I’m going to show you how old I am, I remember going out to my uncles house when he bought a colored TV & seeing a show in color for the first time

I remember the milk man delivering milk in bottles to our insulated tin box

a computer was some space age idea

A microwave if it was ever developed, would give you cancer

a cell phone was in a James Bond movie

a rocket with men on it to the moon was some futuristic mad mans idea

if you picked up the phone, you might have to wait until people got done with their conversation & then it would be your turn

when we went to the store, bubble gum was a penny, candy bar was a nickle

I fell out the door of the car as mom went around the corner, because I was playing with the door handle & very few cars had seat belts & if it did, no one wore them

my first car had a 8 track tape but then I updated to a cassette player

times have changed to say the least

fact is, everything we remember has changed, cars, homes, trains, planes, clothing, phones

& there doesn’t seem to be many weeks that go by that we don’t see more changes

& some are so fast that what comes out today can be obsolete with-in a couple of more days

but there are some things that have never changed

God has never changed, he is still pure & holy

Satan has never changed, he is still as wicked & evil as he has ever been

& mankind has never changed, the sin that he chose in the beginning is still the same old sin that he is choosing today

you can read about things man did 100 yrs ago, & today he’s still doing those same things

some say, man has gotten so much smarter, no, not really

same stupid decisions that were made in the garden of Eden are still the same dumb decisions that are being made today

I look at the powers that be who think their so wise & the things their trying to change is some new revolutionary idea

but these ideas are as old as the world is, man has always been on a road to power & control the bible is full of examples of people on power trips

I Kgs 16: 30-33

we always hear about how evil Jezabel was, and we don’t hear much of how doubly evil her husband was also, what Ahab didn’t think of, Jazabel did

but isn’t true many times you have some rotten guy & he’ll meet some rotten girl & they’ll start to date & if they get married they produce rotten children

there have been many evil couples throughout history; Mr & Mrs Haman, Herod & Herodias, Ptolemy Dionysius & Cleopatra; Philip I of Spain & Bloody Mary

there was also several couples where the wife was the dominant one who had diabolical schemes

Catherine de’Medici & Henry – II Lucretia Borgia a daughter of a pope, lady Mcbeth & Marie Antoinette, but none exceed Ahab & Jezabel

Jezabel was the daughter of a king who was also a priest of baal, who murdered his brother

whats interesting about the name of Jezabel = unmarried which represented her marriage which wasn’t a romance, it was more of a business arrangement

same thing has been said about the Clintons, it was an arrangement to get to certain political positions

there are many women of the past and theres even more women of today especially in America who are masculine with strong intellectual powers who have a passion for evil

they are strong willed & have a dominant personality and little if any moral sense

Jezabel was that type of woman, she was hardened into insensibilty, she was the most wicked woman in history, bar none

not only did Ahab build alters to Baal but he set up groves or wooden idols to be worshipped which angered God

just a side note: we get our modern Christmas tree, from the pagan worship of Samarimus, his mother claimed that her son died and then was resurrected & so a pine tree was set up to be worshipped in his honor

Ahab & Jezabel were guilty of pagan worship & causing Israel to worship false gods also

but her & her husband are guilty of something else, that was the last straw for the Lord

Josh. 6:26

then go back to I Kings 16: 32-34

Ahab apparently gave the go ahead to rebuild Jericho, a city that God had commanded not to be rebuilt & so God sends in a prophet to confront this evil couple

God would have to have someone who is courages, it is always a difficult thing for someone to confront evil leadership

evil people are never alone, their empowered by Satan himself who leads them to do his bidding

I Kings 17:1

Elijah was one of the greatest prophets that ever lived, he knew first hand of how difficult and exausting it is to fight against evil people

& Elijah gives Ahab a weather report & says it won’t rain until he says so

can you imagine what Ahab & his evil twin must have thought when Elijah walks in & makes this announcement?

No one would dare talk to them this way, who does he think he is anyhow

but what made Elijah so brave? Was he born that way?

