The Brightness of Your Rising

Each chapter in this book lends itself to the spiritual growth of the believer. Are you aware that you will very likely encounter false teachers? This book will help show you how to discern and deal with them. We are to know our position in the kingdom of God, utilizing the authority and dominion He has returned to us through Jesus Christ. We are to be diligent and avoid deceptive teachings and avoid the wiles of Satan as he continually attempts to tempt us, to draw us away from our loving heavenly Father. We all need to better understand our need for inner healing so we can handle the frustrations in life, the disappointments in life, and not let them derail us from growing in spiritual maturity in our relationships with others and with Christ. And finally, we should fully understand and utilize the tools and spiritual gifts God provides us, through the filling of the Holy Spirit, so we can stand in these last days, not in our own power, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. As you read through this book, my prayer is you will hear from the heart of God as He continues to reach out and speak to his beloved Church, His people, His called out ones, as we rapidly approach the return of the King. As I was preparing these sermons and editing them for publication, I was struggling with a title for the book. The old cassette tapes I discovered of my father's messages, were not labeled, except for the individual sermons, which I have maintained as the chapter titles in the book. As I was working on the transcriptions, preparing them for final publication, I was re-reading a book passed over to me by my wife, Michele. The book was by Francis Frangipane titled, The Days of His Presence (Arrow Publications, 1995). In one chapter Frangipane references a scripture from Isaiah in which the prophet Isaiah is proclaiming that the Spirit of God is telling his people what to expect in the last days. Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising (Isaiah 60:1-3 NAS). As I read this verse, I sensed that this is essentially what this book is about-helping prepare the church for the return of Christ. Perhaps Frangipane said it best when he stated, "God is qualifying us to receive His splendor! Do not fear or think of yourself as unworthy-of course you are! We all are. It is for His glory that we are being prepared."Indeed nations shall come to His light and kings to the brightness of His rising. Bruce Buckingham, Risky Living Ministries.