Sunday, March 29, 2020

Fear and a Mind like Christ What Tomorrow Brings


Fear and a Mind like Christ
What Tomorrow Brings
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Today I would like to talk to you about fear, anxiety, worry, stress.

This issue is really a matter of trust and faith.

Fear, anxiety, worry and stress is basically putting your trust and faith into what “could possibly happen”, usually worst case scenario, instead of putting your trust in faith in the Lord who looks after you.

We struggle between our carnal mind (our flesh) and having a “Mind like Christ” (our Spiritual Thinking and Understanding) Philippians 2:5-8.

Our carnal mind is controlled by our perceptions;
  • Paradigms formed through life
  • Our education
  • Our upbringing
  • Our social class and financial status
  • Our experiences (good and bad)
  • Our geographical location
  • Our governmental practices and their effects (ie socialist, communism, etc)

These factors determine our paradigms, which rule over our Perception of everything we see, hear, read and think.

Our perception creates our “reality”, which is not reality itself, but our understanding of it.

EXAMPLE: A wild dog comes into your yard, hungry and afraid. It has a “perception” of reality, that humans are mean, cruel, dangerous. So this dog forms a paradigm to steer clear of humans. His perception is his reality.

You see the dog, and put food outside for it and after a while the dog beings to change his paradigm, not because he is more intelligent than before, or some magical event took place, but because he had NEW insight, a human being kind, caring and safe.

Because the dogs understanding was changed his “reality” changed.

We are all in need of paradigm shifts. Changes in our understanding that will change our perception thus change our reality.

The scriptures tell us our thinking is wrong because it was created through a series of things and experiences that formed the paradigms in our carnal minds. We live in a sinful world surrounded by wickedness, which forms our perceptions and creates a reality that is not the greatest.

Because we see our broken reality around us, we can become fearful, which leads to worry about the “what-ifs”, which leads to stress and causes anxiety.

Philippians 2:5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…”

Jesus wants us to have a “mind like Him”, or in other words, take the NEW information of His teachings, and destroy the paradigms keeping you from living a joyful and blessed life free from the bondage of fear, anxiety and depression.

We “get” this new information by reading the Word of God, Prayer, fellowship with other believers, one on one time with the Lord.

The Lord says, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you.” Matthew 7:7-8

The “ask, seek and knock” is OUR responsibility, the Lord’s promise is “it will be given to you, you will find, and the door will be opened”, and the blessing of our obedience to asking, seeking and knocking is the receiving, the finding and the doors being opened.

And remember, What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open! (Revelation 3:7)

As a man thinks in his heart, so he becomes (Proverbs 23:7)

TODAY’S SERMON – FEAR AND A MIND LIKE CHRIST
What Tomorrow Brings



SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 6:25-36
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


  1. JESUS SAYS “DO NOT WORRY”
    1. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life
      1. The thought here covers all aspects of your life
      2. Bills, work, buying, eating, sicknesses, viruses, etc.
      3. All the things that your life is comprised of

    1. What you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
      1. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?


    1.  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
      1. Remember this…does worry “add” good to your life?

  1. WHAT WILL YOUR WORRYING BRING YOU?
    1. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 
      1. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 
      2. Food, drink, clothes, representing the “physical materialistic things of this world”
      3. The Pagans (those without the Lord) chase materialistic things.
      4. However, Jesus tells us in verse 23 that life is “more than these things”


    1. What is there other than material things?
      1. Things that are more precious than material things;
        1. Love
        2. Peace
        3. Forgiveness
        4. Security
        5. Health
        6. Friendships


    1. So how do you ‘receive’ them?
      1. Jesus tells us;
        1. seek first his kingdom 
          1. Meaning a relationship with Christ
          2. Seeking the Kingdom of God, putting it first
        2. and his righteousness,
          1. Meaning to seek a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord
          2. Obedience to His word unlocks the benefits of the Kingdom
        3. and all these things will be given to you as well. 

