How do we live wisely and in tune with the One who knows the future? From a talk by Russ Fochler at Blazing Fire Church on October 13, 2012. See www.blazingfire.org for the podcast.

1. Future Sense
Living Wisely
Russ Fochler
October 13, 2012

2. Wouldn’t It Be Nice?
If life was simply about
going down a gentle river
in an inner tube?

3. Kind of like this....

4. And sometimes, everybody
was just floating with you....

5. As nice as “tubing through life” sounds...
we’re making choices all the time
We’re faced with challenges and choices
every day
We make many decisions everyday
Even when we try hard to avoid difficult
choices, this is still a decision.
Ultimately, our choices also shape us -
and deeply affect those close to us.

6. Not to mention...
• The many things that may affect us
profoundly that we generally have
little control over like:
• the economy, weather,
earthquakes, etc.
• accidents
• dangerous diseases
• violence/crime/war

7. And of course...
We want to live as entrepreneurial sons
and daughters of Father God.
We want to be led by the Holy Spirit so
that we are positioned and prepared for
what God “dreams” for us:
10 Forwe are God’s masterpiece. He has
created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can
do the good things he planned for us long
ago.
Eph 2:10 NLT

8. Good News!
We know the One who:
• Is the Beginning and the End (Rev 1:8)
• Holds all things together (Col 1:17)
• Will never let go of us or lose us (Jn
17:9, Romans 8:38-39)

10. The Key to Living Now and

11. The Key to Living Now and
Preparing for the Future is.....

12. The Key to Living Now and
Preparing for the Future is.....
Friendship

13. The Key to Living Now and
Preparing for the Future is.....
Friendship
Friendship with Jesus

14. Friendship with Jesus
14 You are my friends if you do what I
command. 15 I no longer call you
servants, because a servant does not
know his master’s business. Instead, I
have called you friends, for everything
that I learned from my Father I have
made known to you.
John 15:14-15 NIV

15. Chosen to be His Friends
16 You did not choose me, but I chose
you and appointed you so that you
might go and bear fruit—fruit that will
last—and so that whatever you ask in
my name the Father will give you.
(John 15:14-15 NIV)

16. Soak-in the Wonder!
From Colossians 1:13 - 17
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,
and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved
Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things
were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—all things have been
created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before
all things, and in Him all things hold together.

17. Once we “know” that we are
eternally secure in Jesus with
Father God...
• And we live in friendship and
communion with Jesus:
• Here are some points of wisdom
that I have found helpful.

18. The Holy Spirit!
However, when He, the Spirit of Truth
has come, He will guide you into all
truth; for He will not speak on His
own authority, but whatever He hears
He will speak; and He will tell you
things to come.
John 16:12-13

19. Processing Things that Might be
from the Holy Spirit
• Our own impressions, dreams,
thoughts, visions, audible voices,
encounters, etc.
• Messages via other people to us
• personal prophetic words
• prophecy to churches, regions,
nations, etc.

20. Sometimes God uses
whispers and nudges
Some of my stories

21. Exercise - Stories of
Responding to the Holy Spirit
Pair up with someone you don’t
know well.
Each of you share a story of time
when you acted upon a “nudge”,
impression, “word”, dream, etc. -
and how it made a difference....

22. And it is our responsibility
- to “test” and discern
• What is the “strength” of the revelation?
• Is it with the bounds of God’s written Word?
• Does our spirit and the Holy Spirit resonate
with this “revelation”?
• If it is coming through someone else, what is
their “track record” and do they love God?
• If the “cost” of following the revelation is
significant, are there confirmations?

23. Sometimes lives are
preserved by responding to
true prophecies
• The story of followers of Jesus who
remembered His warning about
Jerusalem.
• The story of a village in Armenia and
a boy who gave himself to seeking
God.

24. Jesus prophesies about Jerusalem
and Judea (Luke 21)
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded
by armies, then know that its desolation is
near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee
to the mountains, let those who are in the
midst of her depart, and let not those who
are in the country enter her. 22 For these are
the days of vengeance, that all things which
are written may be fulfilled.

25. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and
to those who are nursing babies in those
days! For there will be great distress in the
land and wrath upon this people. 24 And
they will fall by the edge of the sword, and
be led away captive into all nations. And
Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until
the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
(Luke 21 NKJV)

26. Judea was invaded and Jerusalem was surrounded
by a Roman army within 40 years (a generation)
after Jesus gave His warning.
There was a terrible time of suffering (tribulation).
Much of it was due to Jewish factions fighting each
other. In the end, in C.E. 70, Jerusalem fell, the
Temple was utterly destroyed. Josephus estimates
1.1 million died.
In that time, there were people falsely claiming to
be “The Messiah”. And even 60 years later, Bar
Kochba led another rebellion, acclaimed by Rabbi
Akiva to possibly be the Messiah. It was also
crushed.

27. Early Church Tradition:
The Followers of Jesus Got Out!
From Eusebius History of the Church 3:5:3:
“But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been
commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men
there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a
certain town of Perea called Pella.”
In 1989 Craig Koester published his discussion about the
Pella flight in which he closely examines the texts of
Eusebius, Epiphanius, and Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions
and concludes that ‘the origin of the tradition is that it
recalls actual events of the 1st century’.

28. • The story of a village in Armenia and
a boy who gave himself to seeking
God.

29. • From the book: “The Happiest People
on Earth” by Demos Shakarian

30. Kara Kala: Once in Armenia,
now part of Turkey
The Karakala village photo was taken in the late
1800s shortly after the Armenians moved in.

32. Among the Californian Armenian
community is a disproportionate
number of descendants of
immigrants from the small village of
Karakala, or Kara-Kala, near Kars.
(Bluebird Reseach)

33. Good Words from the Apostle Paul:
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for
this is God’s will for you in Christ
Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not
treat prophecies with contempt 21 but
test them all; hold on to what is good,
22 reject every kind of evil.

34. Common Sense Future Prep:
• Take steps to have on hand what you and
your household need
• In case something interrupts the necessities
of life:
• Aim for a minimum of two weeks (14 days).
Prep for one month or more - even better.
• Water - 1 gallon/day/per person x 14 days =
14 gallons per person in your household

35. Common Sense Future Prep:
• Food - canned goods, energy bars, etc.
There are also longer term food storage
products available - see Costco or the
internet.
• If your stored food needs to be cooked - a
stove and fuel would be wise.
• Basic necessities - personal hygiene, TP, etc.
• Extra money hidden safely - is a good idea

36. Its much better to take even a
few steps - rather than feel
overwhelmed and do nothing!
A helpful, thorough site is:
www.ready.gov

37. Future Sense
Living Wisely
Russ Fochler
October 13, 2012