"Demonic Hordes"

Demonic Hordes

“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.  And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.”                                                                                                             Revelation 9:1-2

Did you know that the average person does not believe there are real demons?  When they think about demons they look at all the horror movies that flood the screens across the country.  They look at them as fiction that some producer has made up so people can be scared.  If they only realized that real demons are a thousand times scarier than they could ever imagine.

Let me take you through a short walk in the Bible where God, himself, shows us where it all began.  In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden when God told them they could have everything there, but couldn’t eat the fruit of one tree. Then Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceived them and tempted them to eat of the tree.  However long before that Satan, also known as Lucifer, and other angels were kicked out of heaven because Satan wanted to take the place of God.  This is just a sketchy outline of the facts and you can read the rest for yourself.

There is a bottomless pit where all these fallen angels live and it is called “The Abyss”.  These demonic hordes are lead by a demonic general named Abaddon, whose name means ‘destroyer’! There will be a time in the future when these evil beings will be released on this earth.  However, for now Satan is working within his power to destroy God’s people on this earth.

Jesus was so aware of this evil when he was alive on earth that he confronted Demons in Matthew 8:28-29.  “When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"  The demons that were in these men recognized who Jesus was and they were terrified that Jesus would send them into the Abyss.  Notice that they said, “Before the time”.  What did they mean?  At that time and even today, God has allowed them the freedom to inhabit the bodies of those people who have totally rejected God and opened themselves up to the occult and demonic activity.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Who are these that we must protect ourselves from?  Clearly this scripture is stating a fact that even if we can’t see them, these satanic forces are still alive and fighting for our very souls.  We may not believe this is still true today, Satan is the Prince of the power of the air and is at work in the lives of those who are against the things of God. (Ephesians 2:2)

Think about this – Satan (the Devil) confronted Jesus on the mountain and offered him all the kingdoms of the world.  How could he do this, if Satan didn’t have the power to perform it?  However, Jesus used the Word of God to come against Satan, and ended these temptations with these words: “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.”  (Luke 4:5-8) How much more do you need to hear that Satan and his demons are alive and well today?

I want to take you to the book of Daniel to show you the power of God over the power of Satan.  “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10:13)  Let me explain this to you.  The prince of the kingdom of Persia, which is present day Iran, was the demon in charge of that country.  An angel had been sent by God to help Daniel and the other Israelites, but the angel could not do it alone so God sent Michael, an arch-angel to help him.  God’s power was greater than Satan and his cohorts. 

You may say that you believe there is a God and that makes everything okay, but look at this verse in James 2:19.  “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!”  Forget all the horror movies you’ve watched and got scared over.  That’s acting only; the real demons are far more terrifying and Satan himself no doubt sits on the sidelines laughing at those who think its all make-believe.  Take a look at what is yet to come and may already in action.

Revelation 6:7-8 “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”  The ‘Pale horse’ was actually written as ‘the green horse”, and was inaccurately translated as the pale horse.  Green is the color of Islam!  Read this again and compare it to what is happening at this very time.  These radical Islamic terrorists are working on this same agenda.  They are without conscience and will slaughter every person they can who is not a Muslim.

Why is this happening? Because in Revelation 9:11, “They had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”  This is prophecy written so we can spiritually prepare ourselves to make a stand in the time of the end of the age.

Just as we know that God has countless angels to watch over us, so does Satan have his demons to temp and torment all of us?  God’s power is greater than Satan ever thought of.  He cannot win in the end, but will be cast into a Lake of Fire where he will burn for eternity, while those of us who are Believers will spend eternity in Heaven. 

Yes, there are supernatural beings around us all the time and as Christians we can be assured that no matter what happens now or in the future, we do not need to fear.  What we see happening right now is not only a battle for the world, but a battle for the souls of mankind.  Just remember this, “Know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give, (the enemy) into your hands.”       1 Samuel 17:47

"BEING THANKFUL"

Being Thankful

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

                                                                                                         1 Thessalonians 5:18

When I listen to people talk about their needs; sometimes serious and at times not so serious, I wonder why no one talks about being thankful for what they do have.  Not long ago I called a friend in Illinois and asked her how she was.  Her reply was, “Praise the Lord; I got out of bed today and had food to eat and a warm house.  What more can I say?”  So I said, “How is your health?”  Her answer was, “Better off than many others.”  She never complained about anything, but only talked about being thankful to God.

As I hung up the phone I thought about what being thankful really meant. I began looking up in the Bible the words ‘give thanks’ which was listed 425 times in the Bible and ‘thankful’ was found 39 times, while ‘be thankful’ was written 33 times.  Not only were these words used occasionally in the Bible, but were written many times to believers as a command.  In Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”           

I noticed it didn’t say, “You probably should be thankful and give thanks”.  It wasn’t even a question, but was stated as ‘do this’.  As I thought about it, I realized I talked more about what I needed and wanted, than how often I gave praise and thanksgiving for what the Lord has done for me and my loved ones and continues to do daily. 

