Homeward Bound Newsletter V11N16

8/9/2019 Homeward Bound Newsletter V11N16

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Homeward Bound Volume 11 Number 16

Homeward Bound Ministries Post Office Box 3351 Milford Connecticut 06460 (203) 283-4380

Has He Shown You?

Have you seen it yet? Have you caught aglimpse of Heaven? Our home for eternity? Do youhave any idea what it will be like or all that He hasprepared for us? Ask Him. Ask Him for a vision ora dream. Ask Him to show you, give you just ataste. He will reveal itto you in the Spirit.

And, once He does you will never, I meannever, be the sameagain. Paul wrote,But as it is written,

Eye hath not seen, norear heard, neitherhave entered into theheart of man, thethings which God hath

prepared for themthat love Him. (ICorinthians 2:9) Ihave heard this verseso many times andalso heard so many

believers talk abouthow unspeakable itmust be, how beautifuland mysterious it mustall be.

But, read justone verse further, verse ten. It says, But God hathrevealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spiritsearcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.So, you see, you can know, you can have thatglimpse, that taste, that I know will draw you ineven closer, even deeper. Once He has revealed itto you, and He only reveals it to those who are trulyHis own, your life will be changed. No, I am not

speaking about Gnosticism here, some mysteriouscult or special revelation for a chosen few. I amtelling you that God wants you to know and hasmade it available to all who will surrender their willto the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most assuredly these things cannot beknown with the carnal senses, the eyes, the ears, thetaste. Only once we have been brought to life afterhaving been born again by His Spirit can He even

begin to reveal this to us! The reason why is plainlystated if we read just a few verses further, verse

fourteen, where it says, But the natural manreceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: forthey are foolishness unto him: neither can he know

them, because they are spiritually discerned.Yesoh yes! As we read His Word, as we follow Him inobedience, as we overcome the sins which so easily

beset us, as we share this great Gospel messagwith those who have yet come to know Him, as we

receive joy in worshipall this will lead us tothat point where wetruly catch the vision

We have been given token, the earnest of HisSpirit, to lead us safely

home, to a place lovinglyprepared for us. This vision grows brightday by day, trial by trialand then the day comes

when we enter into thSpirit that one last timenever to come out againOh, what a day ofrejoicing that will be!

Elder C. HCayce put it this wayover a hundred yearsago when discussing this

very thing. He wrote, I you know and realizsomething of the

greatness, the love, the justice, the majesty, therighteousness, the glory, the mercy, the riches, thepresence of God, it is because some of these thingshave been revealed to you by His Spirit. If you have

been given to know something of the glories whichawait the Lord's humble poor beyond this vale oftears, it is because something has been revealed to

you by His Spirit. It is by the Spirit of God that you

have been given to know something of the things ofGod. Hence, though you be poor in spirit, andhunger and thirst after righteousness, you have theSpirit of God dwelling in your poor heart; and allthe good things which God has in store for Hishumble poor are yours, and they are yours to enjoyin all eternity beyond this world of sorrow andtrouble. Amen. Catch that vision! Go deeperSeek Him with all your heart! Surrender to Himcompletely! He will hold nothing back from you.

John Payne


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Homeward Bound Volume 11 - Number 16


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The Right Thing to Do

The right thing to do. Hmmmm. Theright thing to do. Just about most of the time we know what is the right thing to do . . .

but do we DO that right thing? It is a matter ofintegrity. When nobody is watching, do you dothe right thing? Thats where it counts. Youneed to standright beforeGod in yourheart. BecauseHes watching.He is always watching. Heis a whole lot

more carefulthan Satan,excuse meSanta Claus whos keeping a book and checking it onlytwice, or so weve been told. God is watchingeverybody, all the time and Hes keeping thebook.

Do you think Im kidding you? I mostcertainly am not. The Keeper of a great book inthe Heavens has established a record of you, who you are and all youve done. This is thebook that will stand as evidence before you inthe court of God on that last and final day. Willyour name be there? Or will it be blotted out?Will it give an account of the righteous acts of aredeemed man or woman or will it describe ingreat detail the sordid sinful acts of a life spentin rebellion against God?

