Monday, October 17, 2011

Nation Will Rise Against Nation




Matthew 24:7-8

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."

Arab Spring - Wikipedia

"The Arab Spring (Arabic: الربيع العربي‎; also known as the Arabic Rebellions or the Arab Revolutions) is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world. Since 18 December 2010 there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt; a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its regime; civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen; major protests in Israel, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara. Clashes at the borders of Israel in May 2011 have also been inspired by the regional Arab Spring.

The protests have shared techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches and rallies, as well as the use of social media to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and internet censorship.

Many demonstrations have also met violent responses from authorities, as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators. A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world has been Ash-sha`b yurid isqat an-nizam ("The people want to bring down the regime")."

Greece



"The 2010–2011 Greek protests are an ongoing series of demonstrations and general strikes taking place across Greece. The protests, which began on 5 May 2010, were sparked by plans to cut public spending and raise taxes as austerity measures in exchange for a €110 billion bail-out, aimed at solving the 2010–2011 Greek debt crisis. Three people were killed on the 5 May protests, one of the largest in Greece since 1973. Protest activity has escalated since then, leading to widespread social unrest and anti-government sentiment." (Wikipedia)

Spain



"The 2011 Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement or the Spanish revolution, are a series of ongoing peaceful demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks and Real Democracy NOW (Spanish: Democracia Real YA) among other civilian digital platforms and 200 other small associations. Compared with the Arab Spring and May 1968 in France, it started on 15 May with an initial call in 58 Spanish cities." (Wikipedia)

Portugal



"The 2011 March Portuguese protests, also referred to as the Geração à Rasca (Portuguese for desperate generation) protests or Movimento 12 de Março was a series of protests in over 10 cities of Portugal over the economic crisis in Portugal." (Wikipedia)

England



"The 2011 anti-cuts protest in London, also known as the March for the Alternative, was a demonstration held in central London on 26 March 2011. Organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was a protest march against planned public spending cuts by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that was formed in May 2010.

Various sources estimated that the demonstration was attended by between 250,000 and 500,000 people. It was described as the largest protest in the United Kingdom since the 15 February 2003 anti-Iraq War protest and the largest union-organised rally in London since the Second World War." (Wikipedia)

America



"Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park on Wall Street. Instigated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters, the protests were inspired by the Arab Spring movement, especially Cairo's Tahrir Square protests, and the Spanish Indignants.

The participants are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, as well as the power and influence of corporations, particularly from the financial service sector, and lobbyists over government. By October 9, similar demonstrations were either ongoing or had been held in 70 major cities and over 600 communities in the U.S. Internationally other "Occupy" protests have modeled themselves after Occupy Wall Street." (Wikipedia)

"And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Matthew 24:44

"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Sheltering Under His Wings,
Tyrone

Thursday, October 6, 2011

International Day Of Prayer For The Persecuted Church Nov. 13th 2011

Join with us as we pray for the families of those who have been martyred for Christ and for the persecuted people of God. In many restricted nations and even here in America, Christians are being killed, beaten, imprisoned, and persecuted for the name of Jesus.

                                              Will you pray?









Matthew 24:9

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake."





In His Love,
Tyrone & Cynthia Palmer 


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Are Judgments On You?

Matthew 7:1-5

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

These scriptures are some of the most convicting found in the New Testament and if you profess to be a Christian, but go around looking at the speck's in your brother or sister's eye, and passing judgment upon them, you can know with all certainty that the truth Jesus spoke right here will be applied to you!

The Greek definition of the word 'judge' used here is:

2919. krino kree'-no properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:--avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.

The quickest way to bring judgment upon yourself is to judge somebody else with unrighteous judgment and condemn them for something they did wrong or for the words they spoke.

Paul writes a strong admonishment for those who judge others.

Romans 2:1-4

"Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?"

James 4:11-12

"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Condemned means:

2613. katadikazo kat-ad-ik-ad'-zo from 2596 and a derivative of 1349; to adjudge against, i.e. pronounce guilty:--condemn.

Those who are saints of God shouldn't even let one corrupt word come out of their mouths!

Ephesians 4:29

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers."

There are also many examples in scripture of the judgments of God, but let's take a look at how God brings His judgments on a few individuals.

First case in point, king Saul. He was anointed by Samuel to be the first king of the children of Israel, but after rebellion against God the kingdom was torn from him and given to David. Because of Saul's disobedience to the direct commands of God, the Lord sent an evil spirit upon him (judgment), and he was eventually killed in battle.

1st Samuel 16:14-23

"But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him.” Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him."

Another case of God's judgment was on the king of Assyria Sennacherib, who sent his messenger to Jerusalem speaking boastful false words against Hezekiah, and the people of Jerusalem, he also spoke blasphemies against God. Sennacherib, through his messenger offered the people a bargain to make peace with him. (Read Isaiah 36)

Isaiah 37:1-7

"And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

Here a few examples of God's judgments in the New Testament.

Acts 5:1-11

"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things."

Acts 13:6-12

"Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord."

2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

God's judgment is real and it comes upon nations and people; many bring judgment upon themselves. If you have ever judged anyone or spoken evil against a brother or sister in Christ, you need to repent. If you are experiencing confusion of the mind, distress, fear, anxiety, delusion, bouts of uncontrollable anger etc.. you may have the judgments of God upon you. Pray to the Lord if this is happening in your life and ask Him why you are experiencing these things and when He answers act accordingly!

