Do You Know What Winning Looks Like?

Left Behind (Preached on March 29th, 2020) Matthew 24:36-41
Prophecy seems to be out of place these days in our preaching unless a tragedy takes place. People go immediately to sensationalism to scourging the preaching but we need to go to the Scripture. The soon coming of the Lord seems to as common as American as apple pie, hotdogs, and baseball. We don’t think much about it. But we should! Jesus is coming again.
Our world is anxious today and worried. Everything has been turned upside down. Jobs are shut down, parking lots are empty, nonessential businesses have closed. And the church is emptied of its congregants. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me…” (John 14:1). The Lamb of God is coming for the lambs of God. We are seeing a dress rehearsal for the coming tribulation.
People don’t believe in the rapture. Enoch did. Elijah did. Jesus did. Paul did. One day Jesus is coming back to catch us away. You find that in I Thessalonians 4:13ff. Who are going to be taken up with Him? The ones who have been born again, who have the same nature as God. Those who have a second birth. Those who follow Jesus as Lord on earth.
Some things out of place at this time. The bride is not with the bridegroom. The Jews are not back in the land of Israel. Satan is not in hell. Jesus is not reigning in Jerusalem from David’s throne. God is preparing all things to fulfill these prophecies.
One day children will disappear from their beds. Moms will be missing. Pilots will be taken up. Bus drivers and car drivers will exit their cars. One man working beside another and one is taken. Two in bed, a man and his wife, and one is taken.

1. A Word of Caution (Matthew 24:36)
   We don’t know when the event will take place but we know it will. Millions will vanish without a trace. It will be a worldwide event. In less than a millisecond, there will be an evacuation, an exit, an entry into the glory to be with the Lord forever. Can you imagine the anguish when loved ones have been taken and many don’t know where they are? We look at the nation of Israel. It was reformed as a nation in 1948. Never has this happened to any other nation or state. Jesus said this is the budding of the fig tree and when this happens the coming of the tribulation is nigh. That means before the tribulation happens the rapture will take place. Only when the true church is taken from this world will we see this happen. The world is awaiting a devastating day. And they do not know it and they are indifferent to it.
2. A Word of Contemplation (Matthew 24:37-41)
   Look at the situation today: politically, economically, ecclesiastically, and morally. Jesus said these things would take place and the world will be shaken from its moorings. Their anchor will be pulled up. Everything people have lived for, sold their souls for, will suddenly, fatally, finally be taken away. Noah preached for 120 years and only 8 got in the ark. He was a preacher of righteousness. With every blow of the hammer, with each cutting down of a tree, with the dabbing of tar on the boards of the ark to waterproof the ark from the water, God was speaking. God is saying things today. Adrian Rogers said, “I would rather scare you into hell than lull you into hell.” Too many are not ready! Mortality is coming, hell is coming, and people are being warned by today’s situations. Too many say they know Christ but the question is does He know them? Many Christians are asleep and they will stand at the judgment seat of God to be shown their bad works before a holy and righteous God.
3. A Word of Concern (Matthew 24: 42-51)
   After the rapture God will focus His concern on the earth. He is going to allow man to continue in their rebellion. They will ruin themselves. Then Satan will come in the person of the Anti-Christ to rule over and stamp his mark of 666 on earth of his subjects. But at the last 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation, God will begin to pour out his bowls of judgment upon the earth dwellers. They will cry out for the rocks of the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb of God. Can you imagine that? What should we do as God’s people? Be watchful! Be Warned! Be Awake! What should the lost do? They should repent of their sin, their life of self-serving, self-ambition, and get the life of God in them by turning from their sin and asking God to be merciful unto them.
   One day Jesus is coming. A man went upstairs to the attic. He found an opened box with nuts, bolts, nails, dust, pieces of paper, and some splintered wood. He found a strong magnet and waved it over the box. What leaped to the magnet? The nuts, bolts, and nails. Why? They alone had the same nature as the magnet. Only those who have the same nature of God within will be caught up to Jesus. Those who know Him will be rescued from this world’s chaos that will take place one day. Either party, saved or lost, come to Jesus before it’s too late!

God’s Word says, “Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouths and lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant” (Psalm 78:36, 37). Do we desire God’s presence in our bodies, homes, churches, nation, and the world?

Many claim to want revival. Why do we plead for revival? Is it to save our face, when the first thing we need to do is to lose our face. The fallow ground must be broken up. There is the cost of humiliation and even embarrassment when it comes to revival. God cannot rain showers of blessings on fallow ground. That would just mean more spreading of briars and weeds.

If we are to prepare for rain we must prepare the soil of our hearts. We must be disturbed and broken up for what we see and what we are. But, like so many of us, we do not like to be stirred and agitated in our churches. We like our smooth exteriors while keeping our roots of bitterness and sins hidden.

Revival will come when we really desire it and meet the conditions. But God has not changed the price of revival. He has not placed any of His blessings on the bargain counter at reduced rates. Stubborn wills, hardness of hearts, and pretension in repentance will never meet the criteria for revival.

Dear KMBC Family,

I want to challenge each of us in these summer months to a summer challenge called WON By One. There are at least ten ways we can share the Word of God this summer. You can share God’s Word in your neighborhood, at local events, in a hospital, at a restaurant, at a gasoline station or convenient store, with college students, at a coffee shop, on the go, at work, at a special outreach event, or even family gatherings. I want you to take a gospel tract or the gospel of John and share it with those to whom you meet.

