No Hope For This World

Scripture

The earth itself will stagger like a drunk, sway like a hut in a storm. The world is weighed down by its sins; it will collapse and never rise again.

~Isaiah 24:20, GNT

Quote

Beware of thinking to lightly of sin.

~C. H. Spurgeon

The earth, even the ground beneath our feet and the sky above our heads, is under the curse of sin. Earthquakes, famines, droughts, storms, disease, decay and death are evidence of the consequences of man’s rebellion. Sin creates a staggering burden that becomes to heavy to carry.

The outside temperature of a Jet Airliner flying at 36,000 feet is minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that moisture can become a fatal problem due to ice build up on the wings. To fly at these high altitudes, Jets require deicers on the wings that work similar to defrosters in vehicles. In February of 2009, Continental Express flight 3407 crashed into a home outside of Buffalo, due to ice buildup on the plane’s wings and tail section. This disaster is not instantaneous; it is a process that takes time but eventually the ice which form in layers and become a burden to heavy for the aircraft to bear.

Sin will destroy this world and the system that governs it. There is only one way to survive the coming judgment, repentance. Sin has formed layer upon layer of rebellion which will result in a fatal crash. Only the blood of Christ will and can remove the sin. The only way to keep sin from getting the victory is to repent and turn to Christ. There is no hope for our bodies, the world or even the earth: sin will eventually destroy them all but you can be saved by trusting Christ.

• We need a rain LORD Jesus: send us a pour down.
• Another great GATHERING. Wow! What a band, we had all seven members last night. The girls just need to hold those mics closer where I can hear them.
• Ken Blackwood will be with us Sunday Morning and Sunday night is AWANA Awards night.

Vacation Bible School

June 13-17

VBS June 3-7

VBS June 3-7

Transparency

Scripture

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Quote

Everything in our culture exerts pressure on us to conform, to blend in, to fit the mold, to be like the masses.

~Chuck Swindoll

Our natural instinct is to blend in, not stand out–we all want to fit in, to conform, to be like the masses and the world is anxious to press us into it’s mold of sameness. We humans also realize that the world will persecute anyone who dares to be different. Literally, people are afraid to be themselves.

This problem really comes out among the fowls. You can’t put a red hen in a pen with nine white hens. They will peck the red hen to death, simply because she is different. You can tie a red ribbon around the leg of a seagull and release it into the fray but it will not last long. The other seagulls will peck it to death in minutes. 

Today, we face unprecedented pressure to blend it, stay quiet and follow the status quo. It takes a lot of courage not to blend in, to conform, to yield to this incredible pressure. June and I were talking about Tim Tebow a few days back and the pressure he faces daily to conform to the world. Tim is a freak to the world, a misfit who does not belong and thousand upon thousands of Christ haters are praying for him to fail morally.

People think I’m not objective about Tim but after seeing Houston’s QB on Saturday, I am more convinced than ever that Tim should be playing. Tebow never had anything close to the pitiful performance of Hoyer. If I am wrong, show me the film [of Tebow having a worse day than Hoyer].

My point is clear: if you don’t conform to the world’s standard, you will be persecuted. Do you have the courage to be yourself or do you still pretend hoping to get the world’s approval. You can have this world and all that it offers, just give me Jesus.

• I have a confession to make: I can put the blog on FACEBOOK but it will take some extra time on my part. I quit because I was having so many problems with Twitter. I assumed that anyone really interested would take the time to go to danvillebaptist.org which is as simple as falling off a log but two of my daughters say otherwise. Start putting it on FACEBOOK were their exact words. You know me, if June or the girls say jump, I ask them how high.
• It is great to be back in circulation but I have to be careful. I have a lot of rules to abide by and some of them require me to think before acting. I’m not supposed to return to work for two weeks but Lord willing I will be in and out–mostly out. The good news is that Joe David is back to do the hospital visitation.
• Debbie Wilbourn Gilliland’s brother Bill is back in DMH CCU-12 and her mother had another stroke and is also in Decatur Morgan Hospital–room 407.
• Continue to pray for Gary Garner. Pray for him to regain his strength and get to walking. He will be doing some PT this week with Home Health and we hope this will help.
• Considering the harsh weather, we had a pretty good turnout for our second semester kickoff of AWANA.

