SABBATH

God's Gift to Us

Sermon: We Still Need a Sense of Urgency

Trump's Win Does Not Give Us More Time
#1353B

Given 03-Dec-16; 38 minutes

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description: God Almighty is sovereign over the political affairs of this earth, appointing to office and removing from office as He sees fit. God's selecting a particular candidate does not necessarily mean He has given America a reprieve from the results of her sins or that God has given His called-out ones more time to get their act together. God's people must not abandon the sense of urgency which typified saints living before them. Satan knows that when people think they have all kinds of time, they lose all sense of urgency, becoming derelict in their spiritual chores (prayer, meditation, and Bible Study), lax in overcoming. Jesus forewarned His people that He would come unexpectedly as a thief. World conditions can change in the blink of an eye. God has always given the people of His churches urgent warnings, as seen in the examples of Sardis, Ephesus, Pergamos, and Philadelphia. As First Fruits, we must stay focused on God's overall plan, remembering that no one knows the time of Christ's return. If we stay vigilant, we aren't going to be caught off guard. The metaphor of a thief appears only in New Testament prophecies, suggesting that this message is intended for people living at the end of the age. The hand of God has been active in history, as during the attack on Pearl Harbor, occurring as it did when all three American aircraft carriers were safely out at sea. Likewise, the hand of God extended up north later during the Battle of Midway, where America attacks, as improperly coordinated as they were, still led to the destruction of three Japanese aircraft carriers, with almost their full comple


transcript:

How do you feel about our new president, Mr. Trump? Are you happy or are you sad about his inauguration? Some people think he is the savior. Other people are very depressed. Some people can hardly function. Others have taken to the streets in protest and rioting. Over the past year of Mrs. Clinton's and Mr. Trump's campaigning for the presidency and all that that brought, did you ever think to yourself that out of a population of over 300 million people these two individuals are really the best we can do? These two people are the best of the best?

Mrs. Clinton, as we all know, has lied on numerous occasions. She also let good, loyal, and brave Americans die in Benghazi by ordering our troops to stand down. We also have no idea of what Mrs. Clinton let slip in her unprotected emails. It also looks like death and intrigue follow the Clintons wherever they go.

Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is extremely puffed up and full of himself. A self-made man, a man that is a billionaire that went bankrupt on someone else because he could, instead of doing his best to pay his debts and build some character. He made the debt, and he had the money to pay them, and pay his commitments, but he did not. A man that has been divorced like so many other Americans.

Now divorce is the breaking of a covenant in God's eyes. But we do not consider that, do we? And now, for the first time in our history, we have a First Lady in the White House who is a model and posed nude for a centerfold picture.

I doubt that either candidate has many morals. I think that this is more proof that we are living at the end of the age. But none of this bothers me in the least because God says He appoints who He wants to be ruler and to have authority over people and nations, and especially over the Israelite nations.

Let us turn to Proverbs 8.

Proverbs 8:15-16 By me king's reign, and rulers decree justice. By me prince's rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth.

God is telling us that He is in charge, not us; and not Satan—only Him. Only God is in charge. He had a lot of God's people vote this year and they think that they made a difference, and some even told me that they made a difference because they voted on God's side because they think they voted correctly.

Let us also look at Romans 13.

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Knowing that God is in charge and that He is working out His plan should give us all comfort and a sense of well being. However, I am very concerned about the attitudes of some of God's people within the greater churches of God. Brethren have made comments saying how they think that because Mr. Trump has been elected, we now have more time until the return of Christ. In fact, a lot more time. People have posted on social media all kinds of thinking on what Mr. Trump's election means. And most of the thinking was that we have a lot more time to go, a much longer time

We cannot allow ourselves to fall into this kind of an attitude. This is a very dangerous place to be. This is the very attitude that Satan wants us to have. Satan knows that when we think we have lots of time, we lose all sense of urgency. We get lax with Bible study and prayer. We get sloppy in the way we unleaven [sic] our homes. We get lax with the Sabbath, the holy days, our tithing, and even overcoming, and the way we treat and love one another, because we can take care of it later, can we not? Tomorrow is good enough. Why worry about today? We have lots of time.

God gives us ample warnings in His Word about allowing ourselves to fall into this kind of thinking.

Revelation 16:15 (TLB) Take note: I will come as unexpectedly as the thief! Blessed are all who are awaiting me, who keep their robes in readiness and will not need to walk naked and ashamed.

Now, I do not know what Mr. Trump's presidency will bring. I do not have any clue. I really do not know. The economy could get much better. There could be more jobs and less civil unrest. Things could look very good for a while. But remember what God says in I Thessalonians 5.

