What difference does the church make?

We always hear about our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.But, God judges whole cities for lack of relationship with him. If God were to say over Sold out ministries that the people lost their first love,from Jesus' perspective -He would look over people who were at one time on fire for God. There was a desire and passion for God, but now there is a pulling away and a lack of remembrance of what God has done for us in our lives. There comes a little slipping in of immorality, which causes divorce, strife, factions as well as other things that keep us from operating in the Spirit of unity -which God's anointing flows through. There are many things that can keep our eyes off of where they are supposed to be. We have HBO/the TV/music>all those things teaching us about immorality. But we have a choice as to what we will take heed of. We could follow that or we can follow what the bible says - to be holy as I am holy. That's how you gain a reputation as a church-the church at Sardis had a reputation that they were alive but God saw them as dead. Could you imagine that? God saw them as a dead church in the corporate setting. But whats even more amazing to me is that God is able when he speaks to this dead church and tells them to wake up. Being all powerful he can tell what is dead to wake up. The church that was dead corporately can come back alive at the word of the lord.

We are going to address two particular chapters that are very powerful in my life this morning. As I've looked at it again last night there were two things that particularly stood out to me. What you have here in Haggai chapter 1 is an interruption and if you turn back with me to the book of Ezra 3 let me just show you the historical setting the timing of this book here. Because its so powerful to see how God relates to his people in this time period. What we have here is the Israelites, the community of God, have just come out of the exile-being captive for seventy years when the first group of people have just come out. So think of it seventy years they've been enslaved and in captivity-what would 70 years do to you and I as a church having to be subject to the laws of pagans-you can read more about the seventy years in the book of Daniel. And you could see what they were subjected to (the different culture) they weren't able to worship and pray and do all the things that they were supposed to be doing in serving the Lord. The 70 years are over and they are beginning to come out they are coming to Jerusalem. They are returning back to their home and when they get there,(what happen is this- Just like anyone who has been held captive for 70 years) as you would think. They come back and they are just excited, they are free- they are free people once again. Immediately in Ezra chapter 3 they start thinking corporately-70 years of captivity individually. As I've thought about this, what many of us would have done is now that I'm free I got to go and establish myself, my home and all the things that are there. I got to get everything situated for my family, but when they come out of captivity back to Jerusalem, what you see is that there is such a cohesiveness, such a longing and desire, that what begins to take place in chapter 3 is that when they get out of there they begin to rebuild the things that have been destroyed, and right away go after restoring the alter. And shortly after they complete that which is about a seven month period. They began to shift and go after rebuilding the temple. And addressed the need that was in the house of the Lord and go into relaying the foundation again. Look with me in Ezra chapter 3.

Ezra 3:1

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

     1     Now when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

They were unified they were operating as one man, trying to restore God's name and His glory back to Jerusalem. And how He should have been displayed to the whole world. And things were going so well for the first year. and one year later after the captivity, with everyone walking together with one mind one heart and one purpose. Something drastically changes. Now all of a sudden what takes place with the Israelites- with God's community is that they go from captivity(being in fear,and bondage ,and bound with no freedom, just being there trying to survive) to a liberated community with the ability to make choices and decisions and they decide to choose to build the house of the lord, but comes year number two, and something starts to take the whole people of God on detour. What happens is there begins to be an attack from the enemy- look in your bible in Ezra chapter 4:

Adversaries Hinder the Work

 1.Now when the enemies of Judah (I love the play on words over here, what Judah means is praise- so this is the enemy of praise. So what's happening is the year goes good and then the enemy of praise started to attack-those that were the enemies of Judah. Who were the enemies of Judah? Who they were-were the people [while Israel were in captivity] living in the city- they were the co-inhabitants. Now when they came back there was God's community and there were this mixed community that were there. And the dilemma arose as to what to do! ) The bible talks about that there was a fear- and the reason they had a fear of restoring the altar of God was because the enemies of praise were all around them. So when they start focusing on the kingdom and the corporate work of God- The enemy comes with this discouragement, watch this

          

     2     they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” (they were basically saying all the right things, they were acting spiritual- there was no reason for you to question them. But there was people who got into the community physically, who were not walking in the same spirit that they were. And what begins to happen is you get these individuals who have the wrong spirit, but are in the right place, saying the right things. And now you have a problem which arises that the people of God quickly recognize and say no these people are not to join with us on what God is doing with us in the Israelite community. And what happens when they say no you can't help us they begin to attack.Ezra 4:4