No God had to train him & give him the courage to stand up & speak for God

but God has had to always train his spokesmen, he took Abraham out into the rugged terrain, he took Moses out to the desert as well as John the Baptist

Paul spent at least 2 yrs in the Arabian desert, this has always been Gods way of teaching

he takes them out to the desert, a place where he gets you alone, a place of hardship to where you look up and place your dependance on him

vs;2-3

God sends Elijah out to the desert & he uses 2 methods to care for him, a natural & a supernatural way

but everyday the brook goes down as it begins to dry up

Elijah probly measured that water everyday and figured at this rate he would die of thirst in so many days

this is the sin of statistics, todays church is extremely guilty of committing this sin

most churches measure their success by statistics, if the offerings are good, if they’ve had new members, how many are in attendance, statistically shows if they are healthy or not

but thats not a true picture of a healthy church

a healthy church is measured by how much fire they have in their hearts for the Lord

there was a spiritual lesson here for Elijah, the brook could only give him water for a physical need

but only the real living water could satisfy his spiritual need

Jn. 4: 13-14

All of us have to drink water everyday in order to stay alive physically

but when we drink, or accept as our Savior the living water, we will never thirst again, we are eternally saved

Elijah learned that he was an empty brook, he didn’t have any living water in him, & the living water only flowed through him to be a blessing to others

every pastor should learn that we are an empty vessel and God flows the Word of God through us to bless you

its said that Hudson Taylor told young missionaries that they were nothing, and it is only what God can and will do through you that will be worth anything

all of us are nothing, just dried up brooks unless the Word of God is flowing through us

I Kings 18: 17-18

Elijah says I’m not the one troubling Israel, you are

Elijahs kind of preaching was easily understood, he didn’t mix his words, he said just what he meant, he said it like it is

people today don’t want the preacher to preach like that today, they want him to be politically correct & not political

they want him kind and mushy not truthful and tough

Just talk about Jesus and nothing else

we have a whole bunch of liberals today who are constantly blaming conservatives & Christians for division in our country

• church once held firm fundamental beliefs at one time, but who led the church away from its conservative foundation?

The liberal did

J. Vernon McGee was accused of leaving his denomination & he said he never left his denomination they left him when they left scriptures historic teachings

if you’ve been pating attention it is always the custom of liberals to blame all trouble on conservatives & the church and they are never to be blamed for anything

Ahab had the same liberal cancer flowing through his veins, he built alters and idols and passed laws that brought the morality to a new low and indulgence in sin to a new high

& whose fault was it? Elijahs

Elijah told Ahab you are the one who has forsaken the commandments of God, you are the one who has followed baalim

you are the one Ahab who has brought trouble to Israel because you have stuck your puny fist in the face of God

& isn’t that the same thing the liberals are guilty of today that has led America to the point of destruction?

But who do they blame? People like you and me

18: 29-30

what we need today is preachers who will call the people back to the Lord and rebuild the broken down alter between man & God

• Word of God has been broken down, man has tried to destroy it

our relationship between God and man has been broken down and needs repairing

there was once a measure of unity in our country because our country recognized the fact that there was a living God

it was written in our constitution and thats why liberals are attacking that and trying to rid us of it

there was a measure of unity because this nation believed that the bible was an authority to live by

but liberals began to cut up the pages of scripture and explain it away

I’ve heard all week that we need a new civility and we need to come together

what they mean is, civility will come when conservatives & Christians shut up & agree with us

we can come together as long as we all agree that our agreements are based on nothing

no authority of God, no biblical truth, & no constitution

there was once a man walking through the jungle in Africa when he met an elephant

• elephant said to him, where are you going?

The man said I am not going anywhere

the elephant said i’m not going anywhere either, lets go together

thats the only way you & I are going to get together with todays crowd, we will have to agree with nothing

we can’t get together unless we’ve got something to gather around, something that will hold us together

the alter was a place of unity, Elijah rebuilt it because Israel needed a place to once again to gather

& America needs a place once again to gather & that place is at the cross of Jesus Christ

man hasn’t changed, he’s the same old sinful person that he was from the day of the fall in the garden of Eden he needed a Savior then & he needs a Savior today

This past week the Governor from Alabama spoke in a southern Baptist church and said that unless you are born again in Jesus Christ you are not my brother or sister, which created a fire-storm across this country.

But scripture is very clear, until you receive Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior, you are not in the family of God.

