Why Do We Need God's Protection?

[Music] you a title for the sermon today is why do we need God's protection why do we need God's protection you know we're living in a world that is largely oblivious to the real problems and the threats that are mounting our populace whether it's here in the United States or in Canada or many other areas especially in the Israelite nations as well as many of the nations of Europe the populace has become hedonistic purely pleasure seeking and a problem that largely interferes with the exercising of pleasure is what concerns them not the systematic flaws or issues that are much more serious whether it be an education matters of social change various policies etc you know our security whether it's here or in other parts of the Western world is really threatened by a dual effect of rising criminal activity as well as a global exposure explosion in unrest be that manifesting itself as terrorism or as war or various other sorts of violent expression largely a version of Islam is being promoted internationally which is intimidating to many members even within the Islamic faith and which is exporting a lot of terror through this one one group largely funded by Saudi Arabia and it's a growing movement even within our own borders our religious freedom at the same time the most fundamental freedom is threatened by the passing of laws not only to protect various gender lifestyles but other behaviors as well the decency the stability the morality of society is in freefall and sometimes it's hard to recognize we can get numb to the changes around us yet in all this most people feel content as long as there's food on the table and entertainment to be had and thinking as long as I have enough money I'll be ok it doesn't matter what's happening in the rest of the world well the populace has been lulled into a false sense of security in our land and they place their trust in money or science or physical and material possessions that one can amass you know we live in a world that is actually filled with and I would say even obsessed with violence whether it's Wars - domestic violence - increasing crime rates we complain about it sometimes but we revel in it how much entertainment on television or in the movie theater is violence based most of it it's hard to watch something it isn't promoting some type of social advocacy for something the Bible would say is wrong or else it's promoting entertainment through the expression of violence the entertainment industry proves that we have a love affair with violence and this should not come as a surprise because whether it is Paul or Jesus Christ both refer to the Satan to Satan as the actual ruler of this world and they also explain that he is of a violent and deceptive nature you turn over to Ezekiel chapter 28 Ezekiel the 28th chapter we see a very interesting story here I'll just read very small part of it but in verse 14 of Ezekiel 28 God caused the Prophet to referring to one known as Lucifer who became Satan and said you were the anointed Carib who covers I established you you were on the holy mountain of God in the midst of God's government and you walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones you were perfect in your ways from the day you were created he was a created being until iniquity was found in you and by the abundance of your trading and that word can be interpreted politicking you became filled with violence within and you sin and I cast you out as a profane thing from the mountain of God and he goes on Satan is a violent being when whatever caused his rebellion against God the Father and Jesus Christ his makers whatever caused that rebellion caused him to become violent and we know from the history of the Bible that was a war and that war destroyed the earth completely and utterly and it had to be rebuilt as described in Genesis many in the world however do not accept the fact that there is a spirit world that is active in directing the affairs of nations business religion social entertainment and the whole nature and structure of society and the net effect of that leadership that Satan has been expressing on this earth is that SIA T's are moving away from anything that resembles a belief or trust in God and secondly the people called of God who follow his ways and teach the truth are subject to his wrath and one of the most difficult things for modern man to understand or believe that in our world today is that we need protection from spiritual forces now we've just come through a season where people celebrated something called Halloween you know really if you hadn't seen this before and had not been raised in a society that accepts this and promotes it you would be shocked I mean it's ugly by its very nature everything about it is McCobb and people seem to overlook that ugliness because it's been a cultural thing that they had been engineered to accept and to participate in but God throughout the Bible states and repeats his promises of protection to those who follow him and when I talk about protection yes there is physical protection that he does provide but there's also the spiritual protection that is even much more important you know it's hard for man to accept this today again most people refuse to accept even the presence of a spirit world but suffice it to say the whole world and virtually all religions are deceived on this point you know you've often turned to you can just reference at revelation 12:9 most of you know it by memory that Satan is called the being who has deceived the whole world don't just read over that statement understand it for the depth of ignorance that he has created on this earth when it comes to reality the reality of God in Ephesians 2 he's called the Prince of the power of the air the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience he causes moods he causes us sometimes to think that which we ought not and James tells us when that when you find that stuff happening get your mind on something else fight back resistant and in John 14 verse 30 he's called the ruler of this world by Jesus Christ and he's going to continue in that position he is the ruler of this world and we forget