I Thessalonians 5:3 (AMPC) When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.

I would like you to think about another group of people in all of this. Think about the Germans who lived right before and through World War II, before Hitler came to power. The German economy was shot before he came to power. Their economy was completely shot, much worse than ours. It took a wheelbarrow full of money to buy one loaf of bread. There were no jobs and lots of civil unrest. In January of 1933, Hitler became Germany's chancellor. By 1935, Hitler has Germany's economy in full recovery mode by putting the Germans to work building tanks, planes, and armor—and the German people were happy, happy, happy. And in 1939, Hitler goes to war with Poland and defeats the Polish army. In three weeks, the German people are happy, happy, happy.

In 1940, the German military occupies Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, and defeats the French army. He also invades that year Yugoslavia and Romania, and the German people are happy, happy, happy. Everything looks good. And then in 1941, Hitler invades Russia, ignoring his peace pact with them, breaking his word and his treaty. Another leader with no morals. In 1943, Germany loses the battle of Stalingrad deep inside of Russia and the tide turns. Over the next two years Germany's cities are pounded into rubble and so many Germans lose their lives that by the end of the war, what is left of Germany's once great and proud army is made up, in part, by old men and very young boys. And then in April 1945, Hitler commits suicide. What started out so good for the Germans ended badly, with many Germans dying. What they thought was going to be so good for them in their country ended very badly.

Now, I am not comparing Mr. Trump to Hitler. I am just saying that we have to stay focused and keep an urgency about our calling. You and I do not know what is coming. We really do not.

Let us turn to Daniel 5.

Daniel 5:5 In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

We all know this story. So you can drop down to verses 26, 27, and 28 and you can read these verses if you like. I will just paraphrase them for you.

God is telling the great king Belshazzar that he has been found wanting. And in this very hour—this very hour—his kingdom is over and it will be divided between the Medes and the Persians. This is how fast things can happen.

Brethren, things can change in the blink of an eye. We must not go to sleep! We must be diligent in our prayers, our Bible study, our overcoming, and love for the brethren. Let us look at the urgent warnings God gives to His churches and people in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 3, God is talking here to the church at Sardis.

Revelation 3:3 (TLB) Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again. Unless you do, I will come suddenly upon you, unexpected as a thief, and punish you.

Now, do you believe that the greater churches of God really believe and practice what I just read to you in this verse, what was taught at first? Things such as saving second tithe so you will always be one year ahead if you do it properly. Do you really think that everybody that went to the Feast this year kept their kept second tithe? If you do not keep your second tithe, and you go on a credit card, you will always be one year behind, and sooner or later things will happen, and you will not have enough money to go to the Feast. And there were people who told me this year they did not have enough money to go to the Feast. They could not go.

How about corporal punishment for our kids? How about the preparation day and keeping the Sabbath holy? How about divorce and remarriage?

I could go on with this but we all know that the greater churches of God fit these verses really pretty good. The warning is: do not go to sleep. Christ comes suddenly, unexpectedly, like a thief. Hold on to what you have been taught firmly and turn to Me again. That was the warning there.

Let us look at what God says to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2.

Revelation 2:5 [He says] "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; and repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—except you repent."

When we read these verses, do not we get a sense of urgency about the times and things that we are living in right now? Just because we now have Mr. Trump for our president does not mean that we are not living at the end of the age. God says, in this verse, "I will come to you quickly." "Remember therefore from where you have fallen." We have fallen and allowed ourselves in the church to become very liberal with God's laws and doctrines at the present time. God says, make changes and get back to what we were taught at the first.

Now, let us look at what God says to the church at Pergamos in Revelation 2.

Revelation 2:16 (TLB) "Change your mind and your attitude, or else I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

Now, Satan wants all of us to think there is no hurry. We do not have to change. We do not have to pray and study. And the reason we do not have to is because Mr. Trump is going to make America great again. Is that not what he said? Do you not believe him? What is the hurry?

But God, on the other hand, gives us plenty of warning that He comes quickly, suddenly, or fast so we do not get caught asleep. That is God's warning.

Let us look at what God says to the church of Philadelphia.

Revelation 3:11 (TLB) "Look, I am coming soon! Hold tightly to the little strength you have—so that no one will take away your crown."

God even warns the Philadelphia church. This church has a good report from God. These people are in pretty good stead with God, but He still wants them to be diligent about their crown because He comes quickly. God is saying, guard your crown, do not let anyone or anything come between you and God.