Deep in your heart you know how youlive your life and the tale that it tells to those inthe spiritual realm. Those here on the earth with carnal eyes may not see how you havelived but know this . . . God is watching.He is ever watchful. The Bibles says, For theeyes of the LORD run to and fro throughoutthe whole earth . . . . (II Chronicles 16:9)Nothing is hid from Him. If even for only amoment you think He has not seen you, youhave deceived yourself.

Moses knew all about this book, yes hedid. The Bible says, And it came to pass on

the morrow, that Moses said unto the peopleYe have sinned a great sin: and now I will goup unto the LORD; peradventure I shall makean atonement for your sin. And Mosesreturned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this

people have sinned a great sin, and have madethem gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wil forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I praythee, out of thy book which thou hast written And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoevehath sinned against me, him will I blot out ofmy book. (Exodus 32:30-33) Moses knew ofthis book which God kept. He was willing totrade his place for theirs in this book, that God would forgive the people their sin. He wa willing to suffer for their sin, a type atonement. God stood firm and told Mosesthat whoever sinned against Him would be blotted out. Blotted out. Do you know whathat means? In the Hebrew it means to literallyerase its presence. To be blotted out of Godsbook means to be removed completely from itspresence.

The psalmist refers to it here where heasks the Lord to remove the names of thewicked men who afflict him from His book, thebook of the living, the book of life. Let thembe blotted out of the book of the living, and no

be written withthe righteous.(Psalm 69:28) And also that hhas knowledgethat God has kepta record of himof us all, since we were formed ithe womb. Mysubstance was

not hid fromthee, when I was made in secret, and curiouslywrought in the lowest parts of the earthThine eyes did see my substance, yet beingunperfect; and in thy book all my memberswere written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none othem. (Psalm 139:15-16) The prophet Daniel

(continued on page three


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The Right Thing to Do (continued)saw this book and knew what it stood for.And at that time shall Michael stand up, thegreat prince which standeth for the children ofthy people: and there shall be a time of

trouble, such as never was since there was anation even to that same time: and at thattime thy people shall be delivered, every onethat shall be found written in the book. Andmany of them that sleep in the dust of theearth shall awake, some to everlasting life,and some to shame and everlasting contempt.(Daniel 12:1-2)

Jesus speaks of this book with regard to who will be mentioned in it and who will beremoved from it. He that overcometh, the

same shall be clothed in white raiment; and Iwill not blot out his name out of the book oflife, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Revelation3:5)

The beloved disciple John writes of this book in Revelation. See what he says,And Isaw a great white throne, and him that sat onit, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place forthem. And I saw the dead, small and great,stand before God; and the books were opened:and another book was opened, which is thebook of life: and the dead were judged out ofthose things which were written in the books,according to their works. And the sea gave upthe dead which were in it; and death and helldelivered up the dead which were in them:and they were judged every man according totheir works. And death and hell were cast intothe lake of fire. This is the second death. Andwhosoever was not found written in the bookof life was cast into the lake of fire.

(Revelation 20:11-15) Those who were notfound there, whose names had been blottedout, were cast into eternal punishment.

This is why we must do what we know isright. We must obey God. We must overcomesin. We must prove our love for Him in thekeeping of His commandments. The rightthing to do. Let us do just that. Each day.Every day. Until we meet Him face to face.

John Payne

Two-Minute Warning

As many football fans know, the twominute warning is given when two minutes ofgame time remain on the game clock at the end

of each half of a game. The two-minute warning entirely stopsthe game clock. Thisevent dates from thedays in the NationalFootball League whenthe official game timewas kept by a member ofthe officiating crew, withthe stadium clock beingunofficial. Its purpose

was a checkpoint toensure that both teams knew how much timeremained in the game. Since the late 1960s theNFL stadium clock has been official, but bythen television was an important factor in theNFL so the two-minute warning was retainedas a commercial break and to serve as a"tension builder", and thus has become animportant part of the game's flow. In realitythough, the two-minute warning is actuallymeaningless and practically useless!

