Who Are You Putting Your Trust In?

You've probably heard the saying, "God helps those, who help themselves," and often times people will say that comes from the Bible. Did you know that it isn't? It is actually God helps those who cannot help themselves as a way of summing up the Bible. When we look at today's study, we are going to be studying all of man's greatest efforts as it references the best people in the world today, such as Apple, Microsoft, man's ability to establish cities and cultures, it's all going to come down. Man's attempt to govern himself, will fail and all of this stuff begins to crumble. So what should we be doing? We should be trusting in God. Earthly powers will always let you down.

You may have heard people say, "Well, I don't go to church because it's full of hypocrites," or "I don't believe in God because I had a pastor rip me off." "I don't believe in God because, and they will always cite something that plays on their emotions. Yet God never asked you to trust in any of those things. He asked you to trust Him.

You hear people saying, "Well I'm going to do this or we're going to establish that, or we're going to fix the environment for example," I hate to burst your bubble on what you ,for example the the Park Service, of all people in Alaska, has stated that the glacier is not shrinking but it's growing. It's getting bigger. When will you ever hear that on the news? Man's perception is constantly changing and shifting, to the point where it will crumble, but God's Word is always true!

When creation begins to break down, humanity will be brought to its knees and look who is affected.

Revelation 6:15 ~ "Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains."

There will be no earthly power that will come to its help. The "kings of the earth," means the greatest of politicians. Are you looking to the government to be your answer? I hope not. When this great cataclysmic event happens, not even the kings of the earth, the greatest of politicians will have the answer. The "princes" are influential lords, we don't have that so much here in America, but in England they do. Kings, Princes, Queens, Blue Bloods, but even they won't be able to stop it. There will be no decree that anyone will make that will stop what is happening at that time. They won't be able to do anything. This is the frustration of human government. God will bring all of man's devices to a conclusion.

The Bible says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but that way ends in death. Decision making, those choices that seemed right, the Bible says will end in destruction. "The rich," those are your wealthy influential merchants and traders, those who traverse the world for trade. Can you imagine what it would be like to be Bill Gates for just one day? I say only one day because beyond that most of us would get into trouble with that. Can you imagine being the richest man in the world and you can't do a thing about what is happening? That's usually certainly true when some life threatening disease comes and all those avenues have been exhausted, but can you imagine that on a global scale?

Want to know a stupid analysis of Bill Gate's money? They actually broke this down. For every American at the time of when this study was written, that he could buy every single one a $44,000 vehicle, every American? Did you know that he is worth more than some countries? Than most countries actually? What are you going to do when the entire world begins to shake violently and asteroids fall from the sky and the mountains and islands are moved? Build a bomb shelter? What are you going to do? It gets even more interesting. "the generals," even the admirals and the top military minds can't do anything. They have no answers.  Interesting. "The mighty," refers to power brokers, they don't necessarily have money or the military at their disposal they have amazing global persuasion and influence. They can't do anything about it either. Now you can see why these times are truly dark and sinister days coming. Aren't you truly glad that you are a Christian today? Aren't you glad that we don't have to go through what is coming?

Then it goes on to say, "and every slave and every free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountain." There were two other people who tried to hide when they blew it, Adam and Eve. What were they thinking? I'm not saying that we would have done anything different, we probably would have done the same thing, but think about it. They knew God, they walked and talked with Him! If you read the Bible carefully, you will know that Eve was by herself when this happened. She was alone when the serpent came. A lot of people try blaming Adam as if he was there, but he wasn't. We don't know where he was, but he wasn't there when the serpent tempted her. She saw, she listened, she sinned! The Bible says, by the way, Adam never sinned like that, she sinned, he entered into her sin. She blew it.

