Tag: STORY
DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
MATT 7:13-14
13: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.
They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, ‘Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems.
I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.’
Then the second tree said, ‘Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world.
Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.’
Finally the third tree said, ‘I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the Hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching.
I will be the greatest tree of all times and people will always remember me..’
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said,
‘This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, ‘and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree the woodsman said, ‘This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.’ The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.
One of the Woodsmen said, ‘I don’t need anything special from my tree, I’ll take this one,’ and he cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for.
The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end.
The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.
The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.
Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree.
The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said ‘Peace’ and the Storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. The tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.
When things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him,
Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined.
We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways.
But His ways are always best ways.
Let us Pray!
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ISAISH ; 54:17: No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
LOOK AT YOUR SELF : AND ASK WHAT WOULD I DO IF GOD CALL ME??
WHAT IF HE SAID I HAVE A MISSION FOR YOU..
DON’T WEREY ABOUT A THING JUST TRUST ME…?
AND GO WERE I SEND YOU AND SAY WHAT I TELL YOU….
WOULD IT CHANGE YOU…? ARE WOULD YOU LIKE JONAH JUST TRY AND RUN AWAY.. MAYBE YOU BE LIKE MOSES AND TRY TO ARGUE WITH GOD AND SAY LORD I am NOT THE MAN YOU NEED SEND SOMEONE ELCE…
ARE THERE STILL THOSE WHO DARE TO BE DIFFERENT??????
ARE HAS THE SUBTLE, HYPNOTIC BEAT OF THE DRUM MADE EVERY MAN AN UNWITTING SLAVE.
LIKE IT OR NOT, WE ARE STRANGELY SENSITVE TO THE MYSTERIOUS POWE OF CONFORMITY,
WE STAND IN AWE OF IT . FASCINATED AND FRIGHTENED BY IT SURGING AND UNSHACKLED CONTROL OF THE MINDS OF MEN…
WE FEAR NOTHING SO MUCH AS TO STAND ALONE,
REJECTED BY POPULAR OPINION…
WHY THIS STRANGE URGE TO CONFORM???
WE MARCH AROUND LIKE ROBOTS, LOST IN THE GROUP, TERRIFIED AT THE THOUGHT OF BEING DIFFERENT…
WHERE IS THE CREATIVE NONCONFORMITY THAT MADE THE HEROES AND MARTYRS OF THE PAST?
WHERE IS THE EXCITEMENT OF TAKING A STAND?
WE SEEM TO BE HYPNOTIZED WITH THE CHILDHOOD GAME OF FOLLOW THE LEADER AND SIMON SAYS…
WERE ARE THE MEN WHO DID NOT FEAR TO STAN UP AND BE COUNTED FOR THE LORD.
MEN LIKE MOSES WHO HAD A MISSION FROM GOD? WHO STOUD BEFORE PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT AND SAID..
THUS SAY THE LORD THE GREAT I AM, LET MY PEOPLE GO..
STORY: MOSES (WHO WAS THIS MOSES) LORD NOT ME SEND SOMEONE ELCE I CAN NOT TALK…
MOSES: WAS JUST A MAN LIKE ENY OTHER.. BUT HE WAS WILLING TO LET GOD USE HIM
WERE ARE THE MEN LIKE MOSES TO DAY…
STORY: ABRAHEM CALL OUT FROM HIS KIM FOKE TO A LAND GOD WOULD GIVE HIM.
IF GOD CALLED WOULD YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME AND YOUR FAMILY AND GO SOME PLACE ELSE .
MAYBE GOD WILL CALL YOU TO PREACH HIS WORD IN ANOTHER CITY OR STATE OR COUNTRY..
ABRAHEM WAS GIVING A PROMASS OF A SON. THAT HIS SEED WOULD BE AS THE SAND OF THE SEA.
AND NOT UNTILL HE WAS WELL OVER 100 AND HIS WIFE IN HER 90 DID HE HAVE THE PROMASS SON
GOD TOLD ABRAHEM TO GO TO A PLACE THAT HE WILL SHOW HIM AND THERE TO SACKREFICE HIS SON…
FINISH STORY::: ABRAHAM HE DID NOT QUESTION GOD
HE DID WHAT GOD TOLD HIM TO DO.
STORY: THE SON WAS WILLING HE WAS A STRONG YOUNG MAN
BUT THIS YOUNG MAN LEARNRD FROM HIS EARTHLY FATHER ABOUT HIS HEAVENLY FATHER AND IN OBEDIENCE WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIS LIFE.
AS HE LAY THERE AND ABRAHEM READY TO TAKE HIS LIFE THE ANGLE STOP HIM
JESUS WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIS LIFE… BUT NO ONE WOULD STOP THE HAND OF GILTY MAN FROM KILLING HIM
WERE ARE THE MEN LIKE ABRAHEM
WAS IT NOT THE PROPHET ELIJAH WHO TOLD THE PEOPLE FROM THE TOP OF MOUNT CARMEL
CHOOS YE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE GOD OR MAN
DID THE PROPLE REALY FORGET WHO GOD WAS ..
MAYBE SERVING THE LORD GOD WAS NOT THE FAD AT THAT TIME.
THEY WERE SO DECEIVED BY POPULAR OPEION THAT THEY COULD NOT TELL RIGHT FROM WRONG DAY FROM NIGHT
TRUE FROM FALSE
HOW COULD THIS BE.? NOT GODS PEOPLE…
THE MAJORITY, IT SEEMS HAS SELDOME BEEN RIGHT.
THE MAJORITY, EXCEPT FOR EIGHT PEOPLE REJECTED TRUTH IN THE DAYS OF NOAH
STORY: NOAH NOAH STOOD ALONE WITH A MESSAGE FROM GOD
Animal listen to the Voice of God more then those who were created in the Image of God.
HE PREACH OF GODS LOVE AND A SOON COMING DISTRUCTION.
GOD WAS GOING TO DISTROY THE EARTH WITH A FLOOD
GEN, 6:6 GOD REPENTED AND WAS GRIEVED IN HIS HEART THAT HE MADE MAN.. THE EVEL WAS SO GREAT IN THE EARTH.
A FLOOD::::: PUBLIC OPINION SAID IT COULD NEVER HAPPEN..
IT DID NOT STOP NOAH…. NOT FOR THE NEXT 120 YEAR
HE PREACH FAITHFULY THE MESSISH GOD GAVE HIM
MANY PEOPLE WANTED TO GO IN THE ARK
MANY BELIEVE WHAT NOAH WAS PREACHING.
BUT BECAUSE “PUBLIC OPINION” YOU SEE..
1. NO ONE WENT FIRST
2. I DON’T WON’T ANY ONE TO LAUHTH AT ME.
3. IT HAS NEVER RAIN BEFORE.
4. THE LEADER DON’T BELIVE HIM
5. DAD SAID HE IS A CRAZY OLD MAN
6. NO ONE BUILD A BOAT WERE THERE IS NO WATER
7. HE FORGOT TO PUT A RUDDER ON HIS BOAT
8. IT WILL NEVER FLOAT.
TRUTH IN ELIJAH DAYS WAS SO UNPOPULAR THAT HE COMPLAINED TO GOD THAT HE ALONE WAS LEFT.
AND THE SEVEN THOUSAND LOYAL HEARTS OF WHOM HE WAS REMINDED WERE A PITIFULLY SMALL MINORITY.
THERE WAS LITTLE DIFFERENT IN THE DAYS OF MARTIN LUTHER..
IT TOOK COURAGE FOR MARTIN LUTHER TO STAND ALONE BEFOR THE COUNCIL THAT CALLED HIM TO ACCOUNT, AND DEMANDED THAT HE RECANT
BUT HIS WORDS RANG CLEAR AND STRONG..
AND FEARLESS INTO THE EARS OF HIS ENEMIES;
I CAN NOT, AND I WILL NOT, HERE I STAND, I CAN DO NO OTHER….
THE BIBLE HAS MANY STORY ABOUT MEN AND WOMAN WHO STOUD UP AGENTS THE POPERLAR OPINION
FROM ENOCH TO ESTHER THE 12 APOSTLES AND CHRISTION CHURCH OF THE FIRST 3 CENTURE.
ALL STOUD FOR THE LORD, MANY PAID THE PRICE WITH THEIR LIFE FOR WHAT THERE BELIVE.
WE CANNOT EXPECT RIGHT & TRUTH TO COME TO US CHRISTENED AND BLESSED BY PUBLIC OPINION..
JESUS SAID;
ENTER YE IN AT THE STRAIT GATE: FOR WIDE IS THE GATE, AND BROAD IS THE WAY, THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION, AND MANY THERE BE WHICH GO IN.
BECAUSE STRAIT IS THE GATE, AND NARROW IS THE WAY, WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT… MATT 7:13-14
RIGHT CANNOT BE DETERMINED BY STATISICS. TRUTH CAN NEVER BE MEASURED BY THE NUMBER WHO ARE WILLING TO FOLLOW OR BELIVED IT….
A WAY MAY BE POPULAR… BUT IT MAY ALSO BE WRONG….
THERE IS A WAY WHICH SEEMETH RIGHT UNTO A MAN,
BUT THE END THEREOF ARE THE WAYS OF DEATH.. PROVERBS 14;12
WHAT IS IT THAT WE FEAR?
BECAUSE WE BELIVE THAT GOD WILL NOT WORK WITH US THE SAME WAY HE HAS WITH OTHER IN THE BIBLE…
PREHAP WE FEAR WE DON’T HAVE THE FAITH OR WE ARE NOT STRONG ENHUFF TO CARRY OUT THE WORK..
WE FEAR WHAT PEOPLE MAY SAY OR MAY LAFT AT US.
IN EVERY AGE THERE HAS ALWAYS BEN A PEOPLE, WHO DISPITE POPULAR OPINION HAS REMAIN TRUE TO THE LAWS OF GOD….
STORY:::: PROFESSOF AND THE STUDENT THE CHARK TEST
HOW MANY OF YOU BELIVED THAT THERE IS A GOD RASE YOUR HAND.. ABOUT ½ WELL WE ARE GIONG TO TEST TO SEE IF IT SO FINISH STORY::
HOW MANY OF US WOULD STAN UP FOR JESUS AT THE COST OF OUR LIFE. IT IS A HARD QUESTION, BUT SOME DAY YOU WILL HAVE TO ANSWER IT.
IN THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY SISTER WHITE WRITES
THE SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE AND CONFORMILY WAS RESTRAINED FOR A TIME BY THE FIERCE PERSECUTIONS, WHICH THE CHURCH ENDURED UNDER PAGANISM.
BUT AS PERSCUTION CEASED, AND CHRISTIANITY ENTERED THE COURTS AND PALACES OF KINGS.
SHE LAID ASIDE THE HUMBLE SIMPLICITY OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES, FOR THE POMP AND PRIDE OF PAGAN PRIESTS AND RULERS.
AND IN PLACE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD SHE SUBSTITUTED HUMAN THEORIES AND TRADITRONS…
IN EVERY AGE THERE WERE WITNESSES FOR GOD. MEN WHO CHERISHED FAITH IN CHRIST AS THE ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN.