Our lives and the world around us arefilled with things that no longer hold their

original meaningor purpose. Wehear and read somany warningstoday that weoften no longereven noticemany of them

Some are plainly obvious, such as the notice onthe coffee cups at your favorite java spot thattell you the coffee insideyour cup is hot, very hot.Millions of smokers blindlylight up their cigarettesdaily ignoring the cancerwarning on their packs. Wetake for granted warningsigns such as: falling rockzone along the highway; the do not swallowwarning on the toothpaste (continued on page four)


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Two-Minute Warning (continued)carton (fluoride in enough quantity ispoisonous); the advisories before televisionprograms andmovies that

warn of violence,sex and foullanguage (yetpeople watchthem anyway);ignoring warnings ofprocuring proper anti-virus and firewallsoftware or backing up your computer files which often leads to disaster; and so manymore. We mindlessly think that these and

other things that we are warned against willnever happen to us and because they do not wefail to understand and take proper care whenserious warnings are indeed presented.

The most important warning in all theuniverse is almost universally ignored! This isthe warning regarding the imminent return ofthe Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter

writes,telling us ofthese days

whereinthere will be those who thinkor say,Where is

the promise of

his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, allthings continue as they were from thebeginning of the creation. (II Peter 3:4) Thisvery thing was happening almost two thousand

years ago in his time and so much the morenow.

God will not provide us with a two-minute warning. He has warned man from the beginning of time. He has faithfully provided witness in the world as to His plan andintention.

Jesus warning to us about the eternalplace of torment is plainly written in His Word.Few hear this warning and take heed. Listen to

what He says, There was a certain rich manwhich was clothed in purple and fine linenand fared sumptuously every day: and therewas a certain beggar named Lazarus, whichwas laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring

to be fed with the crumbs which fell from therich man's table: moreover the dogs came andlicked his sores. And it came to pass, that thebeggar died, and was carried by the angelsinto Abraham's bosom: the rich man also diedand was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyesbeing in torments, and seeth Abraham afaroff, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he criedand said, Father Abraham, have mercy on meand send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip ofhis finger in water,and cool mytongue; for I amtormented inthis flame. But Abraham said,Son,remember thatthou in thylifetimereceivedst thygood things, andlikewise Lazarus

evil things: but now he iscomforted, and thou art tormented. Andbeside all this, between us and you there is agreat gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can theypass to us, that would come from thence. Thenhe said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thouwouldest send him to my father's house: for Ihave five brethren; that he may testify untothem, lest they also come into this place oftorment. Abraham saith unto him, They have

Moses and the prophets; let them hear themAnd he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if onewent unto them from the dead, they wilrepent. And he said unto him, If they hear no Moses and the prophets, neither will they b persuaded, though one rose from the dead.(Luke 16:19-31)

Jesus establishes the reality of Hell. Heestablishes the Truth of this place and thetorment of individuals who (continued on page five)


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Two-Minute Warning (continued)are or will abide there. He further describesthat it is in His Word and through faithful menof God where the antidote for this eternaltorment may be found. Lastly, and most

lamentably, Jesus tells us that that even thoughthe evidence of His resurrection, the powerover death, Satan and sin, is there for us all toknow and see that for most it will not beenough. Those who fall into this eternaldamnation will have had the opportunity to bewarned by His Word and His servants and have

chosen rather to ignore this greatest of allwarnings to their souls eternal peril.We who have believed and are following

Him have taken this warning to heart and wealso have our marching orders. Let us serveHim with vigor and in great faith as we awaitHis return. For regardless of the day we shallsoon meet Him face to face. Peter wrote, But,beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, thatone day is with theLord as a thousand

years,and a

thousand years as one day. The Lord is notslack concerning his promise, as some mencount slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, butthat all should come to repentance. But theday of the Lord will come as a thief in thenight; in the which the heavens shall passaway with a great noise, and the elementsshall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and

the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall bedissolved, what manner of persons ought ye tobe in all holy conversation and godliness,looking for and hasting unto the coming of theday of God, wherein the heavens being on fireshall be dissolved, and the elements shall meltwith fervent heat? (II Peter 3:8-12)

John Payne

Taken Away

No matter how far we put the thought odeath from our consciousness, that thoughtcontinually lingers deep in the recesses of our

mind. We all have an appointment with deathNot just ourselves but our loved ones, ourgrandparents, our parents, a spouse, a childour friends. Some unexpectedly, some longand drawn out, but it indeed comes for eachand every one of us. The Bible says, And as itis appointed unto men once to die, but afterthis the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) Are youready? For Judgment? Are those you knowand love ready? Have they been warned?

