Control Your Emotions or Pay The Price

Control Your Emotions or Pay The Price                                          Kelly Durant  7-31-16

Numbers 20:7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

2. There is a case of a woman on a train holding a child that is crying and crying and will not shut up. It is right after the war finished with Nazi Germany and many people were returning back to their homes where they had fled. It was obvious all of the people on the train were getting bothered and very angry by the crying of the child. No one asked the lady what was wrong, they all started talking amongst their selves getting more and more angry and then someone yelled out, “Hey lady, shut the kid up or get off the train!”

The woman not knowing what to do decided that she had better explain what was happening or it was going to get very severe with all their anger so she yelled back, “I want everyone here to know that this crying child is not mine but it is my niece. My brother and his wife were killed in the war and this child is crying for its dead parents! And I am doing the best I can to console him!”

After that the whole train car was silent and a few people even got up to try to help. With this illustration we can observe that as humans we often get bothered by the things of life, and we know that some people when bothered by others can get very rude, judgmental, loud angry, and offensive. But this brings shame upon them when they learn the whole story of the matter!

3. The story we are covering today is about Moses and a big mistake he did that cost Him a huge punishment from God! What is happening in these verses? Moses was in the desert with the children of Israel after leaving Egypt and the Israelite people were getting impatient that they were not finding water. Did God ever fail them yet? No! So what did Moses do as a leader?  He wanted to take care of the needs of the people! So he went off to pray desperately!

Vs. 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them. We read here that Moses went to pray with Aaron in their tabernacle tent and the Lord appeared to them.

What is the first thing we should do when there is a serious concern or need? We should take it to the Lord in prayer so he can show us His solution! In this case the Lord’s answer was to speak to a rock that would open up and allow water to run out. Science proves there are rocks barely covering a stream in desert areas, but the miracle here is God lead His people right to one at the precise right time that had enough water for all! And God wants all the glory, always!

Vs. 7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.

4. So what happened? Did Moses go and speak to the rock as he was told to do by the Lord? No! Vs. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank”.

“Hear now, you rebels?” Was that something the Lord told him to say? No, not at all! To understand the full meaning of why Moses is being angry and violent we must know a bit more of the history of what is happening. Why would Moses get violently upset? Is it okay to be a servant of the Lord and let your emotions overpower you? Is it okay to get ugly and angry?

What we see here is that Moses in this one instance of anger showed himself to be a terrible example to the people! At that one moment he lost control and instead of representing God as a compassionate provider, he represented God as an angry hater! This mistake cost him severely! He let his emotions take over him! He even broke the stone commandments before!

5. The children of Israel were complainers and difficult people and a whole generation of `them died going in circles in the desert as a punishment before reaching the promised land of milk and honey, Israel. They complained all the time about everything! Imagine, God did miracles through Moses to free them from the slavery in Egypt and now they are whining about having to be in the desert, and whining that Moses is not getting them water as soon as they want.

Moses was fed up with their complaints because they had a history of being complainy and these rebellious people had pushed his patience, faith, and wits to the limit many times over. But despite the sins of the people, God expected Moses to always remain strong and be a good example. But Moses failed God because he let his emotions get the best of him.

Few people realize the importance of Moses! Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible which contain the Pentateuch, or the law. It was through Moses liberating actions that the people of God, the Israelites, begin to reign as a people in the Promised Land. Moses is considered to be one of the most holy, connected-to-God, men who have ever lived!

6. But even though the people were misbehaving, God expected Moses to always be a good example and not let others have reason to disrespect him for being out of control. I know some people might think, but what is wrong with getting angry and ugly when people push you? We all do that! Some people get angry and ugly many times in one day! Some may think that it is not such a big sin to get angry over things that bother you. Stop right there. Let’s look at this more closely.

For one, Moses in one of his episodes of anger had murdered an Egyptian 40 years prior to leading God’s people! Exodus 2:14 Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” So Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

What happened was an Egyptian was beating an Israelite severely, sort of like how we have seen some abusive police beat down an arrested person. And Moses should have walked away and yelled, prayed, and cried out to God over the matter but instead he killed the Egyptian and hid the body. But as you can see, no sin can ever be hid, everyone knew about it! And Moses punishment then was to have to abandon the luxurious halls of wealth in Egypt to wander in the desert 40 years! Moses basically spent 40 years in jail in the desert just watching sheep as a punishment for getting angry and getting out of control!

