SPIRITUAL REALITY CHECK

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Welcome And Promise Of Hope

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Welcome. My name is Don Carpenter, and we're coming to you from Marinath the Christian Assembly in Wickham, New Brunswick, Canada. And we're so glad to have you join us. No matter where you turn, there's always hope. We have to understand that we are in troublesome times. We're in times where men's hearts are failing them for fear. And lots of people don't know where to turn. And some people have forgotten where to turn. Some people don't understand that the Lord is the one that watches over us, especially as believers.

Reading 2 Peter And End-Time Perspective

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Beginning at verse 8 of 2 Peter chapter 3. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. The Lord's not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. In the wits the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of the Lord, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, he's talking about believers here, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. An account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. Even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, hath written unto you, has also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these saints, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are on learned and on stable rest, as they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and forever. I read you several verses here, because I want you to get them into your spirit.

Scripture Over Noise In Troubled Times

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I need you to understand, of all the things that you read, any I'm sure it's in most nations of the world, any of the nations that I've gone to, even in remote parts, you'll see people walking around with their cell phones and they're looking at it all the time. They go to you go to a restaurant, they're all sitting there looking at it, and they're reading all kinds of things. Very few will be reading scripture. Most of them will be reading nonsense that the more time that we spend reading other things than the word of God, and we begin to lose sight of it. And what is so critical regarding the word of the Lord, it's our life. To believers, the Bible is the most important book that we can read. We need to hear those words. We need to listen to preachers of the word of God. We need to fellowship with one another. We need to encourage one another in life and in the things God has to say. I believe there's a God who loves me. I believe that there's a God that He would have me share the good news about to my fellow people in the community, my family, friends, whoever I'm in contact with, whoever I influence. And it's very sad to think that other things could come and I would lose sight of what God has done in my life. So the Bible tells us in the book of Peter that we are to beware lest we also be led away. Operating

Faith Beyond The Five Senses

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in the realm of faith, it means that we have left the sensual dimension, the sensual realm. And that sensual realm is what we can see, what we can hear, what we can taste, what we can smell, and what we can touch. Unfortunately, many believe that that's the only realm that ever existed. But I think that it's quite interesting that it wasn't until some atheists begin to have some influence and men begin to lay the importance upon listening to philosophers and those that are ungodly, that they came into the realm of reason. And subtly the realm of reason has taken over. And you'll often hear people say, Let's be reasonable. Or they might say, Do you really believe that God can hear you? Or some are even to the point of, do you really think that there is a God? And I would say that anyone who believes that there is no God is in a serious place. Their mind is unregenerated, they are caught up in the foolishness of mankind, and it is so sad. There is a God, and there's a God that gives us the ability and the strength to move forward by faith. The initial action that every human being, when they come to an age of accountability, when they come to an age where they understand the ramifications of their actions and they're able to make choices, I believe that the number one choice that everybody needs to make is that they need to be born again. I believe that must be the number one choice. I believe that everybody, every Christian, every born-again believer needs to develop a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. That can sound so religious, and that can sound like ya, ya, ya, but it is dangerous. If that is your attitude, and if you're in that place where your soul is satisfied with things that are ungodly, you need to take a serious look at where you are with your life. Jesus said this in John chapter 3, verse 3. A man must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Now, when I was preparing for this today to share with you here at the church and online, the Lord drew my attention to a spiritual reality check that we need to take. We need to stop for a moment and all the chaos that's going on around about us, all the bad news or whatever events that distract

New Birth And A Spiritual Reality Check

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us, and we need to stop and to take a reality check. Number one, I want you to know that we live in a very dangerous world, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I think about how that even in societies where we feel that we're so well policed and we have such strong laws that pretty well we should be safe wherever we go. But many people, no matter where they live in the world, you it's dangerous to be alone, especially for a woman to be out traveling or be found in certain places. I think about how that muggings and people will just for the fun of it stop and beat somebody to death on the streets. This is dangerous. We might say, in my community, this doesn't happen. If that's the case, you're in a very safe community. But emotionally, people play with our emotions. We need to understand that we live in a very dangerous time. Do you understand what this Bible is and what it says? There is so much wisdom and counsel and God communication in this that when we don't know what to do, maybe we don't have anybody that we can go to, we can read the Bible, and in it, God will give us instruction, He will give us answers, and He will help us in our walk with life.

