Isaiah 8:11-13 NET “Indeed this is what the Lord told me quite forcefully. He warned me not to act like these people: 12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified. 13 You must RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF THE LORD OF HEAVEN’S ARMIES. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.”

What great advice. If you read the context of the above passage (read Isaiah chapter 8) you will see there was impending doom coming on the people. It was sent by God Himself because of their rebellion. Destruction, great fear, darkness, anguish, hunger, etcetera was prophesied to come as a result of their apostasy. And when the people would become hungry and are starving God said they will look up to heaven and curse Him. Not look down on themselves and curse their unfaithfulness and curse their rebellion. (Isaiah 8:21) Sounds familiar?🤔

Revelation‬ ‭16:8-11‬ ‭NET‬‬ “Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was permitted to scorch people with fire. Thus people were scorched by the terrible heat, yet THEY BLASPHEMED the name of GOD, WHO HAS RULING AUTHORITY OVER THESE PLAGUES, and they would not repent and give him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain. THEY BLASPHEMED THE GOD OF HEAVEN because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless THEY STILL REFUSED TO REPENT of their deeds.”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

God told His faithful prophet Isaiah not to fear what everyone else was fearing, and not to call a conspiracy all that they called a conspiracy. Only fear God Isaiah was told, and it’s what we’re being told today. There are so many conspiracy theories out there about what’s going on. Some of the information is true, but it is, “GOD, WHO HAS RULING AUTHORITY OVER THESE PLAGUES,” not the Illuminati, or any secret society. (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 Isaiah 45:7)

Death, doom, darkness, anguish, great fear, mourning, fire, and famine has been prophesied throughout scripture to come upon the wealthiest parts of the world in the last days. (Revelation 18:8-11) Why? For the same reason it happened in Isaiah’s day: mankind’s great rebellion against God. You don’t keep giving the middle finger day after day year after year to The Creator Of Heaven And Earth and expect nothing to happen.🤔

You and I dear church need to FEAR GOD AND GIVE HIM GLORY! And fear nothing else! Acknowledge, “GOD, WHO HAS RULING AUTHORITY OVER THESE PLAGUES.” Recognize the time of the end we are living in, it was foretold long ago. (Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13, Luke chapter 21) Now it is here!😊

Luke‬ ‭21:28‬ ‭NET‬‬ “But when these things begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”😃‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
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Proverbs 2:14 KJV “Who REJOICE TO DO EVIL, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked.”

Proverbs 6:14 KJV “Frowardness is in his heart, he DEVISETH MISCHIEF CONTINUALLY; he soweth discord.”

Cunning is the talent of the weak, lazy, froward person. Do not underestimate them just because you can easily see through them. They are ALWAYS plotting evil ALL THE TIME. They are always planning someone’s downfall, especially the righteous. They use artful evil tricks because they are weak and lazy; they have no other power. I’ve met people with noticeable physical and mental disabilities who were the most wicked people ever! Oh how they know how to play the victim role; the, “feel sorry for me,” game in front of others. They grated folks while nobody was looking hoping to get a retaliatory response so that when others did look they would say, ‘Why is he/she picking on that weaker person?’🤔

The perverse, weak, lazy person has no real power which is why they must solicit the services of others in their attacks. They may be weak and lazy but they have experience at mischief and deceiving others. DO NOT underestimate them. And .…..

DON’T RETALIATE

When you and I retaliate in anger at the wicked oddly enough they look to be in the right. We’re the ones whose hot anger is on display. No, no one saw what he/she did or said to you first. All they see is us throwing a tantrum. This makes the wicked person rejoice inside. Sometimes they’ll even look at us with an evil smirk once they’ve gotten us all riled up; “Mission accomplished, all too easy,” is what they say to themselves. But we don’t have to play and lose at that game. Remember, the person who responds in anger loses:

James 1:20 NIV “Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

Proverbs 15:1 NIV “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Ephesians 6:12 KJV “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”👽

THE UNSEEN ENEMY

One of the first steps to dealing with any problem is being able to see the problem. You and I aren’t simply dealing with wicked human beings here. We are battling evil, wicked, unseen spirit forces!👽 These are the main reason why we should never underestimate our enemies. The people are merely puppets of these unseen evil forces. Once we recognize this sleight of hand it becomes easier to deal with contentious people, because we are aware of what’s going on. The Bible says, ‘The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger.’ (Proverbs 19:11)

We may even find ourselves praying for our human foes as Jesus commands us to. Then our reactions to the goading of our enemies becomes totally different, totally opposite of what they were expecting: WRATH! In fact our foes become bewildered and blown away by the fact that their voodoo isn’t working on us; they can’t make us mad.😡 This brings praise to God as our mild tempered conduct witnesses to them and others. It shows them and others that God’s power is way more powerful than their wicked influences. Some figure out exactly why their witchcraft isn’t working on us: JESUS!😊

Matthew 5:43-48 NET “You have heard that it was said, ‘ Love your neighbor ’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, LOVE YOUR ENEMY and PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU, so that you may BE LIKE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they? So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”😊

It is demons who are behind wicked, annoying human beings. It is mainly they who are trying to get us to NOT, ‘BE LIKE OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.’ See the trick?👽 If they can use human puppets and get us to hold grudges, live in anger, unforgiveness, wrath, hatred, etcetera, they win! (Matthew 6:14-15) They have successfully gotten us to throw away our own souls. Let’s be smart. Let’s ‘BE LIKE OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.’ Let’s have mercy on people who have been taken captive by the devil, hoping that God will grant them repentance and salvation. (2 Timothy 2:25-26) The reward is oh so great.😊

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Proverbs 21:1 KJV “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

God has ultimate control over what all kings on earth can and cannot do. They may think they are in control but are not! Throughout scripture we see kings even those who came against God’s people who were doing exactly what God maneuvered them to do, sometimes to their own demise:

Proverbs 26:27 KJV “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”

Remember when Pharaoh’s army went after the Israelites into the Red Sea? Remember how that turned out?

