Brother Gary Sunday Morning 1/4/15

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 1/4/15

Isa 59:15  Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

Isa 59:16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

There was a time when God looked down upon the face of the earth and saw where truth was failing and virtue and valor were being targeted.  God was very grieved. 

Every one of us knows how perilous the times are.  Perilous times are nothing new to God.  This condition has presented itself over and over and over and over in the history of the world.

God looked and saw that there were so few that were tender toward virtue and valor, (virtue leans toward the lady side and valor toward the masculine side.)  It is always sad when men are not full of valor and women are not full of virtue. 

God is always grieved when sin is acceptable.  We live again in the time when sin is oftentimes accepted as the norm by people that are living in sin and accepted by religious people. 

God was very grieved and He saw that there was no intercessor.  In this audience there are from children to those in the eighties.  Wherever you are, there is one thing that God wants you to understand, you are there to not go with the flow.  You are a chosen vessel of God to be saved, sanctified, and to be the intercessor. 

It is right to be burdened for your family.  Men ought always to pray; everyone needs to pray.  Your family is blessed to have someone that will step in and hear the call to be an intercessor and plead with God for souls. 

Prayer is the thought of us coming to God with requests.  Supplication is pleading with God to advert the evil that is planned.  We saw this accomplished in Paradise in 2014.  God definitely intervened in the Ian case.  Thank God for the saints that supplicated, prayed, and held on.  God protected him and us. 

It happens over and over again where individuals are targeted by those that may have evil spirits and the saints begin to pray.  We seek God that He will send protection.  Intercession means going before God and pleading with God that where He has a right to be angry that He will show mercy.  “Give them another opportunity to get saved.”

God looked and He saw that there was no intercessor.  We are blessed to have the teachings of the Word of God and those that have hammered out the message to bring us to a realization of how important it is to plead with God for precious souls.

God looked for a man and He found none.  In 1 Kings 8 when Solomon arose from praying, He said, “Blessed be God.”  We have the opportunity in 2015 to be intercessors.  To be that one that intercedes for souls. 

We all have family and will naturally feel the weight of interceding for those in the circle of our family.  Today is the day to pray.  Sin opens the door to the devil and the devil opens the door to destruction.  You don’t have to live very long until you see the pattern.  When people yield to sin it is not long until they are under the captive influence of the devil.  There are plenty of examples that this leads to destruction.

God saw that there was no intercessor and He desired a change.  Jesus Christ is the great intercessor this morning.  This doesn’t in anyway take away our need to intercede.

The voice of wisdom calls to men.

Pro 8:4  Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.

I think this morning of all the voices.  The Newspaper has a voice.  We’ve bought, spent, and we have enough.  It doesn’t matter what goes on sale.  Yet they are still trying to sell stuff.  It is amazing how many will hear the voice of a sale.  If you need it and it is on sale, I am glad.  The thought is the voice of the world. 

If you look for entertainment, I grant you that the newspapers and many other things are pounding it out, “Entertainment…”  None of these things will satisfy man.  A temporary fix and most of them have to have some additional things to go with it.

The voice of wisdom calls to men:  sinful, fallen, foolish men.  When you and I think of how foolish people are to live in sin.  What it does to the mind, the body, the home, to the business man, to the workplace, to the various institutions:  the school, the hospital, the police force, the road crew.  Just think of what sin does in all places that it is able to be. 

Yet God is not failing.  The voice of wisdom is going out.  Every once in a while we get a phone call from those that have undiagnosed conditions and they are so sick.  Their mind is going, “where can I find help?”  Yet God is speaking.

I ask that you pray for me that I will listen to the voice of wisdom.  I don’t want to be foolish.  We see children and families that are very needy.  There are homes and businesses that are clear out of order.  The voice of wisdom is calling and no attention is being given. 

Answering the call brings men from deplorable conditions.  Sin is a downer.  It destroys the very best of an individual.  Talents that could be used of God are put to waste.  Don’t be robbed of using that entrusted gift for God. 

The gospel brings men from deplorable conditions to salvation.  Salvation is the sweetest thing as Brother Warren said.  It is the dearest thing.

Salvation means deliverance, safety, help, victory, health…  It takes care of our physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health.  You don’t have to live to be 117 to need emotional healing.  We live in a world that will cause your mind to go down the wrong path and soon it is spiraling down. 

It is like any other habit that an individual has.  If we think something and think it and think it, soon it has a groove in our mind, and our mind will go there.  Isn’t it wonderful that we have a healer?  When my mind starts to spiral, I know what to do: begin to pray and seek God.  Replace that thought with a good thought.

Pro 8:5  O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.

The simple and the foolish man are the same, they love the world and love pleasure more than God. 

