"Are You A Wayfaring Stranger? Timeless Truth For A Troubled World" (With Videos - One An Adrian Rogers' Sermon) - Inspirational Weekend

                                                [Tourists At Waikiki - Diamond head Crater]

My photograph above was taken a few years ago, showing a typical scene from Waikiki, with many tourists.  But, as the title of this post hints, these are not exactly "wayfaring strangers".   Or, ARE they? Meaning, in a spiritual way, perhaps some of them may be wayfaring strangers.  Many of you might be familiar with that old hymn (or rather, folk song) by that title - "Wayfaring Stranger".  Following is a beautiful version of it by Selah:

The above song expresses a longing to go to heaven and to be with the Lord.  In today's troubled world, there are many who have that same longing: to be in heaven with the good Lord. You have to admit, "things ain't like what they used to be."  Many changes have been implemented lately that prove that we are ever closer to what will occur on a larger scale during the 7 year Tribulation. 

Good News!   True believers in Jesus Christ as the Savior will be "outta here" before then :  before that horrendous judgment period upon ungodly men, meaning the  Tribulation with all of its plagues, destruction, and suffering !  Read the Bible book of Revelation -  it is all there.

True followers of Jesus should feel as the apostle Paul felt when he wrote :  "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  Philippians 1:21;  and, at Philippians 1:23 Paul said: "For I am in a strait betwixt the two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: "

"And to wait for His Son from heaven whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."  -   1 Thessalonians 1:10

"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him."                              -  1 Thessalonians 5:9-10

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  -              2 Peter 3:9

But the focus of this article will be on the salvation of souls and what that entails. 

Some time ago, the old hymn "This World Is Not My Home" was posted on this blog.  It is sung by Jim Reeves (to you old-timers like myself... remember him?)  and was written by Reeve's wife.  Here is that hymn again for you:

The message of the hymn here by Jim Reeves is similar to the message in the folk song "I'm Just a Wayfaring Stranger".   I posted it again now because it is mentioned in the following 39 minute audio sermon by Pastor Adrian Rogers, which follows:

There are many, many gems of gospel truth and encouragement in the above excellent sermon by Pastor Rogers!   One echoes what the two song videos above tell us:  "We (believers) are strangers and pilgrims and do NOT belong to this world."  -  based on 1 Peter 2:11 which tells us:

"Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;"

Another thing Pastor Rogers emphasizes :" Salvation is NOT rooted in the merit of man, but in the mercy of God."   You cannot "work" your way into heaven!

Speaking of his personal testimony, Pastor Rogers tells us: "Before I was saved I was running to sin, but now I am running from sin."  He tells us, "You don't need anything!  If you have Jesus you have everything!"

Just a warning from Pastor Rogers: "If the only thing that keeps you from sinning is the fear of losing your salvation, I doubt that you've ever been saved."

"Lukewarmness is the Christian's Achilles heel.  We cannot lead anyone to Christ who is more committed to the world than we are to Jesus."  -   Joe McKeever

"Don't put a question mark where God puts a period."  -  unknown

"Jesus did not come to make God's love possible, but to make God's love visible." -  unknown

"It is Christ's will that [man] should be thus isolated, and that he should fix his eyes solely on HIM."     -  Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

"If the LORD be with us, we have no cause of fear.  His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayers -  His grace sufficient, His promise unchangeable."  -  John Newton

  Following is a short article by A.W. Tozer titled :"Spiritual Readiness":

"When the Bible says that God is calling a special people out of the nations to bear the name of His eternal Son, I believe it, and His name is Jesus!  Our pious forefathers believed in spiritual preparation, and they said so!  They saw themselves as a Bride being prepared to meet the Bridegroom.  They regarded this earth as the "dressing room" to outfit themselves for heaven.  The evangelical church has come through a period when nearly everyone has believed that there is just ONE pre-requisite to readiness:  being born again.  We have made being born again a special event - when Jesus returns we will whip out the pass to prove our readiness.   Frankly, I do not think it will be like that.  I do not believe that all professed believers are automatically ready to meet the LORD.  Our Savior Himself was joined by Peter and John and Paul in warning and pleading that we should LIVE, and WATCH and PRAY, so to be ready for Jesus' coming."   -  (end of quote).  

Food for thought!

The above quote by Tozer brings home the fact that we need to develop a relationship with the good Lord.   That means to be often in prayer and in His Holy Word the Bible.   To fellowship with Him.  You will never come to know a person or develop a relationship with Him if you never talk to them or spend time with them.  That is obvious, but so many today neglect to do that very thing with God.  He loves us and wants to fellowship with us!  If you do draw close to God, He will draw close to you.  Something wonderful will happen in your heart and soul when your focus and delight is on the good Lord and you spend quality time with Him.  He will transform your mind and heart.

"Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."  -       James 4:8

Time is short before Jesus returns!

Turn to Him now in true faith and total surrender!

Jesus is waiting for you with love and with outstretched arms full of forgiveness and of tender compassion to hold you close and tight in His embrace and in the safety and salvation found in Him.

Following are Salvation Scriptures to act upon NOW if you are not saved by the cleansing power of Jesus' blood when you put your faith and belief in Him as the Savior.