     4     Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah (to discourage the people of praise, and they hired counsellors to work against their corporate relationship and puts it into their personal necessity and frustrate their plans. And so you see this attack from the enemy come from with in the city and with in the community-I want us to keep in mind the body of Christ as we are going to see how God begins to do this in Haggai-How God begins to take the focus off personal necessity and puts it into corporate relationship. ) He takes the focus from it's all about me and what I want, and my schedule, and he makes a shift in their mindset, and puts it to the kingdom as a whole. But see what happens is the opposition comes against them in the form of discouragement. I believe that God wants to do something great over here in this ministry. And every time I see growth seeming to occur, something occurs. When I was looking at this scenario last night is has occurred to me.What the enemy will look to do to attack the Spirit of the camp is to attempt to bring discouragement to you and I. There are going to be individuals that you will see coming through the doors sit in these seats that's a joy to be around that while everything is going good- they have a great spirit about things because they are building kingdom things. Because you are thinking corporately you are not just thinking personally, you are focusing on all the things that God is doing. Beloved that's when the enemy is going to send people into your life to try to discourage you. Why because he's not trying to stop you he is trying to stop us. So you have to be mindful that everything is not all about you. When an attack comes against you, it might not be just to attack you. But it's there to attack you in order to keep everything from going forward in the body. Remember it wasn't until the disciples were in one accord that the Spirit came down and filled these men who eventually turned the world upside down for Christ.

That's what took place when these people began to oppose and to discourage-they began to bring false accusations and wrote a letter to the king and said- these are rebellious people. These are the people that work on the house of God.

Look at Ezra 4:23     Then as soon as the copy of King Artaxerxes’ document was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their colleagues, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms.

     24     Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

70 years of captivity,1^st year out-rebuild the altar/temple>boom all of a sudden attack from the enemy, discouragement- instantly all of a sudden work completely stops and comes to a stand still. They work for a year in unity, working as one man, God is beginning to restore every thing and it stops. That's why it's so important to be around people that will speak life into your spirit. Now I'm not talking about positive thinking-

I'm not talking about Tony Robbins type of thing that is sweeping through the church.

I'm talking about faith inducing words that will bring you into a place in which come what may- God is able to bring you through what ever you are going through.

Now after this stoppage in the work of God – fifteen years goes by and nothing is started up again. Fifteen years because of a little bit of discouragement. Turn with me to Haggai chapter 1 and I'm going to go through this real quickly. When you get to Haggai what's happening is this- God is trying to get the community back on track. They were doing good for that year and everything stops-people throw in the towel. Now you have an alter that was built, you have the temple unfinished, and it's just lying there just started. And now for 15 years the community exists and there are no thoughts about completing what was started. Something settled in there was a change in the attitude, the change that took place within the Israelite community on a corporate basis, and what you get here is this in chapter 1 .

Haggai 1:1     In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

     2     “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ’ ”

     3     Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

     4     “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?”

     5     Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

     6     “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

     7     Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

     8     “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

     9     “You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

You have here a people who when they 1st come out of persecution there was a unity- the amazing thing that I have to acknowledge is that when we are in persecution there is a tendency to pull together in order to get through what is happening in our lives. After this we get into a life that is dominated by schedules, and we lose that community in our lives. Things start to go into wrote and repeat instead of flowing out of our lives because of a passion for the Lord. What Haggai begins to go after is this issue in their lives. These people started to be focused on themselves instead of honoring the Lord. When I've read this I could see that God wanted His house built. God wants this church (this community) to build this house. But there's more- go up to verse 7 Haggai 1:7-8

     7     Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

     8     “Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

#1 you got to see this, God doesn't just want us to build the house. He does but we also have to understand the why. Because if we don't have the why, do you know what we are doing? We'll be just getting caught up into number games and create our own big world. We just begin to be this machine that's just driven by the next great event, the next great out reach, the next great thing, and we just begin to focus in on the numbers instead of the real focal point which should be Jesus.

What he says is this, the reason why this house needs to be built- is because it pleases God. Not only does it please Him but it gives Him honor- God is saying I want to be honored. So that means, if we keep living individually like it's said in those first verses-Haggai 1:6

     6     “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

God's saying I'm not getting honor when you are only concerned with your own lifestyle. Lets take a second to go back to the individual life for a second in verse 5     Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!

