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There are some things in the Bible that I can understand but I still marvel over when I think about them. The Rapture of the church is one of those things. I understand that one day the last trumpet will sound and those who have been filled with God's Spirit will begin to rise in the air to meet Jesus. I understand that our bodies will be changed to be like Jesus' body and that our new bodies will never be able to die. I understand all of that and can take you to scripture after scripture explaining different aspects of the Rapture of the church, but when I stop and think about it. When I think about the fact that one day I will really fly away. When I stop and think about forever being changed and no longer having tears and sadness, and sickness. No longer having to preach funerals. I understand it, but when I really think about it, I marvel at it! What an awesome promise! One day I'm going to fly to be with Him!

Another Bible fact that I marvel at is that God has chosen to use ordinary men to fulfill His will on earth. I know that we all know that and understand that God uses ordinary men, but really think about it. God came from glory, robed Himself in flesh. He spent 30 years in preparation for a ministry that would only last 3 and a half years. Those 3 1/2 years were spent doing wonderful miracles, making people realize that God had come to earth, and teaching them about the kingdom of God and a promise that was soon to come called the Holy Ghost. Then He died on the cross, thereby ending law and then He rose again on the third day and in a series of spectacular events met with His disciples and then He ascended into glory, and left the church, the world, the kingdom of God in the hands of a few fishermen, a tax collector, a religious freak, and some nobodies. I understand it, but I marvel at it. God paid an awful price to have a church and then chose to place it in the hands of ordinary men. I'm glad that He has done so, but I still marvel!

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Our world today has many people claiming to be preachers or ministers from God. I am not here today to vindicate my personal calling or question the calling of other preachers. It is enough said that I absolutely would not be doing what I am doing if it were not for a calling to pastor and to reach people that God placed upon my life. I could make a lot more money and have much more free time doing something else besides full time ministry, but once the King of Kings has called you to do something, you can never be fulfilled doing anything else! I once had a Bible college instructor tell me, "if God has called you to preach, then don't stoop to being a king!" Being a minister of the perfect Lamb of God is the highest calling in life that there is.

I would like to say that I don't hear from enough preachers about an experience of "God calling them." I know too many preachers of all faiths that the ministry and pastoring is really just a job, an occupation. I know many young men who become "called to preach" because they see it as a glamorous position or as a status symbol. Our world has been burned by too many tele-evangelists that had seen an opportunity to make serious money through the church. I heard a Bible teacher once point out that Christianity was brought to the Jews and they made it a religion. It was brought to the Greeks and they made it a philosophy. It was brought to Rome and they made it an institution. It was brought to America and they made into an enterprise. In America, religion sells and so everybody is a "Christian" preacher. And too many of them will preach whatever they think will be accepted. And too many of them don't live what they preach. They preach against sin on Sunday and reach toward sin on Monday. Our society has a negative view of "preaching" in general and if we are not careful that attitude will slip into the church. Don't ever forget, that God gave the five-fold ministry, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints! But if someone claims to hold one of those calling, they better have been called of God and not by mom, greed, or opportunity! Give me somebody that will preach to me with a burden, give me somebody with a calling, give me somebody that will stand for truth and stick by it no matter what and live what they preach. Show me somebody who preaches the entire word of God and does not shy away from any topic. Show me somebody who is more concerned about heaven's approval rather than earth's, and show me someone who lives what they preach before they ever preach it, and you've got a pretty good indicator of a God-called, God fearing, preacher!

The danger of radio and television evangelists is that all we know about their life is what they share with you through their PR department. You have no way of knowing whether their everyday life is one which you wish to emulate or not. Why do so many people feel that they have no need to attend a church regularly as long as they have the christian station on? Because there is no responsibility. If they don't want to obey what the preacher is teaching them, then they can change the channels. Mass media can be helpful as a supplement to a Christian's life, but it is no substitute for attending church, and allowing a pastor to be active in your life, and finding a place at an altar. People who think television and radio are the only church that they need have fallen to the God of convenience and are only fooling themselves right out of the will of God.

