Volume No. 2009 Issue No. 23a Date: July 5, 2009
Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706
Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com
In II Timothy 3:1-15 we read, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (4) Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (6) For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, (7) Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (8) Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. (9) But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. (10) But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, (11) Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. (12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (13) But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (14) But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; (15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
What do you do when day after day everything seems to be going crazy? Day after day the ill winds of change are blowing compromise and corruption right into our faces. It seems like everything is going crazy. We are in deep trouble politically, morally, economically, educationally and religiously. Religiously, more than two generations of parents have not been to church. Now the third generation is struggling even more to understand what truth is and who God is. Our nation is in trouble, our churches are in deep trouble and our families are disintegrating at an alarming rate.
The financial mess is continuing to unravel like the threads on a cheap garment. The mind-set in Washington, D.C., for far too long, has been that anything can be fixed if you throw enough money at it. Over the past year that mentality has gone further than ever before. As one Senator reputedly said, "A billion here, a billion there, and the next thing you know you are talking about real money." But today the philosophy that underlies the system is insane.
As one said, “You can’t spend yourself out of debt. You can’t get out of the hole by digging the hole deeper.”
As Winston Churchill said, “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”
Ronald Regan said, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it!”
Another said, “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”
Now, while the economic dilemma is on the front burner, making head-lines, "crazy" is having a field day on a variety of fronts.
Look at abortion! Look at the stem cell issue!
Look at the pandering to Islam!
Look at the softball approach in dealing with terrorists, tyrants and pirates on the high seas!
Look at our porous borders!
Look at the brainwashing centers, otherwise known as public schools!
Look at the violence that stalks our streets!
Look at those in the religious lime-light who are accepting of those who practice sodomy.
Don’t forget to be politically correct.
It is a crazy time in a world that seems to have gone stark-raving mad!
But hold right there and please consider the rest of the story.
First: The eternal God is still God! When every human element disappoints, diminishes and dies, the God of the universe is still alive, able and accessible to you and me!
Second: The Bible, the Book of God, is still in our hands! The philosophers, the politicians, the press and all the prognosticators will, by their human wisdom, so often stumble and fail. The human arena is forever lacking, but the Word of God is everlastingly true. Inspired by God at its inception, it has been protected and preserved for us today. We are not as ships with out rudder and sail. We are not left to find our way without guidance and instruction. Pick up your Bible! Examine carefully the beautiful language of the King James’ text. The Word God inspired, He has now preserved. Therefore, we have His inspired, inerrant and infallible Word. It will stand, and it will keep you I steady in these turbulent, crazy, times!
Psalms 119:89, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
I Peter 1:23-25, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
Third: God does still answer prayer! As our Heavenly Father, He attends to the interests of His children, and He allows us access to Himself. His ear is attentive to our prayers. In crazy times, the sons and daughters of the living God should not forget that they can pray and get answers from God!
Luke 18:1, 7, “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; (7) And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”
Fourth: Heaven is neither bankrupt nor does it need any stimulus package or a bailout! “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1. He is our source and our resource! He is our supply! You cannot exhaust Heaven’s storehouse. Whatever withdrawals we make, whatever size they may be, and however often we do so, we will not bring pressure or jeopardy to the bank of Heaven.
Fifth: The truth is still the truth! However wickedly crazy the world becomes, the truth is still valid. Every principle of Scripture is unchanged! Every doctrine of the faith remains solid! Every moral value is yet in place! Whatever the polls or the trends, the treasure of truth is timeless!
Don’t revise your convictions and your values to fit in with society’s shifting sands! Plant your feet on the solid rock of God’s truth – Build everything your life, your family, your church, your business on God’s eternal truth!
In 2 Tim 3:14-4:4 we read, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; (15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 4:1) I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; (2) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. (3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (4) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Six: Your church and your family are still major issues every day. When troubled times come, be sure to keep the home fires burning! Don’t neglect your family! Pray together! Spend time together! Show love to one another! Be understanding!
And don’t neglect your church! Be there for everything! Get involved! Come early and stay late -Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night! When trouble is running amuck, you run to God (not from God)! You run to the church house (not from it)! You run to the man of God (not from him)!
In Hebrews 10:24-25 we read, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Seventh: Revival and soul winning are still a priority! Yes, when the dark clouds loom low and the storm rages about us, it should remind us to get our spiritual house in order. Repentance should come first, then reconciliation and restitution as we return to where we should have been all along. The Great Commission is still our marching order – even in difficult times! Some people soften up when trouble comes. They may be much more open to your witness in 2009 than they were a year ago. Jesus still reminds us in Matthew 28:18-20, “…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
To draw this letter to a close, we read in I Corinthians 16:22, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema, Maranatha!” The word “Anathema” means those that don’t love the Lord let them be “accursed.” The expression “Maranatha,” meaning “the Lord is coming,” became a common mode of greeting and parting in the first century.
The first century was the most fervent and evangelistic generation of the 20 centuries of church history. Christianity established such a foot-hold in the pagan world that by the third century it was acknowledged as the state religion. Someone wrote:
By contrast, with all our sophisticated means of communication, the 21st century church’s program of evangelism lags behind the birth rate. We are living in the post- modern Christian era. If we possessed the same confident expectation as the “Maranatha” Christians, we could doubtless reach our generation for Christ. But strangely, the closer we get to the actual coming of Christ, the less confident the church seems to be about His coming.
As a teacher and preacher of prophecy for over 40 years, I can recall many “sleeping Christians” who were suddenly “turned on” when the truth of Christ’s imminent coming gripped them. “Churchianity” doesn’t motivate anyone, but the “Maranatha” concept does. It makes carnal, cold, indifferent believers “fervent in spirit.” I suggest that each night before going to bed you read some of the Bible passages on the Lord’s coming and then go to sleep thinking about them.
The story is told of an old Scottish minister who passed the home of a parishioner on his way to church on Sunday morning. Obviously, the man chopping wood was not going to church. Their eyes met and the pastor felt he should say something, so he called out, “The Lord is coming,” and went on to church.
About five minutes after he started his message the farmer entered. After the service he admitted, “Pastor, the more I thought about the Lord coming, the more I realized I didn’t want Him to find me cutting wood during church time.”
The Bible instructs us to ALWAYS be looking for the day of Christ’s return. Again in Hebrews 10:25 we read, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” The only way we can “see the Day approaching” is to investigate what the Bible has to say and ask God to help us determine the day and the hour in which we live.
As we close let me remind you that the real issue is not coming to church and singing hymns or doing volunteer work; it isn’t even knowing the Bible; IT IS KNOWING JESUS CHRIST. It is having a personal relationship with Him who said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. So, until we meet again my friends, I say “Maranatha!”
In His Amazing Grace,
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