Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Six Things That will Happen to the Body of the Believer After the Rapture
Nov 19th, 2016
Weekly Bible StudyArt Sadlier
Categories: Commentary;Topical Study;Inspirational

There is a tremendous change coming for the body of the believer according to the scriptures.

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:49). Also verses 51-52; “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The word “all” in this verse refers to believers.

In 1 John we read; “And it doth not appear what we shall be,” we are going to be changed.

Today things are not always what they appear to be. Illustration: The wickedest man in town died. The day before the funeral his brother came to the pastor and said, “I don’t know what you are going to say about my brother tomorrow, but if you say he was a saint I’ll give you a thousand dollars.”

At the funeral the pastor stood up and said, “We are here today to lay to rest the remains of Jeremy Aldridge. Jeremy was a wicked man; he was in and out of jail constantly. He abused his wife and beat his kids. He was a useless drunk and took drugs, but compared to his brother he was a saint.”

At salvation the spirit of the believer is changed, he becomes a partaker of the divine nature. At the rapture the body of the believer is changed.

1 - A Change of Dimension

As Paul begins to talk about the resurrection he takes us to a realm where all our notions about time and space are changed. Verse 40; “There are celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial.”  “Terrestrial” bodies have to do with earth. We now have bodies designed by God to live on planet earth. Our bodies are well suited for life in the environment of this earth.

We also read about “celestial” bodies which are designed for the environment of outer space. Paul is talking about bodies designed by God to live in the heavens, outer space.

When men in modern times first began to study the stars all of our concepts of time and space were changed. When scientists began to realize the vastness of space they needed a new unit to measure distances. The new term was a “light year” or the distance light travels in a year at 186,000 miles per second.

The Milky Way is 100,000 light years across. We have been taught that the speed of light is the fastest thing known to man. But there is something infinitely faster than the speed of light. If you travelled at the speed of light, it would perhaps take you 1000 years to get to heaven. That is a hopeless snail’s pace in the celestial realm. There is something much faster than the speed of light; the “speed of thought.”

Illustration:

When I was a boy my dad would, on occasion, make steak and kidney suet pudding. The aroma of that pudding in the oven was the most wonderful aroma I have ever experienced. Recently as I entered my daughter’s house I smelled the aroma of steak and kidney suet pudding. Instantly my mind traveled back across some fifty years, there I was at the old kitchen table with the whole family. There was the steak and kidney pudding on the plate with mashed potatoes. I travelled at the speed of thought, instantly retracing the miles and the years.

Someday we are going to have bodies like our lord’s glorious resurrection body. Our Lord’s glorious resurrection body is not restricted as His earthly body was. Our Lord in His glorious body can travel at the speed of thought. One wonderful day I will have a glorious body that will travel at the speed of thought.

Two New Testament Examples

A - The disciples were on the middle of the stormy Sea of Galilee. Jesus came walking to them on the water, in the storm and suddenly there was a great calm. Jesus said; “It is I be not afraid.” Then we have our example; “Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went” (John 6:21). Immediately = at once with no time lapse. That’s a travel speed that we know nothing about.

Why did the Holy Spirit include this record in the scriptures? I believe it was because He knew that there would come a generation that would understand that travelling at the speed of light it would take hundreds of years to reach heaven.

 When the first motor cars were invented they travelled at the speed of five miles per hour. Someone said, “Theoretically cars could be made to travel at 60 miles per hour but the human body could not survive such speeds.

Today astronauts travel at the speed of 25,000 MPH. Tomorrow the believer will travel at the speed of thought.

B – We have the example of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. The Eunuch had been in Jerusalem searching for spiritual truth and he hadn’t found it. He is turning home through the desert reading the book of Isaiah. Phillip sees him reading and he calls out, “Understandeth thou what thou readest?” “No!” He answers, “Come up here and help me.” Philip preaches the gospel to him out of Isaiah 53 and the man was saved. Philip did what all evangelists are to do. He taught him about baptism. So they stopped the chariot at the first oasis and Philip baptised him.

Then an amazing thing happened in Acts 8:39; “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”

“The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.” Where did Philip go? Verse 40 tells us that “Philip was found at Azotus,” which was about thirty miles away. Philip apparently travelled at the speed of thought. I believe this incident is to give to us an insight into the change of dimension that awaits us.

Paul said; “We shall all be changed.” We are going to have the capacity to move around at the speed of thought. What wonders await the believer!

2 – A Change of Destiny

In 1 Corinthians 15:42 we read concerning our bodies; “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.” Notice the tremendous change, “Sown in corruption” as opposed to “Raised in incorruption.”

We now have bodies that are destined for the grave. There is not a thing we can do about it. Maybe we can prolong it a little while, but death is going to get us, life will leave our bodies.

We now have bodies that destined for the grave and corruption. Someday we will have bodies that are destined for the glory.

