From Valley to Victory (Part 17)

Another story in a British magazine and the publisher story about a man who had the most unusual profession and is not the profession itself that's the unusual but the method that he implored to accomplish his job is the most unusual one. Let me read it so I don't mess it up and he was a human stench bomb, but he loved it because this is how he earned his living and the bill collector for a London magazine. The magazine management sends him to the delinquent account clients who advertise with the magazine, but they did not pay their bills, pay the debt and he came dressed in a 22-year-old raincoat that was covered with the most horrible smelling substance and he plunked himself down at the reception room or the office of the debtor and refused to barge without the payment he and his raincoat generated such a vile smell that is compared favorably to a skunk or rotten eggs. In fact, he smelled so bad that the secretaries in the clients and the business gasped for air in their fleet out of the room and just about all cases and the leaves with the payment in his hands would say you would buy them just to get rid of them. Debt collection has become a national industry. Why because debt is a national problem. Many people refuse to live within their means. Many people get themselves into such that that is impossible to come from under it. Of course, that doesn't mean that we don't borrow monitor for a house or for Carl for business that's not what it's all about here as long as the debt is manageable, but in Romans 13 eight when the apostle Paul said let know debt remain outstanding, is not meaning that we should never borrow or come into debt but is talking about incurring at debt that can never be repaid. I want to remind you of the context of Romans 12 and 13 in Romans 12 we saw the apostle Paul saying that a genuine Bible believing Christian is a person who exhibits the love of Christ. That is been poured into his and her heart and we saw eight different expression of genuine love remind you love hates evil. Love gives honor, love is passionate about God love hopes and perseveres in prayer.

Love loves to give love feels deeply with others. Love refuses to get even in love reverses the cultural norms that he immediately moves from this to Romans 13 and is really continuing that same theme. Whether you know it or not with a notice to government is continuing with that same theme that genuine love theme and he says genuine love on part of the believer is going to make him or her willingly obey the law of the land and pay their taxes, and secondly love for God makes us pay our debts.

Why, because genuine love fulfills the law and redeems the time. Look at verses 1 to 7 Paul was living under the most horrendous horrendous dictatorship of his day. It was the most vile dictatorship here saying that part of the believers witness is told by the law of the land and pay taxes.

Jesus in Matthew 2221 he said gives to Caesar's. What belongs to Caesar as a taxes and give to God what belongs to God. So here we see that love genuine love for God obeys the law of the land. In fact the only time it was permissible for the first century believers.

The first church, the only time is was permissible for them to disobey the law of the land and to disobey the government is when Caesar demanded worship at that point they said no God above Caesar and they were willing to pay the consequences. Verses 1 to 7.

Romans 13 tells us that we are basically foreigners in this land. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a foreigner you are the citizen of where you see we are representing our home country here on earth. Listen to me, beloved, here is my understanding had Paul lived in Western democracy, he would have said the following. Do you understand what privileged people you are. Do you understand that God gave you a unique opportunity to put people in power do you comprehend what an exquisite responsibility to have.

To be able to choose your government. Therefore, don't squander it. Therefore, don't take it for granted and therefore don't abuse it by not getting involved. Can I get a witness, not our personal belief, it is a sin not to vote.

It is a sin not to participate in one of the greatest privileges that God gave us as citizens in this democracy studied the candidates find out whether Stan asked him questions and then vote intelligently.

Having grown up under horrible dictatorship where election you have one candidate in office.

It's a referendum and you vote either for this dictator. You can say yes or no and if you voted no, these people are watching you and they don't follow you and the don't harass you and make your life miserable.

So consequently the results of always being 99.9%. That's what happens in dictatorship.

Now, having said that, this intimate I must hasten to say that we must vote for godly people who espouse godly policies and yet our hope must never be placed on politicians, our confidence must never be placed on those who are in power, our total trust must never be in a man any man, but our complete confidence trust and hope must be placed on our King of Kings and the Lord Jesus Christ. If you take your eyes off Jesus and place them on the government.

