The Writing On The Wall, A Nation Weighed In God's Balances

The Prophecy Of Daniel Speaking To Us Today

Belshazzar, the king demands to bring the silver and gold vessels from the temple so his princes, wives and concubine's can drink from them. They drank wine in them and praised other gods of wood, stone, iron and gold. In that same hour came the finger of a man that wrote over the plaster on the king's wall in the palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.

We're going to travel back in time to ancient Babylon to a royal banquet.  Babylon was the first world empire and its gardens were considered one of the seven wonders of the world in that ancient time.  Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, is now the king of Babylon.  This young hearted king decides he will hold a royal banquet and he invites thousands of his lords and princes.  The palace was ablaze with light.  The candle lobbers shined upon the golden and silver vessels from the temple.

The most prominent people in the kingdom were invited to this banquet.  They were dressed in rich garments and precious jewels.  They were the upper crust.  They were the social elite.  They held high positions in that kingdom.  Babylon was a world empire.  Treasures were in abundance, in jewels, gold and precious stones.

A wild party was in progress with the scents of perfumes, music, and exotic dancers.  Laughter was heard as the dancers danced across the tables to perform their suggestive dances before them.. The king and his men were getting drunker and drunker, and bolder and bolder as each hour passed.  But as time went on things began to get dull and blurry from so much wine.

Belshazzar decided to do something to brighten things up.  In his drunken stupor he demanded that the vessels in Jerusalem be taken from the temple, the House of G-d, and to be brought in so that his princes could drink from them.

"Fill their cups," cried Belshazzar, "and drink to your king."  So they filled up the sacred vessels from the House of G-d and drank to their King and false gods.

Suddenly, a death-like hush fell upon the banquet hall and a hand appeared on the wall.  It was a hand without an arm, and without a body.  The hand was writing upon the wall.  Belshazzar became pale and he began to shake. Nothing like this had ever happened before and in his drunken state he began to wonder, what does this mean?  So he called for his wise men, and soothe sayers and magicians. But when they saw the handwriting on the wall they were unable to give the meaning. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Queen mother came in and she knew Daniel personally, and upon her advise Daniel was called to tell the king what the writing on the wall meant.  Belshazzar promised Daniel all types of riches and treasures if he would only make known to him the handwriting on the wall.

Daniel was G-d's man, and he wasn't looking for riches and told the king to give those to others.  Daniel said, "but I will tell you what the writing means." Daniel said, "first, I'll tell you why it came. You have lifted yourself up against the G-d of heaven and have defiled G-d's vessels. You have desecrated them.  You have drank wine with your lord's and praised the false gods of wood, iron and gold, and of stone.  That's the reason why these things are written upon the wall."

Daniel continues, "and this is what the writings mean.  G-d has numbered the days of your kingdom. Thou art weighed in G-d's balances and been found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Meads and Persians."

Belshazzar thought that perhaps if he treated Daniel with kindness that he could avert this catastrophe that had just been prophesied.  But that very night that prophesy was fulfilled.  While a party was in progress Cyrus and his officers were just outside the walls of Jerusalem at the Euphrates River digging a tunnel.  They diverted the course of that river into another direction. That night Cyrus and his army marched under the walls into the city and Belshazzar was slain.

I want you to think about the words that were written on that wall.  Thou has been weighed in G-d's balances and found to be wanting.  Belshazzar was not weighed by man's opinion, or his own opinion, his friends, nor his neighbors, but he was weighed by God's balances.  G-d examined him and said, in my sovereignty you are vile and an ungodly man.  Your time of grace is finished and your time of judgment is at hand.

There's people that we all know that ranks high in public opinion.  They are big and important people in our community and in the eyes of the world.  But they don't weigh one ounce when it comes to G-d and His balances.  This is so because they've never seen their need for G-d.  They've never turned from their sins to the living Savior.  They continually give their lives to this world.

We live in a deceptive culture, and if you'll look it becomes confusing because we go to church and read the word of G-d but we see people in the church not living by the word they read.  Their lives are not balanced with the word of G-d. Go do a survey and ask a 100 young people to name the 10 commandments, 90% will not know them or only live by one or two of them.  The first four commandments show our relationship with G-d, which is what I'm dealing with in this writing. The last six commandments show our relationship with mankind which I will address in another article.

Jesus summed up these commandments after a lawyer and ruler said, "What is the greatest commandment in the law?"  Jesus answered him "to love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, mind, soul and strength."  Jesus turned and said, "the second command is like unto the first, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

I want you to know that G-d has some balances and these balances are found in Exodus 20.  We call them the 10 commandments.  I'd like for you to ponder and meditate on how your life measures up to these commandments. You must measure your life by these commandments.  If you look at the American culture it will confuse you because it is a corrupt culture.  The greatest nation on earth has strayed from our biblical standards and now our nation is being weighed in G-d's balances and it has been found wanting.

Thank G-d for the true church because its the only thing that is keeping G-d's wrath from this nation.  We need to pray for our nation and live a holy life. The first commandment is thou shalt have no other gods before me.  What are other gods? They are man's gods, the things he thinks the most of, and the things he thinks the most about. Let's take a closer look at some of the gods we set up in our lives.