7. So what are we going to do, don’t we all sin by being angry at some time or another? Anger is an emotion that does have its place sometimes, but I will get to this point in a moment. Most of the time people get angry over not having things as they want them to be. Anger often has its roots in having no patience for something.  It is a selfish emotion because it is intended to disturb another person as much as possible, like wishing them harm. I rarely see people angry over the sins of evil workers who insult God and his Christian people! I get angry and speak often about how I hate those who kill Christians but few ever care! So what we usually see today is out of control angry mobs of people demanding authority to exclude and punish someone they hate. Our fight is often against those that want to legalize sin!

Basically anger is usually used as a tool by some people to get their way with things because who wants to confront a red faced person saying ugly words knowing they will not listen to you anyway? It is sort of like the child that throws their selves on the floor to make a big scene because they are not getting what they wanted.  I spanked all of my kids for doing that! And today some adults get away with angry temper tantrums making everyone else suffer because they never got corrected as a child! Pray and ask God, am I one of those?

I am going to take it even further, today our jails are full of 2 million people in the USA, and many of these people are ones who never got correction as a child for getting angry and out of control! Why am I making a big deal of anger? Because anger leads to big sins and some people sin with insulting words and disrespect to others, while others resort to violence! Anger is like a fire that we must extinguish quickly! And never think, well this is just my character, I am Italian, I’m Irish, or I’m Latino and getting angry is just my culture! God accepts no excuses! He did not forgive the most holy man on earth years ago, Moses, and he will not forgive you!

8. Psalm 4:4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Ask yourself right now, do I pray and meditate on my bed concerning things that make me angry? Do I get still and stop and get answers from God over matters? Ephesians 4:26  “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Ask yourself, do I forgive at the end of the day? Or do I hold onto what I am mad about making everyone miserable for days or years on end? In most churches there are people who hold onto anger against others for years and by doing so they are in direct disobedience to forgive as Jesus taught!

There are many verses in the Bible that guide us to control potentially destructive emotions such as anger. And you can if you beg God for the Holy Spirit’s help! These verses do not say, ‘never get angry’, that is a human impossibility! But what does it mean that if we are angry we can be that way and not sin? It is within our human possibilities to control our knee-jerk emotions, or what I mean is, you and I can get a hot button pushed, but with prayer and spiritual maturity, and with a healthy fear of getting punished by God, we can choose to not act upon anger or emotions that destroy. I have had to lean to practice this and still am at it!!

But to speak insulting or manipulative words, or to take an action to do something to cause harm to another, to spread words around that are unverified, is sinful and wrong. Another thing about a person that is angry is that they are putting their selves in the position to be seen as an ordinary carnal person and not as God’s representative. This was Moses mistake, is it yours?

9. You can look around anywhere and see people in any room that may be living in the desert of their lives due to certain past sins they committed. They may be living punished right now over anger issues as Moses was. To be honest, you or I do not know even know 1% about of the lives of anyone! Over time, and in trying situations, we do see the problems of others come out. The question is, do you see your sins? (repeat) Some deal with their own sins and others do not, and some people focus a lot on the sins of others to get the focus off of them selves! It is easy to complain about the sins of others, but it is not your place to be so concerned about others as much as it is your place to be begging God to save you from the punishments that will come if you do not authentically repent from your sins that come with out of control emotions.

What we do know is that God has everyone under the fire to purge out all impurities! I Peter 4: 12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

If you have not done it lately, ask God to reveal to you your secret sins. You should have done this when you received Jesus as your savior but that was only the beginning of your sanctification.  Over time the heart gets dirty due to one’s behavior.

10. Here is how it works, Moses could not undo the damage he did! He was a bad example before all showing his temper and lack of faith in God to speak to the rock as God wanted. God did not allow him to step foot into the Promised Land because he was so stubborn, willful, and out of control even when he was an old man!

It is like the folks who go into our rehab centers, they may repent and never use or drink ever again and Jesus forgives them and they get a new start in life, but they still will never be able to get rid of all of the liver and brain damage. Also, never one drink is ever permitted after that!

Ask yourself, when was the last time I was angry? Last month? Today? Anger and angry actions and words create consequences! Do you really want to keep living with those consequences? Too many people take medication for the damage done to their bodies by their out of control emotions! Is God angry with you over your anger? If you have any doubt, beg for forgiveness so that your punishment will not be as that of Moses. Faith, trust, control, and prayer solve matters, not our own impositions.  

God’s Way: Will You Pay the Price?