that at our peril and we'll continue to be in that position until Jesus Christ returns to this world with the resurrected Church with him at the start of the millennium and puts him out of business but the Bible however the inspired Word of God does have a message of protection for God's people and that message supposes the need for it not just of the mind which is very important but also there's an element of physical protection that we need to rely on and need to pray about the Church of God has a number of tasks one of those tasks is to preach the gospel to the world that is not to be underrated and if you are the Church of God that's what you will be doing if you're not doing it you don't deserve the title and secondly we are to warn the descendants of modern Israel that is a job the church has to do because we are commanded to do it and the Bible contains a message to us in God's church that should help us be inspired to know the situations we are in the risks the dangers but also the rewards of doing the right thing and it inspires us to ask and seek God's protection from the things that are soon to occur and I'd like to approach this in three points first of all what is the warning to Israel because that's where we happen to live at the moment and secondly who are the recipients of God's promised protection and what are they and thirdly what are their criteria for that protection you know in all of this we should all reflect on our own lives and think of times where God may have intervened to help us I remember an incident when I was just a little gaffer sorry I grew up in Nova Scotia that's a common term little fellow and I was I think about five years old and my mother dropped me off at school and I had to run across the street in Halifax where I grew up and and go under the schoolyard and of course a five-year-old can be a little bit how is how would I say oblivious to the goings-on and the rest of the planet and so I got out of the car went behind the car until I mothers horror I just charged across the road because I could see the target the schoolyard that's where where I was going and I remember being almost across the road and for some reason I looked to my right and there was a city bus it was going at a pretty good clip and it was about five feet away from me and like I remember the face of the bus driver and the next thing the next thing I remember I was lying on my back on the grass beside the curb by the back door of the bus now I don't know what happened in there but if the laws of physics were being applied at that moment I should have been a hood ornament on the bus but many times God intervenes and I'm sure you can think of many times gods intervene for you we are not without that protection Hebrews 1 tells us angels are ministering spirits sent to minister to those God is calling turn for a moment to Ezekiel chapter 3 this is an important part of our role but we sometimes need to be reminded what do we need protection from this is a message God gave through a prophet Ezekiel fascinating man and verse 17 he's God says to him son of man I've made you a watchman to the house of Israel therefore hear a word from my mouth and give them warning from me that expression give them warning for me is in the imperative case that means it's an order when I say to the wicked you shall surely die and you give him no warning nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life that same wicked man shall die as iniquity but his blood I'll require at your hand it will become our fault if we don't carry the message yet if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness nor from this wicked way he will die in his iniquity but you will have delivered your life that's a basic principle that God uses when he calls us to work for him he has very high levels of expectation of what we will achieve and sometimes we set the expectation levels too low he sets them very high because he knows you can do it in verse 20 he says again when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity and I lay a stumbling block before him he shall die because you did not give him warning he shall die in his sin and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered but his blood I'll require in your hand when were called we have a high level of responsibility in Ezekiel 3 tells us of this commission given to Ezekiel the watchman of Israel and that same Commission is inherited by the Church of God today so what is the warning that were supposed to give to our peoples who are oblivious that dangers around the corner there are three chapters of Ezekiel and which a dreadful warning is given and we know it's for the endtime as the State of Israel had already gone into captivity to the Assyrians when this was written and this therefore is a prophecy for our time and Ezekiel was a priest he was a son of the family of Zadok that's the family from which the priests came the high priest all came from that and he was one of the leaders of the captive Jewish community that was living near Babylon following the first deportation of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar Israel the northern ten tribes had gone into captivity over a century earlier and they had already been organized around the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas and some of them had of course moved to other areas but they became known as skiff Ian's or a portion of the Empire of Parthia or whatever before their long migration into northwestern Europe but the prophecy as we see is directed at Israel as much as Judah and therefore it proves it is a prophecy for a later date than the days in which you Ezekiel was living in Chapter five we learned that Ezekiel was told to do something actually a lot of the prophets were told to do something strange but there was deep meaning in this action if you look at Ezekiel 5 verse 1 it says a new son of man take a sharp sword take it as a barbers razor and pass it over your head and your beard and then take the balances to weigh and divide the hair and you shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city so everyone can see you doing it in the midst of the city and when the days