Hope in Perilous Times

A professor was giving a lesson on pain and stress management. He raised a cup of water and asked his, How much does this cup of water weigh?” “Twenty ounces. “, said one student. “Eight ounces”, “Sixteen ounces”, “Twelve ounces” answered other students. The professor smiled and explained, “It doesn’t really matter what it’s absolute weight is. It’s heaviness really depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minutes, it’s not to heavy. If I hold it for an hour, my arm will start to ache. If I hold it for a day……you may need to call an ambulance! It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it gets!”
The professor went on to explain, “If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier. What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.”
When life seems impossible, it is often hard to cope. What seems impossible for us is never impossible for God. It is important to follow God’s directions and to listen to His wisdom–applying these things to our lives. Sometimes it is as simple as seeking Godly advice that provides a workable solution that maybe hasn’t been considered.
In seeking refuge in Jesus and seeking His advice, we are able to begin to let the pain go, in effect, putting the glass down. His advice will be to forgive, to humble our hearts, to soften our hearts, and often to sublimate the pain by focusing on others and other task. In these ways we are letting the pain go or putting it down and finding rest from the burden of it’s weight.

Text: 

1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Matthew 11:28-30  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

I.                   A Negative Example:  The Rich Young Ruler Chose to Retain His Burdens

Matt. 19 Mark 10 Luke 18

·        Pride

o   Wealth

o   Position

o   Reputation

·        Religion

·        Responsibility

II.                A Positive Example:  The Woman at the Well (John 4) Gladly Released Her Burdens

·        Sin

·        Reputation

·        Guilt

Transition:  In perilous times, if we carry heavy burdens, we will surely despair.  If we cast our cares on Him, we have great reason to hope!

 III.             Perilous Times Can Become Powerful Times

·        Economy – Obamacare - Unemployment

·        Social Problems – Crime – Immorality – World Gone Wild

 Ephesians 6:12  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Psalm 37:25  I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

•           The righteous remnant is a Biblical principle which guarantees the church’s survival.

•           It is not a time for gloom and despair; it is a time to stand firm and pray.

CONSIDER THE EXAMPLE of God's judgment on Sodom, and Abraham's intercession on their behalf:  ABRAHAMS NEGOTIATED THE NUMBER DOWN TO 10. God would have spared Sodom for 10 righteous persons. There are far more than 10 righteous saints in America!

 IV.      The Church Cannot be Defeated

•                     The White Star shipping company thought the Titanic was unsinkable

•                     Adolph Hitler thought the Third Reich would rule 1,000 years

•                     Stalin thought Communism would rule all the Earth

•                     Christopher Columbus thought the Earth was flat

•                     The Claims of this world often fall flat

·        BUT we have a MORE EXCELLENT knowledge in Christ!

UPON THIS ROCK I shall build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!

Conclusion:  Call to Action! 

2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

•           Set our burdens down and take up HIS cross!  A nation will stand or fall on our prayers!

 

Attitude Effects Everything

Matthew 5:3   Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

Joe Theismann enjoyed an illustrious 12-year career as quarterback of the Washington Redskins. He led the team to two Super Bowl appearances--winning in 1983 before losing the following year. When a leg injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was entrenched in the record books as Washington's all-time leading passer. Still, the tail end of Theismann's career taught him a bitter lesson: I got stagnant. I thought the team revolved around me. I should have known it was time to go when I didn't care whether a pass hit Art Monk in the 8 or the 1 on his uniform. When we went back to the Super Bowl, my approach had changed. I was griping about the weather, my shoes, practice times, everything. Today I wear my two rings--the winner's ring from Super Bowl XVII and the loser's ring from Super Bowl XVIII. The difference in those two rings lies in applying oneself and not accepting anything but the best. 

