The Source of Your Strength

a lot of people think that David I'm sorry not David Peter was just a crude fisherman with little godly background until he was called by Christ and yet if we read John the first chapter we see that his brother was a disciple of John the Baptist and very likely Peter was as well and so when Andrew found the Christ as where he told his brother he said we have found the Christ and Peter of course was very interested the sense is that while Peter was a rugged individual he was a religious individual you might say or a godly man to some degree probably to far greater degree than people realize but he realized his own human nature as well you can read some of that in the book of John especially the first chapter there but we find that at the end of Christ's life on this earth a particular incident that took place and we'll notice that over in mark the 14th chapter I think we'll be okay he's asking about a power chord I think we'll be all right for right now I'll let you know at the end actually this is my way of making sure I don't speak too long but it looks good this computer is better than the other one over in mark the 14th chapter we read of an incident here that is quite instructive to us or it should be instructive to us mark the 14th chapter and we'll notice here in verse 26 this is where Jesus had kept the Passover with his disciples they'd gone out to the Mount of Olives it says verse 26 when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives then jesus said to them all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night for as written I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered now in one sense that was that was prophesied that that would happen but it is interesting to take note of why it happened but after I've been raised I will go before you to Galilee but Peter said to him even if all are made to stumble yet I will not be and Jesus said Demma said to you that today even this night before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times now you know the Peter did not think that he would deny Christ it says in verse 31 he spoke more vehemently if I have to die with you I will not deny you and they all said the same or likewise I think that Peter was not just being a braggart at that point he no doubt sincerely believed that that's what he would do he would be willing to die for Christ and when we look at the things that happened after that we see that he was willing to put his life on the line in a certain way notice over in John the eighteenth chapter what happened here John 18 and verse 10 this is after Judas had led the posse to arrest Jesus and it says then Simon Peter having a sword drew it and struck the high priests servant and cut off his right ear the servants name was Malchus now when you think about that event I think that sometimes people have the idea that he just took that sword out of his kind of boom and must have aimed for his ear but this was probably far more dramatic than that I am sure he whipped out that sword either the right hand or left hand and he probably took a big swing at the head of this individual the individual ducked and all he got was the ear and I'm sure that it wasn't just a nice neat little clean cut you know the ear is pretty close to the head he was going for the man's head and all he got was the year we need to understand that Peter was willing to fight for Christ at that point in time but Jesus said to Peter put your sword into its sheath shall I not drink the cup which my father has given me and then after this we see that all the disciples were scattered it didn't work out the way that Peter thought it would work out and the end result was that they ran like scared chickens in fact there is a chicken connection a little bit later so in verse 66 I'm sorry I've already passed that little confused I think it's a jet lag here now let's go to mark 14 once again mark 14 and in verse 47 we see that they were scattered it says one of those who stood by drew the sword and struck the server in the price high priests tear and cut off his ear and Jesus said have you come out against me as robbers with swords and clubs and so forth and then in verse 50 it says then they all forsook him and fled and then in verse 66 we read now as Peter was below in the courtyard one of the servant girls of the high priest came and when she saw Peter warming himself she looked at him and said you also were with Jesus of Nazareth and he denied it saying I neither know nor understand what you are saying and he went out and the poor on the porch and the rooster crowed Denver 69 and the servant girl saw him again and began to say to those who stood by this is one of them but he denied it again and a little later those who stood by said to Peter again surely you are one of them for you are a Galilean in your speech shows it and notice in verse 71 he denied Christ the third time he says I do not know this man of whom you speak a second time the rooster crowed and Peter called to mind the words of Christ he said before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times and he went he thought about it as he thought about it he wept so here was a man who was willing to give his life here was a man who was the one who carried the sword and was willing to use the sword at one instant there and yet when it didn't work out the way that he thought it should and Christ told him to put his sword back and then he went out we find that he denied Christ three times just as Jesus said he would now today I'm going to show you why Peter failed why it was that he failed in spite of all his courageous and sincere boasting and I think we have to realize that he really thought that this was what he would do he would be willing to die I don't think he was just boasting to be boasting he was saying that he really believed that he was willing to give his life and yet when he was confronted a little bit later on that night three times he denied and we will look at two other reasons why people fail when trouble comes in reality we'll see that there is a common denominator in all of these situations but let's get back to Peter Peter and the other apostles walked with Jesus up and down those dusty trails along the mountain trails in Israel they had a close relationship with him they likely wrestled with him from