CALIFORNIA SENATE PROCLAIMS, “YOU MUST STAY GAY (OR TRANS)!”

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California lawmakers proclaim, “You must stay gay (or trans)! We will not allow you to explore the possibility of change.”

The Senate just approved AB 2943 with by a vote of 25-11. Next is the Assembly, then the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown, then the length and breadth of your great state.

In an August 16 email, Greg Burt, Director of Capitol Engagement, California Family Council, explained the significance of AB 2943, which has been dubbed the “Must Stay Gay” bill. He wrote, “With Thursday’s [Senate] vote, elected leaders told churches and those with biblical beliefs about gender and sexual orientation that advocating for their views could get them sued.” The implications of AB 2943 are staggering. Legal experts confirm that by targeting financial transactions, AB 2943 threatens religious non-profits, churches, and pastors who provide paid resources to help people practice their faith.”

This is nothing less than governmental tyranny, nothing less than an abuse of elected power, nothing less than an unholy mandate against the holy claims of God.

Church, will you sit back and take it? Or will you rise up as one, with all respect for your government, and say, “If people want help, we will supply it. We will practice our faith. We will not deny the life-changing power of the gospel to anyone.”

JEFF JOHNSTON

Stop for a moment and look at these smiling faces. Meet Jeff and David and April and others. Read their testimonies and hear their stories.

Some struggled with unwanted same-sex attractions for years. Some were out and proud homosexuals. Some identified as transgender. Others had their own unique story of sexual brokenness or addiction.

Yet every one of them testifies to radical change through the gospel and godly counsel. And under AB 2943, every one of them would be denied such godly help. Church, we have no choice but to act regardless of the cost.

If you get sued for doing what’s right, so be it. If you get arrested, so be it. Great is your reward in heaven! Our brothers and sisters around the world are being exiled or stoned or burned alive or imprisoned or kidnapped for their faith. Surely, you can take a little opposition for your faith in the United States.

Adapted from article by Dr Michael Brown, California Christians, Prepare for Civil Disobedience in Charisma Magazine

OCEAN TEMPERATURES REACH RECORD LEVELS

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This week, environmental experts were stunned when ocean water off of the San Diego coast hit an all-time record high of 81.3 degrees Fahrenheit. Daily measurements began all the way back in 1916, and since that time a higher ocean temperature has never been recorded off of the California coast.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Studies have shown that ocean temperatures have been rising rapidly all over the planet, and this has already had a devastating impact on many ecosystems.

The oceans are the foundation of the food chain, and if sea life starts dying off on a massive scale, it could mean unprecedented famine all over the planet. Is this further evidence we are in the “last days?

This should be one of the biggest news stories of the year, but unfortunately the mainstream media is almost entirely ignoring it.

Some free-swimming sea animals may shift their routines, but stationary organisms like coral reefs and kelp forests “are in real peril,” said Michael Burrows, an ecologist at the Scottish Marine Institute, who was not part of the research.

Image result for pictures of coral reefs and fish

In 2016 and 2017, persistent high ocean temperatures off eastern Australia killed off as much as half of the shallow water corals of the Great Barrier Reef. According to marine biologist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, one out of every four fish on the entire planet “lives in or around coral reefs”. 

Earthquakes are happening more frequently, volcanoes that were once dormant are springing to life all over the globe, and we are witnessing shaking in unusual locations. Underwater volcanic eruptions are generating immense amounts of heat, underwater earthquakes are producing giant cracks in the crust of our planet, and magma from the core of the Earth is pushing up toward the surface. The ongoing eruption in Hawaii is an example above the surface of the water that we can see, but anything going on below the surface generally does not make the news.

 

EMPOWERED BY GOD TO DO GOOD WORKS

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“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“God will do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that you can ask or imagine, according to the power at work in you.”  Ephesians 3:20

You are still on this earth because God still wants to use you. Moreover, God’s Word says, you have not because you ask not.  Why would you settle for a little of God’s goodness, when He says, He will do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that you can ask or imagine?

Jesus made it possible for your Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity to indwell you, to empower you.  He is your counsellor, comforter, teacher and guide. Allow Him to guide your every step. However, it will require you to continually say as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane; “not my will but Your will be done”

If you allow Him control, He will produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, kindness and self control.