  1. DO WE NEED TO BE FREED FROM WORRY?
    1. Worry, fear, anxiety, stress and depression are not from God
      1. God gives only what is good for us
      2. Worry is a lie from Satan about what might happen
        1. In hopes of causing you to trust his lie more than God’s truth


    1. Stand on the Word of God and His truths
      1. His truth brings lies into light, destroying them
      2. His Word gives us insight into the mind of God, so we too may “think like Christ”
      3. Like the stray dog, we can use this NEW information, break our paradigms and change our perception, which LITERALLY changes our reality!

  1. WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY ABOUT WORRYING?
    1. The Facts
      1. For instance, for a study published in 2008, researchers at Purdue University followed found those who live with worry (stress, anxiety) were 25% more likely to have shorter lifespan.




    1. Jesus asks, “Can worry add a single day to your life?
      1. Jesus knows, and science proves it.
      2. Worry causes;
        1. Anxiety
        2. Panic attacks
        3. Sense of impending doom
        4. Makes one ultra sensitive to their environment
        5. Ultra sensitive to surroundings, criticisms
        6. Your perception is anyone and anything could possibly be a threat
      3. It interferes with
        1. Apatite
        2. Healthy sleep patterns
      4. And it causes unhealthy habits as a means of self-medicating to cope with the stress and anxiety caused by worry and fear.
        1. Overeating
        2. Smoking
        3. Drinking alcohol
        4. Drugs
      5. Science has proven worry causes the sympathetic nervous system to;
        1. Release hormones that effect blood sugar levels
        2. And triglycerides (blood fat levels) which is our body’s fuel


    1. What does excess triglycerides do to the body?
      1. Dizziness, fast heart rate, fatigue, headaches, inability to concentrate, irritability, nausea, nervous energy, rapid breathing, trembling, twitching.
      2. And when this extra fuel energy is not spent on physical activities;
        1. The body can suppress the immune system, cause digestive disorders, and even short term memory loss.

CONCLUSION – What can we do about worry?
Jesus says, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…”

We can do our part by seeking first His Kingdom, reading the Word, Praying, putting the Lord first in matters of our life, and seek His Righteousness (we are not righteous) but in Him (Salvation) we take on His Righteousness.

Ask, and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.

You can put your faith and trust in the Word of God instead of your fears and worries, and He will free you from your anxiety, stress and depression!

NEXT WEEK: Return to Revelation Series

Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved?

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Sunday, March 8, 2020

The Revelation of Christ – Part 40: The Punishment of the Great Prostitute III


The Revelation of Christ – Part 40:
The Punishment of the Great Prostitute III
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church

SERMON INTRODUCTION
The Book of Revelation, or the Revelation of Christ, is the most challenging book in the bible.

Because of this fact, many avoid it or ignore it altogether. Some fear a lack of understanding; others afraid to misinterpret, which I guess is better to avoid than dive in and get it completely wrong.

Many times, when a new believer comes to me for direction, they want to jump right into Revelation and find out what’s to come.

This is equivalent to deciding one day to learn Mandarin and sitting down to author a novel in Chinese that very same day.

Or, a kindergartner learning how to count, and then trying to calculate quantum mechanics calculations.

The words in Revelation have caused much debate on rapture, judgment, even some who claim John was writing about the events in his day in code rather than Jesus Christ revealing to him about the coming events and Judgment.

A special blessing is promised to those who read Revelation.

Although it may be a difficult book, we could all use a special blessing, reading this is good for us all, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will take the Revelation of Christ in small portions and gain understanding, little by little.
 