Paul is in prison as he writes to the Philippians, he says to them in chapter one and verse 23 that he has a great desire to go to heaven. I suspect that Paul had this great desire to go to heaven because he had already been there. “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:4). “Unspeakable words,” Paul said I have seen into heaven and there is no way I can communicate what I saw there. It was so wonderful that I have no frame of reference to describe it.

Paul is saying in effect, “I can’t wait, I desire to go to heaven, I have been there and I can’t wait to get back.” Paul was longing for a change of destiny.

He had a body destined for the grave, and he wanted to put on his body designed and destined for the glory. What a prospect the believer has, the prospect of a change of destiny.

3 – A Change of Dress

We read in 1 Corinthians 15:43; “It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.” “Sown in dishonour,” when a person dies his body begins to corrupt, then it is put into the ground where the corruption is completed. Someday, when the trumpet sounds Christ will raise the body of the believer and it will be “raised in power.”

It reminds me of the lowly caterpillar. He lives his life as a grub crawling around in the dust. You can almost imagine him lifting his eyes and staring at the expanse of the sky. He says to himself, “If only I could fly, I would soar up into the sky and I would fly from tree to tree.” “But I am just a withered little grub with a lot of legs crawling around in the dust.” “I am only a caterpillar.”

One day he senses a change in his little body. His days on earth as a caterpillar are nearly finished. He spins a little coffin and crawls into it and shuts himself in. There he stays in a death-like situation.

Then one day he hears a call and that little creature breaks out of his tomb and he comes out transformed. He went in a caterpillar and he came out a butterfly. The same creature that goes in comes out, but it has been changed. It spreads its beautiful wings and soars upward to the sky. It is now a thing of exquisite beauty and glorious colour. It was sown in dishonour and raised in glory. It has had a change of dress!

The God that does that for the caterpillar can surely do it for the believer. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

What a marvellous prospect! Believer do not go around with your head down, you have a marvellous prospect which may not be far away.

4 – A Change of Disposition

“It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power” (1 Corinthians 15:43).

See the contrast, “Sown in weakness; raised in power” Go back to Gethsemane and see the man Jesus in weakness. Matthew 26:38; “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.” Jesus is saying, “Pray for me, I need you to pray for me.” Jesus said that He was sorrowful or depressed.

It is hard to imagine that Jesus was depressed; He was always the master of every situation. He always had everything under control. He was never taken by surprise, He never made a mistake, and He was master of everything. But in Gethsemane He was looking into the cup of sin and judgment that He was to drink for all mankind. He glimpsed the awful horror of the sins of the world being placed upon His soul.

It is no wonder He prayed three times; “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Jesus was a sinless man, but nevertheless when He became a man he took on the weakness of man.

After vainly exhorting the disciples three times to watch and pray He awakens them and says to them, “The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” We have bodies that are weak and corrupt.

Praise the Lord! We will one day have bodies that are “raised in power.” We will have bodies that will never grow weak or tired. We will have bodies that will never grow old or never get sick and never die. We will have bodies that will not yield to sin and never stumble and fall. We will have a body raised in power.

After they crucified our Lord His body lay in the grave for three days and three nights. His body was dead but it saw no corruption. Then the Son of God was raised in power from the tomb, raised with a glorious new body and a new disposition.

Look at His new body as revealed in John 20:26; “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”

Doors mean nothing to Jesus in His glorious body; He just came through the door, that’s a body of power. His new body was a real body like ours but it was now a glorified body. “And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them” (Luke 24:40-43). Jesus demonstrated that his body was a real human body not a phantom or a ghost.

One day, maybe soon, we will have a glorified body like our Lord’s. Hallelujah!

5 – A Change of Durability

1 Corinthians 15:54; “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“This mortal shall have put on immortality” that means we are going to live forever. We will live forever in the land of fadeless day, in the city with streets of gold, where the walls are made of diamonds and the twelve gates are each made of a single pearl. We will live on and on outlasting the stars of the sky. We will live beyond the reach of sin and death. We will rejoice forever with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

This is the longing of our souls; “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life” (2 Corinthians 5:2,4). This is the ultimate life, life of a new dimension with bodies that will never wear out. What a prospect, perhaps in a few minutes?

6 – A Change of Dynasty

1 Corinthians 15:47-49; “The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

Now Paul takes us back to the Garden of Eden. When God created the animals He gave them a body. A body suited to their purpose. Verse 39; “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.” Paul says not all bodies are the same. God did not give the animals a spirit; instead He gave them an instinct. He locked every animal into a behaviour pattern. This was a controlling principle which God built in. An animal does what it does because of what it is.

For example: A young salmon goes down the river and out into the vast Pacific Ocean for some six years. Then it comes back to the river it was born in. It comes back to the very same steam which flows into that river and to the very pool it was spawned. There it lays its eggs.

