October 16, 2024 • 31 mins
Strengthening your faith in an increasingly ungodly world is more urgent now than ever. Discover how spiritual warfare is at play and how Satan works tirelessly to undermine belief in Jesus. As we stand firm as the light and salt of the earth, we are instrumental in suppressing evil through selfless agape love and the spreading of the gospel. With the potential imminence of the rapture, maintaining vigilance and active faith becomes imperative. Together, we reflect on the signs of the times, the urgency of living a life led by the Holy Spirit, and the profound teachings from the Bible in anticipation of Christ's return.
Living a God-glorifying life in a world resistant to divine teachings requires courage and transformation through the Holy Spirit. This episode challenges you to resist conformity to worldly standards, embrace spiritual growth, and utilize your unique gifts to uplift the body of Christ. We explore the critical role of church leaders in adhering to scripture, safeguarding against societal deception, and discerning truth amidst misinformation. Join us for an insightful journey into aligning your life with God's purpose, supporting those in need, and serving others selflessly while fortifying your faith with divine wisdom.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
B.R.Maul (00:29):
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and you arelistening to Living God's Way in
an Ungodly World.
Here we talk about how we, asChristians born-again believers,
follow our Lord and Savior,jesus.
Seems like it would be obvious,right, but as obvious as it is,
(00:52):
there are many reasons whyChristians are thrown off track,
not in just modern times.
It has been ever since Christhimself walked the earth and
hung on the cross and waswilling to pay the sin debt of
all who believe unto him.
People have been explainingaway miracles, have been coming
(01:17):
up with excuses not to believein Jesus Christ, and that's
because Satan himself, the godsmall g of this world, is doing
everything possible to hold onto what power he has left.
Look around you, beloved, andthere is violence everywhere.
This world is upside down.
(01:38):
There's no denying it.
Well, let me correct myself it.
Well, let me correct myself.
There is denying it, and that,to me, in and of itself, is
proof of the spiritual warfaregoing on today, because the
world is upside down and thereare people who are in fact,
denying the very evil that'sgoing on.
(01:58):
It's not to say it's just theunbelievers, those who are not
Christians, who are denying it.
I know Christians personallythat still are unwilling to
accept that the evil continuesto abound.
The time is falling shorter andshorter with every passing day,
(02:19):
because the day is gettingcloser to the second coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Before that happens, the churchwill be raptured.
Now, this lesson today is notabout the rapture, but I do need
to talk just a little bit aboutit so we have an understanding.
There are different schools ofthought when it comes to the
(02:40):
tribulation.
There are those who believethat we are already in the
tribulation, that this isalready hell on earth, and so
this must be what the revelationtalks about.
That, I believe, is false.
There is too much scripturethat points to the very fact
that the tribulation is aseven-year period.
(03:03):
It's not exaggerated, it'sseven years, and prior to that
seven years, the church israptured, and it seems to be.
That is what begins theTribulation.
Just think about this.
Right now, the Holy Spirit isindwelling all of the children
(03:24):
of God.
So for all of us who are bornagain, we're following Jesus.
The Holy Spirit has sealed usfor the day of salvation.
We are being led by the HolySpirit and the more a Christian,
a born-again believer, inprayer and supplication and
reading God's Word paysattention to what the Holy
(03:45):
Spirit directs that person to do, the more in tune we are and
the more we're able to respondto the Holy Spirit's cues.
Well, what does that mean?
It means that right now,however many children of God are
currently alive and walking theearth and I'm sure it's safe to
(04:06):
say it's in the millions it isthrough us, his children, that
God is suppressing the evil ofthis world.
I don't believe it is solelythrough us, because his power
alone is what dictates what thedevil can and cannot do, and the
devil's minions, the demons,what they can and cannot do.
(04:28):
It is all to the glory of God.
It will satisfy his ultimatepurpose, but he is using his
children.
It is his children with theHoly Spirit that have the
capability of loving otherpeople with agape love, a love
that is selfless, 100%, there'snothing attached to it.
(04:50):
Now, in our own abilities, wecan't love people that way.
We can love people on differentlevels of love I've talked
about this before but not agapelove, not the spiritual love
that God himself is.
So, with this love that we havefor one another and the love
(05:12):
that we have for the lost, thosewho do not know Jesus.
God works through us in fightingevil.
It is the righteous person whohates the wickedness, who hates
evil.
So we do what we can to fightback.
Of course, that looks differentin many, many ways.
(05:33):
Some fight back politically,some fight back militarily, some
spiritually.
Whatever it might be, we areall used in different ways.
The ultimate weapon, of course,is God's word and spreading the
gospel message.
So, if you take away all ofthose the Holy Spirit possesses
(05:55):
and that's a good thing A personwants to be possessed by the
Holy Spirit and that only comesby not only after being born
again, but allowing the HolySpirit to possess one, a person
forfeiting their life and givingtheir all to God.
And there are those who arelight and salt of the earth that
(06:19):
bring great hope because theycontinuously speak the gospel
message, they continuously allowGod to be his hands and feet,
doing the work of justice, doingthe work of love and kindness,
doing the work of helping thewidow and the orphan and the
stranger.
But when the day comes andJesus calls for the church and
(06:42):
the Holy Spirit raptures thatchurch from the earth and into
heaven and the tribulationbegins.
There is no more righteousness.
Those who the Holy Spiritpossessed, people who actually
can pray and can love, peoplewith agape love, are gone.