Exodus 14:23-29 KJV “And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. [24] And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, [25] And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. [26] And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. [27] And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. [28] And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. [29] But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”

The same thing will happen to spiritual Egypt for their hatred of God and His people. The stage is already set. Encourage one another with these words.😃 Fear God! Not Pharaoh’s army.

Revelation 16:12-16 ESV “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called ARMAGEDDON.

2 Thessalonians 2: 9-11 ESV “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

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Proverbs 28:13 NIV “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

When a child misbehaves a loving parent will discipline them. We do things like put them in timeout, we take away their toys, we tell them they can’t go to the school dance, etcetera. We put them on punishment. We are trying to get their attention. We’re trying to get them to change their bad behavior. Why? Because we know if they do not change their present course it will ruin them further down the road. Is that not what is now happening to us? Worldwide it certainly feels like we are all on punishment. We can’t go to the school dance (or public entertainment events). All of our toys are being systematically taken away. We’re being put in timeout (quarantined). We can’t go outside and play with our friends anymore like we use to. Our joy has turned into gloom.😪

Have we not been grounded? Are we not on punishment? The next two questions can help you answer these questions but only if you answer them honestly: HAVE WE (the human race) BEEN MISBEHAVING? DO WE DESERVE PUNISHMENT?😢

Isn’t it an act of love for God to give people a WAKE UP CALL instead of just annihilating all of us?🤔

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! WAKE UP FROM YOUR SLEEP AND REPENT BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!

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Jeremiah 2:19 GNT “Your own evil will punish you, and your turning from me will condemn you. You will learn how bitter and wrong it is to abandon me, the Lord your God, and no longer to remain faithful to me. I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken.””

If I walk down the street and give the middle finger to everyone that passes me by what kind of reactions do you think I would get? Everything from cursing out to a beating. There’s a chance I might even get killed. Now if I do this to God, that’s right, if I repeatedly give God the middle finger all day long, what kind of response do you think I would get? Better yet if not only I, but if I and millions of other people gave God the middle finger🖕all at the same time, what kind of response do you think we would get? Better yet, if I and BILLIONS of people all gave God the middle finger every day, all day long, year after year, what kind of response do you think we would deserve? Some will say, “There is no God!” And I will say you just gave Him the middle finger 🖕again.

If God decided one day to give us the middle finger back could we handle it? Could we take it? Are we stronger than He is? Wake up people! Wake up from your sleep! You know why certain things are going on. Play dumb all the way to hell if you want to. Or better yet, repent:

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed [Jesus]. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

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Romans 12:3 NLT “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: DON’T THINK YOU ARE BETTER THAN YOU REALLY ARE. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

Proverbs 8:13 HCSB “To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I HATE ARROGANT PRIDE, evil conduct, and perverse speech.”

When we look at ourselves what do we see? A really strong Christian? One who really knows the Bible well? Or do we see a powerful prayer warrior? Do we see the world’s greatest charitable giver? Even if these things are true we only have them because of God’s power; His grace and mercy. So how can any of us boast?

If we really examine ourselves honestly don’t we see someone who needs more patience? Do we not see someone who gets too angry sometimes? Don’t we see someone who needs to be more loving? Don’t we see someone who is way too judgmental at times? Don’t we see someone who needs to be more merciful? Do we see someone who needs to tell the truth more often? Do we see someone who needs to be more giving? Do we see someone who needs to get better control over our lusts? Do we see a person who should spend more time in prayer? More time studying God’s word? More time sharing the gospel message with others? If what we see when we look in the mirror is a good person we have missed the boat. Jesus explains it this way:

Luke 18:9-14 ESV “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.””

Notice the guy who knew he had issues, who knew he was a sinner simply pleaded with God for mercy and was declared righteous or justified. The other guy had a good track record of works but a bad attitude. The tax collector’s track record wasn’t good at all but his repentant attitude was. So when we look at ourselves honestly which one of these guys do we look like? Do we think we have it all together like the Pharisee and put others down? Or do we see our own shortcomings realizing we’re no better than anybody else and beg God for His mercy? It’s easy to fall into the trap of pride like the Pharisee especially when you’ve kicked some bad habit, or you never had the addictions or bad habits others have.

PAUL THE LEAST OF ALL THE APOSTLES

One thing I find interesting about Paul the apostle is how he viewed himself. Even though he knew that Jesus had already forgiven him for his sins he still saw himself as least of all the apostles:

1 Corinthians 15:9 NLT “For I AM THE LEAST OF ALL THE APOSTLES. In fact, I’M NOT EVEN WORTHY TO BE CALLED AN APOSTLE after the way I persecuted God’s church.”

Paul kept it real. He knew he didn’t deserve his privileged office as an apostle. He knew that it was ONLY BY GOD’S GRACE that he did anything in the Lord:

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 ESV “But BY THE GRACE OF GOD I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though IT WAS NOT I, BUT THE GRACE OF GOD that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”

Paul wasn’t in competition with the other apostles. He credited God’s grace for his fruitful ministry. Do we have the same humble view of whatever we do in the Lord? Or do we think we deserve to be ministers of God because of what theologian schools we went to, (Acts 4:13) what pastor we studied under, (1 Corinthians 1:11-13) or how well we think we know the scriptures? (1 Corinthians 8:1-3 1 Corinthians 13:1-10)

When we look at ourselves what do we see, honestly? Hopefully we see a wretched human being in need of God’s grace and mercy. Hopefully we see someone who needs to repent. Hopefully when we look in the mirror all we see is people who need to be more like Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 ESV “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

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