A Nation in need of Repentance

Hosea 6:1-3 (1) Come, and let us return unto the Lord; for he hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (2) After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. (3) Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

A couple of weeks ago, the LORD woke me up at 4:30 am with Hosea 6 burning in my head. I could not get way from it. I opened my bible and read the first three verses in Hosea 6. When I asked the LORD what He was telling me, I heard Him say 5:15.

Hosea 5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

What was the offence they needed to acknowledge? Verse 3 in chapter 5 tell us, I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.

Now I fully understand Hosea was talking to Israel in the Old Testament. But I also know how the LORD speaks. I know He can use the Old Testament to speak to us today.

The LORD is telling to get right! He has watched as we have figuratively been a whore by chasing after other gods. His heart has broke while He watched us push Him out of our families, our government, our society. He watched as we have turned His love into a thing of compromise. He watched as we turned his grace as a excuse to follow our own wants and desires. He has watched as we have turned…..

He is asking me to tell you we, as a nation, need to acknowledge our offense. We, as a nation, need to repent for our actions.

A lot of ministers I listen to right now are talking about the latter and the former rain. Yes, the LORD does want to pour out His rain. He wants to flood the earth with His presence in such a way as we have never seen.

God does not change. He clearly tells us what we must do to have the former and latter rain. We must repent. We must repent. We must repent. That is the only way, that is what the LORD requires.

Remember 5:15 says he will return to His place….. Do we really want that? You and I both know, we are a stubborn and stiff-necked people. Much like the Israelites wondering in the wilderness, we only turn to the LORD when things get bad. Things are pretty bad right now. But they can get worse.

I had someone tell me to be careful about rebuking the people. Believe me, I am not trying to deliver this in a spirit of rebuke. When the LORD spoke this to me at 4:30 in the morning, it was not in a spirit of rebuke. It was in a spirit of pleading. I felt like His heart was breaking at the thought of having to go and return to His place. I felt that He is wanting the nations to “come and let us return to the LORD”

What will the antichrist look like? Perhaps a religion opposite Christ?

So I just watched a video in which there is a sign in Jerusalem stating that Jesus was a slave to allah. What? Are you kidding me? Why is this allowed? Where is the outcry against such nonsense? The more I learn about this allah and what he says or what the quran says, the more I am wondering if this might be the face of the antichrist?

Could it be possible that someone from this religion could be the antichrist? Just a thought. I do not have any backing for this thought. It is just that more and more it seems to me that this religions is the opposite or “anti” to everything about Jehovah and Yeshua.

Watch this clip.

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EXODUS 11:3

And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses [was] very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.

I am sure we all know the story of when the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Let’s go back for a moment and remember Moses was tending his flock when he saw the Lord in a flame of fire that was not consuming the bush (Exodus 3:1-2) The Lord told Moses he was going to deliver His people out of the hand of the Egyptians. Moses has many excuses why he could not be the one to be used by God. Many of which may have been valid reasons in the eyes of Moses, but not in the eyes of the Lord. I believe the thing that was going through Moses’ mind was the fact that he had killed an Egyptian the last time he was in Egypt (Exodus 2:11-15). The last time Moses was in Egypt we had run for his life. He had killed a man, hid him in the sand. He tried to help the Israelites in his own power.

So now Moses is asked to go back to the place where things went so wrong in his life and deliver God’s people out of oppression. Which brings us to what God showed me this morning.

And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. The people left bondage with all the gold and silver of the Egyptians. It was given to them by the Egyptians. This part of the verse has been preached every way possible. So I will not spend time on it here.