WHO HELD THE BIBLE AS THE ONLY RULE OF LIFE…?
IS THIRE ENY REASION TO FEAR TO DAY WHAT MEN MY SAY OR DO
WE ARE THE GENORATION THAT WILL SOON SEE ALL THE PROPHCY FORFILL
THE BIBLE SAID, “AS IT WAS IT THE DAYS OF NOAH SO SHALL IT BE IN THE END”
THE WORLD DID NOT BELIVIED WHAT NOAH TOLD THEM
SO IT WILL NOT BELIVIED WHAT WE WILL SAY
THE FACT IS GOD TOLD NOAH TO PREACH, AND HE DID FOR 120 YEAR
WARNE THE PEOPLE OF WHAT IS TO COME..
GOD HAS TOLD US TO PREACH TO THIS END TIME PEOPLE WARNE THEM OF WHAT IS SOON COMING, SO THAT THIRE BLOOD MAY NOT BE ON OUR HEADS.
We may Plan for our Future in many different ways, but when you don’t see it going the way you would like it, don’t be discourage.
God may have another plan in mind for you much better then you could imagine
he just needs people who are willing to be used and are willing to be different.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
Believe also in Me
John 14: 1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
There was once a tightrope walker who was crossing Niagara Falls. After he had held the crowds spellbound with his daring act, he asked, How many of you believe I could cross the tightrope again, this time Blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow with someone riding in it.
The crowds applauded.
They were sure he could do it. But then he said, Who will volunteer to ride the wheelbarrow?
There was a vast silence.
The audience had just been reminded of the vital difference between belief and trust! It’s one thing to believe that the wheelbarrow would make it safety across the Falls. It’s quite another thing to put your own life on the line.
Total Trust is putting one foot forward and walking with both eyes closed
Faith is like thread
One peace all by its self can not do much, but each time Faith is used it becomes stronger Until that thread becomes a rope, a life line to Jesus
Faith still trusts God even when things don’t work out the way we want them to.
It’s easy to trust God when life is going smoothly. The real test of faith comes when our prayers seem unanswered.
The Lord would have you trust in his love and mercy amid clouds and darkness as well as in the sunshine.
KNOWING GOD RESULTS IN TRUSTING GOD.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW HIM, YOU WON’T TRUST HIM.
IF YOU DON’T TRUST HIM, IT IS BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW HIM.
Let us Pray!
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Several years ago some visitors to the US Mint in Philadelphia listened to a worker in the foundry area. The man said that if you first dip your hand into a bucket of water, a small ladle of molten metal could be poured over the palm of your hand and it would not burn you. The worker said, “Do you believe that?” Well, they all believed that. “Who would like to try it?” A man stood there and said: “Not me!” “I’ll take your word for it.” The workman turned to the man’s wife, and said: “Perhaps you would like to try it?” She said, “Certainly.” She put her hand in the bucket of water and calmly held it out while the hot metal was poured over her hand. And it didn’t hurt. I don’t think she held that molten metal very long. Now, don’t go try this. Both the husband and the wife believed. Was there a difference in their belief? Only the wife trusted completely. You may say she was a fool for doing that. If you trust Jesus completely you’re not a fool. That’s the type of trust that it going to take to be saved. That’s the type of belief that it take to be saved.
You’ve got to completely trust your life to Him and totally believe in Him; His perfect life will be accounted to you in place of your imperfect life. You will be saved by His blood. Jesus’ righteousness will be freely given to everybody who really and truly believe in Jesus. We are saved not by works but by faith, belief, and trust. This is called grace. That is called the good news.
John 14:
1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
It is one thing to Believe something is going to happen, but quite another thing to totally put you Truth and Faith ahead of you belief and see it fulfillment
AFTER A FEW OF THE USUAL SABBATH EVENING HYMNS, THE CHURCH’S PASTOR SLOWLY STOOD UP, WALKED OVER TO THE PULPIT AND, BEFORE HE GAVE HIS SERMON FOR THE EVENING, HE BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST MINISTER WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE THAT EVENING.
IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE PASTOR TOLD THE CONGREGATION THAT THE GUEST MINISTER WAS ONE OF HIS DEAREST CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW MOMENTS TO GREET THE CHURCH AND SHARE WHATEVER HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SERVICE. WITH THAT, AN ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP TO THE PULPIT AND BEGAN TO SPEAK.’
A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON WERE SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST,’ HE BEGAN. ‘WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY ATTEMPT TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE. ‘THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT EVEN THOUGH THE FATHER WAS AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR, HE COULD NOT KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE THREE WERE SWEPT INTO THE OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAPSIZED.’
THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT, MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS WHO WERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN, LOOKING SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN HIS STORY.
THE AGED MINISTER CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY,’GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE MOST EXCRUCIATING DECISION OF HIS LIFE: TO WHICH BOY WOULD HE THROW THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE LINE.
‘HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION. ‘THE FATHER KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A CHRISTIAN AND HE, ALSO, KNEW THAT HIS SON’S FRIEND WAS NOT.
‘THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY THE TORRENT OF WAVES. ‘AS THE FATHER YELLED OUT, “I LOVE YOU, SON!” HE THREW OUT THE LIFE LINE TO HIS SON’S FRIEND. ‘BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK TO THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE RAGING SWELLS INTO THE BLACK OF NIGHT. HIS BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.’
BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP STRAIGHT IN THE PEW,
ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE OLD MINISTER’S MOUTH.
‘THE FATHER,’ HE CONTINUED, ‘KNEW HIS SON WOULD STEP INTO ETERNITY WITH JESUS AND HE COULD NOT BEAR THE THOUGHT OF HIS SON’S FRIEND STEPPING INTO AN ETERNITY WITHOUT JESUS…
THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED HIS SON TO SAVE THE SON’S FRIEND.
‘HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE SHOULD DO THE SAME FOR US. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WE COULD BE SAVED.
I URGE YOU TO ACCEPT HIS OFFER TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A HOLD OF THE LIFE LINE HE IS THROWING OUT TO YOU IN THIS SERVICE.’
WITH THAT, THE OLD MAN TURNED AND SAT BACK DOWN IN HIS CHAIR AS SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM.
THE PASTOR AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PULPIT AND DELIVERED A BRIEF SERMON WITH AN INVITATION AT THE END. HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE APPEAL. WITHIN MINUTES AFTER THE SERVICE ENDED, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE AT THE OLD MAN’S SIDE.
‘THAT WAS A NICE STORY,’ POLITELY STATED ONE OF THEM,’BUT I DON’T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A FATHER TO GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON’S LIFE IN HOPES THAT THE OTHER BOY WOULD BECOME A CHRISTIAN.’
‘WELL, YOU’VE GOT A POINT THERE,’ THE OLD MAN REPLIED, GLANCING DOWN AT HIS WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE BROADENED HIS NARROW FACE. HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP AT THE BOYS AND SAID, ‘IT SURE ISN’T VERY REALISTIC, IS IT? BUT, I’M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR GOD TO GIVE UP HIS SON FOR ME.
YOU SEE… ‘I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR PASTOR IS MY SON’S FRIEND.’
I WOULD RATHER LIVE MY LIFE AS IF THERE IS A GOD AND DIE TO FIND OUT
THERE ISN’T, THAN LIVE MY LIFE AS IF THERE ISN’T AND DIE TO FIND OUT THERE IS.
Several years ago two ships collided. It happened far out in the calm quiet Atlantic Ocean on a dark foggy night. The smaller ship with two hundred and six people on board sank within thirty minutes. Immediately the larger ship put out life boats to retrieve the passengers who were floating in the calm sea.
Only thirty four were found!? They were all picked up and saved. At first it seemed a great mystery why a hundred seventy two people were lost and so few were saved. The problem was not a lack of life jackets or life boats.
** I don’t know if any of you have ever been in a collision, things happen so fast that you don’t always get time to think about them or think about what to do. You just do them.
I was once on a ship that had a collision with another ship many years ago. We too did not have time to think, We knew that our ship was going down and we needed to get off and off fast. So when the Captain gave the order to abandon ship that is what we did, with in fifteen minutes the ship sunk, but all of our lives were saved, only because everyone followed the Captains orders.
But there was a different problem here on this ship, the people heard the Captain order, but many did not want to go when the call to abandon ship was giving. Why?
What in this world would keep you on a sinking Ship? The order is giving get off, Abandon ship and save your life. What’s keeping you from getting in the lifeboat?
Later it was found that the primary reason so few were saved was that most if not all of them had busied themselves during those last thirty minutes in seizing their gold and silver and securing it to their clothes or belting it around their waist.
They were weighted down and unable to remain afloat until the rescue boats could reach them. They lost both their life and their money. They were Jeopardized by greed.
What hinders you today from giving Christ your all?
Cast off the carnal things that weigh you down. Many of good Christians are like a waterlogged raft, they are just barely afloat. They have soaked up so much worldliness and are so absorbed with little sinful traits that it is almost impossible for them to be towed into the heavenly harbor.
Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Sorry: but you can’t have your pie and eat it too. No heart can mature two crops at the same time. We must decide which is more important.
Immerse yourself in Jesus. Lighten your load of temporal doodads. Give Jesus your total heart and sole and stop living your life in a world that is dying because the temporal reward looks great.
Just remember the word temporal means just that. “temporary, brief, short lived”.
When an immigrant comes to America, before He or She can become a citizen they must renounce all commitments and allegiance to their former homeland and pledge one hundred percent allegiance to America. Then and only then will the U.S. Government grant citizenship.
That’s the way it is with Jesus. When you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you renounce Satan completely. You can’t “split time” by serving Satan part-time and Christ part-time.
For a Christian there can be no moonlighting with the world.
It is impossible to have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. Very quickly you would have to do the splits because the path of the church and the world are zeroing in at two very different destinations. One is eternal Life the other is eternal destruction.
Like a boat leaving the dock, you can’t have one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock for very long or you will end up in the drink.
An individual who divides his heart between God and the world will eventually be wholehearted for the world and fainthearted for God! You can’t dine at the Devils table on Friday and at the Lord’s table on Sabbath. You can’t sing “All The Way” in the pew and swear at the fax machine at work.
Luke 14:33: In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
We must be willing to give up everything. You can’t hold onto the world and its knickknacks with all your strength and equally hold onto Jesus.
You can’t get your high from Jesus on Sabbath and get your “High” from drugs on Saturday night.
Brown-nosing with Satan when you are with the crowd and pretending at church makes you a hypocrite!
1 Thessalonians 5:23: May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus wants us one hundred percent, Completely, Totally, All or nothing
I remember as a boy in Honduras we drove across the country to visit some friends, I reckon we hadn’t gone a stone’s throw before we came to a vacant lot. The problem was that it had not been empty long, just a few days before a family had lived there in a home. My Uncle said, “Boy, they moved out fast and took everything!” The clothes-line was gone, the mail box, and even the dog house was gone they were out of there completely. I said man it looks like they took the very dirt.
Then I came here to the US and found out that when people here move out they take the Very light bulbs out before leaving.
Look what Paul said, I can do all things through Christ who strength me.
