Amir Tsarfati : Soon and Very Soon....We are going to see the King!

Amir Tsarfati from Israel, uses current events to remind us of the "imminency of Christ's return."

• When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” -Luke 21

David Jeremiah hosts Amir Tsarfati, at Shadow Mountain Church (CLICK to Play)
(Note: Amir starts speaking on this video at apx. 16 min.)

Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

8He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

10Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

12“But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13And so you will bear testimony to me.14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17Everyone will hate you because of me. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19Stand firm, and you will win life.

20“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” -Luke 21

Moses: "...an Intercessor for Israel"

PRAYER - (by CM Penitz)
A Look at People in the Bible Who Prayed 

A christian can be no stronger than his prayer life.  There are no shortcuts in being an effective Christian - it still requires prayer!    God has given examples in His Word of those who knew how to pray. Consider these men and how they prayed.

Moses: "...an Intercessor for Israel"
Moses prayed with intercession. he had been on the mountain for 40 days.  While he was away, Israel collected gold and formed a golden calf which they worshiped.

 Moses, his heart broken, went back to the mountain to pray.  He did more than pray - He interceded for Israel.  he was willing to have his name removed from God's book if God would not forgive their sin.

30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

31So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." (Exodus 32:30-32)

What love and compassion. Intercession is the highest form of praying. It is standing between God and man, pleading for His mercy and forgiveness toward men.  Such Praying will bring revival to our churches, community and nation.

A christian can be no stronger than his prayer life.

UPDATE Nov 2013 - Aris Metaxakis & Thassos Christian Fellowship (Greece)

Aris Metaxakis & Mary Oughtred,         
     Monday, November 11, 2013                                                                                        
     Limenas Thassos, Thassos Island, 64004, Greece,                                                                    

arismeta@hotmail.com; 
agnesoughtred@hotmail.com

Dear brethren and friends in Christ,

Greetings to all of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We trust you are all well; we are just fine here, the Lord has been very good to us, gracious and abounding in mercy.

We are grateful to God and we thank you for standing with us in prayer and in giving to God’s work. We are privileged to be here in Greece, on the island of Thassos. It is a spectacularly beautiful place here, but  more importantly, in spite of the hardships of a very bad economy, the people, in general are a tough minded, yet open hearted people. I do not share the doom and gloom concerning the people of Greece, as I sense that God has plans for this ancient nation, which has historically been very significant  in the birth of Western Civilization and also pivotal for our Christian faith and heritage.

We have rented a very nice one bedroom apartment that is very cozy and a God-sent. The landlord is a very friendly and warm hearted doctor named Dimitris, who cannot do enough to make us comfortable. He has a guard dog named Pluto who looks like a lion, and just like his master is a big “pup.” There are also lots of canaries in the side yard, which we love to listen to. God does care even about such peripheral things, as they are also God’s ministers to the heirs of salvation!

 Everywhere I have gone with Mary, we both sense there is a change here from previous visits. From my evangelistic  outreaches so far, I can say the great majority have a respect for God, a willingness to listen, as I tell  them about God’s grace in Christ and how He wants them to be saved. I use my own tract/flyer and added my and the Pastor’s names and phone nos.

So far, I have had opportunities to preach in the church and share in a smaller Friday night group with my testimony. In my first sermon I preached about “LAUNCHING OUT INTO THE DEEP.” The church here is called, Thassos Christian Fellowship, and it is an international church, with Greek, English, German, Albanian, Scottish and Serb people. It is small, still in its birth pangs, after being here for a number of years.

 What God is challenging me with, and laying before me, is to reach out to the whole island. It is a fair size, with about 30 villages, the whole population being about 13,000 people. I have already had many conversations with people and God’s seed is being planted in their hearts. I go out on the street, to the stores, neighbourhoods and reach out to them with simplicity. My Greek Cypriot accent gives me away but it has worked to the gospel’s favour as most Greeks are fond of Cyprus and her people.

Please pray/continue to pray for the following:

·         Perseverance and focus from day today

·         Boldness, love, faith and wisdom from above

·         Endurance  and strength in spiritual warfare … physical endurance…

·         For the right person to work alongside of me (pastor works full time  plus has the church on weekends and other related duties)

·         Stay in prayer and in the word more and more

·         Pastor Dimitris and wife Marjo Pelidis to have more free time, God willing

·         Guidance in discipleship and teaching in the church

·         A strong vision to abide with us and unity here in Greece for the churches to work together more in the bond of love

I attended a pastors/leaders conference in Athens, just this last weekend, and the challenge is to keep in mind God’s purpose for us, in light of the mandate He has given us with the Great Commission of the gospel.

We love all of you and we are also continuing to pray  as we remember you in prayer.

Sincerely in Christ,

Aris Metaxakis and Mary Oughtred

Proud Greek kids marching to celebrate "No" Day to the German Nazis in WWII.

 Pastor Dimitris on front left, with his wife Marjo at the back on left in front of Mary. Black brother behind Pastor is Apostle Anthony from Chicago. He  really touched all of us here with his ministry.