Moreover the man Moses [was] very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people. “The man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaohs’ servants, and in the sight of the people” I emphasize this because it is very significant. When Moses first left Egypt, he had done a very bad thing. He had killed a man. Not just any man, he had killed an Egyptian. That would be like killing someone in our government today. This was a man who had some power; he was a man who was in charge of making sure the Hebrew people did what they were told to do. Moses killed a man in authority. He hoped he had gotten away with it, but the next day a Hebrew confronted him about it. The Hebrew did not understand Moses intent to help, he just saw that Moses had killed a man, and figured if Moses could kill one man he could kill another. The Hebrew man feared for his life. This part of the story has been mention, but what I have not heard too much about is how “the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people”

I am amazed at how God takes those people who have been rejected by the world and makes them great. Great not only in the sight of the world but also in the sight of His people. When we purpose in our heart that we will follow the Word of God, God notices. When we decide we will be the one to stand for the Lord in spite of opposition, God notices. When Moses first fled from Egypt he was nothing, just a lowly criminal. Think about that for a moment. He had killed a man in authority. Think about how you would feel about the person who killed someone in government, there would be a man hunt for that individual. Think about how you would feel about the person who killed someone in your town. There would be a man hunt for that individual. How would you feel about the person who killed someone in your family? There would be a man hunt for that person. I can imagine that ALL the people in the land of Egypt did not think to highly of Moses. He was brought into Pharaoh’s house and treated like family. He was raised an Egyptian yet he killed an Egyptian. He was born a Hebrew, yet the Hebrew man feared him. So in the land of Egypt Moses was a wanted criminal when he fled the first time. He went into hiding fearing he would be caught.

Then what happened? Moses submitted to God. Imagine for a moment that you are Moses, you killed a man. Now you have lived in the desert for 40 years. For 40 years you have thought about the incident, you built a family and tried to go about your life. Yet in the back of your mind you remember you have been branded a killer in your home town. The people you sought to protect fear you and your family is looking to have you killed. Every day you think about it. Then you meet God and He says, “Go deliver My people out of the Hand of the Egyptians” How hard do you think it was for Moses to walk into Egypt. It would be like a killer today coming in and saying, “listen I have word from God.” We would think “this guy is crazy, but him in a mental ward” Yet in spite of all the fear Moses must have felt, he went back to where everything first went bad in his life. He trusted in the Lord enough to believe he would be protected. Do you think he might have been thinking “what if they arrest me, what if Pharaoh has me killed? Yet I trust in God” What about the Hebrew people, they thought Moses was crazy!

Also the more Moses spoke to Pharaoh about letting the Hebrew people go, the worse it became for the Hebrew people. It is like enough already! We had it bad enough before you showed up to make it “better” now look, things are worse” They tried to get Moses to stop. I think we tend to be like the Hebrew people sometimes. We cry out to God to do something in our lives, to deliver us out of certain situations, then when He sends someone to speak those words that will deliver us out of bondage, we want to kill the messenger. We want what we want the way we want it. That is what Moses faced with the Hebrew people. He told them the Lord has heard your cry and sent me to deliver you out of bondage, I will speak to Pharaoh and he will let you go. (Paraphrased by Donna) When that did not happen as smoothly as hoped, the Hebrew people told Moses to stop. They told him he was making matter worse and they did not want him to help (paraphrased by Donna). But Moses would not back down. He had an encounter with the Lord, he knows the Lord had sent him and he was steadfast in what he needed to do. So here we have Moses, hated by the Hebrews, hated by the Egyptians. Here is a man with very few friends. Here is a man who is an outcast because he will not do what the world wants him to do. He will not conform; he trusts in God, he put all his trust in God. He is obedient to God in spite of all the opposition he faced, and the Bible says “Moreover the man Moses [was] very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.”

In the end Moses was very great in the land of Egypt. That is the same place where he had killed a man. The same land where he was a wanted criminal before following the voice of the LORD. Moses was very great in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants. The same authority that could have him killed. The same court system that could have sentenced him to death. The same justice system that could have him put to death for killing one of their own. The same people who hated him for killing someone in their family. Moses was very great in the sight of the people. All the people even the Hebrew people who told him to stop helping. Even the Hebrew people who had to go through so much hardship because of Moses. The same people who probably figured Moses was some kind of crackpot, who should be muzzled. This is the same person who had made their life so miserable.

Moses had an encounter with the LORD. Moses had trust in the LORD. Moses spoke the word of the LORD. Moses went through some trials and came out victorious. Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.

