10 Jun Following Christ in Perilous times

We have now entered into perilous times.

Jesus stood before the angry mob. There was not a scratch or tinge of any sin ever being committed by his hands, his mouth, nor his mind. He was blameless before God and before Men. He stood before a multitude of people, being accused of many lies.

Within the Jewish circle, he was accused of Blaspheme. As popular as Jesus was, he was not on the radar of the Romans. The miracles Jesus performed, and the doctrine he was teaching did not threaten the Roman rule.

It was not Romans who wanted to see Jesus executed, it was the his fellow people. Their determination to have Jesus killed was unrelenting. They would not be denied this request, when he was brought before the Roman court.

Jesus has preached and taught for 3 whole years, and now his time to depart was at hand. He had fulfilled his earthly ministry. Jesus told his disciples that they would go on to do even greater things then he. Jesus did not lie. His ministry only lasted 3 years. The Apostles was giving the gift of time, so their ministry would last so much longer.

Because of the Jews hatred for Gods son, the verdict to have him beating by the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate was not enough. The Jews would press Pontius to not only have him killed, but to have him crucified.

On his way to his crucifixion, he would be mocked, ridiculed, beating, abandoned, spat on, and forced to wear a crown of thorns on his head. There was no mercy to be found, for the people were content in their hearts that he should suffer. No amount of misdirection would work.

All attempts by Pilate had failed. The Jews were intent on Jesus’s execution. The worse sin this world has ever seen, would become the biggest act of love and grace this world has ever seen.

There is always something troubling about a person losing their life or being punished unjustly. It never sits right on the inside of us. You know who else this doesn’t sit right with? God.

People often mistake the patience and long suffering of God. God never forgets. He just delays. The delay time is a crucial period of time. It is during the delay time, that God affords his people the opportunity to turn back from sinful behavior.

His Spirit will even plead with you on his behalf. Take David for example. David did not commit adultery with Bathsheba, get her pregnant, and kill her Husband all in the span of one day. The sins that David was committing, was being played out over a span of days.

David knew it was wrong before he committed to lustful acts. We know we are wrong before we sin. The desire becomes more attractive then the denial. We are drawn to sin as we are to God through the Holy Spirit.

The world has a history of punishing and killing the innocent. Look no further then Jesus. Look no further then the Apostles. Look no further then the prophets. Look no further then yourself. We will all suffer for the Gospel in one way or the other.

Look at what’s taking place at this very moment. The life of a man name George Floyd who was brutally taking away. We have protesting, riots, violence, uncivil discord, and destruction all across the globe.

They are not just protesting in the United States, they’re protesting globally. Outraged at the savage murder of an innocent man. Why such outrage? Men lose their lives everyday. But it was the manner in which it happened.

A man subdued begging for his life. Calling for his Mother. Calling out to God. And the person taking it had no conscience of what he was doing nor any remorse. He was unrepentant in his actions.

We have entered into perilous times. The United States is a hub for the rest of the World. A super power country. A modern day roman empire. Many nations take there cues from the United States. We are a very influential country.

The video of George Floyd losing his life, being shared around the world, has caused the scales to fall from the eyes of millions of people around our country, and around the world.

As I stated up top, those who believe, are fully aware of what this World is capable of. If you were not, for whatever reason, be aware now. Reading about someone losing their life, and witnessing someone unjustly and brutally losing their life, do not compare.

Reading about Stephen’s stoning in the book of Acts, is not the same as being present and witnessing the senseless killing of our brethren. Brethren. I used this term deliberately. I am not now preaching to you. I am speaking to you.

I am speaking to the heart of you. I am speaking to the spirit of the one who who rose to give us life more abundantly, that is inside of you. We have come to a place where in the eyes of many, the life of a pet is more valuable then the life of a human being.

But accordingly to God, Jesus came to save men, not dogs, but when a dog is beating or killed, it produces more outrage them when a person is beating or killed! Who would in their right mind esteem the life of an animal, above the life of Man?

Who was created in God’s image? Was it Man, or a duck, or a dog? It was Man. It was ALL MEN! Not some Men. Not tall Men. Not Handsome Men. Not poor Men. Not short Men. Not rich Men. Not men without disease. Not Men with disease. Not married Men or unmarried Men.

Then why do we divide the worth of Men by their color? Again, I am not speaking for or against the world, for Christ has already judged the World. I am speaking amongst the brethren, who I know some of you practice such things.

If there is no unification now, there can be none later. For God judges the heart now, not later. Once we are gloried, what is there to judge at that point? We will be made perfect. No, God is judging the heart now. God is building his Kingdom now.

If God did not say he created Man in his image, and I vow that he did, then label me a liar, for the truth is not in me. But if what I say is true, then let those who practice the opposite be called a liar!

If I killed my dog, and it was on video, I would be punished. No one would flinch or extend to me mercy of any kind. If after I broke my dogs neck, the vet opened him up and found a house key in his stomach, he would throw the key in the trash, and continue his business.