Isaiah 29:13: God says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me
We sing songs like “I’ll go where you want me to go Dear Lord… I’ll do what you want me to do…
But don’t ask me to sing in the choir or play the hand bells, or teach in the little kid’s department or help with VacationBibleSchool or sit on a committee. I just want to sit among the saints. I don’t want to be involved to much, I just don’t have the time!”
God’s yardstick is total devotion or none at all. We modern Christians come to the celestial check out lane and when we reach the cash register we say,
“I would like to buy about three dollars worth of God please.
- I don’t want enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep.
- I don’t want enough to make me love people I don’t like.
- I want gladness but not transformation.
- I want the warmth of the womb, but not the new birth.
- I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack.
- I want a sprinkling but not an immersion.
- I want a taste of God but not a total meal.
- I want to sample Jesus but not be over involved.
- I want to do God’s will as long as it doesn’t interfere with what I am doing.
David eventually became a man after God’s heart by going all the way with total commitment.
Psalms 119:2 David says: Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
Those who seek him with all their heart!
I’ve had a lot of people come and say, I just can’t get victory over sin. I’m trying to be a good Christian and I just can’t do it. How do I get strength to live the Christian life?”
( Stop Trying )
I’ll tell you how to get Christian strength. You seek it with all your heart. You’re going to get what you’re really seeking.” If you go at it with all your heart you will find it.
God is there waiting, reaching out to take your hand.
Pray and when you finish praying pray somemore. Jesus is not tired of hearing your pray, or your request, he is willing to do what every it take to help you, he proved it by dying for you on the Cross.
Revelations:3: 14: And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16: So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
God wants your heart, the whole heart, and nothing but the whole heart. He wants all of you or he doesn’t want you at all. Lock, stock, and barrel commitment is what God is looking for in His people in these last days.
Unless you love Him totally, you do not love Him at all. There is no such thing as lukewarm commitment. If you don’t crown Him Lord of All, you really do not crown Him at All.
Notice that our heavenly Father does not expect what He is not willing to give. Does God give totally? Does He? Yes, He does.
Does He give half-way? Do we have a part time daddy? Our awesome God gives totally! The bible is full of examples of how God give totally.
Let’s look and see!
Luke 8:48: And He said unto her, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” (NIV)
Does God heal us half-way? No. He heals us all the way. Her faith had made her whole. She was not healed half- way she was healed completely by her faith in the one who could give healing.
When Jesus died on the cross, He totally paid for all my sins. His forgiveness is absolute. God’s healing power is unbounded. When we all get to heaven, we will be given access to the immeasurable universe.
He’s not going to say,
“Well, I’ll just give you a little bit of heaven.
I’ll give you just a touch of it.” No!
Does He give us just a sample of heaven? No!
He gives us the whole thing. It’s ours completely, all of it!
We will be able to fly. We don’t need to have reservations. We just go to all these other worlds. Every corner of the universe is yours to explore. He doesn’t hold back. Total freedom to go and come, to observe all that He has created.
We can obtain a knowledge that exhaustively takes in the alpha to the omega of the universe. We can fly at more than the speed of light and picnic in a far off corner of the universe. We have unlimited access.
But to completely experience the joys of heaven then, you need to be totally committed to Jesus Christ today. Without that total commitment you won’t be there.
Now you could say, “Well, I attend church on Sabbath morning. I’m here. I’m sitting in the pew. But when I go home, I don’t dress like I dressed here. In fact I put on some of the world, you know. I start acting like the world. Swear words occasionally come out. That’s not total commitment is it. When you are total committed you are committed 24hr a day.
Let’s suppose you are going to get Married but before getting Married you’re soon to be tell you
“I’ll be true to you ninety nine percent of the time.” That would be pretty good, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t that be great? “Ninety nine percent of the time I’ll be true to you. I will.” How many of you would accept that? And yet we expect God to accept that, don’t we?
What does the Scriptures say we need to do:
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the partial armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Is that what it says? “Put on the whole armor of God.” Partial of anything may not be sufficient to keep you safe.
The young David was able to slay Goliath because the giant did not use the whole armor. Where did that little stone find its mark? It sank into his forehead.
Where was his shield that came over his face, or his helmet? Where was the shield that his shield-bearer should have had? They were missing.
He was not wearing one, he did not feel the need to put it on, after all Davit was just a little small boy, not very big at all, what could he do to a Giant like Goliath
Goliath didn’t have the whole armor and so he died, you cannot become a Christian today without the whole armor of God or you too will die.
One little loophole was all it took for David’s stone to transform the mammoth monster into a dead dwarf.
Don’t ever think satin is not taking aim! He wants nothing more then to keep you from a total commitment to Jesus. Satin does not care if you have a 70%, 80%, 90% or even a 99% commitment to Jesus. He just wants to keep you from having a 100% commitment
There is no such thing as half-and-half unless you get it at Wal-Mart. In Christ there is a hundred percent or nothing.
STOEY: A Hog and Chicken sets a good example.
Visualize a chicken and a pig vacationing together. They travel for many miles and many hours. Finally they get hungry. The sharp-eyed chicken spots a restaurant. Approaching the door, they read a sign which says, “Ham and Eggs: Our Specialty!” “Hold it!” oinked the pig. “What’s the matter?” clucked the chicken. “Plenty,” said the hog. “All they want from you is a little compromise. They are asking me for total commitment!” That’s exactly what God wants.
How do you have a great marriage? You are totally committed to it. These are marriages that last seventy-five years, those people are committed to it. Commitment! That’s what we need to pray for.
When a little trouble comes to a great marriage, when both of them are committed to it, they’re going to stick with it. They’re not going to run.
Mark 8:34–36 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
A few years ago a super fast concord jet was zooming off the runway in Paris, France, with its load of passengers. Everything was going fine. Do you realize that the pilot of a jet aircraft comes to a point of no return on that runway.
It gets going so fast that you cross a line where you have to decide to “fly or stop”. Once you cross that line you have no choice but to fly or to crash. The pilot of that fast jet came to that line. It seems that when he came to that point, a tire blew out and large chunks crashed into the fuel tank. The plane took off in a fireball and crashed in an explosion.
Unfortunately, churches are filled with many members who have never left the ground. They have been sitting on a spiritual runway for years and years gunning their spiritual engines but they never really reaching the point of total commitment, that line that you must cross as a Christian or you are not going to make it.
You cannot stay on the runway and reach heaven at the same time. You’ve got to get committed and get off, take off.
Philippians 3:7,8. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Praise God for Paul! That’s beautiful!
What is man’s greatest possession? I would submit to you that man’s greatest possession is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s the greatest thing you can have all else is rubbish.
Jesus wants you totally: Hook, Line, and Sinker and that is another Sermon.
Do you want Him with all your might? Just pray this little prayer: “Dear God, you be the needle and I’ll be the thread. You go first and I’ll follow wherever you may lead.” That’s what thread does.
***In the beginning of this sermon I ask you a question!***
What in this world would keep you on a sinking Ship? The order is giving get off, Abandon ship and save your life. What is keeping you from getting into the gates of Heaven?
An old song goes like this: “I Surrender.. how much? All.” Yielding totally to Jesus. Another song says – “All The Way My Savior Leads me!” Are you willing to go all the way with Jesus?
The ship is sinking and there is not much time left, what are you going to do! The longer you wait the lest chance you miget have.
I pray that today you will give Jesus a chance, a chance to save you from a sinking world. Jesus said in Matthew:11:28: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
In Noah time only he and his family were saved God was giving a warning to the people of Noah’s time for 120 years, telling them the ship was sinking. Get into the safety of God provision but no one believed what the man of God was preaching. The same is with our World today, God has done all he can do to save you, but the choice is your.
I pray that God will be with you as you decide today if you are staying on board this sinking ship or if you are following the command to get off this sinking World and into the hands of a God that loves you.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
What’s between you and Jesus?
Prov:14:12: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
When Joshua and the people of Israel were headed toward the Promised Land, right in the middle of their path was a huge obstacle, it was called Jericho. Jericho was a large, fortified city. It had huge walls surrounding it. The Israelites couldn’t go around the city; they had to go through it.
Between you and your destiny, there will always be a “Jericho” or something that you cannot go around. You have a choice either defeat it, or it’s going to defeat you.
God told Joshua to tell the people to march around the city walls one time for six days, and on the seventh day, they were to march around it seven times. They were instructed not to say a word. No talking. No whispering. No complaining. They had to March perfectly quiet. But on the seventh day, and on the seventh time around, God said, “This time I want you to do something different. As you march, I want you to let out a shout of praise.”
When God tell you to do something, does it mean to do exactly what he says or is it ok to change it just a little.
I can imagine on that seventh day, there was so much excitement. They marched around once, twice, three times with great anticipation. They knew something big was about to happen. On that seventh time around, after the priests blew the trumpets, they let out the high praises of God. They began to shout and cheer and sing, “Hosanna in the highest! To God be all the glory!” so loud that people could hear it for miles and miles.
Then all of the sudden, the impossible began to happen. Those thick, fortified walls began to shake and rattle. In a matter of moments, those walls crumbled and came tumbling down! The Israelites were able to go in and take the city, and eventually, they made it into the Promised Land.
How often in life do we think, “I’ll shout after the walls come down. I’ll shout after my victory, after the promotion, after the breakthrough?” No, that’s backwards.
The shout is what activates God’s power. I realize God hears us even when we whisper, but I believe there are some walls that will not come down without the high praises of God coming out of your mouth. That’s why when you feel like you’re going in circles; you’ve got to turn up the praise! You’ve got to thank God in a greater way. You’ve got to declare His goodness over your life. And you need to do exactly what He is telling you to do.
Maybe you’ve been around that city once, twice, three times. God is saying, “You’re coming into your seventh day. Don’t give-up you’re about to enter into your victory lap.” Now here’s the question: What’s coming out of your mouth? Make sure you’re praising Him. Make sure you’re thanking Him.
Make sure you’re ready because those obstacles, those walls are going to come crashing down in Jesus’ name! Don’t let anything come between you and Jesus, If God say it, believe it, and let that settles it.
Let us Pray!
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What is the only thing that can separate you from the Love of God? SIN
Turn with me to the book of Exodus: 31:
18: And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with Gods ball point pen, written in pencil by God, How then were they written; that’s right written with the finger of God.
Question: Why were there two tables of stone giving to Moses?
- The one had Mans requirement to God
- The other had Mans requirements to his brother.
Today we are going to look at mans requirements to God, what God told us to do
Exodus: 20:
First Commandment
1: And God spake all these words, saying,
2: I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Story:
A long time ago…in a country far, far away…there was a wealthy young guy. He had everything that he could ever want; all the stuff that anyone could ever want and more.
He followed the rules and was a good guy. He didn’t sleep with his neighbor’s wife, he didn’t kill anyone, he never stole anything, he wasn’t a liar, and he honored and respected his mom and dad. He was a wealthy man and followed the rules.
In case you didn’t catch on to the story…this was a brief retelling of the first half of the story of the rich young man from Luke 18. The man came to Jesus and asked him what he had to do to have eternal life.
Jesus told him to keep all of commandments, to which the young man responded, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.”
