Rev 4:1-2 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne . KJV
I want to begin today with a shout! GOOD MORNING CHURCH! I want you to know in the face of the contrived and feigned outrage we see in the news reports today that God is still on the throne!
I love the words of Jesus in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” KJV
In the world there has always been tribulation and will until Jesus takes his place when he returns to the earth. Peace comes when the Prince of Peace makes his throne in our heart. Until then we see the world in turmoil with every wind of doctrine. We see the winds of doctrine displayed in our homes, our nation; it’s in our politics, and in every news report.
I’ve have voted in every election since I was eighteen and watched people move from tears of joy to rage and anger. And why has it been so? It is very simple really the world is looking for a savior in all the wrong places.
In the book of 1st Peter we find the description of the enemy’s work in our lives.
1 Peter 5:8 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. AMP
The enemy, like a lion, employs fear to control our lives. Fear is the one element Satan uses to control people. We see it used in news reports, and news commentators and it is usually used in combination with half truths, innuendo and lies.
James reminds us to be temperate, and balanced. Boy, if we would just have a little of those elements in our lives the strife would disappear. But because we don’t obey the Word Fear is playing this nation like a marionette plays puppets.
I was reading Max Lucado’s book “Imagine Your Life Without fear” he described the effect of fear so well I wanted to share it with you. [Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness. We begin to wonder if love lives in heaven. If God can sleep in our storms, if his eyes stay shut when our eyes grow wide, if he permits storms after we get on his boat, does he care? Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts, anger-stirring doubts.
And it turns us into control freaks. “Do something about the storm!” is the implicit demand of the question. Fix it or else!
Fear, at its center, is a perceived loss of control. When life spins wildly, we grab for a component of life we can manage: our diet, the tidiness of a house, the armrest of a plane, or, in many cases, people. The more insecure we feel, the meaner we become. We growl and bare our fangs. Why? Because we are bad? In part. But also because we feel cornered.
Martin Niernoller documents an extreme example of this. He was a German pastor who took a heroic stand against Adolf Hitler. When he first met the dictator in 1933, Niemoller stood at the back of the room and listened. Later, when his wife asked him what he’d learned, he said, “I discovered that Herr Hitler is a terribly frightened man.” Fear releases the tyrant within.] (From Imagine your life without Fear -Max Lucado)
Wow that is an amazing picture of what fear can do to us. Fear is an enemy and we have some who are very good at using fear to manipulate people. Don’t you be one of them!
The King is on the throne! Jesus, the one who overcame (the world, flesh and the Devil) is the Lord of my life. So I will be as the Word says temperate, sober minded and vigilant in the things of God and I will not be moved by the turmoil in the world. God Is On The Throne!