You can only minister effectively if He makes the gifts of the Spirit available to you; words of Wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues. Distributing these gifts as He wills to accomplish the work God has called you to do.

Are you operating in the power of the Holy Spirit or are you quenching His work in your life and grieving Him?

Sadly, I lived many years of my Christian life not truly understanding the Holy Spirit is a person and that I could quench His work in my life and grieve Him. Nor did I understand His role, to empower me to live the Christian life, as mentioned, He is the one that produces the fruit in our lives and He is the one that provides the gifts to enable us to do ministry. His role is to make us like Jesus, to make Him fully known to us.

It was only when I came to realise how wonderful it is to work with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to guide and direct my life did I start to truly to enable His Kingdom to come.

Note both of my books; Build a Kingdom Business – Empowered by the Holy Spirit and Living Eternal Now – Empowered by the Holy Spirit acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s role. Both are available as ebooks on Amazon. I produce paperback copies as needed, and only have Build a Kingdom Business available in trade paperback form. These need to be ordered directly from me at ron@bakb.com.au. AU$12.50/US$9.50 includes postage. The funds will be used for the ministry powerpointsermons.net so payment will be made by making a donation on this website. You can download one of the sermons at the same time but make sure you email me as well so I can post the book to your address.

TRUTH ABOUT PALESTINE

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If you want to know the facts behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the history of the region, this educational video is for you!

How did Palestine get its name?

Who are the Palestinians?

Is it the West Bank or Judea and Samaria?

Is the territory captured in the 1967 war “occupied” by Israel?

Do Jews belong in the Land of Israel?

This webinar, presented by Canadian-Israeli educator Yehudit Shier Weisberg, is quite long, but for those interested in understanding Israeli history and knowing the truth behind the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it’s absolutely worth watching. Filmed August 7, 2018.

GOD HASN’T QUIT SPEAKING

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God hasn’t quit speaking; He is opening our hearts and minds to hear His voice in new ways. He does this so that we will continue to grow progressively in our relationship with Him. He doesn’t want us to become locked in to the same patterns of hearing Him. God’s goal is a real, live relationship with us.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27

Image result for picture of God talking to Elijah still small voice

Here are a few scriptural examples, which portray the multitude of ways the Spirit has used to speak to people:

  1. A dream or vision (see Job 33:14-18)
  2. A voice in a trance (see Acts 10:9-16)
  3. The voice of many angels (see Rev. 5:11)
  4. The voice of the archangel (see 1 Thess. 4:16)
  5. The “sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:15)
  6. The sound of the Lord walking in the garden (see Gen. 3:8)
  7. The sound of the army of God marching in the tops of the trees (see 2 Sam. 5:23-25)
  8. The audible voice of God (see Ex. 3:4)
  9. God “speaking peace” to His people (Ps. 85:8)
  10. God’s written Word (our primary source of His voice and our chief reference point) (see Ps.119:105)
  11. Wonders in the sky and on Earth (see Joel 2:30-31)
  12. Visions and parables to the prophets (see Hos. 12:10)
  13. Words and physical metaphors to the prophets (see Jer. 18:1-6)
  14. The Holy Spirit speaking to a group (see Acts 13:2)
  15. Men, moved by the Holy Spirit, declaring God’s voice (see 2 Pet. 1:21)
  16. Heavenly experiences in which one is brought up before the Lord (see 2 Cor. 12:1-4)
  17. The Holy Spirit bearing witness to our spirit (see Rom. 8:16)
  18. A dumb donkey speaking with the voice of a man (see 2 Pet. 2:16)
  19. One person speaking the revelatory counsel of the Lord to another (see James 5:19-20)
  20. God’s own Son (see Heb. 1:2)

This list is not exhaustive, but it gives a bird’s-eye view of some of the ways God has chosen to speak to (and through) His people. I have been surprised over the years at both how God speaks and what or whom He chooses to use, invariably the most unlikely person.

God is not limited in His attention-getting techniques. He wants to be heard, and He has plenty of approaches He can utilise.