of the siege are finished then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword and one-third you'll scatter to the wind and I will draw a sword out after them so even those going into captivity would have persecution and you shall take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment and then take some of them again and throw them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire for from there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel not Judah and thus says the Lord God this is Jerusalem I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries around her she has rebelled against my judgments by doing wickedness much more than the nation's and against my statutes more than the countries that are around her for they have refused my judgments and have not walked in my statutes even though they knew them and never reminded therefore says the Lord God because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are around you and have not walked in my statutes nor kept my judgments nor even done according to the judgment of the nations in other words Israel has become worse than the nations around us you know Israelites I guess over the years Canadians Americans Australians etc and others have always been known for their work ethic the work ethic that came out of the 1800s the Victorian period was a descriptor of our peoples I was had opportunity I was asked to speak to a group of University representatives in the city of Regina Saskatchewan last week by the Chinese government and I gave a presentation on the way back from the airport we go actually we had a flight back to Calgary I was going back to Edmonton and some of the Chinese representatives were going on to Eastern Canada and between it was kind of late but between Regina and Calgary I had to edit some writing I was doing for something else and when I got off the plane one of the Chinese representatives came up to me and I said did you sleep on the plane I said no I had to edit the paper and they said oh you don't work like a Canadian then and that shook me a little bit because you see other peoples are noticing we're changing other people's notice that other nations notice that there's something different about the anglo-saxons now than used to be we might not notice that ourselves but it is observed and it's something that we need to be cautious of that doesn't infect ourselves but from these scriptures we see that God takes law taking very seriously and today people claiming to represent the God of the Bible many of them say God's law is done away but as we have seen and many many sermons in the past that the New Testament enforces God's law every bit as much as the Old Testament and it enforces it into the future beyond the return of Christ law breaking erodes our protective wall notice verse 8 to V zekiel 5 says therefore says the Lord God indeed I am even I am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nation's and I will do among you what I have never done and the like of which I will never do again because of all your abominations we do need protection from what is coming how bad is it going to get verse 10 we can't imagine this in our countries it says their forefathers shall eat their sons in your midst and Sons eat their father's and I will execute judgments among you and all of you who remain I will scatter to the winds therefore as I live says the Lord God surely because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations therefore I will diminish you my I will not spare nor will I have any pity and God begins to explain the meanings of those symbols and he goes on in verse 12 and explains here that one third of you shall die by pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst that was the first third when is the last time Israelitish people have really no one famine do you read about it in your histories perhaps the had a potato famine in the 1800s and prior to that there were periods of periodic famine back in the thirteen and twelve hundreds in England that's eight hundred years ago we have an experience very much in the line of famine and we've been filled with plenty for so long because of God's blessing it's hard for people to believe but that's what it says and that's what will happen and he goes on and one-third shall fall by the sword around you the Israelitish peoples today have concentrated roughly seventy percent of the world's military capacity that's just fact according to the Institute of Strategic Studies how would that happen well it's going to happen because we trust in our military we trust and our wealth we trust in our we believe in our abilities but we do not trust in God and neither do we rely on him neither do we obey and he says and I will scatter another third to the winds and I'll draw a sword out after them and thus my anger will be spent and I will cause my fury to rest upon them and I will be avenged that they may know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal when I have spent my fury on now God will not punish Israel unless they have been clearly warned our people today are a bit oblivious as they were in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah but it's interesting that the ancient prophets were sent to warn a people before destruction some of them were high-ranking people Ezekiel was a very high-ranking man he was a leading Prince Daniel was it was a prince of the royal family so was Jeremiah but Jeremiah was a priest of high rank when God wants a job done he will make sure that people are there to do the job but he wants people who will do the job and he has called us so the answer really to our knees is first to obey God and do his will and put our heart into it we've seen examples of how bad it will get I don't think there's much point in reading more about that it's a horrific time coming but following famine he talks about in verse 17 you know pestilence blood famine they said while beasts among you the actual term there in verse 17 is thanked beasts so whatever fanged beasts means I mean cats have fangs I guess they can give you a good nip so can a dog but snakes have fangs and even spiders have fangs so whether it means