The Open Word (Audio)

Do you ever read the Bible and wonder how people can harden their hearts against God? Well, our consciences will actually get seared as we sin. One time will hurt us terribly. Then the pain of that sin will begin to subside as we do it more often. Soon, we don't even notice that we're doing it anymore. Pastor David wants us to be reaching out to people who are being hardened. We need to have compassion on them, and continue to share. We can't count anyone out! Our job is to share, not to judge!

It is almost unbelievable to read about how people turn away from God. He is so good and faithful. Many just don't believe in Him. But then when His wrath is poured out on the earth, there will still be people who purse their lips and shake their fists at Him. Pastor David wants us to share the Good News before it's too late. We can be used in saving so many people from torment! What's stopping us? Let's go out and share why we have that peace that surpasses understanding in an evil day and age.

We are warned in scripture about God's wrath being poured out on those who turn from Him. What Pastor David is urging us to do today is share the Good News! No one has to go through that torment. We are all given ample time and information to choose whether we accept the Lord or not. We have the anecdote to a very severe plague that's about to come our way. WHY would we keep it to ourselves? WHY are we not sharing with urgency? We need to save as many people as possible before it's too late.

Satan wanted to be equal with God, so God kicked him out of heaven along with his followers. Today we hear the part of the story where a key was sent with him. Pastor David want us to take Satan and his power seriously. He was given the key to the bottomless pit, and he is seeking people to destroy. We need to be prepared with the Word of God. We WILL have trials and opposition. We would be wise to take it seriously and be prepared for it. What can we each do today to prepare ourselves?

There is going to come a time where no amount of preparation will be enough. Man is given ample information about God. The Gospel is being shared now more than ever before, thanks to electronics and the internet. Pastor David is highlighting today how even the most prepared person will be on their knees. The only thing that we need to be doing to get ready for the last days is to accept Jesus. If we seek first the Kingdom of God, all the rest of the stuff will fall into place. Without Him it falls apart.

We're only given a certain amount of time here on earth. That means that the Gospel is an emergency! We need to accept Jesus right now if we haven't yet. We're not guaranteed even another second! We also need to be sharing the Gospel with others. This could be their last day on earth. What we share with them could be the deciding factor on where they go when they step into eternity. Pastor David is urging us to make the right choices with this, because when our time is up, it's UP!

Have you ever experienced a calm before a storm? It can be almost eerie how still everything is. Pastor David is likening that calm to the quiet that happened in Revelation. There was intense worship happening, and then sudden quiet. We're tossing around the idea today that the stillness may be the quiet before the storm that's coming from the Lord. God's Word is so fascinating, and it never ceases to keep us on our toes. As we listen in we can be thankful for what foreknowledge we're given.

As we come before the Lord in worship, do we get easily distracted? Maybe there's a small child crying, a person in the front waiving their hands around, or the usual off beat clapper. Pastor David wants to remind us that worship is a choice. We can choose to enter into communion with our Lord no matter what is happening around us. We choose to allow, those things to be distractions to us. So, next time we're in that situation, let's not let Satan be victorious over us with his nonsense antics!

Have you ever visited a church and were just blown away by how deep into worship the congregation was? Pastor David desires the same to be said for all of us. When someone comes to visit our church, would they be taken by our utter worship of God? We should want to be in that place. If we're already there and we're getting the sweetest communion possible, that's wonderful. But if not, let that be our prayer. We don't have to be a titan of faith to be close to our Lord, and know Who He is!

Do you ever read through the Bible and wonder why the Lord is so specific about numbers and measurements? Pastor David is still not sure why, but we can take some guesses! Maybe God is so specific so that when Biblical prophesy comes to pass, it lines up to the exact number or measurement stated. Thankfully the Lord knows everything so that we don't have to. We may get to Heaven and find out everything, or we may never know the reasons. We can just trust in Him and continue on our paths.