The World Is Dangerous: Stay Watchful

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First Peter chapter five and verse eight. Be sober, be diligent. And that word diligent is quite a big word. It means pay strict attention to what's around you. Because your adversary, the devil. Sometimes we're gonna say, I used to really read my Bible a lot, or I used to love going to church, or I used to pray a lot. What's happened? The adversary constantly pressing in, constantly draining you, constantly taking our attention, getting us to be caught up in other things. As a roaring lion, he walketh about seeking whom he may devour. I am very conscious that I live in a very dangerous world. So, therefore, I need protection. And I cannot think of better protection than to have the Lord knowing that he's always with me. When I was a young preacher, traveling internationally, I was deep in the mountains of Haiti, right near the Dominican Republic border, very remote region. And I remember waking up one morning, the military had stationed a soldier outside the house that I was staying in every night when I was in the area. I didn't ask for it. They just didn't want anybody coming in and killing me or robbing me, I guess. I was too naive. I didn't know. I wake up in the morning and I see a soldier standing out there. But at any rate, one of the things I thought about, and suddenly it hit me, and I'm thinking, Lord, I'm feeling lonely today. It feels like everything's against me where I'm at. And I'm here alone. I

God’s Presence In Loneliness And Risk

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had nobody else with me. I was traveling alone. And you know what the Lord said to me? He said, Don, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Do you know that that word has come to me so many times as I begin to seek the Lord, or if I start to step out and I take a major step of faith, and I'm wondering, how is this ever going to come to pass? Or what have I done? And the devil says, I tell you what you've done. You've bitten off more than you can chew. That's not what the Lord told me. I listened to the report of the Lord, and I remember the word and I'm reminded of it. I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you. That word's found at least five times in different places in Scripture. That's the reality of living in this world. The second reality that I want us to look at is when walking by faith. Believers must be careful not to allow the externals to govern them. What's happening around the notice? That isn't what governs me. That's why I've got to look beyond. When I read the scriptures, when I read the Bible, there were a lot of hard things that men and women of faith had to do. What they felt God would have them do. And the one that has always had my attention is when Abraham was walking with his son, and they had no sacrifice. And Abraham, as far as he knew, he was going to be sacrificing his son. But I do know this. Abraham made a statement to the servants that they left behind when him and his sons walked on. Abraham said to the servants, he said, The boy and I will return. That was a powerful statement. And yet Abraham was willing to walk by faith and to do what God asked him to do. Walking by faith, I cannot allow the externals round about me to govern my life. I cannot allow what people expect of me or what situations

Do Not Let Externals Govern You

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have been created by others. I have to believe that God is going to make the way for me. In Jude, we read this in verse 16. These are murmurers and complainers, walking after their own lusts. Their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. Externals. But look at verse 17. But beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you that there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lust. These be they who separate themselves sensual, having not the spirit. How they told you that there should be mockers in the last time who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves sensual, not having the spirit, but ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping yourselves in the love of God. I will not allow externals to prevent me from being who God wants me to be, doing what God wants me to do, and carrying out his mission. I cannot allow any external to prevent that from happening. Sometimes these things can get so huge and we're wondering, can we ever overcome them? But I want you to know that through God, in God, by God, by his word, all things are possible. The third reality check that I want us to look at today is this thought. We, as believers who are born again know the Lord, we do not know how powerful we are until we find ourselves engaged in battle. Think about this. When you got to provide for yourself, and you got no way to have any provision. Have you ever been into a place where you've had no money? I'm gonna tell you something, that's not a good place to be. And you're wondering what you're going to do. But I remember one time I was in Southeast Asia preaching in the Philippines. I ran out of money. I had no money, and I still had weeks