Life’s Mission

Scripture

When they finish proclaiming their message, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will fight against them. He will defeat them and kill them, and their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, where their Lord was crucified.

~Revelation 11:7, GNT

Quote

If we are fearful about dying physically, there is little chance we will have the courage to die spiritually [to sin and self].

~Ya’akov

The two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11 are prophets in the mold of Moses and Elijah. In John’s vision God sent two witnesses dressed in sackcloth to proclaim God’s message for 1,260 days. These witnesses or prophets are under divine protection; no one has the ability to harm them until their mission is complete.

Once their mission is complete, Satan makes war on them and kills them. The world celebrates their death. To show their lack of respect, they leave the bodies of the two prophets in the street to rot. The world mocks their death and disgrace. But after 3 1/2 days, the Ruach of God breathes new life into their bodies and they rise. Then they here a voice from heaven calling, “Come up here!” Suddenly they ascend heavenward and disappear in a cloud. After they are gone, all hell breaks lose.

Three quick lessons:

1. You are not going to die until your mission is complete. You are under divine protection.
2. When you die, you are not going to stay dead. You will hear the voice and you will rise. Physical death is an illusion: it appears final but it is not. Death is not the final sleep; it is the final awakening. {Sir Walter Raleigh}
3. Seek neither more nor less than God’s will for your life. {Chip Ingram}

• Our Grace Ministry Guatemala offering stands at $20,791.31. This means we need three consecutive offering of $2,500 or more. This means we need a miracle. For those who are giving, it is time to pray. One way or the other, we need divine intervention. I am not going to worry and I am not going to brow-beat. I am going to pray.
• I noticed some new names on our pray list this week; people who are battling cancer. Also remember those in the hospital: Buford Burgess and Roylean Lewis.
• Kane did not have to get blood Monday but he may go in Thursday {Huntsville}.
• The Deacons elected Adam Glenn to be their chairman several weeks back and yesterday via teleconference, Jerry Wayne Segars was elected as chairman of the Budget Committee. Their first meeting is Wednesday night January 6. They will meet at 6:45, right after the GATHERING.
• I will be on light duty for awhile. I go see Dr. Ward today so I may know more tomorrow. I can still sit, thank goodness but my walking is restricted. I only move when necessary. LORD willing I will be at the Gathering but definitely no standing. We are going to have to find my stool. Sunday night I could stand better than sit. The back is a strange thing.

Four Things The World Cannot Give

SCRIPTURE

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

~John 14:27, NLT

QUOTE

When the power of His love overcomes your love of power, you can have peace.

~Anonymous

I have had a good week but an unusual week: for the last two nights, I have preached from my morning bible study. I the only sermon I intended to preach was Sunday morning and I have my doubts about it. In my bible study yesterday morning, I discovered four things in John 14 that the world can not give you.

1. A HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: [14:1-4] We believers have a future and Jesus talks about it in the first four verses. No matter how bad things get here, this is not our home. The good news is: we are just passing through. Let not your heart be troubled, heaven is our home.
2. A PERFECT SENSE OF SATISFACTION. [14:8] It doesn’t matter who you are or how much you have, you are not perfectly happy and you are most certainly not perfectly fulfilled. This is true because this world is not our home. Christ fills the void but the consummation of the filling comes with His return. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” [I Cor. 2:9]
3. A PERFECT FRIEND WHO CAN STAND WITH US IN ANY SITUATION. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate {Helper, Intercessor, Friend, Standby}, who will never leave you. [14:16] I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. [14:18]
4. PEACE OF MIND AND HEART: [14:27] Do you not covet peace of mind and heart. The peace Jesus gives the world cannot take away so don’t be troubled or afraid {these are not my words}.