Adam could have walked in and said, "Girl! What in the world has happened to you?" He didn't do that. In fact a lot of people see the story of the redemption of Christ and His people, she sinned willfully. Timothy, in the Book of Timothy, tells us that she sinned willfully, but Adam was not the one deceived, she was. She was deceived by Satan, but Adam just went for it, he entered into her sinful condition, willfully. It may be that Adam, in a sense, was acting out how Christ came and entered into sin willfully to redeem us in an act of love! Regardless, they hid themselves. How strange it is, that we can become so deceived that we begin to hide ourselves, and look we all do it. We do it because we are afraid of being known, because if we are known fully, we are afraid of being rejected, isn't that right? You are so afraid that if people knew you fully, they wouldn't like you or love you. That is human nature! It's wrong but it's human nature.

You want to know why? Because we all long for unconditional love! We yearn for it! We long for the love that accepts us just the way we are. A love that is not critical or judgmental, a love that loves us! Either when we don't see that love or believe that it is available, or we don't have it, we veil ourselves. That might be why vanity is so prevalent in our culture, I mean its one thing to look nice and you're not committing some sin to wear make up or to not wear make up. If it makes you look good, wear it. J. Vernon McGee once said, "If the barn needs painting, paint it!" Every body likes to focus on things that don't matter and make a big deal out of it. That's not the issue, but when you cross the line and vanity becomes such a big deal that a person surrounds them self with such falsehood because they are so afraid of becoming accepted. People can be so great looking but when you truly get to know them, they are mean, cold, cutting and they don't look so great anymore. You don't want to be around them anymore.

Then there are some people who are so-so and when you get to know them they are truly the most beautiful people on earth because they are tender, sweet, compassionate, and that is on the human scale. The amazing thing is that God loves us. He loves us all, despite how calloused, cutting, mean, prideful, selfish, rude and harsh we can be. Why don't we see ourselves that way? God loves you! It's not someone else's standard that we  have to live up to. They didn't make us. God made us. Yes we we need to repent of our sin. Yes, we need to be born again. Yes, Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Me." It's true. But He loves us and wants us to come to Him.

There is no safe place or place of refuge for these people that are left on the earth. Let's look at their bizarre prayer in the final verses. They pray but it's the wrong prayer. Why don't they call out to God? It shows how hard their heart have become.

Revelation 6:16-17 ~ "They called to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall of us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

Have you ever been to a petting zoo? Have you ever warned your child to stay away from "that mad lamb over there?" You ever seen a lamb out of control eating people up? It doesn't happen. Seems like a contradiction, "an angry Lamb?" That just weird. It's like getting bit by a worm! How does that happen? Lambs aren't supposed to be angry!

Jesus Christ came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, John the Baptist said. But now that Lamb that has been sacrificed and has risen from the dead, and is enthroned in heaven. He comes back in the Second Coming exercising His judgment. Why? Because it is a Christ rejecting age. It was an age that was religious but didn't know Him personally. It was an age that did they own thing and didn't consult God. It was an age that lived for themselves and cared a less about God. It was an age, which the prophet said, they did right what was in their own eyes. Are we not living a time similar to that? Where anarchy is happening in our own state at this very hour the breaching of the law? We have mayors in the state of California refusing to uphold the law on certain issues while looking away at others! That is a crime and it is the first step of anarchy! Unbelievable.

The Bible says that every man will do what is right in his own eyes. That is anarchy! These last two verses tell us that the earth will tremble before God and they are going to say a silly prayer, "Mountains, rocks and hills, fall on us! Fall on us and hide us from Him who sits on the throne."

God is not out of control at this moment, He is never out of control, but He is holy and just, and sin must be judged. You might not like to hear things like this, and believe me I don't like writing blog posts like this, but if one person today decides, "Wow! I don't want anything to do with that time!" You don't have to have anything to do with that time. Jesus Christ has provide the way, that we can escape the terrible age that is coming. Have you made that decision to say to Jesus Christ, I don't want to live in that time.

Now look we don't know when that time is coming, but honestly you look around at the world and you say it can't be long, but let's just think way out. What if everyone of us dies of old age, we are still going to go into eternity, and it all comes down to where you want to spend an eternity? Let alone the fact that things could happen, that bring in the advent of this horrific time. What is your decision, what is your choice? I will be put the invitation out before you, the scripture says that as many as who receive Jesus Christ, to them gave He the power to become children of God, to as many as who believe in His name.

