Gtcotr/ss040520
All
around the world today, we are at war …
·
We
are a world at war with the Coronavirus, CoViD19.
·
We
are a world at war with terrorism.
·
We
are a world at war with drugs.
·
We
are a world at war with poverty.
·
We
are a world at war with hunger.
·
We
are a world at war with depression and suicide.
·
We
are a world at war in our homes.
·
We
are a world at war in our schools.
·
We
are a world at war in our city streets,
Because
…
·
We are a world at war with God.
The
wars we face today cannot be won with carnal weapons.
The many wars we face in life can only be won if we surrender.
I
am not suggesting that you surrender to drugs, depression, divorce, division or
the devil’s desire to take away your joy and your peace and your security or
your life or the life of your loved ones with this current coronavirus.
However,
I am imploring you to surrender to the One Who can heal the leper; raise the
dead; cast out devils and save a soul from hell.
Surrender!
1.
Surrender to the Word of God
2.
Surrender to the Will of God
3.
Surrender to the Way of God
One
of the messages in the early chapters of the Book of Revelation paints a clear
picture of where we stand in the world today. It’s found in:
Revelation 4:1 After these
things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the
first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,
“Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
John
saw the future and he saw the things which would take place on the earth during
the Great Tribulation which is to come upon all the world.
John
was not in the tribulation period and neither are we. He wrote to us about a
coming day. When I read this verse my mind is drawn to the clear picture it
paints for us today … It’s the picture of an open heaven!
John saw a door standing open in heaven …
This
is a clear parallel to what Jesus said when He was speaking to His disciples
about the coming last days. Jesus said:
Matthew 24
36 “But of that day and hour
no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
37 “But as the days of Noah were,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
38 “For as in the days before
the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 “and did not know until
the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of
Man be.
The
door of the ark was standing open … there was an open opportunity for all who
heard and believed the message God had given through Noah … the door was open,
just like the door of heaven, right up to the moment God shut it.
The
world in Noah’s day was at war with God. Wickedness permeated the lives of
ungodly men who ruled the earth, and everyone imagined they were safe and
secure without God. When God finally had enough, and the set time had come, God
closed the door. It was yet another seven days before He judged the sin of this
world and destroyed the evil and those still at war with Him.
Genesis 6
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually.
6
¶ And the LORD was sorry that He had
made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I
have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and
birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 ¶ But Noah found grace in
the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a
just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with
God.
The
world in Noah’s day may have been evil and at war with God but Noah wasn’t. As
well, Noah evidently influenced his family greatly because not only did Noah go
through that open door of salvation, but so did Noah’s family.
Today
I have some good news and I have some bad news …
·
The Bad News – The world is at war with God …
·
The Good News – The door of heaven is still
standing open!
You
can still find grace in the eyes of the Lord and without respect to what you
are facing today or will face tomorrow, His grace is sufficient!
Today
I am asking you to humble yourself in the eyes of God and surrender your life,
your marriage, your health, your home and your hope to Him. He will never leave
you or forsake you … you can depend on God!
These
are the days God is giving us to work on ourselves and walk closer with Him … You can find Him in prayer!