I can tell you, you will be discouraged and you will be disappointed on the Nazca to raise her hand but I'm tempted, when is the last time you pray for the leaders of our country, or listen.

I've read the other day that just before election time, every single prayer meeting around the nation is packed.

Two weeks later, not so much.

Everybody gone back to business as usual please listen to me. Don't ever forget that the founding fathers of this great country the United States have received audit the answer to their prayer when they humbled themselves and they prayed God heard them. And God answered them in the deliberation I give one example only in the Constitutional convention of 1787, which was called to revise existing articles of Confederation.

These men met for weeks, not for the hours not days for weeks. These delegates have searched and debated and examined all sorts of models of governments around the world in which one how we can modify it, which would work out best for us but after every debate ended up with frustration and ended up with the support that until Benjamin Franklin brought up and he began to speak regarding the lack of progress, and here's what he said. I'm quoting Word for Word in this situation of disassembly groping as it were in the dark defined political truth and scares able to distinguish it when presented to us. How has it happened, sir, that we have not had little once thought to humbly applying to the father of lights illuminate our understanding and then they prayed and God answered and he gave the blood that form what is called a perfect union now. Don't tell me that God did not answer them when he gave them the Constitution of the United States of America.

The most enlightened document that any nation ever hope to have why you think so many people who hate this country want to shred the Constitution what you think godless forces now coming out in the media and in politics and inmate phone and they mark godly leaders for their outstanding godliness and moral leadership. Listen to me. The heat of this battle must drive us first on knees and then give us the boldness to stand with good and godly leaders. Can I get an amen genuine love always obeys the law of the land. Genuine love must only be indebted oh indebtedness who said indebtedness is not good. But here's an indebtedness is really good indebtedness to God and to others when you make a statement and is going to startle some of you listen carefully.

Genuine Bible believing Christian lives in a state of perpetual spiritual indebtedness, a genuine Bible believing Christian lives in perpetual spiritual indebtedness and explained that what is that indebtedness it's an indebtedness to God's an indebtedness to God and prompts us to love him with all of our hearts and keep on loving him and then as his love keeps pouring into us. We love our neighbors as ourselves. But if you try to pay this debt yourself.

Listen to me. I've tried and failed miserably. If you shop I am going to love God will, I am going to do this and I'm going to do this you will only make few payments and then you become bankrupt during the financial world.

There are some who worked long and hard just to make that payment. Some paid only minimum payment on the credit cards and to the point where the becomes impossible to pay the debt. But when it comes to our debt to God when it comes to our debt to the Lord Jesus Christ and our debt to loving others. Only God can give you the resources by which you can pay that debt to God is an amazing he pours his resources into us.

He loves through us so that we can love others.

And here it is, the more you love God and others. The more God pours into you and the more he pours it into the more you pay it, the more he pours it into the more you pay it. In fact, here's a biblical principle that thousands of you know what I know around the world. Even the more you pay this debt. The more you exercise love toward God. The more you trust God to love through you. The more you love your neighbors. The more you love your friends only love you even your enemies, the more love for God is going to pour into you is like a silo. The more you take wheat grain from the seller.

Memo got closer from the top.

The moment you think that you can pay the debt yourself that you can love God with your own strength without his help without his pouring his love into you on a regular basis in a daily basis.

Trust me, the pictures are very pretty.

Because at that moment. Love will become less authentic, it will be fake and received all over the place.

