WHY BELIEVERS LACK FAITH

 

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Perhaps the most needed area in church ministries today is Bible training. Paul instructed young Pastor Timothy to preach the Word, not preach about the Word. The lack of biblical knowledge among today's believers is astonishing. And, at the same time, it appears, at least to this pastor, that there is a great "want-to" to learn the Word by parishioners. Why do I say that?

Wednesday nights, when I had a solid hour to teach the Word, the attendance was good but could have been better. Still, I believe people do want to learn the Bible and that’s why the faithful came.

The responsibility is clearly on church leadership to provide the training, the responsibility on receiving it is on the congregation.

Why is such training important? Because according to Hebrews 11:6; we cannot please God without faith. Where does faith come from? Romans 10:17; "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The more of scripture a person truly knows, the more faith is generated in his or her heart. So much of today's church world is geared to music and worship.

Certainly those are positive virtues, but we also must have solid expository preaching and strong, strong teaching of the Word.

I suspect if pastors would spring a surprise test on biblical knowledge in a Sunday morning service, they just might be shocked to see how few of their congregants could truly pass it. Such a showing might be a clear reason why some of those dear people have a problem with their faith.

Make yourself available to the teaching God is providing and your faith will build.

 Pastor Coutts

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF SEEING THE KING?

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Isaiah 6:1-8;

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

 

We are told here in the 6th Chapter of Isaiah that he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up! How we as Christians need to recognize the authority, the majesty and the power of the God we serve! We do not serve a god we have created with our hands but we serve the God that created us with His hands! We are to serve the Creator and Sustainer of the universe! The Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. It is unfortunate that many today, even Christians, do not see God as Isaiah did. Isaiah 6:1:

Many do not see Him on the throne. It is unfortunate that many see themselves on the throne! To many their plans and their goals are all that matter. However our view of God should be the correct view of God. A view that gets us and our plans off the throne and puts Him where He rightfully deserves to be and already is!

Many do not see Him high and lifted up. To many God is on some list that they have made. God is a great guy who should be thought about, prayed to and served if we can scrounge up the time. Listen folks God doesn’t need to be on our list, ‘God needs to be the list’! What right do we have to call the shots in our lives, He has bought us with a price, the precious blood of His Son has redeemed us!

What will happen if we see the Lord as Isaiah did? Isaiah 6:5-8;

We will see our sin! The closer we get to God, not only does the bigger God become, but the bigger our sins become! Sin will become exceedingly sinful!

When we see the Lord on the throne, high and lifted up we will realize that sin is not a trivial matter, but a matter so revolting that it cost our precious Savior His life and blood to pay for it! Isaiah cried out ‘woe is me’!

We will see the sin of others around us! Notice however, Isaiah dealt with his own sin first! We can’t help folks get specks out of their eyes until we first get the beam out of our own. When we see God the way we should we will not only be broken over our own sins but also the sins of others!

We will be cleansed. When Isaiah confessed his sins God did something about them. God will do something about yours as well if you will confess your sins to Him (I John 1:9).

We will surrender. When we get a correct view of God surrender will not be a chore but an honor! We will be standing in line saying, “Lord here I am, just let me know where to report!" "I’m ready for duty, what can I do to bring honor and glory to your name?"

Let us see the King today! How do we do that you may ask? Just pick up the Word of God and begin to read! Cry out as the Psalmist did and say, "Show me if there be any wicked way within me" and when He shows you confess it to Him and be cleansed and then obey the Word of God! Your view of God will affect your view of your sin, your view of other saints & sinners, your view of service

Let’s see the King today!    Pastor Coutts

YET A LITTLE WHILE!

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     We Have All Asked, "When Lord"?

 

     How many times did the hearts of the Israelites get excited as they found a new leader who they felt may be the coming Messiah. When it was found out that person was not Him, excitement disappeared and disappointment set in. But in spite of the long wait and many speculations, the Messiah finally did come, and as human nature is, He was rejected.

     For thousands of years what was an elusive promise became a reality only to be rejected. Today, we too look for many to be Him and we look for many to be the Antichrist as well.

     How many false Antichrist’s have we had? Napoleon? Mussolini? Stalin? Adolf Hitler? Henry Kissinger to name a few, but that does not mean that the Man of Sin will not finally come.

     The prophecy teachers told us that Israel would become a nation again and in 1948 on May 14^th, it happened. David Ben Gurion told the whole world “The name of our Jewish state will be Israel.”  At that point many Bible Scholars minds raced.. Now, They said, “The Second Coming Is Surely Near.” But, true to form, every thing returned to normal. The fanfare died and people went about their business.

     Then came the six day war in 1967. That’s when the prophecy students got on the bandwagon. “If Israel reunifies the city of Jerusalem, the rapture will take place”  they said.  Days later, Israel crossed the barbed wire fence and raised the Israeli flag over the Temple Mount for the first time in 2000 years. But, The rapture did not happen! And things returned to normal once again.

     The next event was Yassar Arafat shaking hands with Yitzhak Rabin on the lawn of the White House confirming the Oslo Accords. Do you suppose this was a confirmation of the covenant, have the final seven years of Tribulation begun?  NO! Not yet!

