was spared in Goshen, so too will we have a refuge, a safe
haven, and a sanctuary in God. The persecution that will follow however, well
that is an article for another time.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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In passionate pursuit of Him always....( I am my Beloved's and He is mine!)
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Topic: Sanctuary/Micheal Boldea Jr.