That salmon was moved by a controlling principle built into it by God. All animals are like that. They are moved to do what they do by a built in controlling principle. We see this also in the migration of birds and butterflies.

However, when God made man He didn’t do that. God gave man a body and He gave man a soul with intellect and emotions and a will. God could have locked man into a behaviour pattern so that we would always do what we were supposed to do. In such a scenario all God would have would be robots or puppets. Evidently God didn’t want robots; He wanted people to love and people who could love Him. So instead of a behaviour pattern God gave man a spirit.

O the exalted position we have as men and women! “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”(Genesis 1:26).

Why like God? So that man could be indwelt by God. The human spirit could be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Together, in cooperation they would control the mind, will and emotions. And we would do what we would do because we would be what we would be, men inhabited by God.

Sin came in and man demonstrated his independence from God. So man in sin is not what God intended him to be. Man in sin has a mind, will and emotions but he has no resident Holy Spirit indwelling him. Man is lost and dead in sin, and he is alienated him from God. That is why Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”

When a man comes to Christ as a ruined, hopeless, lost sinner and confesses his sin and casts himself in repentance and faith upon Christ, salvation takes place. At that point God the Holy Spirit takes up residence within the human spirit.

The Christian life is the process of day by day learning to live in harmony with the Spirit of God. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5: 16-18).

The above verse highlights the remaining problem we have. We still have our old earthly body and our old earthly nature. We have the ongoing struggle that takes place between our new divine nature and our old sinful nature.

One day we are going to have a glorious body like the body of our risen Lord. Throughout all of the ages of eternity we will be inhabited by God and our old sin nature will be gone forever. We will live life in a whole new dimension. That will be a change of dynasty.

What a glorious future you have as a believer.

To dwell in God’s presence forever! To worship God forever! To be blessed by God forever! To enjoy a sweet intimate relationship with God forever! All of the glory’s of heaven forever! The fullness of joy! To be in the likeness of Christ! Heaven will be our home! “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Believer how dare you go around with your head down? “Rejoice in the Lord ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart.”

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 19th, 2016
dFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines

Claims of votes by the dead, felons cloud North Carolina governor race
North Carolina's gubernatorial race was undecided 10 days after the Nov. 8 vote and new allegations by the Republican incumbent's campaign about felons and dead people casting ballots could leave the outcome in limbo for weeks. Republican Governor Pat McCrory, trailing Democratic challenger Roy Cooper by about 6,300 votes according to the state elections website Friday afternoon, has not conceded  

Obama bans new oil drilling in Arctic Ocean
The Obama administration has introduced a ban on offshore oil drilling in the Arctic for at least five years. The move is a significant victory for environmentalists who have campaigned for years against drilling in the ecologically fragile region. But the ban could be overturned by Donald Trump, who has previously pledged to increase offshore drilling.  

Turkish bill clears men of statutory rape if they marry
A bill which would allow men accused of raping underage girls to be cleared if they marry the girl has been preliminarily backed by Turkish MPs. The bill would pardon men only if they had sex without "force or threat" and if they married the victim. Critics say it legitimises rape and child marriage, and lets off men who are aware of their crime.  

Trump election: Obama and EU keep up pressure on Russia
Outgoing US President Barack Obama and EU leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to Nato unity and sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Meeting in Berlin, they also criticised Russia's air strikes in Syria. It was their first summit since Donald Trump won the US presidential election. Mr Trump has criticised Nato and said he hoped for warmer ties with Russia.  

The Exhausted Epithets of the Left
They didn’t work against Trump and won’t work against his aides. Barack Obama’s signature phrase, “the audacity of hope,” came from a black nationalist, Jeremiah Wright. Obama stocked his administration with black nationalists, delivered speeches to openly separatist black colleges and associations, rolled out the red carpet for Al Sharpton, encouraged the reverse racism of “Black Lives Matter,” and rationalized the behavior of athletes who protested the American flag. None of this qualified as “ethno-nationalism” in the eyes of the media. They reserve that smear for conservatives who oppose hyphenated Americanism. Those who talk about race the least get hit with the charge of racism the most.  

End Times Really Are Upon Us: Mike Huckabee Might Be Trump’s Ambassador to Israel
The biblical rapture is actually sounding more and more appealing these days, so maybe we should all be encouraged by reports that Donald Trump may appoint former Arkansas governor and prominent evangelical Zionist Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel.  

The head of NATO says Trump agreed with him about the alliance's 'enduring importance' in a phone call
President-elect Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg agreed on Friday on the Western alliance's "enduring importance", NATO said, striving to reassure Europe that Washington will remain committed to its security.  

Argentines wrestle demons at 'exorcism school'
Manuel Acuna sprinkles holy water and waves his crucifix, then lays his hand on the sweating, shrieking woman before him. This is not a horror movie. It is a real-life mass at Acuna's evangelical exorcism school -- thought to be one of the first in Latin America.  

