by Pastor Mike Taylor
Romans8: 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
1st Peter 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."
Anxiety is building in this nation, and for that matter, all over the world. Fear grips the average human being, as they see events that they have no control over. It doesn't matter if it's in Greece, Spain, Portugal in the EU or right here in the USA, men are fearful. They know that this is an unprecedented time of turmoil and signs of impending doom. Men are behaving like animals and evil grows exponentially, as we grow closer and closer to the end of this age as we witnessed crimes of unspeakable horror in the recent news coverage of the rampage of demonic possessed individuals, who executed the innocent in schools, theaters, and shopping malls. The culture has gone mad.
The powers that be look for a culprit to blame. They blame guns, they blame the social haters, and they blame those that hold onto those guns and their religion, namely Christian Conservatives. They wish to infringe on our Constitutionally given rights that were written by men who feared God, and knew that any government, even theirs that they were forming could become despotic.
We see the sin of homosexuality with it's push for same sex marriage making strides for public approval. We continue to see abortion unabated and Planned Parenthood boasting that they terminated the life of another baby, every 94 seconds last year.
WE see a government that has grown corrupt, and I prayed the past administration would at least slow down the slide of this nation into chaos and oblivion. Congress has become impotent to stay the powers who are moving this country into a more Socialistic-Communistic form of a New World Order.
It was reported that the brainiacs in Washington have come up with a great idea of minting a trillion dollar platinum coin, so “poof”, no more debt. Great idea, except it raising inflation by an untold percentage and gives our line of credit to participate in the global economy as being “funny money.”
We could go on and on mentioning the symptoms of the economic collapse, as well as the societal collapse of this nation and reaching all around the world of nations having the exact same problems, just more of them. But that is in an other sermon you can read on this site. But the point here is, there was a Blood Red Moon Rising over the earth recently. We saw others in the not too distant past, and now we see signs that point to a possible fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets this fall. We saw a "total eclipse" of the sun that was only be for the central USA. It has never happened before. Is it a sign of foreboding of the coming wrath of God? Will it begin to happen this fall? We don't know, but this sign of the eclipse is but another sign in the heavens that 'something" big is about to happen...we just pray and watch.
MAKE YOUR FOUNDATION THE “ROCK”
It's a exciting time to live in, but anxiety producing for those who don't have a firm foundation on where their strength lies. I have brothers and sisters who email me with searching questions on how to prepare for what is coming. I am a firm believer and have always been that God allows nothing to come against His chosen children, the church, a people taken for His name, unless is for their benefit and their spiritual maturity. I have also come to believe that God is not interested in our comfort, but in our being ready to reign and rule with Jesus Christ for a 1000 years, and on into eternity.
When the cares of this life seem to weigh in on any of us, and I'm not immune, I counsel my congregation to look to the Bible for their strength and their foundation of coping. I have been telling each of them, when things get rough around your community, your town, or your state, then it is a time to grab onto the promises of God and remind Him of those promises. OH, He knows what He promised, but He wants to hear that you believe that He will do what He said. Inspiration and strength has always been drawn from two chapters in the bible for me, in particular, but not exclusive, as the whole bible is designed to encourage and to lead us into righteous living, but for me Psalm 91 and Romans chapter 8, have special promises of protection and looking forward to our heavenly home.
Let's take a moment to draw strength from these two chapters that have distinct promises of divine protection and Christian hope for a glorious future. Let us take a few verses from each, but I encourage you to read these chapters prayerfully and without doubt. I ask that you claim those promises, as God cannot lie. He just wants you to reach out to Him and draw nigh to Him.
Psalm 91:2 "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday."
Just as a hen gathers her chicks during a storm, or for protection against terrors surrounding them, our Father wishes to draw us unto Himself and protect us. Terror that is all around us (ie). Islam terrorist, Washington bureaucrats, World Health Organization, and even widening debt and deficit spending, not to mention a society in decay, we have no need to be afraid. Why? God is in control and His Word will not come back to Him void. He said it, it will be done!
MATTHEW HENRY SPEAKS ON PSALM 91
Matthew Henry has a great commentary on Psalm 91, and I would like to share it with you.
"He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine grace from the temptations of Satan, which are as the snares of the fowler, and from the contagion of sin, which is a noisome pestilence. Great security is promised to believers in the midst of danger. Wisdom shall keep them from being afraid without cause, and faith shall keep them from being unduly afraid. Whatever is done, our heavenly Father's will is done; and we have no reason to fear. God's people shall see, not only God's promises fulfilled, but his threatenings. Then let sinners come unto the Lord upon his mercy-seat, through the Redeemer's name; and encourage others to trust in him also."
