Monday, June 4, 2012

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/3/12


Brother Gary Sunday Morning 6/3/12
Rev 12:1  And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

A woman clothed in the sun, the New Testament.  That is beautiful this morning.  We appreciate getting into the sunlight.  We have four seasons here.  When that sun comes out, how we love the affects of the sun!  We appreciate the New Testament and the teachings of the New Testament.

She had the moon under her feet, the Old Testament and on her head there was a crown of twelve stars:  the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 

Malachi prophesied that He would gather His jewels and write a book of remembrance of every one of those that feared God.  It is wonderful that we can be a jewel, love him, measure to His Word, and serve Him.

Today we understand what Isaiah was prophesying about.

Isa 30:26  Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

Prayer changes things.  There is not any wall that God cannot bring down.  There is nothing too hard for God.  It takes the Almighty God to get behind the wall that others have erected and reach to men women boys, and girls.

The Gospel Light shining into the Old Testament would help us to understand the truths.  Isaiah was anointed as he said, “The light of the sun shall be sevenfold.”  We have light from all the seven seals and we thank God for that light. 

You and I need to realize that God wants no breach between you and Him, this is righteousness.  He wants there to be no breach between you and your brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Joel is prophecy and history.  It deals with history, and prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel Day.  I don’t have complete understanding on everything but what I do understand I can preach.  What I don’t know I won’t try to preach.

Joe 2:1  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

Joe 2:15  Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

The worst thing that has gotten a hold of people is an attitude that they are at the top of the mountain looking down on everyone else.  This is never the case.  The only way they are looking down on others is through pride and carnality.

Alarm is good.  We often think of an alarm as “Something is wrong!”  I set an alarm the other morning so that I could catch a ride with Brother Gyme to Missoula so that I could see my wife and my family.

When someone gets up to sound an alarm, it is not the thought that someone is going to take my toys away.  God is sounding the alarm so that we can have something better than the world has to offer.  The only way that we can receive it is if we have the attitude, “God you go ahead and sound the alarm.  I want the benefit of something from God and of walking with God.  So go ahead and set the alarm.”

We’ve had dark seasons in our life: brokenness, rejection…  It is a part of life.  When God sets the alarm, we rejoice that God has good things in store.

There are those that are unsaved simply because they don’t like conviction.  I would rather tremble now than tremble later.  I’d rather have God deal with me when I’m having devotions, have the Holy Ghost shake my conscience, and I tremble today than have my first trembling at the judgment. 

Yes I still shake and tremble before God, Not just when I go great places like Miami where I’m preaching to people that I feel are much more qualified to preach to me than I am to preach to them.  I shake and tremble at home.

The Day of the Lord is today.  Don’t put what God wants to deal with you on, on the back corner.  Don’t say, “I’m fine I’ve been around the church a long time.”  No, Let God deal with what He wants to deal with.

Joe 2:2  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

Days of darkness and gloominess have sprinkled history all through the Gospel Day.  This doesn’t mean in any way that God didn’t spring through with glorious light or didn’t come to the rescue.

There is not a soul here of adult age that hasn’t experienced darkness and gloominess.  We have an enemy of our soul and there have always been men in the way that are full of pride and arrogance.  When you come across them they will bring a great darkness to men and women of light and do their best to bring you under subjection to their carnal ways and thoughts and bring you under their pride and heresy. 

As long as men and women come and go, mankind has the possibility of leaving God and truth and picking up heresy for whatever reason.  Some would like to spring something new on someone.  (Totally ridiculous and carnal, there is nothing new under the sun.)

There will be dark days and strange doctrines that will be presented.  I hope that day doesn’t happen soon but I’m going to plow my way right through the darkness.  As long as there is the devil to make an appeal to some soul then there will be darkness.  If we see sin taking a toll in a child’s life it brings darkness to my soul.

Every soul is precious to God.  There is nothing sadder than seeing a soul become deceived by the enemy.  It brings darkness to our soul.

