SHOULD THE FOLLOWING BE CONSIDERED "NORMAL"...OR ARE WE EXPERIENCING THE BEGINNING LABOR PAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE "END-TIME EVENTS" THAT WILL BRING OUR AGE TO A CLOSE AND THE SON OF GOD'S RETURN TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM FOR ITS THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF PEACE?

The astonishing 2005 hurricane season has continued on, setting new records with Tropical Storm Alpha and Hurricane Beta. With Wilma, the list of Atlantic storm names was completely exhausted for the first time since the National Hurricane Center began naming storms. Subsequent storms are therefore named following the Greek alphabet.

The number of people dying from chronic hunger and related illnesses is on the rise, the UN's World Food Program has warned. More than six million people have died from hunger this year. "Hunger and related diseases still claim more lives than Aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The number of chronically hungry people is on the rise again, after decades of progress. We're losing ground." 25,000 people die from hunger and poverty every day. Developed countries spend more every week subsidizing farmers than they do in a year on helping starving children.

Unrighteousness/Ungodliness on the Rise

The cinema industry: Hollywood and its imitators seem hell-bent on tearing down every moral standard and semblance of decency in their unchecked, mad rush to "liberate" the world from the righteousness that has been the solid foundation for families, communities, and nations for centuries.

The Liberal Politicians: Today's liberal politicians, with a zeal that borders insanity, are determined to protect and promote the following enemies of godliness.

1. The degenerate in the cinema/entertainment world who are out to corrupt their world, and who are especially targeting the hearts and minds of the young!
2. The amoral in the medical/welfare professions who are brutally slaughtering millions of children every year while these children are in their most vulnerable age/state--i.e., while they are still in the womb and utterly defenseless, totally at the mercy of the adults in their world!
3. The pornographers who have somehow convinced these politicians that their filthy perversion of God's good gifts is "art."  Only God knows the damage that this form of "art" does to the young mind trying to find his or her way in this world.
4. The sodomites in our midst who with their bully ways would force the rest of the world to accept their degenerate lifestyle and seared consciences.

The Liberal Press: Today's liberal press works hand in hand with the Liberal Politicians in the efforts listed above.  In addition, they never miss a chance to report a preacher/minister (so-called) who behaves in the manner that they promote--as though they had committed something terribly wrong by acting in such a way.  (In this assumption, at least, they are right!)  Also, if one were to study their reporting habits, one would see that except for nature's rampages, most of the things they report qualify as the "works of Satan"--the prince of this world who leads the powers of darkness.

The Martyrdom of Christians: Because the governments of most nations wherein Christians are being killed for their faith are in agreement with their slaughter, accurate numbers are hard to come by.  However, to get an idea of how widespread the persecution is, go to a good search engine and type in "persecution of Christians" or "Christian Martyrs."

Etc. etc...

I repeat, are these events part of the BEGINNING LABOR PAINS ASSOCIATED WITH THE "END-TIME EVENTS" THAT WILL BRING OUR AGE TO A CLOSE AND THE SON OF GOD'S RETURN TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM FOR ITS THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF PEACE?  Time will tell.  But one thing is for sure.  The Church of the Lord Jesus will continue watching the things taking place on our planet with great interest.

We continue to receive E-mails wanting us to help in fund raising.  I know that the needs around the world at present are staggering and crucial.  However, I also know that in our evening newscasts we are warned that unscrupulous con men are using the Internet to line their own pockets by claiming to raise money to help those in need.  Consequently, I'm satisfied that most money given by the prudent is given only to those charities that are bona fide beyond any doubt--such as The Red Cross, The Salvation Army, etc.  You can contact any such charity on line and ask them to list your needs. 

Also, I noticed that some of you who asked for funds are affiliated with Church denominations/organizations.  You might go on line and E-mail their headquarters and tell them your need.

Dear Pastor Noel and Rev. Sambabu,

Thanks so much for your invitations. We would love to visit you and your flock to see how the Lord is blessing, but as we told Brother Khaoya in our May-#3-2005 WRAPs, that does not seem to be in the Lord's will at this time.  However, the same Holy Spirit that abides in us also abides in the true believers all over the world.  He is the one that you should look to and trust in as you attend to the fields that He has called you to harvest.  The Apostle John wrote:

I John 2:
²⁷ But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.  