See the definition of the world's love. You know that people have about love. When you discover love you good power is a problem that I've seen in the years through the years. There are some who confuse people pleasing with genuine, authentic biblical love people pleasers knock themselves out to please others see if the preachers you see written and ministries even you see it within knocking themselves out to please people just want to make them have the one about going to please them. Her why because they want to receive their applause. They do it because they want to gain praise of people but godly love is different because it is not emotional sir. Of love, godly love loves to serve without recognition godly love loves to exhort and warn godly love is willing to risk misunderstanding being misunderstood godly love is always telling the truth even when you know the person doesn't want to hear it godly love is fearless of criticism because godly love has only one source of strength and thus God the Holy Spirit. And when you are constantly receiving a continuous supply of love from the Lord that is ported to you when you allow God to love through you. When you're constantly opening yourself up to the pouring out of the love of the Holy Spirit in your life you will never ask foolish questions like the 10 Commandments relevant for today, over only for the Old Testament. You never ask foolish? That you'll never ask am I supposed to believe the 10 Commandments. Now that I live in the New Testament or should I ditch you never asked such questions. Those who asked that question within the 10 Commandments are relevant or not. Today they are preaching an old heresy that has been around for hundreds of years. Every now and again in every generation, he found somebody was clever to discover that Harrison preaches that it was a rule that the wonderful that's in smart grid thinking nothing new under the sun. Look at verse 10 of Romans 13, the love of God that is poured into our hearts will empower us to live. You notice I said not obey, but to live the 10 Commandments, not perfectly because only one Or more perfectly is the Lord Jesus Christ. So the question is to ask can I keep the 10 Commandments and think your mom is relevant or not.

Listen to what Jeremiah said when Jeremiah prophesied about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. When that day, he said I will write my Commandments on their hearts they not just gonna memorize them and mimic them just like the Pharisees of old. In the hearts said one answer silly questions were sugar by them or not, because you leaving them when you love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

You are living the 10 Commandments initially from the word of God when the love of God is poured into you and you love him with all of your heart, all of your mind with all of your strength when you do that you're not going to go out willy-nilly breaking the first five coming when you love God with all your heart. Listen to me you not going to try to worship other gods of the dead Godzilla can do that in a gonna keep idols in your life and place them above the Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed you with his blood, you not going to misuse or abuse. The name of the Lord.

I love the name of the Lord. I proclaim the name of the Lord as well as a hallowed be thy name is the first sentence after our father, not an abuse or misuse you will take a day of rest that day and what you focus on God eunuch under this honor the Sabbath that that's the day of worship. You will honor your father and mother, of course, you will see living, but then is God's love pours into you. He will enable you as he fills you to overflowing. He'll enable her to love even the unlovable when the love of God is going through you. When he is loving them through you and as a result, you gonna keep the second five Commandments, the other to keep this one. Keep the one that you living it in order to go around coveting people things is a well-organized temperament is what we don't have donkeys we we don't cover donkeys were sure that was their possession at the time recovered somebody's wife somebody's husband and somebody's possession somebody blessing that God gave them your love God you will love what God loves when you love God, you're going to want to please God. When you love God you want what God wants.

And at that point. When that is taking place you are going to be asking were even thinking of the 10 Commandments relevant for today. Should we ditch the 10 Commandments now.

This is people pleasing. This is not biblical truth because living and loving your neighbor as yourself receipt, love fulfills all the commandments. It completes the commandments just like Jeremiah said it's written on our hearts. We live now as you look in the next couple verses and before I start into them. I want to confess to you though so close to me, my family know this.

I've always had a sense of urgency in my life. I cannot explain it wise that sense of urgency ever since I was a boy since I came to Christ is a sense of urgency in my life. I always felt but time is a precious commodity not to be wasted or not to be squandered. That is why you will understand when I tell you that I can truly identify with Romans 13 versus 1112. I truly identify with these two verses. As I said, I always had the sense of urgency in this inexplicable many times.

The sense of urgency has caused me to be less patient than I should've been.

I know that I'm not proud of that.

That sense of urgency. I wanted to conform to the character of Christ that sense of urgency wanted me to reflect obedience to Christ and sometimes I wonder about it and in a hurried way in the wrong way you always have been as urgent in and loving and seeking the loss.

