Sermons 2001:

Every year we celebrate a new year with parties, frivolity, and parades. People crowd Times Square to watch a lit ball descend from the building top. The parades celebrate every form of debauchery there is. We see dragons, idol worship, and every evil that man imagines. All of this just for the passing of another day where we have arbitrarily set the start of the new year.

As we celebrate the Christmas season there are a number who don't really under the significance of the season. Some think of Santa Claus and elves and movies like ``Babes in Toyland,'' ``Miracle on 34^th Street,'' or ``Toy Story.'' These are all wonderful movies and traditions, but the true meaning of the Christmas season is who we are supposed to be celebrating. The Christmas season is supposed to commemorate the birth of Christ. The main emphasis on Christmas should be Jesus Christ and not all of the other things.

We are definitely living in interesting times. The United States is considering breaking another treaty when we expect others to uphold their treaties with us. Also the war in Afghanistan, problems in India, and the continued growth of Muslim militants who are prepared to commit suicide for their cause. Also this is the first time in the history of the world that there is global communication between anyone and everyone. The world wide network called the Internet with Email available to everyone makes for international communication between friend and foe. It is impossible for the U.S. to prevent someone writing a letter to Castro in Cuba, and with the tools that are available on the Internet allows for the use of Military grade cryptography available to everyone. Thus we see the results of September 11, 2001.

There are a number of preachers on the air waves who still hold fast to the doctrine that the Antichrist is going to come out of the European Union. The Bible tells us that the confederation of the Antichrist is an alliance of ten nations, in which three have had their governments abolished. Thus you have the ten horns with seven heads.

This week I received a advertisement for a Visa^® Card that offered a smart card with a computer chip embedded in the card. A little 3" x 3" paper printed with the same message on both sides that looked like:

Last week we discussed putting on the whole armor of God. Now that we are wearing God's armor, it is time to recognize who Jesus Christ really is. There are a number of opinions about who Jesus is:

• Baby in the Manger
• Someone still hanging on the cross
• A Mystical being who was on the earth in spirit only
• A Prophet
• A good Man
• A spiritual leader
• A wise man
• The Creator of the World
• Our Saviour

In Ephesians we are told to put on the whole armor of God. In this turbulent times that sage advice is well heeded for the Christian who looks at the world and doesn't know what to do. The present situation in the world with the threat of being gassed, bombed, by terrorists attacks and other evils brought about by the ones lead by Satan. All Satan knows how to do is to destroy and demolish what God has made. Satan has never created anything, but has destroyed much.

Today is the actual celebration of Veterans Day or Armistice Day. World War I ended November 11, 1918. The following is from http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/Veterans.html

Looking this morning at http://www.drudgereport.com/ (The Drudge Report) shows that there are some in the world that are still celebrating the attack on America. The Chinese Government has been producing videos and computer games glorifying the attack on an arrogant nation. Now we are seeing the true identity of China and others who seemed like they were siding with the U.S. against the terrorists attacks.

Last week we were studying John 14 where the disciples were enquiring about the Father. we will continue with our study of the 14^th chapter of the Gospel of St. John. We see that though the apostles have been the instruction of Jesus Christ for over three years, they still did not know who he was, or his relation to God. During the early stages of Christianity, there was a lot of dispute about the godhead and who Jesus really was. The major branches of Christianity during the first three centuries were:

During the Last Supper, the Apostles asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus' answer to the was quite surprising, but not when you think about it.

Last week I talked to you about the perilous times that we are dwelling in. Today I will tell you that no matter how dreadful it may appear, we have the victory in Jesus Christ the Lord. For in Jesus there is strength. In Jesus there is power. And, in Jesus there is victory. We have the victory in Jesus Christ for Jesus has already overcome the world.

In these days it seems that we are facing the days that the prophets spoke of long ago. When Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days perilous times shall come, it seems that he was talking about the time that we are presently living in. There is news about the use of biological agents against the United States. The Army and Navy Stores are selling gas masks for $30.00. One has already been poisoned by Anthrax this past week, and the government is telling us not to worry. A look at this weeks news tells of the perilous times approaching.

This past Friday on a popular TV investment show the guests were not talking about an economic downturn, but a depression. This is something that I have been saying for a long time that a depression is eminent. I was saying this when the times of the boom were in full progress and the stock market was going through the roof. I saw the inflated stocks and I compared how the stock market behaved in the 1920's before the crash in 1929. Now the stock market is going down, with people loosing money on a daily basis. With the economy in such a mess, the current president will surely be blamed if there is a economic collapse.