And what I meant by pray, thatis, the effectual, fervent
(07:06):
prayer of a righteous man,avails much, man, of course,
being mankind, so man and woman,people who pray with fervor,
people who pray with effect allgone, every single one.
Gone and listen carefully,beloved, because that can happen
(07:27):
at any moment.
There is nothing in thescriptures now that tell us
we're still waiting for this tohappen.
No, there's nothing else thatwe're waiting to happen.
The rapture could happen anymoment, and this is more what
I'm going to address in thisteaching.
Last week I wrapped up with thebook of 1 John and I expect to
(07:48):
start teaching in the book ofEphesians, probably next week,
but I wanted to take this timeright now because, with all the
things that are happening aroundthe world today, there's so
much and, yes, the world isupside down Now.
Interestingly enough, doesn'tit seem like that?
Every generation says that, and, of course, you can easily pawn
(08:11):
that off as well.
Yes, every generation thinksthat things are getting worse.
Have you ever thought that?
Perhaps there's a reason forthat?
Those who have been around thelongest are the ones looking
back going.
It's getting worse.
I believe it, and the reason Ibelieve it is because we're told
(08:33):
in the Bible that things willcontinue to get worse.
We are to expect this.
This is no surprise to God.
Jesus gave us the heads upmultiple times, and it is for
this reason that we need toprepare.
If you are one who is not bornagain and you're listening to
this message, well then this isa divine act.
(08:54):
I truly believe that the HolySpirit is using this message to
speak to you.
It's time to get over anyquestions that you may have that
you're seeking to be answeredbefore you follow Jesus.
It's time to get over anythingof the pride or insecurity that
is preventing you from openingyour heart and giving your life
(09:18):
to the Lord Jesus because, yes,at any moment the rapture can
happen.
And for the rest, who arelistening, who are born again,
my dear brothers and sisters inthe faith, you're the ones I'm
addressing directly, because thehour is now, we are out of time
and I'm not predicting that therapture is going to happen at
(09:42):
any given time, other than thefact that we know it's going to
happen.
But what I'm saying is for themillions of Christians around
the world who fall into thecategory of fair weather
Christian, somebody who standsup when things are going well,
when the weather is nice andthey're okay with worshiping the
(10:03):
Lord.
But, beloved, if you fall intothe category that suddenly the
storm comes and spiritually youhide, perhaps you feel afraid or
ashamed, whatever emotion itmay be, but then you stop
proclaiming Jesus.
And I'm not saying justverbally, stop proclaiming Jesus
, but proclaiming Jesus in yourlife, in your day-to-day living.
(10:25):
It is time for Christians tostand up.
It is time for Christians to dowhat God has told us to do to
be light and salt of this earth.
We must shine, we must givepeople hope, we must get the
name of Jesus out there.
(10:46):
And the only way we can do this, beloved, we must be in God's
word daily, not for the sake ofour salvation, no, because that
would be based on works.
If you're born again, you arealready sealed.
You are a child of God, you areheaven bound and there's no way
of breaking that because youhave sinned again.
(11:08):
It doesn't work that way.
So I'm not advocating thatthere's any way that you're
going to earn your salvation byreading God's word every day.
What I am saying is this is howwe strengthen our faith.
God speaks to us through hisHoly Scripture, and it's the
(11:28):
Holy Spirit that gives thechildren of God understanding.
The biggest mistake that we canmake as a child of God, walking
around this forsaken world thatwants nothing to do with the
maker, is to try to fit in, totry to live lives that match the
world.
We are to be transformed by theHoly Spirit and not allow the
(11:53):
world to conform us to its ways.
We're already born into that,so I understand it's tough,
isn't it?
We all have different levels ofstruggling with certain sins of
this world, things that haveenticed us, but we're not here
for anything else but glorifyingGod.
There's nothing else that weneed to do.
(12:13):
I know there's many things thatwe want to do, but there's
nothing else that we need to do.
We are here to glorify ourMaker.
When we accept that JesusChrist as our Lord and our
Savior with our lips, when weconfessed it with our heart,
when we believed it, the HolySpirit entered us, sealed us,
and we are children of God.
(12:33):
We owe it to our God, and Godwill be glorified, with or
without your help.
So it's time, beloved Christiansaround the world, for those who
have not acted upon this tolook to those who have, because
(12:54):
there are God's children outthere who are indeed doing what
our Lord and Savior hascommanded, who are indeed doing
what our Lord and Savior hascommanded.
They are putting their life inthe reaches of death in areas of
the world where Christians arebeing stabbed, shot, mutilated,
beheaded, tortured, but they'reout there.
(13:16):
They are there sharing thegospel message, knowing that any
day could be their last.
There are those Christians whoare out there in parts of the
world who are fighting famine,who are fighting pestilence, all
in the name of Jesus, toglorify his name, to let others
(13:37):
know, who don't know who he is,that they do have a savior.
And even though that theirphysical needs, where they're at
, is scarce, these people arebringing food for their bellies
but, more importantly, they'rebringing food for their souls.
There are saints, god's children, around the world who are
(14:00):
giving up opportunities left andright to make what the world
would consider a great living, acomfortable living, and they're
doing it so they can reach outand love other people.
They are loving the orphans,the widows and the stranger, and
they're not making money orthey're making very little money
(14:20):
, but the Lord continues toprovide for their needs.
So there are brothers andsisters of ours that are out
there that are doing the work.
They are working hard in orderto get people the gospel message
, to get those people theunderstanding of who Jesus is,
so they have the hope ofsalvation through Jesus Christ.