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth upon him." -   John 3:36

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me:"    -      John 14:6

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  -   John 3:16

Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend -  and life !!

 

"In The Shadow of God's Wings" (With Video Sermon By Adrian Rogers) - Inspirational Weekend

[South African Starling]

We are all aware of the many catastrophic occurrences in these the last days the Bible prophesied about; we will not go into any depth about that in this weekend post.  Instead, let us be encouraged by Scriptures from the Bible, and by quotes from various Christian authors and pastors, and the like.  (Much has been written on this blog about Bible prophecy and end times signs; you may go to the search box at the upper right hand side of this page and type in things like: "last days", "Mark of the Beast" , "7 year Tribulation, " "The Rapture" , and other such topics and it will bring up several posts  - some with videos - which you may view.)

Today, Psalm 57 seemed to cry out to me to comment on it.   It was written by ancient King David while hiding in a cave when King Saul pursued him in an attempt to kill him.  Following are 4 verses from Psalm 57, but we will go into more depth concerning verse 1.

" (1)  Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me.  For my soul trusteth in Thee:  Yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.  (2) I will cry unto God most high; Unto God that performeth all things for me. (3) He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up.  Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.  (4) My soul is among lions."

Many of you can relate to the above words of Psalm 57.  Today's world is full of chaos, and it affects all of us in some way.

In verse 1 above, let us concentrate on when David said: "In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over past."

This is obviously a metaphor taken from the brood of a hen (or other bird) whose young ones take shelter under the mother bird's wings when they see danger, such as from a bird of prey; and there they continue to hide themselves until the enemy disappears.  Also, in a storm or intense rain, the mother covers them with her wings to give them shelter.  David the psalmist has this particularly in view, as when he wrote:  "Until these calamities be over past."

One commentator has said, "David believed that these calamities would pass away, or would cease; that a time would come when he would not thus be driven from place to place.  At present he knew he was in danger and he desired the divine protection, for under that protection he would be safe."

[Mandarin Duck]

"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: Hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over past." -    Isaiah 26:20

"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."  -   Psalm 27:13

The above verses do not necessarily mean to be so fearful in your heart that you do not go about daily routines -  we cannot just stay in bed all day and pull the covers over our heads, so to speak.  The main thing is to trust in the good Lord and wait for his guidance and direction.

Romans 15:13 tells us: " Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit."

"Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means.  The Lord be with you all."  -   2 Thessalonians 3:16

[Nene goose -  Hawaii's State Bird]

"Daily take some time to set your eyes on God's overwhelming presence of love instead of the circumstances of life.  Meditate on the truth that God's presence not only follows you, but is with you and offers rest to your overwhelmed soul."  -  Proverbs 31 ministries

"Being at peace with yourself is a direct result of finding peace with God."  -  Olin Miller

"Socrates used to say ' Philosophers can be happy without music'; and Christians can be happier than philosophers, when all outward causes of rejoicing are withdrawn.  In Thee, my God, my heart shall triumph come what may of ills without!  By Thy power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall be exceeding glad, though all things should fail me here below."   -  Charles Spurgeon

"With the power of God within us, we need never fear the powers around us."  -  Woodrow Kroll

Jesus is the answer to all of our fears !   When you have Him by your side and the Holy Spirit living within you, He will help you and guide you and give you peace.  Really, even if someone kills us, our spirit lives on and we will join the good Lord in heaven at death.

The apostle Paul put it beautifully when he said, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  -  Philippians 1:21

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me."  -    John 14:6

"If ye love Me, keep my commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."  -    Jesus at John 14:15

It all boils down to having faith in Jesus and believing that He is the Savior; that His shed blood at Calvary washes away all of your sins when you believe with all your very being that His death, His redemptive work at the cross, paid your sin debt in full.  He was our substitute and died in our place, taking  the sins of the world upon Him at the cross.  He is the only way to heaven; and only He can save a sinner from the darkness and death; and bring him into His saving Light and life.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   -   Jesus at John 3:16

When you have Jesus with you, you can face anything!

Following is an excellent 39 minute sermon by Adrian Rogers on ways to draw closer to Jesus.

Time is running out!

Jesus will return soon to Rapture true followers of Christ to heaven to be with Him.

Are you Rapture ready?

Romans 10: 9,10, 13 tells us:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."


Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend -  and life  !!

"There Is An Expiration Date!" (With Video by Adrian Rogers) - Inspirational Weekend

[Diamond Head Beach and Lighthouse, Oahu, Hawaii]

Most of us are aware that Christians have applied a lighthouse as a symbol of Jesus Christ,  Who is our guiding light.   We are now living in the Age of Grace, or the Church Age.  For that, there is an expiration date !   And it will expire very soon !

For Christians, be Rapture ready!  Be occupied with the Lord's work and sharing the Gospel -  the life and teachings of Jesus and His deity, and His death, burial, and resurrection.   Because He took on all of our sins at the Cross, and shed His blood so that we might be washed clean when we put our faith in Him and believe He is the Savior, the way to heaven.