The problem is in our country, everyone thinks their a Christian, but most reject Jesus Christ as the ONLY way in which someone can enter heaven.  They think theres many ways there and that being a good person or keeping the ten commandments, or being moral will allow you entrance.

According to Romans chapter 8,  those who accept Christ as their personal Savior, that we are adopted into the family of God where we now call him Abba Father.  and his Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are his children, which makes us brothers and sisters.

Anyone who has not done that are not in the family of God, even Jesus himself said In John 8, if you haven’t received him then you are of your father the devil, so your in his family, not God the Fathers family.

So what the Governor said was true, but todays people don’t want to hear they’re sinners, who need a Savior and are not brothers and sisters to everyone.

Even Glen Beck got on this bandwagon that we’re all brothers and sisters, sorry but thats not what scripture teaches as I have shown you.

What bothers me though, is that the governor apologized for telling the truth,  the bible says that  when we proclaim the gospel that we will be persecuted and hated for righteousness sake. If your going to tell the truth, don’t apologize to the world, stand by it, otherwise the world thinks they are right and then conviction for a Savior leaves.

I want everyone to become my brothers and sisters, but it can only happen one way and thats by accepting the only way into Gods family and that is in Jesus.

Lst wk. On our way home, I was thinking about some of the things we were talking about in our bible study on Sunday night and about how much we pick on each other and were laughing about things

we can have such a great time together, that throughout the week you guys bring a smile to my face especially when I’m havin a tough day, I think about some of the goofy comments that are made and it brightens my day

but isn’t that what church is really suppose to be about? A place where we gather together and it brightens our day?

Not only our day, but our entire week?

Have you ever stopped to think that the church life is suppose to be a reflection of what our life will be like in heaven?

Now most of you have probly been in some churches that if that was suppose to be a reflection of life in heaven, count me out!

In some churches, theres more peace in Iraq than there is in that church

when they sing the Star Bangled Banner, there really is rockets glaring

but it was never in Gods design that the church should refect a battlefield instead of heaven

matt 6: 9-10

when we pray this prayer, what we are saying is, it is our desire that our congregation will reflect Gods power and his glory on this earth right now

it really is Gods desire that his perfect will be accomplished on this earth ,

but in order for that to happen, we have to be willing to live in harmony with each and every other believer, especially the people we worship with

harmony doesn’t mean that we become cookie cutter sameness,

it means we are united with one purpose to be like Christ, having the same mind of serving our Lord and that we enjoy fellowshipping with each other

our church is to bear witness to our lost world of what the kingdom of God looks like

we are to be a community of witnesses,

a holy nation

a royal priesthood

and people who have been called out of darkness and into the wonderful light of Jesus Christ

now the queston is: is that what the world sees when they look at todays church?

When they look at us, do they see heaven?

Ro. 14: 17

Paul said that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

look at what Jesus said

Jn. 13:34-35

if we are righteous and have peace and joy, our love for the Lord and for each other will be so evident that the world will know that we are disciples of Christ

this love comes from God himself and is available to those who have received him as Savior

and its only through this love that unloving humans can love other unloving humans

this love is the supernatural love that enables the church to have communion = fellowship to exist

without Gods supernatural love, the church is no different than the world

but when we express our love to each other, we then demonstrate that our lives are different

a church family is to be so committed to each other that in I Jn 3:16 says tht we should be willing to lay down our lives for each other

so let me ask you a question: is your life connected to your church family in this way?

Are you committed to your brothers & sisters in Christ that you would lay down your life for them?

This is true fellowship in Greek its koinonia which conveys something much deeper than eating and drinking at a church dinner

it literally means “communion” or to have a deeper and richer participation of people together in Gods grace

koinonia also means individuals who willingly share common things, who submit to each other, who support and bear each others burdens

Paul said in Gal. 6:2 said we are to build each other up

if our church isn’t like that, what are we doing to make it so?

What can we do as individuals to be an active part of koinonia in our church?