1. The god of money.

It's been said that money is the god of America and sex is the goddess of America.  Lets look at money first.  Do you tithe to the Lord?  Do you love your money more than you love God?  I learned recently that only 3% of the people in the church tithe their 10%.

G-d doesn't need your money. It is a seed and harvest principle for you to prosper and be blessed.  You can't receive blessing until you sow something for it.  G-d said, "Test me and try me on this." G-d said, "I'll open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon you and there will not be room enough to receive it." You'll have to give it away to make room for more.

People in the church are afraid to trust G-d with their money.  We've got to allow G-d to have all of our lives, how we live, how we spend our money, and how we love others. You've got to just say, Lord, here am I and I'm willing to do it your way, not a little here and little there but 10%.  If you start being obedient to G-d's word, he'll turn every area in your life around.

If G-d has your heart, he's got you. Guard your heart, give it to nothing or no one except to G-d. 1 Timothy 6:10. Now here is the problem in the American church, "for the love of money" is an American god, and that is coveted after even behind the pulpit.

America has erred from the faith. You have erred when you rob G-d from his tithe.  Some of you say, oh that sounds harsh.  It's not harsh, its the word of G-d so all may go well with you.  I write G-d's word so that blessings can come upon you, and so you can prove G-d's word.  Some people will do anything to get money. They will steal, cheat, and lie.  Yet G-d says in Mal 3:10, how have we robbed G-d? In tithes and offerings.

Some people would just rather be recognized by man, and have no thoughts as to how G-d is weighing him.  Some men would rather get their names in a newspaper than in the Lamb's Book of Life.  Social recognition is put before G-d.  Don't be found wanting by G-d.

For some, sports is their god. Instead of being in the House of the Lord, they're perched in front of the tube watching some ballgame.  For some, its the golf course or race track. Some people are required by the system we live in today to work on G-d's holy day, but I say work your salvation out in fear and trembling. If you can get a job and be off on Sunday, I would opt for that for the sake of your blessings and keeping the Sabbath Holy.

2.  The god of pleasure.

We have become captive of the god of pleasure just like in Ezekiel 13:14. Here G-d is talking to Israel but the American culture is the same as the captivity of Babylon by its culture.  The Lord is saying, can my people inquire of anything of me when they've set up idols in their hearts?  Belshazzar was weighed and found wanting. I don't see much difference today in the American culture.

We are not to be a slave to worldly pleasures.  Sexual immorality rules this nation with its advertisements, in movies,in songs, and on bill boards. The sanctity of  the marriage covenant has been put aside and anything goes. And they were found to be drinking and being merry and marrying and marrying some more.

The honor and holiness of marriage has been discarded by an outcry for equality for same sex marriages. God has an order for the make up of the family, it is an eternal law that he set forth in the Garden of Eden. Americans sleep around and then when they get pregnant they suck the life's blood out of their babies, and this nation will answer to that blood on its hands. And they were found to be wanting.

Even some Christians put pleasure before God.  Where are the great Christians in our churches on Sunday night?  They're not there so they must be seeking pleasure or going their own way. It's easy for the world to deceive you when you neglect to be at church listening to the word of God on all these matters.

Place no other gods before Him, that is our first commandment. If you love G-d you are going to want to be in his presence on his holy day.  You will want to be with precious people of like faith.  Worshiping G-d in spirit and in truth.

A lot of churches operate on the world level. If you're not getting the truth of the word, and sometimes the truth is hard, because it weighs and balances our hearts and behaviors, then find a church that will preach the word, line upon line and precept upon precept.

3. Idols of graven images.

Now I'm not talking about having a cross and pictures of Jesus on your wall.  The problem is images that we begin to bow to and worship. I'm talking about horoscope charts and readers, fortune tellers you can call up 24-7, tora cards, Buddha and Mohammad.  The name of Jesus is sufficient to go to G-d in prayer.  You don't have to go through Peter, Paul or Mary.  There's no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.  Jesus said, I am the way, the life and there is no other way to the father except through me.


God gave Jesus the authority when he raised him from the dead and set him at the right hand of 
G-d. You can come boldly before His throne in the name of His precious son, Jesus Christ.  We don't need statutes or objects to approach the throne of G-d.

4. Giving your heart to the world and speaking worldly language.

Thou shalt not take the Lord your G-d's name in vain.  My Lord!  This is such a common sin in America.  It's a G-d defying profanity.  We can't even have a talk show on national t.v. without them blaspheming G-d's name.  We have filthy, vulgar language across the airwaves and our children are subjected to that daily.

Don't measure your life by the American culture.  Measure it by G-d's word only.  God has a problem with this kind of speech.  A Christian ought to be clean in his speech.  If a person hears you curse and then hears that you're a professing Christian you have caused that person to stumble.  Reverence for G-d is the foundation of Godly character.  A man, or woman's character is judged by their speech. Matthew 12:34.

I can spend five minutes with a person and tell what's in their heart.  Most devils won't spend five minutes with me, after one minute they're gone,  because my speech centers around Godly things. There's been even a few preachers uncomfortable in my presence. They will start to be closed mouthed in a social setting because they would rather be talking about a ball game or something of this world.  I'm wanting instead to know from them what G-d has put in their spirit lately. I'll put up with worldly speech just so long and I'm ready to talk about my favorite subject, the word. That's what my mind is stayed on daily.