I'm no Clinton, French presidential favorite says
The man opinion pollsters tip to become France's next president said on Friday it would be an error to compare him to Hillary Clinton, who was widely expected to become U.S. president but lost to Donald Trump. "I am not Hillary Clinton," poll frontrunner Alain Juppe said. "And France is not America."  

Blizzard conditions to sweep across midwestern US into Friday night
High winds, heavy snow and localized blizzard conditions will continue across the midwestern United States into Friday night. Heavy snow will shift from Nebraska and South Dakota to portions of Minnesota and Ontario on Friday.  

British woman 'gang raped' in Dubai says "I'm petrified out here alone" after she's arrested for extra-marital sex
A British woman facing jail for extra-marital sex after reporting an alleged gang rape on holiday in Dubai has told of her "nightmare" and said she's "petrified". Zara-Jayne Moisey, 25, told police in the United Arab Emirates she was violently raped by two British men in the city last month.  

Pence tells House GOP to 'buckle up' for breakneck pace
Vice President-elect Mike Pence told his former colleagues in the House Thursday to "buckle up" for an ambitious open to the new administration, marked by efforts to roll back Obamacare and regulations and tackle tax reform.

Distant star is the roundest object in the Universe
astronomers... from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and the University of Göttingen have found a star 5,000 light years away from us that's not only much rounder than the Earth, but is rounder than any natural object in the Universe.  

Huge deposit of untapped oil could be largest ever discovered in US
The USGS estimated that 20bn barrels of oil was contained within layers of shale in the Permian Basin, a vast geological formation that stretches across western Texas and an area of New Mexico. The discovery is three times larger than the Bakken oilfields of North Dakota and is worth around $900bn.  

Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo gets Donald Trump's nomination to head CIA
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and Harvard Law School, he is regarded a member of the congressional Republicans' Tea Party caucus, and serves on the House Select Committee on Benghazi, investigating the attack on the U.S. consulate compound that killed four people in 2012.  

UK's May to Germany's Merkel: Brexit preparations are 'on track'
Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday assured her German counterpart that preparations for Britain's exit from the European union were on track, and that the legal process of leaving would be triggered by the end of March next year.  

Supermoon, Trump’s Win and the Clash of Moral Values at the End of Days
Rabbi Winston asserted that a primary goal of the liberal movement is to break away from the obligations that come with living a God-centered life. According to his viewpoint, as history draws to a close, God is forcing each person to make a decision about where they stand morally. Are they aligned with conservative or with liberal values?  

Poll Finds Disunity in EU Ranks, 'Things Are Going in the Wrong Direction'
And this dissatisfaction with the EU is hardly isolated to the British Isles: it is growing across Europe and becoming increasingly vocal. European nationalism itself is being fueled by a perception that EU institutions, are out of touch with many of its own members.  

Electoral College voters 'deluged' with death threats
One of Michigan’s 16 electors who will be called upon to cast a vote validating the election of Donald Trump in the Electoral College has testified on video that he and others in the state are receiving “dozens and dozens of death threats” from Hillary Clinton supporters urging them to switch their votes to Clinton.  

Fighting Discouragement in the Small Church
Nov 19th, 2016
CommentaryLifting Up The STANDARD - Pastor Bob Kirkland
Categories: Exhortation

Good People Get Discouraged

Moses was giving his life to help God’s people, however, God’s people criticized, condemned and complained so much Moses finally got so discouraged he wanted to die. Numbers 11:14 says Moses prayed, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.” He continued, “kill me, I pray thee.”

Moses Had A Wrong Perspective of Things

From Moses’ perspective the source of discouragement was people and a lack of provisions. The real source of the discouragement; however, was a personal problem. Like Elijah and Jonah, who also prayed to die, Moses allowed himself to become discouraged. He allowed his problem to become bigger than his God. This in turn changed his attitude about things. Moses started out very confident about his ministry. Discouragement, however, brought him to the place of confusion.

Why Me???

His prayer revealed the condition of his heart had changed. The tone of his prayer was angry and irreverent! His question was, "Why me?" When we get discouraged instead of asking “why me?” we should ask “Why not me?” Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). Did he mean everyone but me? Job 14:1 says, “Man that is born of a woman is...full of trouble.” Does that mean everyone but me?

First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Did he mean everyone but me should give thanks for, “every thing”? Note: It says, “In every thing,” not “for” everything.” Sometimes adversity is a better friend than prosperity. When the Lord allows trouble into our life, we must remember that it is part of His plan for us, Romans 8:28 says all things, “work together for good.” The verse continues it is, “...according to his purpose.” We should not ask, “Why Me?” Our prayer should be, "Lord, what is your purpose? What is the lesson that You want me to learn?”