time to time being young men pushing shoving maybe a wrestling and so forth a little bit and maybe not rolling on the ground but pushing and shoving and so forth as young men would I do they spent many hours in conversation with Christ and they observed the miracles firsthand that Christ had performed but when an unforeseen test came contrary to their profession of being willing to die for Christ what did they do well they cut and they ran so consider have you ever thought that what you would do under similar circumstances what if you had been in Peters shoes what would you do I think it's it's common for us to think well I wouldn't have denied Christ none of the disciples thought that they would and they were a lot closer to him than we are in the sense that they had seen him they had touched him felt him you know that sort of thing they had listened to him all that time but what would we do under similar circumstances and how do we know what we would do have you ever professed loyalty and faithfulness unto death I hope you have I hope you have Luke 14 Luke 14 because this is read to us before we're baptized in almost every case I know that I always covered this with people before they're baptized and I think most of our ministry does Jesus said in verse 26 if anyone comes to me and not hate meaning love to a lesser degree by comparison his father mother wife and children brothers and sisters yes in his own life also Jesus said he cannot be my disciple to me this is one of the scariest verses in all the Bible because it is so severe in a sense it is saying you cannot be my disciple unless you put me first before all relationships that are close to you including your near and dear life and if you're not willing to put your life on the line you cannot be my disciple and then it shows that we are to count the cost and to consider that and so when you are baptized when I was baptized we had these words read to us and we said that we were willing to do this and yet when you look at history you find that so many who have professed that they put their lives on the line have not done so when the time comes when the trial comes will we stand firm or will we cut and run how is it that man men who were truly real men could break and run as Peter and the other disciples did what was missing what was missing I think the easy answer that we always give is that well they didn't have the Holy Spirit yet but there's something else there there's part of the story that was left out in the reading of it let's go back to mark the 14th chapter once again mark 14 and verse 31 and we pick it up there he spoke more vehemently if I have to die with you I will not deny you and they all said likewise then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane and he said to his disciples sit here while I pray and he took Peter James and John with him and he to be troubled and deeply distressed verse 34 then he said to them my soul is exceedingly sorrowful even to death stay here and watch be vigilant be alert but there's a little bit more to it as we read through here so he went further verse 35 and he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him and he said Abba Father all things are possible for you take this cup away from me nevertheless not my will or what I will but you will that's really an amazing thing and that's the place that every one of us has to come not my will but God's will and so he came and he found these three disciples that he'd taken off with him they're asleep and so he said to Peter he's a Simon are you sleeping couldn't watch and pray watch and pray why lest you enter into temptation and yet Christ understood the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak they'd probably lost a lot of sleep by this time traveling and everything that they were doing and yet Jesus Christ had lost a lot of sleep as well and yet he understood the gravity of the situation and so he spent some time on his knees before his greed her watching and praying and yet the disciples didn't comprehend what was going to happen there again he went away and he prayed and spoke the same words verse 40 and when he returned he found them asleep again for their eyes were heavy and they did not know what answered him they were embarrassed the sermonette was talking about emotions and so forth they were embarrassed they did not know what to say then he came the third time and said to them are you still sleeping and resting it is enough the hour has come behold the Son of Man is being betrayed of the hands of centers rise let us be going see my betrayer is at hand they were told to watch and to pray that they let it not enter into temptation jesus knew that these men knew him they had been close to him for three and a half years but there was a severe trial the most severe trial of their lives was coming up at this point at least up to this point in their lives it was coming up and they needed to be close to their Creator and he knew that if they weren't they would enter into temptation we find here that they needed to watch and to pray they needed to be close to God at that particular moment we never know when the trials are going to come upon us and this is why we have to be watching and praying we need to be praying we need to be studying we need to have that close relationship with our Creator at all times because we never know when the trial may come there was something left out there in their relationship now it's evident that Peter trusted in his own strength when he said I will fight for you I will die for you he was trusting himself not God and he thought he knew his own mind just as so many people do I remember a young lady one time that said well mr. Weston do you don't know I'm stronger than you think trust me and I thought oh no don't think that way that's the wrong way to think when we think that we are strong and we entered into temptation that's a problem we need to think or look to God for that strength because we have a certain amount of strength in this physical life yes men go off and they die just as Peter was willing to fight there at the moment but when things have happened just the way he wanted to and it wasn't somebody with a sword it was a young girl saying oh you were with him then he denied Christ three times it's evident that he trusted his own strength and yet here was