Joe 2:11  And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

There has always been conflict: There has always been the northern army that comes out of darkness, coldness, carnality, and self.  There has always been an army of the Lord. 

God is going to utter His voice before His army.  He feels that the camp of the saints is very great.  I’m not here to try to help you feel good or teach a self help message, but I want to leave the thought, “God is strong that executes His word.”

You may be in a terrible conflict, standing in the presence of the Almighty God to prevent the devil from taking your sons and daughters to hell.  I appreciate that and God appreciates that. 

I remember the time that sister Peters got the call that her son was in the hospital and had been hit on the head and would not survive.  She made her way to that hospital and asked to see her son.  They told her that her son could not live: they had installed the biggest plate in his head that had ever been installed and if he did live he would be a vegetable. 

She said, “He has to live, he is not saved.”  She called her sister to ask her to pray.  She told her to anoint his picture and pray.  She went into his room and stood between heaven and hell.  “Johnny has to be saved.”  God marvelously helped John Peters to recover and he again had the opportunity to get saved.

May God help you and me to humble before God and pray for our sons, our daughters, our grandchildren, and others.  At home at a private altar and in public:  “God help my son and my daughter.” 

There will be times that no one understands where you are, times when you are rejected by all others.  Know your God and know how to pray.  Know how to get a hold of God and know the voice of God so that you know how to face the darkness.  We want to know God in such a way that we don’t fall all apart in the dark day.

“I’m going to speak before my army.”  Joel didn’t have a clue, 400 years before Christ, that 2000 years after Christ we would be here in this country where it snows crying out to God, but God did. 

The day of the Lord is terrible:  God knows how to move in a powerful way.  I am so happy that God is not expecting for you to figure out how He can work.  He is God.  He can create a million more ways to work than we can ever think of.  There has been many that tried to fight against God and none of them have the testimony that they won.

Joe 2:12  Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Joe 2:14  Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

When we humble our heart before God and acknowledge our shortcomings and our failures.  “I have lived for you and served your people but I wish it was in a greater way.  I’ve done my best but I wish I could have done better.  Give me focus beyond myself and the smallest of mentalities.” 

If your focus is yourself you will not get anything from God.  If your focus is yourself you will only have the testimony, “God was good to me but I didn’t accomplish anything for God.”

We’d be a bunch of bitter know-it-all’s if we hadn’t turned to God and God turned to us.  We are dust and we couldn’t even move without God.

400 years before Christ God spoke to Joel.  We need God to speak to us.  Too many are praying for something for themselves.  Too many people like to talk about how great they are and how bad everyone else is.

Joe 2:15  Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Joe 2:16  Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

May no one feel like this is not important.  Let’s get serious. 

Joe 2:17  Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
Joe 2:18  Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

Pray for this preacher here.  We don’t want to get focused on what is going on anywhere else.  We are not there.  We are here. 

“Save thy people O Lord.”  The enemy had plans to cause every one of us to be lost.  It is of the mercies of the Lord that I am not lost.  

I remember the day when I came home and told my wife, after being in a meeting that made me just sick, “If I didn’t know God and the truth I would walk away and never come back, but I know God and I know His strength.”

God will be jealous; His eye is on the humble.  It is beyond my mind to think of God looking down from heaven and all the beauty He can see to mankind.  He looks to souls and the blood of the Lamb that is crying out to God, “Oh God more of you; teach me to pray in the Holy Spirit.” 

I’m trying to learn how to fellowship the Holy Spirit of God not just when I’m praying but when I’m working. 

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

He will show pity and compassion.

Joe 2:19  Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

The Lord answered, “I will send everything that they need.”

Joe 2:20  But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

“Because He hath done great things.”  Because God has done it!  It is not unusual to have battles.  I will not fault find any that is going through a darkness.  Every day come to the edge of that darkness and ask God if this is the day that He’ll remove that darkness. 

Gloominess, it is tough when a dream is over.  When it happens remember the promise, “That army will be removed.”  I’m not going to say that there will not be dark days but when the season of gloominess is over God wants to show Himself very strong.


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