(14:41):
So my message to those issimply keep it up, keep fighting
the good fight beloved forthose who have already given
their life to Jesus.
And I'm not saying being bornagain, no, no, no, because being
born again isn't giving ourlife to Jesus.
(15:01):
Being born again is Jesusgiving us life spiritually.
What I'm saying is, as aChristian, once you're born
again, you need to make thedecision that, lord, my life is
now your life.
You purchased it.
What will you have me do?
I am your servant and then doit.
(15:22):
Please don't misunderstand me.
This is not a pitch for everyoneto go out and start their own
church, their own mission,because I understand that we
must use the spiritual giftsthat God has given us.
There's all kinds of spiritualgifts, but those spiritual gifts
are meant to lift up the bodyof Christ.
(15:43):
Who's the body of Christ?
God's children.
So whatever spiritual giftsthat the Lord has bestowed upon
you is to be used to support oneanother, not for us to make
money.
Not that it won't.
Some people have the spiritualgift of being able to make money
.
Not that it won't Some peoplehave the spiritual gift of being
(16:03):
able to make money.
And you might think, well, wow,I want that spiritual gift.
But those who have thatspiritual gift, it's also in
their hearts to make the moneyfor God.
They're the ones who go out oftheir way.
They know how to raise funds,they're the ones who put
together these fundraisers.
(16:23):
But whatever your spiritual giftis, if you're not involved, get
involved, beloved.
If you don't have a church, agroup gathering that comes
together and worships the Lord,that learns about the Lord, that
grow together, that pray forone another to help each other
be healed, that grow together,that pray for one another to
(16:44):
help each other be healed, well,find one.
I caution you don't be quick tofind any church because in
today's world, as it continuesto unravel, to fall apart, many
churches are not Bible-believingchurches.
They're a really nice, friendlyclub.
So please don't get involvedwith those.
You want to make sure that thechurch leadership abide by God's
(17:06):
terms, not their own and notthe congregations, not society
around them.
How can you see these?
These are men who are leadingchurches and groups, who often
are the ones that many othersdon't like because they are
offensive, because they don'tmake them feel good about who
they are.
(17:26):
And it's not that these pastorsand elders and deacons and
leaders are mean, but they stickto what God says, even though
they know many people don't wantto hear it.
Now, before I completely runout of time, it's important to
me to always use God's word inreference to what I'm saying.
(17:47):
Jesus makes it very clear thatwe must have knowledge of his
word or, as things continue toget worse and worse, you're
going to get lost.
In Matthew, chapter 24, verse 3, verses 3, 4, and 5, it reads
Now, as he sat on the Mount ofOlives, the disciples came to
(18:09):
him privately saying Tell uswhen will these things be and
what will be the sign of yourcoming and of the end of the age
?
And Jesus answered and said tothem Take heed that no one
deceives you Verse five for manywill come in my name saying I
(18:29):
am the Christ and will deceivemany.
So, verse four take heed thatno one deceives you.
Of all things that Jesusstarted with.
He starts with don't be, don'tbe deceived.
And just in the last few yearsalone, with the great powers at
(18:52):
hand controlling the internetnow, the companies that have the
power to hide information or tobring information to the top
when it comes to keywords beingsearched.
They're the ones who controlthe algorithms at what will be
found and what will not be foundfor information.
These are people who controland they're the ones who say
(19:14):
what misinformation is, which isanything that is against their
narrative, their agenda.
So it's not even the real truth.
It's their own truth, their ownnarrative that they want to
make sure that we all buy into.
So the deception is huge.
It is beyond anything that weare able to fathom.
(19:36):
We are being lied to on the news, we are being lied to through
even programming, movies and TVshows, agendas that are set up
that are deceiving billions ofpeople, and it is only those who
are the elect.
The elect are God's chosen, theJewish nation, and there is
(19:59):
God's children, the church.
There's two different types ofelect.
The elect I'm referring toright now is God's children,
because even the Jewish nationright now is being deceived, but
God's children are the onlyones right now that, as we stay
in God's word, he gives us theability to see this fakeness,
(20:22):
the false narratives thatcontinue to grow, how misleading
it is to grow, how misleadingit is.
People are falling for what wewould think would be common
sense, that a person wouldn'tfall for it.
But the deception is so great,the lying is so massive that
when you have leaders andpoliticians saying, yeah, this
(20:45):
is what's going on, whateverthat is, I'm not going to get
into specifics for lack of timeand then the media, the mass
media, go along with it.
And when you try to searchsomething on the internet and it
turns out that you can't findthe actual truth, it's the
narrative that they keepspinning.
Yes, if you don't have God'sword, you're so easily deceived,
(21:09):
and Jesus said let no onedeceive you.
That's how important it isbeloved Now when it comes to
God's wisdom.
And when it comes to wisdom,there is only God's wisdom.
There's knowledge in this world, but all wisdom comes from God.
There's plenty of knowledge,because God's creation is so
(21:30):
massive that there's a ton ofknowledge.
But, of course, over thecenturies, we as people have had
plenty of time to come up witheven our fake knowledge.
So such things as evolution.
Well, there's something rightthere that is spiritual warfare,
because right now there is somuch evidence that common sense
(21:52):
says evolution is absolutelyimpossible.
There's nothing.
There's nothing that supportsevolution.