Jesus Christ the Son of God who recognized that he needed to be close to Christ I'm sorry the close to God he needed to be close to God at that point in time and so he went off and he prayed especially as he was entering into that temptation but the disciples who needed to be close to God as well didn't take the time then Bible instructs us not to put our confidence in ourselves how often do we hear people say well if you can't trust yourself who can you trust and everybody that's gone through high school has probably gone to a high school graduation ceremony where somebody has stood up and said don't listen to anybody trust yourself trust your own emotions trust your own thoughts that seemed to happen at all graduation ceremonies that I've been to accept ambassador college but earn place else especially high school graduation not only my own but others that I've gone to they tell you trust yourself and that sounds good and that appeals to human emotion and thought in our mental capacities but is that what the Bible says and John and proverbs three proverbs 3 verses 5 to 8 a very familiar for us I hope we read the province regularly and that we focus on this I know I have this underlined in my Bible because it's a reminder it says in verse 5 Roberts 3 verse 5 trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding now Peter was willing to fight for Christ but he was leaning on his own understanding of what was called for at the time he was not really trusting in God he was trusting in his own self he was a young man he was probably very strong as a fisherman had to be rowing the boats and pulling in Nets and doing all the things they were doing and walking up and down those hills that you have there and in Israel anybody that has been over there recognizes rugged terrain and they must have been a terrific physical shape it says an all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths do not be wise in your own eyes fear the eternal and depart from evil it will be healthier flesh and strength to your bones notice 1st Corinthians 10 first Corinthians 10 another verse that probably is memorized by many of you verse 12 I says therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall Peter and the Apostles thought they stood they thought they were willing to die for Christ that they would never deny him and yet when the time came they fell now God is merciful he picked them back up God understood and in one sense they had to fulfill prophecy but the reason they fulfill prophecy is because they weren't ready to enter into temptation or they weren't ready to take on that temptation because they weren't close enough to God and Jeremiah the tenth chapter is a passage of Scripture that I've personally learned to pray more often it's one of those that you know God answers some prayers very quickly and some prayers he takes a little bit longer to answer sometimes he says no but here's a prayer that you can pray as Jeremiah did and you'll almost always get a quick answer for it verse 23 says Lord I know the way of man is not in himself it is not man who walks to direct his own steps and hears the prayer says O Lord or all eternal correct me but with justice not in your anger unless you bring me to nothing how often do we pray for God to correct us you know that's a that's a tough prayer to pray isn't it I I've met a few people over the years I remember one young man he said you know I'm ready for it you know bring it on that that's not a good thing to pray I don't think it's not a wise thing to pray maybe that's the the brave thing to pray but maybe I'm just a coward but when I pray this prayer Lord Lord correct me but with justice please do so only as much as you need to actually help me to be able to read your word and be corrected by your word that's far less painful than the other ways to be corrected isn't it so yes God correct me is need be because if we really have faith and trust and confidence in God and in Jesus Christ we recognize that there is nothing that they will do to us that is harmful to us not in the end we're all going to die someday you might as well get used to that idea because it's going to happen I don't care what your age is you're going to die someday I'm gonna die someday and that the sad thing is that that day gets closer all the time alright I just turned actually 71 because I crossed the International Dateline on my birthday and I had two birthdays that year I've been 71 birthdays but only 70 whatever but you know as you get closer oh it goes by fast and you realize that things happen at a certain point in time we're not here forever so what what can God do to us that's be bad for the worst that can happen is we can die and that's gonna happen but do we really think that our Father will do something for us it's not good if he knows that we need to be corrected isn't that what we need isn't that what we want I think in the end we do but Peter and others were trusting in themselves they didn't realize it but that's what they were doing he says correct me but with justice not in your anger lest you bring me to nothing and that's exactly what happened these men Christ corrected them and yet after that they were willing to put their lives on the line and at least 11 of them well Judas killed himself but those other 11 that were with Christ that night except for John apparently actually were martyrs they were willing to give their lives for Christ that's one example where we trust ourselves Peter and the Apostles trusted themselves instead of trusting God let's look at another example of someone who came up short and in one sense he was trusting himself but there was another addition to it let's go back to 2nd chronicles 22 the 2nd chronicles the 22nd chapter this is a fascinating story second chronicles 22 we'll begin in verse 10 this this woman ethyl aya was a very wicked woman and it says she was the mother of a sis when she saw that her son was dead she rose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah we normally think of men being cruel and violent but here was a woman who no doubt had others do the job but she gave out the word to kill all of the royal heirs of the house of Judah but Jehovah via the daughter of the king took joash the son of Ahaz aya and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being murdered and put him