We see the phrase “Consider your ways” said three times and what I believe is this: Some of us could be living and missing what is happening in our lives. He's telling them stop and give careful thought, look at your life right now. And he goes on and basically encourages them to take inventory. And what the Lord did throughout Haggai is He begins to direct his people to give special attention to certain things.

1-You've planted much but you've harvested little-He's got the church the community planting a lot but wheres the return? He's saying maybe somethings off? They are unfulfilled in their lives-because if that is taking place there is something not right.

He says once again -you put on clothes, but your not warm. I don't know about you but that's plain out frustration-think about it it's cold outside and no matter what you put on you can't get warm. Your just constantly cold-that seems to me to be a miserable life. Always frustrated that whatever I put on I'm never going to get warm. You try to pray through it but God is calling you to consider your ways. We think problem is just the situation but the fact is, the problem lies within us.

Next level- you make wages and you put them in a purse with holes in it. You just seem to financially making enough money but you don't know where it's going?The solution in this passage is not to go and try to work longer hours, buy more clothes , get more food, get a bigger nest egg- it has nothing to do with that. What God wants you to do is getting back to glorifying and honoring God.

God wants to show up and be with us. He wants us to experience His presence- How do we get his presence in this house?

1-It starts with a priority shift we've got to start thinking us instead of me. When we look to serve others God is pleased.There has to be a balance between the personal and the community.

2-go to chapter 1:14     So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

They started to put into practice that shift in priorities and functioned in the spirit of the community. God began to deal with the leadership, and bring them into focus as a body to start to build up His house, and they received the word to shift from personal focus to corporate focus and then the work starts again.

3- Go to chapter 2:

Haggai 2:1     On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet saying,

     2     “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people saying,

     3     ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?

     4     ‘But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

     5     ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!’

     6     “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.

     7     ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.

     8     ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

     9     ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

After doing what they said they were going to do -God said that He would pour out his Glory in this place. And it's going to be greater- but the promise didn't come to pass until after they've started the work. It didn't come on day one, it came three weeks later.

‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.” How many of us need peace in this place. It starts with prioritizing God's will. There is no greater stress reducer because if anything fails it's now in His hands and it's His responsibility taking you off the hook. We couldn't do it anyway.

Finally we are going to look at verse 18 for out final point Haggai 2:18-19

     18     ‘Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider:

     19     ‘Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’ ”

All of a sudden God's blessings begin to come-Where? To the individuals that are part of the corporate community. Theres something that God desires to do in this place- the peace,to honor Him, the joy,the glory, it comes when we lock arms together. I'm going to challenge you to think corporately. The shifting of our thinking from individual to corporate. In every revival you never think about your personal responsibility. Theres never a moment of complaining. Because complaining reveals the spirit of selfishness and individuality in the church today.It comes when we prefer our brother above ourselves.Amen

Will I have character in crisis?

Daniel 6:1-7

¹ It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; ² And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. ³ Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. ⁴ Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. ⁵ Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

⁶ Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. ⁷ All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. (if he kept his conviction he'd be killed.We can't make him fail with  a Prostitute or drugs-but let's see if his faith is strong enough >so that we can make him fail with his convictions! If we can allow prayer to be a capital offence we can then trap him.

Understand that the enemy knows how to switch his plan of attack on you-if you are not going to fall with the spirit of the world, you are then going to have to find out how strong your convictions are. Because that's what the enemy is going to tempt you with. He wants to see what you will do when prayer and walking in obedience cost's you something. Would you continue walking in righteousness or Would you fall by the wayside)

.Daniel 6:8

⁸ Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

( It can not be changed once he makes this decree> there's no way out. when you sign a contract in NYC you have three business days to take everything into consideration, and if you change your mind you can cancel any contract .You have The time to investigate, ask around, and do your due diligence. In the ten commandments movie Yule Brenner's favorite line was it is written so let it be done and that's the situation we see here once the decree is signed.)

Daniel 6:9-10

⁹ Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. ¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Now as soon as the decree was done immediately Daniel want up into his room and did what he has always done and go before the God of the universe in prayer-He sought the face of God! There's not an edict or law that can change what God has done in my life.