• poet John Donne wrote than no man is an island

and thats true, we as believers will thrive when we practice and participate in communion with other believers

if you testify that you are a child of God, that really doesn’t mean much

but if you start living your testimony instead of just talking about it, is when we really see our lives change & people around you will see that change

Ro. 14: 17-18

when we live our testimony, we not only serve and are approved by God but also by our brothers and sisters in Christ

vs;19

it says when we follow these things we edify each other = to build up

on Sunday night we have been studying the book of Acts which tells us about the beginning of the church

and the reason why it was so strong and blessed of God is because they practiced true koinonia

have you ever stopped and thought about the perfect communion between God, his Son and the Holy Spirit?

and God said that same perfect communion can exist in our church today

this is why we practice the Lord supper, it is really a celebration of koinonia

this holy ceremony was never suppose to be taken lightly or traditionally

its a symbol of – new covenant made between God and man

and when we celebrate it we are suppose to discover new ways as individuals to offer ourselves sacramentally for Gods service

there is so much more for us as a church than to just fill a chair on Sunday morning, its discovering what true communion really is

in 2007 when I walked out of Faith Bible in Evart, I felt as though and past year was a huge waste of time

I thought I just spent a year with people who were still strangers

I had gone through the motions as a pastor, I gave messages that were truthful, but didn’t move one heart

people gathered together each week and yet there was no fellowship, they just filled a chair

I remember telling Sal, why be in a church, if no one cares, if theres no fellowship, if everyone just goes through the motions on Sunday morning

I wanted more, and I still do

I don’t care about the size of a church, I care about the size of its heart

I don’t see any reason why todays church can’t experience koinonia as it did during the time of the apostles, do you?

But its something that we have to want, we have to want what God says is available to us

You probably have heard this week that we only have until May 21^st to be on this earth because thats when according to Herold Camping, a retired civil engineer when the rapture will take place

he also said millions will die on that day because of Gods judgment and then the entire world will end in Oct., he said he studied all the dates in scripture and this is when the earth is over

how do we know that the rapture is about to occur?

What are the signs that we are to look for?

& could this Mr Camping be correct?

Apparently theres a small group of followers who believe what he says is true & they are traveling across the country trying to warn people that we’re finished

get your house in order, we’re out of here!!

one of his followers a Miss Exley said, if she is still here on May 22^nd, then she wasn’t saved and she’ll have to perish with everyone else

I thought it was pretty sad, to know the world is going to end & not be sure if you’ll escape or not, apparently her salvation is based on some shakey theology

can we be sure we will be with the Lord if the world was to end?

The bible that I have, the one that God wrote said that our salvation can be sure, if we will receive Jesus Christ as our Savior

so are we about to be raptured? Mr Campings prognosis, seems to have flaws

Matt: 24: 36

although we will know that this day is drawing near, because every year that passes we are drawing close to that day, but, we don’t know the day or hour

someone trying to pinpoint the day of the rapture is nothing new, on Oct 22, 1844 a Mr Williams predicted when the rapture would happen

but when it didn’t happen, it became known as the day of disappointment

which started the 7^th day adventist movement

there have been others who have sold everything and sat on a mountain, after it didn’t happen, they sheepishly came down feeling rather foolish

2^nd no where in scripture does it say that millions will die when the rapture occurs, but rather that men will be blinded to the truth & will worship the false Christ

3^rd the earth cannot be completely destroyed in 5 months because the bible says that after the rapture, those who are left behind will endure 7 yrs of tribulation

so how do we know that we are drawing closer to the rapture?

Matt. 24:4

this warning that Jesus said himself is for everyone from then until the rapture does happen

there has been an enormous amount of deception since the time of Christ & has increased 100 fold with the invention of new technology

Peter also warned that false teachers were among us & would bring destruction & thats why its imperative that we all know what our bible teaches

you can turn your T.V. On to all of those religious stations & you can enjoy all the deception that your heart can handle

it is actually easy to be deceived because Satan makes his lies so tasty, easy to swallow, easy to believe because it makes sense

I’ll show you how easy it is to deceive you

Matt. 28:19-20

says here that we are to go to all nations teaching them to be Baptized in the trinity of God that he commanded and he’ll be with you always

thats how you get into heaven, by being baptized, so therefore we need to baptize you after your born to insure your place in heaven in case you die early

sounds good doesn’t it!