I put him and his nurse in a bedroom so here was this very very young individual about a year of age and he was spirited away as we sometimes use the expression so jeho shubee of the daughter of king Jehan the wife of jehoiada the priest for she was a sister of a Ziya hid him from athle so that she did not kill him and he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years while Haskel aya reigned over the land and as we'll see a little bit later she was not really popular she was a very self-centered woman very cruel woman but they took this this young infant really about a year of age and they took him aside and then in the seventh year after they've hid him for six years we read in the 23rd chapter of verse one it says in the seventh year jehoiada this is the priest again strengthened himself and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds Azariah the son of jehoiada the son of Jephunneh ji-ho hainan and these other unpronounceable verse - they went throughout that Judah and they gathered Levites from all the cities of Judah and the chief fathers of Israel and they came to Jerusalem then all the Assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God they made a covenant with the seven-year-old and he said to them behold the king's son shall reign as the eternal has said of the sons of David now let's pick it up in verse nine jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds of Spears and the largest small shields which had belonged to King David they were in the temple of God they brought him there and they're going to have a coronation ceremony for this young king he's put everything in place Joanna did verse 10 then he said all the people every man with his weapon in his hand from the right side of the temple of the left side of the temple along by the altar and by the temple all around the king and they brought out the king's son put the crown on him gave him the testimony and made him King and Jehovah and his sons anointed him and said long live the king and when Athol I have heard the noise of the people running and praising the king she came to the people in the temple of the Lord she heard all this commotion she wanted to what's going on and she came there and verse 13 she looked and there was a king standing by his pillar at the entrance that's an interesting statement standing by his pillar what was that pillar we could speculate a lot but we we don't know for sure the answer some thought the Stone of Destiny Stone of Scone I don't know that's all speculation but the leaders in the trumpeters were by the king and all the people and were rejoicing and blowing trumpets also the singers with musical instruments and those who led in praise and athle at Oracle's have said treason treason she yelled out amongst the crowd there and we see here that Joanna the priest then commanded that she be taken into custody said don't kill her in the house the Lord verse 15 they seized her and she went by way of the incidence of the horse gate into the king's house and they killed her there they put this usurper who destroyed the royal seed all except this one young man and this really child a very small child put them all to death and they gave her what was due her for her crimes they took her out and executed her let's notice now and second chronicles 24 first of all verses 1 & 2 says joash was 7 years old when he became king and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem his mother's name was Subbaiah of Beersheba and joash did what was right and the side of the Lord that's a good start to the statement but notice the rest of it all the days of jehoiada the priest so July ADA was the one along with his wife they spirited him away they protected him they preserved his life they brought him forth and had him coordinated to be king and as he grew up here was this older man that he followed you hoid up and then let's pick it up in verse 15 it says but jehoiada grew old and it was full of days and he died he was 130 years old when he died very old man and they buried him in the City of David among the Kings because he had done good in Israel both toward God and his house now verse 17 it says now after the death of jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king and the king listened to them they came there and basically they said you've been following this old man and it's time for a change that's old fashioned what you've been doing there must have something like that to him and now he's gone so we need to do something different we need to change everything around it says in the King listen to them verse 18 therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers and served wooden images and idols so they turned right back into the worship of pagan gods and goddesses and idols and all kinds of things like that wood and stone I went back to that it's hard to believe isn't it very difficult for us to believe that here they would know the true God at least ostensibly they knew him and even if nothing else they've been away from these other things for so long you would have thought there had been no attraction for them and yet immediately after very shortly after the death of jehoiada they went back in that direction how sad that is yet he sent prophets to them to bring them back to the eternal and they testified against them but they would not listen so there were voices in Judah at the time trying to bring the people back there were prophets there were individuals there were voices speaking up and the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of jehoiada the priest so this was the son of jehoiada who stood above the people and said to them thus says God why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord now that's not what they wanted to hear and I'm sure he shouted to that them so they that you cannot prosper because you have forsaken the eternal he also has forsaken you and so they conspired against him and at the command of the King the command of joash whose very life had been spared by jehoiada and his wife the ones who had made him king who brought him out to be king they could have taken him off and just gotten him out of the country but no they put their lives on line and risked their lives to make him King and mentored him for many many years they conspired against son of jehoiada