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In the church of Corinth their were obviously some people that questioned the purpose of preaching. And Paul responded by telling them that:

If you get to heaven it will be because of a preacher who preached to you the truth! But Paul went on to divide people who did not like preaching into two categories:

The Jews weren't interested in the preaching and a practical application of God's Word. They thought that they were already saved, and they thought that they were righteous simply by their goodness. They were more interested in a sign or a miracle. There are people still that way today. They are not interested in applying more of God's Word to their life, so the idea of submitting to a preacher in their life disinterests them. They are looking for a sign from heaven. These people will claim to be good Christians but somehow can never stay in one church too long. They claim to be righteous but really never submit to the teachings of a pastor. They float around to wherever they think the next interesting sign from heaven will come. They flock to the latest religious fad. If you show them something that they need to do farther in God's Word, they'll disappear because they think that they are righteous and don't need a closer walk with God. They base their relationship on feeling and not necessarily on the Word of God. When the preaching gets to hot, they either disappear or respond in spiritual Jew fashion and try for a crucifixion!

Then there are the spiritual Greeks. They think that true, anointed Bible based preaching is foolishness. They would rather go listen to someone who is a professional speaker talk on a subject of interest. They expect good and new stories. They think church should be a social counseling session rather than a life changing experience. They are interested in the speaker's viewpoint and opinion and would rather such troublesome subjects such as hell, eternity, sin, submission, and fasting not be discussed. When confronted with a preacher preaching on God's viewpoint, and expressing scripture that reflects something that they disagree with they will resort to justifying themselves rather than change.

But God has chosen through preaching to save those who are lost! Not by signs and wonders! Not by philosophy or social issues. Not by little feel good stories and chicken soup for the soul. By through Bible based anointing preaching.

The rich man in hell looked up at Abraham and begged him saying "please send someone to tell my brothers that this place is awful and that they don't want to come here!" And Abraham responded with very important words and a lesson that you want to learn while on this side of the grave:

Abraham said that a miracle and one coming back from the grave wouldn't convince people if they cannot be convinced by scripture! And how has God chosen to proclaim so that people can "hear" Moses and the prophets now that they are dead? By preaching! You are not wasting your time today, and in fact are now in the most important part of your week! You are listening to preaching! Paul wrote in Romans:

God responds to faith! Without faith it is impossible to please Him, the scriptures say. But how does faith come into your life? By HEARING and not just hearing any old thing, but by HEARING THE WORD OF GOD! By hearing the preaching of a preacher who is preaching the unadulterated Word of God! That is how faith comes into your life! Faith that comes from a miracle will fade as time passes. Faith that comes from hearing a good, well-told story will fade as the memory and emotion subsides. But True Faith is that which comes from hearing someone preach to you the Word of God! And it is impossible to please God without Faith:

So if it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God without faith. And faith comes by hearing the Word of God preached to you, then it is impossible to please God, to serve God, to grow in God without a regular diet of the Word of God being preached into your life! You need to do more than work hearing a preacher into your schedule, you need to work your schedule around a steady diet of the preached Word of God! It is the most important part of your week and your life. And you need more than just one sermon every week or so. You need for a preacher to preach and teach you the Word of God as much as possible in your life! Without it your faith will crumble! You need preaching! And preaching of God's ideas and God's viewpoints, not of man's!

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Last Wednesday night the power of revelation was in here, and while I was teaching God gave me a revelation that I had never noticed before. I was teaching on how that the Bible says in James that you must draw nigh to God and then God will draw nigh to you. (James 4:8) That order is divinely inspired by God, because in order to get closer to God, you must first draw closer to Him. Too many people are waiting for God to come and save them, and waiting for God to make their relationship closer but aren't taking the first step! When the prodigal son came back home, he found the Father waiting for him! But the prodigal son had to take the first steps toward the Father first! THEN the Father rushed toward him and embraced him! God's waiting on you! And that's why when God anointed a preacher on the day of Pentecost, the first commandment was to Repent! Repentance is you taking the first step to God.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they did not take the first step toward God. They did not fall to their knees in repentance. In fact they hid from God and God had to make the first step. God had to come looking for them and ask "where art thou?" Because God had to take the first step, the end result was judgment. If Adam would have made the first step, then the end result would have been mercy! If you are away from God, you don't want to wait on God to take the first step, but you want to take the first step toward Him! When you do you will find the merciful hand of God reaching out to you!

