Wednesday 9/12/12 Wars and Rumors of War!

Dear Father in Heaven ... Please forgive me of my sins, and please, Lord, help us all this day as we struggle today when hearing of more Americans killed in Libya.  Dear Lord, we put our trust in You this day as we pray for peace, worldwide peace.  Help me now, please, with this message You are laying on my heart.  May it come from You, dear Lord.  In Jesus' name, Amen.  Oh, and Lord, I am sorry, I forgot to thank You for another beautiful day.  Thanks, Lord, and for all that You provide for us.  Amen.

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters.  It is Wednesday and today I ask all of you to really pray for peace, worldwide Peace.  For once again, and on 9/11/12, our nation was hit, this time in Libya, by people who hate America, and most likely hate Christians.  Also today I ask you to pray for my dear brother in Christ, Dave Fortney, as he stands with his family while his beloved earthly father has been placed in hospice care.  Folks, as always in all things, please pray, "Thy Will Be Done."  Dave and his family love Jesus which includes his loving parents.  Thank you.

Wars and Rumors of War:

Matthew 24:4 - Jesus answered:  "Watch out that no one deceives you.  5  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  7 Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  8 All these things are the beginning of birth pains.  (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, when I turned in last evening, God had not yet given me a message for today, but He has been very clear to me on this subject of today.  Maybe once again He is just trying to calm me down over the events of yesterday and what is going on today.  Once again our nation came under attack yesterday and I am not talking about abortion and those other things I pointed out yesterday.

Today we had four Americans killed in Libya.  One was our ambassador to Libya.  I do not know the reason why, but I do know it was an attack on Americans by Muslim extremists.  Why this happened is not what our Lord wants me to write about, and again I say, this has me upset, the events have me upset and I think He wants to bring out to me, and of course to you, that these things are going to happen.

When Jesus made this statement He was talking to His disciples and they were asking Him questions.  The Bible tells us that His disciples came to Him privately and asked, "Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?"  Of course the disciples were talking about when Jesus would be returning as He said He would.  Let me remind you of where that is quoted in the Bible.

John 14:1 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled, Trust in God, trust also in me.  2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am."  (NIV)

So Jesus was addressing His disciples, and I want you to remember we are the disciples of today, and since Jesus is the same today, He is indeed addressing us in His words as quoted in our Bibles.

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  (NIV)

With that said, let's look at the way Jesus is addressing us.  Let's break down the scripture of today.

Jesus answered:  "Watch out that no one deceives you."  Here we find Jesus giving us a warning to be careful that no one pulls one over on us.  Now Jesus said:  "For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ.'  While some will stand and say they are the Christ, there will be a lot telling us that certain things are okay to do, they are indeed deceiving people and to prevent that we must be strong in Jesus and strong in His Word.  Some pastors at some churches are not preaching the WHOLE TRUTH.  Churches like the Unitarian Church seem to say it is whatever want, that is okay.  For example, they support gay marriage, and support abortion.  In other words if it feels good to you, then it is okay with them and God ... WRONG!

The truth is there are many times when a pastor speaking the complete truth, the complete truth, will have his flock sitting in their seats sweating and squirming.  I know that for I have been in the pew when a pastor preached Hell so hot you could feel the heat.  And yes, I have done the same thing, I have squirmed in my seat, and I have preached the heat.  We just really need to be careful we are not deceived, even if it is not someone showing up saying they are Jesus.  Let me tell you this, and then no one should deceive you and say they are Jesus.  When Jesus comes back, we who are saved will meet Him in the sky.  So if someone comes to you and tells you, I am the Christ, tell them they are not, but that you would be glad to tell them about the real Christ, and try and get that person to come to Jesus.

If we are living the way we are taught to live by Jesus we should all be trying to act like Him, we are to walk ion His light, but we are not Jesus and should never say or tell anyone we are, and if we get any praise at all from folks here on earth, TURN IT OVER TO JESUS.

Let's move on to the Wars and Rumors of Wars.  Have you read the papers or watched the news lately?  But this is not just happening now, it has been going on in the sand countries, as I call them, forever, since the beginning of time, or almost the beginning of time.  Fighting has been there.  Jesus tells us this.

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom."

Well, gosh, it just seems to get worse all the time, but of course the news gets out faster and faster also.  I would think that back during WW 1 and WW 2 people would think just like we do.  And then all the other wars we were involved in.  Jesus tells us we are not be alarmed.  Same Jesus that tells us not to worry.  There are many wars going on right now, and we are involved in a lot of them, think about it.  Don't just think military wars, think about wars that happen because we Christians are trying to get out the Word of Jesus.  Even this one, is it a war or not?  The teachers' union striking against the school board in Chicago.  Would you like to walk out in front of the strikers and tell them  to get back to work, I mean while some people are out of work, they who work 180 to 190 days per year and are making $76,000 per year want more and more.  Again, we are not to be concerned, for the end is yet to come.  What should we do?  WHAT MUST WE DO?

We must trust and have faith in God, and we need to speak out for Him and get the word out for Him, even, even, EVEN, if it puts  us in danger!!  Those going out and preaching around the world, those like Dan Stoner and his family flying into the back woods and telling about Jesus.  Pastors like Benny Hinn, be you like him or not, speak the truth in some hard places.  Even your very own pastor who speaks the truth, and is not afraid to tell it like it is according to the Bible could be in danger.  And guys like Tim Beitzel who goes on the road and other gospel singers, they depend on Jesus to keep them safe.  Dave, Duane, and Neil have been in some "hot places" over the years, God has opened doors for them and kept them safe EVEN IN RUSSIA!  We must trust in God.  Even I, who have been writing on this line for 15 years and put it out over the line, could come under attack.  I, brothers and sisters, will stand firm.  I pray for peace, and we pray for protection, and brothers and sisters, when you pray for worldwide peace you are indeed asking God the Father to send back Jesus.

So do not worry about those wars and rumors of wars, just go to work for God, be sure you have Him in your heart, and talk to Him a lot.  In case you want to renew or come to Christ now so you are sure you are ready if He should return today ... Let's confess our love for Him as recorded in Romans 10-9/10 and you can read it for yourself today.  Look it up on your own.  Let's pray.

Dear Father in Heaven, today the news is filled with talk about wars, and rumors of wars, what will America do after several Americans were murdered.  Lord Jesus, we put that into Your hands as we confess our sins to You.  Yes, I am a sinner saved only by Your Grace, Jesus.  And I believe in You with all my heart and soul.  Save me, Lord, and let me work for You, not being afraid until You do return for me.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Now go forth and love on Jesus, tell others of Jesus and share those blessings.  Love ya, Pastor Dan.