Daniel 6:10

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

There's something about a man that is attacked and beset on every side in apparently overwhelming odds and everything is against you but he maintains this quiet dignity, this persistence in faith, and goes on with God. That no matter what situation you put him in he maintains his walk with God.I know people that before they go to bed they have to check everything three times because there is a fear that something will happen while they are asleep.why are we so afraid- Daniel wasn't afraid! He was committing a capital offense. But it didn't alter his routine. It was business as usual with Daniel- he was unmoved. It didn't matter what was happening around him, he didn't change or alter his life.

(ex. Same sex marriage coming) with everything that is coming down the pipe-our integrity and perseverance and obedience will be put to the test>on Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand! Everything that is coming up in the future is going to go against your biblical and moral values, take my word for it you will be called a bigot if you stand against Gay marriage. You are probably called narrow minded already if you say that Christ is the only way. Right now we are faced with the potential to have sharia law passed in the U.S.! What sharia law is-is if you go against or say anything about Islam or Mohammad you can go to Jail- it would give a Muslim the right to have his wife killed if she has committed adultery! This is the amazing double standard that is going on today. What are we to do What are we to be? I suggest to you that we are going to be the people that we actually are today.

How do you know that pastor Chris? Look at verse 10 with me> Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
He didn't change when tribulations came, the word aforetime makes all the difference in the world. The new american standard bible uses the word Previously. When crisis hits the person you are right now is the person that you’ll be when everything seems to go out of control.

If you want to be a Godly person the time to do that is now. Not in the midst of the fire!

Not when the fight is about to happen! A boxer doesn't go into the ring with a jump rope!

 The ring isn’t a place for preparation- it's a place that reveals. It's a place that shows that you've cheated on your diet,t's a place that shows that you've that you've ran your laps, It's a place that shows that you've  run your miles, its a place that shows that you’ve done your reps, it's a place that shows that you've if you’ve done your bag,  It's a place that shows that you've stuck to your regimen. The ring reveals it doesn't begin to give you a place for preparation. If you are waiting for the ring to come before  you are going to be Godly then you are going to miss the boat. You will not pray if you are not praying now. In Daniel the food issue was resolved before it even came to pass. They knew what they could eat and couldn't eat. So it wasn't even an issue when the king has approached them with his delicacies. The decision was already made that we will not bow down to any graven image. In Daniel 3 they weren't deciding whether they should stand or kneel. They knew before the Idol was erected that these legs shall stand firm, I'll not bow -it's our 1^st commandment. Daniel knew that not an edict could be signed that would stop him from serving the Lord. I'll be a man of prayer regardless. It's been established from aforetime. Nothing changed him. You can't pray in school- Who's to stop you? How do they know that you are praying? You can walk and pray in tongues and they'll just think that you are foreign person talking on the cell phone.

• Unbelievers can go what we go through, but can't go through it like we go through it.
  Unbelievers can go through what we go through , but can't go through it how we go through it. There's something that happens when God puts his hand upon his children in the midst of battles. Unbelievers can go through the same things we go through, but they can't go through it how we go through it. This issue of suffering/persecution-folks always have the question-How can God exist if there are suffering and evil in the
  world? And the whole premise is this: If God is good and God is all powerful; How can God exist if He has the power to stop it. If He loves the world, how can He exist? The true question behind the smoke screen is; either He doesn't love or He's not all powerful.
  (ex. Charles Templeton) This doesn't challenge God's existence, because there is human evil. It's a misdirected argument- they are attacking God because there is evil/suffering-they are stating that God must not exist. The existence of Evil and suffering proves the depravity of man. The lie that men are getting better as the years go on. The existence of Evil and suffering is not a product of God but of the fall of man. You ever see how aggressive and progressive sin is. The main issue is how different classes of people go through the situations at hand. How someone goes out of the fire proves that there is a God. The unbeliever comes out deformed, but the believer comes out formed- It rains on the just and the unjust(the bible says). The unbeliever comes out deformed with anger and bitterness towards the world and God, but the believer comes out conformed into the image of Christ.

There's just something that happens when God puts his hand upon his children

in the midst of battles. We recognize that we wouldn't get through if it weren't for the hand of God that's there.

Remember the fiery furnace? The Bible says that there wasn't anything that was upon them that has been singed, there's no smoke upon them nor anything out of place. But the men that threw them into the fire the unbelievers were consumed! The men that serve the Lord are more protected than the people that are not.