AS you read this marvelous chapter of God's Word, it should give you hope that you are not alone, but He walks right there with you. You become a little fearful with the latest report of a disaster or a shooting, or crime in your area, open your bible and read this chapter and claim it in it's promised message. I leave my family bible open at all times to this chapter, to remind God that I trust His Word, and His protection at any time. The bible is full of promises that tell the truth about God's protection to the true believer. Many Chrisitians wring their hands and wonder what is coming down the pike for us all. But you know what? It doesn't matter, as He will prepare you for whatever comes. This side of the tribulation, we could see many natural disasters in this country of the USA, as it's happening all over the world. Many people will die, as many have already died. Some needlessly, but some because they have shaken their fist at God and God just might have removed His hand of protection from them and allowed them to go their own way and their demise was chance and circumstance.
Liberal thinkers who don't need God, have no one to turn to when the times get rough, unless they repent of their sinful deeds. But not so with the believer in Jesus Christ. Going on in this same chapter of Psalms, the Psalmist writes a promise given to a child of God.
7 "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling."
Wow, has it ever made you wonder why evil is all around you, but it hasn't touched your life? How many stories could I print of testimonies of men and women in harm's way were spared because they called out to God? But my brother and sister, there is a small catch to that protection. See Verse 1 of this chapter that started this sermon. You must be right next to His altar, under His shadow, under His wings, and staying close to God. You can't be out willy nilly living the life of this world, feeding your flesh with diverse pleasures, as that is a sure invitation for God to reprimand you and allow evil to enter your life.
But it doesn't have to be so. God wishes to be with you in times of trial and even persecution.
11 "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation."
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befall, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They, by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mean time be with him in trouble. The Lord will manage all his worldly concerns, and preserve his life on earth, so long as it shall be good for him.
For encouragement in this he looks unto Jesus. He shall live long enough; till he has done the work he was sent into this world for, and is ready for heaven. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? A man may die young, yet be satisfied with living. But a wicked man is not satisfied even with long life. At length the believer's conflict ends; he has done for ever with trouble, sin, and temptation.
Did you catch that from what is quoted above? Nothing can come against us, unless God allows it for our personal growth in spirit and maturity within His coming Kingdom. The devil can't touch us if we are within His protective circle, which is right up against His altar, His Throne. He may test our metal, but He will not allow anything to adversely effect us that He doesn't know that will make us stronger in Him.
My brothers and sisters, what do we have to fear? Nothing is the answer. Getting back to a little bit of the anxiety that people email me about. Who do you trust? We can't trust our government any more. We can't trust our elected officials or political parties, not even the defunct Tea Party. We can't trust people in general, especially if you get into the big cities. Men have seem to become more ferocious in this desire to inflict pain and lash out at others. Was a time you could hitch hike down the interstate, which I never encouraged even my brother who thought it was a great way to travel, but times have changed. You don't hitchhike, and you don't pick up hitchhikers. Society has changed and not for the better. There is a large number of things you just don't do anymore, because society has become corrupt in general and your own unsaved neighbor will sell you for ten bucks. That's a sad commentary, but society has proven it to be so. The love for one another has grown cold. Only the True Believer supports one another in love and genuine concern for their good.
A GLORIOUS FUTURE JUST OVER THE HORIZON
But we have a glorious promise that is found in Romans chapter 8 and the most favorite part of that chapter is from verse 28 to the end of the chapter. Can you not see that we have nothing to fear? Reread the opening verses of this sermon and see that God only allows good to come to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Read the whole chapter, but focus in on the last of this chapter..Look at v. 31-32,
31 "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all thing."
He will give us all things, whatsoever we ask believing, He will do it if being in our best interest and in His divine Will. He knows what is good for us, will protect us, and what will make us grow as Christian people. He then ends the chapter will a powerful promise, that proves that we will never be alone in this life, as long as we stay close to Him.
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."
Again, I ask you, what have we to fear? Nothing! God will lead us into green pastures, as the Psalmist wrote in chapter 23.