Let Go And Let God

Someone has said, “When you get to the end of your rope tie a knot and hang on!” That advice might be alright for unsaved people, however, what Christians need to do is “let go and let God take care of the situation.” Part of the purpose for the pressures of life is simply God working at getting us to the end of our rope so we will let go and trust Him to do the impossible.

Moses Had A Pity Party

Moses had a little self-centered pity party instead of having a heart for the people he was responsible for. (It was a “little” pity-party because the people who discouraged him didn’t come. They didn’t even know there was a party). Discouragement is caused by unmet expectations! If we expect we are going to be involved in the work of the Lord and not be criticized, we are living in a dream world. If we expect everyone to appreciate our efforts we will soon be discouraged.

Do You Actually Expect To Be Appreciated?

Many times Paul referred to himself as, "...a servant of Jesus Christ.” The word servant in the Greek refers to a bond slave. An Israelite could sell himself as a slave for seven years; however, the law demanded at the end of that time the one who purchased him was to release him and give him supplies to start a new life. Sometimes the slave grew to love his master and wanted to remain a servant. That servant would then be a bond slave for life. Unlike a regular slave, the bond slave had no rights whatsoever! We do not have the right to anything since we are bond slaves of Jesus Christ. As bond slaves we should not be discouraged when we do not get our expectations because we have no rights to have any expectations. The only thing we have a right to expect is the will of our Master.

The Price Moses Paid

The account in Numbers chapter eleven shows us that Moses ended up having to share his leadership with seventy other men. If we get to the place where we are so discouraged we can not carry out the responsibilities given to us by the Lord, He will find others to do His work. When God anointed the seventy elders He took some of the ability He had given to Moses and gave it to others! In Numbers 11:17 God told Moses, “I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them.” Obviously, Moses already possessed all he needed to get the job done for the Lord; however, he lost the privilege because he allowed discouragement to prevail in his life. As a result, he had to share his leadership with seventy others. It is an interesting fact that this group of seventy grew into the Sanhedrin that had Jesus crucified. Moses, like some pastors today, got discouraged. His discouragement led to a dissatisfaction with the situation and a distrust in God “...working all things together for good.” Moses simply wanted God to find someone else to take the heat. Discouragement has brought many pastors to want the same thing. Discouragement led Moses to have an attitude of ingratitude for the privilege of being used of God, and a heart of indifference concerning the will of God for his life and the lives of the adults and the children that God had given him the responsibility to help. Some pastors have quit their ministry with no concern for the children in the church that were not giving him any reason to be discouraged. Our young people can be a real source of encouragement.

We Decide What To Focus On

A few years ago several families left our church. I was very discouraged. Someone said, “cheer up things could be worse.” I cheered up and sure enough things got worse. Another family left. That same week a thirteen year old girl from our church who attended a public school gave a testimony in church. She was excited about having the opportunity to witness to her friends and her teacher. Two teachers checked out our website as a result. The next day, I received the following email from this teenager. Hello Pastor Kirkland: “I am so happy to be serving the Lord. I am dropping notes to the teacher all the time. And for some reason while we were at Church, Sunday night, The Gospel Hall called...I think it might be because I showed a friend your book about drinking, and he probably told his parents, and his parents told the church. But I am praying for his parents, and my teacher. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Your messages on Nehemiah are wonderful! And you really made that song mean so much to me. ‘I am happy in the service of the King, I am happy oh so happy... I have peace & joy & blessing in the service of the King." That thirteen year old little girl is now married to a fine young Christian man, and they have two little boys named Jed and John. They are actively involved in the work of the Lord at our church, and they are a major encouragement to this pastor.

Have A Pity Party or Encourage

Ourselves! Getting discouraged or getting encouraged is a choice. If we focus on what the Lord is doing in the hearts of sincere Christians, we will be encouraged. If we focus on the ones who probably wouldn't listen even if Jesus was the pastor, we will be discouraged. First Samuel 30:6 says, “David encouraged himself...” Judges 20:22 says, “the men of Israel encouraged themselves.” They made a decision!!!

How David Encouraged Himself

In First Samuel chapter thirty, David and his men found their city on fire. The Bible says, “...the Amalekites invaded.” The city was, “...burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.” Let us put ourselves there! Our houses are on fire and terrorists have taken our families! We read, “David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.” Then, it got worse for David! We read in verse six that. “David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him.” Can you imagine what David was going through? Your house is burned to the ground, terrorists have taken your family and the your closest friends are planning to stone you. • First, David made a conscious decision to be encouraged. • Second, he received the encouragement from the Lord. “David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” • Third, “David enquired at the LORD.” The result of David's decision was a complete victory in an impossible situation.

When the discouraging circumstances come, do not focus on the circumstance.  