and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones and the court of the house of the eternal thus joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jahi his father had done to him but killed his son and as he died he said the Lord or the eternal look on it and repay now here was an individual who we could say trust it in himself and there is no doubt that was a part of it but he also looked to jehoiada the priest as a mentor as one who is a trusted adviser and isn't that where some people put their trust and confidence they put their trust and confidence not just in themselves but in a man what mr. Armstrong died how fast did people turn back into pagan practices I remember when we were in Rome several years ago we had a guide lovely woman taking us around and we were following the flag and she was telling us all these things and she said you see all these churches over round here and she said they once were all hoggin churches that we loved the way she said pluggin not pagan but plugin now she recognized that but they had been Christianized we look at people who were once a part of us who professed that they would never turn back and what did they do they went right back into the worship of pagan god pinging God a Trinitarian God coming out of Greek ideas and so forth they've gone back to keeping Christmas and Easter and even Halloween doing all the things that they were once doing how fast people return but as long as mr. Armstrong was there they look to him now there was nothing wrong with looking mr. Armstrong one sense but there was something missing from their lives I remember a memorial service that I was invited to speak at up in Toronto area one of our members son had died and he had gone to Big Sandy at the university there of the college as it was and he had been out of college for some years he was 37 years old and had a lot of problems and physical problems and he died and the funeral service was down in Texas but they had a memorial service because so many people knew him that's where he grew up up in the Toronto area so I was invited by the Father to come and speak and it was a kind of a strange event there were people from various different Church of God groups but most of them were from the associations name changed but association that a lot of people were part of at one time a lot of a lot of us had been a part of under mr. Armstrong and the one who is the I guess master of ceremonies introducing different people said he said you know I really feel badly because at one time I think I let the gym that wasn't his name but I lit gym down and he said he asked me a very serious question and I didn't have the answer and he said the reason I didn't have the answer was because I never studied the Bible and then he corrected himself and said well actually I did study the Bible when I was coming into the church but then I stopped studying I wonder how many people find themselves that way that they studied coming into the church and then they get too busy to take time to study or to pray I know that in a group this size I and I don't know who you are I know are the names of some of you I've known some of you for quite a long time and our there's just a little bit and and I have absolutely no idea I I like it when I don't know anybody in the crowd that I'm speaking of specifically but I would have to guess that there are people here who do not pray on a daily basis on their knees for more than just a few minutes of that there are people who probably fast once a year and there people who probably rarely open up their Bible except on the Sabbath I don't know if it's one person or 20 or 50 I have no idea thankfully I don't know that's just a guess based on past experience in a church that there are people like that but they look to an individual they may look to dr. Meredith and you know that I'll follow dr. Meredith or they may look to mr. Aames or some other individual that they look to and that's that's good in a way but it's not good enough our faith has to go beyond human beings because when that human being is gone where do we stand do we stand with God or whatever's popular at the moment you see Joe hi Etta I'm sorry not too high you know joash as long as geojedo was alive he followed him but as soon as he was gone he had no more backbone he had no more strength to be able to stand up against evil and so he went right into it right back into paganism idol worship and furthermore killed the son of the man who had saved his life because that individual was telling to get back to the worship of God so we've seen two examples the one where we trust in the self and the other where we trust in other individuals other people a hero a mentor or some charismatic figure I think there are a lot of people that used to trust in a voice that was on the radio on television it was very charismatic I'm not speaking mr. Herbert Armstrong but another individual there and they trusted him and they would say you know give it to him and they were religious hobbyists but they didn't trust in God and Psalm 146 Psalm 146 there's a scripture here but I think is miss applied in some ways people take this verse and they say the Bible says trust no man that's not exactly what it says here Psalm 146 verse 3 he says do not put your trust in Princes nor in a son of man and whom there is no help no help for what well if you been put in jail some man can bail you out I know I've had to bail a few people out over the years and by the way they always want cash they won't take a check or credit card they'll want cash so you have to go down to your ATM but it says don't trust in Princes nor in the son of man whom there is no help for help for what it says his spirit departs he returned to his earth in that very day his plans perish or his thoughts perish thoughts really is more the sense of the original at least as far as I can tell in other words recognize that when it comes to your eternal life when it comes to the big issues of life man can't save you it's not saying never trust anybody you trust your wife you trust your husband you put trust in individuals all the time up to a certain point but you don't put your eternal life in the hands of another individual I remember a woman that I had ordained as a Deaconess her husband a deacon and her kids went off to ambassador college and when things began to come