     Now, they are putting computer chips under the skin. There is even what is called a ‘sub dermal chip’ which is voluntarily (for now) placed under the skin and you can use it to down load cash into the chip and buy stuff at a store by swiping your hand across the store card reader just like a debit card.

     The Temple Institute in Israel has recreated all the furniture and the utensils needed for the resumption of temple worship. The ashes of the Red Heifer have been refined and are ready. The Sanhedrin has been reestablished after 1600 years. Back in February 2005 the Temple Institute held discussions about the proposed location of the prophesied Third Temple. Jews the world over were being asked to send in a portion of their earnings to help pay for the rebuilding of the Temple.

     2013 is here and still, no rapture! Why hasn’t He come back yet? It’s simple! “It’s just not quite time yet!

     But know this for sure: The One who promised to come the first time kept His Word. The same Messiah promised to come a second time and again, He will keep His word.

     “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37;

POISONED BY OUR OWN TONGUES

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 “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. Fore every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” James 3:5-8

      Two snakes were crawling along when one snake asked the other, “Are we poisonous?” The other replied, “You bet we are! We’re rattlesnakes. Why do you ask?” To which the first snake replied, “Because I just bit my tongue.”

     That little joke has more truth in it than you might think. It’s good for a laugh, but whether or not a snake can poison itself by biting it’s tongue is just a reminder that you and I can certainly poison ourselves with the bite of our own words.

     A lot of people seem to think their words will produce no consequences. I guess they believe they can say whatever they want to say, and nothing bad or negative will ever happen. That just is not so! Most of the time,  if we really discuss this issue honestly, we will admit that words can hurt others badly. It’s more than just hurting someone’s feelings. Words often damage lives, mangle reputations, and words will often create all sorts of ill will. But, the one thing we often do not discuss is how damaging our own words are to ‘ourselves!’

     When you lie or say things that are shadowed so as to deceive someone, you may have just destroyed your own reputation. You may have lost the trust of the person to whom you spoke, or the person you spoke about. When you brag or make yourself appear important by your words, you may well lose the respect of the very people you are trying to impress. When you play political games by making promises, creating conflicts, or toying with agendas in order to get your way, you are nothing but a verbal prostitute, selling yourself for the sake of gain. Your words betray you as a person with  selfish and evil motives. The poisonous bite of your words may do far more damage to yourself than to everyone else.

     Even today, the truth James wrote about is an important lesson for us all. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” Whenever you hear evil things come from a person’s mouth, it is evidence of evil in the heart. Evil is a poison we cannot afford. Just as the bite of a rattlesnake can kill, so the bite of evil, poisonous words can kill. The unlikely person at risk is quite often, the very person speaking these words.

     James knew that Christians must do better. He said this about the inconsistency of the tongue that both cursed and blessed. “With it ( it being the tongue), we bless our Lord and Father, and with it ( again, it being the tongue), we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” James 3:9-10

     This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Bite your tongue.”

     All I can say is that you might want to be very careful. You may find poison in those fangs of yours, and you may find that your bite may just well be deadly to yourself!

     Here's a bit of advice from my own daughter. When she was 12, she said to me, "Dad, you need to keep your words sweet, because some day you may need to eat them!" Smart Kid. I don't want to be poisoned by my own tongue. Do you want to be poisoned by yours?

 

YOU ARE ALTOGETHER LOVELY!

“Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name

(Philippians 2:9).

 

HE IS ALTOGETHER LOVELY

To many people, Jesus is just another person who is the subject of a painting, a poem a statue or a song. But those who have heard His voice, who have felt His pardon for their sins, or who have received His benediction, to them He is music, warmth, light, joy, hope and salvation.

      

He is a friend who never forsakes, a friend who lifts us up when others try to push us down. We cannot wear Him out as we pile on our grief’s and troubles. He is always ready to lift us up and help us out. He addresses with the same love ; He beams the same smile and shows us compassion.

There is no name like His. It is more inspiring than Caesar’s name, more musical than Beethoven’s name and more conquering the Napoleon’s name. It is more eloquent than Demosthenes’ name and more patient than Lincoln’s name.

The name of Jesus pulsates with life. It weeps with pathos, groans with all pains, stoops with all love and the breath of His name is far better than any perfumes.

There is no one who can pity like Jesus or who can welcome a prodigal home like Jesus, or make a drunk sober instantly or turn a street woman into a queen for Jesus.

Who like Jesus can catch the tears of human sorrow in a bowl and save them for a time of need and wipe them away in an instant?

I struggle with trying to find a metaphor that would suit Jesus. He is not like an orchestra making all that wonderful music, that would be too loud and it could be out of tune. I don’t think He is like a sea or the waves crashing into the shore in all their fury because that would be too  boisterous. He is not like some far off mountain with all the lightening flashing around it or the snow capping it’s top. I would think that would be too solitary and remote.

No, I picture Him as the.....

 

“Lilly of the Valley"

"The Rose of Sharon"

"The Bright and Morning Star"

"The Altogether Lovely One.”