All these warnings are given to us by God because He knows that we are physical humans, and we put things off and we get lazy, we get lax. And especially when we think we have a lot of time. On top of becoming lazy and lax and we think we have a lot of time, we also think, or at least the ones of us that are young, that because we are young and in good health that we will live forever.

So let us look at Luke 12.

Luke 12:16-20 (TLB) [Again, another warning for us here] Then he gave an illustration: "A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. In fact, his barns were full to overflowing—he could not get everything in. He thought about his problem, and he finally exclaimed, 'I know—I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones! Then I'll have room enough. And I'll sit back and say to myself, "Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you!'" "But God said to him, 'Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?'

Death should also play into our urgency, brethren, because none of us knows how long God will grant us life. People die at all ages and all the time. That is why God warns us over and over again that He comes quickly or when we least expect it. Mr. Trump is not a savior. He might help the economy. I do not know. Things might look really good for America. But remember, God is working out His plan. We are still $20 billion upside down. That has not changed. We are still killing our unborn children. That has not changed. The country as a whole still lacks morals. That has not changed either. So we will just have to see what Mr. Trump brings.

Let us turn to Luke 12, verses 39 through 40. Again, this is another warning from God.

Luke 12:39-40 (TLB) "Everyone would be ready for him if they knew the exact hour of his return—just as they would be ready for a thief if they knew when he was coming. So be ready all the time. For I, the Messiah, will come when least expected."

What will Mr. Trump's presidency bring? Will he be able to bring jobs back to America? Will he be able to rebuild the military? Will he be able to work with Congress? Will he be able to pay our $20 billion debt down? Will he be able to build a wall between us and Mexico? Will Mr. Trump be able to shrink government spending? Will Mr. Trump get America's economy humming again, like things were when they were back under the Reagan presidency? Or will Mr. Trump, because of his arrogant attitude, his self-made man thinking, and his "I need no one" attitude, be the trigger that brings about the beast? Could that be it?

As far as I can tell, Mr. Trump looks like and acts like an isolationist. Isolationism usually brings war. That is what history teaches. You and I cannot afford to think that, because we now have a Republican as the president, that this is a sign from God that we now have a lot more time. We must, as firstfruits, stay focused and have an urgency about our calling.

As we turn to Matthew 24, think about this. God only uses the word thief in talking about the sudden or quick return of Christ in the New Testament. It is not in the Old Testament at all, brethren. So we have to come to the conclusion that these warnings are for us, the New Testament church and the people who live at the end of the age.

Matthew 24:42-44 (TLB) "So be prepared, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming. Just as a man can prevent trouble from thieves by keeping watch for them, so you can avoid trouble by always being ready for my unannounced return."

Let us also turn to II Peter 3. Now, God must have known that at the end of the age His people would have a tendency to be distracted, to become lax and lazy, and even watered down. That is why He uses the words thief, quickly, unexpectedly, and suddenly. God uses the word thief referring to Christ's return in the books of Matthew, Luke, I Thessalonians, II Peter, and Revelation. That is for us—all of us—living at the end of the age. God knows what it will be like for His people at the end of the age with all the things that get us distracted. That is why He warns us over and over again in the New Testament that He comes as a thief.

II Peter 3:10-11 (TLB) The day of the Lord is surely coming, as unexpectedly as a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with the terrible noise, and the heavenly bodies will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be burned up. And so since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives we should be living!

God wants us to continue to try and overcome, and try to live godly lives. God does not want us to think we have all kinds of time. He wants just the opposite. He wants us to have an urgency about it.

Do you see God in history? That is the question. If you see God working in history, you will not become lax or fall asleep because you will be able to see how fast things can change, and how God works things out for His purpose.

Do you think the American people that were alive when Pearl Harbor was bombed, saw God's hand in that attack? Do you think they did? They did not. They thought we were in more serious trouble than we were. Not that the attack did not cost us a lot of dead and wounded. It did. But the most important targets, our aircraft carriers and the fuel bunkers at Pearl Harbor, were not knocked out.

The Japanese attack really failed. Brethren, if Japan had been able to sink our aircraft carriers and would have had the presence of mind to knock out and destroy the fuel bunkers at Pearl Harbor, things would have been much different for us. This would have made a much more serious situation for the United States, possibly allowing the Japanese the opportunity to invade our West coast. At the time of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, we had eight battle ships at anchor in the harbor. The main targets for the Japanese pilots were the battleships and Hickam Airfield and Wheeler Airfield, where our fighter planes and bombers were housed.

The following is a list of our battle ships and the damage sustained by this attack.

The California sank but was later refloated and rebuilt.

The Pennsylvania was damaged.

The Nevada was seriously damaged.

The Oklahoma sank and was a total loss.