God’s Way: Will You Pay the Price?                                           By Kelly Durant

Mark 10: 17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

2. There was a strict dance school where young teen girls would try out to get trained in ballet or a modern dance hoping to be one of the few to get selected so they could prepare for stardom. The teacher who was the judge was so strict it seemed that every girl was lacking in ability and she would only approve of a few to train.

After attending a public presentation, one girl Mary, who had tried to get in the school 5 years before saw the incredible ability of the dancers and cried for joy and frustration. Oh, how she wanted so bad to be a dancer but she gave up on the idea because the teacher said she was not good enough. She spoke to this same judge and teacher after the show and told her, “You, Mrs Stienberg crushed my dreams in life because you told me I did have what it takes a few years ago!” She replied, “Well. why did you give up? I say ‘you’re not good enough’ to everybody and the ones that insist and try again are the ones I know have the spirit to fight to succeed!”

It is sad how many people give up too soon in life on their aspirations, dreams, and passions! It’s like the man digging a tunnel for hundreds of feet and then he gives up just a few feet away from reaching the other side! So many people in life do not pass the tests that God allows them to have. It is painful to watch! All of us love to see others succeed but only the persistent fighters win the battles.

3. Today we are looking at the rich young ruler that was not willing to obey and trust Jesus. Each and every disciple was put to the test to see if they really honestly wanted to follow Jesus and we know many made the grade. Some had to give up their family business of fishing, another gave up the security of working for the government collecting taxes. All of them left a stable situation for an instable one. This is the case for those who decide to be Cadets and then Officers, or anyone serving God. It was that way with my life, but I do not regret it at all!

Why does it appear that Jesus was picking on the rich young ruler? He wanted to make it clear that to serve Him it would cost you everything! Jesus was going to give up everything on the cross and He needed followers who would be willing to forsake everything in life to follow Him for the spreading of salvation to the lost.

In life you must forsake all! Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” To a certain degree, many of us are comparable to the rich young ruler, in our minds we are already doing God’s will, but we must take a deeper look into Jesus commands. There is no glory or reward without obedience and sacrifice.

4. To gain much you have to invest much! Matt 13: 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Successful business people know about that! All things that are not mediocre in life involve risk, adventure, danger, and total investment and dedication! Some risk all for worldly gain, but we as Christians do it because it is the only way to make real progress in our life of faith and obedience to God’s Word.

The problem is too many people do not have enough faith in God to step out on the water! (Remember Peter walked on water to meet Jesus?)But fear kills faith!  What was holding the young rich man back? Well several factors. Pride for one, as the way He responded to Jesus about how He had kept the law since His youth revealed pride on his part.  He thought he was so good that he deserved to be a follower of Jesus. To follow Jesus everyone must repent and leave all things at the altar to start a new life.

Here we learn that one cannot qualify to be a disciple because you are a Jew, from a certain wealthy family, or because you are faithful with your God blessed investments, or for being meticulous in your religiosity. Success and wealth often are stumbling blocks as pointed out here because they keep you away from the humble position of needing God daily to help you in all things! You must pay the price of becoming vulnerable not trusting in the things of man (such as money, religiosity, and tradition) to save you.

Take into account Jesus made examples of several of his prideful disciples that thought they were strong and good. Peter got humbled many times by Jesus when he was being a show off, being boastful, or arrogant confident in his own flesh.

5. Pride causes too many people to give up when they actually have the potential to succeed! Pride makes people do big mistakes and lose their patience. If someone criticizes a person that they make a trombone sound like a dying goat, then the average Joe puts the instrument in the corner and gives up on it! But you must realistically look at all situations, some people have some talent for certain things while others don’t, but when serving God, the power for the hour will come if you are humble.

Many people cannot stand to not be seen as less than the best in the group; Embarrassment and anger often over-rides our human aspirations and goals but anything worth anything requires a lot of sacrifice, humility, and work! It is sad but not being humble enough causes too many to give up on many things in life and in particular on serving God! Pride is Satan’s tool!

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

6. God’s peace, love, and trust will over ride our weak human nature to do what Jesus calls us to do if we ask for it. The complete dedication and service to Him requires the giving up of our own trust in our own security pride, and way of doing things. It is a great release to ask for God’s help instead of stressing and worrying over how to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Jesus is so wonderful, I feel His love and His words are true!