I can picture Jesus in my head smiling and nodding and then quietly saying, “Yea…but you have this one thing standing between you and Me. Your stuff.”
Jesus told the man to sell all of his stuff and give to the poor. Then he could follow Jesus. He made it very clear what needed to be done, and yet the man walked away from Jesus with sorrow. Jesus didn’t turn his back, the man walked away from Jesus.
The problem with the man was that he didn’t really want Jesus, all he really wanted was eternal life. He probably came to Jesus expecting to hear, “Hey good job, you’ve kept the commandments, you’re in good shape!”
But instead Jesus challenged him and said, “Hey…what’s consuming your life? Your stuff? Okay, now get rid of it and follow me.”
Jesus knew this man’s heart. He knew that his stuff consumed his life. If you aren’t willing to give up what’s most important to you in order to follow Jesus, will you enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
This man let his stuff keep him out of the Kingdom of Heaven. He let his stuff get between him and Jesus.
What stuff are you letting get between you and Jesus? What’s consuming your life that isn’t Jesus? If it were you that came to Jesus, what would he tell you to give up? Would you give it up…or would you walk away filled with sorrow?
Second Commandment
4: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6: And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
From the beginning mankind always worship something. Way back in time we see Man worshiping the Sun, Moon, Stars, Rocks, Trees, Animals why is that.
Satan wants to make sure you are worshiping anything except the real thing and that is the creator God.
Why do you think there are no true pictures of Jesus today, because there would people who would worship the picture more than the person in the picture.
We can see that in many of the world religions today, even in some Christian Churches we see people praying and worshiping statues or as the Bible calls them a graven image.
Inside of Man is the need to worship and that need is only fulfilled when we worship the Creator God.
*** STORY: The stature that was leaking Holy Water in Italy. Years later it was found that a bath room sink was leaking down a wall a few hundred feet away.
Third Commandment
7: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
When my Wife married me, back in 1974 she took my name. At that time and in our culture, that was traditional.
She forsook her parent’s name, and took her husband’s name. The taking of the new name, reflected a change in life, and change in status and a change in priorities.
She was no longer a single woman, she was married. She no longer dated men, she was mated to one. She no longer was a young woman, she was a changed woman. She was now responsible for a family and a relationship that would last over 38 years (so far!).
If her lifestyle did not change from that day forward, she would have been disapprove of by her community. Few, if any, cultures or societies encourage their married women to live in the same way after the marriage as they did before they married
In other words, if my Wife had taken my name, but not changed her lifestyle, she would have taken my name “in-vain”. She would have had a ceremony, but not a new life, and boy would I have been upset, to put it mildly.
When we put on a uniform, we take the name of those whose uniform it is. Whether it is a sports team uniform, a work uniform for that employer or a military uniform.
When we choose a career, we take the name of the best of everyone in that career field. When we take on a title, we take the name of the best of everyone with that title.
If you take the name of God, at a ceremony, and tell the world that you are now part of the ‘bride of Christ’ as the church is called, yet you do not live like a ‘bride of Christ’, you have taken His name in vain, and you will not be considered guiltless.
Live with Jesus as if you are committed to Him for life, not as if He is a friend. A spouse is supposed to be an intimate friend, companion, confidant, friend and a lifetime commitment.
To treat Jesus as anything less than that, is to take His name in vain. Ouch. Are you ‘guilty as charged’?
You get the picture!
** Thou shalt not take
The true meaning of that phrase is made clear if we substitute “bear” for the word, “take”. We would then have this for our scripture from Exodus 20:7: “Thou shalt not bear the name of the Lord in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who bears His name in vain.”
Jesus told Paul that he was to “bear His name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel“ (Acts 9:15). Bearing the precious name of Jesus with integrity, faith, and charity, Paul turned many to righteousness in the ensuing years.
He did not bear, or take the name of the Lord upon himself, in vain. As Paul later testified, “His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all.” (1Cor.15:10).
After Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he took them to Mount Sinai, to enter into a covenant with the Lord. First though, God sent Moses down from the mountain to deliver His “proposal” to Israel: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.“ Exodus.19:4-6.
When we as Christians don’t live up to that name before our friends what are you really telling them. When we don’t live by the standards that God told us what is that really saying about your relationship with God?
Are you beginning to understand what the 3rd commandment is really saying. It does not mean just using the verbal word or expression about God. It means more; it means your marriage relationships to God.
Don’t treat God any different then you would your spouse next to you.
Fourth Commandment Exodus 20:
8: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9: Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
We are told to Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy if we search the Bible no where can you find where the Sabbath was giving to just Abraham or his children only.
So we must go back further in order to find where did the Sabbath that we are told to remember start.
Genesis: 2:
1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
So where did the Sabbath come from, the book of beginning, better known as the book of Genesis says at Creation.
Maybe this is the reason why only the fourth commandment starts with the word
Remember.
God is saying to Remember because it was giving at the beginning
Let me tell you something; I would fear to be the minister or preacher who would tell you it is OK to forget something that God wrote with his own finger and said to remember; Especially if there were no scripture to back up or to say otherwise.
The Word Christian what does it mean:
Acts:11:26: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Why were they called Christians? What was it about them that people seen that they gave them that name. They were all doing the same things that Jesus did, so they call them Christians, Christ Like people.
What are you watching is it parsing God?
What are you saying is it praising God?
What are you listening to is it parsing God?
You see these are the things that tell you just how close to Jesus you really are, if they don’t bring honor, glory or praises to Jesus maybe you need to change what you are doing.
It is the little things that we do that keeps us away from fully knowing Gods love. Those little things that come up and get right between you and Jesus; I pray that each of you here today will examine your life and see what is there.
Are you willing to give Your Stuff up for Jesus?
Romans: 8:
35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39: Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1John:5:
3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
John:14:
23: Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John:15:
10: If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Friend I pray that there is nothing standing between you and Jesus today and if there is go to him and ask forgiveness and decide in your heart to change it today, not tomorrow, change it today. We are not giving tomorrow we have only today.
There is no sin in your life that He is not willing to forgive.
He loves you how much, enough to die in your place so that you will not have too. But if you don’t love Him, if you are not faithful to Him, do you expect Him to be any different then you would be if your spouse was unfaithful to you.
Don’t let this world or the things of this world stand in your way to the only one who really love you.
Rv:12:12: Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Satan will stop at nothing to keep you out of heaven, why because he hates Jesus and he hates all who follow Jesus. We as Christians will always have problems in this life, why look at Rv:12:17: And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Remnant is not the Majority or large groups; it is the small little groups who follow the truth. Not because it is popular but because it is what God said to do.
The closer you get to Jesus the more problems you might be in for because there is always a Jericho in the way. It is how you deal with that Jericho that really matters.
If you Love me just keep my commandments Jesus said and show the world that you and I have a covenant relationship with each other. I love you and want you to live with me for eternity in a home I am building just for you.
God Bless
Elder Tim McNab
Strengthening Your Faith
What is Faith?
We all know the Bible answer to that can be found in Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
What gives you Faith?
What gives you faith when everything is going wrong?
What gives you faith when problems are touching you personally?
How do we Strengthening our Faith in God in times like these?
I don’t know about you but it is hard for me to just have Faith in something I can’t see.
That is why we have a Bible, because God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He does not change
The Bible is a Book full of people with Faith. Why so that we can know how God has worked in the past, so it can give us Hope and Strengthen our Faith in Him now and in the Future.
Let us Pray!
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I would like to share with you what gives me Faith.
What gives me Faith is Stories Like: “The Prophet Elisha and his servant”
Tell a short Story about Elisha…..
2 Kings 6:
16: And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17: And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Sometime we get discourage when we don’t see things going like we think they should. If I can’t see it with my eyes I don’t believe it
- Sometime we are discourage when other Christian judge us by there standard of Christianity. Remember satin also goes to Church
- Many of time we are surrounded by the enemy and satin brings sickness into our life, don’t let it get you down, let it be a tool to draw you closer to Jesus.
- What about other problems in this world. Read the story of Job
- Don’t give up Faith, but pray and ask God to open your eyes so that you might see; Angle standing next to you to protect you and take care of you.
Fall on your knees and pray, don’t let Satan block your hold on Jesus
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: “Moses crossing the Red Sea”
God gave a Man a Missionto lead his People and that man was “Moses”
We meet him by the Red Seawith his Church group of complaining Christians “You have brought us here that Pharaoh may kill us. Remember the Story; the army was right behind them.
Exodus 14:
21: And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
I have heard many of people try and explain what happen and how the water naturally dried up for the Children of Israel to cross over
But then there is this one little scripture that said
22: And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
It is proof that God can not only Walk on Water but he can also make it stand Vertical if he so needs
There was a young Man reading his Bible and he was at the part where Moses was crossing the Red Sea and he was so excited about how God would deliver his people.
Then a Man came up to him and asks what he was so excited about. So he told him, and he said O that, yes but you see there was a strong Earthquake that day and the water just ran out some. And so there was still about 6 inches of water left so that was no real miracle.
As the man was walking away, the young man started jumping up with even more excitement, when the Man asks what was it, he said “God just drowned the entire Egyptian Army in 6 inches of Water.
If I had learned anything in Life; I have learned that if God said it, Believe it!
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: “A boy named David”
Israel was at war: Both armies’ were camp on a hill with a Valley between them. David found himself bring supplies to his Brothers, when he saw what
1 Samuel 17:
23: And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24: And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
We are no different; we run and forget about God who is fighting on our side, when we see how big the Mountain is that satin laid before us.
26: And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
- How big are the problems you face everyday in Life. We all look at the little things in life that make us afraid. Because our problems look so gigantic.
- None of us fight the same battles, because we are all different, what’s a problem to you is child play to me; and what’s a problem for me is silly to you.
- We allow satin to put a magnifying glass in front of our eyes to make us fear the things we have no control of.
- We need to learn the lesson of True Faith in God
- The Bigger the problem the bigger the Miracle, What is too big for God
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: A young man by the name of “Stephen”
He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was brought in for what he believed
Act 7
55: But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56: And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
57: Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, (People will do the same today)
58: And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
59: And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60: And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
- People today still don’t want to hear the Truth. They will do all they can to keep from hearing and not believe the Truth. Why does it always seem easier to believe a Lie then to believe the Truth,
Matthew:7:13: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
- There is a time coming when again they will want to stone and Kill you for telling God’s Truth. So don’t be afraid when it come; Jesus told us it would happen, be Faithful, because you will not be alone.
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: “Sharack, Meshack and Abednego.”
It is very importance when you are in a leadership position to be true to what you believe. Because you may be called in to account for it someday
Daniel 3
12: There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of theprovinceofBabylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13: Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
The King told them look I understand about this thing you have of worshiping your God, but right now you don’t need to worry about your God you need to worry about Me. Because I am fixing to do you a lot of boodle harm if you don’t do what I say
Look at what they said to the King
17: If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18: But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
19: Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
- When the going gets hot will you be there for Jesus.
- The hold world will be falling down on there knees paying honor to someone other then Jesus, Will you follow.
- The Bible said you can’t serve God and man
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: “Daniel and the Lion Den”
He too was in a leadership position, but his pure heart made him stand out among all the other. So they tricked the king
Daniel 6
18: Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
21: Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
22: My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
- When the going gets tuff will you be able to stand for Jesus all by your self.