That's always been a burden of my heart I always been an urgent and encouraging and exalting believers to live a holy life and to conform to the image of Christ, of always been urgent in redeeming the moments and the opportunities that God has given the day when the leg menhaden walked into my office literally said, where I'm coming from Chattanooga and walked in there and he just point himself on the table and he said God told her to give you my television ministry. My wife and I been talking for years on the will be on television. This redhead over here actually there what you said you be on television over my dead body. When I said this to Brandon single that's your problem, goodbye left. Listen about being pelvic is an opportunity that's the opportunity, God provided, and I wanted to know if God is in it. I want opening it. Sadly, we live in a time when Christians have lost the sense of urgency. Now the word time here redeeming the time is talk about chronological time. That's not what word means a word means a period of time, your time you will target my time this period of time in which we live.

This opportunities that God presents to us that is so uniquely to each individual.

That's what the word time here means each of us must understand our time and redeeming the time and redeemed the opportunities that God presents to us in this time each of us must comprehend the uniqueness of the times and the opportunities in our lives that God presents us with each of us must cease the uniqueness of the time on the opportunities that he presents you first Chronicles chapter 12 verse 32. That's always aversive sticks in my spirit.

It says the men of Exeter. That's one of the tribes of Israel. The men of Exeter understood the times they understood the opportunities he understood the moment that God presents us and so uniquely for that period of time in that period of life in our lives. Sadly, the Pharisees and the religious leaders in Jesus day. They did not understand the times and the privileged times in which they lived, which they are seeing the son of God with their own eyes they did not understand the times they did not comprehend the awesomeness of God's presence in their midst. They did not redeem the time, I received Jesus as their Messiah. They did not comprehend the times of the redemption that God has talked about in every book of the Old Testament and remained in their spiritual blindness. The beloved.

Listen to me for a period of time, God will speak to you and I'm talking about everywhere you young and old. Doesn't matter for a period of time, God will speak to you for a period of time. God is going to push you for a period of time, God will present you with certain opportunities with your name written all over this not for your neighbor's not for your friend is not for your brother or sister is for you for a period of time God would be calling upon you for a period of time, God will open some doors just for you that no one can shut, but if you persist is a warning. If you persist in going and you're happy merry way.

That door is going to shut that voice.

This can be so faint that he will not be able to hear it will be horseback and you no longer hearing the voice of God and beloved those opportunities will cease to exist of never made a secret of the fact that the cry of my heart and Mrs. shingler cry is that I want to take as many people to heaven with me as I care. I want to take as many people to heaven. And then this is partly why when menhaden came and said God told me to give you what I said Lord.

Maybe this is the opportunities I never dreamed that the kingdom sat will be on hundred and 60 million homes in the Arab world. I did not know that at that moment, but God honored the desire I want to take as many people to heaven with me as he allows me to us a longing of my heart. Please the Lord of the things that needs to be done lot of good deeds that can be done, but none more important in my life than the great commission of Jesus Christ. It is my daily cry to God to give me men and women, boys and girls who discern the times we live in. It is the cry of my heart that God will give me men and women who are willing to redeem the times in which we live. Men and women who recognize the urgency for salvation and the opportunities for reaching the lost men and women who walk with me through these open doors, somebody wrote and said you know America has its clubs has its unions as is private groups of people joining one of the lesser-known is called the procrastination club you heard of it.

The requirement for membership is coming late to the meetings. A recent release from the procrastination club indicated once again that the announced predictions by their members have come to all of them because the forecasts always come in late after the fact. In fact, this club also having 500,000 members but being procrastinators.

Most of them have enjoined yet. Please don't be one of them. Please don't be one of you know and I know there are people who are forever waiting for a better time there waiting for a clear sign from God there waiting for a better day there waiting for more opportune time which never comes.

Verse 11 Romans 13 it is time to wake up from the sleep and diet has almost gone. Then the day is at hair. The day of your meeting the Lord Jesus Christ in the cloud could be today. The clouds will be the moment. You will either go see Jesus or Jesus comes to meet all of us. It doesn't matter that there is going to come sooner or later in the more you will prepare the better off you are.

It could be today. The some of you will go to heaven. It could be today that Jesus comes back from heaven. Either way, how should you live and what would you say to him when you see him face-to-face.