I think all of us are often scared by the thought of committing to a total dedication as Jesus wants because we know His calling requires us to be faithful in all things and even remain faithful if we are called to die for him. Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all (not just disciples but everyone, including you here), “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Even though some have been martyrs, the majority of Christians around the world have lived blessed and peaceful lives with ups and downs like all of us. John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

7. Several things stand out to me concerning the rich young ruler. He knelt down to Jesus showing Him respect so what we learn is respect should not be just a show of piety but rather an authentic respect doing all that God asks of you.

Another, he called Jesus good, which in some ways was a sweeting of the ear, and too many times people praise from their lips but not from their heart but Jesus called him out on it. Jesus truly was good, but He was pointing out that all things good are for the glory of the Father in heaven and we can never praise goodness as a virtue in people but rather goodness must always be  associated to God.

And also, Jesus was moved by the fact he really had tried to be good all his life affirming obeying the law. He was not a hypocrite and deceiver as the church leaders in Jesus day. This young man was trying hard and he thought he would be qualified to be a disciple by all of his previous obedience as stated by the law.

8. And notice this part in verse 21, Jesus looked upon him and loved him. In other words, Jesus love extends to all and maybe even in extra measure to those who try hard to please God.  But this rich young man’s way of pleasing of God was his way, not God’s way. Jesus ushered in a new covenant, a new way to obey.

God’s way includes leaving it all behind to follow Him. It means blessing others with everything you have. Now that is the love of God! Imagine if this man would have given it all to the poor? What a testimony that would be to God’s love!

The people of the world would have noticed that act throughout all the land and he would have been taken as a hero to many, as a crazy person by the worldly, but most of all it would have been noted that Jesus had touched Him for real!

9. We cannot appreciate the good that others decide to do for God unless we compare it along-side the wrong choices that other’s make. The disciples, along with preachers, missionaries, and Cadets all chose to follow Jesus no matter the cost so they are sort of like the opposite of this man; they are like a rich ruler that obeys and does give it all away.

But there are too many in this life like this rich young man, probably millions throughout history, who chose not to follow all the way and they ‘go away sorrowful’. Each of us lose it all when we die anyway, why not chose to trade all our treasures and junk in for God’s eternal rewards?

All of us are called to take up the cross and deny ourselves to obey Jesus. But just how far one obeys and gives up has to do with their ability and availability and in part this depends on their age, position, and location in life. But eliminating a false humility, pride, flattery, & self-salvation is a must! Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” How much have you given to Jesus and His work? Is your love for Him enough that you will do all you can for Him? Let’s pray…

I Did Not Sign Up For This (Life)! The Dilemma of Our Lot In Life

I Did Not Sign Up For This (Life)! The Dilemma of Our Lot In Life  

by Kelly Durant

Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

2. How many of you have ever ordered a cheeseburger at a fast food place but instead they gave you a hamburger by mistake? And the lines behind you are very long, so what do you do?

There are usually 3 ways that I have seen people react to this situation. One, they may butt into line and start yelling at the clerk, “Hey, are you stupid? I ordered a cheeseburger, not a hamburger!” And everyone stares at the staff and you fascinated by the drama show waiting to see how everyone’s going to react.

Two, many people like myself will just eat it anyway giving thanks to God that at least I can eat something, even though it was not my preference. And three, other people I have seen will just throw it away preferring to be hungry in protest rather than to accept what they got. How have you reacted in the past to this situation?

3. This example we can apply to how people react to what they get in in life, they can either angrily blame God and others, accept their lot in life and make the best of it, or get bitter, hateful, and resentful. There are mega-multitudes of people that do not worship God, nor go to church to learn about God’s love and the deeper things of life but still common sense is out there for everyone to learn from. Sadly, few ask God about His will for their lives! Even a Christian may think that God is unfair to them compared to others, but can prayer reveals purpose.

From the movie ‘Forest Gump’, there is a quote that says, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you are going to get’. That is a pretty true analogy of life, don’t you think? You did not get to choose the country you were born in, the parents and family you have, the amount of wealth you grow up with, your race and the color of your hair, eyes or skin, the good or bad characteristics of your character, body, or mind, nor did you get to choose the year in which you were born in. We are all victims of circumstance!

Summing up these factors for our temporary existence on this planet, it might make one deduct that all of our life is unfair and intimidating! Like it or not we have to reason with ourselves and with God to understand our place and purpose in this world and accept this fact; that we are not as in control of things as we would like to be! All is vanity and vexation of spirit! Some people choose to blame everyone else for their lot in life and hate it all. When life is not as they want it then they think it’s their parents fault, it’s their ex mates fault, or worse, they think everything is messed up so it must be God’s fault! But it’s all in how you choose to play your cards that makes all the difference in the world!

