Sermon Notes

Introduction

1. As the Lord’s return gets closer, the environment will grow more intense – geophysically, spiritually, financially, relationally, societally…everything intensifies both good and bad.
2. As the hardships intensify, people will look to blame God for the  hardships. They will grow more offended towards God; if God is good and loving and powerful then why isn’t He…or why is He…the devil wants everyone to believe God is doing his work. There are some listening now who are doing that very thing.
3. I believe that if believers don’t have a correct perspective of what is happening they too will grow offended at God and distance themselves from Him or they will be cowardly of their commitment.
4. Bob Jones prophetic word about the ET believers

Living Under The Covering

1. The blessing of obedience – Deut.28-30; John 14-16; the “If” “then” clauses of the NT.
2. Umbrella – your protected from the rain, hail & sun
   1. You are under His protection and you are living in your authority.
   2. This doesn’t mean you miss it all but we can victoriously overcome it
   3. When the devil throws an attack we can repel and overcome him or strength to get through it.
   4. Living a wholehearted, repentant & submissive life and there is great fruit and ongoing protection. It’s not that you don’t sin, but that you deal with sin.

Living Outside The Covering

1. The consequences of disobedience – unforgiveness, not tithing, rebellion, selfishness, etc
2. The Umbrella – your moving away and now beginning to experience consequences (discipline from God) and more aggressive attacks from the enemy.
3. When you step outside the authority God has put in your life – home, workplace, school, gov’t – you slowly or suddenly begin to experience pushback & hardship.
4. The story of the Prodigal Son – he left the covering, he experienced some freedom but then it led to the pig pen; eventually things catch-up. You cannot escape the outcome forever.
5. You can be “in Christ” and outside of God’s will…outside the covering.

God Set Up the Law

1. Plant à Harvest à Response – God set up the world to work this way.
   1. Obedience à Blessings à Thankfulness, Wholeheartedness or Greed, Pride
   2. Disobedience à Hardship/Discipline à Anger or Repentance
2. God provides us freedom (you can obey or disobey) and there must be consequences with how we manage that freedom (positive or negative; blessings or hardships) so to motivate us to continue forward or change course. He is looking for a response.
   1. Work diligently at your job à rewarded for your work à provision for life & you want to do better.
   2. Don’t work diligently à little pay à motivate you to do more
      1. Some people expect the gov’t or family to do something.
3. Who is responsible for the outcome? In the story of the Prodigal, who is responsible for the condition of the prodigal – The Father should’ve said, “No, I know what’s going to happen…or the Father should’ve bailed him out…the Father set him up for failure…the dad should’ve never had the son…”
4. Just as God established the orbits of the planets and the cycles of the seasons and the inner workings of cells and atoms, to migratory instincts, so He’s set up this law of blessing and discipline. It’s a part of the order of life.

Washing your car at the car wash

1. You car is dirty so you decide to wash it. When you walk out the door to leave what do you tell your family you are about to do? “I am going to wash the car.”
2. You drive the car to the car wash, pay the machine or person, take the car through the car wash and drive it home.
3. Who is responsible for the car being washed? The machine or me? Primarily me. I took the car, paid for the wash, drove it through the machine & drove it home. The machine did what it was designed to do, but I’m responsible for the car being clean.
4. My response – I’m happy and the car looks good.

Washing your car at the car mess

1. Your car is clean…I’m going to mess up my car.
2. You drive…the machine throws dirt, dead bugs, grease, tar, oil, mud
3. Who is responsible for the car getting messy…do you rail against the machine or the employees who run the machine or the company who owns the machine or the one who created the machine. You knew what the machine was going to do.
4. My response – I don’t like this “car mess” I need a “car wash!”

As a nation,

• We have turned our back on God and His Word
• We have called evil good and good evil
• We have aborted millions
• We have diminished the foundation of marriage
• Marginalized the role of the father
• Redefined marriage and sexuality and gender
• Opened the door to lawlessness
• Overlooked systemic racial injustices
• Taken advantage for political or economic purposes the poor and the foreigner
• Overextended ourselves financially
• We have been lukewarm and compromising in our devotion to Jesus
• We’re in the middle of a pandemic with social and racial unrest that is being heightened by political division and is fraught with financial uncertainty and everyone is feeling the stress. People are wondering where is God…why is he doing this…allowing that…when is he going to do something…and He is saying to America, “It’s your car…you drove it here!”
  1. When there are blessings we bless him, but when there is hardship we question him.
• Don’t blame God for what we have chosen. When things are going rough in our life we always look for someone or something to blame. As a nation, we want to point the finger at God b/c he set up the law/equation but we are the ones who work it.
• This equation doesn’t work for every personal situation, but it works fairly consistent for nations.

Jeremiah has a word for America

1. Jeremiah’s call to rebellious Judah. They had turned their backs to God and had combined their faith in Him with faith in other gods;
2. Jeremiah 2.11-14,  17, 19
3. 4.18
4. 5.24-25
5. 6.19
6. 7.3-7, 19
7. 25.7
8. We are eating the bitter fruit of our disobedience and apathy.
9. We have walked out of the covering of God’s grace; we have sown to the wind and we are reaping the whirlwind.
10. Don’t be confused. Who is responsible for the car being washed or polluted? Is it the car wash or is It the person or nation who drove it there?

The Word of Hope – 2 Ch.7.13-14; Joel 2.12-14; Rev.2-3; Acts 3.19-20; Jer.22.1-5

• The alarm clock is going off and God is trying to wake us up. He is saying, “Awake; turn to me in repentance and faith-filled prayers; seek my wholeheartedly; get rid of your compromise; press in to the Lord.” All the prophetic words are with an “if” “then” reality.
• Understand the heart of the Father…He’s doing whatever it takes to remove that which is hindering love for Him. Even though his tone has changed, His nature has not. he is a good, good Father who only wants the best for you. It’s the story of his heart for Ninevah, not the story of Jonah.
• He’s wanting us to see the mess and respond in repentance and devotion to Him.
• This equation is not 100% true of every personal situation, but it is true when we are living in rebellion, apathy and indifference towards God’s Word.
  1. If your heart is to follow Him and serve Him, there are other things going on.
• God is calling us in this hour to humility and repentance; to turn from our lukewarmness and immaturity to fervency and maturity.