Don't be mistaken, this has nothing to do with being religious. It has nothing to do with your church attendance, or history of giving or service, it has nothing to do with belonging. You know if this was my last day on earth today, I would say this to you, knowing that I would stand before my maker today, I would say this to you, my last chance, that the Bible says, to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that word repent means to change your mind. Trust in Him and if you confess that God put both Jesus Christ on the cross and that He rose from the dead, and if you believe that and confess it with your mouth, you shall be saved. That is what the Bible says.

You might say, "Well that is too simple!" Well then go ahead and try it. A lot of people can't do it. They find that offensive, but have you ever done this? Now hang on to your seat, when the scripture says that these things have been written so that you might know you have eternal life, that word means that it is a tangible, factual knowledge of, we would say today in our modern tongue, you can sink your teeth into it. Do you know that you are saved, going to heaven that securely? Do you know that? Here is the catch, everyone of you that are going to heaven, the Holy Spirit inside you bears witness with your spirit says the Book, says the Bible and you are assured of it. In other words, those of you that are going to heaven, and you know it because of what Christ has done, YOU are going!

For those of you that are saying, I hope so , I really really hope so. Listen, you aren't sure. You don't have that confidence. You don't really know. Those of you who are thinking well I hope it will balance out in the end, you're in trouble. If this was my last invitation to give you today, I would not change a word I am saying right now. YOU can decide NOW to have your guilt removed, your sin forgiven, your name written down in the Lamb's Book of Life, and have heaven assured to you, forever. It's called a relationship with God and do you have it?

You might remember the when your TV programming was interrupted by these words, "We Interrupt this Program... and they would announce things like President Kennedy was shot or the Apollo 13 astronauts are in peril or President Reagan has been shot...and it was gripping! The point I am making is that none of us are promised we will see the sun rise tomorrow or if we will even see the sunset tonight. Our lives will be interrupted with the events of life, and ultimately with the end of life. God reserves that right. To Him it is not an accident. The Bible tells us that all of our days have been numbered by the Lord. But to us it would come as a shocking interruption...we interrupt this program of your life that you have been called into question now to give an answer to your soul.

The Bible says we must all appear before God. When you look at these things, are you ready to meet Jesus? I hope this blog post has interrupted your normal way of living today.  I want to interrupt your life today with the offer and invitation today to call out to Jesus that He might save you from your sins and give you a life worth living, a life that is more sure and more firm, than the foundations of this very earth. Will you accept this invitation today?

What In Our Lives, Is Really Worth Living For?

All humans love life. God put that in us. We were created to live with God forever, and that is why death is such a horrible interruption. We were not meant to die. It is such a profound shock when it comes close to us. Why? Because you were not created to die. Yet we do die, because of sin. The Bible says that is the reason why we die, is because the world was sold under this terrible curse of sin. Every single one of us will die. At that time of your death, so much of what you live for will not matter. When that moment comes, you will lean back and grab onto something firm, what you grab onto will be the God or gods that carry you into eternity. If that foundation is anything other than Jesus, you will fall down with them, hanging on to them, into a Christ-less eternity. Everyone of us has a foundation and in the end, it will be tested. Is it Jesus or is it the pleasure, or the sex, is it the violence, is it the pride, what is it that you lived for? No matter what we see in our lives today, it will one day come to an end. Is Jesus Christ the very existence of the foundation of your life, both now and forever?

Hebrews 12:2-3 ~ "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Jesus Christ, the Bible says, went to the cross, and as we look into Revelation, chapter 6, we are still looking at the worthiness of Christ, He is the One, and the Only One worthy to open us that scroll that was sealed with seven seals. We have already studied in detail what that seven sealed scroll was all about. We have been looking at the peeling off of those seals. We see again, that Jesus was the only one who could meet the demands and qualifications of this seven sealed scroll. Christ went to the cross. It wasn't enough for Jesus to come to the earth, the Bible says that Christ existed even before time began. He was existing in heaven with His Father. The Bible says that Jesus is the Creator of angels, and the Creator of the universe and the worlds that exist. He came to earth with a specific purpose.