4. Even as children we analyze our situation in life and we notice that we are not as pretty or as handsome as some others, that we are not as rich as some others, that we are more or less healthy than others, and that we are often labeled within some minority category. We are born into a world hijacked by Satan who has generationally damaged our cultures, and harmed our ability to connect with God so being distorted in our human conclusions, we complain and hate the fact that we are having to tolerate living within the stratus of some demon controlled system. Every system of man around the world is a double standard unfair social order ran by liars, bullies, and cheaters! Life is unfair for almost everyone and many innocent ones die young! Some innocent ones don’t even get to be born!

How old were you when the reality of your qualities hit you? 10 years old? Some people even become aware at 7 years old, others at 13 years old, and yet there are some people that never seem to quite fully become aware of where they stand with anything in life analyzing and understanding what their purpose in life is all about and how to make the best of it. There are many intelligent people out there, even with Phds that never gain any understanding or wisdom concerning the deep meaningful things of God, life, or purpose. They may only take notice after certain painful things happen to them and they seek God authentically.

Some people are like a cork in the ocean bobbing around as if with no starting place and with no destiny, distracted and entertained, self-absorbed and confused. Observe how many trains, buses and cars are full of the faithless that live frustrated and futile lives! And to make it worse these kinds of unspiritual ignorant-of-God people believe and follow any current trend, and they will suddenly flip flop in beliefs and accept any crazy idea promoted by the premeditating destructive social engineers as if no common sense existed at all! Too many people have intelligence and no wisdom and it is because they have never developed any connection with God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit! And they with their wandering hate and foolishness are leading our world to destruction!

James 1: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

5. Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. Why in the book of Ecclesiastes does it mention the work we do under the sun 27 times and do it within the context of being in vain? What is the problem that Solomon has here that he says that he hates life, that all we do is for nothing and is vanity, as if we are trying to catch the wind, which is impossible?

It is not to reveal that in this life, even if you become a king with great wealth as Solomon did, you will never gain satisfaction, heaven, or anything as you want it! Even after you or I work hard to get something it will eventually become meaningless and seem futile because that is God’s design: this world is never enough to satisfy! You can gain the whole world and lose your soul in the process of the pursuit of happiness. All you and I work for is just going to be left behind!

But after a person realizes that despite their box of chocolates they have some freedom to make good choices to accomplish something of value to them, God, and others, this life may offer some temporary relief. But still all we gain will never totally fulfill our hungry souls and hearts that have a God-shaped hole only He can fill. Only by uniting with Jesus in heaven will we find a complete rest and happiness. We must take into account that God blesses us with unique talents and the Holy Spirit to make it through this weary world where nothing is ever going to be as we want it.

6. So what are you and I going to do in the meantime while on this prison called earth? Would it be of any use to curse God for allowing you and other people to be born into this world where life is unbearable and you grow to hate everything because you can never really own or control anything exactly to your liking? I can tell you I would have preferred that all my kids be great Bible teachers, but they chose different paths of their interests. No one ever gets to have their family, their finances, their church, or their life in perfect condition. Perfect does not exist in a broken world! So are you going to complain or pray and make the best of it?

I have concluded that a majority of the people of the world hate their life and they will never be made happy with anything! Look how many embittered argumentative discontent worldly faithless indifferent people there are out there! Christians with Jesus, however, do have a peace and love that is supernatural beyond the normal default of the human condition of dis-satisfaction with life.

Notice how many violent criminals, rapists, murderers, and murderous radicals come into existence all because they are mad at the world! Isn’t it in part because they want to make somebody else pay because they cannot have the wealth and power their greedy little soul desires? If they can’t own it all, then they want to destroy it! There are real demons of envy and hate controlling people!

7, And how alarming it is today to learn about how many embittered followers there are of false religions and oppressive governments that foment relieving your harbored hateful frustrations on others over the unfairness of life. What a disastrous solution that they impose their illogical traumatizing set of rules on others in the name of god or for the good of society (values of Satan from hell!).

How sad that so few people submit to Jesus who gives anyone who chooses Him a good life and a purpose. Due to Satan’s attacks on Christians not everyone gets to have a good life as a Christian because in the world we have tribulation and it comes from Satanic persecutors. But believers do overcome the world!

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. The best possible life anyone could hope for is that life which is dedicated to Jesus because you know there will be a reward in the next life for you work under the sun.   

