The true church of Jesus Christ has suffered more assaults more attacks, more heartrending confusion, splits, and compromises than one can comprehend. Yet, the church is still the church and His people are still rejoicing. The true church cannot fail because the question is settled and God’s people have made their choice. Jesus Himself settled this question when He said, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The visible church has miserably failed but the invisible church is still triumphant and waiting for her greatest triumph of the ages. The Rapture is our crowning moment, the greatest triumph of His saints.

We must never forget that we enter into His coming glory by great tribulation. The First Testament saints were champions of suffering and privation. Let Apostle Paul tell you of their trials, "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of b onds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth" (Hebrews 11:32-38). "Of whom the world was not worthy" sets these saints of old apart like sparkling jewels and that is exactly what the Prophet Malachi called them. "And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him" (Malachi 3:17).

The New Testament saints have never been treated any different than the First Testament saints. The only difference is in the people we call saints. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (II Timothy 3:12). Apostle Paul described the saints of the early church, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you" (II Corinthians 4:8-12).

It is our joy to suffer for His name. We are His jewels and all our troubles — when rightly suffered — are nothing but His preparation for our coming glory. The Apostle Paul cried forth with the desire to share "the fellowship of His sufferings" (Philippians 3:10). Jesus said, "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets" (St. Luke 6:22-23). Let’s rejoice in the bitter trials that come across our path and use them to step up higher. The Rapture is the triumph of every Biblical virtue.

The Rapture: Triumph of Grace

First of all, the Rapture is the triumph of grace. The grace of God is our one and only approach to everything that redemption has provided. We dare not claim one promise by merits of flesh and blood. No man can earn the salvation of God and no flesh – even at its best — can enter into His presence unless it is hid in the regalia of blood redemption. Man is wholly incapable of saving himself. In His need of God every experience of man must proclaim, "But God." And every man in his darkest condition of sin has but to declare, "But God." Grace is the absolute "but God" in all of human needs.

Holy Revelation has declared, "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:4-10). This is the final word to every idea of man that would dare exclude one living soul from the possibility of grace. Grace cannot be grace if one person is left at God’s altar without hope. If a pleading soul that casts all trust upon Him is turned away, grace has been corrupted.

We are saved from the dark seven years of the judgment of the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the false god, Lucifer, by grace. No man can claim grace that places God’s chosen saints in the middle of the Great Tribulation. There is no grace in judging the blood-washed saints with the blood thirsty hordes of demon spirits and blaspheming Christ rejecters. There is no grace in allowing the devil to devour the Holy Saints of the church with the godless throng of heathens. The overcomers of the world and sin will be removed by grace because grace has promised, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10).

The Great Tribulation is God’s final word to a world that has allowed Satan to become its god. It is impossible for grace to be grace and then leave the righteous, who have already by grace escaped sins’ consequences, to be left under its destructive powers.

The Rapture is the triumph of grace for every soul that has trusted only in its merits. We were saved by grace, sanctified by grace, preserved by grace, added to His church by grace, and will finally be "caught up" by grace. The thrones beneath His rainbow framed throne will all be the same height and reflect the same glory. Our rewards will be different but all will be present because of grace. (Continued next week – The Triumph of Patience)

Mercy is not something that we must beg of God, it is His nature. Neither is His mercy a one-time experience, it is His ongoing love in the direction of all who will receive. Nothing has so changed my life than the truth which assures me of the natural unchanging attitude of God toward His own children. It is a rebuke to God when we think we must convince Him to show us His mercy. Children raised in a home where they must compete for love will be gravely affected. Christians that never learn that our Father loves us with a constant, unchanging love will fail to know the great powers of prayer. Please do not think that I am saying that mercy is some empty fact that we simply store in our mind. Mercy is a ministry of the Holy Spirit that is real and life changing. It is available in our daily walk.

The Spirit says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16) God does nothing in our life that we do not ask and believe to receive. James said, "Â…ye have not because you ask not" (James 4:2)

The great principle of prayer is premised on our Father’s design that we ask and believe for all that He has promised. Mercy is the active "passion" of God manifest in our life. It is the very nature of His presence that makes Himself an active part of our life, our joy, our action, and our very being. When the mercy/passion of God is manifest in us, others actually see the evidence of His presence. More importantly, we are consciously aware that He is revealing Himself to us and in us. This is what made the early church an unstoppable force until they joined up with a world system.

