March 22, 2020
Sunday AM
1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
In the second verse the kings that are mentioned would be equivalent to a modern-day president. We don’t have kings in our time. We MUST pray for our leaders and the people in authority of our country. In several previous administrations, God was pushed out of our nation. When the right people are in leadership, and the church is doing her part, the gospel can go out and people can hear the truth! People can be saved! People can be set free!
If you do the Bible, the Bible will work!
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
If you’re not praying, It’s because of your pride. You have to get up every morning and say, “God I can’t do anything without you!” There’s not a person on earth that don’t need God. You must humble yourself and recognize where your help comes from.
Luke 21:7-8 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore, do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
Signs tell us where we are, and how far we have to go. The number 1 sign of the times is deception. Men who once held firm moral beliefs, will gradually drift away from those BIBLICAL beliefs. We have seen that happen with our own eyes already. But this will become much worse. We have to reinforce our foundations! There are things GOD ALMIGHTY put in place that can’t be moved. Do not be deceived.
The number 2 sign is “…for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and ‘the time has drawn near.’” This will not show up as much in such a literal way. But men will build something on the reputation of Jesus’ name, not because He told them to. You must know this. If we don’t do it God’s way, it won’t stand. To rise up and go out is the flesh. To be raised up and sent out is the Holy Ghost. People who have risen up themselves to go out and start their own thing aren’t led by the spirit and it will not draw the Spirit to them. It’s vital that we see these signs and recognize where we are and how far we have to go. We’ve heard for years and years and years that we are living in the end times. But we have not seen the signs like we are seeing them in the present.
Next, “But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified” the emphasis here is DO NOT BE TERRIFIED. In Matthew its phrased as “Butwhen you hear of wars and rumorsof wars, DO NOT BE TROUBLED.” You become terrified when you let fear get inside of you. In our day and time that’s easy to do. Jesus is foretelling of wars and commotions. We have an earful of these commotions and have an excess of information about these events as they happen across the globe. The text could be translated as “you will continually hear of wars.” It presents the idea of a nonstop flow of information. These wars and acts of terrorism may not necessarily occur in our own neighborhood, but the non-stop news will bring them right into our homes via television, internet, radio, and other means of communication. In generations raised with television and the internet the availability of information is more prolific than any other time in history. This pervasive availability will cause ears to ring with the sounds of casualties and conflicts. Jesus declared that an earful of various types of conflicts will be one of the most foremost signs that the finality of the age is approaching. Since we are living in the closing days of this age, we are a generation that will have an earful of these events. Therefore, it is imperative that we grab hold of the peace of God. And not allow apprehension, fear, and worry to control our minds. So much that is happening in our world right now is based on fear. There is the same amount of money, jobs, people as before. But what has changed? The level of fear. The uncertainty.
Luke 21:34“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
Do not be caught ill-prepared. When fear comes and finds you unprepared, that’s when it does the most damage. God spoke to us recently and said, “get prepared.” A lot of Americans lose heart when they see a dip in the economy. Why? Because their hearts were not in the right place. God is endeavoring to get our hearts, faith, and trust where they need to be. When it comes to our health, He don’t want us ill-prepared. He don’t want us fearing anything! God don’t want us in fear about sickness, nor does he want us in fear about our money and wellbeing. We will see great prosperity come to America! Things WILL turn around! Get prepared!
3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
God wants you in health. He wants you to prosper. That’s the kind of God you serve. He’s a GOOD God.