23 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (we lack for nothing due to His Goodness)
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.( He blesses us with needs for our everyday lives)
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (He is forever by our sides)
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (even though trouble is afflicting us, He will bring us through it and we will be better for it)
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (We cannot contain the blessings of God)
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." ( the blessing of the Lord are plentiful until He brings us home to receive a greater reward for being steadfast and faithful)
PROMISES NOT MADE TO THE WORLD
Now my reader, I must deal with the negative side of not following what I've outlined up to now. In past sermons, I have ventured into the demise of our country, as we have gone the way of Sodom and Gomorrah and certain destruction will come down on our heads, or God would have to apologize to Sodom for bringing down fire and brimstone about them. As the world grows worse and worse, and our home is on the horizon and we wait for the trumpet sound and Jesus to say “Come up here,” we may see the symptoms of judgment beginning to come to pass on this nation and all nations around the world. We can expect more “accidents”, more natural disasters, more crime, and more moral and economic woes coming fast and furious. These break neck events will make men's hearts very anxious, but they haven't seen anything yet! God told us though the apostle John what is coming upon mankind, when the wrath of God is poured out on the rebellious nations. But never fear, my brethren, God has not appointed us to wrath...He said so in 1st Thessalonians
5:9 " For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
This is a clear indication of the church being removed out of the way, before God's wrath is released on this earth in all earnest. We may see, and it is not revealed how much we will see, but we WILL NOT see the destruction of 3/4 of every living thing that grows on this planet....that's every tree, green grass, sea creatures and the water they live in, animals, and including 3/4 of mankind to the tune of 6 billion people slaughtered in divine judgment. The horrific depiction of the carnage would make any sane man's hair stand up on the back of his neck and head. Evil will reign supreme on this earth for 7 short years with the worst of the evil in the last 3.5 years, known as the Great Tribulation. Men, women and children will die by the thousands into the millions in a very short time.
Can you image the pain and suffering endured by mankind during those awful years? What's going on now will look like a picnic compared to that time. Some of the graphics descriptions of men's pain and suffering include being stung by demons repeatedly for 5 months begging to die, but they cannot. Another sign is great sores that come upon men who have the mark of the beast on their foreheads Revelation 16:11,
" and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.,"
Or how about the sun scorching men with great heat. Of course great heat will produce great famine, as everything will die. But men will curse God, instead of repenting of this wickedness.
Revelation 16:9, "And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory."
Great hailstones raining down on the earth that weigh upwards of 100# each...unheard of? Get ready, Revelation 16:21,
"From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible."
You want to get yourself in a depressed state, and totally in awe, read the 16th chapter of Revelation. This imagery is easy to understand and is not symbolism at all, but will be a literal event to come to all who dwell upon the earth in wickedness. As had been written, the time of the end is close at hand, when I say the end, I mean the end of the age of Grace. God's grace will have run out. God's people have suddenly vanished from the face of the earth. Don't believe it? Wait around, should you be so foolish, I guarantee that you will, as the bible has been 100% accurate into modern times. There is no reason to believe that the events depicted in Revelation will not be fulfilled in their entirety. Woe to you if you are still here.
Revelation,
12 "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!"
As my sister, Donna Wasson wrote recently, “Are you in, or are you out?”. You ask how do I get in? Oh, that's easy. All it takes is faith and repentance. Faith in what? John 3:16-18,
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."
Realize that you are a sinner, as it is written, Romans,
23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Accept His free offer of grace and mercy, Ephesians 2,
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
God through His Son is offering you the keys to eternal life, the golden ring (so to speak) on the merry-go round...reach and out and take it. It's entirely free. All you have to do is admit you need it, and Him. Believe He died for you and for me and was raised to life and lives today and is coming back for His people chosen for His name. When this happens then my friend, if you do not possess the “golden ring” of Jesus Christ, the Tribulation is your reward of 7 years of literal hell on earth...not meant to scare, but to warn you of your condition and the remedy. Because, if you are sensitive to the times that are coming upon us, you know within your mind and you heart, that a Blood Moon has Risen and a full eclipse came, which could be full of the wrath of God coming in God's sovereign time. It's that dread you feel within your spirit, that pulls within your mind and threatens to send you into despair and madness. I beseech you, to present yourself to Christ a broken and contrite heart asking, no pleading for forgiveness. And you know what, He will grant the request for all eternity.
8 "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:8-13)
This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying the salvation of our and Savior Jesus Christ comes into each of your hearts and minds. If you need counseling, prayer, or just a listening ear. Email me at pastormiketaylor@yahoo.com, this is me praying God's blessing on you all,
till we meet at Jesus feet.