Whenever I think about being thankful, I think about my mother who has gone to be with the Lord; she was the most grateful person I have ever known.  No matter how small the gift or how little the deed, she was filled with gratitude.  If she received a card in the mail or a phone call, it was precious to her.  She thanked God for everything; it was part of her character.  She truly fulfilled Ephesians 5:20 “Always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” She came from very humble beginnings and her family struggled to survive in the early 1900’s.  She never asked for much in life because in her eyes she had abundance.  Her greatest treasure was her family whom she loved so dearly.

So many people today are only concerned about what they want and not what they have.  How can we praise God and not be grateful?  We should give God thanks for what he is doing in our lives. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” [Psalm 100:4] So here we are – a few days before Thanksgiving.  Many of us are busy shopping for turkeys, making pies, baking squash and whatever is needed for a great Thanksgiving dinner.  Family and friends gather around a sagging table; a short prayer is said to thank God for the food and then we dig in.  We all eat too much and that calls for a nap.  Why do we do this every year?

In 1623, In the Pilgrim Colony of Massachusetts, Governor William Bradley issued this proclamation, “All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill… there to listen to the pastor, and render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings."  That’s how Thanksgiving began in this new world so long ago.  And tradition has carried all these years.  However, from the beginning of the Bible people know their survival has depended on a loving and kind heavenly father who deserves our prayers of thanksgiving.

Our kids learn a little in school about the Pilgrims and the Indians and somehow a turkey gets added into the picture.  Yet there is so much more we should be thinking about and remembering on Thanksgiving Day and be doubly grateful to the God who has provided for us.  So it is that on Thanksgiving Day each year, Americans give thanks to Almighty God for all His blessings and mercies toward us throughout the year.  Let’s remember why we have the freedom today, it is a blessing from God.

"Ready or Not - Here Come th Holidays"

Ready or Not

(Here come the Holidays)

“Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the LORD your God  has given to you and your household.”    Deuteronomy 26:11 (NLT)

Myself, along with many others, are saying, “I can’t believe it’s already the middle of November and less than 2 weeks until Thanksgiving!”  I’m sure you’ll realize it when you go into stores and everything is decorated for Christmas.  It makes you want to shout, “Hey – I still have a wreath on my front door of autumn leaves.  My turkey banner isn’t even out yet and you want to remind me of Christmas?”

Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I scoot right past Christmas and head for the greeting cards that say, Happy Thanksgiving.  Then I gather up the things to make my pumpkin pies and find out there is a shortage of pumpkin pie filling this year.  Many stores already raised their prices on cans of pumpkin because they know people will buy it anyway.  What’s Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie? I am so thankful that I don’t have to put on a big dinner; we have 2 chefs and many great cooks in our family, so that leaves me with just the pies. 

Some Christians put too much thought in thinking they shouldn’t enjoy all these holidays because we should keep our minds on our Lord and Savior.  Then think about this; it makes God happy to see families gather together and celebrate the fruit of their labor.  In fact I want you to concentrate on this scripture in Deut. 26:11: “Go celebrate because of all the good things the Lord God has given to you and your household.” 

There are many feast days celebrated in the Bible and ours may be different than they were in Bible times, but as long as we honor God in what we do – enjoy!

Then here comes Christmas right on the heels of Thanksgiving.  There are two ways to look at the Christmas season and the first one is this.  It is called Happy Holidays and is considered a time of parties, drinking and lavish gift-giving.  According to our government this is the correct way to celebrate; no Christmas carols, no manger scenes, or anything that uses the name of Jesus.  The reason is that we might offend people who are not Christians – mainly Muslims.

The second way of celebrating is to sing Christmas carols; put up manger scenes and angels on our front lawn so people will know that we celebrate the Birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  We celebrate with pageants depicting the night that Jesus was born with shepherds, wise men and the Christmas Star.  We greet one another with, “Merry Christmas” and give gifts to each other in remembrance of the Wise men bringing gifts to Baby Jesus on that Holy Night.

Christians all over the world celebrate the Birth of Jesus and it is a blessed time.  Yes, we decorate houses and trees and ourselves for Christmas.  Some of it is because of traditions, but there would be nothing to celebrate if Jesus had not been born. 

I wonder what the ‘Happy Holidayers’ celebrate?  Without Christ, it would just another few days off work, an excuse for more drinking and partying. When it’s all over and the year has ended, there’s nothing left for them but a big letdown.  For Christians we are reminded that Jesus was born and came to this earth to forgive us and pay for all our sins. It prepares our hearts and minds with thankfulness and joy because our Savior has come.  It also prepares us to Worship and Adore Him and when the year has ended, we still have Jesus!  And the blessed hope is that He is Coming Again!

Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas!

"Hungry For God"

Hungry for God

“For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”

Psalm 107:9 (NLT)

Through ministry of over 35 years, over and over again I have heard people say, “I’m so hungry for God.”  Basically, they are saying, “I’m hungry; feed me.”  In one sense we should feed those who are hungry, but to spoon-feed them isn’t the answer.

I remember when I was first saved, I couldn’t get enough of the Word of God.  I read through one Bible and then started over again in another Bible.  That didn’t seem to be enough, so I bought a Parallel Bible with two versions side by side on the pages.  I devoured those Bibles and marked them up so much I could hardly read them after a while.  I still have the first one and it is held together by rubber bands.  Now I have stacks of Bibles in my home and am still being fed by them today.

The truth of it is, you are still hungry for God because, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.” [I Peter 2:2]  In life a baby can only survive on milk so long and then they have to be given solid food, some versions of the Bible refer to ‘meat’ as solid food.  Solid food is essential to growth.  You may say that you hear the Word and read the Word, but that isn’t where the meat of the Word of God is. 

What do I mean?  In Malachi 3:16 it says this: “Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name.”  It says to meditate on God; meditate on His Word.  In other words, think about what you read and look up other places in the Bible until you get an in-depth understanding of what it really means.  The ‘meat’ of God’s Word is what fills that hungry place inside of you.

Paul the Apostle, wrote to the Jewish Christians in Hebrews 5:12 and exhorted them by saying, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  No wonder we get hungry for God when we don’t pursue his word.  Don’t forget the answer is within your reach.

Let me make this clear, yes, we need to be hungry for God so we will keep on trying to become closer and closer with Him.  But, no one, other than your own self, can do this for you.  People come to church and complain they don’t get fed.  That is so laughable, because they are adults that need to be feeding on the Word of God themselves and not sitting there crying because no one is giving them a bottle.  Wah, wah, wah! (That isn’t even a word), but you get the idea.

You must understand what the Word (Bible) really means, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]   Jesus is the Word! You may not have thought of it this way before, but when you are into the Word, it is Jesus, himself, who is feeding and filling you.  If you are truly hungry for God, this is where you need to go. There is no pastor, teacher or anyone else that can do this for you. We have it all wrong on why we go to church.  Church is a place of fellowship, worship, encouragement and seeing the Word of God in action.  You should already be fed before you go and then go expecting the fulfillment of God’s Word, which is the Bible.

God feeds me solid foods (for you vegetarians) every time I dig into His Word, but for me, it’s the meat of the Word that satisfies my soul.  “For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” [Psalm 107:9 NKJ] 

If your hearts are prepared beforehand and you are joining in with the body of Christ, it will be everything you need.  For those who complain every week that you are not being fed; grow up!  You won’t grow up until you get off the bottle and start eating the meat.

This may seem like this message is a little hard, but I promise you it isn’t my message; it’s God’s Word.  Don’t complain to others – talk to Jesus.  He is the Word.

"The Trumpet of God"

The Trumpet of God

“With the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first”

I Thessalonians 4:16

Most of you know what a trumpet is; they play one in the band and for a funeral of a vet when they play ‘taps’.  Musicians love to play them in a band like they did in the days of the ‘Big Bands’. Now when we talk about the trumpet of God, that’s an entirely different thing.  If you’ve ever been in a place where the sound was so loud, you had to cover your ears.  When the trumpet of God sounds it is going to be so loud, covering your ears won’t even help.  You may find yourself on your knees begging for it to stop.

The trumpet of God is heard throughout the Bible and from what I’ve read, it appears to be a terrifying sound and is sometimes accompanied by thunder and lightning. I can’t even imagine the fear that would pierce their hearts.  Looked what happened to the Israelites while wanderings in the wilderness.  “Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.” Exodus 19:16

Imagine, for moment, that you were out in your yard listening to the birds singing and admiring the flowers, when suddenly a noise like a trumpet blasted out of the sky.  Perhaps you would scream and fall to the ground thinking you were being attacked or bombed. You couldn’t run or hide. Then this began: “Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.”  Exodus 20:18-19

In the book of Isaiah, it tells of a time this would happen, “So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” [Isaiah 27:13]  This is just a warning of what will happen in that unimaginable day.  “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”              1Corinthians 15:52

I love what Joel 2:1 says about the Trumpet, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand.”  This is part of a prophecy God gave to Joel for a time way in the future. It appears that whenever this trumpet sounds, it heralds in the coming of the Lord.  We know the time is not far off when, “He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  [Matthew 24:31]

When Jesus returns to take us home with him, he lays out his entire plan of how it will happen in        1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the Trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

If you have received Jesus as your Savior, you will be excited about His coming.  If it frightens you, pray about it and he will give you peace and when that trumpet sounds, you’ll know what it is and greet Him with joy.