But when a Man loses his life unjustly, and a key is found in his stomach, we don’t throw the key out, we investigate it. We investigate why the key was there, who the key belonged to, and why did he have the key.

Having no “natural” affection does this. We have affection for the unnatural order of things. Pet over Man. Rights over righteousness. Sex over love. Pleasures over God.

I have often said, do not get swept up in the Worlds affairs, for the World will always have affairs. But deliver truth, wherever there is darkness. Where you see darkness you will see lies. Darkness cover lies and drive off those who stand in truth.

As the truth is in you, everywhere you are there should be truth. Truth can only not be present, if you are not present. Where you are present, truth is present. So it is forever present, as long as you are here.

Many watched the death of George Floyd. Not just bystanders, but other police officers on the scene as well. There was no one there on that day who stood in truth. Darkness only advances in the absence of truth.

Truth either retreats or remains silent. Silent truth is the same are truth that has retreated, they achieve the same results.

God is not looking for us to change the world. He’s looking for us to make an impact in whatever space we occupy by his will, by standing in truth. Truth in front of our Families, truth in front of our co-workers, truth in front of our friends, truth in front of our neighbors, truth in front of our enemies.

If you are in Gods will, you are right where your supposed to be, and he has placed you there to have an impact. The senseless mistreatment, abuse and killing of the innocent and the less privileged will never cease. Darkness never ceases , it just becomes more cunning.

If you go to Church every Sunday, sing during worship, and read your Bible while listening to the Sermon, but have no natural affection for all men, then you stand in darkness.

It is greater to Love, then it is to have a perfect attendance report at Church. Do not put such things above Love. It is greater to Love, then it is to know every syllable of every song and every hymn.

If you cannot Love Men, how can you love God? I say this not to discourage you, but to shake you if you feel that you can love God while hating your neighbor. Do not be deceived. Loving your neighbor does occurr on Sundays only, it also occuurs at your Job. It occurrs at the grocery store. It occurrs at the gas station. It occurrs where ever you are at, and with whomever you encounter.

If your love has a boundary in which it will not cross, then Gods love is not in you. You love like the world loves. The world loves their own kind and their own traditions. They despise the indifferent. If this was not the truth, then Jesus would not have been crucified. We were called out of the world to be despised by it.

First John 4:7-8 reads: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love”.

Love freely as Jesus loved. Beware of worldly information. It is not there to inform you, but to conform you. It is there to sway you away from the things of God, and steer your mind to social conversations that have no end.

The World is wicked. You will not change it. You will not do, what Jesus could not do. We are called to be lights in this dark world. In first Timothy Ch. 2:4, Paul says “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”.

This means it is Gods desire for all Men to be saved, but all Men will not be saved, because most will choose this worldly system. God may call you to have an impact on the world, but he will not call you to change it, for your home is not of this world, so why would he call you to change a world that he has called you out of?

You cannot have one foot in the world, and one foot in Kingdom, that is having 2 masters. We must put both feet in the water if we are to get all that God has for us.

The ministry of Jesus revolved around 4 things: The repentance of sins; The abolishment of the penalty of sin; The reconciliation between God and Man; and to bring an abundance of life to those who believed.

It did not revolve around how to go about balancing the nations debt levels, or how to solve environmental issues. Would Jesus had been more concerned with the countries debt level, the ever increasing global warming, illegal dog fighting rings, or the death of Mr. George Floyd?

The answer may seem obvious to everyone who’s reading this, but we have many people in the body of Christ, who have dedicated their lives to some of the things I mentioned above and things beyond. Do not dedicate your life to a cause that is not of Gods choosing.

Though it may be good, is it not better to dedicate your life to what God has chose for you?

I believe you can be successful in life without having a relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly says this. God allows the sun to rise on the righteous as well as the wicked. There is a “caveat” to this statement.

Those who belong to Christ, who have been chosen out of the world and whose name has been recorded into the book of life, cannot. Jesus says in John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing“.

Those who belong to Christ cannot bear fruit. It is absolute. This statement is absolute, or Jesus is a liar. If Jesus is the vine, then he is the source of life for the branches. Without the vine, the branches are cut off from their source of life and wither.

There are many branches withering because they have been cut-off from their source. This “cutting” is due to many things. Our failures and successes in life either draw us closer to Jesus or it draws us apart.

It is difficult to stay hopeful, when you are in pain. It is difficult to stay hopeful when you’ve experienced severe dissappointment and you’ve been faithful. How did Abraham and Sarah feel when after 100 years of living a God fearing life, he did not give them wanted they wanted most, offspring?

Think about this. They lived their lives fearing God. And God had giving them everything a Man could ask for, except for the one thing they desired the most. How many of us are in this position? Where God has blessed you with so much, but has failed to provide you with what it is you desire most?

We get tunnel vision when it comes to what we desire most. We tend to ignore what we have, and focus on the one thing we do not have. Abraham and Sarah did not fall into this situation. They sacrficed, prayed, and live God fearing lives. I suspect that is most people who are reading this as well.