 But more to the point.....  I picture Him as THE SON OF GOD!

 

I hope you took the time to listen to the song in the video and that it touched your heart. My goal is to encourage you to get closer to the Lord.

 

Let me know.  Pastor Bob Coutts

Wit's End Corner

Wit’s End Corner

 

“At their wits end, they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out.”

Psalm 107:27-28

 

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner,”

Christian, with troubled brow?

Are you thinking of what is before you,

And all you are bearing now?

Does all the world seem against you,

And you in the battle alone?

Remember, at “Wit’s End Corner.”

Is just where God’s power is shown.

 

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner,”

Blinded with wearying pain?

Feeling you cannot endue it,

You cannot bear the strain?

Bruised through the constant suffering,

Dizzy, and dazed, and numb?

Remember, at “Wit’s End Corner”

Is where Jesus loves to come.

 

Are you standing at “Wits End Corner”

Your work before you spread?

All lying begun, unfinished,

And pressing on heart and head?

Longing for strength to do it,

Stretching out trembling hands?

Remember, at “Wit’s End Corner”

The Burden Bearer stands.

 

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner”?

Then you’re just in the very spot.

To learn the wondrous resources,

Of Him who faileth not.

No doubt to a brighter pathway,

Your footsteps will soon be moved.

But only at “Wit’s End Corner”

Is the “God who is able” proved.

Antoinette Wilson

THE GREATEST TRAGEDY

When we hear of earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, airplane crashes and other such catastrophes, we are shocked at the resulting loss of so many human lives. But there is a greater tragedy. It is the death of someone who could have been saved!

            God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah was terrible. Suddenly, He sent fire and brimstone from heaven to destroy all of the cities inhabitants. But the greatest tragedy was not that those people perished, but that they could have been saved. Lot had warned his sons-in-law in Genesis 19:14 but “he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.” So they died, although they could have been saved.

            The flood was a world wide catastrophe. The Bible says, “the same day were all the fountains of the deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” Genesis 7:11-12. How the people must have desperately fought to save their lives! But Jesus said later on, “The flood came, and took them all away.”

            Was the loss of life in that worldwide deluge the greatest tragedy? No! What was worse was that the opportunity of salvation had been available to the people of the earth for 120 years. But Jesus said of them, “They knew not.”  They let the Lord Himself close the door of the ark without ever having used it.

            According to the law of the Bible, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10. But God, in His great love, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, and accomplished the greatest deed in the history of mankind. He brought forth salvation when He shed His blood on Calvary’s cross for sins. Not only did He die, but He also arose from the dead for our justification. (Romans 4:25).

            Now you can avoid the greatest tragedy. For over 2000 years the Lord God has caused the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be preached throughout the world. The warning is going out even to this day. “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. II Corinthians 5:20.

            The commission of the Church of Jesus Christ on earth will soon reach its conclusion. The events taking place today so precisely fulfill the prophetic Word that anyone can see that we are living in the last days.

            Have you accepted God’s offer of mercy? Have you received Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for your sins? Have you received Him as your personal Savior? Are you saved for eternity? Maybe you will say, “No,” or “I don’t know.” Unfortunately that is when the greatest tragedy can befall you and you will be eternally lost.

            Avoid that catastrophe by coming to Jesus this very hour. Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.”

            If there is darkness in your heart, if you are tormented by your past sins, if your conscience is sin laden, Jesus Christ offers you full forgiveness and a glorious salvation. Jesus said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. If you read these lines and know that this means you, then please get on your knees now and call on Him to save your soul.

            Tell Him in truth and repentance, “Yes Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Savior and Redeemer.”  By doing this you will avoid becoming a casualty of the greatest tragedy in your life: namely, to be lost forever when you could have been eternally saved.

            It is said of those in Noah’s day that “…they knew not.” And the Bible says this about those in Lot’s day: “He seemed as one that mocked.”       WHAT DO YOU SAY?

 

Pastor Robert Coutts

PUT THIS ON YOUR REFRIDGERATOR TODAY

Where Did We Go?   Date: (Unknown)  To: Everyone else: From: Those who have vanished  Re: The truth about what happened

   This is to tell you exactly what is involved in the sudden disappearance of people around the world. It’s as simple as this: We who belong to Christ were called into the air above the planet in the rapture.

   Yes, that kooky, ridiculous, pie-in-the-sky, fly-away event that Tim LaHaye and other preachers of what you’ve thought of as fantasy have been proclaiming could happen at any moment did, in fact, happen.

   You are hearing, or will soon hear, every conceivable explanation of what caused this astonishing disappearance. Here are our guesses as to some of those explanations:   It was some sort of quantum evolutionary leap, which will ultimately be great for mankind.  It was a mass abduction by extraterrestrials --an outgrowth of the singular abductions that have been reported over the years.   It was a natural, scientifically explainable cosmic interaction that some human physiologies could resist, and others couldn’t.  It was a supernatural movement into a higher form for those who disappeared –an ascension to godhood.  It was punishment from the great cosmological mind, removing the evil from the world.