And from time to time, whenevolutionists come up with some
lie to post it and try to makeit look like they're actually
discovering something new, well,creationists, they turn around
and they can prove that it'sfalse.
But yet let's take a look atthis.
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In America, the false narrativeof evolution is being jammed
down our children's minds.
They're not even allowed toquestion anymore.
We used to teach our childrento think and to ask questions.
Now they're trying to tell ourchildren don't ask questions,
you don't have that right.
Here's the truth and justaccept it.
(22:36):
So wisdom beloved we can onlyget from God.
If you don't have a Bible, geta Bible and start reading it and
don't stop In Proverbs 1, andthis is wisdom personified,
because I have called and yourefused.
That's wisdom.
I have stretched out my handand no one regarded, because you
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disdained all my counsel, sohated all of wisdom's counsel
and would have none of my rebuke.
I also will laugh at yourcalamity.
I will mock when your terrorcomes, when your terror comes
like a storm and yourdestruction comes like a
(23:20):
whirlwind.
When distress and anguish comeupon you, then they will call on
me.
And again, this is wisdom.
So the people who are notseeking God's word, wisdom is
saying they're people who areignoring God's wisdom, want
nothing to do with God's word.
Suddenly, when calamity strikesand it will, it's not if it's
(23:45):
when wisdom says I will notanswer, they will seek me
diligently but they will notfind me.
That should be very concerningfor anybody who is not reading
God's word, because whendisaster happens, whether it's
national disaster, worldlydisaster or individual disaster
(24:07):
you lose a loved one.
The rest of the world isn'taffected, but your life is
upended.
You're not reading God's wordand suddenly you cry out God,
why are you doing this?
The wisdom isn't there.
You don't have that wisdom, soyou don't have access to wisdom.
And so that's why, in thispersonification, wisdom saying
(24:29):
you can look for me, but you'renot going to find me A person
after they lose a loved oneisn't going to just open God's
word right away and find theanswer.
It must be a part of who you are, so to be born again, to be a
follower of God.
You have the Holy Spirit in youand the Holy Spirit is the only
(24:50):
way that our brains can getthat understanding.
It is through reading God'sword that we gain understanding
and wisdom.
Now, as I get close to the endof this message here today, let
me go back to another proverb,proverb 2, the beginning of this
.
What I like about this is thereare many action words in here.
(25:12):
There are verbs that arepointing to the very fact,
beloved, that you have a lot ofwork to do.
You can't just sit and, byosmosis, wake up some morning
and suddenly have theunderstanding of God, to
suddenly have the fear of God inyou where you appreciate him
reverently.
(25:33):
Proverbs 2, starting in verse 1,king Solomon writes my son, if
you receive my words andtreasure my commands within you,
you catch that if you receiveto receive something, you must
actually accept it and treasuremy commands within you.
When we treasure something wehold it dear to us, so that you
(25:56):
incline your ear to wisdom.
There's a little verb rightthere incline You're leaning
into, you really want to hear itand apply your heart to
understanding.
There's apply, if we're goingto apply something that takes
effort, right, yes, if you cryout for discernment and lift up
(26:16):
your voice for understanding.
If you seek her as silver andsearch for her, as for hidden
treasures, all of those youcatch, all of that, seek her,
search for her, lift up yourvoice, cry out.
This is all things that we doVerse 5, then you will
(26:38):
understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God,
the key word there is.
Then, at that point, you willunderstand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Being born again isn't enough.
It's enough to be saved, it'senough to be heaven-bound.
But that's the beginning of ajourney, beloved.
(26:58):
It is not the end of a journey.
As a child of God, get into hisword, study it, meditate on it,
pray to the Lord, talk to otherbelievers, continue to grow
with one another, worship theLord, thank him, and as you
meditate on his word night andday, you will grow.
(27:21):
He will strengthen you, he willguide you, he will keep you,
you will be protected.
He will be your strength andyour shield.
It's not a question, it's a forsure.
Every once in a while I do needthese times where I can just
kind of rant and rage maybePolite way of saying it, but
(27:44):
this is very near and dear to me.
I spent so much of my life inmy earlier years doing nothing
for God.
I did it all for myself.
I was so selfish, I was soself-centered and I was so
miserable.
And even though the worldaround me continues to fall
(28:04):
apart, the evil just continuesto abound.
I have peace.
I have such a great peace fromGod.
Yes, there's things that I hearthat worry me, concern me, but
it's not ongoing.
I quickly turn to my Savior andI bring it to Him.
(28:25):
I lay that stuff at His feetand he comforts me.
He gives me such wonderfulpeace and beloved.
If you don't have that, I wantyou to have that peace, and you
can through Jesus Christ.
So if you're not born again,just pray a simple prayer, ask
(28:45):
him and let him know somethingas simple as Heavenly Father, I
know I'm a sinner, I'm brokenand I need your son.
Please help me.
And if you mean it in yourheart, even if you can't come up
with the words, if you'restruggling, that you think to
get the right words, but in yourheart you just need Jesus,
there you go and then we justlearn.
(29:07):
When we mess up, we repent andturn right back to our Savior
and just keep on going, but thisworld needs you.
If you are born again whetheryou just became born again or
you've been born again fordecades the world needs you
beloved.
There are so many out therethat are lost.
The harvest is so plentiful butthere are so few to go and
(29:34):
bring in that harvest.
If you have any questions,anything that I can do to assist
you, to help you get started,or answer any questions you may
have, whatever it is, I'll dothe best that I can.
You can go to my website,brmaulcom, click on contact and
(29:54):
email me.