Mercy is His presence revealed in us by the Holy Spirit. This is one of the great offices of the Holy Ghost. So many saints have a wonderful moment occasionally where they experience His presence. Very few saints realize that this can be a lifestyle not just an occasional experience. The Spirit, by Apostle Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:14-16) That is the picture of a saint of God living in His mercy on a constant basis. His mercy or "passion" as the word mercy implies, is His very presence living in us and filling us. Ou r speech, our reaction to adverse circumstances, our demeanor is all made to be controlled by His mercy affecting us. We become an extension of Him. He is, by His mercy, revealed in us.

This mercy must be renewed every day. The saint of God must never take God for granted. He is a guest at our house and is there by our invitation. You do not have to beg, just invite Him. The Psalmist said, "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalm 85:10) Mercy and the Word of God are inseparable, and they together manifest righteousness and peace in a love relationship. This is Christianity at its best. The Psalmist also said, "Â…thy mercy is great above the heavens" (Psalm 108:4) and Apostle Paul called our God, "the Father of merciesÂ…" (II Corinthians 1:3)

Our God is a God of revelation. He has never hidden Himself from us. Even before Jesus came, mercy was extended to those that would believe. Rahab a prostitute from Jericho, found Him by hanging a scarlet cord from the window of her apartment. It was her faith in the promise from the spies of Israel that opened her heart. A dying thief had but to say, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42-43) Mercy awaits your invitation to Him to take control of your life.

Nothing will fill your soul with exceeding joy as Biblical sanctification and the purity it provides. The Son of God was so concerned for us — His saints — to have joy that He made it a primary focus of His pastoral prayer. He prayed a great prayer, as was recorded in John chapter seventeen. He said, "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:19). It matters not to me how you view sanctification theologically if you will only hunger for it practically. In His Beatitudes Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

It’s amazing to hear the sinless Son of God speak of sanctifying Himself. Yet, it is clearly the picture that we see of Him as He nears the ultimate hour of death. First, in the Garden of Gethsemane we hear the surrender of His body or physical temple to the suffering of His cross. It was not easy for Him who had never tasted sickness or pain to face the cruel treatment that He was expecting. Being sinless, disease could not touch Him; but, He sanctified Himself to bodily accept the shame and emaciating facts of His approaching death. I would not believe it — if the Bible did not plainly say it — but it is written in the Book of Hebrews that He "was heard in that He feared" (Hebrews 5:7b).

Let’s spend a few moments with Him in this grandeur of sorrow. He had spoken of it some days earlier with these words, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again" (John 12:27-28). The glory of His cross was in the price He paid. He knew the darkness that was about to descend upon Him. His words in this garden will help us understand the price of purity and Godliness, along with the joy that will come out of this sacrifice.

Luke gave us his account of this sorrow. Jesus prayed, "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:42-44). Understanding the pain that Jesus Christ was experiencing is breathtaking enough, but also feeling the Father’s heartbeat to hear His Son in such agony makes me long to fall at His feet. Please remember as you weep that this is just a small beginning of His price for your salvation and the joy that comes with it.

As Jesus Christ and His disciples concluded this time in the garden, torches were seen in the distance as a company from the High Priest of the Jews came to arrest Him. I see this as going beyond the surrender of His body, but now the surrender of His soul. Our soul is the seat of our inner self and Jesus was fully prepared to yield up Himself to this grievous design. Peter would fight; he even drew his sword and swung at a servant of the High Priest. The Son of God miraculously replaced the severed ear and admonished Peter to put up the sword. Jesus’ words were an expression of total personal surrender. "Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11).

We now move to the Hill called Mount Calvary, where they crucified the willing Lamb of God. He had sanctified or surrendered His temple, He had given Himself up to their hands, and, now, His Spirit was in absolute peace to be the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). He never uttered one word of protest. As the prophet prophesied, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7b).

His testimony and prayer when He sanctified Himself that we might be sanctified has been perfected. This is the purpose for which we were called, chosen, and redeemed. He has chosen us to be a unique people, a holy church showing forth His marvelous graces. Joy is the personality of sanctification. Much of the church world lives in bondage to fear, sorrow, and gloom. There is surely enough wrong around all of us to rob us of His joy. But, when His inward graces are given full right by faith to reign unalloyed, a supernatural result will be known.

Your sorrows will never compare to His sorrows in that dreadful time, but yet He had joy. The Spirit declares, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:2-3). Take your eyes off of the world and the confusion by which it is filled. Turn towards the One sitting at your Father’s right hand.

The promise cannot fail. Hear the words of the Lord, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (I Peter 1:8).