   Don’t believe any of these or other explanations. To find out the absolute truth about what the mass vanishing actually involves, read in the Bible 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55 and 1Thessalonians 4:13-18. Also read John 14:1-3 to find out where we who vanished are presently located.  Now that we are gone –and our leaving has everything to do with your immediate future—the following will happen in order very similar to that listed here. These and other events  will occur over the next seven years.

    Total chaos will rule for a time. (Luke. 21: 25)

    Governments will get control through sometimes-harsh methods. (Rev. 17: 12-13)

    One world government will come together. (Ps. 2: 1-3)

    A one-world church will form. (Rev. Ch. 17)

    A world leader from Europe will step to the forefront and take charge of the peace process. (Dan. 9: 26-27)

    Israeli government and Israel’s enemies will sign an agreement of peace that ensures peace and safety. (Dan. 9: 27; Isa. 28: 18; 1 Thes. 5: 3)

    Peace will not last, as a coalition of nations--led by Russia--will invade the Middle East. (Ezek. 38: 1-12)

    God, himself, will destroy all but one-sixth of the invader forces. (Ezek. 39: 1-5)

    Much of the world will be hit by the deadly effects of the invasion. This will possibly include chemical, biological and nuclear aftereffects. (Ezek. 39:6-7; 11-16)

   The world leader will solidify his power following the Russian-led coalition’s destruction. (Dan. 8: 23-25; 11: 36-39)

   Two Old-Testament-type prophets will come on the world scene and preach about Christ while condemning the world’s evil. (Rev. 11: 3-6)

   Meanwhile, God will put His protection upon 144,000 Jews who have converted to Christianity so that they can begin to preach God’s saving message to the people of the Tribulation. (Rev. 7: 3-8)

   At the same time, God will allow strong delusion to come over all who heard the Gospel before the Rapture, but, fully understanding the offer of salvation, refused to accept Christ. These will believe Antichrist’s and Satan’s, lies. (2 Thes. 2: 11-12)

   Antichrist, after months of trying, will finally murder the two Old-Testament-type prophets. But they will come back to life and be taken into Heaven while the world watches. (Rev. 11: 11-12)

   Antichrist will receive a supposedly deadly head wound. (Rev. 13: 3)

   He will appear to resurrect from the dead, being then possessed by Satan. (13: 3-4)

   Antichrist will stand in the Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. He will claim to be God, and demand worship. (2 Thes. 2: 3-4)

   The false prophet will direct all worship to Antichrist, and will erect an image of him. (Rev. 13:11-17)

   Antichrist’s regime will institute a computer mark and numbers system. It will be both to control the world’s populations, and to cause all to worship Antichrist, whose number in all of this is 666. (Rev. 13: 16-18)

   Those who refuse to accept Antichrist’s mark will be murdered. Beheading will apparently be the regime’s chosen method of offing these “traitors.” (Rev. 13: 15; 20: 4)

   Antichrist will begin a systematic genocide against the Jewish race that will make Hitler’s Holocaust look mild by comparison. (Rev. Ch. 12)

   He and the false prophet will also have all the new believers they can find, rounded up, tortured, then murdered. (Jhn. 16: 2; Rev. 13: 8)

   While Antichrist hunts down and murders people by the millions, God’s judgments will begin to fall directly on the rebellious people of Planet Earth. (Rev. 6: 17)

   Millions upon millions will die while God’s wrath pours out in a series of three types of judgments, each consisting of seven specific judgments, for a total of 21 judgments. (Rev. Chapters 6through 18)

   When all is said and done, more than one-half, possibly as much as two-thirds, of all human life on Earth will die of the plagues. (Rev. 6: 8; 8: 8; 9: 18)

   God will prepare, and the Jewish remnant will flee to, a hiding place, probably Petra, the ancient city carved in the rose red-colored rocks of the Jordanian wilderness. (Rev. 12: 6, 14)

   Antichrist and his forces, led by Satan, will pursue the Jewish people and try to murder them, but the pursuing forces will be swallowed up by the Earth. (Rev. 12: 15-16)

   While the Jewish and many of the Gentile people still alive remain safely protected, God’s wrath will fall in greater force. (Rev. 16: 1)

   The sun will go partly dark, while at the same time heating up to seven times hotter than normal. (Rev. 16: 8-11)

   A great object will fall into the ocean from space. Its impact will kill life in the sea, and most likely will destroy coastal areas with tidal waves. (Rev. 8: 8-9)

   Another asteroid or other mass from space will strike Earth and will poison much of the planet’s fresh water sources. (Rev. 8: 10-11)

   Great, unprecedented earthquakes will happen simultaneously all over the Earth. (Matt. 24: 7; Rev. 16: 18)

   People will be so frightened they will have heart attacks, just from the things they see are yet to come. (Lk. 21: 26)

   A supernatural plague of huge insect-like creatures will be released from the abyss, and they will sting all who have the mark of the Beast. Men and women will try to commit suicide because of their great pain from the stings and bites of these demonic creatures. (Rev. 9: 3-6)

  God will then move in the minds of all military forces on Earth to gather in the valley of Jezreel, the plains of Esdraelon, near the ancient city of Megiddo. This is Armageddon. (Joel 3: 14; Rev. 16: 16)