apart somebody asked her what are you going to do and she said well I don't know it depends on what my boys do putting a trust in their decision not her own with a relationship with her creator it's shocking sometimes the things that happen there it's not saying we should never trust anybody we have to put trust in people all the time when we get on the road we trust that the other person is not drinking and intoxicated there may be a false trust but we trust that most of the people out there okay and with a little defensive driving will probably come back safely but in the big issues of life of life and death he said the sort of man or human beings there is no help he's gonna die and so are you someday and so we need to put our trust in a much higher source than some other human being in this life so we see two sources of strength not to rely on the first one is self and the other one that we should not rely on is other people other human beings now very closely associated with this second point and I've made it a third point here although it's it's so closely related that perhaps is just a you know one is point a and the other one is point B of a point two but when we look back and loot the 14th chapter once again which we have already read but I want to go back there again when it comes to trusting people there's really a warning here where Jesus said and remember this was these were his words if anyone comes to me and does not hate and we can prove that that word means to love to a lesser degree by comparison just by going back to where Jacob loved Leah more than I'm sorry not Leah Rachel more than Leah and then that translated in the New Testament and so forth II do a little bit of connecting dots there and you can prove it that way and of course the context we know that God doesn't want us to hate our parents but he says does not hate to another words love to lesser degree his father and mother wife and children brothers and sisters yes in his own life also he cannot be my disciple and so the the point here that kind of the point B of the second point is that we cannot put our trust and family when it comes to where we're going to be what we're going to do we trust our family to a certain degree but ultimately jesus said you have to put me first now how often do we see where one individual and family leaves the church and then everybody else goes along with them sometimes it may be an extended family where you have you know 8 or 10 or 15 individuals in the family and it seems like when one leaves they all leave and you'd think that there must be some independent minded one there who's gonna say no wait a minute what's changed it often occurs because somebody gets their feelings hurt and when that individual gets his feelings hurt he spreads out poison to everybody else and people follow the the the patriarch of the family sometimes it's the matriarch of the family but people follow other people there are people who went to a particular church group because that's where one of them went and they decided well I'd better go with with that individual we need to understand that we there are some things where we have to stand alone we have to stand up we have to put our trust in God in Jesus Christ and put him first and not a family member now this is not to try to divide families but remember Christ did say I did not come to bring peace but a sword and you know set a father against the daughter and that's probably poorly quoted but I think you know the scripture should know where that is I used to read that all the time so we're in Matthew someplace as I recall but I'll let you find that at a later time but it does point out that there would be trouble in the family sometimes hopefully not all the time we want families to be together we strive for that we do our best but because some people are not going to follow God there's going to be a separation sometimes there let's notice back in the book of Deuteronomy the thirteenth chapter the Bible really is very clear on this subject that God has to be before family Deuteronomy 13 and verse 6 it says if your brother the son of your mother your son or your daughter the wife of your bosom your wife that you sleep in the same bed with or your friend the friend that you've had all your life who is a as your own soul secretly entices saying let us go and serve other gods which you have not known neither you nor your fathers of the gods of the people which are all around you now consider it this way because realize that the gods are around us the religions that are around us are not the religion of the Bible they are not the religion that Christ and the Apostles had the religion that we or the doctrines the the truth that we have is very different from the Church of this world and there are many quotes that we have but in dr. Maris booklet on restoring original Christianity he says that there's no resemblance it opens up very early in the chapter there that the church that that Jesus founded or the Church of this world have absolutely no resemblance to the church that that Jesus founded it's totally different and yet when people go back into that they're doing exactly what is said here especially if they're following their sons or they're following a father or a mother or a wife he said are the gods of the people which are all around you near to you are far off from you from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth you shall not verse 8 consent to him or listen to him nor shall your I pity him nor shall you spare him or conceal him but you shall surely kill him that's what the Israelites were told that somebody came along and they had a false god and they tried to promote that false god and introduced him into Israel they were to take this individual out and kill him stone him even if it was your son your daughter your brother your best friend it doesn't matter who was a parent someone trying to introduce false religion into the nation there and afterward the hand of all the people now of course we don't do that today but what we are because we don't bring about those those penalties the penalties for breaking God's law in that sense that's not our responsibility that's the civil authorities and they're not going to do anything about it but but in our mind we are not to follow that individual and sometimes we have to