Sadly for me, one of the ways God gets my attention is with an earache in my right ear. To me, it’s like Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”. I invariably have taken myself away from God’s best for me, doing my own thing, and I know it. As soon as I get back on track, and step out to do what God has for me to do that day, the earache is gone. I have to step out, expecting God to turn up and equip me for the task. On several occasions, the earache has gone before I reach the set of lights about 500 metres/yards from my home.

God wants us to hear His voice in all of its manifestations so that we can bear much fruit—fruit that will remain.

We must not forget that ultimately this is not about us. It is about our being transformed into the image of His glorious Son, Jesus. By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, you and I will be changed into the image of God’s Son. According to Psalm 29, we will shout praises together as we are changed from glory to glory: “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psalm 29:2

Based on an article by James Goll: God has a Word for Us; No more Boxes! Charisma Magazine.

 

BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS IN SHARING YOUR FAITH

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A Christian, Pratt is clearly not shy about his faith, and is unafraid to call us all to a higher standard – that’s exactly what he did at the MTV “Generation Award” in June. The actor brought down the house with a poignant speech, providing the next generation with “9 Rules” for living. The “Jurassic World” star cleverly interspersed words of profound wisdom with a series of hilarious life tips.

“I’m going to cut to the chase, and I am going to speak to you, the next generation,” Pratt bellowed as he took to the podium. “I accept the responsibility as your elder. So, listen up.”

CHURCH AS GOD INTENDED

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Watch this 15 minute presentation by Peter Sutton on church. What can happen when pastors realise that they are just part of God’s church and the denominational barriers come down.

People don’t go to church, they are God’s church, wherever He has placed them in the marketplace. Only then, does the church start to impact communities and cities.

“THERE WILL BE FAMINES, PESTILENCES, AND EARTHQUAKES IN VARIOUS PLACES”

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Jesus answer to his disciples question, as to what would be the signs of his Second Coming to earth, included the quote above in Matthew 24:7.

Below, I have listed just a few of the current so called natural disasters that are swamping this planet like never before in their frequency and intensity. They will bring either worship and awe, or fear and dread.

“Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” Psalm 34:9

Church are you prepared for His Second Coming, are you listening to God, what is He calling you to do now? One thing is for certain, He is calling us to fulfil the great commission, to make disciples.

Drought in Argentina and Uruguay, most expensive weather disaster of 2018

Drought in Argentina and Uruguay, the most expensive weather disaster of 2018 After a severe lack of rainfall during the summer of 2017/18, parts of Argentina and Uruguay are now suffering their worst drought in decades and the most expensive weather-related disaster on the planet so far this year. This is also the most expensive disaster in the history of both Argentina and Uruguay.

JOEL ON THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF HELL

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As followers of this website will know, on a recent post “Why Hell is Not Eternal Torment” I supported the Conditional Immortality (Lake of Fire – a Fire that Consumes) view. Joel Richardson in the video below supports the Traditional Eternal Torment view.

This video is the second in a series of three on Hell. In the first video, Joel interviewed a representative of   www.rethinkinghell.com who presented the Conditional Immortality view so I would suggest you start there.

For different reasons, Joel and I believe this is an important subject, and as I value his opinion and the work he is doing on the “end times”, I want you to hear him out. However, you need to ask the Holy Spirit to give you understanding of the truth, in respect to God’s justice, and to what God has in store for unbelievers after the white throne judgement.

I have comments I would like to make on this presentation but I would prefer to wait to hear what Joel has to say about the N.T scriptures and then I will respond as I hope you will too.

 

TIMING OF THE RAPTURE

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The debate between pretribulation and prewrath rapture scholars about Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians has been fierce – mostly centred around 2 Thess. 2:3 and the meaning of the Greek word apostasia.

Image result for book Rapture Case Cosed by Neslon Walters

Dr Nelson Walters of Gospel in the End Times has written about that passage at length in his book Rapture: Case Closed?  However, he points out in this presentation that very little discussion has taken place about the passage that precedes 2 Thess. 2 and provides its “context,” that is 2 Thess. 1. The eschatological material in chapters one and two are really one continuous teaching! We cannot understand chapter two without understanding chapter one that provides introductory thoughts on the more hotly contested chapter.

Nelson does a stellar job of presenting the Prewrath case for the timing of the Rapture in this seven minute video.