large furry wild beasts or wild beasts that are toxic and slithering doesn't matter it's a prophecy and following famine always comes disease and crime you know this will occur in chapter 6 of Ezekiel God begins to describe more detail of what will happen more clarity as to the cause of the people's dilemma so Ezekiel chapter 6 verse 1 he says now the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them and say o mountains of Israel hear the word of the Lord God thus the Lord God says to the mountains and the hills and the ravines over to the whole nation indeed I even I will bring a sword against you and destroy your high places then your altars shall be desolate you know that which you trusted in that which you put before God first amendment has put nothing before God and so the altars here the idols are that which we put in front of God they'll be desolate your incense altars broken down etc verse five and I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols before that which you trusted and I'll scatter your bones beside those altars and all your dwelling places the cities will be laid waste and the high places shall be desolate so your altars may be laid waste and made desolate and your altars may be broken and made to cease and your altars may be cut down and your works may be abolished and the slain will fall in your midst and you will know that I am the Lord now the things in which we trust false religion but also other material things that become God's to us that's that's important to remember to identify is there something before God he wants us to check that all the time you know so many argue even our former Association went astray on the same principle where they put something else before the law of God Isaiah 8:20 says to the law and the testimony if they speak not according to that word there is no light in them they're in utter darkness they have no knowledge of truth at all none zero they cannot give you spiritual leadership unless they follow the law of God your Creator they are a woefully ignorant and we need to remember that before we look in other places for truth in the nation will be devastated but it will not be totally wiped out some will survive leave a remnant so that you may have some who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered through their countries as slaves and then those of you who escaped will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive notice this because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from me you know if a married couple are together and one couple one partner betrays the other then the betrayed partner feels crushed hurt sick at heart totally betrayed that's the same language God uses here because I was crushed hurt deeply by their departure from the truth and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols and they will load themselves for the evils which they have committed they can only do that if they know the truth they can only contrast what they've been to what they should have been if the truth is known God was deeply hurt by that disloyalty just as he's deeply hurt by our disloyalty if we become disloyal the same way he's invested a great deal in each and every one of us but have to be taught because says in verse 10 and they show and then they shall know I am the Lord and I have not said in vain I would bring calamity but how would they know that if they haven't been told that's the job that we are given so thus the immediate future of Israel is not a pleasant one but it is one that has been brought on by a rebellion against the law of God and a rejection of God as our ruler even yesterday even two days ago I guess in the legislature or the province of Alberta where I live the Minister of Education brought a piece of legislation before the the government party and which he is now proposing to pass a law which will prevent parents from being told if their child at school takes part in any counseling or any gender counseling or gender identity counseling I guess is the term in other words parents who be denied access to what is going on with their child in school now even in Canada that is a constitutional violation and will likely result in a court challenge but that's a rebellion against common sense and decency and morality in every way shape and form and if I were to stand up as a speaker a guest of the legislature and say you know you're departing from the way of God I would be laughed right out of the chamber they would say who let that old archaic character in here that's the way the nation's thinking but it doesn't know the truth but it has to there must be a warning god holds us accountable to give that warning Israel the modern nations of you know Britain Canada the United States New Zealand Australia etc and North Western Europe and others will receive a terrible fate we understand from Amos chapter 5 verse 3 and 4 that the survival rate of Israelites into the millennium period is approximately one out of ten tells us that Amos 5 chapter 3 the city goes out by a thousand shell of a hundred left this town that goes out with a hundred show up 10 left 90 percent casualty rate and those ten percent are probably the ones God knows he can work with in the Millennium so changed where our society be at that time but before that so changed with our society be from what it is now can you understand for example in verse 14 of verse 14 here of Ezekiel chapter 7 Ezekiel 7 verse 14 this is what will happen in this country and Canada and Britain they have blowing the trumpet and made everyone ready but no one goes to battle you know when the Argentine government invaded the Falkland Islands there was a big change in the attitude of Britain that the first of all they were pretty laid-back at the time but the idea that wait a minute I say you know someone's invading our hosts here that's not cricket so we'll have to do something about that so they mobilized the force went down had a war and took them back they listened to the sound of the trumpet when 9/11 happened we know that the response was there was no resistance to that respond the trumpet was sounded there was a big response but the Bible saying that in