The Tennessee suffered minor damage.

The Arizona sank and was a total loss.

The Maryland was damaged.

The West Virginia was sunk but refloated and rebuilt.

American losses at Pearl Harbor were 2,400 servicemen killed, 1,000 men injured, 20 ships, including the eight battle ships I just mentioned, they were damaged or sunk, and over 300 planes were destroyed. Most of the devastation was at Hickam Field and Wheeler Field, and along Battleship Row.

The Japanese, on the other hand, only lost nine fighter planes, 15 dive bombers, and five torpedo planes. The Japanese attack looked like it was a complete victory, you know, and they thought that would weaken our Pacific fleet, and they thought that would leave the West coast open to invasion for them.

But what we have to remember is, that in all major world events, God is sovereign. He works things out for His purpose and for His plan for all of mankind.

Even though Japan had spies in Hawaii who took pictures of Pearl Harbor on regular basis, allowing the Japanese to know which ships were present and which ships were out at sea, the Japanese still attacked when our aircraft carriers were at sea and missing. The Japanese missed damaging or sinking the most important ships we needed to fight a war in the area the size of the Pacific Ocean—our aircraft carriers. The Pacific fleet had three aircraft carriers that were missing at the time of the attack at Pearl Harbor. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, our government called the missing carriers a miracle. They said it was a miracle that they were at sea.

Now, the carrier Saratoga was delivering planes to Midway Island. The carriers Lexington and Enterprise were delivering planes to Wake Island. Do you not think that since the three carriers were at sea, all of them that we had in the Pacific at that time—not just one or two, all of them—that this was a miracle? Do not you think that was a miracle, brethren? It was, it was a miracle. God's fingerprints were all over the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The second thing the Japanese high command missed or did not think about that would have even had more of an impact on the war in the Pacific, was that they failed to knock out the fuel bunkers at Pearl Harbor. In fact, the Japanese did not even attack them. They went unscathed. The war in the Pacific was fought primarily with troops, of course, making landings on occupied islands held by the Japanese. But this could not have happened without aircraft carriers. It could not have happened. It could not have happened with obsolete battleships which the Japanese attacked.

Nothing that we did in the Pacific would have been possible without aircraft carriers. The aircraft carrier with their aircraft were the main weapons used in the Pacific War. Without them, you would be fighting a losing battle. If the Japanese would have done nothing else but blow up the fuel bunkers, Pearl Harbor would have been out of action as a port for at least one year or maybe even longer, maybe as long as two years, and useless as a base for the Pacific fleet. That would mean the Pacific fleet would then have to use either San Diego, San Francisco, Long Beach, California, or Bremerton, Washington, as a base and fueling station, which would have put the Pacific fleet about 2,500 miles further away from Japan and the enemy.

Do you see God in all of this, brethren? He was there. God is sovereign and involved in His creation.

We guess at God's intentions and we make judgments on what we see and on what we think, and this dictates what we will and what we will not do in our lives. Spiritually, God wants us to see Him working in our lives, and in greater Israel, and in history because this builds faith and it builds urgency in us.

I am also going to give us a little bit of the history of the battle of Midway, because I want to show us that God is working things out to the conclusion He wants, not the conclusion that mankind thinks or expects.

The Japanese attacked Midway Island with four aircraft carriers and many other warships. Now we had just fought the Japanese Navy one month earlier at the Battle of the Coral Sea. In this battle, we lost an aircraft carrier that was sunk and another aircraft carrier was badly damaged. The damaged aircraft carrier was the Yorktown. Now the Yorktown was able to limp back to Pearl Harbor and she was made seaworthy within 72 hours—which they said was another miracle.

The admiralty of Pearl Harbor had intelligence that the Japanese would attack Midway. Our navy sent the carriers Enterprise and Hornet on ahead of the Yorktown to Midway because her repairs were not yet complete. Now, all three U.S. carriers were to meet up and engage the enemy. This never happened. God's work again. Our carriers spotted all four Japanese carriers before the Japanese knew we were there. We attacked first but then nothing went right for our pilots. Our attack on the Japanese carriers was not coordinated. It was a piecemeal attack.

It was a very unorganized attack since our attacking planes did not all arrive over the Japanese carriers at the same time. This caused the Japanese fighter planes to become scattered and at the wrong altitude to defend their ship. As the waves came in piecemeal, when the last wave of our dive bombers and torpedo planes attacked, they met little resistance because the Japanese planes were scattered all over the place and at the wrong altitude, and we were able then to sink three of the four Japanese carriers.