- That’s right no Mama and Daddy there, No Brother or Sisters There, No Husband or Wife There, No boy friend or Girl friend there to help you make it.
- Just you all alone. Most people fail because they have never put Jesus First
- Do you have the Faith in Jesus that will secure you a place in Heaven?
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: Noah
He had the faith that can build when everyone else was in doubt
Geneses 6
7: And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
I am happy for us today that there was a Man like Noah
Again the Earth is filled with Violence; and again it will be destroyed.
The Ark Represented Jesus, all who would go in could be Saved. It is no different to all who come to Jesus he will again save them, but they must make a choice
- It may not be easy to go and do what God is telling you to do.
- But if you put the little Faith you have in God you will be like Noah. “How” Everyday he drove a nail into the Ark every time he put a board on the side his Faith Grew and Grew until he could see the plan God had in mind for him
It happens only by Faith When you are obedience to Gods word he will save you
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: Elijah “Choose ye this day who you will service”
Did the people forget who there God was, who brought them through the Red Sea, Who provided for them for 40 years in the wilderness, who defender them from other invading tribes.
1 Kings 18
21: And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Yes they did forget, and so do we, when we put other things first in our Life before Jesus.
One of the Most Dangerous things that we as Christians can do is to put Religion before God, it happens when we believe more in the rules then the rule maker, this is what happened to the Jewish nation. They put Gods Laws before God himself.
Jesus said I am the truth the light and the way, no man comes unto the Father but by Me.
Remember that It is by Faith that we server him; and because we Love him that we keep his Commandment. We don’t keep His commandments to be saved.
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What gives me Faith is Stories Like: Creator who became his Creation
“ Why; to Save Them from there Sin”
John 3:16
16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
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Now my Question is; What are you doing for Jesus?
What’s your Christian Experience like lately, are you kind of Plateau, or maybe on a down ward trend.
If you leave here today and get nothing else out of this Sermon except what I am going to tell you right now you will have understood what other before you have giving for Jesus.
Today; there is a knock on your Door, you open it up and there are 6 Police Officers and 4 Army Men come to take you in for a hearing.
You say, what have I done, (Know one say’s a word more to you except that they have a warrant for your arrest).
You are hand cuffed and lead out of your home, you look back and see your kids crying, the neighbors are all out watching you being lead away because of the commotion in the neighborhood.
You are brought in and told to wait, you look and see a group of people some you recognizer as former Church members other you have no idea who they are.
You ask a guard standing near-by, where are my Children, and my Family; he only looks at you and said “TRADER” and turns and looks the other way.
Now you are brought in before this council, and they ask you question about your family, your place of work, and finally about you Church.
You are accused of crimes against the State; you have broken Civil Laws, and can no longer be trusted worthy with your Freedom. You have been told and warred about your failure to keep the secular day of worship and about you’re spreading lies about Jesus coming back to this earth.
You have been tried and convicted for your crimes,
Do you have anything to say for your self before sentence is passed on to you?
The Judge picks-up his gravel and say “you are hear by sentence to Death”
HOW WILL YOU STAND?
There will only be two Choices “Faithful or Faithless”
How is your walk with Jesus today, it is not enough to just say that you love him.
You must have a daily living relationship with Jesus if you will be able to stand for him when the time comes. Remember you will not be alone Jesus will be there just like with Stevenson, giving you the Strength you need.
But we must learn to live by Faith now so that when the times comes we will not fail but like the Men and Women of the past stand strong in Faith for Jesus.
Don’t trust to yourself, Peter denied Jesus three times before he learned one of the most importance lesson and that is just two little worlds Have Faith………
Strengthen your faith in Jesus everyday; read about the life of others who had Faith. When the time comes and the clock is ready to strike midnight right before the hammer falls. Jesus will be there.
He is never late my friend; he is always right on time!
God Bless you all amen
What are your priorities?
At a Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. A man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk away.
6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.
45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed.. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, priorities.
Let us Pray! ——————————————————
What are your Priorities in life?
Do you really truth God; Do you trust him with your Money and with your time
There is a story that Luke tell about a Rich man..
LUKE 12:16 The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. It brought forth plentifully. I don’t know what the crop was. It could have been wheat or figs or kiwis or even Okra.
His problem was that his barns were too small. If you have a very good crop and a very small barn what do you do?
What follows is what his mind told him to do.
Verse 18: I will TEAR DOWN my barns and build bigger ones. There will I store all my grain and my goods. End of problem. Right? Wrong!
He forgot just one thing…. the uncertainty of life.
– He was considered a fool NOT because he was rich and successful.
– He was considered a fool Not because he was cautious & a careful planner
– He was called a Fool because he considered himself the OWNER of the goods which his farms produced.
He had the right Idea but the wrong priorities
In Verse 19–he talked to his SOUL(!); “Soul, thou has much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, & be merry.
He should have talked with God. Instead he consulted with himself. That night his many years shriveled into a few hours.
At that point Jesus asked a question– When you die, who will take possession of your things?
Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Have you ever gone to an Estate Sale or an auction of someone’s estate who you knew? You see the ownership of the things they valued being transferred to someone else.
There is no such thing as a FUNERAL HEARSE WITH A U-HAUL TRAILER BEHIND IT.
Ownership implies control. At the best we can only control our possessions for a time.
See if you think this statement is true: WE ONLY OWN THOSE THINGS OTHERS ARE WILLING TO ADMIT THAT WE OWN.
Who own your House or you Car, do you own them or the bank, they only allow you to live in the house or drive the car, Stop paying on them for a few months and see who really owns them
On this earth we have conditional ownership.
Only Jesus Christ has true ownership.
Christian stewardship is really a Relationship with Jesus.
If our farmer in this parable had recognized that he was just a steward and that God really owned the farm he would not have talked with himself.
His conversation might have been like this: “Lord, your FARM produced so bountifully this year under your blessing that your barn is too small to hold your harvest. Shall I tear it down and build a bigger one?
Jesus might have replied: Leave the barn alone, it is big enough. ……So what are we going to do with all your surplus?
No problem. Just give it to My children who are in need. In fact, the Lord may have said something like this: I invite you to Enjoy what I enjoy,—
Do you know what God Enjoys? “Giving” THE PRIVILEGE OF GIVING.
Giving is a divine privilege. Giving from a heart that is in love with Jesus will produce more joy to the giver than to the receiver.
I was in Galveston Texas one time, as I came upon a poor man who looked like he was wearing all the clothing he possessed. As he sat there on the floor his hand was outstretched. I put some money in his hand and went on. He said God Bless You Mister! I thought about that man. It is not a divine privilege to sit there against that cold wall and beg. The divine privilege is to be the one who is able to place the money in his hand.
As humans we were given two divine privileges that God has:
1)– To give, this is a divine privilege!
2)– To forgive. Only God can forgive us. But we can forgive each other.
But giving is not only in Money, most importance it is in TIME
One problem that we have is that we try to equate material things with security. The more we have the better or the safer we are.
So we get more and more until at some point we depend upon a god we can see rather that a God we can’t see. If an accumulation of material things brings happiness why are so many rich folks so unhappy?
A man wrote about the late JACKIE GLEASON. There were two Jackie Gleasons he said:
The LIFE-IS-A-LARK Gleason who charmed his audiences by saying: HOW SWEET IT IS!, and the private man trying to drown his problems in alcohol.
Like Solomon, Gleason could have anything he wanted, and both could have said: all is vanity. They both had vast amounts of money.
But the problem was that they did not have dominion over their possessions, their possessions dominated them.
Their goods had become their gods. If you remove one of the two “o”‘s from goods you have gods.
If we truly understand stewardship we will recognize that God gives us the FREEDOM OF DEPENDENCE!
We like to think that freedom is INDEPENDENCE. But that is not God’s plan at all.
God Planned that we should have the freedom of DEPENDENCE.
In their ideal state, ADAM AND EVE had no housing problems, no clothing problems, no problems with weather, health, payments etc.
It would be a strange person who wouldn’t settle for such a situation today.
Then one day along came an ugly old snake in the leaves he said,
Look, God knows that the day you eat of the fruit you will be as gods, you’ll be INDEPENDENT. You will not need Him. What happened?
Everything went berserk.
They were evicted from their home, they had clothing problems, the weather changed, they needed band aids to deal with the thorns,
Eve knew pain as she gave birth, they needed health insurance, they needed death benefits, they had big problems.
They were better off when God owned it all and they were the managers.
If today you place everything you own on the alter and give the ownership to God you are better off.
Look at it this way IF A PERSON DOESN’T OWN ANYTHING, HE IS NEVER SUBJECT TO LOSS
Job thought that way. That is why he could say “The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job recognized Who owned everything he managed, therefore, God could trust him with 2X as much as he had before.
One day a church treasurer resigned. Finally the church asked the local grain elevator manager to take over. He agreed under two conditions:
That no treasurer’s report would be given for the first year. That no Questions be asked about finances during that whole 12 months.
The members were surprised but because he was known for his honesty they agreed. At the end of the year he gave the first treasurers report red:
*The church indebtness of $228,000 had been paid.
*The minister’s salary had been increased by 8%
*The Cooperative Program gifts had been paid 200%
*There were no outstanding bills.
*There was a cash balance of $11,252!
Immediately the shocked congregation asked: “How did you do it?” Where did all the money come from?
He quietly answered: “Most of you bring your grain to my elevator.
Throughout the year I simply withheld 10% on your behalf and gave it to the church in your name. I have your receipts here.
And none of you even missed it. Do you see what we could do for the Lord if we were all willing to return an honest Tithe to God, Who really owes it anyway?”
We Humans have been given possessions as a test to determine whether we can MANAGE eternal things.
If we can’t manage a few dollars down here, what would we do with a whole galaxy?
So this test here is given so there will be no possibility that a selfish person will get into heaven.
We have the divine privilege of giving. Job could say in JOB 29:15-16 “I was father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not, I searched out”
We should look for projects to give to, and not have to wait for appeals to be made. We should consider every NEED as an OPPORTUNITY.
In our parable today about the rich farmer who tore down his barns and built larger ones, the final outcome was not long in coming. LUKE 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
The final verse says in verse 21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
Don’t get me wrong it’s OK to store up things for ourselves but at the same time we need to be RICH TOWARD GOD.
We make a living through what we get,
We make a life through what we GIVE!!
You can take it with you!
By giving to the needs of God and His work right here we are depositing PEARLS into that vault in heaven.
In my 401K the company gives .35 to every dollar I put in, that is good free money, You would be a fool not to invest.
God said for every dollar you give I will match it 100 times
You will see that your deposits have gained interest and there is quite an accumulation there. Why because you were unselfish here.
May God richly Bless you in your giving back to him what is already His.
Last Day Counterfeits
Prov. 14:12 “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
If you were the devil and could counterfeit anything you wanted, what would it be? Certainly it would be some thing of great worth.
Have you ever seen a counterfeit pile of dirt or a counterfeit toothpick? We only copy valuable things. Money is often copied.
“Satan is constantly seeking to counterfeit the work of Christ.”