cut off that individual from our fellowship or cut off that individual from our our personal relationship with that individual sometimes you can't just cut a person off because they live in your house but you don't listen to him you don't go along with them you shall not consent to him or listen to him nor shall your I pity him nor shall you spare or conceal him but you shall surely kill him your hand shall be first against him to put him to death and after the hand of all the people and you shall stone him with the stones until he dies because he sought to entice you away from the eternal your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage what someone tries to take us away from the truth we shouldn't try to protect that individual sometimes people come in they have a heresy within the church and they're trying to get people to go someplace else or to believe something else and there's this false sense of loyalty that we have that oh I better not say anything now I don't think we want a police state where we're just reporting on everybody I'm not trying to promote that idea but when someone is totally off track and they're trying to take other people off track and they're you know promoting ideas that we all know are wrong we don't we don't protect them we don't take that that wolf that's got sheep's clothing on it and say oh I can't tell the other sheep or you know I can't tell the Shepherd and we just let that individual devour other people he says so all Israel shall hear on fear and not again do such wickedness as this among you so God had a very strong standard there now notice some of the warnings that God gives us in acts the 20th chapter acts 20 you see we're not to follow our the dictates of our own heart we're not to follow some charismatic leader we're not to follow up family members again to a degree we can but when it push comes to shove I think you understand I understand what I'm trying to say here there's a balance in all this but when when there's a clear separation we don't follow someone like that but here in acts of 20th chapter it's very interesting in verse 28 it says therefore take heed to yourselves this is Paul speaking to the elders at Ephesus where he had met them some location neutral location there where they had come to to visit with him and he says therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to Shepherd the Church of God which he purchased with his own blood for I know this that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock he knew that there would be individuals that would try to take advantage of the situation when Paul was not there and he says also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves therefore watch be alert and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn every one night and day with tears now that this is rather interesting here what I find interesting here it hit me one day that those individuals who rose up from amongst them probably didn't all give up the Sabbath and holy days how many people think that as long as somebody keeps the Sabbath and holy days they must be ok I'm not sure has to go for Shore hands just to think about it we think oh well I just needed to find a church keeps the Sabbath or the keeps of Sabbath and holy days but I would bet that some of the people who fulfilled that prophecy of Paul they were taking way of following after themselves probably were still Sabbath keepers and probably still kept the holy days but the problem was their motivation they were taking away from where God was working so they could support the so you have their own following or promote their own little idea whether it be calendars or who knows what there's certain issues that come up from time to time that kind of just recycle and they come back after a few years and somebody has some idea and they want to promote it I think we need to think about that just because someone is a Sabbath keeper and keeps the holy days does not mean that they're not a wolf we have to think about those things I'm not saying that everybody else is a wolf out there but I think we need to to understand that because there are people who take people away from the Church of God and they have their little group and they do nothing as far as the work goes so they just get their website they put something up oh we're preaching the gospel but the bottom line is they got their feelings hurt they want to go out and they want to do their own thing and we're not to to follow people like that 2nd Thessalonians 2 2nd Thessalonians 2 these are warnings for us second Thessalonians a second chapter we've talked about this a lot over the years in verse 8 it says then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of it coming verse 9 the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power signs and lying wonders you know when this individual begins to perform all these signs and wonders and there's going to be a great enthusiasm across the world for this individual I don't know if even I understand how powerful that poll is going to be but we know in advance there's going to be a powerful influence on people and I know the doctor Marisa said that some amongst us will likely fall prey to them and I think he's right don't let it be you and don't let it be me but these are going to be powerful signs and there it's going to be very emotionally attached to it with everybody being excited about it and at the same time we're gonna be the bad guys it says verse 10 and with all unrighteous deception there's gonna be great deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved and for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness there's a lot there really if you stop and you meditate and you think about it they didn't love the truth they had pleasure in unrighteousness well when you look at our world today and all the pleasures that are out there and in a very limited sense but you've got the Internet and you've got pornography and you've got you know all the stuff that's out there that that is being shoved on us you get caught up in that and then the emotion comes along and and the miracles and who knows what might happen as a result of all of that in Revelation the third chapter revelation 3 we're all familiar with this I find this very remarkable I won't take time to read all this but the latest scene