SERMON SERIES

THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 12 – The Lamb is Worthy
Part 13 – The First Seal

Part 14 – The Second Seal
Part 15 – The Third Seal
Part 16 – The Fourth Seal
Part 17 – The Fifth Seal

Part 18 – The Sixth Seal
Part 19 – The 144,000 Sealed
Part 20 – The Great Multitude
Part 21 – The Seventh Seal

Part 22 – Trumpets 1-4
Part 23 – The 5th Trumpet (1st woe)
Part 24 – The 6th Trumpet (2nd woe)
Part 25 – The Mighty Angel
Part 26 – The Two Witnesses 
Part 27 – The 7th Trumpet and 3rd Woe 

Part 28 – The Woman and the Dragon I
Part 29 – The Woman and the Dragon II
Part 30 – The Beast out of the Sea
Part 31 – The Beast out of the Earth

Part 32 – The Lamb and the 144,000
Part 33 – The Three Angels
Part 34 – Harvesting the Earth

Part 35 – The Seven Angels with the Seven Plagues
Part 36 – The First Bowls
Part 37 – The Last Bowls
Part 38 – The Punishment of the Great Prostitute I
Part 39 – The Punishment of the Great Prostitute II

TODAY’S SERMON - THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
Part 40 – The Punishment of the Great Prostitute III


SCRIPTURE READING

Revelation 17:9-18

“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

12 “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”

15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”


          I.      THIS CALLS FOR WISDOM
a.   Seven heads of the Beast
                                     i.   This calls for wisdom of the mind = meaning, one who knows and Possesses the Holy Spirit to understand the Word of God

                                    ii.   The 7 heads are 7 hills (or empires/kingdoms/countries)

                                   iii.   “on which the woman sits”
1.   The woman is the Great Whore of Babylon (the prostitute)
2.   Meaning False religions allowing people to commit spiritual adultery and turn from the one true God
3.   She “sits” on the hills, meaning she rules over them

                                   iv.   These are seven empires who follow false religions
b.   Five have fallen, 1 who is, and 1 yet to come

                                     i.   The 5 fallen empires who were ruled by false religions are

1.   Egypt (Each of the 10 plagues in Exodus was against one of the Egyptian gods)
2.   Assyria (Nineveh)
3.   Babylon (Baal)
4.   Medo-Persia the first Persian empire (Persians worshipped the sun, moon, sky, earth, fire, wind and water)
5.   Greece (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Delphi, etc.)

                                    ii.   The one who IS
1.   This is the Roman empire who was ruling during John’s time

                                   iii.   The one not yet come (This is the Beast’s New World Order)
1.   But when he does, he will only remain a little while

2.   This is the 10-nation confederation created by the antichrist who becomes the 7th head of the beast in the revelation to John

3.   The 7th king (antichrist) makes way for the Eighth King of the earth…Satan’s newly formed unholy trinity, 666 (Satan, Antichrist and the False Prophet)


c.   The eighth king
                                     i.   This fallen angel (The Destroyer) acting as unholy spirit who empowers the antichrist who is human, belongs to the Seventh (antichrist)

                                    ii.   He acts on Satan’s orders, and comes to empower the Antichrist, making the BEAST (666) the unholy-trinity complete, and therefore creating the 8th king



         II.      THE TEN HORNS
a.   Daniel 7:7-12
                                     i.   in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one (the antichrist rising to power), which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
    the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing,
    coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books were opened.

11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

b.   10 kings with no kingdoms
                                     i.   The 10-country confederacy will come to power and authority under the antichrist

                                    ii.   Because they have agreed to serve the antichrist


c.   They have one purpose
                                     i.   To give their “power” (armies, weapons, people, service) and authority (control over these powers) to the Beast

                                    ii.   His purpose is to use these resources to wage war against the Lamb

                                   iii.   How do they war against God?

