July 11, 2021
Pastor Troy Brewer, OpenDoor Church, Burleson, Texas
Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
You can never stop looking into the scriptures. You can never get away from the scriptures. You’ve got to meditate on it, think about it and do the things God is telling you. It is what will make you successful and prosperous.
I’m gonna start off by giving you seven scriptures on overcoming fear and anxiety:
Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
John 14:27 – “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”
2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
1 John 4:18 – “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Psalm 94:19 – “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”
This last week, if your head was not in the word but in the national media, you might need major consolation.
The Hobby Lobby ad campaign: One Nation Under God
Psalms 33:12 – Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…
Newsweek: Arts and crafts giant Hobby Lobby faced a backlash after it ran a full-page advertisement on July 4 in several newspapers across the U.S. that appeared to call for a Christian-run government.
The ad, which Hobby Lobby ran in newspapers on Independence Day, was titled “One Nation Under God,” and included the Bible verse “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the lord.” The company also posted about its campaign on its social media pages.
Then, in other “nothing to see here” news,
the San Francisco gay mens choir and the declaration that those perverted men are coming for the hearts and minds of our children.
“We’re coming for your children and we will convert them thru tolerance.” No joke.
HERE ARE THE LYRICS:
Just like you worriеd
They’ll change their group of friеnds,
You won’t approve of where they go at night
Oh, and you’ll be disgusted
When they start finding things online
That you’ve kept far from their sight
Guess what?
You’ll still be alright!
The difference between the lost and the found, the sheep and the goats, the tares and the wheat, the godly and the ungodly is getting so clear, it’s feeding a growing cultural and political realignment. It’s precipitating a backlash.
And when there is a backlash, the media and the pinnacle of American government will call Hobby Lobby and the people who who stand with kids…haters
The Olympic athletes that represent our country refusing to stand for the national anthem.
The crises at the border caused by our own government.
Plagues, Pestilence and Extreme Weather
Historic Flooding in Detroit
Causes over 1000 people to abandon their vehicles on the highway because it rained 6 inches in less than 5 hours.
Deadly Northwest Heat Wave
108-degree mark is the Seattle’s highest temperature in the 151 years since detailed recordkeeping began on February 16, 1870. Washington weather stations at the Sol Duc River near Forks and the Mayfield Power Plant in Lewis County report 118 degrees.
Unusual Bird Deaths in the Midwest
Fifteen different counties in Indiana are reporting songbirds dying in large numbers, and experts are struggling to explain the deaths:
“I’ve never seen them exhibit the gooey eyes and crustiness in addition to the neurological symptoms,” Allisyn Gillet, DNR ornithologist said.
Gillet says she’s getting reports of nearly a dozen songbirds a week and she says they’ve had at least 100 reports and no one knows exactly what’s causing it.
“The fact that it’s happening in different parts of the country, means that there’s probably something more complex going on, and might be a bit more challenging to control,” Daniel Becker, Indiana University Postdoctoral Researcher said.
Reports of sick and dying birds are coming from Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. The dying birds include blue jays, American robins, common grackles and starlings.
Western Mega-drought Brings Grasshopper Plague
Grasshoppers love hot, dry conditions, and the long-lasting drought across the western United States has made conditions perfect for what experts are describing as “a large grasshopper event.”
The voracious grasshopper outbreak may be the worst since the 1980s and ranchers fear the insects will strip rangeland bare, taking away food for cattle.
In central Montana’s Phillips County, more than 50 miles from the nearest town, Frank Wiederrick said large numbers of grasshoppers started showing up on prairie surrounding his ranch in recent days. Already they’re beginning to denude trees around his house.
“They’re everywhere,” Wiederrick said. “Drought and grasshoppers go together and they are cleaning us out.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun spraying large areas of the West to kill grasshopper nymphs before they develop into adults. A grasshopper “hazard map” survey showed “densities of at least 15 insects per square yard in large areas of Montana, Wyoming and Oregon and portions of Idaho, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska.”
The damage from the grasshoppers could drive up beef and crop prices in the months to come.
Dry Conditions Result in Rattlesnake Movement
The drought and heat aren’t just causing high numbers of crop-destroying grasshoppers, but also the perfect conditions for rattlesnakes to thrive. California is facing “an onslaught of snakes,”
According to this report: With temperatures soaring into the triple digits this weekend…wildlife experts are saying the extreme weather is creating the perfect conditions for increased interactions between humans and animals.
Rattlesnakes, in particular, have been seen moving into urban areas in larger numbers, and are being found on porches, yards, nearby pools and under children’s play equipment.
The drought may end up being the worst in 1,200 years:
Currently the area is experiencing historic drought conditions, with some experts saying it could be on the way to being categorized as the worst in 1,200 years. That makes the current fire season—which is just beginning—on track to be more devastating than ever:
“This doesn’t bode well, in terms of what we can expect with wildfire and the worsening drought,” Kathleen Johnson, an associate professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine told The Guardian.
As believers, our hope is that Jesus will return soon. But not everyone shares that hope. Isaiah described this in a prophetic passage:
Isaiah 13:6-8 – “Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will be limp, Every man’s heart will melt, 8 And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth…”
BIRTH PANGS NOT ONLY SPEED UP, THEY GET MORE INTENSE.
Matthew 24:3 – Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
JESUS WARNED US TO BE AWARE OF FAKE NEWS IN THE LAST DAYS
Matthew 24:24 – For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
THE CATEGORIES OF MESSIAH AND PROPHET ARE NOT JUST RELIGIOUS. THEY ARE CULTURAL.
A false messiah is a leader who rises up and promises “the answer is here.” He or she is a face of a movement that deceives you away from truth into something demonic and false. DO YOU SEE THEM IN THE HEALTH, FITNESS, FINANCIAL AND SPIRITUAL REALMS IN OUR CULTURE TODAY. THESE PEOPLE PROMISE RESULTS AND ANSWERS TO YOUR DEEPEST NEEDS.
A false prophet is somebody who projects the future or trends that point to, or validate, that false messiah.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
- You will endure to the end.
- You will overcome.
- Where sin does abound, Grace does much more abound.
- Simple solutions to complicated issues.
- A greater increase of His glory, presence and power .
- Angelic assignment for the performance of His word.
- May revelation knowledge be increased in your life.
- May you be a fearless demonstration of freedom, redemption and the goodness of God .
- May the fruit of the spirit be increased in your life.
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
May the favor of the Lord be upon you everywhere you go and may your children and your grandchildren be favored.
I declare a Psalms 91 hedge of protection around you and your house.
Supernatural increase in wisdom for finances and the Deuteronomy 8:18 blessing of the power to gain wealth.
I call your home full of peace and joy and the holy habitation of the most high.
Your nights are full of dreams, visions and encounters with God.
Wisdom, revelation, knowledge, discernment and understanding.
May your health be ever increasing.
May you be fully supplied in every way.
Alignment for you assignment, destiny and legacy are yours, abundance of mercy and justice and crooked paths be made strait for you.
May you hear God speak, understand his word, find him when you seek him, have him answer when you ask, experience an open door when when you knock, live in the reality that His kingdom is coming and see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Again, in Ephesians 5:21, Paul instructed believers to be “submitting to one another in the fear of God,”