I'll get back to you as soon asI can.
You can also message me.
In all the directories, thelistings that I have of my
podcast, there should be amessage me button.
Just click on that and send meyour message.
Now, that's a one-way message,so you will have to include a
(30:16):
way for me to get back to you ifthat's what you want, but
otherwise you can also sendprayer requests that way and
I'll just pray for you.
Well, I look forward to seeingyou again.
It's a little play on words, sojoin me again next week.
God willing, it'll be the sametime.
And until next time, god bless.
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and you arelistening to Living God's Way in
an Ungodly World.
Here we talk about how we, asChristians born-again believers,
follow our Lord and Savior,jesus.
Seems like it would be obvious,right, but as obvious as it is,
(00:52):
there are many reasons whyChristians are thrown off track,
not in just modern times.
It has been ever since Christhimself walked the earth and
hung on the cross and waswilling to pay the sin debt of
all who believe unto him.
People have been explainingaway miracles, have been coming
(01:17):
up with excuses not to believein Jesus Christ, and that's
because Satan himself, the godsmall g of this world, is doing
everything possible to hold onto what power he has left.
Look around you, beloved, andthere is violence everywhere.
This world is upside down.
(01:38):
There's no denying it.
Well, let me correct myself it.
Well, let me correct myself.
There is denying it, and that,to me, in and of itself, is
proof of the spiritual warfaregoing on today, because the
world is upside down and thereare people who are in fact,
denying the very evil that'sgoing on.
(01:58):
It's not to say it's just theunbelievers, those who are not
Christians, who are denying it.
I know Christians personallythat still are unwilling to
accept that the evil continuesto abound.
The time is falling shorter andshorter with every passing day,
(02:19):
because the day is gettingcloser to the second coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Before that happens, the churchwill be raptured.
Now, this lesson today is notabout the rapture, but I do need
to talk just a little bit aboutit so we have an understanding.
There are different schools ofthought when it comes to the
(02:40):
tribulation.
There are those who believethat we are already in the
tribulation, that this isalready hell on earth, and so
this must be what the revelationtalks about.
That, I believe, is false.
There is too much scripturethat points to the very fact
that the tribulation is aseven-year period.
(03:03):
It's not exaggerated, it'sseven years, and prior to that
seven years, the church israptured, and it seems to be.
That is what begins theTribulation.
Just think about this.
Right now, the Holy Spirit isindwelling all of the children
(03:24):
of God.
So for all of us who are bornagain, we're following Jesus.
The Holy Spirit has sealed usfor the day of salvation.
We are being led by the HolySpirit and the more a Christian,
a born-again believer, inprayer and supplication and
reading God's Word paysattention to what the Holy
(03:45):
Spirit directs that person to do, the more in tune we are and
the more we're able to respondto the Holy Spirit's cues.
Well, what does that mean?
It means that right now,however many children of God are
currently alive and walking theearth and I'm sure it's safe to
(04:06):
say it's in the millions it isthrough us, his children, that
God is suppressing the evil ofthis world.
I don't believe it is solelythrough us, because his power
alone is what dictates what thedevil can and cannot do, and the
devil's minions, the demons,what they can and cannot do.
(04:28):
It is all to the glory of God.
It will satisfy his ultimatepurpose, but he is using his
children.
It is his children with theHoly Spirit that have the
capability of loving otherpeople with agape love, a love
that is selfless, 100%, there'snothing attached to it.
(04:50):
Now, in our own abilities, wecan't love people that way.
We can love people on differentlevels of love I've talked
about this before but not agapelove, not the spiritual love
that God himself is.
So, with this love that we havefor one another and the love
(05:12):
that we have for the lost, thosewho do not know Jesus.
God works through us in fightingevil.
It is the righteous person whohates the wickedness, who hates
evil.
So we do what we can to fightback.
Of course, that looks differentin many, many ways.
(05:33):
Some fight back politically,some fight back militarily, some
spiritually.
Whatever it might be, we areall used in different ways.
The ultimate weapon, of course,is God's word and spreading the
gospel message.
So, if you take away all ofthose the Holy Spirit possesses
(05:55):
and that's a good thing A personwants to be possessed by the
Holy Spirit and that only comesby not only after being born
again, but allowing the HolySpirit to possess one, a person
forfeiting their life and givingtheir all to God.
And there are those who arelight and salt of the earth that
(06:19):
bring great hope because theycontinuously speak the gospel
message, they continuously allowGod to be his hands and feet,
doing the work of justice, doingthe work of love and kindness,
doing the work of helping thewidow and the orphan and the
stranger.
But when the day comes andJesus calls for the church and
(06:42):
the Holy Spirit raptures thatchurch from the earth and into
heaven and the tribulationbegins.
There is no more righteousness.
Those who the Holy Spiritpossessed, people who actually
can pray and can love, peoplewith agape love, are gone.
And what I meant by pray, thatis, the effectual, fervent
(07:06):
prayer of a righteous man,avails much, man, of course,
being mankind, so man and woman,people who pray with fervor,
people who pray with effect allgone, every single one.
Gone and listen carefully,beloved, because that can happen
(07:27):
at any moment.
There is nothing in thescriptures now that tell us
we're still waiting for this tohappen.
No, there's nothing else thatwe're waiting to happen.
The rapture could happen anymoment, and this is more what
I'm going to address in thisteaching.