                                   iv.   By going after God’s people, no longer spiritually, but in a very real, physical way, by killing the Israelites and the Christians


d.   But the Lord will triumph over them
                                     i.   Verse 14 tells us, though the Beast has all of the armies, power, authority, people of the earth serving him, he will still lose

                                    ii.   The Lamb will triumph over them because He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings

        III.      THEN THE ANGEL SAID TO ME
a.   The waters you saw where the prostitute sits
                                     i.   Are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages

                                    ii.   There is no one-country or people who work with the antichrist, but many from 10 nations around the world with various peoples and languages

                                   iii.   Remember, the prostitute means false teachings of Satan, ruling over the hills or nations who commit spiritual adultery on God for serving these false teachings.
1.   False teachings do not have to be witchcraft, satanism, occult, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc…

                                   iv.   Matthew 24:21-28 “…there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. (Speaking of the Tribulation)

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

                                    v.   “The Elect” will NOT be deceived by false religions such as I mentioned, rather, they will be deceived by false religions which “appear to be TRUTH of God’s Word”
1.   2 Corinthians 11:14 “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
2.   The antichrist comes as a man of peace (imitating Prince of Peace)
3.   He will perform miracles, signs and wonders (imitating Jesus’ power)
4.   He will unite nations and rebuild the Temple (illusion of bringing the world together, and helping Israel by rebuilding the Temple)

                                   vi.   The Elect will be deceived because the new-world order religion will “appear” to be of the true God, for the true God and by the true God!

                                  vii.   THEN, the antichrist will claim to be God Himself and demand worship

                                 viii.   How are the elect fooled then?
1.   Cults that misuse or twist the Bible’s Truth

2.   Denomination who misuse Truths of the Bible (such as Spiritual Gifts) for personal gain

3.   Prosperity preaching, fake healing ministries, TV evangelists
a.   They are already bilking followers (elect) out of billions of dollars per year

4.   HOW?

                                   ix.   Hosea 4:6a “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”


b.   The Beast and the 10 horns will hate the prostitute
                                     i.   “They will bring her to ruin…”

                                    ii.   All of the false religions (the waters the dragon spewed out to drown the woman’s offspring in Revelation 12:15) MUST be removed and destroyed so the New-World religion (worship of the beast and his image) can be the ONLY one!

                                   iii.   Now, the prostitute (false teachings) will be hated by the Beast and destroyed


c.   God put it in their hearts
                                     i.   Like a cancer destroying its host, God put it in their hearts to hand over complete control and power of the 10-nation confederation to the authority of the Beast

                                    ii.   Now there is 1 head…Tribulation will now end and judgment will begin



CONCLUSION –
Genesis 3:1-13 is where the fall of man happens.
Our communion with God the Father is broke because of Satan’s deception and Adam’s sin.
Verse 14-15 God repairs that communion, and answers, not only sin, but Satan’s actions with the coming judgment.
So the Lord God said to the serpent (Satan), “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly

(a creature “lower” than a man, can be stepped on, ignored, we CAN rebuke Satan, he has no power over us)

    and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

(never have a thirst quenched, never again to taste the river of life, the waters of God’s Holy Spirit, will have a never-ending thirst that will never be refreshed by God)

And I will put enmity (hatred)

    between you (Satan) and the woman (Israel),

    and between your offspring (those who disobey God)

    and hers; (the Word made flesh through Israel, Jesus) will crush your head, (Anti-Trinity 666, the Beast)

    and you will strike his heel.” (The “stepping” strike of Jesus’ heel down on Satan)

Symbolism here is, all that Satan tries to accomplish by creating the unholy trinity (the Beast-666) and trying to be god on earth is “simply crushed by the heel of Christ”
Like stepping on an ant, barely noticeable, didn’t even have to get His hands dirty, an easy task.
And it was taken care of in Genesis just after the fall.  In fact, it is already finished!  We (those of us who are in this dimension and must travel in a linear motion through “time”, just haven’t “got there yet”.
However, outside of this dimension of time, as Jesus, the Word of God, says Himself in John 19, “It is finished”
By the way, Jesus, the Word made flesh, the offspring of the woman Israel, Son of God, these were His “last words” before dying on the cross.
NEXT WEEK: Another Angel

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