Sunday, March 28, 2010 - Northeast & Northwest Regions

 

Announcements – Bruno
1 Chr 29:10-15
Dustin & Christina engaged

Communion - Chip Tanner
Jesus' blood unified us
1 John 4:4-6  he's greater
Rom 13 - politics - must submit to governing authorities
opinions are like noses, everyone has one
racism & segregation
we are people in the spirit of truth
only 1 color - red - Jesus' blood
if you're white and only reach out to whites, check your heart
Acts - from 1 man, God made all men
different cultures, heritages
God gave us these
But when you walk in the spirit of truth, must not walk as the world does
2 Cor 5:16-18
ministry of reconciliation
Rom 12:2  be transformed
1 Cor 1:10  no divisions, perfectly united
Matt 28:18-20   all nations
reach out to everybody
Chip's house church - very diverse, someone born from every continent except Antarctica
Dt 28:1-4 fully obey
Christ on the Cross between 2 thieves, they were getting what they deserved
He forgave them
He was unifying them even on the cross
Are we unified in Christ?

 

Ron Drabot -- Revelations 8, 9, 10
1st Century Christians suffering intensely
Beast = Roman Empire and emperors
This does relate to you and I today

 

Rev 8:1   7th seal, 7 trumpets
trumpets used in Eze 3:33  Israelites used trumpets as a warning
The apostle John is seeing this vision
silence in heaven
Hab 2:20  silent before God
when you go in the presence of God, it is awesome;  all are taken aback
vs. 3  prayers of the people going up before God
with prayer:   God's delays are not  God's denials
He will act when it is time
Four angels sound the trumpets - God brings warnings to Rome in Rev 8:6-12
1/3 of the earth; 1/3 of the sea; 1/3 of the water; 1/3 of the sky is dark

 

Rev 9:1   this star is Satan
he has the key to hell
Rev 9:2-3   locusts come from the earth
during locust plagues, nothing is left in it's path, they eat everything green
vs. 4  the locusts are told not to harm the plants, but the people who are not disciples
smoke is the delusion of sin and lies of this world
locusts are the consequence of sin to the unbelievers

 

Chap 8 = natural calamity
Chap 9 = internal corruption, consequences of sin

 

When you live for yourself, internal corruption and depression, suicide, selfish, don't trust others
Second half of Chapter 9, God uses war to humble all of us
Rome thought they were invincible
Their enemies were the Parthians, a warrior people, they brought Rome down in combination with their own corruption

 

Chapter 10
John given a scroll to eat - sweet, then bitter
This is God's word
when we first see God's word, it is sweet, it sets us free
when we don't obey it and others won't respond, it's bitter

 

Chapter 11
2 witnesses
two means strength, power in two
these witnesses need to keep preaching (the church)
the Christians have a great impact on the world, even though Rome kills the Christians
the witnesses are brought back to life to be with God forever
no person can do it their own way
we will all be judged by God

 

in Chapter 8, silence in heaven
doesn't God give us the same warnings today?
God is awesome and we need to fill our soul, heart and mind with God's awesome power
simple things - sunrise, sunset - we take it for granted, the earth spins on it's axis 1000 mph
the earth is hurling through the sky around the sun
Psalm 19:1 the heavens declare the glory of God
we need to stop in our hustle and bustle and look at the stars, stand in awe of God
there are hundreds of billions of galaxies and stars
we have 200-400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy;  Andromeda galaxy has over 1 trillion stars (according to Wikipedia)
we have seen only 10% of the distant galaxies - scientists missed 90%
God's creation is incredible

 

Ron's conversion, the University of South Florida, Steve Rosenbaum lived on his floor, an atheist.  Ron studied with him, convincing him there is a God - a design implies a designer

 

Nikola Tesla has 100 U.S. patents, the invention he is most famous for is bringing electrical current into your home
Every single thunderstorm, he would sit at the window and he would give God a standing ovation for every thunder and lightning.   He would stand in awe every single time.
At any moment there are 2000 thunderstorms going on.   8,000 plus thunder strikes per day

 

Psalms 29:1-7  the voice of the Lord is powerful
we go through so much in life, we become so worldly
we forget how awesome God is

 

the human being, it's mind boggling
according to Ron:   men are like waffles, they compartmentalize, they live in 1 square at a time
women are like spaghetti, they go all over the place, they all connect and touch each other and it all makes sense to a woman
We are complicated beings, the body inhales oxygen, purifies toxins, circulates blood, produces hormones, exhales carbon dioxide and so much more, all at the same time
Trillions of chemical reactions are happening in your body
The left brain is logical; the right brain is creative; but multiple divisions in each side of the brain
The Amygdala processes emotions
the nose can detect 1 millionth of 1 mg of garlic in the air; the average nose can detect 70,000 odors

 

we need to stand in awe of God's creation
To love God with all your heart, you love what God loves and hate what God hates
To love with all your soul, fill yourself up with him
To love with all your mind, you learn all you can about God

 

In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius shook with a huge earthquake, the mountain's top split open and a monstrous cloud raced upward. The inhabitants of Pompeii were showered with ash, stones, and pumice. A river of mud was beginning to bury the city of Herculaneum.   There is fossilized evidence of entire bodies preserved in the lava.  
God sent these warnings to humble Rome.   God sends them today. 
He allows natural calamities still to come.   He tells disciples it will not harm you, even if you die, because we will live with God forever.  
In Chili, no disciples lost their homes.   In Haiti, so many lost their homes, even the church building was destroyed, but the baptistery remained.   They now have water, medical supplies, tents.   The kingdom rallied to help them out.   $100,000 given by New York City church.   $8,000 given by Charlotte Church.   People are helping from all over. 

 

Baptizing in Haiti - one woman stuck under the wreckage, broken leg, couldn't get out, prayed "God, if I ever get out of here, I will heed your warning, I will live for you all the rest of my days".   The disciples found her, she was the mother of a disciple.  
When you heed the warnings of  God, you listen to the messages God is sending.  
How sweet it is when people respond to the word.   How bitter when they don't. 
Often it seems like the enemy is winning.   In the New York City church, 500 were baptized and restored last year. 
In the Jakarta church, disciples there baptized their granddad at 100 years old.  
A man was baptized, his wife had been a disciple for 23 years, in prayer the whole time for him.   He died 6 days later.

 

Though tough things are going on in life, God is still working.   Tough times are warnings, tests.   Hang in there, God loves you. 
We know how the movie ends, God's victory.   There is 1 church worldwide, serving the one incredible God.   Let's make history together and give glory to God.