Philippians 2.1-4,14-16  Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

I.                   YOUR ATTITIUDE IS A DECISION:  CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY

a.     A chicken lays one egg and cackles about it, while a salmon lays ten thousand eggs and doesn’t say a word.   A former heavyweight boxing champion boasted, “I am the greatest.” The apostle Paul boasted, “I am the least.”

b.     A boy was skating on one skate.  A man saw him and said, “Don’t you know that you’re supposed to skate on 2 skates?”     The boy said, “Someone stole my other skate, and that’s why I’m skating on one.”      As the man walked away, the boy yelled, “Hey Mister!  Did you know that you can still have a lot of fun on just one skate?”     You have a choice.  You can get mad at the person who stole your skate, or you can keep having fun on just one skate.

Philippians 4:8-9 ESV Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

II.                 YOUR ATTITUDE EFFECTS EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he . . .

·        A grouchy man walked into a cafe.  After sitting down, he couldn't find on the menu what he was hungry for. Ten minutes passed and still no one had waited on him. Finally he yelled to a waitress who was walking by, "Hey! Do you serve crabs here?"   She said, "Yes, sir. I'll serve you in a minute."

III.              YOUR ATTITUDE IS CONTAGIOUS

Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or.... I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it’s not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live your life." I reflected on what Michael said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter, "Michael replied.”Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read "he’s a dead man. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me. Said Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything.”Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that everyday we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34 After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Are you like Michael?

Conclusion:  JESUS HAD A HUMBLE, SERVING ATTITUDE:  He is our role model for Attitude.

Wise Men Still Seek Him

Matt 2:1-2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."


Después de nacer Jesús en Belén de Judea, en tiempos del rey Herodes, he aquí, unos magos del oriente llegaron a Jerusalén, diciendo: 2 ¿Dónde está el Rey de los judíos que ha nacido? Porque vimos su estrella en el oriente y hemos venido a adorarle.

Intro.: The Wise Men were looking for a Savior, and they recognized the sign of Jesus. They followed that sign until the found Jesus. When they found HIM they worshipped HIM with very costly offerings. Our challenge is to still be seeking the sign of the Savior, to do whatever it takes to get to where Jesus is, and to worship HIM with our very best gifts. This is our highest calling.

Matt 6:31-34 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

NOTHING ELSE MATTERS UNLESS WE SEEK THE KING & HIS WILL FOR US

I. I See His Star Shining Once Again

Tim. 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Matthew 24:42,44 “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. . . . Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh”

The ungodliness of this generation is the surest sign of Christ’s imminent return!

Every biblical prophecy regarding the end times has been fulfilled except for the rapture of the Church

Jesus is coming again soon & very soon. Wise men are seeking HIM!

While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!" They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, 'The boss may come today.'"



II. Push Aside Every Obstacle

Hebrews 12:1 kjv Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Fight the Crowd, like the woman with the flow of blood

Touch the hem of HIS Garment



III. Bring an Offering to the KING

Geneses 4:3-5 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

Come looking for HIM but don’t come empty handed

Don’t bring HIM a 2nd class offering

Don’t go cheap on GOD!

Bring HIM the first born of your flocks, and see how the favor of GOD brings victory into your life!



Conclusion: Wise men still seek HIM. His star is shining once again in our generation. Push through every obstacle, set aside every distraction, and bring an offering into the presence of the Most High King.

Finding faith from skepticism

I was reading Exodus this morning, and the first bits of Leviticus.  I was reading from a skeptical point of view, not because I have doubts, but because I am always looking for a better defense of my faith.  As I read about the sacrifices, I noticed that all of the really choice portions of the offerings got to be eaten by the priests.  I thought about the liberal critics and their scoffing attitude towards the WORD, and I saw a real opportunity for the skeptics to jump all over this.  From a critical, doubting perspective, it looked like Moses set up the Tabernacle and the priestly sacrifice to benefit himself and his family.  He and his close relatives got the best food the nation could provide, wore the finest garments in all of Israel, and held tremendous authority and power over the people.  Then I got to chapter ten.  Leviticus 10:1,2  Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
Aaron was the High Priest and his four sons were priests.  This was the very beginning of the priestly ministry for Israel, and two of his sons were killed by God for not following Moses' exact instructions for worship, as given by God.  Now I really started thinking!  To whom much is given, much is required.  Sure, the priests got to eat well and dress finely, but what a responsiblity they assumed!  Every time they handled the Lord's sacrifice or performed the rituals of the Tabernacle, they were literally putting their lives on the line.  Another verse came to mind:  A workman is worthy of his hire. 
Moses didn't set up the priestly order and Israel's sacrificial system to benefit his family:  his family paid dearly to answer God's call upon them!
I approached the scripture with skepticism and came away with greater faith!  When we approach God's word honestly, HIS word can handle the close examination and build our faith.  It isn't wrong to question, or even to doubt, as long as we keep seeking until we find truth.
In the end, the word of God is living and sharper than a two edged sword, and well able to answer our doubts and fill our hearts with ever greater faith.