The point is, if God has to take the first step, then He brings judgment! That's why God has chosen to use preachers to proclaim His Word. When you hear a preacher preach God's Word and you act upon it, you are taking the first step toward mercy because God Himself has not had to speak to you and thus taken the first step. I've heard some people respond to my teaching by saying "well, if that's really so, then how come God allows so many people to preach so many different things and how come God Himself don't come down and straighten things out." They miss the point. God Himself WILL come back one day and straighten things out and Revelation teaches that He will do so by pouring out His wrath and judgment out on the earth. There are those who teach that you can be saved when you see that Jesus has come back or that you can be saved after the Rapture! That's not true, for if God has to make the first step, the end result is judgment! Check to make sure that the preacher is preaching to you ALL of the Word of God, but you better receive preaching if it's truth, for that is the hand of God reaching out to you in mercy through a man so that you can make the first step toward HIM!

You need a preacher in your life, because it's what brings the merciful hand of God!

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God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah when Israel was under bondage to Assyria and taught us an awesome principle in God's Word:

They were under bondage; they were suffering for their past sins. They really weren't free to praise and serve God like they needed to do. And God spoke to them and said, because of the prophets and the priests, because there are so many of my "anointed" and those whom I have anointed to preach my gospel in Israel, that the bondage can only last so long, because eventually the anointing will break the yoke!

Even today it is the same in your life. You can try to shake depression and fear. You can be bound by confusion and lack of direction. You can be spiritually dull and not really be spiritually charged, and then come into a Holy Ghost filled service were there is an anointed preacher who preaches you what "thus saith the Word of God." And the anointing breaks the yoke! You can now escape from that depression. You can turn and laugh at that fear! God uses preaching to give you an opportunity to be freed from the chains and bondage of this world. If the preacher is getting a little too close to home, then that is an area of spiritual bondage in your life, in which God is wanting to set you free!

But here's the catch. The yoke can be broken but it's up to you to remove it! God uses the anointed preacher to break some things off of you, but you've got be willing to let it go! Isaiah went on to tell the people in a passage of scripture that Jesus also used about Himself:

But you have to want the change! Notice what the anointed preaching did and did not do.

1. The preacher was "sent" to bind up the brokenhearted, but the brokenhearted have to participate.

2. The preacher "proclaimed liberty to the captives," but the captives have to be willing to leave. When Abraham Lincoln announced the "Emancipation Proclamation" it declared all the slaves in the South to be free, but some of them really didn't believe it. And some of them chose to stay slaves! The preacher is sent to "proclaim liberty" but you have to want to be freed and willing to leave captivity!

3. The preacher came to "open the prison" of those who are bound. But what if the prisoner doesn't want to leave! You've got to make the choice to come out of the cell!

4. In verse 3, the preacher came to give them "beauty for ashes." But it is an exchange. You've got to be willing to give up the ashes! Ashes were a sign of grieving and of debasement! Ashes are the residue of a fire that once was! Your fire may have run out, but God can give you something beautiful for the reminder of your failures! But you have to be willing to respond to the preaching by giving up the failures and the hurt and the grieving of what might have been and forgive yourself of the past! The preaching has given you the opportunity, but you've got to participate in the exchange.

5. The oil of joy for mourning! To have joy, you've got to be willing to give up the mourning! In the times of Jesus Christ, there were people who made a living by being professional mourners. They would be hired to boohoo at funerals and such. They were good at mourning, they liked mourning. It brought them attention and brought them gain. Even today, there are people who enjoy being mourners. They are always negative and always depressed, and always overwhelmed. You can have joy, but you need to give up the mourning! The preaching gives you the opportunity to act but you've got to do the exchange!

6. To lose the spirit of heaviness, you will have to put on the garment of praise! The preacher doesn't put it on for you, he just gives you the freedom to choose. The anointing breaks the yoke, but you've got to be willing to put on the garment of praise for yourself.

Jesus taught a principle of demons and casting them out:

In other words when a person has a devil cast out of them, they better have another spirit, the Spirit of God to move in and take it's place, or the devil will return and return stronger in that life. If you cast something out, but don't replace it with anything, then the man will be worse off in the end than he was in the beginning. And then Jesus makes an interesting statement: Even so shall it be to this wicked generation! In other words, this principle applies even to being freed from other things!