I think of a man that is now in eternity.  I asked him many times to come to church.  He said, “I know that is important and would be a good thing to do but I have something else that I need to do.”  He died a wealthy man and was one of those that tore down his barns and built bigger. 

If we are not those that lay up treasure in heaven, then we lose.

We have to bring our self into subjection.  I can eat up enough chocolate that I make my self sick.  The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life satisfied no one ever.  If an individual decides, “I’m going to have a little bit of the world.”  We already know that they will always need to seek a little bit more.  It doesn’t satisfy.

Simple and foolish men build on the sand: worldly ideas.

Wisdom will take a foolish man and turn him into a scholar: A man that knows to read the Word of God until he rightly divides God’s word is a scholar.  Wisdom will take a foolish man and give him an understanding heart.

Jer 9:23  Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

What is it with the people that take all the liberty to tell you something yet when you turn around and tell them something spiritual, they say, “Well now, Come on.”

Jer 9:24  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

That is a scholar.  I want to be a scholar for God.  I’m not sure that any of Fanny Crosby relatives that started Harvard will come to Paradise Montana and say, “I want to give you a doctorate because you can quote Jer 9:23,24.”  Neither Fanny nor I care for the doctorate.  She is in heaven and I am headed there.

I am the Lord that exercises loving kindness. 

To enjoy loving kindness:  We are blessed to know God and to have experienced loving kindness in the past.  We can look to Him and say, “I know God and I know that He will provide loving kindness.  It may be tough at times, but He knows how to come to us with loving kindness.”

We know Him that exercises judgment:  He takes a stand on that which is right and that which is wrong.  Judgment is always under attack.  When we find ourselves in a situation drawing the line, “That is wrong and this is right,” when we take a stand for principles that are right, we can rest assured that the eternal God of heaven will support us.

What is sinful is sinful under all circumstances.  People don’t want to take a stand because they want a perfect family and every one to be kind to them.  You will get your reward: a pat on the back until they take a verbal knife and stab you.

We have experienced the righteousness of knowing, “This is what God wants me to do and this is what God requires.”

He exercises living kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.  That is in you and me.

Luk 12:41  Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?

Luk 12:42  And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Luk 12:43  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Whatever God has laid upon your heart to do, it may look small, insignificant.  God has refreshed me over and over with the thought, “God does not despise small things.”  You may feel, “I was only able to say so little.  The door didn’t open so all I was able to do was manifest my love and concern for their soul.”  The issue is God and His servants doing whatever they find to do.  Blessed is that servant.

Luk 12:44  Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

Paul and Timothy had a lot of doors close on them.  You may have had some doors close on you.  Don’t let discouragement get you.  One day Paul had a vision where he heard a man call, “Will you help us in Macedonia?”  This is how they got to Philippi. 

He got there and there was a place where people used to go and have outdoor worship.  There was Lydia and there was the beginning of the church of God in Philippi. 

Just because a door closes, say, “God you are God; help me to have a vision and direction and inspiration from God to know what to do next.”  You don’t want to stagnate.  You don’t want to find a pond and tie your boat up.  God will bring you through the rough waters every time.

Luk 12:45  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

Sometimes servants get tired, they need to know what to do when they get tired:  come apart and rest a while.  We are not supermen, we will get exhausted.  When we do, the enemy is right there to try to get us to yield to slothfulness. 

This scripture has stirred me many times.  When that old spirit says, “Cool off a little bit.  Start seeing this and that.  Be critical.”  There is only one thing to do when that spirit comes and that is to hit the altar.  When I point at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at me.

That servant that knew the Lord’s will and did not prepare:  know God’s will.  The children are not too young to pray, “God I want to know your will.”  Not just in your devotions, have a secret place to pray.  You ask, “How long do you always pray in your secret place?”  It can be a few words or it can be quite a while.

Pray to be kept.  Pray to settle things at your exact age.  Young people can be saved, sanctified, modest, and they can know the scripture. 

Fanny Crosby was raised by her grandmother.  Grandparents start praying.  Fanny’s insight to the scripture and usefulness for God goes back to the days of sitting with her grandmother to be taught the Word of God to memorize.  I am challenged for my grandchildren to know the scripture. 

We may not have had a grandmother to teach us the scripture, but we can break some molds.  Yes, I want to pull those grandchildren on a sled, and I want to teach them how to make shavings to build a fire, but there is more than that.  One of these days the sleds that we bought Kathy and Kayla will melt away but those souls will live on forever. 

Maybe I won’t get to go to Switzerland or Africa, but there are many mission fields where there is one person. 

That servant that knew His lords will and didn’t prepare themselves… if you are going to have guests, and write a plan of what you are going to do, then we need some scriptures on that plan.