Look to God for wisdom! The things we consider to be problems, God considers to be projects. Ask God for the wisdom to handle the project, and thank God that He trusts you with the project He has allowed to come your way. Discouragement, if not dealt with, will lead to compromise. One reason pastors quit preaching Bible standards concerning modesty, music and messing around in the world is they get discouraged to the point that they begin to compromise.

A Yoke and A Burden

Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Discouragement is a reality and Jesus knew we would have problems fighting it. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Christ also referred to His “yoke” and His “burden.” Jesus commands that we be yoked up with Him. He is the one who gives direction. If we try to go our own way while yoked up with the Lord, it will result in a real pain in the neck! Jesus offers to make the burden bearable. (See Jeremiah twenty-eight for an interesting comparison on a “yoke of wood” and a “yoke of iron”).

Discouragement

The dictionary meaning of discouraged is, “to deprive of courage or confidence.” As previously mentioned, like Moses, most pastors start out very confident in the work of the Lord. • Hebrews 10:35, “Cast not away therefore your confidence.” • Hebrews 3:14, “hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;” • First John 2:28, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”

Do Not Let Anyone or Anything Discourage You From Finishing What God Wants You To Do

We like to read Hebrews chapter eleven. It is the great “faith chapter,” however, reading about those men and paying the price to be listed in “God’s Hall of Fame” are two very different things.

Hebrews 11:7 says,

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Noah had more than a little opposition from a few church members, he stood against the world. He had nobody outside of his family to encourage him. There were no Bible conferences he could go to and be encouraged by preachers of like faith. He didn’t have a list of great preachers of the past to listen to by recorded messages. He didn’t even have a Bible!!! What Noah did have was faith in God, and the character needed to finish what God had sent him into this world to accomplish! Genesis 6:22 tells us, “Thus did Noah; according to ALL that God commanded him, so did he.” When Paul the Apostle left this world he could honestly say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (Second Timothy 4:7). Be sure when life’s journey is over that you can say, “I’ve finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

Hebrews 12:1 says,

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Notice the word "also” This verse is not referring to people in Heaven looking down at us as we work for God. In Hebrews chapter eleven God named those who finished the course. The chapter begins saying they, “obtained a good report” (V.2). The chapter concludes with, “And these all, having obtained a good report” (V.39). When people talked about them they did not talk about quitters!!!

Hebrews 12:1 says, “...we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.”  

Matthew 5:16 Jesus said men will, “...see your good works.”

Acts 9:36 tells us Dorcas was remembered for her, “...good works.”  

First Timothy 5:10 speaks of being, “Well reported of for good works.”

Titus 2:7 says we are to be, “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works.”  

Titus 3:8 says, “...be careful to maintain good works.”

LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT!

“Does the place you’re called to labor Seem too small and little known? It is great if God is in it, And He’ll not forget His own. When the conflict here is ended And our race on earth is run, He will say, if we are faithful, ‘Welcome home, My child—well done!’ Little is much when God is in it! Labor not for wealth or fame. There’s a crown—and you can win it, If you go in Jesus’ Name.” When your life’s work is ended be sure you can pray before you leave and say, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4)

11 very Depressing Economic Realities That Donald Trump will Inherit from Obama
Nov 19th, 2016
MICHAEL SNYDER/ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG
Categories: Contemporary Issues

It would be a grave mistake to understate the amount of damage that has been done to the U.S. economy over the past eight years.  

In this article, I am going to share some economic numbers with you that are extremely sobering.  Anyone that takes a cold, hard, honest look at the numbers should be able to see that our economy is in terrible shape.  

Unfortunately, the way that we see things is often clouded by our political views.  Up until the election, Democrats were far more likely then Republicans to believe that the economy was improving, but now that is in the process of completely reversing.  

According to Gallup, only 16 percent of Republicans believed that the economy was getting better before the election, but that number has suddenly jumped to 49 percent after Trumps election victory.  

And the percentage of Democrats that believe that the economy is getting better fell from 61 percent to 46 percent after the election.  Here are some additional details from Gallup.

After Trump won last weeks election, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents now have a much more optimistic view of the U.S. economys outlook than they did before the election. 

Just 16% of Republicans said the economy was getting better in the week before the election, while 81% said it was getting worse. Since the election, 49% say it is getting better and 44% worse.

Conversely, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents confidence in the economy plummeted after the election. Before the election, 61% of Democrats said the economy was getting better and 35% worse. Now, Democrats are evenly divided, with 46% saying it is getting better and 47% saying it is getting worse.

The truth, of course, is that the result of the election did not somehow magically alter the outlook for the U.S. economy.

We still have a giant mess on our hands, and the following are 11 very depressing economic realities that Donald Trump will inherit from Barack Obama&

#1 Nearly 7 out of every 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.  That means that about two-thirds of the country is essentially living paycheck to paycheck at this moment.