With the attack on America last week there has been a lot of discussion of the freedoms that you have as an American. For instance, there are a number in Congress who are proposing to make it illegal to use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or GPG (GNU privacy guard) which is the free version of PGP. The Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF issued a warning on Friday that the time to speak up for your rights is now. This warning can be found at http://www.eff.org/alerts/20010921_eff_wiretap_alert.html. The major thing to notice is the speed that these panic measures are being pushed through Congress. This bill is being debated on Monday and there are members in the Congress who are telling people to speak up for the freedoms that they have in America.

On Tuesday September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked with a four point attack against New York City and Washington D.C. We have all seen the television coverage, the pictures, and the headlines. Could this be the start of the reign of Satan and the Antichrist as described in the Bible?

Human beings for the most part cannot grasp or comprehend the concept of extremely large numbers, amounts, or items or extremely small items, amounts, or numbers. We exist in a world where we throw around numbers like billion or nano and have no concept what we are talking about. Last night the UNIX operating system passed the 1 billion second mark from it first release on January 1, 1970. The UNIX clock counts every second from the January 1, 1970 with last night at 9:46:40 EDT the UNIX clock rolled over the 1 billionth second. See http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/661 for an interesting discussion on the matter. The point is that it has taken 31 years and nine months to reach the 1 billionth second, and we don't even think about something when we talk about a billion. We talk about Bill Gates billions with no concept what that amount really means.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Before him there was nothing and conversely, after him there will be nothing. In Jesus there is life and the life is the light of men. Without Jesus Christ there is no life, no light, and no beginning or end. Now when contemplating this phenomenon, we are confronted with the element of time. This is the universe that we live in, whereas in the spirit realm there is no time.

There are many in the United States who want to say that we are a Christian nation. We put, ``In God We Trust'' on our currency, and many believe that it has always been there. This is not true for in the 1950's there was no mention of God on paper currency. the Internet site http://www.flash.net/~lbartley/au/issues/godtrust.htm has a lot of historical references to how the phrase ``In God We Trust,'' has been put on the U.S. currency. At the present time many believe that the slogan has been on the money forever and even from the beginning. I have an old 2 dollar bill from 1953 in my possession and there is no reference to the slogan. This old bill is not a Federal Reserve note, but a United States note.

The Christians true home is not here on earth, but our home is an eternal home with the Lord Jesus Christ up in heaven. This is not a place that is a figment of your imagination, or a hoax perpetrated by organized religion, or anyone else for that matter. Heaven and Hell are real places in the universe or a parallel universe that we don't really know about. Regardless of the fact that we don't know about heaven except what is written in the Bible, does not mean that it doesn't exist. There are many things that we don't know about, but we know about them. For instance for the longest time scientists thought that the molecule was the smallest element. Now we know that molecules are made up of atoms, which are made up of electrons, protons, neutrons, and quirks which no one has seen. But we see the evidence of their existence.

The above two scriptures appear to be contradictory, where one is telling us that God loves the world and the second is telling us that we are not to love the world. The first scripture is describing God's love for his creation. God created the world and all of the living creatures in it. But God does not love the wickedness man perpetrated upon the world. The second scripture is the start of a group of verses describing the wickedness of the world caused by sin. All of the wickedness and sin of the world we are not to love, but we are to love the individuals of the world and tell them of the great redemption of Jesus Christ.

There are a doctrines in the Christian community that conflict each other. For instance, some say that it is appropriate for Christians to divorce and remarry while others preach that once you are divorced you are never to remarry until one of the partners dies. Other doctrines consider baptism, righteousness, dress, and etcetera.

As Christians we are to know Jesus Christ along with all of the Lord's precepts. We are to know him like the Apostle Paul stated, ``That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.'' (Philippians 3:10) Here is the great Apostle who wrote more books in the Bible than anyone else desiring to know the Lord in a greater manifestation.