• Habits are created before crisis and not during crisis. Your commitment to sexual purity has to start before the steamy back seat. It doesn't mean that you will not be tempted, but you ll be victorious.
• If you don't pray in your home you ll not pray in school/work/situation.
• Daniel turned from critic to intercessor. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he keeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. He was looking at a people that were so backslid den and fallen. But he didn't become a judge but he became an intercessor. We can always find something wrong with the church. We are fallen people. It's easy to criticize, but it's a different story when we lift up out hands and pray. One day your people ll be like you. Believing that God's able to do great things. When you are righteous the hope that we have in Jesus is that we will be changed into His image. We are one day closer to perfection/righteousness being fulfilled. I believe it was GK Chesterton who preached in the book of Psalms.
  Psalm 98:4-9

⁴ Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. ⁵ Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. ⁶ With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. ⁷ Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ⁸ Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together ⁹ Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

• Psalm 96:7-13

⁷ Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. ⁸ Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. ⁹ O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. ¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. ¹² Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice ¹³ Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
Judgment is not just the payment of the wicked, but it's when God comes and puts all things right.

He knew that God was able to put all things right. Even when you are wronged. Hallelujah
There takes no gifting in criticizing, but it takes faith to trust in God. Judgment is bad for the unbeliever, but it is good for the believer.

Going back to where you are supposed to be

All over the world I'm hearing about people coming to the Lord in Muslim dominated countries, and I would normally applaude, But I've realized that- that wasn't the time for clapping-but the time to intercede. Because when we go home from the church we can live in peace for the most part,but for them who get saved from the Muslim faith it's the beginning of the battle. You could be in the middle of a battle when you came into this place today. I know you probably are disappointed that I am not doing a Mothers Day message. But I've stood up all night and some of the morning to seek the face of God concerning what he wants to say to the church today. Amen?

Luke 17:22-37

Second Coming Foretold

     22     And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

     23     “They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.

     24     “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

     25     “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

     26     “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:

     27     they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

     28     “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

     29     but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

     30     “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

     31     “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.

     32     “Remember Lot’s wife.

     33     “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

     34     “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

     35     “There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.

     36     [“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”]

     37     And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”

        I believe that this is not only for that particular application but also for the body of Christ.

        Where there are true believers there will also be vultures to side track you. Here is the answer in the very next chapter
 Luke 18:1  Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,

I believe that this is the key in the end times, in the tumultuous times thst we will be entering into -we need to keep vigilant in the discipline of prayer because there are vultures out there waiting for some one to die.We need to be before the throne of God in order to make a dent on a society inundated with hellish activities. Death is constantly circling our homes, death is constantly circling our  Schools, and death is constantly circling our work places. In this verse Jesus begins to open up an option, and ultimately you must choose only one of the two options that are available for us today.-verse 1. they ought to pray and not to lose heart-we are either going to pray or lose heart, does everybody see that? There is no other option-either praying or fainting-if you are praying you are not fainting.
One cancels out the other-if you are not fainting you are praying. You can't be into one with out the other. I can't be into marriage with out being into communication. Likewise you can't be a Christian with out being into prayer.
One of the most amazing things about being a home owner is the ability and freedom to go into the back yard at any time of the day or night. We have different birds that come and visit us at times, we do crazy things like naming them-we have Mr & Mrs. Cardinal and Blue jay so on and so forth. But I've read something very interesting about birds. Each bird can only understand it's own kind of song or call as long as they are in the same family or species. The cardinal can't understand the blue jay and vice versa.What happens is because they are part of a different family they can tell that something is being said, but they don't understand what it is . That's why I get concerned when believers understand some of that secular music too well. I get nervous when I see someone worshipping on Sunday but doing questionable things during the week. How do I know? Look at face book, It seems that whatever is important to someone is on their face book page.However an individual wants to be identified by is what's going to be on that page. How do you know about that music, or that horoscope, or that damnable heresy called gossip? The day that I became born again I began to hear His song, I began to hear His voice, I began to hear His heart, I began to hear His thoughts, I began to hear His concerns. I speak a new language, God brings us into a new place, the language of a Father and Son in relationship. All of a sudden there is an interaction that I've enter into. Whenever I get into a counselling session I always start with the question "how is your prayer life".Because we do not want to get away from the Giver of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ! Church ultimately that is the biggest issue. We must recognize that certain things can not be true if you are actively part taking in a prayer life. That doesn't mean that you are not attacked spiritually because "what God backs Satan attacks." Let's face it, if you go to a hornets nest and shake it you will have a whole lot of hornets coming after you, but God knows our frame and that we are but dust. Listen to what I am saying over here> He doesn't go into how many Christians there are in your family or if you go to church. He says if you pray you'll not faint and if you faint you are not praying. I don't ever remember hearing a man that's praying an hour a day saying that he can't shake pornography. I'm not saying it's impossible but it's not common in my small sphere of influence.You never hear a man that's praying an hour a day saying that he can't shake anger or a drug issue of some sort-he says if you are praying you are not fainting. I remember hearing about a preachers son-in a park having an outing-who as soon as it was threatening to rain he immediately went in to prayer and said God hold back the rain. And it didn't rain. When his grand mother came to him being shocked and said to him good job-it didn't rain-his response was "it wasn't me it was God".
Those that pray aren't surprised when the answer comes, it's those that do not pray that are surprised when there is an answer. In all the years that I've been a Christian one thing I've discovered is that it isn't the people that know how to preach that change nations, but the people who know how to pray. The rain didn't need a preacher, the rain needed an intercessor. When I read about the lives of John Wesley and George Mueller and they weren't profound speakers, they were rather simple in their message, but they were powerful through prayer. We can preach a message and feel like we've done a wonderful thing, but that doesn't mean that we shook hell like these men did! From time to time, we can feel like we've touched the lives of those who've listened to us, but in actuality all we've done was entertain them for an hour REMEMBER EZEKIEL 33:31? But don't miss this> there are many great preachers out there in this city, If you want to move into the realm of full time ministry or serving God more effectively don't learn how to preach, learn how to pray. When you pray an authority comes to your words. I want to learn how to reach God, so that I can move in the power of the Holy Ghost and touch your lives.
Prayerlessness is being away from where you are supposed to be. If I'm praying I'm a better husband, If I'm praying I'm a better pastor, If I'm praying I'm a better neighbor, If I'm praying I'm a better person, If I'm praying I'm a better salesman. When I don't pray I'm going away from where God wants me and I get overwhelmed at the smallest thing.

