PEOPLE OF GOD - TIME IS SHORT!! ALWAYS BE PREPARED!


2 Peter 3:3-4 and 9-10 (NKJV) ............... SCOFFERS WILL COME IN THE LAST DAYS, WALKING ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN LUSTS, 4 AND SAYING, "WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING? FOR SINCE THE FATHERS FELL ASLEEP, ALL THINGS CONTINUE AS THEY WERE FROM THE BEGINNING OF CREATION."


9 THE LORD IS NOT SLACK CONCERNING HIS PROMISE, AS SOME COUNT SLACKNESS, BUT IS LONGSUFFERING TOWARD US, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE. 10 BUT THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

 

            There is a HUGE spiritual war looming before the Church. Of course, this isn’t a

‘new’ thing! But it IS a war for the freedom of men’s souls. Most folks do all they can possibly do to avoid this conflict, trying to keep peace at all costs to their own inner-beings. I suppose this is understandable; but, this posture is called: COMPROMISE! Compromise (which means an agreement reached by each side making ‘concessions’) is unacceptable in the Lord’s Army!! Concession means “concede”, or give-up. Listen: when you KNOW the Truth, THERE’S NO ROOM FOR COMPROMISE! Compromise will Not bring peace. It may appear that way momentarily; but it actually only makes the final battle more difficult when it comes...........and it will come!

            Unfortunately, in this great nation, we now are expected to -not only allow ungodly religion; but we’re also required to embrace unholy, ungodly life-styles, religions etc.


So...................what becomes the issue? THE FEAR OF GOD VERSUS THE FEAR OF MAN! The one you fear the most will determine your “rank” in this war. Because, make no mistake, you WILL be a soldier in this conflict!

            King Saul feared man more than God. When Saul was commanded to WAIT until the prophet Samuel returned to make a sacrifice to the Lord before entering into battle, he wouldn’t wait. He saw that (1 Samuel 13:11) “THE PEOPLE WERE SCATTERING FROM ME....AND THE PHILISTINES WERE GATHERING.” Yes – any Leader understands Saul’s pressure. When the troops begin to scatter; and at the same time the enemy begins to advance - the urgent “need” to DO SOMETHING is extremely great. But, at that point, Saul LOST the anointing for Leadership! You see: obedience is better than sacrifice.


1 Samuel 15:22 (NKJV) THEN SAMUEL SAID: "HAS THE LORD AS GREAT DELIGHT IN BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES, AS IN OBEYING THE VOICE OF THE LORD? BEHOLD, TO OBEY IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE, AND TO HEED THAN THE FAT OF RAMS.

             Obedience is not an option. It is the ONLY thing! Strict adherence to the Word of the Lord is essential to your spiritual well-being and growth.


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            Later when Saul was commanded to attack and utterly destroy the Amalekites, he compromised and killed MOST of them, reserving the ‘best’ livestock to offer as sacrifice to the Lord; and he kept the king alive. Now in Scripture, the Amalekites are a “type” of Satanic force. They were notorious for attacking from the rear, killing the weak under the cover of darkness - just as Satan does! In Saul’s day, if one king defeated another and kept him alive, it was for the purpose of making him a slave or an ally. God had instructed Saul NOT to make the Amalekite king an ally because he was a satanic force or ‘type’ that caused a breach - or compromise in the integrity of God’s army! You CANNOT please God and man! In America, today, we’re faced with this same objective: please God or man................it’s your choice! But remember this: COMPROMISE IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE TO OUR GOD!

 

            The Lord was instructing Saul that you cannot use a Satanic force as part of worship for Him. Saul was thinking: “this king will be useful!” That was a dangerous assumption. And Samuel’s rebuke, of course, was: HAS THE LORD AS MUCH DELIGHT IN BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES AS IN OBEYING THE VOICE OF THE LORD?!


Listen:

Sacrifice will NEVER compensate for rebellion! Don’t even think good works can make up for compromise. God’s Word calls ‘compromise’ the same thing as sorcery or witchcraft. We tend

to think of sorcery as conjuring up spirits or casting a spell. And it CAN be! But Paul says in Galatians 5:20 that sorcery (witchcraft) is using any spirit or device to dominate, control, or manipulate another person or situation. Any shrewd or subtle pressure we exert to get our own way falls into this category! Just listen to Isaiah 57:13 WHEN YOU CRY OUT, LET YOUR COLLECTION OF IDOLS DELIVER YOU. BUT THE WIND WILL CARRY THEM ALL AWAY, A BREATH WILL TAKE THEM. BUT HE WHO PUTS HIS TRUST IS ME SHALL POSSESS THE LAND, AND SHALL INHERIT MY HOLY MOUNTAIN.


Make no mistake, people-of-God, the Lord is aware of every word you utter; AND He is cognizant of the results that come BECAUSE of the words you have spoken!!

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            Now on the other side of the coin was David. David feared God more than he feared man. Even when Saul was after his life, he wouldn’t interfere with God’s anointed King. And he was absolutely deadly with God’s enemies. He was of a different spirit! He didn’t care what you nor anybody else thought – if you went against the purposes of Almighty God, he eliminated you and your devices! All throughout his life we read that “DAVID INQUIRED OF THE LORD” and he would “STRENGTHEN HIMSELF IN THE LORD.” And, yes, there are a couple of times David didn’t inquire of the Lord and dire consequences followed! (For example: Bathsheba).







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Regarding the Church: James rebukes the church with this warning:

James 4:3-4 (NKJV) YOU ASK AND DO NOT RECEIVE, BECAUSE YOU ASK AMISS, THAT YOU MAY SPEND IT ON YOUR PLEASURES. 4 ADULTERERS AND ADULTERESSES! DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD IS ENMITY WITH GOD? WHOEVER THEREFORE WANTS TO BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD MAKES HIMSELF AN ENEMY OF GOD.


            Though compromise has robbed the Church of its power, the most BASIC of Satan’s strategy to destroy us is through doubt and discouragement. Just as Pharaoh’s plan for the Hebrews was to make them work harder when Moses proclaimed liberty by the Word of the Lord, so does the devil do by heaping unbelief and burdens on us just before a breakthrough to make us ‘think’ God’s Words are false! AND HE WON’T EVER QUIT!

YOU have to be DETERMINED IN YOUR SPIRIT to never give up! YOU have power over the power of the enemy. But it must be appropriated to work! Sometimes it’s like hard labor. But in the end, God will grant your petition IF you don’t stop!! Always keep on keeping on!


So............ask yourself:

1. Am I praying; but not breaking through?

2. Am I being robbed by the enemy of my confidence, my ability, my ‘drive’?

3. Do I repeatedly fight the same battle?

4. Am I captive to the power of sin?

5. Do the heavens feel like brass? In other words: DOES GOD EVEN HEAR ME?


..................AND THE ANSWER IS:

            Stay focused. Keep your eyes on the Cross of Jesus Christ. Our brightest days are ahead!

AND ABOVE ALL:

ALWAYS ask for forgiveness in Jesus’ Name; apply the Blood of Jesus to you and your household; and repeat THIS Scripture in the Devil’s face: “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!”