HOW THE ATTACK WILL END

Today’s Bible readings are 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17, Acts 23:11-35, Psalm 3:1-8, & Proverbs 18:14-15

Psalm 3:1-4

¹ O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. ² So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” ³ But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. ⁴ I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.

Have you have felt like the world was against you? Has there ever been a time in your life when enemies of every kind were raging against you? That is exactly what was happening to David when he penned this psalm.

David was in a very difficult situation. His son had turned against him & run him out of his kingdom. His son was hungry for power & was willing to do anything to get it. Absalom was willing to go to any length to get the power that he had become seduced by.

This wasn’t the only enemy that had come against David. Many of the men who had once been faithful followers of David had now turned to follow Absalom. It was such a depressing time for King David.

This story may sound like your own life. You may be going through a difficult time like this one. Maybe you have had a close ally turn on you. This can weigh so heavy on a person’s heart. Maybe you are being pressed by people all around you who are trying to sabotage you & your ministry. That is what David found to be happening in his life. People even began to say that it was God’s judgment against him. People began to say that God would never rescue him this time.

These may be the things that are being said about you right now. You may be hearing the same type of accusations being hurled your way. The pressure may be so great right now that you are even feeling like God has abandoned you. I want you to know THAT IS NOT THE TRUTH!!!

David soon learned that God was a shield for him that could not be broken. God was a mighty Lifter of David’s head. When David was low & heavy, God lifted him. When David had no glory of his own, the Lord was his glory.

This is the heritage of all God’s people. He is our shield too! He is not easily beaten by any foe. He has conquered all! Just as David cried out for mercy & help & the Lord heard his cry & came to his rescue; God will hear your cry! He will come to your rescue too! Then, all of your enemies will be silenced as David’s was.

I leave you with the close to this great psalm as an encouragement to how this attack will end for you. You will come out on top just like David did because God is going to come through for you just like He did for David.

Psalm 3:7-8

⁷ Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked! ⁸ Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people.

Pastor Richard Schlotter

OUR TRUE INDEPENDENCE DAY

Today’s Bible readings are 2 Kings 23:31-25:30, Acts 22:17-23:10, Psalm 2:1-12, & Proverbs 18:13

Psalm 2:1-3

¹ Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? ² The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ³ “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

                                                                                                                                                    

Today there is a definite agenda to try to destroy Christian values. There is a deliberate attack on the things that made our country great. Many seem to think that in order to get their hidden agendas passed, they must first destroy the Godly values that have been embraced for over 200 years in our country. I want to say with great boldness—They are planning in vain!!!

Throughout history, there have always been attempts to destroy Christ. That is what was happening during the time this Psalm was written. But the scripture makes it very clear that they were wasting their time.

We don’t need to panic as Christians. God is still in control & is more than able to show Himself strong in our day as He did in that day. I want to encourage you today, on our day of Independence celebration, Christ will prevail! Let the nations & the left wing agenda’s rage against Christ BUT THEY RAGE IN VAIN!!!

He is going to build His church & He has declared that the gates of hell will not overpower the Him!!! Find strength in this great promise today. There is no power BUT HIS POWER! Even if they win, they lose in the end because our Savior will come with a mighty trumpet sound & establish a NEW KINGDOM  that will NO END!!! That will be our true INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Pastor Richard Schlotter

THE SURE WAY TO GET ATTENTION

Today’s Bible readings are 2 Kings 20:1-22:2, Acts 21:18-36, Psalm 150:1-6, & Proverbs 18:9-10

2 Kings 20:1-6

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.”

² When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ³ “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

⁴ But before Isaiah had left the middle courtyard, this message came to him from the Lord: ⁵ “Go back to Hezekiah, the leader of my people. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you, and three days from now you will get out of bed and go to the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’”

I love this story in the bible. Every time I read it I’m reminded of the mercy of God. It makes me so hopeful for every situation that I would ever face. It motivates me to pray.

God shows us here that nothing is too hard for Him. He can take an illness that is supposed to take a person’s life & set them free with a single spoken word. That is the power of our God. He doesn’t need special permission. He is sovereign. He is omnipotent.

I like to remind myself that what God is waiting for are His people to pray & turn to Him. We see this in our text today.  As soon as Hezekiah turned His heart to God & prayed, God turned toward him & healed him. It wasn’t the Hezekiah deserved to be healed. It wasn’t because he was so good. God made it clear that He was going to do it for His own Name’s sake.

I will defend this city for my own honor and for the sake of my servant David.’”

This is a perfect example of what God said in 2 Chronicles 7:14.

2 Chronicles 7:14

¹⁴ Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

What if the one thing that God was waiting for was us to pray? I have had a thought in my mind for weeks now that I can’t shake. I read it in a book I was reading. Once I read it I could not stop thinking about it. It has really been challenging me. I want to share it with you.

“The greatest tragedy in the life of a believer is the prayers that go unanswered because they never got prayed.”

No matter what your situation is you have to keep a heart of prayer. Don’t let your situation become so heavy that it causes you to give up in prayer. Don’t let the challenges become so overwhelming that you forget that prayer is a mighty weapon. Don’t let your circumstance so behoove you that you forget that when you pray in the Spirit the Spirit prays through you in accordance with God’s will.

Be encouraged in these things. Never quit when it comes to prayer. It worked for Hezekiah & it is going to work for you.

Pastor Richard Schlotter

LET SOMETHING NEW IN YOU

 

Today’s Bible readings are 2 Kings 18:13-19:37, Acts 21:1-17, Psalm 149:1-9, & Proverbs 18:8

Proverbs 18:8

⁸ Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.

Have you ever heard the saying: “Garbage in = garbage out.”? It is something that you hear talked about when it comes to dieting. If we put a bunch of junk in us then we won’t get much good out of our bodies. We will be tired, out of shape, lethargic, etc… This principal holds true in the area of spiritual things also.

We have to guard our hearts. The things that we let into our heart will come out of our life at some point. It may come out:

1.     in us lashing out in anger

2.     getting frustrated

3.     becoming resentful

4.     foul language

5.     bitterness toward others

6.     impure desires

7.     impure thoughts about others

This is why it is so important that we keep our ears away from all the deadly venom that is breathed by some people that we may be associated with. The venom that they breathe is dangerous to us because it goes into us & can produce all the wrong things in our lives.

Luke 6:45

⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

 

This is why it is worth breaking ties with people who always try to speak negative things to you.

1.     If a person is always complaining then find a new friend.

2.     If a person is always gossiping then find a new friend.

3.     If a person is always talking bad about your leaders then find a new friend.

4.     If a person is always talking bad about your church then find a new friend.

5.     If a person is always trying to change the way you think about people you know you are supposed to respect then find a new friend.

6.     If a person always wants to find fault in everything & everyone then find a new friend.

 

If we could just see the danger that it brings into our life by allowing such people to speak into our hearts we would be quick to break ties with them. The other thing is that we would also soon see the difference it makes to guard our hearts against such toxic poison.

1.     We would see our attitude change.

2.     We would see joy return.

3.     We would find peace again.

4.     We would experience His presence once more.

5.     We would find purpose & meaning again.

Proverbs 4:23

²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

If you are tired of the old negative things coming out of your life, then maybe it is time to start putting something new in. In with the good so that good can come out! Good things in = good things out!!!

Pastor Richard Schlotter