Jesus called people with foul language a bunch of snakes. How can evil speak good things?  It takes only about five minutes and people will reveal what they love the most through their speech.

5.  Exchanging the Sabbath for the world.

Now there is a controversy with just what day the Sabbath is. Just when the Christians began worship on Sunday traces back to the new testament and became more prominent in the 2 century AD.

There is certainly scripture where we see the Apostle Paul meeting on Sunday for worship.

However there is evidence in other scripture where we see the disciples teaching in the Synagogue on Saturday Sabbath. For the most part the Christians worship on Sunday as a memorial to the day Jesus rose and appeared to the disciples.

Now you've got to understand that the Gentiles were a pagan group of people. They had just come out of the bars and sexual immorality and the like.  But they got saved and began to meet in different houses to worship on Sunday. G-d created the world in six days and he rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath is a day of rest before the Lord.11 Peter 3:9.

The Christians don't observe the Sabbath. They observe the Lord's Day. The church commemorates the finished work of Christ. 11 Corinthians 5:17

The issue of the Sabbath has a whole lot more issues and is another article. Here, it is to show how important it is to keep the Lord's day holy whatever day you worship, whether its on Saturday or Sunday, keep the commandment to keep it holy. Don't be found wanting with the Lord's holiest day. It's about honor and coming before him, and is a seed and harvest principle.

To see complete study and listen to audio on this topic go to www.westmorelandphc.org and listen to the sermon by Rev. Jerry Nelson

Separation of Church and State - Raleigh Christian Living

Separation of Church and State - Raleigh Christian Living

• 
  

• 
  

Separation of Church and State

The Separation of Church and State The liberals have declared that Christians are the problem.  Amidst their cries of  "tolerance" it has become fashionable to bash Christians, attack anything of God's word they write and to deny our Judeo-Christian roots in this country.

What they really resent is how Christians constantly remind them, -- and to the American society that is unsure about following them -- that God has absolute standards of right and wrong.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. [John 3:19-20]
[Image]These are anti-Christian Socialist and they want to achieve a new, Godless America where our children will be protected from outmoded Christian ideas and will enjoy freedom "from"religion - not freedom "of" religion.  Socialists liberals throughout our government have made it clear that the foundations, the roots of this nation are no longer considered valid."We are redefining the ideals that have guided us from the beginning." - President Bill Clinton, Nov. 8, 1997"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)Make no mistake about it... these hate filled anti-American enemies of your family will not give up their evil schemes until your children are destroyed. They do not respect God's definition of the family and are intent on discrediting His wisdom in raising children as they attempt to rewrite His guidelines for morality.

As the balance of power continues to swing towards a Godless agenda, Americans will be increasingly forced to adopt a new perspective of who we are: one based not on immutable ideals and values, truth, justice, personal freedom and the Constitution of the United States, rather one based on relative values, deceit, unequal justice, Marxism and a redefined globalist Constitution.

These social liberals believe man has the only answers for himself. They think that  man-made Gods eventually may be useful in managing the world -- but frankly would prefer that it not be a moralistic God with rules and absolute right and wrong. They certainly do not want the new society they are molding to hang onto any "biased" religion that proclaims Jesus Christ is the Only Way (John 14:6) or that all men and women are called by their Creator to have a warm, personal relationship with Him. We Christians irritate these social liberals when we proclaim the truth of God's liberating love. We infuriate them when we remind them of our Lord's true and steadfast faithfulness.

For those who know the Bible, this does not surprise us because Jesus told us... "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." [Matthew 10:22]The Whining Left Wing
The Leftist social liberals supported by the Godless ACLU continue to cry "separation of church and state" as justification for eliminating religious issues from public view.

The phrase "Separation of Church and State" has been bannered for so long that many Americans believe that it is actually in the Constitution. In fact, those three words appear nowhere in the Constitution.

Oblivious to the irrelevance of their arguments, and at the same time refusing to acknowledge that no document of state, let alone the Constitution, has ever proposed such a concept, those on the Left have tried to convince the American people that our  foundingfathers warned of the dangers of mixing politics and religion.
They have thus misled millions and worked against the public interest by damaging the commitment to ethics and moral values that come only through religious belief.

It must be remembered that neutrality is impossible. Some authority, whether it be God or man, is  used for all enacted laws. If a political system rejects one authority, it adopts another. If a biblical moral system is not being legislated, then an immoral system is being legislated. Any moral system that does not put Jesus Christ at its center, denies Christ:"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other..." [Matthew 6:24]"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters" [Matthew 12:30]"Our standard of right is that eternal law which God proclaimed from Sinai, and which Jesus expounded on the Mount. We recognize our responsibility to Jesus Christ. He is Head over all things to the Church, and the nation that will not serve Him is doomed to perish". (James Henley Thornwell)It was never the purpose of the Constitution to give religious content to the nation, rather, the Constitution was an instrument whereby already existing religious values of the nation could be protected with liberty and freedom.Facts:          1.  In response to a request that all reference to religion be removed from government, the House        Judiciary Committee Report March 3, 1854 said:"Had the people, during the Revolution, had any suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, the Revolution would have been strangled in the cradle. At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the Amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, not any one sect. In this age there can be no substitute for Christianity. That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants. The great vital and conservative element in our system is the doctrines and divine truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.2. John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, said:"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected, in one indissoluble bond, the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."The First AmendmentThe assault on America's religious underpinnings is based on a distorted interpretation by biased liberals.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..." 

