You Said It!

 

What were people saying?

*Judas - Mat 26:25  Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. 

*High Priest - Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 

Pilate - 27:11  And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. 

*The People - Mat 27:23  And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. 25  Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. 

 

*The Soldiers - Mat 27:29  And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

 

*Jesus - the ultimate words...

 Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

Well, I Ain't Never!!!

 

Mark 2:12  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. 

 

*We have never seen anything like this! This was the crowd's response to Jesus’ healing of the paralytic.

*We have never heard anything like this! (never a man spake like this man) Jn 7:46 The response of the lackeys trying to catch Jesus in His words.

*We have never experienced anything like this! Mark 4:41, The disciples’ response to Jesus calming the stormy sea.

*I have never felt anything like this!!! My response to Jesus invading my life.

“Floods of joy or my soul like the sea billows roll, since Jesus came into my heart!”

Near future headlines

 News headlines: 

*Antichrist approval rating soars to over 90% after right-wing crazies suddenly disappear. 

*New Afghan government joins Confederacy; Plans to attack Israel immanent. 

*Vax passport tattoo okayed, encouraged by W.H.O.

In a World Gone Mad, Jesus is our Refuge!

Surely, lately you have felt the increased presence of evil in our world, of which Jesus gave fair warning. He said, “as it was in the days of Lot…” and “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man!” Amen!!! The topsy-turvier our culture, the closer the coming of the Lord. Again, things are not out of control, according to His plan, all things are coming together.

One head-scratching example of the craziness unfolding, Harvard University, whose motto was adopted in 1692 was “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae” which translated from Latin means “Truth for Christ and the Church.” You will find this motto embedded throughout the campus. In fact, we find these directives imposed on the student body:  

"Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him (Prov. 2:3).

“Everyone shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in Theoretical observations of Language and Logic, and in practical and spiritual truths, as his Tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing the entrance of the word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).”

What change has Harvard witnessed after three and a half centuries and as we approach the last days?

Atheist Greg Epstein has just been named the head chaplain of the institution! You read that right, Greg is an atheist and heads the 32-member chaplain corps of the university. Greg is author of the book, Good without God, He maintains that when we need answers to perplexing questions, we are better off turning to one another rather than God.

Scripture cautions us that in the last days, perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; hhaving a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:  II Tim 3:1-4         

     

Look up brothers and sisters, you redemption is nigh!

Multiplied Millions Vanish

 Future News Headline:

New York, New York – Multiplied Millions of Unvaccinated Conspiracy Theorists Mysteriously Vanish.

Although authorities are baffled by this mass disappearance, the CDC, WHO and NIH theorize that a variant strain of the COVID virus called “Alpha-Omega” is responsible for the incident. They urge all who remain unvaccinated, for their own well-being and for the sake of the lives of those around them, to get the immunization shots immediately and subsequently bear the official authentication mark as proof. The mark will serve as a passport of sorts to allow the bearer to buy, sell and travel.

Noticeably, the missing includes an unusually high percentage of very young children under the ages of approximately 6 or 7. This further underscores the importance of 100% vaccination compliance.

High Admiral Michael K. Olufsen, speaking on behalf of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, made the following plea to the citizens of the earth, “Please, do not delay. With utmost haste, we strongly urge every man, woman and child to make your way to a compliance center near you and help your loved ones remain safe by accepting the harmless jab and the required passport mark of acquiescence. Your information will be entered into an international data base for your safety and for ease of access and commerce.”

A ten-nation assembly known as The European Alliance, basing its headquarters in Brussels, has given it’s blessing to these efforts.

Reeling from the passing of these hordes of extremists, as well as the innocent children, who appear to be the unexpected victims of their careless obstinance, the world is seeking strong, adequate leadership. Only heaven knows who that savior of our troubled planet might be.

(Please see II Thessalonians 2:11)

GF

Ministry Non-Negotiables:

1. Give your mornings to God. If you don't start with God your day will go off the rails. This is when you get your priorities in order.

2. Study! Readers are leaders. If you're not reading you're not growing. Hone your skills, improve your craft, magnify your office.

3. Stay pure. Keep your mind out of the gutter, and your zipper fastened.

4. Love people! They may use you, slander you, misunderstand you, abuse you, neglect you, forsake you. Still, feed the sheep. Bring them along in the faith and ministry.

5. Be honest and have integrity. Don't allow the ministry to be blamed due to poor ethics, bad disposition and questionable stewardship.

6. Be a leader and an example. You cannot take people where you have not been. Lead by example, lead as a servant.

7. Work harder than most everyone you know. Lazy leaders get no respect.

8. Use your time wisely. Recreation, entertainment and diversion are not wrong, they must just have their place. Overuse of the smartphone will make you stupid.

9. Stay true to the Word. Sound doctrine is essential.
Orthodoxy is imperative.

10. Persevere. Learn to work through difficulty. Possess tremendous amounts of patience toward people and situations. Depend upon God to bring you through. Winners never quit and quitters never win.

Most of all, PRAY as if everything depends on it. It does!!!

Things I hope to never get over:

• The Wonder of Creation
• The Truth of His Word
• The Fear of the Lord
• The Cross of Christ
• The Empty Tomb
• The Grace of God
• The Mercy of God
• The Hope of His 2nd Coming

Now that Easter is Over

Is “Easter” really ever over? By Easter, we mean the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, not bunnies and eggs. I assert that Easter is not a day, but a life.

 It was a glorious day at GSBC, as well as at Bible-believing churches around the globe. Here, we had two profess Christ as Savior, a wonderful attendance, rejoicing Christians and the palpable atmospheric presence of the Lord.

 Going forward, what are some of the take-aways and the next steps?

 

1.      Realize that every Lord’s day is a celebration of Jesus’ victory over death. That glorious sense of joy and conquest we all felt last week should become our new normal each and every Sunday and throughout the week.  

2.      Because He has risen, we need to live a life of victory, entering in to our Savior’s sufferings and experiencing resurrection power in every aspect of our lives.

3.      Share the life-changing good news of the gospel with others in our sphere. This good news is not meant to be hidden under a basket, but shouted from the mountain tops.

4.      Seek heavenly things, rather than earthly. Love what God loves. Invest fully into His kingdom. Colossians 3:1-2 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 

The holiday "Easter" may be over, but let us never get over the Resurrection!

Jesus Shows His Love for Children

 Matthew 18:1-10

This certainly addresses child abuse  (abusers and human trafficker's beware!!) 

Offense: Offending (causing to stumble)

Punishment: Hell! It would be better for them that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 

The Prescription one: If you find yourself tempted to do such things, it's better to cut off your hand or pluck out your eyeball! 

The Prescription two: Don't despise children (disregard) 

An Insight to the Lord's Work

 Proverbs 2:6-8

Pro 2:6  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 

Pro 2:7  He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 

Pro 2:8  He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 

The Lord:

Giveth - wisdom  (Prov 2:6)

Speaketh - knowledge, understanding (6)

Layeth up - sound wisdom, protection (7)

Keepeth - paths of judgment (8)

Preserveth - the way of His saints (8)