How God Makes Men - Patrick Morley

Never One Has Been More Mistreated Than Joseph!  Joseph knew mistreatment at a scale most of us will gratefully never see. Ripped from his family, caged like an animal, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, and thrown in jail. 

But things are rarely what they appear to be! 

Twenty two years later, something so astonishing happened that it gave purpose and meaning to all those years in exile and suffering. God revealed to Joseph that He had orchestrated all of those seemingly random circumstances of his life for a greater good—to save his family. The Lord specifically preserved Joseph's story so we can see how God used suffering to bring about a greater good. In our lives also, 

God permits difficult things for a greater good that someday, like He did for Joseph, He will enable us to understand. Like Joseph, our sufferings do have purpose and meaning. They are not wasted. Because God never wastes anything.

Patrick Morley

Are You All In? -Rick Santorum

I recently (Nov 2013) was on a business trip to San Antonio, Texas, where I attended "Cornerstone Church", Pastor John Hagee's church.  His evening guest speaker was onetime US presidential candidate, Rick Santorum.

I listened to Rick's testimony of how God saved him after a friend in the US government pulled him aside, witnessed to him, brought him to a bible study and began to build into his life.  It reminded me a bit of how at ANVIL we are pretty much trying to do the same things in fulfilling the Great Commision, and each time we attempt this, we are accomplishing great things for His kingdom.  Rick went on to champion the cause against partial-birth abortion, one of the most unpopular positions a career politician could take in this humanistic society.  Essentially and in a nutshell, the baby's head is violently removed during birth by a doctor.  Santorum was labelled and in some ways ostracized because of his christian position, but he was faithful to God in this fight almost nobody had taken on and he stuck to his fighting anti-abortion position.  He was branded an "ultra-conservative" by the media.  Because of the notoriety of his stance, one thing led to another and almost before he knew it, he began to campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America.  He told us of some of his studies about the founding fathers of the USA.

The Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Congress on July 1976, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire.  Instead they formed a union that would become a new nation - the United States of America. The Declaration justified the independence of the United States by listing colonial grievances against King George III, and asserted certain natural and legal rights, including a right of revolution.

Since then, the document has become a major statement on human rights, particularly its second sentence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".  

One of the most inspiring things Santorum related, was that although many countries have taken pages out of the US Constitution to frame and whereby build their own country's constitution from, none have ever taken copies of the Declaration of Independence that John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and the other founding fathers of the USA put together in 1776. You see, once those founding fathers affixed their signature to the Declaration of Independence, they were basically dead men if they didn't win their fight in the war against the British king.  From that point onward, they "had-to" win this war or face summarily being executed for an act against the English king.

They were fighting for their freedom from taxation from England.  They were fighting for a right to their faith expression, and amongst their cause was their desire to be independent from England in their new homeland.  It wasn't like the early American colonialists had any military advantage over the British.  Both sides in the American Revolutionary War had great generals.  Both sides had similar equipment. The British in many ways were better trained and equipped.  By many counts the Colonialists had less going for them than the British.  They also had to contend with those in their society who were not in on their cause for freedom and independance.   But, the thing that they had going for them that the British soldiers didn't was that they were "ALL IN!"

If the British didn't win, they went back home, but if the early colonialist fighters didn't win.....they would be put to death.

They were "ALL IN" in their battle for freedom because it meant life or death to them, once they had affixed their name to the document!

What about you?  In your fight for spiritual ground in your life....are you "all in"?  What does Jesus mean to you?  These are my thoughts for you today.....if you're not "ALL IN" for Jesus, you will probably not accomplish very much for his kingdom, as the losing side found.  You have to be "ALL IN", you have to WIN by giving your best to Christ and His kingdom....the stakes are just that high!  Remember that the King is Coming!

WHY GUYS NEED “THE TALK”

Posted by Sam McLoughlin on Friday, August 30, 2013 · 57 Comments 

Use this shortlink to link to this story: 

Last year I was dating this girl, and after a few weeks, things were going really well. I remember going to her house to meet her parents for the first time. Her dad was barbecuing for us, and welcomed me into his house with a friendly grin.  It wasn’t long, however, before I was invited outside for some “one-on-one” time.

“Oh no,” I thought. “Here it comes.” I knew that this was the first time his daughter had brought somebody home. And I’d been dreading this moment, because I expected to be sat down and asked some tough questions: if I struggled with porn… if I were a real man, or just a faker… if I was going to respect and protect his little girl, or break her heart.

“Do I need to read you the riot act?” he asked. I laughed nervously. And unfortunately, that was all that was said.

I remember feeling like I’d dodged a bullet. In hindsight, though, I wished he’d given me his best shot. I wish I’d heard the riot act loud and clear — because this is what a girl deserves. She deserves to have someone threaten a grim and torturous fate on her behalf. She deserves a man who will fight for her, and until a boyfriend proves his worth, that job belongs to her father.