The Bible says that He would come to earth, to live a life in human flesh, to meet all the requirements of the law of God that you read about in the Old Testament. He met all of those demands, living a perfect life, he met all the demands of the law, and not only that but in our place, the place of the sinner, Jesus took upon Himself all of our guilt, all of our shame and all of our wrong doing, the wrong doing of all humanity for all time and eternity, from Adam and Eve to the end, Jesus Christ, went to the cross and paid a price that you and I could never pay. Jesus Christ paid that price freely, and in going to the cross, he cancelled the debt of all those who would put their trust in Him and His work upon the cross. God, in the flesh, in Revelation 1, died for our sins, and rose again from the dead. That is the glorious and awesome good news of the gospel.

Revelation 6:9-11 ~ "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed."

You might just want to read Matthew 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21, the Tribulation period, that 7-year period of time, that God has decreed in the Bible, that will take place after the rapture of the church, at the advent of what is called the Antichrist, and what you have now been profound enough to learn up to this point. It will begin according to the book of Daniel, that will come a certain specific day when the world is going about their normal day to day things, watching CNN, satellite news channels, no one will miss it. This man will rise up this political ruler out of Europe, and he will sign a contract of peace, a peace treaty with the nation of Israel and its surrounding enemies for seven years on a day, and that day will commence the seven year tribulation period. That contract of peace will be for seven years. It is also known in the Old Testament as the time of Jacob's trouble. It is when Israel's troubles begin like at no time in all of history. Who are these who have died for their faith? Who are these who will die for their faith in Christ?

It is no secret that believers in the Almighty God of the Bible have suffered at the hands of persecution throughout history The persecutions of the Egyptians Pharoahs and Babylonian kings, and of the Persian and Assyrian empires down through the ages. The open attacks against the believers by the Roman empire and by the communist Chinese and those atrocities by old soviet union and lets remember that Adolph Hitler not only murdered six million Jews but also over 100,000 Christians who pledge an allegiance to Jesus Christ.

John 15:18-19 ~ "If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

What in our lives is really worth living for? What is so valuable to us that we would die for what we believe? Do you have something so precious that will last for all time and eternity? You can experience that through faith in Jesus Christ. It will always be something that the world can not offer.

Hebrews 11:32-38 ~ "And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who become powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back from their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goat skins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated - the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground."

Psalm 116:15 ~ "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of the saints."

A life worth dying for is a life that is greater than what this world can offer, recognizing the worthiness of Jesus Christ. This is important because the life Christ offers is worth any life, that this world can offer. We can get so caught up in what this world has to offer, but if you have been around long enough or going through something like a serious illness or a divorce, you begin to see that nothing really matters much any more, except the things that really matter! Like health, love, being together, things that you can't buy. The true things that really matter are the things you can't buy!

Revelation 6:9 ~ "Now - when he opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of those that have been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held."

The fact that only Jesus Christ was the only one worthy to perform the full act of man's redemption and meet all of its demands. Only Jesus was able to release His Spirit. He had absolute control. He rose from the dead to guarantee that all these eternal promises found in the Bible for those who place their faith in Him.

Revelation 5:1-5 ~ "Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Jesus' worthiness was qualified by the fact of (1) "who" Jesus was, (2) "why" Jesus came, and (3) "what" Jesus did.

1 John 2:1 ~ "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the world."

John 10:9 ~ "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."

Acts 2:21 ~ "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Do you have to be baptized to be saved? No, its a public statement of your relationship of Christ. If you die before that happens and your faith is in Jesus, you still go to heaven. When you are saved, you should strive to become baptized as your statement to the world of your faith in Christ. 

Romans 5:8-9 ~ "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"

A life worth dying for is a life that is greater than what this world can offer recognizing the integrity of the Bible. Jesus offers grace, unearned favor. The world knows nothing of this. It reminds you of your unworthiness. Church is not for religious reasons, it benefits no one to have legalistic requirements. Jesus' gospel is a free will offering of all those who would respond, that Jesus Christ came as an example of God's love to the world. Find that in the world. You can not. Don't you want the assurance of knowing when you die, you will be in heaven and have eternal life?