We all become far too familiar wit

living in these mortal bodies. Often times weforget that we are primarily souls in a bodyrather than a body containing a soul. This is also temporary. When we are young we look tothe far and distant future, thinking we areinvincible, a dayof death thatseemingly never will come. As wegain age and time begins to passquickly thethoughts of ourmortal end begin to appear on our horizonsThen in those final days, whether they be filled with good health or poor, the day arriveDont get so used to living in this body of deaththat you forget to take care of your immortasoul.

Unfortunately, in all of the living wemortals do very few of us give thought to thesecond death. The one that will be there formost of those who die physically. It will be aday of horror and shock such as they neverexperienced while in this body. This seconddeath need not happen. He that hath an earlet him hear what the Spirit saith unto thechurches; He that overcometh shall not behurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:11)The Bible tells us there is a way out! It isimply heeding the Word of God and Hisinstructions to avoid (continued on page six)


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Taken Away(continued) And whosoever was not found written in thebook of life was cast into the lake of fire.(Revelation 20:11-15)

The Bible says, He that overcometh

shall inherit all things; and I will be his God,and he shall be my son. But the fearful, andunbelieving, and the abominable, andmurderers, and whoremongers, andsorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall

have their part inthe lake whichburneth with fireand brimstone:which is thesecond death.

(Revelation 21:7-8)For those

who reject Gods plan of salvation, those whospurn His great and abundant love and mercy,death brings to an end their opportunity to bereconciled to Him through our Lord andSavior, Jesus Christ. For us who havesurrendered to His Lordship and have enduredunto the end, overcoming sin, we with theapostle Paul can say, We are confident, I say,and willing rather to be absent from the body,and to be present with the Lord. (IICorinthians 5:8) You will certainly one day diehere on this earth. But provided you have become a partaker with Jesus Christ in theresurrection unto life there is no need to fearthis death since it is not an end, it is rather agrand beginning. Worry not, then, about beingtaken away.

John Payne

Burden of Proof

Nowhere in the Bible does God make aclaim to have to reveal or manifest Himself toany man, woman or child in order to prove thatHe indeed exists. All around us in the world welive are those that demand proof or evidence ofeverything. We live in an age that has thegreatest amount of information at itsfingertips. On the internet alone you can findout the facts for just about anything or have

practically any question you might askanswered. The amount of information passingaround the globe electronically minute byminute simply stuns the imagination.

Nowhere does God indicate that he wil

answer the demands of sinful man to provethat He exists. He reveals Himself to usthrough the work of His only begotten Son, theLord Jesus Christ, and the testimony andtestament of His life here on earth and the actsof the men and woman who gladly followedHim and became His disciples in the earlychurch all through the indwelling power of HisHoly Spirit.

It is by faith that we reach out to Himacknowledging our need for a great Savior inresponse to the revelation and indictment ofour great sinfulness. So overwhelming is Hislove for us that He overcomes our manifoldwickedness and evil hearts and has mercy uponus when we reach out in this faith to HimEven this expression of faith towards Him isHis gift to us!

The burden of proof then has been met . . by God . . . in His holy Word. He alone ithe author of Truth, there is none other thanHe. All else pales in comparison. Until Truthis known of Him, there is no salvation, no

deliverance foryour soul.

He spoketo Jeremiah,Call unto me,and I willanswer thee,and show thee great and mighty things, whichthou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3) This didGod speak to the prophet while he was shut upin prison. God acts upon an expression of our

faith towards Him. He never changes. As Hespoke to Jeremiah, He will speak to us. He wildo no less if you will reach out to Him in TruthSimply call unto Him . . . and He will answeryou. He will reveal unto you that which youmust do to be saved. He will reveal unto youyour Savior, the One Who will set you free fromthe bondage of sin, death and Satan.

Our great and merciful God has revealedHis existence through what(continued on page eight)


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Burden of Proof(continued)we can see and handle in our hands, see withour eyes and observe with our minds. In orderto state that He does not exist we have to denyall the evidence He has placed around us in this

universe. He has a warning for those whowould deny Him and it is not to be taken lightlyas the eternal soul we are born with in this lifewill go to a place either with Him or apart fromHim. Paul writes, For the wrath of God isrevealed from heaven against all ungodlinessand unrighteousness of men, who hold thetruth in unrighteousness; because that which

may be known ofGod is manifest inthem; for God

hath shewed itunto them. Forthe invisiblethings of him

from the creation of the world are clearlyseen, being understood by the things that aremade, even his eternal power and Godhead; sothat they are without excuse: because that,when they knew God, they glorified him not asGod, neither were thankful; but became vainin their imaginations, and their foolish heartwas darkened. Professing themselves to bewise, they became fools, and changed theglory of the uncorruptible God into an imagemade like to corruptible man, and to birds,and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.(Romans 1:18-23)