8. What we all must remember is that we have been cursed ever since Adam and Eve brought sin and rebellion into the world because they disobeyed God. It is sad but true, we all have inherited this broken world and for some people it is more broken than for others. But despite that God will judge everyone according to what they had and what they did with it.

Luke 12:48 “(But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few). For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more”. Those of us who are blessed (and we are!) should bless others!

We can never be happy in a world where cruel people commit horrific acts of evil against others, where sickness and death sadden and shake us, where worries and fears weight us down until insanity comes, where starvation and government or religious oppression suppresses us from obtaining our basic daily needs of food and shelter. This life is a cruel school for us to learn by, to see just how evil and vain people will be without submission to the true Jehovah God of heaven, who sent His Son to save the souls of men. Thank God the goats and sheep will be divided on judgment day we will no longer be subject to this pain.   

9. The good news is Jesus frees us from it all! He took away sickness, death, and fears! He took away the curse of submitting to a religion of difficult laws. Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)

If you think your lot in life is bad, consider how Jesus had it. To the carnal thick mind of the unspiritual man, Jesus may appear to have been cursed being called by God to die on the tree, or cross, for unjust humanity, but His seemingly unfair task in life became the life giving eternal blessing and liberation of all mankind!

We have to work together with Jesus and each other! If you dislike your brothers and your church it could possibly stem from suppressed guilt because you are disliking yourself for not accepting who you are and what your responsibilities in life are that God expects you to do while you live under the sun. Each one of us has a unique task and we must learn to deny ourselves, and not desire the hypocritical world with its power and wealth hungry Godless aggressors. Our joy and peace comes by serving God and others expecting nothing in this life in return! 

10. Are you discontent with life and with yourself? I wrote a poem about that.       SELF

Self righteous, self satisfied

Self isolated, self glorified

Selfish, self loving, me, myself

Self pity, self willed, prove thyself

I hate myself, for self causes pain

And speak for yourself,

Self creates the insane!

Self, be condemned!

Futile game!

Let another man praise you,

Not your own name.    by Kelly Durant

Here on earth life will always offer you and me moments of frustration and pain but also of joy and we have our hope of a blissful life in heaven. Rev. 21: 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Is all vanity and frustration on earth? Well, if you live without Jesus giving you eternal life and a mission to live for then yes! Life for so many is an empty, painful, experience, and then you die! But with Jesus we can get through it all, as you and I learn to trust in Him. Don’t labor for the meat that perishes but for that which brings eternal life!

Keep On Faithful to God, No Matter Who Governs 7-4 Message

Keep On Faithful to God, No Matter Who Governs                               Capt.  Kelly Durant   7-3-16

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

2. Tomorrow is the 4^th of July! How many of you will celebrate? I know most of us are very thankful for this country!  Comparing its constitution and middle class to other countries, it does have one of the best trifold balance-of-powers systems ever created and it has worked well for many years, which is a testimony of God’s blessings!  But as with anything there is a problem when things get out of balance: It is always up to God’s people to bring people and the misguided nations back to God! Do you think we are in danger of losing our independence?

Thank God for the Bible! We can span all of history and see the result of nations rising and falling due to their obedience and worship of God, or their lack thereof. A large part of the Old Testament covers the warnings of the prophets concerning Israel and their tendency to degenerate from the worship of God to the worship of Satan adopting the local cultures which had abominable practices. Sadly, as Christians we see a rapid degeneration and alienation from God in just the past few decades. Our materialistic technological culture is programing people to conform to destructive agendas but when you sew to the wind, you reap the whirlwind!

I think every 4^th of July we should evaluate where we stand as a nation! We gained independence from oppressors, but are we still able to maintain that independence based upon how righteous we are as a people?  In the time of Israel’s Kings, all it took was one bad king to pervert an entire nation and the consequences were always that God allowed the backslidden people to be subjugated as servants to another nation to learn their lesson. We must wake up and recall how God’s promises were based on “If”, “If you obey”, “then”, you will eat the fat of the land”. Only a continued obedience will cause a continued salvation and reaping of blessings!

3. Independence is a wonderful thing! I recall when I was young I was happy to be 18 and move out and be independent. Finally no curfew hours! But then I discovered independence will cost you: it costs you becoming the full one responsible for paying the rent, bills, insurance, etc.! When you want freedom you have to pay the price of fighting to keep it. Maintaining freedom has a high price and people that are lazy, fearful, and faithless are in danger of become slaves!

