I Have Stopped Playing Church! —So Should You!
To GOD Be The Glory
On Sunday I had the privilege of yet again following the Service of Chandler Cutting, Senior Pastor at the Lebanon Valley Bible Church. And his Sermon struck home — again!
There is a Storm coming!
I grew up on the doorstep of the wild, Arctic parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea. I learnt early on to watch for signs of changes in the weather. It is a question of survival. Many years ago I was on one of my countless fishing trips North of the Lofoten Islands. I was trying to catch some pollock in a small 16 foot boat with a small outboard engine. I feel at home out on the open sea. But I know that a storm will throw such a boat over like a leaf in the wind. And even with state of the art life west and packed in wool, with flares packed in the west, even in the summer, the ocean temperature will kill you fairly quickly.
I hadn’t had much luck. Sure, there was enough for a dinner, but I wanted to catch some for the neighbors and family visiting for the summer. I watched the jagged mountains of the Lofoten Islands to the South. I could see the changes in the lenticular clouds, and the changes in color of the ocean way out. I saw the change in the reflection of the ocean on the clouds. It was darkening. I knew that the wind was picking up, and fast. The seagulls, faithfully following my boat hoping for some scraps started acting nervous, squawking and seeking land. The atmosphere was forming haze and clouds. The air pressure was obviously dropping. But I thought; —just a few minutes more. I’ll just shift to a sandy bottom area where the pollock sometimes feed off the tidal streams. Maybe I’ll quickly get a few there. Then I’ll head ashore.
I constantly scanned the horizon and I realized I was cutting it too close. The wind started picking up. I had to keep the bow of the boat against the increasing choppy waves forming on top of the huge, slow moving waves that had travelled across the Atlantic. I had a chain of small, uninhabited islands between me and land. I could go around, but I would get the waves in sideway, which was bad. And it would take time. Time which I now didn’t have, because I had decided to try and catch just a little bit more.
So, I was forced to take the hazardous route in the narrow channels in between these islands. I knew what that meant. As the waves are compressed between the islands, their height rises considerably. I quickly threw what little ballast I had in the front of the boat. Then I set the course for the biggest channel. I had to sit at the back to keep my hand on the throttle and steering. Sure enough, the waves were rising, towering and menacing. It was a balancing act of throttle and steering, and the front of the boat rose so steeply, it was extremely hard to give the right amount of power going up the wave, but not so much that I flipped over. Then it was a question of hanging on with all my might thundering down on the other side of the wave. And the channel at its narrowest had waves crashing against the steep rock walls, whipping up an inferno of waves and currents. I barely managed to navigate safely through — with lots of silent prayers. As I put the island chain behind me I saw the channels “boil over” in a murderous cauldron of crashing waves. I had just made it. Barely. I kept the course up against the increasing furious waves, and crept North along the coast until I hit my port.
As I was securing the boat, I was mad at myself. I knew better. I knew a Storm was coming, but I just wanted to catch a little bit more dinner, and it nearly cost me everything.
And keeping an eye on the “Weather of the World” has been a hobby and even a profession of mine. I have known for a couple of decades now that this Storm would come. I have tried to just get a little more “fishing” in. I have tried to postpone admitting the reality.
I have finally set the course towards “land” and safety. I just hope I didn’t turn the boat around too late.
So, heed the words of the most revered Pastor Chandler Cutting. Watch this Sermon of his. Please read the Bible Verses below and read them again, until you fully understand the scope of what is said.
The Storm is soon upon us, and this will be like no other Storm in all of Human History. This is the Monster Storm and you do not want to be caught unprepared. Seek shelter on God’s land immediately! Pray and Prepare yourself!
Share The Word of GOD and May GOD Bless You!
Note on the picture selected for this article.
I chose the well known drawing of Jesus in battle with Satan for this article. But we will all do well to remember that Satan is cunning. When we encounter him, he isn’t red and fiery with horns on his head, but beautiful and deceptive and granting us our desires, giving us “free stuff”.
Sunday Morning Service, March 6, 2022
Lebanon Valley Bible Church Audio Visual Ministry
In the following I have used Bible Quotes from the English Standard Version (ESV) from BibleGatway.com.
Revelation 13:5-10
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,[a] that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.[b] And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
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Footnotes
- Revelation 13:6 Or tabernacle
- Revelation 13:7 Some manuscripts omit this sentence
1 John 3:2-3
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
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Footnotes
- 1 John 3:2 Or when it appears
Daniel 2:29-45
29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,[a] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
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Footnotes
- Daniel 2:43 Aramaic by the seed of men
Genesis 10:9-14
9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. 13 Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, 14 Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom[a] the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.
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Footnotes
- Genesis 10:14 Or from where
Genesis 11:1-9
The Tower of Babel
11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
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Footnotes
- Genesis 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused
Daniel 2:41
41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.
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1 Thessalonians 5:2-17
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children[a] of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Final Instructions and Benediction
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[b] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing,
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Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 Or sons; twice in this verse
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Or disorderly, or undisciplined
Daniel 9:27
27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,[a] and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
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Footnotes
- Daniel 9:27 Or seven; twice in this verse
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,[a] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
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Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Or by the word of the Lord
1 Thessalonians 5
The Day of the Lord
5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers,[a] you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children[b] of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Final Instructions and Benediction
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,[c] encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
25 Brothers, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 4, 12, 14, 25, 26, 27
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 Or sons; twice in this verse
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Or disorderly, or undisciplined
Revelation 19:11
The Rider on a White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
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NorwayForTRUMP 