Call to Worship: Nehemiah 9:5 “Praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. “Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. 7 You are the Lord God.”
Songs: Revival - Robin Mark
Light the Fire Again - Brian Doerksen
Voice Of Truth - Casting Crowns
Scripture: Jeremiah 23
Song: Your Words - Third Day
Sermon: “Distorted”
Closing Song: Let My People Go - Matt Redman
Benediction:
1 Chronicles 16:35 “Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.”
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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Deuteronomy 26:15 “Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Psalm 80:19 “Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.”
Isaiah 25:9 “In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sermon: Distorted
Some people seem to like distortion. Myself I don’t. My Mission speakers when they were new gave a crisp clear sound, absolutely beautiful but then you walk into a grocery store playing music and there is distortion through the speakers to the point you couldn’t understand the words. That is not enjoyable. Now to take this word further than just sound you can see a definition of distortion that means a change for the worse or the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean.” To distort something means to make false by mutilation or addition; as of a message or story; so badly formed or out of shape as to be ugly, having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented.
As we start this new year, we need to see and hear clearly and the only way to do that is to follow God’s word wholeheartedly. Now here is an example of distorting the word of God so much it becomes a cult. This is where distortion ties very closely to deception because sometimes the message rings clear as a bell and as in this case they have a really good website yet a cult. I had two visitors yesterday and they wanted to tell me about the bible. I said which one. I said yours is different yet they should all be the same. And I said good bye, not interested. There really is no sense conversing with them. Here is a paragraph right from the JW’s website. They say, “We are different from other religious groups that are called Christian. For example, we believe that the Bible teaches that Jesus is the Son of God, not part of a Trinity. Their translation says, “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” (John 1:1) What???? Every translation states “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” They go on to say “We do not believe that the soul is immortal, that there is any basis in Scripture for saying that God tortures people in an everlasting hell.” Oddly many Christians believe this too. It only says it through the whole Old Testament and New just not in their doctrine. Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” 2 Kings 17:5 “The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. 14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence.” Yes God would by the way. Why because he said so.
Today we are not talking about the distortion of the cults but the distortion in the church itself. Sadly this is basically the same except the JW’s actually changed the word of God to mean something different and wrote their own bible. Instead the church just makes study bibles and doctrines, theology to change its meaning. They tell you the bible really doesn’t mean what it says. In essence they have done the same thing. Yes the JW’s are a cult; that one is easy. It takes more discernment to delve into the church distortions / denominational distinctions it has made. We want to start this year off seeing and hearing clearly. To do this we must keep our focus on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Remember we read in Joshua 3:3 “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.” They were told get ready to cross in three days.” And they did! So since we haven’t been this way before we must pay careful attention to follow closely. In their case they were actually told “keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.” For us we must hang on to the word of God with everything we have because satan is trying to rip it out of your hands.
We have to understand like the JW’s show us just because they quote scripture doesn’t mean it is the word of God; different Jesus; different words. We must discern the same in the church. We need to ask what Jesus are they following, what words / commands do they adhere to. We know for the most part they do not as most follow their own distinctions which are distortions of God’s word. 2 Kings 22:13 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” Those doing this and following those who do will end up in the same place the cults are going to be whether they believe there is a hell or not. We must ask for discernment and then use it. Psalm 119:125 “I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. 126 It is time for you to act, Lord; your law is being broken. 127 Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, 128 and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.” Solomon asked for discernment but failed to use it. 1 Kings 3:12 “I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” 1 Kings 11:9 “The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.” Deuteronomy 32:28 “They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. 29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be!”
No one has any excuses not to see. Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”
It is so important as Christians that we test the spirits as we have been told. Test what you are hearing, test what you see, test what you have been taught. You have to be extremely careful. Just like the little old ladies that came to the door with their false bible, be careful that you are not deceived with a distorted view of scripture no matter how polished it is. Today I would like to start off by taking a look at some works of art. To be honest, I can appreciate art but not that much. The value some place on art is actually quiet unbelievable. Now as you will see some people actually do place a high value on distortion. I want to show you two paintings. The first one was done in 1930 by Pablo Picasso who is known for some very distorted figures. This one is called the crucifixion. One person said “The crucifixion became, for Picasso, a way 'to understand and ... the pains and cost of love and how this love might, indeed, reflect the divine.' So no we are not studying this picture; it is grossly ridiculous.