So what happens if your freedom is being taken away? What happens if you serve under a king or dictator but that king becomes a despot, unfair, hypocritical, greedy, (even murderous) and indifferent to attend to the needs of the people, especially the needs of the poor? Almost always revolution begins! And many people think they want a revolution! Those that demand radical change before the dictator were destructive reckless haters who just wanted to see others cut down to size but the outcome of thugs having the power is always atrocious!  

If you watch the news, the Venezuelan people right now are in chaos and turmoil! When the workers and common people cannot get justice or food and basic needs, we all know that rioting, looting, and killing come next! We must always pray for this nation and other nations where the women, children, and poor live extremely oppressed! They make $15 per month now! In the 1980s it was close to $2,000! How quickly the God-less fall into misery!

4. Today we are discussing the crown of life, which many artists over time have depicted as a halo, but how do we gain one? In life all different people face many different challenges when it comes to being persecuted or not. We do not know the future except for the prophecies of Jesus. Most Christians have become aware that a terrible future is coming when the armies of the anti-Christ rise up to subdue all nations.

Actually according to the book of Daniel the structure of the world in the end-times will be of 10 major powers, and to dominate them all the anti-Christ will only need to conquer 3.  Daniel 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings Who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue three kings.

Most people never ever think about power and the changing of powers, they are too distracted entertaining their selves! Babylon, a world power during Daniel’s time, was thought to be invincible, but one night they saw the hand-writing on the wall! The rulers were slain and the Medes and Persians became the new world leaders, overnight!

5. I want to tell you a Christian story from Russia when an anti-christ group of people took over that country. The people were tired of the oppression of the Czars but they then gave the power over to some oppressors that were much worse than them. This story is to encourage your faith that no matter if you are called to die for Jesus, no matter of you lose your freedom or there is a change of powers, you can maintain firm in your faith to obtain your own crown of life and eternal bliss with Jesus in heaven! You can be free at last from this world’s power hungry radical hellish people!

In the time of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917, there was a great persecution of Christians and multi-millions were murdered for the cause of imposing atheism and communism! Sadly, we almost never hear about this historical fact! Christians, even if prohibited, will always get together to pray, as we do on Sundays because we worship together and love each other!

Christians everywhere also sing hymns and praises and you can almost imagine some small Christian church in Russia singing, “Onward Christian Soldiers”... Christians live happy lives in the peace of God, but always in history there are those of Satan who gain power, those who hate Jesus and his love and peace. The Red Army soldiers showed up and banged on the doors and commanded, “Open Up! Meetings in Communist Russia are absolutely forbidden!”

“All of you are under arrest!” Not knowing their future, the men, women, and children were ordered to march in the cold on the snow not knowing where they were being lead. They marched for about 3 hours singing and praising God as they went. Then they realized they had come to the small lake just outside their town. And then the Red Soldier commanded, “All of you take off your clothes, if any of you want to live, just deny your faith and come back and we will give you back your clothes.”

6. No mercy was shown to anyone and the people were left out on the ice to freeze to death. One by one they froze and dropped to their death. Men, women, and children were trembling and praying as they fell over but the Lord was with them giving them dying grace.  But then suddenly there was one of them that started running and shouting, “I deny my faith, I deny my faith!” The guards laughed at the freezing fool! “Give me back my clothes!”, he yelled. Then suddenly one of the Russian guards rapidly took off his clothes and he said to the man, “Here, take my coat, and take my hat too. I am going out there to die in your place”.

Shocked everyone looked at him and he shouted to them as he went, “As I watched each person fall  and I saw as if it were a giant hand from the sky come down to put a crown on the head of each of the ones who died, And just as the hand was coming down to you, you ran! So take my clothes, take my gun, I want to get that crown!’

This true story helps us to visualize the crown of life Jesus Christ has for us when we go to heaven! In the scripture it says: “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” We must believe it! No matter how we lose our lives one day, we want to be found faithful in Jesus! I pray no revolution happens here, but nowhere is there absolute safety!

7. Today too many people take for granted their Salvation and freedom. We must remember the requirement, the command from Jesus Himself is, “We must be faithful unto death”! We don’t know what death we will have, but let’s examine this story a bit deeper.

Let’s imagine the future, as in all the recent post-apocalyptic movies, and it is the year 2020 and the Terrorists and Communist have gotten together to use nuclear bombs blowing up Washington DC, New York, and L.A. (and maybe even Miami) and then they invade this country and make an order that no one can meet in the Christian churches (which always happens under Satanic control!). Imagine with almost every church closed there would still be a few that fear God over man and they would remain open. Imagine now that you are one of those persecuted Christians that is getting escorted out of here right now to be shot and killed!