What a privilege--to be taught by God Himself!  How humbling--to think that our welfare and the welfare of the Church is so important to God,  that He will not trust the teaching/training of those whom He has called to none other but Himself! (This brings to mind the Scripture: If God be for us, who can be against us? [Romans 8:31].  Of course the answer to this question has to be that only we can successfully oppose ourselves.  We can see this coming into play when we find ourselves studying the Bible.  Will we study the Bible depending entirely upon the anointing that God has given us--or do we try to force Him into accepting the errors that we have learned from our experiences or adopted from authority figures around us?  The way that we approach our Bible study will determine how much we can be used of God--if any at all!) 

Also, never forget that you and I have abiding in us the same Spirit that empowered the early disciples.  We need only to study the Bible to show ourselves approved unto God and then to walk as His Holy Spirit leads.  The Church that we are called to help build is not ours, it belongs to Jesus; and He knows best how to build it and maintain it.  We need but to be obedient and faithful! 

Above all, take great care not to get "Americanized" in your ministry.  Remember, there are no "big I's" and "little U's" in the Kingdom of God; for God is no respecter of persons.  Nowhere in the Scriptures can you find where God is in the business of building names for men and women--He will not be someone's PR (Public Relations) man.  Indeed, the Scriptures would have all of God's children seek the faith of King David when he was but a lad with a stone in his sling.  However, in God's Kingdom there will be only one more king--and that will not be until Christ Himself returns to this earth to set upon the throne once occupied by King David.  Also, consider the first disciples: Peter, James, John, the Apostle Paul, etc.  Surely they became men of renown, but not because they were seeking position.  In fact, these men would tear their clothes in frustration when those that they were serving tried to glorify them because of what God was doing with them.  There names have been known down through the centuries, not because they are greater than any other, but because of their dedication to God and their service to so many. 

Remember, any work for Christ is GREAT!!! No work is small or unimportant to Him.  However, the workers who build a house must first have a plan; and if the house is to stand, they must first lay a foundation.   

Study carefully the following and hide them in your heart for they are essential to any successful work for the Lord Jesus.

Which of the following churches do you think would most please the Lord Jesus: a church with a charismatic preacher and group of his admirers? or a church filled with believers who know how to pray in the Spirit and who have an understanding of the Scriptures--who are sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and ready to do His will?

If you study these four verses in their context and make their truths a part of yourself and your ministry, then the work of Christ will go forth. Don't get caught up in another man's beliefs, but rather make these Scriptures your foundation.  All the rest of God's blessings will follow. 

B'ANN WROTE:

Building of anything, whether it is a physical structure or a church body, has to follow certain rules of construction or it will not stand.   We have a "plumb line" by which we must build or else a wall will lean precariously, a floor will be uneven or the roof will collapse under the load of nature (natural occurrences).  Jesus talked of building blocks or lively stones in the church.  The Cornerstone has to be Christ, the stones must be molded and shaped to fit into the required spaces and be strong enough to help bear the load of the wall.  If a church is constructed of faulty materials, it will not stand the test of time.  Christ will see that it is tested for solidness of doctrine.  We have gotten so far from the plumb line of "church construction/doctrine" that church bodies claiming the name of Christ are constantly coming down like the walls of Jericho. At the first sound of trouble or any fiery darts, the "sheep" will start jumping, running and acting in a frenzy.  How seductively we have given Christ the personality of Satan, i.e., loud, boisterous, opinionated, fixations on physical pleasures, intolerance, mob tactics, ...the list of negative attributes could go on and on.  Christ warned us about how we should build:

We "believers" need to read this entire first chapter of Peter to see how far we have moved away from the plumb line.  Most would see Peter's writings as restrictive, a set of rules/laws, or domineering.  Every sentence is really a "gate" that shows how to escape from any situation that creates bondage. We all have situations that mirror many of the things he addresses in this passage.  Instead of taking the way out shown to us in the Bible, too often we fight, quarrel, spout our opinions, rail against authority, riot, destroy or kill those that do not think like we do ...We need to start teaching the Scriptural "avenues of escape" rather than "corralling" the "sheep" in a milling, churning, endless pen of misery.

B'ANN WROTE:

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