grew and it says in verse 15 I know your work so you're neither cold nor hot and I could wish that you were cold or hot so then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will vomit you out of my mouth now I don't want to spend a lot of time on that but they just say this isn't it remarkably odd that at the very time of the end when all the prophecies of the end begin to come together that the Church of God as a whole is going to be asleep it is going to be complacent is going to be lukewarm you just intellectually it doesn't make sense does it but we see people getting caught up in all kinds of goofy stuff you see people with problems with one another and they get caught up in some argument somebody and they go off and and it's it's the little stuff I was talking to a minister here a while back at can't remember who it was he was saying it just gets tired of all the pettiness that goes on sometimes in the church and he wasn't talking necessarily about here I don't know who it was but I don't think it was here but I would guess that there's probably pettiness that goes on here we've talked about coffee pot wars they're still going on in the church where a woman one woman gets mad because somebody else gets to bring the coffee pot or bought the coffee pot and here the whole world is about ready to blow up in our face and we're worried about who brought the coffee pot or who hands out him books or whatever else it might be now where are we looking you know here's what bothers me it bothers me about some of these things and that is this some people are losing their focus even as the storm clouds rise higher and higher if you just stop and look at the where the world's going I wish I knew who was mr. Reese Ellis was telling us at the feast that a Frenchman who is very highly respected in Europe a statesman I don't think he's a politician but he evolves people that is looked upon with great respect as actually made this statement that where we're headed there in Europe and the Middle East and all is to war that's where we're headed and I think if we cannot see that then we're blind isn't that what legacy is we're blind and I have a concern that maybe we're not watching and praying and doing the things as much as we really should because when people get caught up in pettiness and little stuff and fail to see the big picture something is wrong and there being too much like the disciples who on the night in which Jesus was betrayed were arguing about who should sit where or who is the greatest enter shine brings out very interestingly that probably the the discussion is who is the greatest had to do with where everybody said and Judas who would make sense was sitting close to Christ because Christ was able to give him the soft and this was not a table like you normally think of it was you know on the floor and they were laying down there and and then you you read about how Jesus I'm sorry John leaned back on Jesus chest or breast there and if they're with their feet and back and the table out in front and they're eating with their hands they didn't use knifes and forks back then don't shake anybody up there but Christ ain't with his hands so I guess that that that's your kids they're doing ok you know it was a simple thing if they're leaning with I'm one arm and just took to lean back and say Lord who is it and very likely Judas was a part of that about who's the greatest and he was sitting right next to him and inertia I'm tried to figure out where everybody was sitting and I don't think he could figure out where it but he was but at least the key players John and Judas were very close to Christ in proximity John had to be right next to him and probably Judas was on the other side of it some people are losing their focus as a storm clouds rise higher and higher I do wonder how many are watching and praying I know that most of God's people are but I don't know that any of us really grasp where we are in time we are headed for something that is is going to be so shocking that even though we know it is going to be hard to comprehend as our world crashes down around us have you read dr. Maris article on prayer in the living church news I think this latest edition of the Living Church news is one of the best we've ever put out as a very you know down to earth article by dr. marathon prayer that we would all do well to remember mr. McNair has an article on trust trusting God mr. nathen has an article there on meekness very interesting article there and then a lot of other articles there the woman-to-woman one very interesting by mrs. Amon how many are studying the Word of God how many are taking the time to fast and draw closer to God you know it's human nature to procrastinate and think that well when I have to get zealous I'll get zealous that's usually a bad time because the doctor doesn't always work out the way that we wanted to on the night in which Christ was crucified Peter was instructed to watch and pray lest you enter into temptation three times he fell asleep on the job and three times he denied Christ and when the time came to stand up three times he failed as we say God is merciful and he did not cast him off didn't cast him aside he he worked with him and when time came at the end of it you know at the end of his life he was willing to stand up he was willing to put his life on the line in the end he became a lesson for us and first Corinthians 10 verse 12 says therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall but you know there's good news in all this and that is that if we put our trust in Christ if we truly do not just in name or whatever and profession but we put our trust in Christ because we build that faith on a daily basis with prayer and study not prayer and study just to get our prayer in or a study in but because we're trying to build that relationship with our Creator we will have the strength to endure any trial even the most timid amongst us if we're close to God we'll be able to stand up we'll even surprise ourselves as we're told in Philippians 4:13 I can do all things how through Christ who strengthens me

Channel: Living Church of God

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Keywords: God, Jesus Christ, spiritual, power

Id: 7Tw73e7W94g

Length: 67min 4sec (4024 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 22 2016