Everyone always wants to imagine their selves as the strong one, as the one that would die for his faith. Tell me, did you think that about yourself? Did you think, oh, I will be the strong one and die for my faith? Obviously it would be a shame to be the one who would chose to deny his faith and run for his life. Because what we do here on earth is recorded by God forever.

8. In the verses from Revelation of today the brothers in the Smyrna church were going through a persecution, and persecutions resulting in imprisonments and deaths which were common in the Roman times as they are common now in Africa, China, Cuba, Venezuela, and in almost every Arab nation daily. You can investigate and find out that there are dozens of thousands of modern day martyrs for Christ every year! Also, there are currently 6.5 million refuge homeless running and roaming from the current persecution worldwide!

Here we have the appearance of being secure but lately everyone is discovering that our security is not so secure after all. Our authorities are not the same as what they use to be. We are vulnerable due to internal corruption! Also, the mainstream news also does not report on the death of Christians worldwide but there are hundreds and even thousands killed every day.

What Jesus had to say was this, these people that persecute you, they are of the synagogue of Satan. He commands, “Fear not!”  10 days of prison or 10 years really is not the point, the point is we are commanded to fear not and to be faithful unto death so we will get the crown of life!

You may already be asking yourself inside, faithful until death, how can I make it? That may be a long time from now. What should I be doing? I think the best philosophy to live by is that of the rehabilitated alcoholics. You know they have a saying. They wake up in the morning and they tell their selves, I will be faithful today to not drink. They do not plan tomorrow or next week, they are just planning on being faithful today.

And they can tell you with pride,“1,134 days ago I stopped drinking and I have been faithful”. Could you as a Christian calculate and say, 40 days ago, or 4,057 days ago I accepted Christ and I renounced my sins and I have been going down the faithful path of love and service ever since? 

9. Faithfulness and getting the crown of life requires obedience even unto death.  Imagine that Russian soldier that was a sinner. He repented at the last minute, and gained the crown of life even though he had little time with his life left except to be a testimony as a martyr to his comrades who were horribly wrong to kill the harmless Christians. And contrastingly the other Russian, the one that had gone to church all those years, the one who must have thought, I am saved because I sing to God, I give my money to the church, I sacrifice my Sundays and go to church, did not have what it took to get the crown of life being a witness.

The Faithfulness that gets you the crown of life is not a power that comes from tradition and the church, Faithfulness is a way of life in Christ that is renewed daily by obeying the Word of God and the Holy Spirit up to the final end.  

Fear, tribulations, and death, and anything can be overcome when we have our lives centered in Christ everyday. We must be like Paul as he said, “I die daily” 1 Cor. 15:31 and by dying daily we are burning up the bad that is in us and in the end there will be nothing more to burn up. We will already be refined as pure gold out of the fire.

10. Always consider the fate of the unfaithful, the ones that think they are fine with God but they have no fruit or proof in their lives.   Rev 22:11-15 11. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Notice that part about telling lies, there are so many liars today it makes you furious, and God’s anger is kindled against them! Liars go to hell for rejecting righteousness and for not living in the truth which originates from God. And I fear for the souls of those who aid and abet liars, those who willing have a blind eye concerning the horrible sins of others, who become guilty by being accomplices and conformers.  

Those of you here today, when you leave this church I pray will never have to be arrested or be condemned to die, but you remain free to go back home, but those that don’t care about God’s messages, the indifferent or the willfully rebellious, will never obtain the fruits of the spirit which are love, joy, peace and longsuffering, etc. nor gain a crown of life. There is no peace here, nor in the hereafter, for the wicked. But try to imagine yourself like the faithful Christian martyrs on the ice or like the Russian Soldier that got the crown! Death is no defeat, it is what brings us our glory! Most people of the world are never able to choose in which country they want to live, or choose if that country is free & independent, godly, or despotic.

But no matter the nation or the time in history God wants people to be faithful people; people who love and serve no matter even if it costs them their lives! These are the people that will get a crown of life! You do not want shame at the end of your life! So start being more faithful today! Do you die to yourself each day so you will be able to pass the final test?

We are going to all face Jesus one day but only if we have been faithful will we get the crown of life! That crown for you is eternal life and glory plus the rewards and authority we will have when you and I reign with Jesus forever and ever after His return.