Many Will Fall Away

“It is a season when many will fall away.” As the Lord amplified and magnified this statement in my spirit I knew it was in the scripture. I went to research and found that this particular statement is taken from Matthew 24. This is the chapter in which Jesus is speaking to His disciples privately about the signs that will signal His return and the end of the world.

Matthew 24:9-10 (AMP) “Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 10And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.

You are among they who have been chosen in the furnace of affliction. You are following in the example of He who learned obedience by the things He suffered. Did you think it would be different for you? I have told you plainly that if anyone desires to be My follower and disciple, that he must deny himself, totally disregarding and forgetting about his self-interest and selfish desires and take up his cross and follow Me. Following Me means cleaving to Me steadfastly and completely conforming to My image and My example which requires dying daily to your flesh. So I say to you instead of allowing your afflictions to cause bitterness to grow in your heart chose now to allow them to teach you of My great love and commitment to your perfecting and pruning. And haven’t I also said that many are called but few are chosen? In this season you will do the choosing for it has been establised and confirmed that I have chosen you before the foundation of the world and I have given you a free will to choose whether you will trust and obey My Word. Do not be like those who are falling away because of their unbelief, disobedience and faithlessness. They have become this way because they have allowed their temporal situations to become the source of their identity. Let he who has an ear hear what the Spirit is saying. You are of the elect and chosen and I Am the God of the eternal and I Am calling you to store up your eternal treasures in heaven and by this truth you shall know who you really are. Who have you allowed to deceive you? Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the [Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh? (Galatians 3:3) This is a faith-walk that habitually requires a lot of sacrifice and commitment, for there is much tribulation for those who enter into the narrow gate of My Kingdom. As you are being stretch in the process do not despise My handiwork for once you have been conformed to My image you will never return to the void and empty shape of your former way of living. I Am changing you and I Am transforming you now! So take a breath; breathe in the wind of My spirit and know that the deep conflict that was intensified by My deep refining and has been the seed of the a deep resolve that has rooted and grounded you in faithfulness and has postured you for destiny, says the Lord.

Isaiah 48:9-11 (AMP) “For My name's sake I defer My anger, and for the sake of My praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. 10Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried and chosen you in the furnace of affliction. 11For My own sake, for My own sake, I do it [I refrain and do not utterly destroy you]; for why should I permit My name to be polluted and profaned [which it would be if the Lord completely destroyed His chosen people]? And I will not give My glory to another [by permitting the worshipers of idols to triumph over you].

Hebrews 5:7-9 (NLT) “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”

Matthew 22:13-15 (AMP) “Then the king said to the attendants, Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. 14For many are called (invited and summoned), but few are chosen. 15Then the Pharisees went and consulted and plotted together how they might entangle Jesus in His talk.”

Luke 12:47-49 (NLT) “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

Beloved of the Lord I encourage you for as I read further in Matthew 24 vs. 24 says, “For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.” One translation says they will try to fool God’s people. My point in showing you this scripture is to amplify the words, “if possible” and “try”. We are a royal priesthood, a chosen people and a Holy Nation. Hid in the Beloved we have the hope and assurance that His faithfulness will never leave us orphaned or forsaken. Be encouraged in your God, take refuge in His Name and in His Blood. We are not a people without hope. Amen.