   The “Kings of the East,” a huge army out of the Orient numbering more than 200 million troops, will invade to make war with Antichrist’s and the other world’s forces. (Rev. 9: 15-16; 16: 12)

   Jesus said of this time, that if He didn’t come back, everyone and everything would die because of the fighting about to take place. (Matt. 24: 22; Mark 13: 20)

   Jesus will return with the armies of Heaven. His armies consist of the mighty angels and Jesus’ Church, which will have been raptured at least seven years earlier. (Rev. 19: 11-14)

  Antichrist’s armies and all others will try to prevent Christ’s return. (Rev. 19: 19)

  Jesus will simply speak, and all armies on Earth will be rendered helpless, most killed. (19: 15-18)

          You have only one chance to survive: accept Jesus Christ as Savior (Read John, chapter 3). This will involve refusing to take Antichrist’s mark when it is instituted. If you accept the mark, you are eternally doomed.

          Note to those not appointed to God’s wrath (1 Thes. 5:9-11): Perhaps you should pass this memorandum to your lost family and friends before you vanish. Then, post it on your refrigerator.

HIDING PLACES

Hiding Places: 1 Kings 19:1-21;

            Have you ever read the diary of Anne Frank? After Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, increasingly severe anti-Jewish measures began. A Jewish family by the name of Frank tried to escape by going into hiding. On July 1942, Otto, Edith and their daughters Margot and Anne hid in this building at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Their hiding place was the uppermost floors of the back annex of Otto’s office building. They never thought that when they entered that hiding place on July 6, 1942, that it would be two years before they would ever feel the sun on their faces again. After more than two years the group was betrayed and deported to various concentration camps in Poland. Edith died at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Anne and Margot died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945, only a few weeks before this concentration camp was liberated. Otto Frank was the only member of the family to survive and return home after the war. Anne Frank was only 15 years old.
            What is a hiding place? Why do we seek to go there some times? A hiding place is a place where we can feel safe from impending danger. It’s a place where we can get away from whatever troubles us. It’s a place where no one knows just where we are and what we are feeling. I watch the children as they play and Hide-and-Seek around the school in our back yard and some of the places they choose aren’t much of a hiding place at all, under a slide  in the middle of the playground, or behind a tree with their feet showing. Children like to play games with hiding places, but adults have their hiding places too. Some will hide in a bottle of alcohol, trying to drown their fears in the booze. Some like the drugs to mask their feelings of fear and anxiety. Some like to find a special place where they can get alone, away from the crowds.
            There was a prophet in the Old Testament who sought out some hiding places too and I want us to look at his story for a few minutes and see what the Spirit has to say to each of us. Elijah was a mighty man of God. When he spoke, the whole nation of Israel shook, because he spoke for God Almighty. By his word, the rain stopped for three years and by Elijah’s word, the rain came again. By his word fire would fall out of a clear sky and consume the sacrifice, the stones of the altar, the water in the ditch and the very dust of the ground. When Elijah spoke his words would bring either a blessing or a curse and everyone listened to hear what he had to say. But there came a day when even this great man of God, this “man of faith and power for the hour”, began to seek out his hiding place too.
            It all began when Ahab, the king of Israel, married a heathen woman from the Sidonians by the name of Jezebel. If ever a man was unequally yoked with an unbeliever, Ahab was the one. Jezebel loved her heathen idols. She was missionary minded too, and established a large number of schools for her idol prophets and priests, and then built a lot of temples in honor of her gods of Baal and Asheroth. Israel was in trouble and God was not going to let his chosen nation go off into idolatry without trying to stop them, so he sent Elijah, His chosen servant, to put an end to it all. On Mount Carmel, Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal met for their showdown at the OK Corral. This was drama beyond anything that Hollywood could produce. Here he was, this man of faith and power, a chosen prophet of the most High God, alone against 450 idol prophets, and he was challenging them to slap leather. When the smoke cleared and the battle was over, Elijah stood alone and the 450 prophets that Jezebel had trained were dead. I know that what I am about to say is stereotyping but I can imagine Jezebel as a spoiled brat. Maybe she was a redheaded, feisty woman with one bad temper, that would blow her top at the drop of a hat, and she carried the hat.
            "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time." 1 Kings 19:1-2
            Can you picture this scene in your mind? Here comes Ahab, the weak kneed king of Israel, scared to death of his Queen with the bad temper. He went striding into the palace like a king until he came to her door. Then he sent the guards away and very quietly steps into the door to tell Jezebel the bad news. And the reaction comes, just as he suspected. Jezebel came unglued! Elijah was dead meat and she meant to kill him.
            That kind of news spreads fast. Jezebel’s servant ran to tell Elijah that she was out to kill him. Suddenly, that man of God lost his power and ran for his life, taking his servant with him. After all, he was still a ‘man of God’ and he still needed his servant because everybody knows that the prophet doesn’t work for a living.
            "And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." 1 Kings 19:3-4
            Elijah didn’t run for a few miles and quit. He kept on running until he crossed border into the Southern Kingdom of Judah where Ahab was not the king, and came to a little village called Beersheba. That’s as far as he would even let his servant go. This prophet was in trouble. He was willing to leave everything in his haste to find a hiding place where he could feel safe. Perhaps he didn’t even want his servant to know where to find him in case Jezebel would try to question him. Fear had replaced Elijah’s faith for now. Fear will drive you like cattle. It will take you places that you never thought you would ever go. From the mountaintop of Carmel to the deserts of Judah in one day!           How far can we fall when fear replaces faith! Have you ever experienced that before? Have you ever been on the mountaintop with God, like all is well, and then suddenly you crash in flames of doubt and fear at something that comes against you. Well, now you know that even God’s prophets have faced the same thing.