Only a lawyer could claim not to understand the plain meaning of those words. [Image]The Supreme Court has taken Jefferson's "separation" clause (divorced from Jefferson's own explanation of the phrase) and used it to create a new interpretation of the First Amendment.

In 1947, with the United States Supreme Court's decision in  Everson v. Board of Education, Justice Hugo Black construed the First Amendment in a more restrictive fashion, giving an absolute definition of the First Amendment Establishment Clause which went well beyond the original intent of the framers of the United States Constitution and paved the way for future cases that would further restrict religious expression in American public life. This ruling declares that any aid or benefit to religion from governmental actions is unconstitutional. As Justice Black said: "The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach."Hardly what Thomas Jefferson meant or what the constitution guaranteed!
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" had always meant that Congress was prohibited from establishing a national religious denomination, that Congress could not require that all Americans become Catholics, Anglicans, or members of any other denomination.

This understanding of "separation of church and state" was applied not only during the time of the Founders, but for 170 years afterwards. James Madison (1751-1836) clearly articulated this concept of separation when explaining the First Amendment's protection of religious liberty. He said that the First Amendment to the Constitution was prompted because  "The people feared one sect might obtain a preeminence, or two combine together, and establish a religion to which they would compel others to conform."

The complete and radical disassociation between Christianity and the State that is sometimes advocated now is not what they had in mind. It's clear that they had seen entirely too many religious wars and religious tyrannies in Europe, and thus that they did want to make sure that no specific church or creed had authority over the State.

Recognizing their failure to win their arguments on fact, the lastest tactic among liberals is simply to deny the very documents that contain the facts.

Schools and courthouses in eastern Kentucky are removing their displays of historical documents - including the Mayflower Compact, an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, the national motto, "In God we trust", and the preamble to the state's constitution - to comply with an order from Federal District Judge Jennifer Coffman, who said the displays are a violation of the First Amendment.  [Dr. Billy James Hargis, Christian Crusade, June 2000]When the First Amendment was passed it only had two purposes.
1. There would be no established, national church for the united thirteen states. To say it another way: there would be no "Church of the United States." The government is prohibited from setting up a state religion, such as Britain has, but no barriers will be erected against the practice of any religion. Thomas Jefferson's famous "wall of separation" between church and state comment was made in a letter to a group of Baptist clergymen January 1, 1802 in Danbury, Connecticut, who feared the Congregationalists Church would become the state-sponsored religion. Jefferson assured the Danbury Baptist Association that the First Amendment guaranteed that there would be no establishment of any one denomination over another. It was never intended for our governing bodies to be "separated" from Christianity and its principles. The "wall" was understood as one directional; its purpose was to protect the church from the state. The world was not to corrupt the church, yet the church was free to teach the people Biblical values. It keeps the government from running the church but makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.


2.  The second purpose of the First Amendment was the very opposite from what is being made of it today. It states expressly that government should not impede or interfere with the free practice of religion. The purpose of the separation of church and state in American society is not to exclude the voice of religion from public debate, but to provide a context of religious freedom where the insights of each religious tradition can be set forth and tested. As Justice Douglas wrote for the majority of the Supreme Court in the United States vs. Ballard case in 1944: The First Amendment has a dual aspect. It not only "forestalls compulsion by law of the acceptance of any creed or the practice of any form of worship" but also "safeguards the free exercise of the chosen form of religion." The First Amendment was a safe-guard so that the State can have no jurisdiction over the Church. Its purpose was to protect the Church, not to disestablish it.




Wilson voice:




The assault on America's religious underpinnings is based on a distorted interpretation by biased liberals. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...Only a lawyer could claim not to understand the plain meaning of those words.




http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Commandments-The-Finger-of-God by Rev. Jerry Nelson