Okay now I want you to look at this picture called Hook’s Christ.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus. Now let me just say you don’t actually have to have a picture to do that.
I remember when I first saw this picture, I knew I needed a copy of it. My picture hangs above my desk with a verse that says, “if you love me keep my commandments.” So why the two pictures? I picked the first one because of the intense distortion of the imagery. I picked the second because the eyes look right into your soul.
Today is the first Sunday of this new year. Have you noticed there is a lot going on in this world and it is only going to get worse? I truly believe there is a consensus for change from politics to health, to wars and disasters, and to spiritual things, not all for the right reasons. There are cries for something different to happen. It seems like there is a vortex sucking all things downward and it is about to get worse yet people continue on their merry way. The doomsday clock sits a 2 minutes before midnight. Last January “The Doomsday Clock, a potent symbol of scientific concerns about humanity’s possible annihilation, was advanced by 30 seconds on Thursday, to 2 minutes to midnight, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced in Washington. The last time the clock was moved so close to midnight was in 1953, during the Cold War.” While this is happening there are those preparing for the apocalypse? Now this one cracked me up. You may remember Jim Baker and his fall from grace who then wrote a book saying he was wrong. Well guess what he is wrong again. Now he is selling survival buckets and everything else to be prepared for the end. One person described him as “reduced to little more than a Rapture-themed infomercial salesman. From this you can see that not only is the secular world looking for change, the church is desperate for it but not for the right reasons. So many churches want to grow like the mega churches that they will sell their souls to make it happen. Churches “for decades have held up Willow Creek as a model for how evangelical Christian mega churches should be run—both in the U.S. and around the world.” OOPS! There are other so called churches that we could list and there will be more that will fall. If all this turns out to be truth, Willow Creek should permanently close their doors. Now as we see with Jim Baker there is a real push for the rapture to take place. I typed in rapture and Google gave me 42,800,000 possibilities I could look at. The tribulation, the rapture the millennium all being talked about as it they were actually going to take place. There are many saying they will see the rapture in their lifetime.
I showed you these two pictures to give you an idea the distortion that is happening. I say distortion but along with distortion you have deceit and delusion. This is how you are deceived into following a false gospel. The first picture is distortion of God’s word; the second is keep my commands. I listened to three sermons and read a lot this week. No I admit I didn’t quite make it to all 42 million sites but you don’t need to. I had you read 1 and 2 Thessalonians for a reason because the answers are all there. If men and woman would just preach the word of God and stop distorting it to make it fit with what they believe to be true as Peter said about Paul’s writings. 2 Peter 3:16 “He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” This is how Paul taught. 2 Corinthians 4:2 “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” I find it interesting that the two place these distorters of God’s word distort are the letters of Paul and do the very thing warned against doing. This should not surprise you as Jesus warned us to not be deceived. The first picture looks like most of the timelines out there concerning the end times as compared to the second picture which says Jesus came and is coming back to take you home; be ready.
Their distorted messages comes with conviction and they act as though they rightly divide the word of God but they don’t. I watched an interview with Sheila Walsh and Dr. David Jeremiah concerning the rapture. People nodding their heads and wept as he distorted the scriptures. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” One guy I listened to briefly quoted this verse then promptly wanted to sell you something to educate you. Paul also said 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” So these men lead the church away to the blackest darkness reserved for them. I know you may say Paul how can you say that as these men are standing in pulpits. Paul himself said in Acts 20:29 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Jude also describes these people “4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” Yes people may know that cults like the Jw’s and the Mormons exist but what most don’t know is that the church they go to is actually leading them in the same path as the cults.