Psychologists and sociologists like to say this person did this to you and that person did that and that's why you are messed up today. Oh you got bumped in the womb. If you need help don't find a preacher, find an intercessor. If you can't seem to get over the issue you are struggling with in your life don't look for a preacher, look for an intercessor. Emmit Smith one of the greatest running backs in football. Ran for thousands of yards. And the interesting thing is if you were to add up all the yards you would get a total of 9 miles-but here's the thing, can you imagine going for a 9 mile run and getting knocked over every 4.5 yards? How would you like to get knocked over and tackled every 4.5 yards in the supermarket or going to do the laundry? Do you want to know the most phenomenal thing about this? In the huddle after getting hit and tackled by 300lb guys trying to knock his head off, he's saying OK give me the ball-he gets hit again and again and again and he'll go into the huddle and ask for it again. The christian should be saying after getting tackled by Satan OK give me my bible again-Bam!, OK let me speak to that person again -BAM! knocked down, OK let me get into that prayer closet again-BAM! knocked down, OK let me get to that fellowship again BAM.Because no matter what I'm going to glorify him, no matter what I'm going to give him all the honor, no matter what I'm going to give him all the praise and worship. Some of you need to get off the sideline and ask for the ball to give God glory because you are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus, although the game is not over and you are in the midst of battle today church we already know the outcome of the game hallelujah! I've been knocked down from time to time, but some of you have been knocked down more than 4000 times-today let's make a determination according to the power and grace of God that I'm finishing this race. I'm not going anywhere-I'm finishing this race1 I want to hear well done good and faithful servant.1 Corinthians 9:24 says,     "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win".

Church we are in a race that all who are in Christ Jesus wins.
Hebrews 12:1 says    "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
I don't want to get all the way to the finish line and fail. I know of a young man that had a dream his whole life to be a firefighter. He was consumed with everything to do with firefighting while he was  growing up. Finally the test came out and he aced it. The mental test came out and he aced it, finally the physical exam came out and he was the best in his class, and then he sat down and fainted from exhaustion! Subsequently he was disqualified from entering the department! I don't want to be disqualified at the very end of the race! I know that we are going to fall from time to time, Proverbs 24:16 says  "For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.
Church listen to me! with this we will be closing> when you are knocked down there is a danger of staying down. Your body can take but so much, your mind can take but so much, your emotions can take but so much >I've heard it said that when you are hungry in the physical- you get more hungry as time goes on, but it's not the same with the spiritual. In the spiritual realm, the further away you get from Jesus and the battle that you must engage in, the less hungry you are, and less likely to get back in. If you have been down for some time and you've walked into this place today I know every other church in America has a Mother's Day message going on. But you are not here by accident. I believe that the Holy Ghost is wanting to do a work in your lives today. Will you stand please.