I pray this message has enlightened and edified you.

In Jesus Name,
Tyrone

Thursday, September 15, 2011

What Does It Mean To Believe?

John 3:16-18, 35-36

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone  believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “The one believing into Him is not judged; but the one not believing has already been judged; for he has not believed into the name of the only begotten Son of God."

"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. The one believing into the Son has everlasting life; but the one disobeying the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

The promise of God to those who believe in the Son is very clear for us all, so what does it really mean to believe according to the scriptures?

The first thing we have to do is get the Greek definition for the word 'believe' used here, then we can get a better understanding of what the scriptures are saying to us today.

G4100  pisteuō  pē-styü'-ō Believe, commit unto, commit to (one's) trust, be committed unto, be put in trust with, be commit to one's trust, Believer (BLB)

4100. pisteuo pist-yoo'-o from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with. (SGL)

Vine's Expository Dictionary

Belief, Believe, Believers:

"to believe," also "to be persuaded of," and hence, "to place confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence. It is most frequent in the writings of the Apostle John, especially the Gospel. He does not use the noun (see below). For the Lord's first use of the verb, see Jhn 1:50. Of the writers of the Gospels, Matthew uses the verb ten times, Mark ten, Luke nine, John ninety-nine. In Act 5:14 the present participle of the verb is translated "believers."  (See COMMIT, INTRUST, TRUST.)

Believe - Part Of Speech - Verb

Definition of VERB

":a word that characteristically is the grammatical center of a predicate and expresses an act, occurrence, or mode of being, that in various languages is inflected for agreement with the subject, for tense, for voice, for mood, or for aspect, and that typically has rather full descriptive meaning and characterizing quality but is sometimes nearly devoid of these especially when used as an auxiliary or linking verb." (MW)

Now that we have some more understanding of the word 'believe' from these excellent study tools, we can see that John meant far more than mere mental agreement or intellectual acknowledgement of Jesus and the scriptures.

Believe in the true sense and original Greek definition of the word means to commit to, have faith in, be committed to, be put in trust with. The kind of belief that Jesus and John is talking about here is a heart felt commitment and trust in the Savior of the world, this belief requires us to take action and obey the commands of Jesus Christ.

Now let's insert a few of the definitions for the word 'believe' into the quoted passages and see what we get.

John 3:16-18, 35-36

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone (committing) to Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “The one (who trusts) in Him is not judged; but the one not (committing) has already been judged; for he has not (put faith) into the name of the only begotten Son of God."

"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. The one (committing) to the Son has everlasting life; but the one disobeying the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

This gives us a much better understanding of what John was really saying, now doesn't it!? It does for me!!!!

While I was searching for more messages about what it means to believe I ran across a very well written piece by Oswald J Smith that uses some great analogies to convey this truth we are learning here. I'll share one of them with you.

Trust Implies Committal

"I think the best illustration is that of the marriage ceremony. Here is a young man who is keeping company with a young woman. For some considerable time they go together. At least they should. At last he asks the all-important question and she says, "Yes." Now they are engaged.

Now this young man makes a great many promises and the young woman believes he means what he says. After a while her girl friends come along and they ask her some questions. "We understand," they say, "that this young man of yours has promised you a home." "Yes, he has," replies the young woman. "And he has promised you clothes and food. Now tell us, do you have the home?" "Oh no," she exclaims, "I do not. I am still living with my parents." "What about the food?" they continue. "Does he supply your food?" "Why no, of course not," she responds, "except when we go to the restaurant, and then sometimes I pay the bill." "What about clothes? Has he given you any clothes?" "No, he has not," the young woman answers; "my parents still buy my clothes." "And yet you believe the young man," they exclaim. "Yes, I do," she answers. "I believe every word. I have no doubt of any kind."

There comes a never-to-be-forgotten day when the young man stands at the front of the church facing the minister, first on one foot, then on the other. Never in his life has he stood so long before. It seems an age. At last to the strains of the wedding march the young woman on the arm of her father comes slowly, oh, so slowly, down the aisle. Every eye is fastened on her. There is plenty of time for everyone to admire her wedding gown. At last she reaches the front and stands beside the man of her choice. The minister asks one or two very important questions: "Wilt thou?" And she "wilts". And then something happens that has never happened before, and I want you to mark, if you will, very carefully, my phraseology. For the first time in her life she gives herself over, she hands herself to, she commits herself to, she trusts the young man. Taking his arm, she now leaves the church in his protection. Never again will she have to work. He is now responsible for her and it is up to him to look after her. Her worries are over. He must provide for her.

A little later her girl-friends approach her again. "Well," they ask, "has he given you a home?" "Oh yes," she exclaims, "we are now living together in our own home." "What about the food?" "Yes, he pays the grocery bills and the butcher bills. He provides the food." "And what about clothes?" "Yes, he is buying my clothes—not as many as I want, but all that I need. Indeed he is looking after everything."

**Excerpt taken from 'What Does It Mean To Believe?' by Oswald J. Smith**

Have you really believed in Jesus Christ? Have you given yourself over to the Bridegroom? Have you entrusted your very soul into the hands of the only one who can save you from death and hell? Have you truly committed yourself to Jesus and decided to obey His commands wholeheartedly?

He's waiting for you my friend, with arms wide open, won't you go to Him while there is still time?

In Jesus Name,
Tyrone