& it sounded so good that the Catholic & reform religions were born, deceiving millions

understand this: with one verse you can build a religion

but with the full context of scripture, you can build a relationship

Matt 24:5

As we get closer to the rapture, we will see an increase of those who claim to be Christ

in – 19^th century there were 4 who claimed to be Christ, John Thom, Arnold Palmer (not the golfer) Bahaullah, a shiite, & Bill Davies

in – 20^th century there was 23 known ones, people like George Roux, Earnest Norman, Jim Jones, & David Koresh

it is indeed increasing, just as scripture says it will

vs:6

this of course is not the sign that the rapture is about to happen, because there has been major wars throughout history

it says here that we will hear about wars & rumors of war but its not the end, we will never solve the problem of war

this is put here to remind us that there will not be peace until the prince of peace returns

so we are to watch out for deceivers & anti-Christ

vs:7-8

again these are characteristic of the age we live in, these things have been with us forever

in other words, Jesus is telling us, when we see these things happen, don’t go sell everything & sit on a mountain

but he is saying these things will intensify as we approach – rapture, they are – beginning of sorrows

so when do we really have to get ready for when the rapture will occur?

Somewhere between vs:8 & 9

the bible divides people up into 3 categories, the Jews, Gentiles & the church

today God is calling both Jew & Gentile to compose the church & it is this third group that will be raptured just before the tribulation

vs:9

it says here that we will be delivered up to be afflicted & killed, this is talking about the tribulation period

rev. 3:10

those who are saved will not go into the tribulation, we are kept from that hour

now I know what your thinking,

go back to Matt 24; 8-9

what signs are there then that we are to look for so we know the rapture is about to happen?

There are none, no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels, so some man named Harold camping doesn’t either

the rapture can occur in one minute or in a thousand yrs

so who is he speaking to n vs;9?

Remember I said the bible divides us up into 3 categories Jews, Gentiles & the church

• church is gone, we’re in heaven, leaving 2 groups, God is going to bring judgment on the unbelieving Gentiles& he is going to turn his attention once again to his people the Jews

we have seen anti-semitism on the rise, but it will be poured out on them during the tribulation as never before

& they will do everything including going against each other in an attempt to survive

there are many things that will take place during – tribulation that we can apply to our day

vs; 10-12

people get offended today about everything, its alright to abort your baby according to this worlds thinking

but don’t you dare feed your child sweets or happy meals, thats offensive

don’t put up a nativity scene, or a tree or the ten commandments in a public area its offensive

& remember to only lie to each other, because the truth offends, I learned that from politicians

we see iniquity going through the roof, its as if man is inventing new sin, they’ve tired of all the old ones

we see love growing cold, love is just for the moment, men & women jump from bed to bed trying to find love, but its not there, its grown cold

so there are many principles that will be indicative of the tribulation period, but is already in play for today

during the 7 yr tribulation according to Revelation, man will be almost completely wiped out, except for Israel

matt. 24: 22

• elect here is Israel, because the other elect who is the church is gone & God doesn’t allow this period to go past 7 yrs otherwise no one would survive

so the bible is clear that we won’t know when the rapture will happen, but he does however give us a hint of what the characteristic of that generation will be

Matt 24: 37-39

if we were to go back to Genesis, we would see that the days of Noah were characterized by a generation of gross immorality

every thought & imagination was evil continually

• Lord said his coming back will be during a time like this

he said they were eating & drinking & giving in marriage, nothing wrong with that, right?

Except they were not doing these things for the glory of God, they were living as though God didn’t exist

According to some scholars, these marriages were homosexual, because in Gen. 9 Ham saw the nakedness of his father

this angered God, he had destroyed the earth because of this sin & other evils that they had committed & he was not going to allow it to begin again

Ham must have been influenced by the evil that men had committed before the flood & God brought down harsh judgment on Ham

but, are we seeing men whose thoughts & imaginations are continually evil?

Are we seeing man acting as though God doesn’t exist & even pass laws that reflect that?

Are we seeing homosexuality becoming a worldwide accepted practice?

43-45

Lord is saying since we don’t know when the rapture will occur, BE READY

46-51

this is a great principle here, you & I ought to be living our lives in the light of the fact that our Lord is returning & we will stand in his presence

it doesn’t matter if he comes in 1 day or in a hundred yrs. How should you be living your life right now?

What will Jesus find, if he was to show up today?

Someone who would shout for joy at his appearing

or someone who would scream in embarrassment?