The Anchor For The Storms Of Life - The Cross

The Cros

Acts 27 tells the story of Paul on board a ship that is destined to crash. He has warned the Captain about the troubles that lay ahead if they sail out to sea. But the men aboard would not listen. Sounds like a lot of us that won't take Godly Advise knowing full well that we are headed for a crash. Now the storm has come. It looked like they were going to sink and everyone would perish.
Paul slipped away and began to talk to the Lord. The Bible says in Acts 27:20, "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away."
It's important to get away from the noise of storms and talk to the Lord. In verse 27-29, Paul tells them, we're all going to be saved, "and sounded, and found it twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day."
I'm going to tell you today how to get anchored. Everybody faces sterns in life. These men were in one of the worst storms ever. They had not seen the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars for about two weeks. Do you ever feel like the light of day will never come? A place where all hope seems to be gone? Have you ever had a midnight hour?
There's something about the midnight hour that makes you long for the day; to see the sun again. It's a bad situation and many times in your storms the devil will tell you that all hope is gone. You may be facing some dark situations, but if you'll put your trust in Jesus, you can make it through the storms of life.
I like that statement, they sounded the water, and they realized they were getting close to land. There were a lot of rocks out there, and the Bible says, "they cast out four anchors." Those four anchors were to hold that ship steady, lest it should be wrecked upon the rocks.
Do you have some anchors to throw out when storms come at you? We all need anchors when life's storms come at us. Look at our nation today. It looks like we have cut all the anchors loose that once made this nation great. We have cut the anchors and our nation is adrift on the sea of life.
We have cut the anchor of morality and kicked the Ten Commandments out the back door of our schools. We have kicked the anchor of the Bible and Prayer out the back door of our schools. When we did that, we opened the front door to knives, guns, bombs, drugs and lack of respect for authority. We have sown to the wind, and we have reaped a whirlwind. We have a crime epidemic because we have cut our nation's anchors loose.
I want you to make sure today that your anchor holds and grips the solid rock. His name is Christ Jesus. We need the Anchor of the Cross. The story of the cross is the story of Jesus, and the story of the cross is deliverance.
Life has its storms. The Bible says, man that is born of woman is few days, full of troubles. When you are born again, God delivers you out of all your troubles. The original wooden cross that hung on Calvary is no longer there. Our Lord that hung on that cross has ascended. He reigns as Lord and High Priest. He gave us a new and better covenant that he cut with his own precious blood.
The blood still has power and the cross lives on. In the reality of the cross, the lost, the suffering, and the broken hearted of every generation can find perfect deliverance. The cross is just as real today as it was when the multitudes saw it with their physical eye. The cross is a spiritual reality, and the plan of human redemption.
We live in a society today where the masses want a Savior. No one wants to die and go to hell. People want a Savior. but very few want to serve and give all of their life to the Lord. When Jesus becomes Lord of your life then you have to take up your cross and follow him.
The Bible tells us that the preaching of the cross is the power of God unto salvation. Because of the cross you can be saved, and you can be anchored to the rock that is Jesus Christ.
The storms of life will come, because the devil your adversary, he walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is watching to see who straddles the fence and who cuts their anchors loose. You can't half way serve God and have the fullness of his blessings.
You can't be a Laodicean Christian where you're neither hot nor cold. Jesus tells us he will spew you out of his mouth. You can't have one foot in the church and one foot in the world and make it through the storms. There are storms ahead, and we need the anchor of the cross to make it to heaven's shore.
Most people see the cross of Jesus, but they fail to see their own cross. Your cross is a place of separation. Your cross is a place of pain. Your cross is a place of suffering. Your cross is a place of death. We must all come to Calvary and die.
No one wants to die, yet the only way you can truly be born-again is to die. You've got to die to sin. You've to die to self. You've got to die so that you can be born-again.
Part Two of this series of eight articles in the anchor of the cross is what happens after we've been born again and how salvation raises us in the newness of life with Chri

Don't Lose Sight Of His Return

According to the signs of the times, we are in the last days!

Paul said brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. For this we say unto you, for those of us who remain alive in the Lord will not prevent those who are asleep to stop them from coming up from those graves."  1 Thessalonians 4:13.

For the Lord himself will descend with a shout, with the voice of the arch angel with a trumpet sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Those who remain alive shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord.

The word rapture is not in the bible but the word caught-up is.  We are going to be caught up, so don't lose sight of his return.  Oh let us have the light of the word in our churches. I hope that in bringing some scripture in this teaching that it will give you comfort and joy, and a heart as a Christian.

When you lose your vision of the Lord's coming you lose your way through the wilderness of life.  When you lose your vision of the Lord's coming, you begin to live on a carnal, flesh level.  You begin to get caught up in the things that are going on around you in society.

If we knew that Jesus could come at any time or moment and we knew we must come face to face then every Christian would say, I must be a better Christian. They would admit that they need to live a better life because I can sense that the coming of the Lord is at hand.

We live in a troubled world and in troubled times.  Look at the problems we're having today right here in America.  We've got an oil spill that our government has not been able to stop and will be unlikely to have a recourse on the damage done to the earth.  We have economic problems, set backs, cut backs, and bailouts.  We are in perilous times like the Apostle Paul preached.  We're in the last days and the world system is being set up at this very moment for the Anti-Christ.  The world doesn't have any idea what's going on.  But I'm telling you, there is no man that can fix it.

The signs of the times show that we are in the prophetic days of the end.  So we had better make our calling and election sure.  Jesus said, I'll build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.  Don't lose sight of his return!

The Apostle Paul labeled this hour that we're living in as perilous times.  But there is a day that he is coming to deliver his church from it all.  He's coming for a glorious, triumphant, victorious church; a church without blemish, spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.  It's going to be a holy church. It's not going to be a prosperity church.  What's going to bring in the end time harvest is the gospel of Jesus Christ and ministers that will stand up and proclaim, Thus saith the Lord.