Do you believe in modern Prophets & Apostles?

I recently picked up a Charisma magazine. Generally, I have very literal interest in what's going on in the church world beyond my own neighborhood. I stay loosely informed, but I despise christian fads. What struck me from Charisma was the preponderance of Prophets, Apostles, and other minor deities. In Lystra, Paul and Barnabas were extremely vehement about not allowing the people to worship them. It appears to me that there is a massive movement in charismatic circles today to solicit worship for the preachers. Some of the ideas are fantastic, such as armor bearers. But, the potential for abuse is real and appears to me to be a common pattern.


Is this a WOF thing or part of the broader charismatic world? The whole concept of SUPERSTAR preachers is antithetical to the gospel.

I seem to recall a worship leader named Lucifer who began to crave the anointing of his Master.

Am I wrong? I have never met anyone whom I thought would qualify as an Apostle. Everyone I know of who has called themself Prophet or Prophetess "X" has had an easily exposed track record of false prophecies which were never fulfilled. I am not saying there are not prophets and apostles among us: I am saying that men and women with that type of anointing in their lives are unlikely to have the hubris to label themselves as such.

Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier, Text Suggests

Scientists have discovered the earliest known Hebrew writing - an inscription dating from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David's reign.
The breakthrough could mean that portions of the Bible were written centuries earlier than previously thought. (The Bible's Old Testament is thought to have been first written down in an ancient form of Hebrew.)
Until now, many scholars have held that the Hebrew Bible originated in the 6th century B.C., because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back no further. But the newly deciphered Hebrew text is about four centuries older, scientists announced this month.
"It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research," said Gershon Galil, a professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel, who deciphered the ancient text.
BCE stands for "before common era," and is equivalent to B.C., or before Christ.
The writing was discovered more than a year ago on a pottery shard dug up during excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel's Elah valley. The excavations were carried out by archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. At first, scientists could not tell if the writing was Hebrew or some other local language.
Finally, Galil was able to decipher the text. He identified words particular to the Hebrew language and content specific to Hebrew culture to prove that the writing was, in fact, Hebrew.
"It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as asah ('did') and avad ('worked'), which were rarely used in other regional languages," Galil said. "Particular words that appear in the text, such as almanah ('widow') are specific to Hebrew and are written differently in other local languages."
The ancient text is written in ink on a trapezoid-shaped piece of pottery about 6 inches by 6.5 inches (15 cm by 16.5 cm). It appears to be a social statement about how people should treat slaves, widows and orphans. In English, it reads (by numbered line):
1' you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].
2' Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]
3' [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]
4' the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.
5' Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.
The content, which has some missing letters, is similar to some Biblical scriptures, such as Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3, and Exodus 23:3, but does not appear to be copied from any Biblical texts.

Clara Moskowitz

LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com clara Moskowitz

livescience.com

Fri Jan 15, 9:40 am ET

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The Stranger

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.
As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the Word of God, and Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries, and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening.
He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill, and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars.
The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up - while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places - go to her room, read her Bible, and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave.
You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house-not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted.
My Dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home not even for cooking. But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (too much, too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man/woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.
As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave.
More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. But if I were to walk into my parents' den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?......We always just called him...TV.