Through prayer, eager expectation, God is able to do more than we can even ask or think. I have ordered some more Gospel of Johns to be given out, but in the meantime take tracts from the entry way and place on your body to give as God prompts you.

The Lord Jesus has called us to make disciples. We start by having our hearts ready and willing to go where He desires. We pray for our Oikos list daily. We wait upon Him for the opportunities that He gives us in sharing the Good News of the Gospel. Then we give them a tract, the gospel of John, and some witness to their hearts verbally or intentionally for the glory of God.

There are so many ways to be a patriot of the Lord Jesus. One of those ways is to give out the gospel and to speak to as many as He leads us too. From time to time I will ask how God has used you this week to speak through Him. Will you take the challenge?

It is time for our hearts to be drawn to the lost and to those who are not on God’s paths of righteousness. We must pray and do the work of the evangelist while it is day!

God’s best to you! You are loved!
Pastor Don

December 2019

That Name! Jesus!

There’s no other name as great as the name of Jesus. Names are most important especially when you move into the world of the Bible. It is in this context that God put a face on Himself and called His name Jesus. God’s only begotten Son came into the world of names. Names such as Adam, Abraham, Ahab, Abner, some good names, others bad in character.

The Bible says of the Lord Jesus, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew1:21). I remember our youth carrying that banner down Main Street in Graham one Christmas holiday season along with all kinds of floats, people, and animals. I felt so good about that name and prayed as we carried the banner that others would love the Name that loved them.

Remember to take that name, Jesus, with you this Christmas Season. This child born on Christmas Day is both God and man! As man, He was born and shared in sinless human nature. As God, He was given-the Father’s love-gift to a sinful world. This child would be God in human flesh. That is amazing!
And He died in our place for the glory of the Father!

One day all will bow at the feet of Jesus. Men should bow now and shall bow then. All creation will bow and kneel before this blessed Name. I pray that if you don’t know that Name that you will find His Name in your heart of hearts. Let’s share the Name that all Heaven sings about and rejoices over this Christmas season. May we share that name, bear that name, and wear that name so that all the world would know that His name is Wonderful!

Dear Church, 

Our hearts are saddened by all the damage inflicted upon mankind with the destruction from Hurricane Helene. 

May I give some critical thoughts for consideration? 

1. Natural disasters give us the opportunity to respond to God.  We can be angry, especially if it were our house, our business, our child lost in the rushing water, or the fallen tree.  Or we can stand in awe of the mighty power of the Almighty. 

2. The ground shook in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee as did the other states where landfall occurred, and the storm moved up and left.  The only thing that matters to many is to be able to find firm ground to stand upon. 

3. The Bible instructs us to make sure that our lives are built upon a foundation that will never be shaken, a foundation that is not subject to the unpredictable forces of nature. 

4. At Mt. Sinai, the Bible records the first earthquake as God gave the law to Moses.  Why?  God expects and commands those who are created by Him to tremble and be in awe of His power.  His voice speaks of the content of the moral law; the voice of nature (earthquake) spelled out God’s power and authority.  The Ten Commandments shouted His rules for living; the Trembling of Nature shouted His rules for worshipping.  We are to fear Him for this is not only appropriate but commanded. 

5. God also spoke at Mt. Calvary and the earth quaked.  Jesus spoke words of kindness, mercy, and love even while He was being judged for our sins.  We should listen. “Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking.  For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to Listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!”  When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise:  “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 

6. The earth will not go on forever.  Earthquakes and hurricanes remind us that life is short and that God will re-create a new heaven and a new earth.  Only what is eternal will remain. 

7. We are to know that tragedies are teachers that instruct us to hold on to Christ tightly and hold everything else loosely. 

The Eternal Kingdom will never be shaken.  Find your Firm ground to stand upon and thank God for His Unshakeable Kingdom. 

Pastor Don 

“And of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16).

When you and I look into a river and perceive the fish swimming we would like to reach in and stop the water flow and catch the scene for a while. But we can’t because the current is heading downstream and it is strong, yet it was never meant to be stopped and caught.

While God gives us grace He desires for us to enjoy what He does for the moment but He doesn’t want us to reach in and try to stop it. He has more grace coming downstream that will pass by our eyes. It is wave of grace upon grace that He sends our way. We were never meant to stop the flow of grace and hunker down and bask in it.

Do you remember when Peter, James, and John were with the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? They were asleep on that mountain. And all of a sudden they were awakened and saw the Lord Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses about His upcoming death and resurrection.

Peter spoke up and wanted to build memorial booths for the occasion, and God the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him” (Matthew 17:5). God had more work to be done, more grace He wanted the disciples to see.

What about us? Are we satisfied with what the Lord has done thus far? Are we now satisfied that the debt renovation is now paid and there is no other territory to explore? Are we satisfied that no more people can be saved? Are we enjoying what has been accomplished and have no more get up and go for God?

God’s grace is new grace, continuous grace, uninterrupted grace that exceeds all we could imagine. Each spiritual blessing we appropriate becomes the foundation of greater blessing. God’s grace is like a mighty Niagara, thundering unending out of eternity into our hearts and lives.

Let us look into the future and ask God what He has in store for KMBC. He has an inexhaustible supply that every believer is given for all he or she needs in this world and the world to come. Pentecost filled the believers with Christ Himself and yet God emptied the upper room into the streets of Jerusalem. That is what God wants to do through us today and tomorrow and the future.

Let’s get full of Him and allow Him to carry us from grace to grace.

I Love you,

Pastor Don