What you gonna say to him, are you going to say Lord I just didn't get around to doing what you asked me to do, Lord, you know my intentions were good Lord, I got so busy with life that I didn't get around witnessing to other ever seen people who are physically fully awake but the really sleep in the animal kingdom that is normal. In fact, I'm told that horses can happen sleep while the standing hippopotamus who sleeps as he floats in the water like the bats that meant hanging by their feet. The Bible tells us spiritual drowsiness will rule supreme just prior to the return of the Lord. Think about this.

Think about this. Judging from what I'm seeing. After Jesus return must be a really close. The Bible said that the sign of spiritual sweetness are as follows. The love of many will grow cold. People want be able to stand hearing the truth and I will run after people think of their ear and I don't want to hear the truth because the truth convicts and then on the convicted, turning away from biblical truth will be rampant and fashionable at the end times getting so bogged down with world affairs. Many will become spiritually know. Here are the symptoms of spiritual sleep. Listen carefully living for self self-indulgence, spiritual drunkenness with the world's why little concern. What concerns the Lord dividing and creating doubt in believers lives and sowing the seeds of discontent to loving and words only that have no depths of paying lip service to God than presuming upon his grace. Beloved this of the deeds of darkness. These are the deeds of darkness. Remember you belong to the day, shake off the night times in the night.

Sleep you belong to the light shake off the nightlife you belong to, watching and waiting. So open yourself up to the Holy Spirit. Do this with. This is a sign opening up to Holy Spirit, say I'm opening up to your Holy Spirit, he will come.

Don't be surprised. The time is urgent.

The word put on here is put on Christ is like you got up this morning for a close dress suit whatever you put on and when you put on your clothes when you go outside wherever you go, your clothes go with you right on Natalie my close over there they go with whatever I walk my close go with me whenever I drive my closer driving with me wherever I am more closed.

Go with me. That's what he means by putting on Christ because Christ is with you wherever you go, whatever circumstances you find yourself in whatever situation he whatever temptation you face.

Whatever you go around Christ. That's what he really needs to beloved the day is drawing near, faster and sooner than many of us think when the clouds will roll like a scroll and the trumpet will sound, and the child of the archangel and landlord beloved Jesus will appear in person.

The guy is coming and it might be nearer than we think. The me tell you this, as I conclude there was a fishing village and was renowned for serving as a lighthouse because lot of rocks around the shore and was a safe harbor. This part of the practice dangerous when ships break up on the rocks at night time, particularly the village was renowned for the rescuing spirit and immediately run out to rescue people when the siren sounded a group of men would immediately rush out to the scene of accident and that through the years that have rescued hundreds and hundreds of people.

After several years of dedication and alertness. The village managed to raise some money there money can be wonderful but sometimes if you don't use it as a blessing it can become a curse after several years of dedication they managed to raise enough money to build a rescuing station to enhance their operation. What could be more needed right a little time later this.

And some people to a training program so they be trained on how to do it better and faster as time went on, the added some comforts and conveniences and amenities to the building. Then they finished it with a lounge and a kitchen and a bar and sleeping quarters.

Finally it became a club where the town people came and gathered and relaxed their lobsters spell. Nobody responded they were reluctant to leave their comfortable circumstances and surroundings.

People would drown off the shore but no one seemed to notice beloved. This is a picture of the church of Jesus Christ around the world associate there some pockets in Indonesia and the Middle East in certain parts, but generally speaking, this is a picture of the church my God form that this happens to this church beloved. These are urgent days most urgent in my lifetime.

The war is no longer politely fought behind the scenes that used to be many years ago. Not not anymore.

Enemies is now out in the open, the gutter, sword drawn in the rainy. This is a time for us to go not into a spiritual sleep, but alertness redeeming the time, redeeming the time safe with me, Lord God, I don't presume on here are not only pray that I've only open your word and taught what's in your word. Anything that I said that is not of you make your people forget it, but everything that I said that is directly from your word live horn to every ears, every mind, every heart until we all shake off the sleep of the night and become awake and aware of the shortness of time and father I pray this in Jesus name. Thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael.

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