But there is a void that sits deep inside you. God knows it’s there. I have some voids. I’m not afraid or ashamed to admit it. What good would I be to you, to myself and to others, to lie and deceive many.

Moses never made it into the promise land. It’s what he wanted more then anything. I’m not the author of what God will and won’t do in your life. Many Pastors and Teachers will tell you God will give you everything. It’s simply not true. Gods focus first and foremost is righteousness, not our happiness.

This doesn’t mean God is not in the business of making his children happy. He definitely is. But he’ll never do it at the expense of souls. God would rather you be poor, blind and crippled going into eternity, then rich, handsome and charming and going to hell.

Maybe the things I desire that he has not giving me, would do just that. Many people win the lottery, but if you follow there lives a few years later, you see that the money thought to be a blessing, wound up being a curse. They had a show that use to come on the TLC channel showing people who won the lottery.

Only a handful did really wise things with it. Most blew it on unwise purchases and investments. Not to mention the relationships family members and closed loved ones that were lost or damaged.

How did Abraham and Sarah continue on when God did not answer their most desired prayer? The same way you and I do. We pray. We cry. We pray some more. I have never been big on popular Church sayings.

Infact, I shun them every opportunity I get. They’re gimmicky feel good statements. Like “God is good all the time”. We have endless Biblical accounts of where Gods people, Prophets, and Priest suffered tremendously.

God is always just, but “good” is always based on prospective. Two teams play in the Superbowl. Only one team is coming out of that game with a good feeling and prospective. The team that wins always does, the team that loses never does.

I did not see Job state at anytime, that what he was going through was good. In fact, Job curse the day he was born and welcomed death, because the misery was unbearable.

I will never stand in the judgement seat and throw darts at God, but the people who say everything God does is “good”, needs to have their heads examined. God did not enjoy one bit having to allow foreign nations to come in and enslave his people. But he knew it was necessary to get them back in line.

He did not enjoy it. It did not make him happy. It certainly didn’t make Israel happy, and no one in Israel believed it was good. For those of you who have children, have you ever spanked them? Did they think it was good? People believe that God is always good, when his chastisements lands on the head of others.

When it lands on them, you will never hear them say “God is good all the time” in the midst of their own afflictions. It is this insincerity and genuineness that turns people off from what Jesus has to offer.

Because we are acustomed to putting up a front, we become the opposite of transparent. We display Jesus as a fix for whatever problem or problems that they are having. If their poor, if their sick, if their divorced, if their single, if their bald, if their flat footed, etc.

Jesus may fixed all those issues, some of those issues, or none of those issues. We should present him realistically. Not ficticiously. The truth is he will save you from the penalty of your sins. He will change your heart. When you die, you will be with him.

That is all! We cannot promise anything else besides that. The rest is up to him. When we promise more, we become salesmen. We could make a brochure. Page 1 “Everlasting life”, page 2-4 “Wealth and Health”, page 5″fruits of the spirit”, page 6-10 “Tithes and offerings”. This would no doubt be the biggest section in the brochure.

The above paragraph can be corrected with correct and proper teaching, the taking of life without remorse or repentance is not a result of bad teaching. It is the result of a corrupted heart.

George Floyd did not die because the Police Officers at the scene were poorly trained, nor was Stephen stoned to death at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders, because they were taught incorrectly.

Both deaths were the result of corrupted hearts. No amount of training can fixed that diagnosis. No training, no exercise, no course or no lecture will suffice. Only God can change a person’s heart, not policy. Know this is a falling world we live in.

There will NEVER be a Godly King sitting anywhere on this Earth, so do not put your faith in any man that holds a high office. Our King has already came and died and rose and now sits in the Kingdom, waiting on the appointed time you will be called to join him.

Do not ignore the people or the circumstances around you. Jesus did not do that. You cannot speak truth to people and ignore all that it is that affects them. The role of the Church is not to stay silent in perilous times, it is to turn away and rebuke unrighteous behavior during perilous times.

We would be used as instruments to judge the World, first Corinthians 6:2. But because of our fear and our lust of the flesh, we stand to be judged by it. The secrect to following Jesus during periolous times is not allowing the world to undue what Jesus has already done in your heart.

And if Jesus is in your heart, then truth is in your heart. Truth is absolute. It doesn’t change just because times have changed. The same spirit that killed God’s Prophets, the same spirit that killed God’s son, the same spirit that killed the Apostles, is the same spirit that killed George Floyd.

Policy does not change hearts. Laws does not change hearts. The constitution does not change hearts. Only God can do that. Do not pray for a change in policy. You can institute as many policy changes as you want. There only as good as the people that follow them, and the institutions that enforce them.

Pray for a change in people’s heart, starting with our own.

If you have any questions or concerns, please leave your comments below. If you have any prayer request or if you would just like to pray for someone you know who needs it, I will pray for them as well. As always, be safe. I pray this message has reached the right ears and touched the right hearts.

God Bless.