Israel they have blown my trumpet and made everyone ready but no one goes to battle for my wrath is on their multitude the sword is outside and pestilence and famine within and whoever is in the field will die by the sword whoever's in the city the famine with pestilence will devour them verse 17 every hand will be feeble every knee as weak as water the arrogance of Israel is going to be brought back on their head but they still have to be warned you know it's interesting that they will still be in possession of their wealth for a little while but they will eventually realize that wealth is of no value and what is the value truly what is the value are the blessings that God has given to Israel what is the biggest blessing he's given to our peoples the biggest blessing that the especially the nations that descend from Joseph have in this world and to some extent Reuben France is the capacity to produce food that is by far the most valuable gift a country can have food and water food and water are power empires are built on food and water and we've had huge food product producing capacity the United States by and of itself can has the tremendous blessing of being able to produce massive amounts of food massive amounts Canada has about one-third of all the fresh water on earth that's a blessing that's value Gold doesn't have much value if that's all you've got you know in verse 23 he goes on and he says here make a chain for the land is filled with crimes of blood that ring a bell and the cities full of violence therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles and they will possess their houses and I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease and their holy places shall be defiled destruction comes and they will seek peace but there will be none they won't be able to negotiate a disaster upon disaster rumor upon rumor they will seek a vision from a prophet finally they'll say hey we'd better get some advice here but the law will perish from the priests and the council from the elders the true ministers of God will not be available to them at that point and the King will warn and the prince will be clothed in desolation etc ends what they shall know that I am the Lord there is a root cause my favorite expression to mr. Herbert Armstrong is when he said there was a cause for every effect as a profound piece of wisdom and in chapter 8 God goes on to show Ezekiel the root cause of the troubles in Israel and indeed this scripture links very well to the practices of our modern nations today and verse 1 there it says it came to pass on the 6th year and the 6 month on the fifth day of the month I said in the host with the elders of Judah sitting before me and the hand of the Lord fell it God fell upon me there and he has a vision then I looked and there was a likeness and the appearance of fire like the appearance of fire from of his waist downward fire and from his waist upward the appearance of brightness and the color of amber so he sees this the great being and God knows how to get attention by the way he says in verse 3 he stretched the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my hair grabbed it by the hair and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven so at 5,000 feet above the ground he said have I got your attention and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem to the door the north gate of the inner court where the seat of the image of jealousy was that provokes to jealousy now that's an interesting expression the image of jealousy here can refer to that which has removed Israel from God and therefore that which made God jealous and in that his image has led those who God loved and cared for to turn away from him in this case it was very likely an image of a false God whether bail or Tamas a counterfeit Christ's our daya can refer to many false religions or the blind trust in science and modern philosophy and furthermore he talks you can go down in that chapter in verse 14 the weeping of her Tamas which is a practice that long predated the Easter celebration is referred to as a Christian celebration which of course it isn't but the the death and resurrection of Tamas was an ancient belief that of course pagans used to just replace the name of Thomas with Christ and you had your Easter celebration but they were keeping pagan holy days verse 16 talks about an Easter sunrise service I remember as a boy going to those I didn't think it was wrong neither to people today but it's that which takes you away from truth Israel has not only embraced beliefs of false Christianity basically a continuation of the religious practice condemned in the Bible millennia ago but now we see people going after religions of the east or animistic ideas or various spirituality practices as they call them and add to this the increasing institutionalization and acceptance of what is now called I guess in the broadest sense gender fluidity whatever that means you're not sure what you are I guess which is a no practice out rightly condemned in the strongest terms in the Old and New Testaments but these are the reasons why our nation is going to experience captivity it doesn't want to obey god it really doesn't want to but they still must have a warning and we have to give that to them but the question is who then is protected well what is the criteria for protection anyway well we need to let the Bible answer those questions what are the criteria and who is protected you know David begins to answer that question and a very powerful song that I think Thomas jeffer Thomas Jefferson once referred to as the definition of a gentleman it's over in Psalm 15 one we should read frequently because it's short it has a great deal of truth in it notice what God is saying first of all the question is asked of God Lord who may abide in your tabernacle in other words who's going to be in your kingdom who may dwell in your holy hill the answer comes back he who walks uprightly and works righteousness we know righteousness refers to the law of God the commandments of God and who speaks truth in his heart honesty is extremely highly valued by God and dishonesty we must get the Shawna's tendencies out of