How many of us are willing to go through some opposition to follow the LORD? We live in a time when following Jesus and listening to His voice is not the thing to do. We live in a time when we are laughed at for believing in Jesus. Even here in America the name of Jesus is coming under attach. We live in a time when we are asked to stop talking about JESUS the MESSIAH, to stop listening to the LORD, to stop believing in the HOLY GHOST. We live in a time when they would like us to be tolerant of other religions, to stop pointing out the sin. We are asked to stop making people feel uncomfortable, to stop making people feel offended. Yet will we bow to Pharaoh or will we bow to the LORD. I believe if we will be the voice of GOD. Follow His statutes; keep sin out of our life, talk about the FATHER, SON, & HOLY GHOST God will make us great in the land. Eventually we will come out of bondage and we will come out with the wealth of the world. We will be called great. God will make things turn around in our lives; He is a rewarder of those who seek HIM.

I urge us all to take a look at the life of Moses. He was just a man who allowed God to use him. He was a man who faced his fears head on. He was a man hated by the world. Yet he was a man who followed the LORD. He is a man we are still talking about today! I want to be the voice of the LORD! I choose to be the one who will not bow to Pharaoh. I choose to be the one who will not go with the flow. No matter the cost I will follow Christ! What about you?

AWAKE! AMERICA AWAKE!

Hosea 8:1-4 “Set the trumpet to your mouth! He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. (2) Israel will cry to Me, My God, we know You! (3) Israel has rejected the good; the enemy will pursue him. (4) They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them. From their silver and gold they made idols for themselves- that they might be cut off.

I have been thinking about American the last few days. We were a nation founded on the Word of God, we were founded on the belief in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Somewhere along the road we lost our fear of the LORD! Somehow we decided we could claim to believe in the LORD but act like we don’t. Think about this America. God does not share His throne with anyone. We have set up idols in the place of God. We have allowed other gods to come into the house of America. We are allowing the ungodly to make our laws and they are driving America down the path of destruction.

I was reading my bible this moring when I came across this passage in Hosea. It made me stop and think, what are the consequences of apostacy? What are the consquences of mixing belief with unbelief? What are the consequences of allowing the ungodly to rule in our court rooms and in our government?

We claim to believe in God, but we make that claim less and less. We want to claim the promises of God, but we don’t want to obey His Word. We have mixed belief in with unbelief and we believe we will be fine. We are a nation in deception.

While reading this passage in Hosea I found the following commentary: “When a nation conduts its government in the spirit of pratical atheism, without acknowledging God’s presence and supreme control in human affairs, or seeking to conform its actions to his will, it can have neither stability nor true prosperity. One violent change will follow another, until it is cut off in its iniquity.”

I employ you American, awake from you sumber! Open your eyes to the deception all around you! Set yourself apart from the ways of evil! Learn to sanctify yourself, put on the garmet of righteousness that can only be found in Jesus Christ! Let’s stop trying to mix belief with unbelief. The bible says in Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.”

Somalia: Christian Martyred

Somalia: On Nov. 14, the body of a 23-year-old Christian convert, Mumin Abdikarim Yusuf, was discovered in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid district, according to Compass Direct News. On Oct. 28, members of al-Shabaab, an Islamic extremist group, detained Yusuf and searched his home for Christian materials. A 15-year-old Muslim boy had accused Yusuf of trying to convert him to Christianity. In an attempt to gain evidence against Yusuf and to gain information about other Somali Christians, the extremists knocked out all of Yusuf’s front teeth and broke several of his fingers. They then shot him twice in the head and dumped his body on an empty residential street. Since it is unknown whether Yusuf revealed information about other Christians during his torture, the underground Christians who knew him have relocated for their safety. Yusuf’s Muslim family members are also in danger, as extremists have accused them of failing to report his conversion to Christianity. The Voice of the Martyrs supports persecuted Christians through a project to assist evangelists and encourage converts from Islam. Pray for all those mourning the death of this brother in the Lord. Pray for safety for the relocated believers. Pray that Yusuf’s faithful witness will be a testimony to his Muslim family members and that they will turn to Jesus for their salvation.

Isaiah 43:19 – 21

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. This people I have formed for Myself, they shall declare My praise.”

Get ready people! Those who choose to serve the Lord Most High! Get ready! God will move His hand! Do not lose hope! Do not lose hope! Keep you eyes turned above! Keep your eyes on the Lord! He is mighty to save! He will provide! He will make a way! Declare His Praise to the ends of the earth and watch what He does! Have Faith in God!

