Lift up your Heads

[sonoftheKing 0]

Luke 21:25-28
5 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
Matthew 24:3-31
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,[b] and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

We are living in times of great distress; the very signs which Jesus prophesied of in Matthew chapter 24 and Luke 21 are coming to pass. Just in the last year, typhoons, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, hail, drought, famines, mudslides and devastating floods have swept across our earth and killed thousands. Just in 2011 look at the horrific disasters we have had. My home state of Texas has seen the single year worst drought ever recorded since meteorologists have been recording weather here. Farmland around me has been ravaged and corn and other food crops were destroyed by drought and heat. The Mississippi river flooded and damaged in the neighborhood of two billion dollars of crops. Hurricane Irene swept up the east coast flooding acres upon acres of farmland. This is just some of the things that have occurred but it is clear that crops have been being destroyed all over the earth by storms. There has been a steady increase in temperature in the last decade and this increase in temperature is being predicted by the scientific world to have a direct correlation with increased nuisance insects. In other words the increase in temperature is going to bring on pestilence. Earthquakes have been the cause of major tsunamis and destruction. And on this very day the disarranged Iranian leader mahmoud ahmadinejad stood up in the UN proceedings and attacked the truth of the holocaust, those responsible for the September 11th attacks, and proceeded to spew anti-Semitic slurs. Nations are forming sides and intensity is building. Our economy has, and despite what the media and politicians are saying, still is in recession and unemployment is detestable. Our economy will only get worse leading to increased inflation and increased poverty. This is undeniable it IS happening right in front of our eyes. Parents are slaughtering their children and children are murdering their parents. Our society is being infiltrated at every angle by: rage, murder, hate, violence, war, alcohol, drugs, pornography, homosexuality, adultery, false prophets, selfishness and an overall mood of indifference. We are a society that places entertainment over righteousness, a falsehood over the truth. We try and complicate and pervert the simple truth of God to justify our multitude of sins. Here is a verse that reminds me of this generation.
Romans1:18-32
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,[d] unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Sound a little familiar to anyone else?

Here is another interesting article: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Buff-Bay-High-School-students-suffer-from-fainting-spells_9763671 this was posted by Butterfly in the Praying place.

We are seeing men’s hearts failing them being overcome with fear but in these times we have a plethora of Biblical scriptures to draw strength from. Jesus instructs us to look up because our redemption draws near. In the book of Isaiah (ch 8) we find a scripture for us:

11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 11 For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “ Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. 14 He will be as a sanctuary…”

This gives us a clear and precise message of how we are supposed to act under distress. We are to fear God, to hallow His name. He will be our sanctuary our strong tower. This verse is for us today.

Matthew24:12-1412And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.

We are living in a generation where people’s love is waxing cold but there is a promise that we have to lean on. We must endure to the end, we must not allow circumstances to destroy our faith in God. If we simply stand for righteousness and endure we shall be saved.

[Dove-Solutions 0]

Amen!

[Proof of God 1]

Amen! Preach it Pastor!