            Elijah went on for hours after leaving Beersheba and his servant behind. He was looking for a really good hiding place. After he had traveled a day’s journey into the desert, he found a little shade beneath a juniper tree in the middle of nowhere and that’s where he decided to sit and hide out for a while, and have his little pity party. He finally felt far enough away from everything and everybody that he could have a few minutes of peace. I think that Elijah might have finally came down to the point where he discovered that he was nothing without God and it was almost more than he could bear.       Perhaps all this time, with all of the mighty miracles, he had developed a feeling of superiority over all the people of Israel.  After all, he was a great prophet, and what were they but mere sheep in God’s fold.  Maybe God had to bring him down to the sheep’s level to teach Elijah that it was God and not Elijah that performed the miracles and brought down the fire.  After having run for so long and being driven by fear, Elijah was exhausted. He had come to the end of his rope and the knot was gone.  He just wanted to lie down and die. He wasn’t anything special now, just another man on the run.  He laid his head back upon the rocks and closed his eyes, hoping to die, but he only fell asleep. Sometimes, that’s what we need most of all; just a little sleep; a little rest; a little time of refreshing.
            "And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baking on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God." 1 Kings 19:5-8
            How many of us look for that hiding place sometimes and when we find a place where we can feel safe and get away from everything, that’s where we decide to camp out for a while? We don’t care what God wants us to do. We give up for a time on the call of God on our lives, and we fall asleep spiritually in our hiding place. That hiding place might be a large congregation where we can still have the appearance of being a mighty man or woman of God, but we don’t have to do anything or be accountable to anyone. It might be a job where we can work long hours to have a good excuse not to be where we should be or serve the Lord the way we know we should. It might be family that comes to visit, or cares of life that give us a hiding place. We all have them don’t we? But Elijah couldn’t hide from God and neither can we. God knows where you are. He knows what you are doing and He isn’t going to let you get too comfortable in your hiding place, overcome with fear and doubt. He wants you back on the battlefield!
            I don’t know what that angel gave Elijah to eat, but it must have been one really good energy bar. It wasn’t a Dr. Pepper that he drank, and it wasn’t a Hershey Granola Bar that he ate, or a Snicker’s bar because it was enough to give him all the food and drink he needed for the next 40 days. If we could find out what Elijah ate and drank, we could start up a diet program, with energy food bars and energy drink business that couldn’t fail.
            One good thing that I can say about Elijah’s running is that, all the time that he was running, he was running toward the Mount of God at Horeb. He was going toward Mt. Sinai where the Law was given and  God was known to have come down to speak to Moses. Elijah needed to hear from God, and even in his fear, he knew that God was his only source of real help. When Elijah reached the mountains, he was still a man on the run in fear. His faith was at an all time low point in his life. He needed help badly.
            "And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 1 Kings 19:9-10
            There he is, that once powerful, anointed Prophet of God, called and chosen to give forth the Word of the Lord to God’s chosen people, in his new hiding place in a cave. Now the pity party grows larger and he starts murmuring and complaining and questioning God. Now God speaks. “What are you doing here Elijah?” God is asking (not that He doesn’t already know) so that He can remind Elijah of his calling. God was saying, “Elijah, you have a call on your life and a job to do. Why are you sitting here in fear, having your pity party?”Listen to Elijah’s answer. . . “Look here God. I’ve been the best prophet I know how to be. I’ve done things that no one else can, or will, ever do for you. I’ve been loyal. I’ve been faithful. I’ve kept my promise, but I can’t do this anymore. It’s me against the whole nation. Everyone has turned their backs on you and on me now. I’ve done all I can do to teach them the truth and now they are out to kill me. What else do you want from me God!
            We can really come up with the excuses for not serving the Lord the way we should can’t we. We go hide in our little corner, out of sight, out of mind, and hope that God just forgets about us for a little while, while we have our little pity parties!
            When God tries to speak to us to get up and get moving we just say  “Speak to the Hand, the ears aren’t listening.” “I’ve done more down at the church than all the other people put together. I’m tired of carrying the load while everyone else has a fun time, sits back and does nothing. I’m sick of people calling me, wanting me to do things for them. I’m burned out, tired, disgusted and worn to a frazzle. Leave me alone. They want me to do too much. I’m killing myself for nothing, because nobody else cares how I feel.”
            "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.  And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 1 Kings 19:11-14
            Once more, God speaks to Elijah in love, and gives him direction for his life. God knows that Elijah is but a man, a man running in fear, weak in body, and weak in the flesh. Thank God for his mercy and grace to frail human beings.  I’m so glad that He understands our weaknesses and overlooks our ignorance sometimes. God forced Elijah to hear His voice one more time. The voice of the Lord spoke, not in the power of the winds of adversity, not in the shaking circumstances that try to overwhelm us, not in the winds of false doctrines that come to our ears, not in the fires of trials and tribulations, but, in the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and through the quietness of His written Word.
            Elijah finally began to really listen and to hear the voice of God speaking to him. In that voice, he found peace and safety. In that still small voice he found the calming of the fears and the rising of his faith once again. In that voice, Elijah found strength to carry on the work that was set before him. He still answered God with the same words as before, but now the words don’t seem as forceful and full of fear, doubt and frustration. Elijah, like us, didn’t give up his pity party easily, but he was beginning to come out of it now. God showed Elijah that he wasn’t alone in the fight. God always has a remnant, but that remnant is still a mighty force to be reckoned with.
            God’s Got An Army, Marching Through The Land. Deliverance Is Their Song And There’s Healing In Their Hand. There’s Everlasting Joy And Gladness In Their Hearts, And In This Army I Have A Part. And you have a part, just like Elijah did.
            "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 1 Kings 19:18
            From that cave Elijah went forth to do the work of the Lord again. God gave him a new servant by the name of Elisha. Elijah was to be the role model for this new servant and God was going to anoint Elisha with a double portion of the power and Spirit of his teacher.
            Keep on keeping on. No matter how discouraging it may get, no matter how tired you are, keep on keeping on. You never know when God is going to send you an Elisha to train and teach. You never know what you life is going to do to encourage someone else to carry on the work when you are gone. Thank God that He never gives up on us, even when we find ourselves in a cave having a pity party, God still sees greatness and leadership in us and He still wants to use us for His glory to build His kingdom.