us because God doesn't tolerate at all he who speaks truth in his heart he who does not backbite with his tongue nor does evil to a neighbor nor take up a reproach against his friend God values loyalty to him and to others whether it's our spouse our family our friends the Brethren who are called into the spiritual family of which we are apart God demands loyalty in whose eyes a vile person is despised now we don't despise the individual but we despise sometimes what they are in other words what choices they're making we know that every human being out there from the derelict on the street to the Emperor and some throne room is a potential member of the God family and they will all have their opportunity ours is now however but we must not acknowledge or tolerate that which separates us from God to avoid the by the practice of a vile person is despised but he who honors but honors those who fear the Lord give respect to those who are struggling to obey God he who swears to his own hurt and does not change in other words you're consistent and you're dependable and you keep your word he who does not put his money out at usury nor take a bribe against the innocent he who does these things shall never be moved mr. Ames often talks about claiming God's promises a critical thing and that's a promise in other words we need to show godly integrity living according to the tenants of God's law not just physically but in the attitude we play can result in blessing and protection but it takes faith and faith is not just belief faith is belief that leads to action there is another very clear prophecy of protection actually that quote Psalm 15 to some degree and that's Isaiah 33 Isaiah the 33rd chapter and verse 15 it says he who walks righteously and speaks up rightly in other words you're honest who despises the gain of oppression don't oppress people who gestures with his hands refusing bribes and stops his ears from the hearing of bloodshed do we enjoy those movies and programs on television which show people getting blown away in 15 different ways per minute if we do we've got a problem because you put that into your mind enough and it starts to shape you it's not righteous who despise us the gain of oppressions who gestures with his hands refusing bribes stops his ears from hearing a bloodshed and shuts his eyes from seeing evil why do we watch evil you become what you put in your mind again the commandments showing kindness generosity is a big thing with God and turning away from listening to and seeing that which is associated with evil Psalm 33 Psalm 33 and verse 16 no King is saved by the multitude of an army it doesn't matter how big your army is if God takes his protective hand away you're not fighting man you're fighting Satan he's the ruler of the world no physical protection can guard you just because you're packing a is not is that going to protect you if we think that you know Smith & Wesson is going to be our protector we're dreaming and Technicolor we're looking at the physical to save us in a war against a spiritual power a horse is vain hope for safety neither shall it delivered by its great strength but notice behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him or who obey Him on those who hope in his mercy to deliver their soul from death and notice to keep them alive in famine you know all the preparation in the world is not going to keep you alive in famine one denomination asked people to store at least a year's food or something away all the time fine if we think that's going to save us we have a problem these survivalists to go up in the mountains and make little readouts for themselves you know they have no idea what they're fighting against verse 20 our soul waits for the Lord he is our help and our shield for our heart shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in His Holy Name that's protection and that's who gets it those who rely on him and obey Him Psalm 37 Psalm 37 and verse 17 for the arms of the wicked shall be broken but the Lord upholds the righteous - promise the Lord knows the day of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever they shall not be ashamed in the evil time and in the days of famine they will be satisfied it's another promise you know Solomon said I've been young and I've been old but I've never seen the righteous begging bread the wicked shall perish verse 20 and the enemies of the Lord like the splendor of the meadows shall vanish into smoke they will vanish away the wicked borrows and does not repay but the righteous shows mercy and gives that's a big criteria for God are you merciful are you a generous person God is generous that's a key part of his character he wants he demands that be in our character along with honesty and integrity etc etc verse 22 for those blessed by him shall inherit the earth those cursed shall be cut off note the word as well given to the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 66 Isaiah the sixty-six chapter and verse to Isaiah 66 and verse 2 it says for all these things my hand has made and all these things exists as the Lord what you know we've been called not by Jesus Christ as Christ Himself said no one comes to me unless the father call him you're here because God the Father fingered you out of the population on this planet he saw something in you he wanted and he opened your mind which is a miracle far greater than the parting of the Red Sea opening a mind to understand truth that's only God can do that and he's done that for you and he is the creator of the universe who could snap his fingers at a galaxy pops into place he's quite able to take care of us for all these things my hand is made and all these things exist is the Lord but on this one will I look one on him who is poor or humble and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word that's a promised but he has some criteria Psalm 91 I think you're all familiar with that as a psalm of protection written by Moses Moses knew a lot about protection he was in the midst of some of the most dramatic events in the history of the world and Moses writes in Psalm 91 it says he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty under his protection I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress my god in him I will trust in other words the person turns to God and trust in him which means he's probably going to obey Him because if we don't obey Him we really don't trust in him if we don't obey Him we have no faith in his word if we don't believe him enough to obey Him that's faithlessness verse 3 surely he will deliver you from the snare of the Fowler and from the perilous pestilence are you going to protect yourself from the diseases that are going to be coming on this world in this land he shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will take refuge his truth notice his truth shall be your shield and buckler if that's the case verse 5 you shall not be afraid of the terror by night nor the arrow that flies by day nor the pestilence that walks in the darkness nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday a thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand but it shall not come near you only with your eyes show you look and see the reward of the wicked you have made the Lord who is my refuge even the Most High dwelling place therefore no evil shall befall you nor any plague come near your dwelling for he'll give his angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways that's what we need we need spiritual protection for physical things and spiritual things there is no other safety on this planet ruled by an enemy and you are a fifth column in his territory and he doesn't like it very much and it wasn't for God's protection we'd all be snuffed out by now but we have that and we will continue to have that as long as we put him first and his work first this promise is clear it's tied directly to the obedience to God and faithfulness to building God's character now clearly then those who are not protected are those who refuse to obey God and there will come a time of course when the message of truth will be given in a powerful way we don't know exactly how that will be but we have to put all our efforts into doing all we can and the work of which we are a part is one in which we can take joy in laboring it because it is the right thing to do be anxious to pray to God to support the work to call additional workers into the church to joyously pay our tithes and give our offerings and ask God to bless and multiply them like he did the fish in the bread so long ago and represent God's church as ambassadors of Jesus Christ properly at home at work and all places Jesus Christ instructs us to pray to be protected at the end time Luke 21 you're all familiar with this I'm sure Luke 21 verse 36 Luke 21 and verse 36 he says watch therefore and pray always that you may be a worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of man there's a many clear scriptures in the New Testament as well as several in the Old Testament that tell us at the very end of this age a certain number of members of God's church will be protected now it's true some people say well God can protect you anywhere of course he could who would argue against that but he also says well don't take my word for it revelation 12 Revelation chapter 12 verse 14 but the woman the church was given two wings of a great Eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time times and half a time three and a half years from the face of the serpent talks about a place of course God could protect you anyway but it also talks about a location where some people are gathered together for the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood or sent an army after her that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood but the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood God swallowed up the army just like Moses talked to vote in Psalm 91 but Psalm 15 gave us the criteria for that protection you know there are many other scriptures with Isaiah 26 talks about of the bit where there was a place where God will guard some of those people even a scripture which many recognized as a possible indicator of a location is talked about in the Bible for three and a half years that's Isaiah 16 actually Isaiah 16 and I don't pretend to know any specific location people have speculated and that's all it is it's a speculation verse 1 it says send the lamb to the ruler of the land from Salah to the wilderness the mount of the daughter of Zion for it shall be as a wandering bird thrown his nest so the daughters of Moab but the Fornes of a social be the daughters of Moab at the Fords of Arnon take counsel execute judgment make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day hide the outcasts do not betray him who escapes let my outcasts dwell with you o Moab and be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler from for the extortioner is at an end devastation ceases etc so people have drawn possible connections between that using the word Salah which is a reference to Petra and others as a possibly a location for a protection of God's people but nonetheless there is a place where God says he will take some people with to a place where they are protected from the worst of the plagues that are going to fall upon the earth but protection whatever it is is granted to him who is obedient and trusting and submissive to all of God's requirements we know from several places in the scriptures it tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the fear of God is essential to those who are protected and those who fear God more than men you know in proverbs 14 verse 26 it says in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge it's a promise God again could protect us anywhere but he does talk about this in an endtime context you know there may be some who are very faithful who God does not protect physically but does protect spiritually it may well be that God says to someone I want you out there in the world in the dangerous area to do a job for me he sent prophets to do that you know Isaiah had a rough end he was out there obeying God other prophets may have been protected Hebrews 11 says many were killed they were faithful people I'm a God is a job to do he sends you to do it regardless of the end result you obey Him and get