Power Revealed In Battle And Provision

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to go on my trip. And I said, Lord, what am I going to do? I believe you sent me here. What am I going to do? And a man called the house where I was staying and said, Would you join me today in a certain hotel? I want to buy your lunch today. This was a man I did not know, but it was a man that I met on an airplane flying out of Los Angeles. And I was talking to him, and no matter where I went in the plane, if we stopped at someplace to Tokyo, wherever it was, he would come and talk to me, and I wanted to sleep. And when we get on the plane, he'd come back and he'd talk to me. And I was so tired I wanted to sleep. And I'm thinking, that was the man that called me up. He found out where I was staying and he called me up. And I'm thinking, oh, he's after me again. And I said, sure, I'll join you for a meal. But you know what? At the end of the meal, he said, Brother Don, he was a believer, a preacher. Matter of fact, one time a missionary in the Philippines. He said, God spoke to me this morning and he said, I want to give you some money. And when he said that, he definitely had my attention. Because I'm thinking, what am I going to do? This is there's got to be some way here. This is the word your way. And he said, I was going to give you $100. And I thought, three hundred dollars would do. I'm thinking in my mind. But God said, No, you're not. And then my heart said, Oh, could go the other way. He might only give me 20 or whatever. And I got weeks to go. He said, No. He said, God definitely spoke to me and he said, I'm to give you $500. And that was way back in the 1980s. And $500, US dollars went a long way in the Philippines. I didn't have to look after it. But believe it or not, when I flew out of the Philippines, I had enough to pay my departure tax, and I had $10 in my wallet to get me from Manila to Tokyo to Vancouver to Toronto to home. You see, God will make a way for you. I want you to know that. When you find yourself engaged there, you don't know how powerful you are when you pray to God and you say, God, I'm surrounded on every side and I don't know what to do. You don't know how powerful you are when you speak that word of faith and life and say that I'm going to come out of this. When I first came to the Lord, I'd been saved a couple of years. I remember listening to a preacher, it was a lady evangelist. And I was in her meetings every night, and she would stand up and she would say, she'd open up a scripture, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Now you know when you're first born again, when you're first a Christian, and somebody begins to speak scriptures to you over and over all the time. When you first come into the kingdom, those are formulative scriptures that come to you, but it gets deep down

Increase After Warfare And Identity

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inside you like it's it is like original foundational planting. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That has taken me through every battle. Because I know that no matter what I'm faced with, Jesus is with me and he's gonna bring me through. You know what I work on. I make sure that the Lord wants me to do what I'm about to do. And then I know that he's with me. And no matter what goes on in your struggles and in your battles, you know that the Lord's gonna be there and he's gonna help you. God is always with you. The fourth reality check that I want you to consider. Whenever you, as a believer, find yourself in a battle, you're going to discover there's always an increase. Sometimes people say, He brought me through the battle. Yes. Not only does he bring you through the battle, he gives you an increase when you come out of that battle. Think about that. The result of every battle is you have an increase. Now, the devil's so stupid, he doesn't know any better. He'll constantly keep battling you and he thinks he's gonna knock you down. When in fact, every battle you become stronger and stronger because you receive increase in every area of your life. Whatever battle you find yourself in, think of this today. When you come through that battle, there's gonna be an increase in you. That's the way God works, that's how faith is. You fought the battle, you didn't fall backwards, you didn't allow yourself to be beaten and taken down. You walked an increase. And number five, this is a reality check I want you to think about today. Number five. Battles or warfare, spiritual warfare, is a catalyst causing our identity to emerge. Lots of good things come out of hard times. Yes, but lots of good things come out of hard times. We don't like it. Second Corinthians chapter 10, verse 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Your identity is going to emerge. What is

Salvation By Confession And Steadfastness

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my identity? You're somebody who never gives up. You're somebody that believes the word of the Lord. Your identity is that people are going to say, Oh, he's a man or a woman of faith. That's us. First Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. That includes all the regrets, all the bad decisions. They're all taken. They're gone from you. Romans chapter 10. Sometimes I meet people, they're not too sure where they stand in the Lord. So when I was preparing, I thought, I'm gonna go over this. I want to read you this. The word, the word of God, it's nigh thee, even in your mouth. That's where it is, and in your heart, that is the word of faith which we preach. What word that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. That's a given. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scriptures saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. That means every battle you're gonna win 'em. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's how you enter the kingdom of God. Be strong. Do not let for one moment think that you're not capable of being victorious and overcoming. Just beware lest you also be led away. Amen.

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