Chiapas Mexico

We recently went to Chiaps Mexico to preach the Gospel. It was a wonderful experience.

We spent three days in San Christobal Las Casas. We had 2 morning services and three evening services. We saw a people hungry for God. Wow! God poured out His Spirit and we saw His Glory on the people. These people were so hungry for God. It was amazing.

The morning services started at 9:00 a.m. and went until noon. I was surprized to see people stay for three hours to hear the Word of God and to have prayer.

The evening services lasted 2 to 3 hours also, with people staying in the cold to hear the Word of the Lord and for prayer. The people would fill up the altar areas to overflowing. It was amazing.

We also went to Palenque, in the northwestern part of Chiapas. While there we went to a church on the outskirs of the city and we went to a church about deep in the jungle. Both of these experiences were amazing. I have never seen people who would be willing to walk for 2 hours to come to church. They would walk for 2 hours have service for 2 to 3 hours and then have to walk 2 hours back home. And these people ware walking in the middle of the jungle. They have no lights, only the moon and the stars. WOW!

The church they worship in does not even have a floor, it is grass; or in the case of the church closer to the city it is dirt. They don’t have a permanent roof, they have no windows or doors. They are still in the process of building and as they get money they build. (Which their money is few and far between) Yet these people are hungry for God and get together to worship Him, in-spite of the inconvenience. WOW!

While we were in San Cristobal Las Casas, we drove about half and hour to a town called San Juan Chamula. This was an experience. They have a pagan church there where people light candles and chant. The whole family comes to this catholic church with their bag of candles and their bottles of mixed drinks and the sit on the floor, light candles, drink and chant until they are out of alcohol and candles. They believe the more you drink, the more you are purified. The sad thing is we were not allowed to tell them the truth. We were told not to preach the name of Jesus in this place because the guards would come and beat us. So we did not. But it was so sad that I did not see one person smile except for the people I was with. The children were not in school learning and having fun, instead they were in this pagan church getting drunk. The oppression and the heaviness was almost to much for me. I will tell you what I noticed was that in San Juan Chamula the children are drunk and falling all over themselves in a dark smoky church, and half an hour away in San Cristobal Las Casas the children were skipping home from school with this backpacks of homework and big smiles on their faces. In San Juan Chamula there was only sadness and half an hour away there was laughter.

The whole experience was great. I am really thankful that God allowed me to go on this crusade. I feel blessed to have been able to see people who are so hungry for God. Here in America we have a microwave mentality. We want to sing only a couple of songs, hear a 15 or 20 minute message and then get back to our lives where we don’t think about God again until next Sunday. Here in America we don’t want God to change us we want to change God.

In Chiapas Mexico, the people that I saw, (about 3,000), they wanted to have an encounter with God and it did not matter how long it took. They stayed until we could not stay anymore. And wow, did God ever bless them, me and the Impact 4 Christ team.

What I see coming on the horizon

In this hetic time of uneasiness and unrest we tend to get caught up in what is going on around us instead of being caught up on what God is doing. God clearly tells us that we are to keep our eyes on Him and He will supply our needs. Does that mean we might have to change our way of living? Maybe. The biggest challenge we have is to remember that as believers in Jesus Christ we are not affected by the cares of this world because we are not of this world. We are just passing though. Our home is in heaven.

While the economy looks bleak right now, God is not dependant on the economy. God created the economy.

I am not trying to minimize the situation we face in America, but I do want to emphasize the fact the God created everything, I am sure He can provide for you and your family if you listen to Him and follow His ways.

Unfortunately in America we have turned to other gods. We follow the paths that seems right unto man, but the end is the way of death. We we founded on Christian foundations. We were founded on true Christian foundations, not the current false trend of christianity. That solid foundation is still there, we need to turn back the Lord.

Those of us who believe in Jesus, the true Jesus of the Bible will be fine during this crisis. God will provide a way for us. Woo to those who choose the path that leads to death.

We are in a time of choice. There is a passage in the Bible that says, “choose this day who you will serve”. In this time of economic uncertainty choose wisely.