I have to be honest, my heart is often troubled; I don’t understand what is happening. Can you explain to me why a 15 year old is fighting for his life while a 66 year old who definitely deserved death and hell is still walking around? Why is it that the best among us seem to suffer the most? I don’t know the answers and Jesus has no obligation to explain His infinite plans to me and even if He did, I would not be able to understand. I do very much believe in heaven: without John 14:1-4 nothing would make sense.

• Another good REVIVAL SERVICE: God is good.
• Gary is still very weak and Kane is now in ICU. We need to pray fervently for these two guys and their families. You can text me anytime and I will pray with you. All you have to do is send me the praying hands or just say, “I am praying for Kane and Gary,” and I will send you a voice mail or a text. We had almost 40 to respond the last time and we’ve had only 8 this time but I know other groups are doing prayer chains and the more the better.
• Lifting Kane in Prayer meeting: Joe David said they had around 70. I don’t have any other details. I hope we have more good news for you tomorrow.
• We need some good news and Judy Davis got some this week: Judy has been under the anxiety of her cancer returning but growth was benign Praise the LORD.
• More good news: Jack Nicholson is pro-life….check it out…Jack is Pro-life for good reason

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

SCRIPTURE

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

~John 14:27, NKJV

QUOTE

I am still in the land of the dying; soon I will be in the land of the living.

~John Newton [last words]

Affliction quickens us to prayer. Experience testifies that a long course of ease and prosperity, without pain or persecution, has a tendency to make us cold and formal in our worship and slothful in our service. Troubles rouse our spirit and constrain us to call on the LORD in earnest–when we need that kind of help that can only come from the Almighty. Afflictions are useful, and in a degree necessary, to keep alive in us–a firm conviction of the vanity and imperfection of this current world and to remind us that this world is not our home. Sorrows call our thoughts upward where our true treasure lies and where our heart longs to be. [Copied almost word for word from John Newton]

• Good day, lots of liberty to preach, much to be thankful for!
• I am really tired and probably will not research the issue brought to our attention last night. I think Rebecca did some research when she got home and found out the Zondervan is owned by HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHING. It is my understanding that they publish everything, even Satanic bibles. We will try to get the facts ASAP.
• Kane was at church yesterday morning; it was good to see him. Don’t stop praying for Kane, Keri and Gary.
• Can you identify the flag below?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It is the BATTLE FLAG of the Army of Northern Virginia

Duck Dynasty

Prayer For REVIVAL in America

SCRIPTURE

Be wise in your behavior towards non-Christians, and make the best possible use of your time. Speak pleasantly to them, but never sentimentally, and learn to give a proper answer to every questioner.

~Colossians 4:5-6, Philips

QUOTE

Let God be the Judge. Our job is to be the witness.

~Warren W. Wiersbe

COMMENTARY

I am not a Duck Dynasty fan but I am a supporter. Lexi basically forced me to watch the episode where they went to Hawaii and I found it boring. It is the only episode that I’ve watched. First of all, I watch very little TV and no reality shows. I do hear and read very good things about the Duck Dynasty crew. I understand the network told them that if they spoke of Jesus and their faith, they would not renew their contract. They said, “Fine, we will not renew our contract because we will talk about Jesus.” The network changed its position and they are on for another season. All I can say is praise the LORD for their bold stand. What really thrills me is that the world has not found a way to successfully persecute them. Trust me, the world will continue looking for a way. I also understand that one of their books is on the New York Times best seller list. I glorify God that these guys reach an audience that most of will never get a chance to address. So I say, “Go Duck Dynasty.” I love their Christmas album or the name, it is called “Duck The Halls.”

EXTRA

No work day tomorrow: Don put the tiles in yesterday. We will have deacons meeting this Sunday and then we will be meeting with Matthews from October 20 until MY HOPE. We need for every member to commit to praying for MY HOPE.

The two in front over achieved in marriage and the one is the back has not been in the tanning bed but I like his outfit. I prefer combat boots.