#2 Reuters is reporting that U.S. mall investors are poised to lose billions of dollars as the retail apocalypse in this nation deepens.

#3 Credit card delinquencies have hit the highest level that we have seen since 2012.

#4 Approximately 35 percent of all Americans have a debt that is at least 180 days past due.

#5 The rate of homeownership has fallen for eight years in a row and is now hovering near a 50 yearlow.

#6 The total number of government employees now outnumbers the total number of manufacturing employees in this country by almost 10 million.

#7 The number of homeless people in New York City (where Donald Trump is from) has hit a brand new record high.

#8 About 20 percent of all young adults are currently living with their parents.

#9 Total household debt in the United States has now reached a grand total of 12.3 trillion dollars.

#10 The total amount of corporate debt in the U.S. has nearly doubled since the end of 2007.

#11 When Barack Obama entered the White House, the U.S. government was 10.6 trillion dollars in debt.  Today, the U.S. national debt is currently sitting at a staggering total of $19,842,173,949,869.58.

Despite nearly doubling the national debt during his eight years in the White House, Barack Obama is going to be the only president in United States history to never have a single year when U.S. GDP grew by at least three percent.

So will Donald Trump waltz in and suddenly turn everything around?

Just like when George W. Bush was elected, there is a lot of optimism about the future right now among Republicans.

And in 2017, Republicans are going to have control of the Senate and the House in addition to being in control of the White House.

But does that mean that they will actually get anything done?

For a moment, let’s review what didnt happen the last time the Republicans were in this position.  The following is an extended excerpt from an article by author Devvy Kidd.

The Republicans had control of both houses of Congress part of the time during Bush, Jr.s two terms. Did they lock down our borders? NO.

Did they pass legislation to stop ALL funding for illegals which would self-deport millions? NO. 

Did they stop trillions in unconstitutional spending? NO.

Did they get rid of any of Clintons unconstitutional Executive Orders? One or two but otherwise No

Did they get rid of one unconstitutional cabinet like HHS, Department of Education and EPA? NO.

Did they stop the unconstitutional foreign aid? NO.

Did they stop unconstitutional spending for Planned Parenthood? NO. 

Did they stop unconstitutional spending for the gigantic hoax called global warming or climate change? NO. 

Did Bush, Jr., get us out of all the destructive trade treaties killing American jobs? NO.

Did they crack down on visas bringing in tens of thousands of foreign workers when American workers who want to work are left in the unemployment line? NO.

Did they stop more and more federal regulations strangling Americas businesses? NO.

Did they impeach one single activist judge destroying our freedom and liberty? NO.

A Republican controlled Congress with a Republican in the White House and they did virtually NOTHING to restore America to a constitutional republic and constitutional spending.

So will things be any different under a Trump administration?

We shall see.

There will be tremendous pressure to maintain the status quo in many instances, because the process of fixing things would undoubtedly make conditions worse in the short-term.

A great example of this is the national debt.  As I discussed yesterday, the only reason why we are able to enjoy such a massively inflated standard of living in this country is because we have been able to borrow trillions upon trillions of dollars from the rest of the world at ultra-low interest rates.

If the federal government started spending only the money that it brought in through taxes, our ridiculous debt-fueled standard of living would begin collapsing immediately.

We consume far more wealth than we produce, and the only way that we are able to do this is by borrowing insane amounts of money.

Either Donald Trump will continue to borrow money recklessly, or we will go into a major league economic downturn.

It really is that simple.

But when our politicians borrow money, they are literally destroying the future of this country.  So the choice is pain in the short-term or greater pain in the long-term.

There is a way out, and that would involve shutting down the Federal Reserve and going to a completely debt-free form of money, but that is a topic for another article.

And unfortunately that is not something that is even on Donald Trumps radar at this point.

No matter who won the election, the next president was going to be faced with some very harsh economic realities.

There are many out there that have faith that Donald Trump can pull off an unprecedented economic miracle, but there are others that are deeply skeptical.

Let us hope for the best, but let us also keep preparing for the worst.

It would be a grave mistake to understate the amount of damage that has been done to the U.S. economy over the past eight years.  

In this article, I am going to share some economic numbers with you that are extremely sobering.  Anyone that takes a cold, hard, honest look at the numbers should be able to see that our economy is in terrible shape.  

Unfortunately, the way that we see things is often clouded by our political views.  Up until the election, Democrats were far more likely then Republicans to believe that the economy was improving, but now that is in the process of completely reversing.  

According to Gallup, only 16 percent of Republicans believed that the economy was getting better before the election, but that number has suddenly jumped to 49 percent after Trumps election victory.  

And the percentage of Democrats that believe that the economy is getting better fell from 61 percent to 46 percent after the election.  Here are some additional details from Gallup.