NEW SERIES: PART SIX: I WILL, “ RETURN”

I Will Return

John 14:1-6; II Timothy 3:1-5; 4:1-5;

               If I announced this morning that I would be giving every Christian in this Church an expensive gift at the conclusion of the service if they were to stay awake and be alert and active worshippers during the service. I believe this would dramatically change the mood in this Church leading up to its conclusion, especially if the congregation really believed I could give each one an expensive gift! If this was for real, the atmosphere would truly become charged with alert active worshippers because no one would want to miss out on the gift by falling asleep and being disqualified! Anticipation would build as the service came to a close for the reward each would receive! Because of this, there are two dynamics would be noticeable in the service: The anticipated reward would create a desire to do the right things during the service in order to qualify, and then it would create an anticipation for the reward at the end of the service with great joy. This is precisely what knowledge of Jesus' second coming is intended to do for us! Someone once made the following observation: Man's life is made up of twenty years of his mother asking him where he is going, forty years of his wife asking him where he has been and one hour at his funeral when everyone wonders where he is going. 

               The Word of God teaches us that Jesus will return! This should stir in us a righteous lifestyle in the present, and an excitement anticipating the future! The Bible clearly indicates that the last days before Christ returns will be a difficult period of time. There will be a marked sense of human arrogance and unhealthy pride. People will be lovers of pleasures and self much more than lovers of God and what is good. The spirit of the age will be marked by self love. This turning to self instead of God will result in an abundance of sin and a lack of belief in things being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Each right and wrong will be based on what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ to each person. It will be like it was in the days of Noah when everyone did that which was right in their own eyes! Luke 17:26; History is replete with time periods when people did whatever they personally thought was right. Judges 19:1; 21:25; It will not be an easy time to hold to Biblical standards, but we must! Why does Jesus tell them to ‘not let their hearts be troubled’?  Jesus had just told them that one of them was a traitor, and that He was leaving them and that Peter (their leader) was going to fail.

               In the light of these three depressing announcements Jesus sees the need to offer some encouragement to them. Their hearts were troubled. So what is the cure? They would have to trust in God and in so doing they would also have to trust in Christ! Jesus wishes to indicate to them that there is much more than they know that is coming up. Their understandings of boundaries were not the end, there is much more and it’s all good!

               For centuries Portugal's motto was ‘Nothing More Beyond.’ Their world was limited to the familiar dimensions of the area around the Mediterranean Sea. They believed that to sail beyond the horizon, ‘their border’, would be to drop off the edge of the world. Eventually, voyagers discovered worlds beyond and brought back evidence to substantiate their claims. Decision makers were compelled to alter their motto to read, ‘More Beyond’. Easter assures us there is more beyond the grave. We do not have a chart to guide us, save Jesus Christ; details are sketchy, but our destination is certain. C. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Broadman, 1986), p. 108.

               How do we handle a world we cannot understand, and where the news is often so bad as to leave us feeling hopeless and frustrated? We continue to put our trust in Christ who has everything under control! We continue to trust His Word which tells us we have hope though others do not who reject Him! Jesus tries to restore their perspective with all this bad news! No wonder the ‘Gospel’ means ‘Good News’ and the world needs some good news!  