We need to live as though Jesus is walking toward us right now

Theres an old saying, that the older you get the faster time moves, & it seems to be true, I can’t believe that 2010 is over & we start 2011

I remember, I was in grade school the teacher would talk about all of the things we might see in the 2000′s, I would think, thats so far away, I would count up how old I would be if I lived to see the yr 2000 & here I am, 52 living in the yr 2011, its an amazing thing

something I remember being said way back in the 60′s, is that our lives are going to improve so much because of technology & because of great advancements, we would see world peace. It did turn out true that technology has improved our lives greatlybut that peace thing didn’t turn out so good

If I was an angel in heaven, looking down on the earth, I would have to ask Jesus, how much longer are you going to wait, before you put an end to this madness?

I look at our country from when I was a kid to today & I have to ask myself, What Happened? I don’t even recognize my own country anymore

During the 60′s, people and our government leaders worked diligently to stop discrimination in every area of our country, and in many respects, they were successful

But today, I see those same people working diligently to cause division between every person in America, in order for them to gain power over the American people and to stay in office ruling over us

They have brought division between blacks & whites, nationalities, religion & sexes

it was reported, This yr in America, was the worst attacks on Christianity with nativity scenes destroyed, hate filled articles written and the name of Christ maligned

I have watched them chop down the tree of morality & now they have a chain wrapped around the remaining stump and their pulling it out

Joe Biden said that homosexual marriage is inevitable, Barney Frank said that gays & straights must shower together in the military now openly

Obamas financial gurus said that the free market doesn’t work, & has to die & be replaced with a one world market and dollar in order for us to survive

even-though the free market made this country & others that we traded with, rich

We have terrorist who say that America is finished, & all they have to do is put strain on us financially & we will collapse, its just a matter of time before they bury us

we have a mandatory health care shoved down our throats that forces people to pay for the murder of children and our elderly

one Senator said we will have to count the cost & chose how much care someone will receive if their very old

It was reported in The Blaze, that Obama has no choice but to put euthanasia back into the heath care

you have to look at our leadership & think to yourself, have we gone mad?

Whenever a nation turns its back on God & says we don’t need him, we can get along without him

is a nation that is choosing to be destroyed

I want to read for you something that was wrote (believe it or not) in the Wall St. Journal:

What America needs today is not government controls industrial expansion, or a bumper corn crop, America needs to return to the day when grandpa, took the team out of the corn field in the early afternoon on Wednesday in order to hitch them to the old spring wagon into which grandma put all the children after she washed their faces shining clean, and they drove to prayer meeting in the little white church at the crossroads underneath the oak trees, where everyone believed the bible, trusted Christ, and loved one another

This was wrote in 1928

We think our countries trouble is new, but apparently way back in 1928, someone already believed America had left God

When did Americas trouble begin? When the church began to move into apostasy,

they left the preaching & the teaching and they began to dismantle the foundation that brought blessings to this country, & that foundation is the Word of God

Trouble in the church, spread to the home with the drinking & drugs & generation gap

trouble then moved into political circles & today its spread into anarchy in every segment of our society

trouble has been here for years, its never changed, but has increasingly gotten worst

Judges 21; 24-25

in these verses we see that the nation of Israel no longer wanted anyone ruling over them, and they did what was right in their own eyes

& we actually have two things going on in this country right now that is very confusing to me

we have a government that we voted in, that is taking over every aspect of our lives, what we can eat, drink, watch on the inter-net, spend our money & use our land

What I find interesting is a woman can choose to kill her unborn baby, but you better not feed him sweets if he is born

people are screaming for their right to do as they want no matter how immoral or depraved that it is

& at the same time wanting the government to give them more handouts

they don’t realize, that the government is using them, they are saying you go & be as immoral as you want & heres some money to help you drink, eat & smoke pot

but later on, you’ll owe us

little does the people of this nation realize that the more tax dollars they get from our government, the farther their becoming enslaved to them

and the more the slave owes the master the more control the master has over the slave

a couple of yrs ago when I tried my own expediting business, we did our taxes & we thought we would really have to pay in

instead, we got thousands of dollars because of Obamas giveaways & I thought, how much is this going to cost us later

nothing is free, I’ve been saying for a long time, all of these people who are getting free money

because their kids have ADD, lead in their system, can’t read or some learning or behavior problem

or whatever lame excuse they have come up with for not working & getting free money

some day soon, the gravy train is going to stop, & all those folks are going to owe the master