Even though most daughters plead with their fathers to let it go, I think talks like these, while painful and awkward, are necessary. Maybe not after the first date, but certainly after a few, even and especially when the relationship seems to be going strong. Because relationships are hard, and hazardous, and potentially destructive. Old hurts, immaturity, and, well, you know can and often do rear their ugly heads before you know it and mess everything up, hurting all parties involved. While trying to keep the relationship going smooth, a girl often will not stand up for herself and set clear boundaries. And if there’s one thing about us guys that’s pretty consistent, it’s that we like to break boundaries, not make boundaries.

But it shouldn’t be up to just her. A girl’s sense of morality is often the last, and usually pretty weak, line of defense. It should be her father who helps set the boundaries loud and clear, who offers wisdom and guidance to keep a relationship from quickly veering off course. And it should be the father’s threatening stare that pops into my mind every time things go a little farther than they should physically.

Furthermore, it’s hard to be “the man” in a relationship. It’s hard to be completely faithful in your thoughts and actions. It’s hard to be a spiritual leader. It’s hard to always put her needs before your own. At first, it seems easy, like we can do it naturally. But after time, it takes work: lots of work. Guys need to be told to “be a man.” A good man. We need guidance on what that looks like in a relationship. A potential father-in-law doesn’t necessarily have to be that person, but he should at least be in contact with the man/mentor who is.

Now I’m not saying every father needs to be an overbearing, Robert De Niro in Meet the Parentstype. But that is what every girl deserves. And every girl deserves a good man.

Unfortunately, being good doesn’t come naturally to us. We need discipleship, guidance, someone to answer to. Someone who’s willing to come alongside us and be firm in communicating what it means to follow Christ while in a relationship. And sometimes we need someone to scare us straight, in a sense.

Unfortunately, many of us men don’t have that person in our lives. So we need all the help we can get, from wherever we can get it. Often times, the last person we’d like to fill this role is the one person who’s got the most invested: namely, the girlfriend’s father.  But whether he likes it or not, he’s the last line of defense.

I remember around the same time I started dating this girl, my friend (we’ll call him “J”) started dating someone too. I heard that he met with her father regularly, and when the relationship ended (his decision), he was summoned for a meeting.

“Oh man, you’re going to get it!” a few of us told him. We just assumed he was in for a tongue lashing like no other.

Instead, he told us it went really well, that this girl’s father wanted to make sure he was doing okay, and see what he had learned from the relationship. He had taken a mentorship role in J’s life, and even though J had hurt his daughter, he was mature enough not to blame him, but to offer him support and guidance.

I think we all need that.  I know there probably aren’t many fathers of dating-age girls reading this, so girls, I challenge you to talk to your father about when it is appropriate to give “the talk” and not to shy away from it, but to take a guiding, mentorship approach rather than mimic Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction: “And I will strike down upon thee with GREAT VENGEANCE and FURIOUS ANGER!”

And to the men, I challenge you to pursue “the talk,” and to be ready for it, because accountability in this relationship will go a long way towards your growth and the health of your dating relationship. Sometimes the awkward moments are the ones we need to experience the most.

Character is ......a habit!

"Character is simply long habit continued. Sow a thought, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap character. Sow character, and reap a destiny." -Greg Laurie

Recent Birthdays!

Happy Birthday to Brian, Bi and Art!

Aris Metaxakis & Thassos Christian Fellowship (Greece)

Editor's Note:  

Aris Metaxakis has been an encouraging Speaker at ANVIL Ministry for Men, 

and has written for the The ANVIL Newsletter.  Aris has recently moved to 

Greece to support a church there.  Please support him in prayer as he reaches out into 

what God has in store for him in Greece!

These links below take you to his ANVIL contributions:

Feb. 2013 -  A Friend of the World - Aris Metaxakis

April 2012 - Men of the Hour - Aris Metaxakis
Nov 2013  -  UPDATE from Greece

______________________

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord, our soon coming King. 

We trust you are well. We are doing remarkably well, in spite of the many changes, frenzied pace over the last so many months.

We are settling in a nice 1 bdrm apt which has everything in it (internet, heating, good kitchen... etc). We also have mice but we can cope with that as long as their relative, the rat doesn't show up!

God has provided for us in many ways and are looking forward to things ahead. The church here is small but God has raised up a Greek pastor here with a Dutch wife and they have laboured here for 8-10 years. We are here to help the local church and my additional role is evangelism and discipleship and who knows what's ahead. They are a loving, humble congregation of 15 people or so, called Thassos Christian Fellowship.

Please pray that I make full use of every God given opportunity to do good, to speak a kind word, to preach boldly the unmerited favour of God through Christ Jesus. 

Give my regards and greetings to to Georgetown's Men's fellowship, The Anvil Group and ask for their prayer support.

Aris Metaxakis

______________________

Tony Campolo on "Love"

Tony Campolo on "Love"

(Taken in Moncton, NB)

       *  Only Tony Campolo can get away with humorously saying things the way he does.     
              Enjoy!