Is it only my bones that are broken by sticks and stones?

Numbers 15:32-35 (NASB95) 32 Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; 34 and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36     So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 
This seemed to be a very small issue to die for-just gathering sticks. But we can't get side tracked looking at the sticks instead of looking at the major issue which was the sabbath. If we look at every thing in context, God just gave the law and a remedy concerning sin (whether it was intentional or unintentional, whether you are a native or a sojourner).Numbers 15:22     ‘But when you unwittingly fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the Lord has spoken to Moses,

     29     ‘You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them.

     30     ‘But the person who does anything defiantly(or deliberately), whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.

     31     ‘Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’

 I would like to make a statement over here concerning this passage. It's not stating that there are big sins and little sins, sin is sin. what is being laid out is the punishment for sin and why! 

Amy Carmichael the missionary said that it costs God Calvary to forgive my smallest sin. That it doesn’t matter what it was>Jesus still had to die for it. And if he had to die for it it’s huge. If my sin sent him to the cross it’s big-lying,blasphemy,whatever you want to call it. He begins to show is that there is a difference in attitude/what they do,because the one that he says is defiant is blaspheming and despising the word of God. So God begins to speak to these groups of people and as he speaks these words and the command is over, we get to this point in the story in verse 32 where this is done.

We are living in a time in which Oprah has her own kind of church service on Monday nights: and they are beginning to proclaim that there Is no such thing as sin anymore, there Is no such thing as heaven and hell anymore, everybody is the same. It seems like what we re trying to do is erase the whole idea that we have sin today. This syndrome is even taking place in the church ,we don’t hear sin preached about,we don’t hear repentance preached any more! Let me show you what I’m talking about, keep your finger in Numbers chapter 15 and turn with me to the book of Luke chapter 12. If this doesn’t describe the spirit of the age I don’t know what does. I want you to see what Jesus does in Luke chapter 12 :1     Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, (Jesus is speaking to one of the largest crowds He has ever spoken to watch this church-it is unbelievable what begins to take place here) He began saying to His disciples first of all,(he starts preaching on hypocracy in verse 1) “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (He then starts to speak on Sin)

     2     “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. (If you keep going He get’s even more intense )

     3     “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. (what an intense message to thousands of people, thank God Jesus gives us an example of not being afraid of speaking the truth to the crowd no matter how severe the message is)

     4     “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.

     5     “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! ( Then Jesus says don’t be afraid of man that can take you out of your body, but be afraid of the One who can send your soul to hell. Then he get’s tender in verse 6.)

     6     “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.

     7     “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Then He continues to go on about being bold for God)

     8     “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God;

     9     but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. ( This is just an intense message to thousands of people! And it even gets more intense, watch this> He shifts and then covers the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost)

     10     “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.

     11     “When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;

     12     for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (What an amazing message, Jesus runs from Hypocrisy-then He starts to deal with sin that has been covered up that may be revealed-then He starts on who to fear and who to be afraid of- do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.  “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him. But don’t be afraid of anything else because God has numbered the very hairs of your head .If he can care for sparrows he can care for you.and then he goes into-(How many ever struggle with this?) has anybody ever ask themselves if they ever blasphemed the Holy Ghost? I’ve done that- If you’ve been raised in church or with the bible, you’ll always begin to ask yourself if you ve commited the unpardonable sin. Did I commit the unpardonable sin. Now watch this- If I’m going to find out what the unpardonable sin is, I’m going to find out from Jesus right? He’s the one who’ll expose that thing and bring healing right? What a message-he’s speaking on sin, fear, hell, care of God, blasphemy of the holy Ghost, Hypocracy-and all of a sudden you start to relize what the spirit of the age is when someone has the audacity to interupt in the midst of thousands of people (not just interupting the preacher, but interupting Jesus!) You don’t think that took place? Read the next verse!

