Perilous Times Shall Come
by Myles Dalton
This morning in church my pastor preached an awesome sermon on Ezekiel 33:1-9 about us needing to be a watchman on the wall and being the voice to the lost and dying and that we need to be more compassionate to the sinner just as Jesus showed that same compassion to the many sinners and he confronted during his 3 1/2 year Ministry.
Ezekiel 33:1-9
1Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
There are a lot of churches today that have moved away from teaching repentance and salvation through Christ, and because of this mindset apathy has settled in many of our mainstream churches where the issue today is to be more tolerant to sinful behavior instead of trying to reach out and help a person come to the saving grace that we know by way of repentance and believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many don't want to hear how sinful we all are and heed the warnings in Scripture that is so clear, instead let us make them feel good about themselves while in reality they are just covering up their sinful nature instead of confronting it with the sound biblical understanding of "The gospel of Jesus Christ".
Just like in the days of Ezekiel when the Lord appointed him to be a watchman over the house of Israel, we too as the church of believers in Jesus Christ need to warn the lost and dying that there is hope and salvation through the blood of Christ that he shed for us on the cross.
Put it this way… If I see my neighbor is headed for destruction and I stand by and say nothing to warn him, then his blood is on my hands and the Lord will hold me accountable; but if he hears the gospel and refuses to save himself by believing in the one and only begotten son that God sent into this world to die for us so that we shall be saved by believing in Him, than the loss of his soul will be his own fault and God will not hold me accountable.
My pastor went on to say that today the world is tired of hearing us preach the truth so instead of just ignoring us, they are screaming back at us in opposition, and if that's not enough; through legislation they are pushing to pass laws that will criminalize us for preaching the gospel as if it's hate speech… "what is good is being viewed as evil; and what is evil is being viewed as good".
That my dear brothers and sisters is not the road that we as Christians want to travel down within this country, but from what I have read recently that is just what is happening today in this country of ours and in other nations around this world, as they step up their war against Christians, "believe me this is frightening to hear".
Why?... I just read two articles that are troubling:
"Offend a homosexual ... Go to prison for 5 years" that Christians will face prison for speaking out against homosexuality if Brazil's Senate passes a bill approved unanimously by its House of Representatives, as quoted
"[A] priest, a pastor, a teacher or even an average citizen who says in a sermon, a classroom or public conversation that homosexual acts are sinful, disordered or an illness could be denounced and detained," the association said; and in another article:
Iran Proposes Death Penalty for Apostasy Iran is pushing to have an automatic death penalty for anyone who converts to Christianity without trial and without any means to defend oneself; as quoted in the same article:
“They [Iran] began assassinating pastors and Christian workers,” said an Iranian pastor, who requested anonymity, to Compass. “Legally, they did not take them to court, but they just killed them and said that they hanged themselves and gave some other excuses.”
2 Timothy 3:1
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
As frightening as this may seem to some especially if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, it's never too late to reach out to the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth!
Matthew 11:29-30
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
This morning in church my pastor preached an awesome sermon on Ezekiel 33:1-9 about us needing to be a watchman on the wall and being the voice to the lost and dying and that we need to be more compassionate to the sinner just as Jesus showed that same compassion to the many sinners and he confronted during his 3 1/2 year Ministry.
Ezekiel 33:1-9
1Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
3If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
There are a lot of churches today that have moved away from teaching repentance and salvation through Christ, and because of this mindset apathy has settled in many of our mainstream churches where the issue today is to be more tolerant to sinful behavior instead of trying to reach out and help a person come to the saving grace that we know by way of repentance and believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many don't want to hear how sinful we all are and heed the warnings in Scripture that is so clear, instead let us make them feel good about themselves while in reality they are just covering up their sinful nature instead of confronting it with the sound biblical understanding of "The gospel of Jesus Christ".
Just like in the days of Ezekiel when the Lord appointed him to be a watchman over the house of Israel, we too as the church of believers in Jesus Christ need to warn the lost and dying that there is hope and salvation through the blood of Christ that he shed for us on the cross.
Put it this way… If I see my neighbor is headed for destruction and I stand by and say nothing to warn him, then his blood is on my hands and the Lord will hold me accountable; but if he hears the gospel and refuses to save himself by believing in the one and only begotten son that God sent into this world to die for us so that we shall be saved by believing in Him, than the loss of his soul will be his own fault and God will not hold me accountable.
My pastor went on to say that today the world is tired of hearing us preach the truth so instead of just ignoring us, they are screaming back at us in opposition, and if that's not enough; through legislation they are pushing to pass laws that will criminalize us for preaching the gospel as if it's hate speech… "what is good is being viewed as evil; and what is evil is being viewed as good".
That my dear brothers and sisters is not the road that we as Christians want to travel down within this country, but from what I have read recently that is just what is happening today in this country of ours and in other nations around this world, as they step up their war against Christians, "believe me this is frightening to hear".
Why?... I just read two articles that are troubling:
"Offend a homosexual ... Go to prison for 5 years" that Christians will face prison for speaking out against homosexuality if Brazil's Senate passes a bill approved unanimously by its House of Representatives, as quoted
"[A] priest, a pastor, a teacher or even an average citizen who says in a sermon, a classroom or public conversation that homosexual acts are sinful, disordered or an illness could be denounced and detained," the association said; and in another article:
Iran Proposes Death Penalty for Apostasy Iran is pushing to have an automatic death penalty for anyone who converts to Christianity without trial and without any means to defend oneself; as quoted in the same article:
“They [Iran] began assassinating pastors and Christian workers,” said an Iranian pastor, who requested anonymity, to Compass. “Legally, they did not take them to court, but they just killed them and said that they hanged themselves and gave some other excuses.”
2 Timothy 3:1
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
As frightening as this may seem to some especially if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, it's never too late to reach out to the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth!
Matthew 11:29-30
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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There are some very scary things happening in the world. It's getting so the only people that can be offended without penalty will be Christians. Myles, I pray Christ will come before to long. This world is out of control. Very good post, my friend. Have a blessed week.