Beloved, as you consider the candidates for this election and what each brings to the table and you make your decision on who you will vote for in November, know that God is sovereign over the affairs of man, and He will use everyone’s vote to reveal His choice for America. Get out and vote! And, if, at the end of the day, it wasn’t who you would have picked, remember Jephthah, despite all of his flaws, God looked at him and said he’s the guy I pick.  And the rest will be history! 

Many have learned that a life without Jesus Christ tends to keep our footing on dry ground with no relief in sight.

·  Are the currents of life grabbing and tugging at you, ready to drown you?  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD!

·  Are financial hardships, like rising flood waters, trying to pull you under?  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD!

·   Are relentless health struggles growing larger and larger like waves ready to pound you into submission?  SALVATION IS OF THE LORD! 

Whatever the hardships that may be flooding into your life, God is able to set your feet on dry ground and help you to cross over to His Promised Land of blessing. 

If somebody needed the gates of the city opened or doors within the castle opened, they called for the Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper was very powerful because he could authorize or refuse entry. Beloved, Jesus wants you to know that He is “The Gatekeeper!”

Did you realize, as The Gatekeeper, Jesus has your key hanging at His side?  One day He will fit your key into the lock, turn the key, and open the door of departure, and at that precise moment, you will be ushered across the threshold of eternity into either His glorious presence or into eternal torment all depending upon what you did with Jesus in this life. 

Did you know there are few people in the world who do not know about Sodom & Gomorrah? These cities are often the brunt of off-color jokes and disgusting innuendo. In Jude 1:7, the half-brother of Jesus writes “as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them…having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” 

These sins are listed in the Scriptures for our instruction and tell us clearly, that unbridled sexual immorality will not go unpunished. In fact, the phrase “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” reminds us that the people of Sodom & Gomorrah chose unwisely and were destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven. Indeed, God views sexual immorality very seriously! 

If sexual immorality is your reality, then today, choose wisely and humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God by repenting of your sinful ways and immerse yourself in the words, and the ways, and the worship of Jesus Christ!

Have you ever made a decision you regretted? Choices you made, things you did, friends you betrayed, people you let down.  Some decisions have no long-term consequences. Others last an eternity. 

Beloved, it’s not too late for you. 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “… now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” So today, repent of your sinful ways and believe in Jesus! Commit to follow his words, His ways, and His worship! Repent now and have no regrets later! Hallelujah!

Did you know there is a popular heresy going around that teaches everyone on planet Earth is part of the family of God?  They say, “We are all God’s children.” 

Did you know the Bible never teaches that? When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, God becomes our Father, we become his children, other believers become our brothers and sisters, and the church becomes our spiritual “forever family.”

Ephesians 1:4 tells us, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” 

That means, if you are a Christian, if you have repented of your sins and have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, then God chose you before the foundations of the world were laid!  That’s an awesome verse!  You have been chosen! I have been chosen! We are part of God’s family, we are special to Him! Just think, this all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, eternal God chose you for Himself! 

In other words, as one specially chosen by God, you are a royal priest who is part of a holy nation, serving the King of Kings, with all of the rights and privileges of His Name, on mission to tell all what God has done for you!  

To be politically incorrect means you say things and do things that wouldn’t go over well politically; it means you don’t agree with the popular opinions of the day. Did you know Jesus is the most politically incorrect person to ever walk the face of the earth? That’s right! His words were shocking, so different from what people were used to hearing, that they accused Him of being demon-possessed.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you also are politically incorrect. The beliefs Jesus has given you in His Word, beliefs about what is moral, and what is immoral, beliefs about eternal life, and how to get there are very different from what the world around you believes. Like it or not, YOU are politically incorrect!

Would you believe me if I told you the most desperate need of our day is for men who understand the times we are in? Men who understand there is a judgment day coming for everyone!

Beloved, understanding the times we are in means understanding the return of Jesus Christ for His church is imminent! It could happen at any moment! Are you ready for that? Have you embraced God’s cure for the needs of your heart? His name is Jesus. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Believe in Him and escape the wrath to come!

Did you know the Bible describes God, enthroned in heaven, as the Sovereign ruler over the heavens and the earth? In Isaiah 6:1 (NKJV), the Prophet Isaiah said, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up . . ."

The Hebrew word used for "Lord" is Adonai. It means the Sovereign One. It speaks of His Majesty and Authority and describes the Lord, enthroned in heaven, as the Sovereign ruler over the heavens and the earth. King Uzziah may not be on the throne anymore, but there is One who is still on the Throne!