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  -    John 14:6

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."    -  John 3:16

Please read Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 .   There it mentions various signs that would occur during the end times.   You will discern that many of these signs are occurring right now, proving that Jesus will return soon to rapture true believers to be in heaven with Him.   Never before have all of these signs converged at one time like they are right now.  Even children can recognize this is an evil world, corrupt and chaotic.  

"Woe unto them  that call evil good, and good evil;  that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter !"   -   Isaiah 5:20

The above verse in Isaiah aptly describes today's world, where evil insists that we accept the world's views on various things and lifestyles, and which the world claims is okay despite what the Bible clearly admonishes us against.

Yes, as many of you realize, we are living in the last moments of the last days.   I have written much about this on this blog.  Following is a previous article of mine which tells of the days of Noah, the giants, the origin of demons, and the altering of DNA in humans (and animals) which helps us to realize that we are living in the last days.... the last moments of the church age, when Jesus will return soon to take believers to heaven.  The 8-27-2019 article mentioned explains how the age we live in now is truly like the days of Noah, and ripe for God's intervention and first for Jesus to rapture true believers to heaven before the judgments and plagues and wrath poured out on those unsaved people during the 7 year Tribulation. 

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."     -     Jesus at Matthew 24:37

My computer is acting up again,  and will not allow me to link to the article mentioned above.   Just scroll down to my previous post on Tuesday, August 27, 2019, and you may read it there.

[Rainbow at Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii]

Whenever I see a rainbow, I am reminded of God's many promises.  He has promised a glorious future for true believers in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior.

Following is a 40 minute sermon on the Rapture by Adrian Rogers, who has gone on now to be in heaven with the good Lord.  He states in this sermon that the world is on a collision course with destiny.

Yes, there is an expiration date approaching for this wicked world.  Be ever mindful of and faithful to the good Lord in our minds and hearts and speech and actions.   Live totally surrendered to Him and seek to do His will always.   

A. W. Tozer has said, "A satisfactory spiritual life will begin with a complete change in relation between God and the sinner; not a judicial change merely, but a conscious and experienced change affecting the sinner's whole nature.  The atonement in Jesus' blood makes such a change judicially possible and the working of the Holy Spirit makes it emotionally satisfying."

Unbelievers, now is the time to get right with the good Lord and surrender your life to Jesus; believe in Him as the Savior, and you will be sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of God forever.

Ephesians 1:13 tells us, "In whom ye also trusted, after that we heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation:  in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, "

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us,  (9)  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus ,  and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Have blessed and Christ centered weekend..... and life !!

(note: sometimes at the top of my blog, it says "Not Secure".   I have corrected that only to have it revert back to the same message.  This blog IS secure.   It could be just a glitch as my computer has been acting up a lot lately.)

"Hang In There!" (With Video on Endurance and a Video on the Rapture of the Church) - Inspirational Weekend

[Internet Photograph]

This blog has mentioned many times about the chaotic and dangerous times we live in now.  We definitely need to "hang in there" and have endurance to cope with the stress of this evil world, and wondering if a catastrophe like a nuclear war or an economic collapse or such-like could occur any time soon.   The world is in an uproar, not knowing the way out.  

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.   Men's hearts failing them in fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."   -   Jesus at Luke 21:25-26

If you are a true Christian  that reads the Bible daily and that has a strong, personal. close, and intimate relationship with the good Lord, you realize that there is hope for you and that soon Jesus will return to rapture you to heaven before things get worse.... before the dreaded 7 year Tribulation period of God's wrath upon the wicked occurs.

Following is another video by Chad Thomas in which he clearly explains the Rapture of the church and the revealing of the antichrist.   I have written much previously on this blog about the things he discusses,  but I thought a video would be refreshing for you; plus, it will be beneficial for any first time viewers here.

There are many first time viewers to this blog, and also many who are not saved; who have not been born again; and many who never read the Bible.   I am quoting below a familiar verse to many Christians..... a verse that gives us hope and something to look forward to:  a rescue from this wicked world and a trip to heaven.

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the  voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ  shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."   -   1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

(See also 1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

[North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii]

Titus 2:13 says: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."

God's Holy Word, the Bible, gives us many encouraging verses to help us to "hang in there."   Another benefit of daily Bible reading (and prayer) is you draw ever closer to the good Lord, and as time goes on you learn to love Him more and more, as well as the fact that your faith in Him will also increase.  

The Bible gives us much encouragement and helps us to endure trials and hardships.   Following is a 34 minute sermon by deceased Pastor Adrian Rogers on the topic of "Learning To Endure".

In the sermon above, Pastor Rogers gives us five truths learned from tests and trials:  enjoyment, enlargement, enlightenment, enthronement, enrichment.  He explains and gives Scriptures pertaining to these five truths.   He has nothing to say in his sermon about end time events or prophecies, but I felt it relevant to our times just the same.

Learn to trust and have faith in God and Jesus, and you will be helped and encouraged beyond what you could ever expect or hope for.   The good Lord will help you to endure.

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13)  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Hang in there!

Jesus loves you!

If you are born again, you have a wonderful future in heaven.

Keep looking up !

Keep watching!

Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend ...  and life !