How could this happen? Our attack was not coordinated. It was unorganized chaos at best. Yet in one fatal blow, we sank three Japanese aircraft carriers! God was with us, working out His plan. Or were we lucky, brethren? Was He with us or were we just lucky?

But the battle is not over yet. The Japanese then spotted the U.S. carrier Yorktown. The Japanese attacked the Yorktown with the remaining aircraft they had on their last aircraft carrier and damaged her so badly that she was dead in the water and listing to one side. Later that day, she would be torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine.

Do you know what the miracle was in all of this? The miracle was that because the Yorktown had sailed for Midway a day later than the Enterprise and Hornet, she was still 200 miles from the Enterprise and the Hornet when she was attacked and damaged and sank. Our three carriers never met up because the carrier Yorktown sailed later than the other two carriers. The aircraft carriers Enterprise and Hornet, after refueling their planes, then spotted and found the last remaining Japanese aircraft carrier and sank her, bringing the Battle of Midway to an end.

The Japanese lost four aircraft carriers to our one. Things might have been different, though, if our first air attack would have been coordinated because the Japanese fighter planes probably would not have had much of a problem shooting down most of our dive bombers and our torpedo planes because they were much slower. But because the attack was not coordinated by us, the Japanese were able to shoot down the first few waves of attacking planes. This then put the Japanese planes at too low of an altitude to defend their ships against the last attacking wave, and we were able to sink three of their aircraft carriers. This was the first miracle of the battle of Midway.

The second one was that the aircraft carrier Yorktown was 200 miles away from our other two carriers when she was attacked and sunk. The whole outcome of the Battle of Midway might have been different if the Japanese aircraft would have caught all three of our carriers in one place and at one time. They then would have had the opportunity to sink all three, ending the battle in their favor, and leaving us with no aircraft carriers at all in the Pacific Ocean. None.

God works things out according to His will and His plan. And I hope we can all see this in these two examples I just talked about. If you look at history, there are many things where you can see God's fingerprints, if you are looking. God tells us to watch. Why does God tell us to watch?

Let us turn to Mark 13.

Mark 13:35-37 "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

God does not tell us to watch so we can set dates, brethren. Or so we can say, Christ is at least a decade away, or 20 years away, or 40 years away. He tells us to watch so we will have an urgency about prayer, Bible study, overcoming, and learning how to love and serve one another.

Do you not think the apostles and the people that lived during and after Christ's crucifixion thought that they lived at the end of the age? They did. How about the people who lived before and during World War I and all the suffering that event brought mankind? They did too.

Mankind has always thought that the generation that he lived in was the end of the age. God wants it that way so we will have an urgency about it. He does not want to find us sleeping and all that entails, basically doing nothing. No growth; just going through the motions.

Mr. Trump's election to the presidency should give all of us a sense of urgency. Think about it, brethren. Think about his election. His election was not what the experts expected and they did not think what happened was going to happen. And Mr. Trump said anything he felt like saying during the campaign and he offended everybody. Did Mr. Trump not call people names? He made fun of people. He insulted people. No matter what he did or said hurt him much in the polls. And now he is our president.

Do you not see God in all of this, brethren? This never happened in a presidential election before. This was the most bizarre election in our history. Mr. Trump's election should not have happened, but it did. So could Mr. Trump be the trigger that ushers in the beast? I do not know, but I would not get in an attitude or have the mindset that fulfillment of major prophecy was at least 10, 20, or 40 years away.

Think about the warning God gives us in Matthew 25, verses 1 through 10. Now, these scriptures, for me at least, have a very urgent effect on me every time I read them. I do not know if there is an urgency for you when you read them. But I want you to think about this. You know, every time I read them, I think, could I be in God's church for 30, 40, or 50 years, keeping the Sabbath all that time, tithing all that time, keeping the holy days all that time, and going to the Feast all that time, and then not have enough oil to enter into the wedding, and to have the door shut in my face—have you ever thought about that, brethren?—because I was asleep, I was hit or miss with prayer and Bible study, I never overcame, I never learned to love the brethren.

This is exactly what will happen to us if we just go through the motions at church, and we go through the motions with our calling, or we treat our calling like this is a social club. We go to church. It is fun! It is a social club. Why do we have to do anything more?

We must be diligent and have a real urgency about trying to become Christ-like with daily Bible study, daily prayer, with overcoming, and a repentant attitude, and much, much love for the brethren. Much love for one another is very critical and a must for all of us, brethren.

Let us look at these ten verses here in Matthew 25. I hope these verses make us sober and give us an urgency about what we are involved in. We will just read these and we will close with this.

Matthew 25:1-10 "The kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut."

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