Last week I wrapped up with thebook of 1 John and I expect to
(07:48):
start teaching in the book ofEphesians, probably next week,
but I wanted to take this timeright now because, with all the
things that are happening aroundthe world today, there's so
much and, yes, the world isupside down Now.
Interestingly enough, doesn'tit seem like that?
Every generation says that, and, of course, you can easily pawn
(08:11):
that off as well.
Yes, every generation thinksthat things are getting worse.
Have you ever thought that?
Perhaps there's a reason forthat?
Those who have been around thelongest are the ones looking
back going.
It's getting worse.
I believe it, and the reason Ibelieve it is because we're told
(08:33):
in the Bible that things willcontinue to get worse.
We are to expect this.
This is no surprise to God.
Jesus gave us the heads upmultiple times, and it is for
this reason that we need toprepare.
If you are one who is not bornagain and you're listening to
this message, well then this isa divine act.
(08:54):
I truly believe that the HolySpirit is using this message to
speak to you.
It's time to get over anyquestions that you may have that
you're seeking to be answeredbefore you follow Jesus.
It's time to get over anythingof the pride or insecurity that
is preventing you from openingyour heart and giving your life
(09:18):
to the Lord Jesus because, yes,at any moment the rapture can
happen.
And for the rest, who arelistening, who are born again,
my dear brothers and sisters inthe faith, you're the ones I'm
addressing directly, because thehour is now, we are out of time
and I'm not predicting that therapture is going to happen at
(09:42):
any given time, other than thefact that we know it's going to
happen.
But what I'm saying is for themillions of Christians around
the world who fall into thecategory of fair weather
Christian, somebody who standsup when things are going well,
when the weather is nice andthey're okay with worshiping the
(10:03):
Lord.
But, beloved, if you fall intothe category that suddenly the
storm comes and spiritually youhide, perhaps you feel afraid or
ashamed, whatever emotion itmay be, but then you stop
proclaiming Jesus.
And I'm not saying justverbally, stop proclaiming Jesus
, but proclaiming Jesus in yourlife, in your day-to-day living.
(10:25):
It is time for Christians tostand up.
It is time for Christians to dowhat God has told us to do to
be light and salt of this earth.
We must shine, we must givepeople hope, we must get the
name of Jesus out there.
(10:46):
And the only way we can do this, beloved, we must be in God's
word daily, not for the sake ofour salvation, no, because that
would be based on works.
If you're born again, you arealready sealed.
You are a child of God, you areheaven bound and there's no way
of breaking that because youhave sinned again.
(11:08):
It doesn't work that way.
So I'm not advocating thatthere's any way that you're
going to earn your salvation byreading God's word every day.
What I am saying is this is howwe strengthen our faith.
God speaks to us through hisHoly Scripture, and it's the
(11:28):
Holy Spirit that gives thechildren of God understanding.
The biggest mistake that we canmake as a child of God, walking
around this forsaken world thatwants nothing to do with the
maker, is to try to fit in, totry to live lives that match the
world.
We are to be transformed by theHoly Spirit and not allow the
(11:53):
world to conform us to its ways.
We're already born into that,so I understand it's tough,
isn't it?
We all have different levels ofstruggling with certain sins of
this world, things that haveenticed us, but we're not here
for anything else but glorifyingGod.
There's nothing else that weneed to do.
(12:13):
I know there's many things thatwe want to do, but there's
nothing else that we need to do.
We are here to glorify ourMaker.
When we accept that JesusChrist as our Lord and our
Savior with our lips, when weconfessed it with our heart,
when we believed it, the HolySpirit entered us, sealed us,
and we are children of God.
(12:33):
We owe it to our God, and Godwill be glorified, with or
without your help.
So it's time, beloved Christiansaround the world, for those who
have not acted upon this tolook to those who have, because
(12:54):
there are God's children outthere who are indeed doing what
our Lord and Savior hascommanded, who are indeed doing
what our Lord and Savior hascommanded.
They are putting their life inthe reaches of death in areas of
the world where Christians arebeing stabbed, shot, mutilated,
beheaded, tortured, but they'reout there.
(13:16):
They are there sharing thegospel message, knowing that any
day could be their last.
There are those Christians whoare out there in parts of the
world who are fighting famine,who are fighting pestilence, all
in the name of Jesus, toglorify his name, to let others
(13:37):
know, who don't know who he is,that they do have a savior.
And even though that theirphysical needs, where they're at
, is scarce, these people arebringing food for their bellies
but, more importantly, they'rebringing food for their souls.
There are saints, god's children, around the world who are
(14:00):
giving up opportunities left andright to make what the world
would consider a great living, acomfortable living, and they're
doing it so they can reach outand love other people.
They are loving the orphans,the widows and the stranger, and
they're not making money orthey're making very little money
(14:20):
, but the Lord continues toprovide for their needs.
So there are brothers andsisters of ours that are out
there that are doing the work.
They are working hard in orderto get people the gospel message
, to get those people theunderstanding of who Jesus is,
so they have the hope ofsalvation through Jesus Christ.
(14:41):
So my message to those issimply keep it up, keep fighting
the good fight beloved forthose who have already given
their life to Jesus.
And I'm not saying being bornagain, no, no, no, because being
born again isn't giving ourlife to Jesus.
(15:01):
Being born again is Jesusgiving us life spiritually.
What I'm saying is, as aChristian, once you're born
again, you need to make thedecision that, lord, my life is
now your life.
You purchased it.
What will you have me do?
I am your servant and then doit.