After Trump won last weeks election, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents now have a much more optimistic view of the U.S. economys outlook than they did before the election. 

Just 16% of Republicans said the economy was getting better in the week before the election, while 81% said it was getting worse. Since the election, 49% say it is getting better and 44% worse.

Conversely, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents confidence in the economy plummeted after the election. Before the election, 61% of Democrats said the economy was getting better and 35% worse. Now, Democrats are evenly divided, with 46% saying it is getting better and 47% saying it is getting worse.

The truth, of course, is that the result of the election did not somehow magically alter the outlook for the U.S. economy.

We still have a giant mess on our hands, and the following are 11 very depressing economic realities that Donald Trump will inherit from Barack Obama&

#1 Nearly 7 out of every 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.  That means that about two-thirds of the country is essentially living paycheck to paycheck at this moment.

#2 Reuters is reporting that U.S. mall investors are poised to lose billions of dollars as the retail apocalypse in this nation deepens.

#3 Credit card delinquencies have hit the highest level that we have seen since 2012.

#4 Approximately 35 percent of all Americans have a debt that is at least 180 days past due.

#5 The rate of homeownership has fallen for eight years in a row and is now hovering near a 50 yearlow.

#6 The total number of government employees now outnumbers the total number of manufacturing employees in this country by almost 10 million.

#7 The number of homeless people in New York City (where Donald Trump is from) has hit a brand new record high.

#8 About 20 percent of all young adults are currently living with their parents.

#9 Total household debt in the United States has now reached a grand total of 12.3 trillion dollars.

#10 The total amount of corporate debt in the U.S. has nearly doubled since the end of 2007.

#11 When Barack Obama entered the White House, the U.S. government was 10.6 trillion dollars in debt.  Today, the U.S. national debt is currently sitting at a staggering total of $19,842,173,949,869.58.

Despite nearly doubling the national debt during his eight years in the White House, Barack Obama is going to be the only president in United States history to never have a single year when U.S. GDP grew by at least three percent.

So will Donald Trump waltz in and suddenly turn everything around?

Just like when George W. Bush was elected, there is a lot of optimism about the future right now among Republicans.

And in 2017, Republicans are going to have control of the Senate and the House in addition to being in control of the White House.

But does that mean that they will actually get anything done?

For a moment, let’s review what didnt happen the last time the Republicans were in this position.  The following is an extended excerpt from an article by author Devvy Kidd.

The Republicans had control of both houses of Congress part of the time during Bush, Jr.s two terms. Did they lock down our borders? NO.

Did they pass legislation to stop ALL funding for illegals which would self-deport millions? NO. 

Did they stop trillions in unconstitutional spending? NO.

Did they get rid of any of Clintons unconstitutional Executive Orders? One or two but otherwise No

Did they get rid of one unconstitutional cabinet like HHS, Department of Education and EPA? NO.

Did they stop the unconstitutional foreign aid? NO.

Did they stop unconstitutional spending for Planned Parenthood? NO. 

Did they stop unconstitutional spending for the gigantic hoax called global warming or climate change? NO. 

Did Bush, Jr., get us out of all the destructive trade treaties killing American jobs? NO.

Did they crack down on visas bringing in tens of thousands of foreign workers when American workers who want to work are left in the unemployment line? NO.

Did they stop more and more federal regulations strangling Americas businesses? NO.

Did they impeach one single activist judge destroying our freedom and liberty? NO.

A Republican controlled Congress with a Republican in the White House and they did virtually NOTHING to restore America to a constitutional republic and constitutional spending.

So will things be any different under a Trump administration?

We shall see.

There will be tremendous pressure to maintain the status quo in many instances, because the process of fixing things would undoubtedly make conditions worse in the short-term.

A great example of this is the national debt.  As I discussed yesterday, the only reason why we are able to enjoy such a massively inflated standard of living in this country is because we have been able to borrow trillions upon trillions of dollars from the rest of the world at ultra-low interest rates.

If the federal government started spending only the money that it brought in through taxes, our ridiculous debt-fueled standard of living would begin collapsing immediately.

We consume far more wealth than we produce, and the only way that we are able to do this is by borrowing insane amounts of money.

Either Donald Trump will continue to borrow money recklessly, or we will go into a major league economic downturn.

It really is that simple.

But when our politicians borrow money, they are literally destroying the future of this country.  So the choice is pain in the short-term or greater pain in the long-term.

There is a way out, and that would involve shutting down the Federal Reserve and going to a completely debt-free form of money, but that is a topic for another article.

And unfortunately that is not something that is even on Donald Trumps radar at this point.

No matter who won the election, the next president was going to be faced with some very harsh economic realities.

There are many out there that have faith that Donald Trump can pull off an unprecedented economic miracle, but there are others that are deeply skeptical.

Let us hope for the best, but let us also keep preparing for the worst.