I had you read Thessalonians because these people listened to Paul, well not all of them. Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Please do the same for yourselves. Obviously those referred to were the Jews who were against them and who caused great suffering for the believers. This passage in Thessalonians describes the church as it should be but unfortunately the church would rather let the wolves run wild throughout the church. 1 Thessalonians 1:6 “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” 13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.” Hebrews 11:35 “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
This American gospel is so distorted this is not “this gospel.” Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” You see these Thessalonians faced what Jesus faced, what the prophets faced and the apostles. I am not going to get into the atrocities of the world such as the Holocaust, nuclear and Atomic bombs, genocides, World Wars, civil wars, plagues, slavery, migrant crises, natural disasters and Christian martyrs yet the American church believes they will be saved from everything Jesus said would happen to us. The very book of the bible they take their precious so-called rapture verse from have missed what that church suffered. Yes they say that the wrath of God won’t touch them, they even say they will just go straight to heaven without judgment making themselves out to be gods. The audacity to say such a thing, can only come from the mouth of satan. Thessalonians also says 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.” 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
I actually found myself chuckling while listening to a sermon. I have always said the enemy is so arrogant it will always tell you the problem. I was listening to our live example Mr. MacArthur ramble on and on and he was trying to convince his audience that pre trib was better than post trib. He then says if the rapture happened after the tribulation there wouldn’t be anyone in the kingdom. Remember the rapture takes all the Christians dead or alive and gives them eternal bodies then brings them all back to earth??? Here is how another describes “the People of the millennium” If Christ were to come back after the tribulation, rapture all the saints, and slay all the ungodly, who would be left to populate the earth during the millennium? Only the pre-trib viewpoint can account for this post-trib problem. The Church is raptured before the tribulation, a vast number of souls are saved during this seven-year time frame, and those who make it through the tribulation go into the millennium while the unsaved are cast into hell.” So I chuckled because they are both wrong and both saying the same thing whether pre or post as no one will be in the kingdom. One the church is gone and two because the tribulation is already happening and three Jesus already reigns as King. You see if the church is raptured, Jesus is the head of the church and Jesus himself said John 14:23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” The church is gone this can’t happen. This also means the Holy Spirit is gone completely also, so there is no way anyone can get saved because there is no church.
You see they distort the coming of our Lord by cutting it into two events, they distort what the wrath of God is; they distort the day of judgment and pretty much everything else regarding the end times just so the text will line up with their own beliefs just like the Jws. They also distort the power that is available. They tell you lies that there is no more power. They are also under the delusion God will bring upon them. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” Yes whole denominations have been deceived and deluded because they refuse to believe. 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie.” This is already happening. Paul says, 2 Corinthians 11:12” And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
This end times teaching is so distorted that people do not even know that the tribulation has decimated the church and God has allowed it to happen. Why because we have disobeyed and not adhered to his word as 2 Kings 17 told us earlier. “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God.” Mark 13:20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” This is already happening. 2 Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.” So while they tell you you are safe and secure, you have already fallen because you listened to them.” It is possible to be deceived and fall even if they tell you it isn’t possible. This is another lie that is being taught that there is no judgment for the raptured church. Yet Jesus himself says. Luke 13:25 “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
The problem is very similar to Judge 2:10 “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” People just don’t know the truth of God’s word. Most are being taught that the end times are coming down the road not that we have been in the end times ever since Jesus said he would return. Because men and woman have listened to these charlatans, they have been led astray and have missed the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have turned to false gospels and will not see eternal life. 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” But he warned us to follow the true gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” There is a true gospel and a false gospel with nothing in between.
The bottom line is we desperately need the Holy Spirit to come upon us in power once again. Every year people will wonder is this the year we are raptured instead of turning from our wicked ways, turning from false gospels and turning from false teachers. John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” He will make it clear to all those who will listen. I found it interesting that on one site the number one sign that the rapture is imminent / forthcoming is the sign of deception. Really? Well deception is imminent. Matthew 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” In the same chapter Jesus said 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 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. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”
Yes we are to be prepared for the end. Paul said in Philippians 1:18 “Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.” We must also be prepared to face whatever comes our way and stand firm. Philippians 1:27 “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.” This is why Paul wrote to us in Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.”
Today there is great resistance to repentance. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” Revelation 16:9 “They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.” 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.” This is already happening. Don’t be part of fasle teaching. Dr Jeremiah says along with MacArthur and others that the word church is not found one time from Revelation chapter 4-19 Really? Revelation chapter 5 “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 7:10 “And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 11:15 “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 12:10 “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Ladies and gentlemen the church of Jesus Christ. This is the church. Jesus said to Paul Acts 26:15 “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’1 John 3:8 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
Get ready be ready stay ready. As we continue in this new year know in your heart there is mass deception taking place and millions are falling from their secure positions. They are dying without hearing the truth because they refuse to turn away from their wickedness. God gave us a promise and He will bless those who turn with His presence. Yes we are paying the price for following wicked and empty ways handed down to us by our fathers. But there is hope because God gives us hope. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” Psalm 37:9 “For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.” Psalm 37:34 “Hope in the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.” Psalm 146:5 “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.” Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” What about you?