That same Jesus that died on the cross is coming. The same Jesus that rose from the dead is coming.  That same Jesus is coming back for his bride, the church.  Those who have been washed in the blood of the lamb is who he is coming for, and those who are looking for his glorious return.  Look at Hebrews 9:28.

Some people think that the true church will have to go through the tribulation but the bible says, God has not appointed us unto wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  The true church's appointment is to glory. Our destination is heaven.  When Christ appears, guess what, we're going to disappear.  When he comes we're going to leave this place, to a city that has no night.  It will be a city which has a foundation and whose builder and maker is God.

This is the blessed hope for the church.  This is why we're looking for him.  Because we know this world is not our home.  We're just pilgrims and strangers  passing through, sojourning here.  One fellow said to my Pastor, do you believe in aliens? I liked his answer.  He said, I sure do, cause I'm one of them.  I am an ambassador from the glory world and I'm on a mission for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to preach his word. Titus 2:13.

Think about it, right now Christ is in heaven and the Holy Ghost is at work here on earth.  There are two groups of people in this world.  You are either saved or you're lost.  It's just that simple.  Jesus is either your Lord or he's not.  You are either righteous or you're not.  You are either holy or you are unholy.  You are either ready to meet him or you're not.

You're either a servant of God or you belong to the devil.  There is no in between.  Bob Dylan sang a song once called 'You got to serve somebody."  When the Lord snatched me out of darkness and transferred me into light I know who I was going to serve from then on. It was like the song, "It was a great thing that he did for me."

I'm telling you how Christ did it, how he took all of that mess out of me; how he transformed my life after he flushed the filth out of my system.  I don't know, but I fell in love with him at that moment and I've been in love with him ever since.

The bible says, to set your affections on things above, not on things of this world.  For when he appears then shall we appear with him in glory. Don't lose sight of his return.

The next prophetic thing to occur on God's calendar is the coming of the Lord for his church.  First of all, when he comes there's going to be three great sounds. There's going to be a shout first, and it's going to be a mighty shout of victory and power.

Jesus stood at Lazarus' tomb one day and he cried, "Come forth."   Lazarus was dead but guess what, he heard the voice of the Master, and he came forth out of that tomb.  When Jesus descends with a shout, it will pierce the graves and penetrate the depths of the sea. It will be heard by every saint on this earth.

The bible says our body will be fashioned like unto his glorious body.  The body with it's aches and pains will be gone and we'll have a brand new body.  Secondly, there's going to be the voice of the arch angel. Think about this, Jesus will be leading a heavenly host of angels.  Then thousand upon ten thousand upon ten thousands of angelic beings.

You know, nothing can be around our Lord in heaven that does not reverence him and I believe the angels that surround him worship him day and night.  I believe they gather around him on the Sabbath and say, lets go to the earthly church and have a great camp meeting down there.  They've got some people over there at that church that likes to worship, sing and praise to me!

You know there's some churches that if Jesus was to show up the people wouldn't even know that he had even come.  I got something for my Lord, a Holy Spirit filled, fire packed gospel, and I'm going to hold on to it no matter who don't like it. I'm going to keep my sight on the things of God and on the coming of the Lord.

Thirdly, there's going to be the trumpet sound. Then we will see the appearing of our Lord.  The bible says the Lord himself will descend from heaven.  It's a promise, John 14:3.

Jesus loves his church!  He gave himself for it.  He looks upon the intent of the heart and he knows our lying down and when we rise.  The eyes of the Lord is running to and fro across the earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect on him.

Jesus is coming back just like he left, with his disciples at the Mt. of Olives.  This same Jesus that was taken up before you will come again in a like manner as you saw him go into heaven.  He left on a cloud and he's coming back on a cloud.  He left with the arch angel and he's coming back with an arch angel.  He left in power and he's coming back in power.  He left in glory and he's coming back in glory. Those that are looking for him shall see him appear the second time, without sin unto salvation.

Aren't you glad you are saved!  If you are not fall on your knees with a contrite heart and ask his forgiveness and he will cover you in his blood.  Throw your anchor out for Christ and he will pull you into his marvelous light.

The heavens are going to burst open and Jesus will appear in mid air, suspended between heaven and earth.  Jesus was once before suspended between heaven and earth.  Cruel men hung him upon an old rugged cross yet Jesus loved them and he cried out from that cross, father forgive them for they know not what they do. Matthew 11:28.

He loved us so much he said, "all you who are heavy ladened, come unto me and I will give you rest."  For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross because he knew we would come.  He tells us, now go out and bring them in so that my house will be full. He's going to fill up that glory world.  He is enlarging it all the time but God is going to have a people in glory land and it's going to be the saints that loved him and overcame. That joy fills him, and his heart is filled with anticipation to be with his bride as he hovers between heaven and earth.  He can't wait to see the joy that fills us at his presence.

It's going to be a reunion the world will never forget! So don't lose sight of his return!

Let me tell you what's going to happen on this earth when he comes.  I'll give it to you straight from the word. The dead that were not saved, their grave will not open.  They will sleep on in their graves.  Those who have done good will come forth.  Those who have done evil will go to a damnation.  The bible says, blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection but those who die without Christ are not blessed and holy.