“Have you ever wondered: “How long is eternity?” Jesus says that we will spend all of that time either in unquenchable and raging fire which was originally prepared for the devil and his angels, or in a paradise kingdom called “Heaven,” where love, joy, peace, and purity will continue on for eternity in the presence of God. Charles H. Spurgeon once said, “Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.” Do you live your life with eternity in mind?

Have you gone to church time and again looking for answers to life’s questions, but you can’t seem to find them? Does life feel empty to you? Are you hungry for reality?

In Acts 19:10-20 we have the story of the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, masquerading as Christians and trying to cast out evil spirits. In verses 15-16, one of the evil spirits rebukes them saying, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

Those demons who chased off the sons of Sceva were showing the whole world the difference between the reality of the power of God at work in the life of a man versus the fake spirituality of those who have only the appearance of godliness but not the reality of the power of God at work in their own life.

Did you know that Satan, the Devil, is the enemy of God and he is your enemy too? How well do you know him? Did you know that originally he was a cherub by the name of Lucifer? Did you know that God appointed him to a very unique and powerful position in His court? He was a powerful angel—if not the most powerful of them all! He succumbed to egotistical arrogance, and in his blinding pride, he instigated a monstrous rebellion against God, and resulted in he and one-third of the angels expelled from heaven and driven to earth in disgrace. Satan is on the prowl; he wants to devour you!

Does God really care about the grief and misery we experience in our lives? Consider what God, through his Son, has done for you.

Jesus, called the “Man of Sorrows” in Isaiah 53:3, was despised and rejected by the very people He came to save. Imagine if your family and friends started to mock you, laugh at you, sing dirges about you, shun you, and even gossip about you! Jesus, the “Man of Sorrows,” was persecuted, despised, rejected, tested, tempted, shamed, repeatedly beaten, and then subjected to the sorrows and humiliation of the most cruelest of deaths.

The price has been paid … the invitation has been made.

Are you satisfied with your spiritual life? Are you content with your status quo?

In Joshua 14:1-15, Caleb, at 85 years old, had just returned from wandering 40 years in the wilderness. He had every right to be tired...to be weary...to be satisfied with sitting back, propping his feet up. But he wasn’t content with where he was...he wasn’t ready to sit back and take it easy. Instead...he said...Give me that mountain.” Too many of God’s people are willing to live in the low country. Too many are content with being nominal Christians. Too many are dwelling in spiritual mediocrity when God wants us to live on the mountain!

According to Scripture, the lost are spiritually blind, captive to Satan, condemned, helpless, hopeless, and bound for hell. What is the answer? God must open their eyes. God must soften their hearts. God must give them understanding. And God must make them spiritually alive so they can see and believe. And so, we plead to God on their behalf. We petition their cause. We take their names before the Throne of Grace begging God to save them. When was the last time you determined to stand in the gap and cry out to Jesus on behalf of the souls of men?

Have you stopped praying for unsaved friends, neighbors, and loved ones because your prayers seem to go unanswered? Beloved, the Word of God charges us to pray through for the breakouts and the breakthroughs. To push… that’s P.U.S.H … to Pray Until Something Happens. Beloved, get back on your knees and get back to sending those “knee” mails full of requests, supplications, praises, confessions, thanksgivings, and worship! Refuse to let go of God until He answers. Grab onto God in prayer and P.U.S.H! Pray Until Something Happens!

As we await the imminent return of Jesus Christ to His Church, the Apostle Paul sets the direction on how we should be living in the meantime when he says in Romans 13:12, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Put on what? Paul clarifies this when he talks about the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:11-18. He says in verses 11 and 13, “Put on the full armor of God.” Not just one piece or some of the pieces of armor, but the “full” armor of God!

Where are the watchmen who see the danger of approaching judgment? Where are the watchmen who see evil creeping ever closer to our churches, our families, and our communities? Many of our pulpits today are polluted and diluted. They no longer name sin, they no longer call people to repent of sin, and they no longer preach the Cross for forgiveness from sin. They don't want to upset anybody, so they preach nothing but peace, prosperity, harmony, acceptance, love, and inclusion. They are what the Bible calls…Blind Watchmen! Consequently, our churches today are full of people who don’t want to hear the truth, let alone live according to the truth. Beloved, we need an earthshaking move of God, and it starts in the pulpits! Pastor, you are either for Jesus or you are against Him. You are either preaching the truth and living by the truth, or you are rejecting the truth!

Beloved, if the Rapture were to occur today, would you be left behind? Make sure you are Rapture READY by turning from your sin and embracing Jesus Christ alone for your salvation! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 (NKJV).

The Rapture will separate true believers from those who are only religious, from those who hope their ‘good’ outweighs their ‘bad,’ and from those who believe they can obtain salvation in any way other than simply believing the Gospel. Only those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ are going to be raptured. Those left behind will face the horrors of the Tribulation.