This past week the city of Philadelphia has been celebrating the American Independence with a Welcome America celebration. I find it ironic that the city and the State of Pennsylvania built a convention center in one of the seediest places in town. Across the street from the main entrance are a number of porn shops which attract the worst of derelicts. With this environment and attitude how does the city hope to have repeat business at the Pennsylvania Convention Center from groups with a high moral standard like churches? When the United Pentecostal Church held their general conference in this city, the Phillies won the world series in 1981. When I told the pastor of the church that I was going to Philadelphia he asked, ``Why would you want to go to a city filled with sin like Philadelphia?'' My response to him that it was where I came from.

Last year I read to you the Declaration of Independence to you in its entirety. I will do the same this year, with the question, ``If you were living back in the 1700's, as a Christian who's side would you be on?''

This past week I saw a person with a `T' shirt with the saying, ``God works in mysterious ways,'' printed on the front. This is a very familiar saying, but is it true? Does God work in mysterious ways, or does God work in perfectly logical methods based on his divine knowledge? When you are going through a trial or are in the midst of hard times, it may seem to you that God does work in mysterious ways, but when you look back at the trial, you can see that the Lord used the trial for good. Also in hindsight, God's methods always make sense.

In the times that we live in there is growing concern for the violence and sin that proliferates our land. We are living in an era that is comparable to the days of the Roman Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Grecian Empire, or any other previous fallen empire. All of the former empires became eventually filled with sin and debauchery. This is the path that the United States has chosen for itself. We live in a land where honor and discipline have given way to the lies and deceits of the Devil. Some have been asking me where it is all going to end. Many Christians need to be be reminded that Jesus is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. While the times seem bad, it is prudent to remember that the heavens and the earth are stilled controlled by the Lord God.

Tomorrow, June 11, 2001, Timothy McVeigh is scheduled to be executed for the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. There are a lot of questions remaining about the case like where did the other bombs come from that were planted in the building, the absence of the ATF staff on the day of the bombing, and who were the others involved with Timothy McVeigh?

In today's society we are influenced by many things. Some of them are good and righteous, while the majority are wicked and evil. Take for instance some of the outdoor advertising in Philadelphia.

The Antichrist will come to power via implementing ``good ideas'' then implementing them for his own nefarious schemes. These ideas will be like the following which sounds good.

This is the day where the Christian community celebrates the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who paid the price for our sins on the cross so that we could live with him in paradise. This is the day that we celebrate the conquering of death, hell, and the grave!

Today is a special day in the history of the Christian and Hebrew communities. Today is celebrated by both communities in celebrating a divine act of God's plan of salvation. Passover was the salvation of Israel from the ravages of ancient Egypt, and Palm Sunday is the celebration of God's salvation plan by a triumphant king.

Note:
The gap here represents the vital importance of system backups. A dead Hard drive is very expensive to recover! Let this be be a lesson from one who preached back ups to others but failed to heed his own advice.

Last week we discussed the great invitation by God to come into his divine presence. Like the apostle Paul told us that we can come before the throne of God boldly. This week we will be discussing that only Jesus is worthy of our praise.

The first verse of Revelation chapter 4 invites John to come up hither. John is being invited to come up higher in heaven. Whereas previous to this John was in a lower part of heaven, now he is being invited to come up higher. This shows that heaven is no small place, but a place of many levels. It also appears that whereas John was caught up to the third heaven in Chapter 1, Now he is invited up higher to be shown not only the throne room of God, but at a level where he will be able to see the future.

The last several weeks we have been discussing the seven churches in Asia as described in Revelation. Today we will be discussing the last and final church mentioned, Laodecia. This church has gone through much ridicule for being the apostate church. But from what I can see it is really in the condition of some of the previous churches mentioned and like most of the ``church'' world today.

Last week I thought that we would be able to finish talking about the seven churches in Asia, but Thyatira had a lot about of points that needed discussion. This week we will attempt to discuss:

• Sardis
• Philadelphia
• Laodicea

Last week we discussed the first three churches in Asia that are described in Revelation. This week we will be talking about the remaining four churches in Asia.

The seven churches in Asia are representations of of the church today. Some have said that they represent the seven ages of the Christian church. In our study we will look at each of the seven churches and discuss how they might fit some of the churches in the world today.

The book of Revelation is a summation of all of the prophecy concerning the end times throughout the Bible. These include Jacobs blessing concerning the 12 tribes of Israel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Daniel, and all of the others. Many have little understanding about the book of Revelation for they never have studied the Old Testament prophecies concerning the last days. In this study we will begin with the first chapter of Revelation concerning the seven churches in Asia, or what is now known as Turkey.