               Jesus attempts to help them see something wonderful beyond the pall of death that was coming. He explains to them the promise that He is preparing a place for all those who belong to Him, and that in doing so He will come again to us. Death is not the end of life. And the world will not destroy itself either, Christ will return before that happens! The problem of course is whether they grasp this new perspective of Jesus, or if they simply hear what He is saying and still fail to see the truth!  This is too easily done even now among Christians!

               So often we say we believe in the second coming of Christ, but our lifestyle and priorities don't really reflect this perspective! We fail to see correctly the truth before us, like the lady who stepped up on a penny scale to check her weight while her husband stood by. She no sooner got on it and put the penny in when she quickly jumped off as soon as the weight showed! Her husband quickly asked "well, what is the verdict, a little overweight right?" She answered however, "No, No, not overweight at all, but according to the chart I should be 8 inches taller for my weight!" The truth was in front of her but she would not accept it.

               Jesus is not just making an empty promise here, it is meant to encourage them in the face of tough times! So should the doctrine that Jesus is coming back! This is not a cop out, it is what gives us the encouragement to live for today knowing our future is secure. It has very real positive dynamics for the present and is not just a belief of escapism! Jesus promises a permanent dwelling to all those who trust in Him! The great ‘carpenter’ on earth is also building dwelling places in Heaven for all those who belong to Him! This knowledge is meant to offer hope to us in living now, and in the future! Jesus shares this to build their level of expectancy when everything around them goes wrong.

               The future will right all wrongs and anticipation of the future being good can have a very positive effect on the present! I John 3:3; We can face tomorrow with great expectancy! This promise of Christ's is a sure one, you can bet your life on it! To all those who have received Christ, He will receive them one day! We will continue our fellowship together if we are believers in Christ, even past this life. Only those who refuse Him will not be with us. This truth alone should be enough to encourage our witnessing to others, like Phillips Brooks of Boston who became quite ill and would see no visitors. When Robert Ingersoll, the agnostic, heard that his friend was sick, he called at his home and was admitted at once. "I appreciate this very much," said Mr. Ingersoll. "But why do you see me when you deny yourself to your other friends." "It is this way," answered Bishop Brooks. "I feel confident of seeing my other friends in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you."  Emery Young, in Coronet from The Sermon Builder, February 1982, p. 34.

               Jesus assures the disciples that they know the way to join Him later. Thomas is the first to speak up however and say they don't get it! He explains that they don't know where He is going much less how to get there! But Jesus had clearly told them where He was going, and letting them know that just by trusting in Him they too would find the way there. They don't have to worry about getting lost if they have Christ in their hearts! Eternal things are more long lasting than our material things, does your life reflect this truth? It is said that about two hundred years ago, the tomb of the great conqueror Charlemagne was opened. The sight the workmen saw was startling. There was his body in a sitting position, clothed in the most elaborate of kingly garments, with a scepter in his bony hand. On his knee lay the Holy Scriptures, with a cold, lifeless finger pointing to Mark 8:36: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and loose his own soul?"             We can never get lost on the way to eternity if Christ lives in us and walks with us! Jesus makes it very clear to them the way to Heaven. It is through Him, and Him alone! He is the ‘way’ (the Path), He is the ‘truth’, (the Map), and He is the ‘life’,  (the Energy). No other road goes to Heaven, Jesus said this, not me! Jesus offers no other way into Heaven,  not ‘all roads lead to God’! One cannot think highly of Jesus and disregard the exclusive statements He makes about finding Heaven as a final destination point! If you don't know Christ here and now you won't be welcomed by Him when you cross over in death, or when He returns to receive all who belong to Him. But for those who know Him now, they will have no problem knowing Him in Heaven! For the believer, the trip will be triumphant, hence even death has lost its sting! I Corinthians 15:55;

               Thomas Edison was a scientific genius and an exacting and practical man who didn't casually say anything he didn't believe. Mrs. Edison told about the night Edison was at death's door. Suddenly it was evident that he wanted to say something, so she and the doctor bent down close. This great scientist, with a smile on his face, said, "It is very beautiful over there!" James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 177.

               Heaven for the believer is a real destination point. Death is the terminal that opens the way. Should the trump of God blow one of these days while we are yet alive we shall be caught up to meet Christ in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord! I Thessalonians. 4:16-17; We will be with Christ forever if we have received Him as our Lord and Savior in this life!

               A few hours before Dwight L. Moody died, he caught a glimpse of the glory awaiting him. Awakening from a sleep, he said, "Earth recedes, heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go!" His son who was standing by his bedside said, "No, no father, you are dreaming." "No," said Mr. Moody, "I am not dreaming; I have been within the gates; I have seen the children's faces." A short time elapsed and then, following what seemed to the family to be the death struggle, he spoke again: "This is my triumph; this my coronation day! It is glorious!" A triumphant trip awaits all those who know Christ, do you know Him?

               Jesus will return! If we follow Jesus we can't get lost because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! The more we anticipate His coming, the more passion we will have to live godly today. Are you ready for His coming, and if so, is it impacting how you live now? Christ said, “I WILL”, and He meant it!