When the preacher preaches and breaks the yoke of heaviness in your life, then you'd better respond to the preaching and put on the garment of praise in it's place. If you don't, then the heaviness will return and be 7 times stronger than it was before! The preaching will make your situation worse, if you DON'T RESPOND TO IT!!!!! ________________________________________________________________________

Israel was at war with the Philistines who were fierce warriors. King Saul was disillusioned and not sure of what to do. The priest was out wearing his ephod which was supposed to give him direction from God but was so out of touch with God that he didn't have any direction either. 600 able warriors were sitting under a pomegranate tree doing nothing while the enemy was getting stronger and stronger.

Jonathan, Saul's son decided that he was going to do something about the situation. He decided that he and his armor bearer would go over and attack the Philistine garrison.

Jonathan told his armor bearer "It MAY be" that the Lord will work with us! His armor bearer told him "I am with thee according to thy heart!"

Jonathan and his armor bearer attacked! Two men against a whole army. Jonathon had the big sword and so he went first swinging that sword. That sword would knock the enemy down and then the armor bearer would come behind with a smaller knife killing the enemy. They continued: Jonathan knocking them down, and the armor bearer killing them!

To get the spiritual parallel, you need to understand that Hebrews 4:12 states that the Word of God is quicker and more powerful than even a two-edged sword! When a preacher begins to preach to you the Word of God, he is taking up a sword in the Spirit and is knocking some of your enemy down! But you've got to come along and kill it! The armor bearer responded to Jonathan stepping out on a "maybe." When the preacher preaches, he is giving you an opportunity: "just maybe God would do it for you, if you would respond!" "Just maybe the Lord would begin to work for you, if you would step out and respond to the preaching!" But you've got to be willing to follow the man of God as he proceeds with the Word, and you've got to be willing to kill what the man of God knocks down in your life! Don't let them live!

The best part is after Jonathan attacked with the sword, and the armor bearer followed him, then God got involved:

God caused an earthquake and confusion and the Philistines began to kill one another! God can deliver you out of any situation but it will always start with a preacher swinging the Word and a person responding to it and killing those things that were knocked down!

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Fear is our biggest enemy. Jonathan and his armor bearer would have never stepped out if they would have been fearful! Jonathan was moving on a "maybe" but we have some definite promises in God's Word. We don't have to move on a "maybe." The writer of Hebrews stated in our other text that we should be fearful so that we don't fall short of a promise of rest:

When God uses a preacher to preach to you about an area in your life, then He is wanting to bring spiritual rest in that area of your life! But the Word of God can be preached and yet not profit because the people who hear it do not move with faith! Listen to Hebrews 4:1-2 in The Living Bible version:

Just hearing preaching isn't enough, but you must respond to it!

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We are all familiar with the story of Jonah. Jonah was an anointed preacher to whom God gave a message for the people of Nineveh. But Jonah wasn't perfect. He was prejudiced and head strong. He was not merciful and was bitter. Jonah was used to running from his troubles. Jonah also needed to mature in his walk with God and to learn to have an attitude of thankfulness and praise. Yet, despite all of his shortcomings God had given Jonah a message and called him to be a preacher! God doesn't call perfect people to be preachers but calls real, human beings to preach His Word.

God had to do quite a bit to get Jonah's attention. First there was that big storm, and then that big fish, and then 3 long days in the belly of the fish in the bottom of the sea. When God finally got Jonah to Nineveh, Jonah only did a half-hearted job and preached one day into a city that was a three day's journey across. Jonah then went upon the mountain to wait for the judgment of God to fall. Jonah was the worse preacher driven by the worst motives and had the worst attitude of any minister that has ever lived.

Yet the people of Nineveh acted on the Word of the Lord delivered by Jonah! They took the first step and began to fast and pray and call upon God. Jonah was a horrible vessel, but because the people acted upon the Word of God, God spared them and the hand of mercy was outstretched. God later worked on Jonah as we find that Jonah would never have written the book about himself if he had not later changed his attitude.

Don't let humanity and past preacher's faults cause you to miss out on the blessings of God! You need preaching. You must respond to the preaching! When you do, no matter the motives or attitude of the preacher, when you mix it with faith and act upon the true Word of God, then God will bless you!