God will not hide Himself from you. Onthe contrary, it is His great love for each of usthat He has prepared an antidote to the sinnature that we are born with and will carry usto Hell if we do not find that place ofdeliverance. See where He has said, For

whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinnethagainst me wrongeth his own soul: all theythat hate me love death. (Proverbs 8:35-36)How much plainer can He be?

In all of world history and in all of worldreligion, Jesus is the clearest and only evidenceand most specific picture of God pursuing us,sinful man! Can you grasp that? It is God Whopursues us! Religion is mans failed attempt to

find Him on mans own terms. Jesus says, Iam the way, the truth, and the life: no mancometh unto the Father, but by me. (John14:6) No other man has come upon the earthand done the things that Jesus has done (and

continues to do through His disciples) all in theeffort to reconcile man to His Father. Thegreatest prophets this world has had to offerBuddha, Muhammad, Confucius and others falfar short since they only claimed to know theway, saying of themselves that they were onlyprophets and servants. Not one of these mennamed or others claimed either to be God or inthe least way equal to Him.

As far as I can find out in my researchthe following quote is anonymous andunfortunately very, very true. For those whoknow God, no proof is necessary; for those whoreject God, no proof is enough. We wind uppreaching to the choir when we speak of Hisexistence to other believers. For those to whom

we address Gods existence who have no desireto believe, it is akin to shoveling water against

the tide. Only and unless Gods precious, lifegiving Holy Spirit attends the heart of the oneto whom you speak, convicting them of theirsinfulness and need for a Savior, your words ofwitness and testimony only serve to make theircondemnation more sure. Unless those wordstake root and sprout at some later time and orsome other believer speaks the Words of Life tothem whit God attending the ministry, theirdoom is secure. (continued on page nine)


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Burden of Proof(continued)Please permit me to leave you with a few

comments about this very topic by A. W. Tozer.He says things so much more eloquently andpurposefully than I ever can. He wrote, The

Bible assumesas

a self-evident fact that men can know God withat least the same degree of immediacy as theyknow any other person or thing that comes within the field of their experience. The sameterms are used to express the knowledge of Godas are used to express knowledge of physicalthings. "O taste and see that the Lord is good.""All thy garments smell Of myrrh, and aloes,andcassia,out of theivorypalaces.""Mysheephear myvoice.""Blessedare the pure inheart, for

they shallsee God."These are but four of countless such passagesfrom the Word of God. And more importantthan any proof text is the fact that the wholeimport of the Scripture is toward this belief. What can all this mean except that we have inour hearts organs by means of which we canknow God as certainly as we know materialthings through our familiar five senses? We

apprehend the physical world by exercising thefaculties given us for the purpose, and wepossess spiritual faculties by means of whichwe can know God and the spiritual world if we will obey the Spirit's urge and begin to us

them. That a saving work must first be done inthe heart is taken for granted here. Thespiritual faculties of the unregenerate man lie

asleep in his nature, unused and forevery purpose dead; that is thestroke which has fallen upon usby sin. They may be quickened

to active life again by the operation of theHoly Spirit in regeneration; that is oneof the immeasurable benefits which

come to us through Christ's atoning workon the cross. But the very ransomed

children of God themselves: why do theyknow so little of that habitual consciouscommunion with God which the Scripturesseem to offer? The answer is our chronicunbelief. Faith enables our spiritual sense tofunction. Where faith is defective the result will be inward insensibility and numbnestoward spiritual things. This is the condition o vast numbers of Christians today. No proof i

necessary to supportthat statement. We

have but to converse with the Christian we meet orenter the first church we find open acquire all the proof we need. A spirituakingdom lies allabout us, enclosingus, embracing usaltogether within

reach of our innerselves, waiting for usto recognize it. God

Himself is here waiting our response to HisPresence. This eternal world will come alive tous the moment we begin to reckon upon itsreality.

I can only and humbly add my Amen towhat brother Tozer has here said.

John Payne


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