(15:22):
Please don't misunderstand me.
This is not a pitch for everyoneto go out and start their own
church, their own mission,because I understand that we
must use the spiritual giftsthat God has given us.
There's all kinds of spiritualgifts, but those spiritual gifts
are meant to lift up the bodyof Christ.
(15:43):
Who's the body of Christ?
God's children.
So whatever spiritual giftsthat the Lord has bestowed upon
you is to be used to support oneanother, not for us to make
money.
Not that it won't.
Some people have the spiritualgift of being able to make money
.
Not that it won't Some peoplehave the spiritual gift of being
(16:03):
able to make money.
And you might think, well, wow,I want that spiritual gift.
But those who have thatspiritual gift, it's also in
their hearts to make the moneyfor God.
They're the ones who go out oftheir way.
They know how to raise funds,they're the ones who put
together these fundraisers.
(16:23):
But whatever your spiritual giftis, if you're not involved, get
involved, beloved.
If you don't have a church, agroup gathering that comes
together and worships the Lord,that learns about the Lord, that
grow together, that pray forone another to help each other
be healed, that grow together,that pray for one another to
(16:44):
help each other be healed, well,find one.
I caution you don't be quick tofind any church because in
today's world, as it continuesto unravel, to fall apart, many
churches are not Bible-believingchurches.
They're a really nice, friendlyclub.
So please don't get involvedwith those.
You want to make sure that thechurch leadership abide by God's
(17:06):
terms, not their own and notthe congregations, not society
around them.
How can you see these?
These are men who are leadingchurches and groups, who often
are the ones that many othersdon't like because they are
offensive, because they don'tmake them feel good about who
they are.
(17:26):
And it's not that these pastorsand elders and deacons and
leaders are mean, but they stickto what God says, even though
they know many people don't wantto hear it.
Now, before I completely runout of time, it's important to
me to always use God's word inreference to what I'm saying.
(17:47):
Jesus makes it very clear thatwe must have knowledge of his
word or, as things continue toget worse and worse, you're
going to get lost.
In Matthew, chapter 24, verse 3, verses 3, 4, and 5, it reads
Now, as he sat on the Mount ofOlives, the disciples came to
(18:09):
him privately saying Tell uswhen will these things be and
what will be the sign of yourcoming and of the end of the age
?
And Jesus answered and said tothem Take heed that no one
deceives you Verse five for manywill come in my name saying I
(18:29):
am the Christ and will deceivemany.
So, verse four take heed thatno one deceives you.
Of all things that Jesusstarted with.
He starts with don't be, don'tbe deceived.
And just in the last few yearsalone, with the great powers at
(18:52):
hand controlling the internetnow, the companies that have the
power to hide information or tobring information to the top
when it comes to keywords beingsearched.
They're the ones who controlthe algorithms at what will be
found and what will not be foundfor information.
These are people who controland they're the ones who say
(19:14):
what misinformation is, which isanything that is against their
narrative, their agenda.
So it's not even the real truth.
It's their own truth, their ownnarrative that they want to
make sure that we all buy into.
So the deception is huge.
It is beyond anything that weare able to fathom.
(19:36):
We are being lied to on the news, we are being lied to through
even programming, movies and TVshows, agendas that are set up
that are deceiving billions ofpeople, and it is only those who
are the elect.
The elect are God's chosen, theJewish nation, and there is
(19:59):
God's children, the church.
There's two different types ofelect.
The elect I'm referring toright now is God's children,
because even the Jewish nationright now is being deceived, but
God's children are the onlyones right now that, as we stay
in God's word, he gives us theability to see this fakeness,
(20:22):
the false narratives thatcontinue to grow, how misleading
it is to grow, how misleadingit is.
People are falling for what wewould think would be common
sense, that a person wouldn'tfall for it.
But the deception is so great,the lying is so massive that
when you have leaders andpoliticians saying, yeah, this
(20:45):
is what's going on, whateverthat is, I'm not going to get
into specifics for lack of timeand then the media, the mass
media, go along with it.
And when you try to searchsomething on the internet and it
turns out that you can't findthe actual truth, it's the
narrative that they keepspinning.
Yes, if you don't have God'sword, you're so easily deceived,
(21:09):
and Jesus said let no onedeceive you.
That's how important it isbeloved Now when it comes to
God's wisdom.
And when it comes to wisdom,there is only God's wisdom.
There's knowledge in this world, but all wisdom comes from God.
There's plenty of knowledge,because God's creation is so
(21:30):
massive that there's a ton ofknowledge.
But, of course, over thecenturies, we as people have had
plenty of time to come up witheven our fake knowledge.
So such things as evolution.
Well, there's something rightthere that is spiritual warfare,
because right now there is somuch evidence that common sense
(21:52):
says evolution is absolutelyimpossible.
There's nothing.
There's nothing that supportsevolution.
And from time to time, whenevolutionists come up with some
lie to post it and try to makeit look like they're actually
discovering something new, well,creationists, they turn around
and they can prove that it'sfalse.
But yet let's take a look atthis.
(22:15):
In America, the false narrativeof evolution is being jammed
down our children's minds.
They're not even allowed toquestion anymore.
We used to teach our childrento think and to ask questions.
Now they're trying to tell ourchildren don't ask questions,
you don't have that right.
Here's the truth and justaccept it.
(22:36):
So wisdom beloved we can onlyget from God.
If you don't have a Bible, geta Bible and start reading it and
don't stop In Proverbs 1, andthis is wisdom personified,
because I have called and yourefused.