Matthew 13:24,25 – “Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.‘”
Satan especially likes to plant his tares among the wheat.
The arch counterfeiter is the devil. So, as you might expect, the biggest forgery today is in religion. Churches (most of them unknowingly) have become involved in teaching forged illusions of Bible truth. With so many clones out there, truth seekers become confused and many simply seek out the best counterfeit. Never be satisfied with anything less than the genuine article.
Swindler Satan’s simulations reach fervent pitch in the last days. In Luke 21:8 Jesus said: “Watch out that you are not deceived.”
I Timothy 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow ddeceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
God’s truth has splintered into more than 250 different beliefs. This forgery of truth has been masterminded by the devil.
This replica of truth is not new. Christ warned about it in His day: Mark 7:7 – “In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the Commandments of men.”
Let us look at a few of the many delusions the devil has devised and that most of the world accepts:
Everything was Good
(1)–Creation/Evolution Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I believe that in the beginning God Created the heavens and the earth. The chance that higher life forms might have emerged through the evolutionary processes is comparable to the chance that a tornado sweeping through a landfill might accidently assemble a space shuttle all gassed up and ready to fly from the junk in the dump.
If we can’t believe in the first sentence in the Bible, then we must reject every other page as fraudulent.
Another hoax emanating from the time of Genesis comes from the Garden of Eden. It was there that the original “Snake in the Grass” announced a great counterfeit that is still believed by most of the Christian world today.
(2) – There is no Death. Genesis 3:4 – “‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman…” Almost every church today believes this deception. Most of the religions of the world have purchased the devil’s lie- hook, line, and sinker. In saying “There is no death” he was introducing the delusion that there is life apart from God, Who is the source and maintainer of all life. God said man is mortal, the devil said he is immortal and that evil or good, man will never die. Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The wage of sin is NOT eternal life. Even if that life is in the fire of hell. Think about it, if you are alive in the fire of hell forever then you would have to have eternal life. Not much of a life!…. but it does last an eternity. Is that what the Bible says? NO! The wage of SIN is not life in hell or anywhere else. The wage of sin is death. Eternal Death. Just the opposite of the gift of God which is eternal life. Praise God for Eternal life! (Note that even Jesus said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”)
So, this counterfeit, that there is no death, opens the door for yet another fabrication!
(3) – I call it– Fake Fire. You see, if a sinner dies, and somehow does not die, then he must be alive somewhere. Where is that? Hell! And so the belief that there is no death means that life is indestructible. After “death” the person continues to live on somewhere. The unsaved sinner can’t die. So people believe that when the sinner is cast into hell fire, he must live there forever.
He can’t die. And do you know that 95% of all Christian Churches, yet to this day, still believe it?! They have accepted the counterfeit. Why do I call this “fake fire”? Because -if- the fire of hell can’t do its job in a million years or more then it is lukewarm fire!
How does the Bible describe hell fire? II Peter 3:10-12 – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief… The elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
Next delusion: When Adam and Eve were created from the hand of God, their first full day was spent in worship on the holy Sabbath Day. This brings us to the next counterfeit:
The 7th day is the Sabbath
(4) – Sunday is the Sabbath. A gigantic perversion of Bible truth in religion today, involves the question of which day is the true day of worship. Sunday observance has its roots back in the days immediately after the flood (Genesis 10 and Nimrod) In that time, Sun worship was conducted on the day of the sun, that we call “Sun-day.” As sun-worship began to increase, God decided to give to his people a written copy of His law. In the heart of it is His Sabbath commandment.
Exodus 20:8-11 The longest commandment is the only one with the word REMEMBER! If there was not a counterfeit in the making, why do you suppose God would say that? And so today there are many Christians accepting this counterfeit as the genuine article.
But fortunately today there is a movement in the world to get back to the real thing. The Seventh-day Adventist church is basically a call for a return to the truth as it is in the Bible.
Sunday keeping is a counterfeit of God’s Bible Sabbath. God says: Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy!
The counterfeiting continues. The devil needed a logical event on which to base a reason for first-day observance. And so today we have good Christians keeping Sunday because of the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week. This is not a Bible reason for Sunday worship. We certainly believe in the resurrection of Christ. But this is not a reason to switch from keeping Sabbath.
Now because one lie leads to another, the need arose for a counterfeit Baptism.
(5) – Is Sprinkling Baptism: Baptism under the water is God’s true symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Sunday is not the symbol to honor His resurrection. The new life of the new Christian is! And so if you take Sunday keeping as the symbol of the resurrection, you must introduce a counterfeit baptism that does no require this three fold symbolism. Hence: sprinkling! And so the large majority of Christians today accept this counterfeit baptism and don’t know why.
Ephesians 4:5 speaks of one baptism. Matthew 3:16 tells of Jesus baptism; going down into the water, being buried in it, and coming up out of the water renewed.
(6) – False Christs Matthew 24:24 – “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect–if that were possible.”
How many Redeemers do we have? One! Who is that? Jesus Christ. Any other is a false Christ. However, it seems that the Papacy is about to establish an additional redeemer. The over 400 apparitions of the “Virgin Mary” in the last 100 years are shaking the Roman Catholic Church to its core. During just the last four years Pope John Paul II has received over four Million signed petitions to name Mary as CO-REDEMPTRIX with Jesus Christ.
The Pope is considering naming Mary also as the “Mediatrix of All Graces and Advocate for the People of God.” This means that all prayers must flow through her as the ONLY channel of grace from Jesus Christ.
This would in essence elevate Mary to a place in a new “Holy Quartet” of the Godhead!
[for more information see Waymarks, a pamphlet published by the Southern Union Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Volume 2, # 4, October 1997 issue.]
In John Paul II’s own words, “the new Eve beside the New Adam [Christ] in the Redemption.” Thus Mary would be the daughter of the Father, the mother of the Son and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
see Freedom Alert a periodical published by the Council on Religious Freedom, Vol. 13, Issue 4, 1997, E-mail address: page 8.
So you can see there are apocalyptic counterfeits currently in the making. If and when Mary is made a God, it means the World is racing inexorably towards a prophetic date with destiny! You have heard of these little books: God’s Little Instruction Book and etc. Now there is a Mary’s Little Instruction Book.
(7) False Church: God has a true church. She is described as a woman who is in deadly combat with a devil like dragon. Revelation 12:17 – “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring–those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Lutherans and Calvinists are adopting common communions. [AP, 8-18-97]. A public announcement was made in Chattanooga, TN on Sunday May 4, 1997 by an archbishop of the Episcopal Church stating that Protestantism has all but died and that will leave only the Roman Catholic Church to represent Christianity. “God’s church is catholic,” he said. see Chattanooga Free Press, May 10, 1997 p. B1.
Ralph Reed, the director of the Christian Coalition in 1996 said: There is a growing strength of evangelicals and their Roman Catholic allies. “Dark distrust about popery has been swept into the ash heap of history. John F Kennedy’s election in 1960 buried the Catholic bogeyman forever. No longer burdened by the past, Roman Catholics, evangelicals, Greek Orthodox and many mainline denominations are forging a new alliance… See Freedom Report April, 1996, Clifford Goldstein, Editor.
“When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of Doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees, sustain their institutions, then protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.” – EG White, Great Controversy p. 445
(8) A COPIED COMING Prophecy warns that in the last days Satan would attempt to impersonate Christ’s second coming. II Thess. 2:3-4 That day shall not come, except there be a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed as God showing himself to be God. II Thess. 2:8-12 That wicked shall be destroyed by the brightness of His coming. Even him (Satan) whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. With all deceit (many counterfeits).
Luke 21:8 – “many shall come in My name.” II Cor. 11:14 (KJV) – “Satan, himself, is transformed into an angel of light.”
“in the last days he will appear in such a manner as to make men believe him to be Christ come the second time. He will bear the APPEARANCE OF CHRIST IN EVERY PARTICULAR…” – EG White, Vol. 5, Testimonies for the Church, p.698
Back in the 1970’s a rare discovery was made. It was called a pathological phenomenon. Scientists in China discovered a lady actually growing horns out of the top of her head. The written account said that she looked “like the Devil.”
For years the devil has sought to teach a false-hood here. We picture him as a red skinned imp with a tail and horns, and a pitchfork in his hand. This is a false picture. A trick. He has thrown this dust in the eyes of most in the world so that when he comes as an angel of light no one will recognize him and his coming will be accepted as the coming of Christ, Himself. What a counterfeit!
Speaking of Christs second coming: I Thess. 4:16-17 states the correct manner of His coming in the clouds of glory, and in the air.
Every Eye will see Jesus coming
Rev. 1:7 – Every Eye will see Jesus come!
Very soon, Satan will appear as the true Christ “He will be clothed as an angel of light…The apostate churches unite in the exaltation of Satan…” – EG White, Testimonies for Ministers, p.62 “Disguised as an angel of light, Satan will walk the earth as a wonder-worker. In beautiful language he will present lofty things. Good words will be spoken by him, and good deeds performed. Christ will be personified, but on one point there will be a marked distinction, Satan will turn the people from the LAW OF GOD. – EG White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 471-472.
“He will declare that the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh to the first day of the week and that he is the lord of the first day.” – EG White, Maranatha p. 205
“Satan, surrounded by evil angels, and claiming to be God, will work miracles of all kinds to deceive. God’s people will not find their safety in working miracles, for Satan will COUNTERFEIT the miracles that will be wrought.” – EG White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 16.
Matt. 24:24 (KJV) “..shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, in so much, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” – Revelation 16:14 (KJV) says “for they are the spirits of DEVILS, working miracles…”
“Before the end of time he (Satan) will work still greater wonders. So far as his power extends, he will perform ACTUAL miracles.” – EG White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol 5, p.698
(9) – Hoax Healings – these miracles are another great counterfeit of Satan.
Revelation 13:13 – “And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men.”
Revelation 16:14 – “They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs…”
EG White – 2SM51 – “He is to work miracles; and this wonderful, miracle-working power is to sweep in the whole world.”
EG White Testimonies t the Church, Vol 1 – “The sick will be healed before us. Miracles will be performed in our sight. Are we prepared for this?”
Have you ever thought about why it is that we seem to be seeing less and less true miracles of physical healing from God? Could it be that these things will fade in importance in the last days, because Satan is counterfeiting so many of them. The devil knows his time is short and these miracles and the imitation of Christ’s Second Coming are his trump cards. As we hear more and more about these false healings and false Christ, we should wake up to the fact that the real genuine article is almost here. How often the fake just precedes the real event.
EG White Great Controversy, p. 625 – “Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ’s advent.” …. “only those who have been diligent students of the scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.”
(10)-His counterfeit of the Bible– There are so many books out there claiming to contain the truth. The Koran, the book of Mormon, the new age writings, … the list could go on and on.
But there is only one Bible and It is hard to know which Bible is the Real Bible.
I stood at a Bible Book store and saw a
• Bible for Men with nuts, bolts, gears on the front cover.
• I saw a Bible for Women.
• A Bible For Mothers.
• A bible for Fathers.
• A bible for Students.
• A bible for Teenagers.
• A bible for Boys.
• A bible for Girls.