• master is going to say, we took care of your health, we took care of your food, we took care of your housing, transportation, children

its time for you to pay, you owe us, your life

You see, theres going to come a time in our future, when our government is going to say, we want to change

we want to go in another direction for the good of our country, we have to go with

new world order to be able to compete

& this country will say, ok, you’ve taken care of us, we trust our master & they will go along blindly

we’re getting closer to the time that the entire world will go into a one world government

but that won’t happen until the church is taken up to be with the Lord

every year that passes, we move closer & closer to the time that Jesus will take his children out of this world

and the sinners who are left, will give their allegiance to their master, they will blindly follow him all the way to the battle of Armageddon

But I know a better way to live, I’ve got a great master to serve & follow & his name is Jesus Christ

• Jews came to the point where God had been so shoved out of their lives hat they did whatever was right in their own eyes

• church has always been the one entity that has kept God pouring out his blessings on a nation

but while the world rushes headlong into a godless state, how are we suppose to pray as we go into 2011?

I Chron. 4:10

I don’t know what was going on in Jabezes life, but this I do know, he wasn’t satisfied with how things were

he prays first of all for Gods blessings, whens the last time you sat down and had a heart to heart and asked God to bless you?

Blessings means to bring good things into your life

I heard someone say once that you should never pray for yourself, but rather always pray for others so your not found to be selfish

I don’t know about you, but I need prayer more than anyone here so I won’t get selfish and to keep my heart right so that I can serve God

Jabez is saying, Lord if you will bless me then I can be used of you

then he prays that God would enlarge his coast, that means to bless him with prosperity

we can take this to the extreme like our T’V evangelist who pray for prosperity lots of money, so that they can live the good life and pour it on their selfish selves

or we can ask God to bless us with prosperity that that doesn’t have much to do with money

enlarging my coast might be new avenues to meet people who need the Lord

perhaps better understanding of Gods Word the how to apply the use it

because notice what he asks for next that goes with these first two request, that you would be present with me

Theres no way you or I can be blessed or prosper if we’re not walking in a right relationship with Christ, he has to be present

which goes along with the forth request: that he would keep him, or in other words, protect him

I want to share this with you, if you are going to get serious with God and start living your life for him 7 days a week and not just on Sunday morning

your going to need Gods protection, because Satan is going to notice you & he will try to stop you

although we are seeing the darkest days coming at us I still believe God can do great things in our lives

I believe he can still do great things in our churches, he can build this church

he can bring us people who need Christ, they need a Savior and we have the answer

he can bring us people who have become disillusioned with the whole church scene & need a church family

I believe a small church can offer more closer relationships if you want to take the time to be here & get to know each other

but you have to be willing to ask the Lord for his blessings

Jer. 33:3

call unto me and I will answer thee, and show you great and mighty things, which thou knowest not

Ever wonder why you don’t see much happening in your relationship with Christ?

Have you called on him? Have you asked him to show you great things?

Ever wonder why everybody else seems to know whats going on in church and you feel left out?

How much time are you spending with your church family?

I had a woman once asked me how come she never heard about things that were going on in church and in peoples lives

I told her you have to invest the time here with the people if you want to know, because I wasn’t calling her!

I know people who only show up in church when they have a problem or its a holiday & can’t understand why their miserable

I believe God can still do great & mighty things in our lives, if we want him to

Our little church can still be greatly used, if we ask him

he says he will answer us, but we have to first ask

Its up to each of us if we want to mature in the things of God or not

its up to us if we want to be involved in the lives of our church family or not

its up to us how much we want to be in the service of our Lord or not

its up to us if we want to see God move in our lives with blessings or not

Eph. 3:20

now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us

• fact is, God can do even more in our lives than what we can ask for

but you have to be willing to ask

many people will not ask, because their afraid of what God might show them & ask them to do

& so they keep their distance, don’t get too involved, because God might ask them to do something outside of their comfort zone

so keep everybody & church at an arms length

but your the one who will never experience what Jabez did, or what Jeremiah did

the world is growing darker, but you & I can still see great & mighty things, if we want, but you’ve got to want it