That's wisdom.
I have stretched out my handand no one regarded, because you
(23:00):
disdained all my counsel, sohated all of wisdom's counsel
and would have none of my rebuke.
I also will laugh at yourcalamity.
I will mock when your terrorcomes, when your terror comes
like a storm and yourdestruction comes like a
(23:20):
whirlwind.
When distress and anguish comeupon you, then they will call on
me.
And again, this is wisdom.
So the people who are notseeking God's word, wisdom is
saying they're people who areignoring God's wisdom, want
nothing to do with God's word.
Suddenly, when calamity strikesand it will, it's not if it's
(23:45):
when wisdom says I will notanswer, they will seek me
diligently but they will notfind me.
That should be very concerningfor anybody who is not reading
God's word, because whendisaster happens, whether it's
national disaster, worldlydisaster or individual disaster
(24:07):
you lose a loved one.
The rest of the world isn'taffected, but your life is
upended.
You're not reading God's wordand suddenly you cry out God,
why are you doing this?
The wisdom isn't there.
You don't have that wisdom, soyou don't have access to wisdom.
And so that's why, in thispersonification, wisdom saying
(24:29):
you can look for me, but you'renot going to find me A person
after they lose a loved oneisn't going to just open God's
word right away and find theanswer.
It must be a part of who you are, so to be born again, to be a
follower of God.
You have the Holy Spirit in youand the Holy Spirit is the only
(24:50):
way that our brains can getthat understanding.
It is through reading God'sword that we gain understanding
and wisdom.
Now, as I get close to the endof this message here today, let
me go back to another proverb,proverb 2, the beginning of this
.
What I like about this is thereare many action words in here.
(25:12):
There are verbs that arepointing to the very fact,
beloved, that you have a lot ofwork to do.
You can't just sit and, byosmosis, wake up some morning
and suddenly have theunderstanding of God, to
suddenly have the fear of God inyou where you appreciate him
reverently.
(25:33):
Proverbs 2, starting in verse 1,king Solomon writes my son, if
you receive my words andtreasure my commands within you,
you catch that if you receiveto receive something, you must
actually accept it and treasuremy commands within you.
When we treasure something wehold it dear to us, so that you
(25:56):
incline your ear to wisdom.
There's a little verb rightthere incline You're leaning
into, you really want to hear itand apply your heart to
understanding.
There's apply, if we're goingto apply something that takes
effort, right, yes, if you cryout for discernment and lift up
(26:16):
your voice for understanding.
If you seek her as silver andsearch for her, as for hidden
treasures, all of those youcatch, all of that, seek her,
search for her, lift up yourvoice, cry out.
This is all things that we doVerse 5, then you will
(26:38):
understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God,
the key word there is.
Then, at that point, you willunderstand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Being born again isn't enough.
It's enough to be saved, it'senough to be heaven-bound.
But that's the beginning of ajourney, beloved.
(26:58):
It is not the end of a journey.
As a child of God, get into hisword, study it, meditate on it,
pray to the Lord, talk to otherbelievers, continue to grow
with one another, worship theLord, thank him, and as you
meditate on his word night andday, you will grow.
(27:21):
He will strengthen you, he willguide you, he will keep you,
you will be protected.
He will be your strength andyour shield.
It's not a question, it's a forsure.
Every once in a while I do needthese times where I can just
kind of rant and rage maybePolite way of saying it, but
(27:44):
this is very near and dear to me.
I spent so much of my life inmy earlier years doing nothing
for God.
I did it all for myself.
I was so selfish, I was soself-centered and I was so
miserable.
And even though the worldaround me continues to fall
(28:04):
apart, the evil just continuesto abound.
I have peace.
I have such a great peace fromGod.
Yes, there's things that I hearthat worry me, concern me, but
it's not ongoing.
I quickly turn to my Savior andI bring it to Him.
(28:25):
I lay that stuff at His feetand he comforts me.
He gives me such wonderfulpeace and beloved.
If you don't have that, I wantyou to have that peace, and you
can through Jesus Christ.
So if you're not born again,just pray a simple prayer, ask
(28:45):
him and let him know somethingas simple as Heavenly Father, I
know I'm a sinner, I'm brokenand I need your son.
Please help me.
And if you mean it in yourheart, even if you can't come up
with the words, if you'restruggling, that you think to
get the right words, but in yourheart you just need Jesus,
there you go and then we justlearn.
(29:07):
When we mess up, we repent andturn right back to our Savior
and just keep on going, but thisworld needs you.
If you are born again whetheryou just became born again or
you've been born again fordecades the world needs you
beloved.
There are so many out therethat are lost.
The harvest is so plentiful butthere are so few to go and
(29:34):
bring in that harvest.
If you have any questions,anything that I can do to assist
you, to help you get started,or answer any questions you may
have, whatever it is, I'll dothe best that I can.
You can go to my website,brmaulcom, click on contact and
(29:54):
email me.
I'll get back to you as soon asI can.
You can also message me.
In all the directories, thelistings that I have of my
podcast, there should be amessage me button.
Just click on that and send meyour message.
Now, that's a one-way message,so you will have to include a
(30:16):
way for me to get back to you ifthat's what you want, but
otherwise you can also sendprayer requests that way and
I'll just pray for you.
Well, I look forward to seeingyou again.
It's a little play on words, sojoin me again next week.
God willing, it'll be the sametime.
And until next time, god bless.
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