The lost in their graves will sleep in the grave for another 1,000 years. Then the great tribulation period comes.  They will be raised and brought before the great white throne judgment.  Their fate is a lake of fire and hell damnation.  It's a time when all lost sinners will be judged and those who rejected Jesus Christ.  Those in the church who didn't obey the gospel and Christ will not make it either.  Wealth nor good works alone will not save you from this judgment.

The fearful, the liars, thieves, abominable sexual deviants, sorcerers, adulterers will all have flames of fire upon them in the judgment. Those whose names are not written in the book of life will be at the great white throne judgment.

This will be a final judgment, from its verdict there will be absolutely no appeal.  The bible tells us plainly that those whose name is not found in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone for eternity.  This is the sword of death.  Your body is dead and your soul and your spirit has no life to ever experience joy.  You will pray to die but can't. The sounds and the smells will torture your mind and senses forever.

This is the second death. This is what the devil has in store for you that listen to him and follow after sin of the flesh and mind and evil hidden in your hearts. The devil is a tempter because he knows we are weak in the flesh, but Christ's blood gives us power to give that up so we can overcome.

Hell is a place of darkness, a place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Suffering night and day forever, and ever and ever.  This is a biblical truth, that all men without Christ are appointed unto death and that afterward unto judgment.  Sinners don't have to leave this world without Christ.  Backsliders in the church don't have to leave this world in that condition.

Never lose sight of what Christ has done for you or forget his promise of return.  It is those that are expecting him and looking for him that will see him.  Today is the day of salvation.  You better work out  your salvation with fear and trembling.  John said, blessed are the dead who die in Christ.  John 3:2, Col. 3:4.

This is why I sing and shout because I know he is soon to come and I rejoice in his sanctuary.  Are you living in his light and living holy for him night and day? Resist the devil! Draw night to Christ and righteousness will come and the devil will flee, for he will fear you with the anointing of Christ on you.

A Nation Under Fire In The Name Of Peace

Do you know what it means for a nation to be under fire from the enemy? I'll give you a picture of that from 1 Samuel 11:1-6. It means when you make covenant with the devil he destroys your children! Has America made covenant with a foul spirit of Satan's. Lets take a look through this teaching.

The Israelites had gone and encamped with the Ammorites.  Jabesh  said to Nahash, come, let us make a covenant with you people, and we will serve you.  "On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel. The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you." So the messengers came to Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, "What troubles the people, that they weep?"  And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. "Then the spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused."

Now I want you to remember these are Israelites, they numbered 300,000 with 30, 000 of them from Judah. They are asking the Ammorites to make a covenant with them. God brought a great miracle to these people when he had parted the Red Sea and freed them from bondage. Yet they were considering making covenant with the devil.  Saul was angry and God sent an urgency in his spirit to change this pact.

In this story, the King of the Ammorites was a vicious tyrant.  The Israelites were vulnerable because they were separated by the other Israelites and they didn't have much recognition.  They were in a vulnerable territory geographically.   They said we want peace, so let us make a covenant.

The King of Ammorites said, It's contingent and you will have to serve me and I will be your master.  I will pluck out the eyes of every child and woman in your nation.  He wanted them to know what his plan for Israel was. My friends, the devil has the same intention for America today.

No one is exempt from the fire that is going on in the world today. It affects your family and your future. The fire of terrorism, violence and the Spirit of Nahash is alive today. Drugs, sexual immorality and ungodly living will not skip your community.  It's called the fire of Humanism. It's removed prayer in our nation.  It's removed our original constitution. If you can destroy the foundation of a nation then you can rule it.

Our forefathers never meant to remove these values from our schools.  They drafted this great document to be permanent.  The separation of church and state meant that the states could never force a government religion upon the people. Now we see the government trying to silence Christianity and allow the building of huge Mosques in America.

There are four things that the bible describes as fire in Proverbs.  Fire is never satisfied.  If you think evil has not come yet to the world, just wait until Satan releases his end time spirit onto the world. The only thing that will put this fire out is God.

1.  The Fire of Morals:
Our morals are at an all time low, and our laws have been replaced with Anti-Christ laws, same sex marriage, abortion to the tune of 40 million. We have raised a generation of misfits and lawbreakers.  We see violence in thieves today.  They will steal from you and then kill you.

We don't give King Jesus any room in our schools.  How can you teach social studies without the law and God's word? Our children have ungodly counsel in the schools and are being taught a mentality of secular humanism. It's an intellect and cultural movement that's based upon Greek philosophy from the Renaissance and is concerned about self indulgence. The nation is teaching that man is his own God.  They call this progressive, but it's actually regressive and takes us back to the middle ages.

The US school system will be what the Anti-Christ uses to educate the mind to a trained mentality of the new age culture. This is making our children a menace to society instead of giving them morals and character.  When you substitute God for humanism, we are in for a fall.  Just like the King set out to destroy Israel, the devil is out to destroy us.

2.  The Fire of Child Abuse:
 The number one cause of death under the age of five is abuse. Their own mothers and fathers are killing them. Abusing them unto death is just like aborting your child.  I don't endorse abortion, it is for it goes against God's word.  The bible tells us to put off the old man and put on the new for you are created in the newness of him.