• A bible for Parents.
• A bible for New Converts.
• A bible for hillbillies.
• A bible for African Americans.
• A bible for Catholics.
I wanted a copy of God’s real word for me!
(11) –His emulation of the church-fellowship…
“The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit that there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give His people. It’s an imitation dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality, but it is a permissive, accepting fellowship. It is a place where you can tell secrets and they usually don’t want to tell others. The bar flourishes not because many people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart the desire to know and to be known, and loved, and many seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers and are led into the devil’s trap and barred from eternal life.”
(12) –His backward millennium with its deadly second chance after seven years of tribulation AFTER the second coming. Revelation 20 does not indicate there will be a second chance after the rapture. Jesus will come at the beginning of the 1000 years. All the righteous will be taken to heaven and all the wicked will be left behind dead and unburied.
(13) — TANGLED TONGUES:
There is a movement today in religion that says unless you speak in tongues you are not saved. Yet Jesus never spoke in tongues or David or John or hundreds of other Saints. Most of what is claimed as Bible examples of speaking in tongues is actually the gift of another LANGUAGE.
Listen to Acts 2:2-6 (Living Bible) – “Suddenly there was a sound like
the roaring of mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the
house where they were meeting. What looked like flames or tongues of fire
appeared and settled on their heads. And everyone present was filled with
the Holy Spirit and began SPEAKING in languages they didn’t know for the Holy
Spirit gave them this ability.
And when they heard the roaring in the sky above the house, CROWDS CAME
RUNNING to see what it was all about and were stunned to hear their OWN
LANGUAGES being spoken by the disciples.”
That is how the Holy Spirit came to them. The same could and must happen to each of us today. The time is here. The Spirit is even now being poured out. Are you receiving it yet? If we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be filled with another spirit.
I would like to share with you something that I will never forget. It happened when I was about 11 years old. A young lady about 26 years old had been suffering from cancer for eight months. She was paralyzed and wasn’t able to walk. One Saturday night she asked her husband to take her to the Holy Ghost Pentecostal church. He did and carried her in through the door. The group there were with the spirit that night and excitement was high. Immediately that paralyzed lady began to preach and pray. She started talking in an unknown tongue. “I couldn’t understand her,” her husband said.
But in a few minutes she stopped, and then, as if a hand had raised her to her feet, she stood up and began to walk around. (Remember she had been paralyzed.) They were all praising the Lord about that time. Suddenly she darted from the church with her husband trailing behind her; but he couldn’t catch her. She kept running until she reached the highway, where upon she immediately jumped in front of a passing car. She was killed. (Newspaper- Houston Press, Nov. 17, 1952)
Here was a woman who went to a Holy Ghost meeting. She started speaking in tongues. She apparently seemed to be healed and then was lifted out of her seat and ran out and flung herself in front of a speeding car.
Could that be the Spirit of God? I can’t believe it. The spirit of the DEVIL leads to self destruction as in the case of the swine that ran into the sea. If the Holy spirit takes charge of our lives, then he will lead us to life in Christ. If the Evil spirit takes charge, he will lead us to the road of destruction. Let us make sure that we have the Holy Spirit in control of our lives. The Devil is now trying to counterfeit every truth of God. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14.
Our only safety is to be led by the Holy Spirit. I want to be a son of God. Don’t you?
The best way to detect a counterfeit twenty dollar bill is to KNOW THE GENUINE. To avoid being taken in by all the falsehoods and videos and cassette tapes and mimeographed sheets that come in the mail, what must you do? Must you wade through all that stuff? NO! You concentrate on knowing Jesus Christ. He is the truth. Study your Bible. Focus on Jesus. And someday when the counterfeit is placed in your hands, you will instantly know it is a fake. I saw a counterfeit bill one day and it only took a glance and I knew it was bad.
Sometimes I wish Jesus would keep the counterfeits of His truth out of circulation like the Bank tries to do with the bad money. You can’t go to the Bank and get any counterfeit money. So do your spiritual banking with Jesus! Invest in the truth. The truth is Jesus.
Jesus said: “I am the way the Truth and the Life.”
Stick with Jesus and you will not be deceived.
Sermon from McDonald Road SDA Church
Holiness unto the Lord
Story: Noah
God called a man named Noah Why? The Earth was full of SIN and Evil
Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
Genesis 6: 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD
• Doing something that everyone thinks you are crazy
Did you know that Noah preached the same sermon for 120 years: If the Pastor preached the same sermon for two or three Sabbaths in a row what do you think will happen?
Time to get honest here Everyone will start complaining right.
Noah was giving a Warning to the people of his day, Why because the cup of evil was full to the rim and running over
God did not just zap everyone out, He sent Noah to warn them and give them time to make a choice and save themselves.
Everyone had time to make ready, Everyone had time to study, Everyone had time to change their life style. But no one took the time to do anything but laugh at this crazy old man
The Garden of Eden was still on the earth and people could still go and see where it was and to know that it was because of Sin that they no longer had access to it.
One day something strange started to happen, Animals started to walk two be two out of the forest right into the Ark.
Sign after sign was giving but still no one believed
Till the great door of the Ark closed and probation also closed for the World
In everything Noah did he honored God and gave God the glory by his obedience and love for his creator, it was just too bad no one listened to what he was preaching
Let us Pray!
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Thousands of years ago, God gave a vision of what His people could be in contrast to the rest of the world around them.
In the book of Leviticus we see a holy God and we see what he thinks of all the evil around us and we find out what His plans are for His people.
Can God’s holiness give us hope? I’d like to share that message of hope with you today.
I invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Leviticus and we’ll look at a couple of Bible texts that emphasize God’s holiness.
First of all we’ll look at chapter 20, and I’d like to direct your attention to verses 22-23 and 26.
Verses 22-23 “You shall therefore keep all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them, that the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you; for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them.”
Let me explain what the problems was with the other Nations (The Sins of the others Nations has reach their limit and probation was fixing to close for them)
Now verse 26: “And you shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”
I would also like to point your attention to chapter 11.
Leviticus chapter 11:44, 45. “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
If you were to sum up those verses, what would you say the message is?
I believe we could summarize it this way:
The book of Leviticus is about the holiness of God versus the ugliness of Sin.
In fact, God’s holiness is a way to describe His pure loving character which is totally good and entirely separate from evil in any form.
And the more exalted our views about God’s holiness, the more we will not want to disgrace our holy God. Because the more we know Him, the more we will want to be like Him.
Now I’d like for us to look at Leviticus 19 for the sake of asking ourselves, “What is the holiness of God and what does it mean for us?”
Chapter 19, along with the other places it stresses that God wants us to be holy, because the Lord our God is holy. That’s in verse 2. I want us to notice how that theme is developed in this chapter.
In verse 3 it tells us that God wanted the Israelites to hold in the highest regard their mothers and fathers. To respect their mothers and fathers.
Gods commandment
If fact the 5th commandment in the book of Exodus 20: 12 tell us: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Have you ever seen a child treat his mother or father with disrespect? Yep
We all have! This is a day and age when there is very little cross-generational respect. We hear stories of parents killing their children and children killing their parents.
In Leviticus19: 3 God also says “Keep my Sabbaths.” Most people don’t even know what “rest” is, much less the Sabbath experience. (God gave Man rest) Man is Over Worked today!
Verse 4, Don’t turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods. They Can’t see, hear or walk.
Verse 11: You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. Stealing these days is a common thing to do, dealing falsely as well, and lying is easy for anyone.
Verse 13: You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him Not very many people care about their neighbors these days.
Verse 14: You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind.
You shall not hate your brother in your heart. And it goes on to tell us that there should be no grudges against people, but we should love our neighbors as ourselves. (19:17, 18) Forgiveness that’s a rare thing today It is one thing to forgive and another to forget.
Some of the things have changed since the days God spoke these words to Moses. Lev. 19:27, for example, tells men not to shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard.
The SDA Commentary is helpful for things like this. It tells us that at that time it was a common practice, as a sign of devotion to one’s pagan god to shave off some hair and offer it to his gods.
So shaving off the sides of the head or disfiguring the natural shape of the beard was a symbol for all to see that a person was devoted to a certain pagan god. So that’s not quite the same today, or maybe it’s in another form today, I don’t know.
Other things are still relevant, however.
Verse 31 says Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits. It’s common to hear of people that claim they can speak to your dead family member. Fortune tellers and channelers seek to give you extra-terrestrial wisdom. They claim they can give that.
• Have you notes that today more so then ever in the History of man, all the people who clime that they can speak to the dead.
That also clime they can tell the future: But they can’t tell what the lotto number will be next week.
Gods says don’t believe them, and don’t play on Satan’s ground
Verse 33 says Don’t mistreat strangers. In today’s society of suspicion and prejudice, do we really care about people we don’t know?
Leviticus 19:34 says “The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
Verse 35: You shall do no injustice in measurements of length, weight or volume. Don’t steal or cheat someone.
So what is God saying to us here? All of these admonitions, all of these commands, reflected God’s extreme dislike of the practices of society around us. Why would that be?
Because God is holy, and by nature hates anything having to do with the ugliness of sin. You see, God is not an arbitrary God.
God does not tell us not to do these things just because He doesn’t think we should do them, but because He doesn’t want those things to damage or kill us.
God wants His people to be different from the sinful society around them. He says You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Can you imagine living in a society in which
1. No one Cheats each other
2. Doors wouldn’t need to be locked because you could trust people.
3. People wouldn’t have to be scared of walking all alone in the dark.
4. People wouldn’t get kidnapped.
5. Kids wouldn’t become the victims of incest and abuse.
6. Women wouldn’t get raped.
7. Stores wouldn’t be robbed.
8. No one would have to go hungry.
9. People would care for each other.
10. There would be no adultery.
11. There would be no child pornography.
12. There would be no bribery.
13. And there would be no more politicians who care only about campaign contributions and saving their own jobs.
14. There would be no more deal-making behind closed doors of government
Why does all that sound so good? Is it perhaps because that picture, that dream, is so unlike our present reality?
The picture in our minds is what we want because we’re hungry for something that isn’t. We’re starving for a taste of what isn’t true today.
We’re so accustomed to most of the evil in society that we are unaware to the not-so-good that exists inside each of us.
Leviticus tells us that we have a God who is holy. He hates evil and sin, but He graciously loves us. He’s a holy God who cares so much for us that He wants to bring us from that evil, and save us from that and from the damage that sin brings to us.
Leviticus is about a God who cares enough about us to take us out of the dirt and the grime. To pick us up, dust us off, wash us and cleanse us, and polish and shine us with his love.
He is a God who wants us to be separate from the garbage that exists around us, garbage that is offensive, ugly and hateful.
I am thankful today that God’s plan is to restore us to His image so that we do what’s right because it is right. So God takes us out of the garbage of sin and tells us, “You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” (Leviticus 20:26).
You know that tells me that God values us.
I never used to think about God’s holiness as giving me hope that’s often because I don’t feel holy. Do you know what that’s like? Do you ever feel unholy? Maybe 10% of the time, or 5%? Or maybe rather it’s 99% of the time.
It has always been the love of God, God’s forgiveness, God’s patience, God’s grace and mercy that has meant a lot to me.