     13     Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” In the midst of the message! Watch this now church-Someone has the audacity to raise their hand and say>We re not interested in sin, blasphemy of the Holy Ghost, hearing about hell, hering about hypocracy> I’m interested in knowing how I can get my money. You tell me this is not the spirit of the age. This man stands up and says tell me about prosperity! Don’t preach about holiness, tell me how do I get the money to get what I want. He steps up and interrupts Jesus-and says stop talking about this kind of stuff. I want to know how do I get the inheritance, I want to know how do I get the cash-how does money cometh! But don’t say anything on blasphem, hypocrisy or on any of this other stuff-I want to know what’s my inheritance. That is the spirit of the age right there. Church I want to know how to stay out of hell and how to get into heaven, you can keep the cash get me to heaven at this point that’s there.You interrupt him when he’s talking about blasphemy, so you can find out how to get your money? The next verse if I were there verse 14 would’ve said and some guy from Ozone park slapped him.That’s what I would’ve done.I’m trying to stay out of hell, I don’t want to know about your cash situation. But that's what we are hearing today. Let me get off my soap box and get back to the message.

1-Obedience can only be tested in the small things . It’s the stick test that determines how obedient you are going to be. Were all prepared to be heroic. We are all ready to step up to preach, but no one’s ready to step up for ushering. We want to be the hero, but Jesus doesn’t say well done my heros-He says good and faithful servants. And what Jesus uses for the test is something so small as a stick test to determine obedience.

  I think sticks are the small things that God says to watch out for.  Be careful church not to treat things so small that you think God doesn’t take notice of them. Because your character can be found in how you treat the sticks.

Oswald Chambers who is one of my favorite authors wrote many books said, "character is the sum total of a mans action not the isolated acts that are displayed from time to time". A mans character is what he does habitually, it can’t be summed up in spots or trends in his life. Character is what stedily prevales, it's not just something that manifests itself ocasionally.

There are times that men want to see how far they can go before they are confronted. There are people that will sit there, whether it’s in a marriage or any relationship, and look to see how far they can go before a confrontation takes place. That’s the place of violation! That’s the worst kind of relationship to have church, when you keep doing selfish things until it gets confronted. It’s the husband that continually lives his old lifestyle with his buddies, and spends the money anyway he wants with out any accountability to his wife and family. There's nothing worse than a relationship like that! Think about it, to continually do something wrong until someone confronts you. Now think about your relationship with God, are you doing something  questionable waiting for Him to call us out on something, or do you love Him to the point that conviction enough. This man knows all the way back in Exodus 20 that the seventh day is the sabbath, and in it you shall do no work.

     10     but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

     11     “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 31:15     ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.

And it's as if this man who hears constantly the Decalogue- 10 commandments is almost going to push it to the limit- let's see if this is really true . Let's see if they prosecute to the fullest extent of the law .This is the first time that they have the law of God before them, now we see the first guy to step up and challenge the whole thing. Let's see if they really are going to kill you. After the transgression they didn't even know what to do so they put him in custody, no one has ever messed this thing up. That’s when God has him executed. This book is not optional. You will not discover someones character in their preaching but in their driving. Not in their ushering, but their attitudes. By the way that their children respond. In the offering and their generosity. In how they respond to their wife/husband. You’ll know someones character by their personnel file at their job, by how they treat their bills, and by how they spend money. These are the sticks, the things that you think nobody sees. The things that you say are no big deal. God says they are a big deal . Every small thing that you are entrusted with builds and reveals your character and estimation for God. It's something as small as hearing a gospel message brought forth and at the altar call rushing out to go to lunch when the Spirit wants to do something in the life of someone in the place. And we don't realize that every day is a gift from God.

2-Stones- People are always more willing to punish than they are to restore.36     So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. If there was a stoning here I guarentee you that you ll all show up, ok pastor Chris messed up we are going to stone him tonight, everybody would be there. The yankees and mets are on tonight, but my boys getting stones tonight that's where I'll be. But Jesus reformed the law or the perception of the law.

John 7: 3     The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,

     4     they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.

     5     “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”

     6     They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.

     7     But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

     8     Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

     9     When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.

     10     Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

     11     She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

I've heard a lot of thoeries on what Jesus was writting while he stooped down, I'm going to add to it. I believe that when Jesus stooped down he wrote who he was. Ultimately Jesus was the only one worthy to pick up a stone, but he chose mercy. Church , if God can choose mercy, why do we love violence and vengence? Today I exhort you to allow Christ to reform your heart, your character, and your nature. Amen.