Within twelve days of conception there is a heart beat, and if there is a heart beat there is blood pumping. The life is in the blood.  Where there is blood there is life. Their spilled blood cries out to God. We have given our children over to Molech. Don't give your child over to this demon.

The 6th commandment says, Thou shalt not kill.  We have a generation of leaders in this nation that have turned their back on such destruction and many endorse it.  Our nation is rooting to the core.  Don't tell me you're a Christian and these things.  It's what you do that proves you're a Christian.

We've got to learn what sin is in this nation again, because leaving the commandments and the law out has become the norm and been replaced with a brand of grace that says you can live anyway you want to as a Christian.  The 10 Commandments are not optional.  The moral laws reflect God's character.  Every sin you commit has its origin in breaking God's laws and the first commandment.

Our leaders have sold us out by changing the laws our forefathers gave us to live by.  Christians have done the same thing with God's laws.  They stand behind the pulpit and say, I am this and that but are they washed in the blood and obedient to the word?

Any politician, church or preacher that doesn't endorse Jesus has violated the first amendment.  I don't care how popular he is, he has broken the first commandment.  The law must be understood if we're to remain a Christian nation.  Not Buddhist, not Mohammad, not Confucius, but the one that cometh by the Father.

Paul would stand and preach Christ to the Pharisees, and they hated him. Paul never sold out the word of God for fear of man.  God is our school master.  No one can make it to heaven with the commandments alone but you need the blood of Christ with it. You believe Jesus is a separate God, but the word says he God that came in the flesh.  Nothing but the blood of the lamb will wash your sins away.  No other fountain I know can save you, restore you and heal you or regenerate you into the newness of him.

Jesus died to make us holy, and set us free from sin, and who is set free by the blood is free indeed.  God is the source of life, and Jesus gives us that freedom to partake of that life force.

And your future is on fire!

3.  The Fire of Violence:
People will deceive you if you if you look the other way. Do you see a red light that is called rage. It's origins come from violent movies that are killing, raping and stalking women.  This is what our young men in this country watch and are influenced by.  The prisons are full of these men that were caught up in violence and their lives have been snuffed out by sin.

You don't break God's eternal laws, they will break you and I can tell you that the natural laws are much to bear, but you will follow God's law are he will turn you over to man's law.

We've got preachers that say, we don't know if you should take God's word literally.  But I've got a word for preachers like that and it's called the ALTER!  They need to get back down there until the blood covers them and the word of who Jesus is is in them.

We will all give an account to God in the offices he has placed us in for the benefit of his Kingdom.  Somebody has got to stand up and give a Clarine  call!

4.  The Fire of Pornography:
Pornography is addictive!  You think just alcoholics and drug users need help, but people who are obsessed with porn is in just as bad a condition. If your obsessed with porn then you have got a grip on you.  You've got some claws in you and you no longer are in control of yourself, but the spirit of Nahash has you.

That spirit says, I'm going to take my filth and put it in your nation, and I'm going to take your nation! Your future is on fire!

4.  The Fire of Addiction:

Drug addicts will rob their own Mother to get a fix.  I know a young man that killed his grandparents in order to rob them of their money to get a fix.  They will give their whole their whole pay check to a drug dealer.  The drug epidemic is real in this nation and it is right in your back yard.

Our Nation is on fire!

It's not just in the big cities anymore, it is the neighbor down the street.  You could have a drug dealer, next door or even in the pulpit.  Do you want this spirit to control your children.  We better get back to God and righteousness and teaching the commandments again.

The people cried, Oh Saul do something.  Can you imagine the urgency of that message?  Where is the urgency of that message in our nation today?  Where is "Thus saith the Lord" in our pulpits?

There will come a generation of preachers that will speak the truth that will set the captive free instead of coddle the people because they are more in love with their deep pockets than Jesus. Isaiah 58:10.

We are in a famine of the word of God.  You don't need a sermon on prosperity, but a sermon about how the blood delivers!  These are Shepherds, standing behind God's office and this grieves my soul. They need to be barking out, "Thus saith the Lord."

Our nation is under attack and preaching is a calling not a profession.  A preacher is called to preach the whole bible, and not just the up lifting words that send you home still walking in your sin and that only make you feel good for an hour. We are to rightly divide the word, that means teaching,correcting, rebuking and lifting up.

The pure in heart shall see God, the whore monger in the church will not.  Jesus will look them in the eye, with fire and there that will be a day of reckoning.  I hope you hear my heart today, because we have got to get back to the spirit of God. We need a spiritual awakening and feel good messages do not bring about great awakenings but conviction in the heart to turn from old ways that rip through the churches is what brings about spiritual awakenings.  Wake us up O'Lord!

We've got a lot of people leaving the church.  The church has got to come clean with God.  We need to be washed again in hyssop, the blood that cleanses us.  We need an outpouring of God's spirit, a radical change in the church.  When a radical change occurs in our churches then a radical change will take place in our nation.

We are not going to compromise on the spirit of Nahash.  He's not going to pluck out the eyes of our children.  Do you know what the Israelites did?  They went down and beat the living daylights out of Nahash. If they can do that, so can we to save America.