But after studying the book of Leviticus, I see it very differently. And I see that there is a purpose and a message behind it all. And God’s holiness is that message.
In all of God’s pure, loving goodness. God can’t stand evil in any shape or form. And even though evil exists inside each one of us, God has His plan to get rid of that evil.
The sacrifices in the book of Leviticus communicated that. Jesus’ death was the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan to cleanse us from evil so we could be His people. And we could be His people in complete freedom once again.
God’s call to His holiness gives me hope because it means that we are all valuable to Him and He has a plan to heal us from the damage of sin.
He calls us to escape the sin and corruption that is in this world, because we are valuable to Him. God really does have something much better in mind for us.
STORY: Imelda Harrison and her sisters had made reservations to stay in a motel in the town of Yulee, Florida, in a very out-of-the-way place.1
Instead of rooms, it had cabins set way back from the highway. Imelda had an uneasy feeling about the place, but they had already taken care of their luggage, and her sisters were lying on the bed, resting.
It had been a long day, and all they wanted to do was to stretch out and relax. Soon, however, they heard a lot of cussing and swearing coming from the other side of the duplex cabin.
There was a door going from their side of the cabin to the other, with only a slide lock on the door. They could not hear every word being said, but they heard enough to know that the man was talking about them!
When they had first arrived, a car had been parked on their side of the cabin, and her sister Arlene had gone to knock on the door to ask the man to please move his car out of their way.
He had been sleeping and was wearing only his under garments when he came to the door, cussing and swearing at her.
Well, he got dressed and moved the automobile. But Arlene noticed a pistol on his night stand and mentioned it to the others.
Yet she still felt as if they would be safe enough with the doors locked. Imelda didn’t share her feelings, and was sure that they could be murdered if they didn’t get out immediately.
She eventually tried to talk her other sisters into packing up and getting out of there, but they just didn’t seem to want to be bothered at eleven o’clock at night.
She started to pray for something to happen to change their minds. Suddenly she heard them both scream at the top of their lungs.
She looked and saw something green in the middle of their bed! A lizard had jumped from the windowsill onto the bed, leaping right between them.
They packed up and were out of there in twenty minutes. They went ten miles down the road and rented another room at a motel that appeared much safer.
As they were registering at the desk, the woman said to them, “At a motel about ten miles down the road, there have been several unsolved murders committed in the last few months.”
When she mentioned the name of the place, it was the same motel they had just left. So Imelda thanked the Lord for sending the lizard to drive her sisters out of there.
God wants us to escape the corruption in the world, the evil. He has something better in mind for us. He has a better “hotel” for us to stay in.
And He will use whatever is necessary to motivate us to leave our ugly world of sin.
He offers you and me an escape from evil! With His loving holiness God rescues us from evil.
My prayer is that we may all choose to be, by God’s grace, His holy people.
One thing I have always found is that History repeats it’s self, time and time again, why because God keeps giving mankind chance after chance.
But like in the days of Noah time is running out and the great door of salvation will soon once again close forever
Those who Honor and give God the glory by doing what He said to do, and Keeping his words and Laws and taking on Gods Holiness will be saved.
Why because God is Holy and like Noah, we can find Grace in the sight of a Holy God.
Forgiveness is free But not Cheap!
He Died for YOU
Kim and her six year old son prepared to eat dinner at a restaurant and her son asked if he could say grace. As they bowed their heads, he said “God is good God is great, Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if mom gets us ice cream for dessert and liberty and justice for all! Amen.”
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby; Kim heard a woman remark, “That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why I never!”
Hearing this, her son burst into tears and asked, “Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?”
As his mother held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at the boy and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.” “Really?” her son asked. “Cross my heart,” the man replied.
Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started the whole thing), “Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”Naturally, of course, Kim ordered ice cream for her son at the end of the meal. What happened next came as a complete surprise. Kim explained.
“My son stared at his ice cream a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, ‘Here, this is for you, Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good already.’“The story illustrates the power our words may have upon others, either for good or for bad.
It seems to me that since we want to be ready for Jesus’ coming, we will also want to make the best use of our time. And since part of that preparation involves encouraging and strengthening our fellow believers, and our family members, we will want to be very careful in what we say.
The Bible emphasizes these themes clearly. Satan is like a lion seeking whom he may devour. Troublous times are coming, it tells us. The Lord is coming. Time is indeed a precious commodity. How we treat each other is an important part of that preparation.
Let us Prayer !
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Luke 24: 6-7
6: He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7: Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Have you every got something for free?
Somehow every time someone tells me this is free, I find out later that it cost me something in the end.
I had once had a phone call once and the guy on the other end said Hi Mr McNab I have great new for you today, you just won and all expense paid Vacation for two, to the beautiful island of Jamaica.
He said how does that sound I said well that sounds great.
He then started to tell me more about the package and other things I could do while there in Jamaica.
After we were on the phone for about 15 minuets and got all the stuff needed out of the way, he said now all I need to do is to forward him $139.00 for the processing fee and I will be on my way.
Then I said, I thought you said it was free, $139.00 is not free to me.
There is only one thing in this world that is Free and that is salvation, WHY ?
Because Jesus gave his life for you and gave it to you for Free.
But it was not free to God dears Son, he would have to paid the price for you,
Free to you, but it cost the life of God dear son.
John 1
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. The same was in the beginning with God.
3. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
If God is so good and if God is so wonderful WHY?
Why did God permit Sin?
Why did he create the earth?
Why did he permit our firth parent to sin?
Why did he make me?
The only answer I have is because of Love
It is a hard question to understand unless you understand what true Love really is all about.
STORY: The Prodigal Son
STORY: The Father Love for his Son
Truth is we are all like the Prodigal Son and God the father is waiting for us and rejoice when one his children except Jesus sacrifice on the cross and come home.
Because the Father Loved his children, even when they ran away His love followed after them, the Father did not say well that’s over, He stayed waiting for the return of his runaway Children
Satan is always trying to keep us from knowing one thing, how much God cares and Loves us.
A few years ago there was a young girl, who brought a friend to church,
As the friend heard the pastor and how much Jesus loves her. This young girl gave her life to God and was baptize.
When the parents found out about it they got angry and got a layer and sue the church. The Court was in favor of the parents because the girl was only 16 and considered a miner
You don’t need parental permission in this country to get an Abortion but you do need it to get Baptize. How amazing!
Is there something wrong with this Picture? How far have our morals falling in this country
When Noah finished building the Ark, the great door in the side was open and Noah said to the people.
There is safety only in the Ark; soon there will come a flood to destroy the earth.
But no one went in Why? Everyone was too busy with the cares of this world to believe a foolish old man about something that never happened before. Really Rain like if water will float up to the sky and fall down again, impossible.
They all said He is just a crazy foolish old man as everyone laugh at him.
When you except Jesus as your savior can you expect to have problems too.
Why 1Peter: 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
We will have problems but Jesus will be there to help us through.
Remember Peter for only one second took his eye off Jesus and he started to sink. And like Peter all we have to do is say Lord save me.
Satan will put many roadblocks in our way even people we know. He will use every means possible to lead us the wrong way. And a way from the finish line “away from God.”
Satan hates Jesus and he hates people who love Jesus all the same.
For three and a half-year the deciple followed Christ, yes they loved him. They were also proud to be associated with him.
Jesus said one day let us go to Jerusalem, There the son of man will be betrayed and they will kill him but I will “rise again the third day”.
As Jesus made his way in to Jerusalem his deciple were full of joy as they heard the people saying Ho-san-na blessed is he that comet in the name of the Lord.
Now they thought that Jesus would take his place as King of Israel “But he did not”
And only a few days later in the upper room, After washing the deciple feet and breaking bread and giving them the cup that would represent his blood shed for all mankind.
He said one of you will betray me. When we Sin we too betray Jesus
They could not believe what he just said. “Who witch one of them?”
STORY: In the garden 3 times Jesus came looking for someone who understood
The arrest filthy men put there hands on him as if he were a Thief
The trial they beat him and spit on him
Hung on a cross He said Father forgive them for they no not what they do.
Jesus disciples were there watching him as he hung on the cross. They could not believe that he would let himself be crucified.
All there hopes all their dreams of Jesus being King and they by his side.
There had hoped that he would redeem Israel from the grip of Rome.
But now every thing hung on the cross.
As they looked, they heard Jesus say IT IS FINISH and bow his head and died.
Their hearts almost stop beating when there realized that Jesus was now dead.
Is it over, is it all over they though to themselves.
There minds were so blinded by Jesus death that there did not remember Jesus saying the 3rd day I will rise again
John 19:31
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
That Sabbath day was a special Sabbath day
It was a hi-day “it was the Sabbath and a feast Sabbath” making it a Hi-Sabbath
Death by the cross was slow and the Jews did not won’t the body of Jesus hanging were all could see what religious leaders done.
Jesus Disciples watched as Joseph and Nickodemos remove the body of Jesus and place it in a tomb and seal it.
In the book of Luke 24:1-7
1. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices, which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6. He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7. Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
That evening two of the disciples were walking, and as they walk they did not noted the man walking with them.
Till he said what kind of communications are these that ye have one to another, as walk and are sad
One said to him art thou only a stranger here in Jerusalem and have you not know what had come to pass in the last days.
Jesus said what things
Luke 24:
21. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the “third day” since these things were done.
Jesus looked with love in his heart and said O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
They felt hope as he talks for it is what Jesus would have said
As they reach there home they invited him in but he did not except but they said the day is far-spent come and enter and spend the night
So Jesus went in (our savior does not force himself on anyone) he will come in only when he is invited to.
As they sat for the evening meal they look
Their companion spreads forth his hand in the exactly the same way their master used to do.
They look again and low they now see in his hands the prints of NAILS
Both exclaim at once it is the lord Jesus. But he vanished out of sight.
As they look at each other and said did not our heart burned with in us as he talked with us.
They go to tell the others
When they find the disciples and knock for entrance and the door open for them and another unseen enter in with them.
As the disciples tell that they seen Jesus and how he open the scripture to them and was know in the braking of bread.
They heard a voice saying PEACE BE UNTO YOU.
They started back in terror for his radiance fills the place; Love was shining from him it was coming out his face.
Then he spoke the word of love that left no need for douth, and just because he knew our heart he spoke our feeling out.
Why are you so troubled why are you in fear; see my hand and see my feet for I my self am here. Reach out now and handle me till all of you been shore.
My life is more then spirit for I am here in flesh and bones.
Before Christ left he made a promise that he will come back for all that believed in him
STORY; The little Girl and her new doll
She wonted to give the best she had
God the Father gave the best heaven could give his son Jesus Christ
God gave his life for all who by Faith will believe & Trust in Him
What a shame that so many will pass-up the opportunity to accept Jesus as their savior and accept His free gift of eternity Life.
All because they are too busy with the cares of this world to believe a foolish story about something they believe never happened. A God dyeing for me impossible, they are all crazy and foolish people, as the world laugh.
But when the door of the ark closed and it started to rain, it was too late.
Forgiveness is free for who will believe, but it was not cheap! Jesus had to die to pay the price for you and me.
D5 Creation