the job done because whatever happens to men God can resurrect you into as a spirit being like him in the kingdom of God but we need to remember that God is more faithful than men and if we place our faith and trust in God he will keep his promises you know for example over in Psalm 9 Psalm the ninth chapter ninth Psalm Psalm 9 and verse eight Psalm 9 and verse 8 it says here he shall judge the world in righteousness and he shall administer judgment for the peoples and uprightness the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed a refuge in times of trouble and notice verse 10 and those who know your name will put their trust in you for you Lord have not forsaken those who seek you if a person seeks God sincerely with all their heart he never turns them away Hebrews chapter 13 Hebrews the thirteenth chapter and verse five says here let your conduct be without covetousness covetousness sort of almost a summation of breaking all the commandments let your conducts be without covetousness be content with such things as you have why because if we have God's calling and his promise that should be sufficient to become the grandeur of what we're offered sometimes we we forget that we don't really fully realize what he's saying to us that we will be like him if you want a picture of what you are look will look like in the resurrection read revelation 1 because it says as Jesus Christ is we will look like that we will have a body like him that's what's being offered and the opportunity to do so much forever but he says let your conduct be without covetousness and be content with that which you have for he himself has said and this is a promise again that we need to claim I will never leave you nor forsake you so we may boldly say with confidence the Lord is my helper I will not fear what can man do to me even if God allows us to be martyred if we are faithful that's ok you know he fully expects faithfulness in any situation he has high expectations and he will resurrect us to eternal life but for others he will protect physically but the main protection is spiritual to protect our minds from deception that's the main thing we need to pray for Romans 8:31 of course you all know if God is for us who can be against us you know there's coming a time in conclusion in which we have may already have entered when only God can be counted on for safety and everything we have come to trust will fail except for our faith in God there's coming a time when this world will be ravaged by famine disease crime and war and our nations will be attacked its city is devastated it's people taken into a cruel slavery and all this preceded by the preaching of the Church of God for which some of us may well be persecuted however over and over again we see the promises of God's protection from famine disease and war given to those in his church at that time who meet the criteria discussed earlier the promise is sure and the one route to receiving the protection is obedience to him you know in closing we can turn to Revelation chapter 3 Revelation chapter 3 and verse 7 a prophecy of God is like a promise of God will not fail and to the Angel of the Church of Philadelphia write these things says he who is holy and who is true completely honest he who has the key of David who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens I know your works see I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it in other words as long as you had the will to do that work and you are obedient to God he will open that door he will not shut it if there's a will but if the will fails not much he can do so we must be very careful that we'll never fails I know your works see I set before you an open door no one can shut it for you of a little strength and have kept my word and have not denied my name we're not embarrassed about what we believe we're not embarrassed to both the Bible about what it says from Genesis 1 to the end of Revelation we believe it is true and accurate and every word indeed I will make those who have the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not but lie indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet the only worship a God being a member of the family of God to know that I have loved you and why because verse 10 you have kept my commandment to persevere persevere is an interesting word it means moving ahead to your target weather conditions are good or bad it means pressing on regardless of the circumstances regardless of fear we all feel fear that's normal but you press on regardless of fear and I will keep you from the hour of trial which comes upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth behold I'm coming quickly hold fast what you have this treasure that you have that no one may take your crown he who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of my god and he shall go no more excuse me and I will write on him the name of my god the name of the city of my god the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my god and I will write on him my new name let's take the opportunity that we have now to draw closer to God every day to examine where we may be falling short to be pleasing to God and remembering God does not curse obedience to him he blesses it and will extend his protection to those who show integrity and are striving zealously to do his work zeal is a very important part God is very zealous about what he's doing he's Ellis about the future he's Ellis for you he wants you to be zealous for him and to be good examples and ambassadors for his kingdom protection can be physical as scripture indicates and promises but it's also more important that we have that spiritual protection guard our minds and pray always that we could become worthy in God's eyes to do the work and to build the character that God needs and once and leave the rest to our loving father and our elder brother and they will keep their promises [Music] you

Channel: Living Church of God

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Keywords: christian, satan, protection, prophecy, God, Kingdom

Id: xuMJMXEkipI

Length: 70min 51sec (4251 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 16 2018