By TIMOTHY L. MELTON, PASTOR
(Transcribed by Myra D. Colgate)
Cherokee Pentecostal Holiness Church
Read 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8
How many of us have realized this world we live in is not the same world in which we grew up? If a person is real young, they might say, “it’s been this way all of my life,” and that would not be wrong. For these children, I have a Word for them today. For those who’ve been around a little while, like myself, I no longer live in the world I’d hoped to be seeing by now.
I grew up in a day when there was more of an understanding of there being a right way and there was also a wrong way. Yes. I grew up in a day when people mostly chose to care for one another. Yes, it included a feeling like we could trust the leadership in our country, those who were chosen and voted on to be the ones over us. However, it does seem now that something has changed.
Let’s turn to the Bible. I must tell you, I now watch the news only rarely, because I choose to only read the news, not also to watch it. While I’m reading it, it has to pass through my mind and go through the filter of the Word before I can let it get as far as my heart, which I’m diligently guarding. Are you with me? That’s important for everyone to understand in this day’s world. In fact, we need to deal with some of this today.
When I kept hearing what’s going on around me, I decided I do want to know what God thinks about it. How many would also like to know? What does God think about our national headlines and our worldwide events going on right now? How many now think we have all found ourselves living in an evil day?
There seems to be those who should be holding forth now, using their own authority given and granted them, as having been elected to hold and honor the duties entrusted to them. Instead, more than a few seem not to be doing many of the duties which were assigned to them.
(We should all be more like young Joseph in Genesis who even though taken and held as a slave when he was sold into Egypt by his brothers, still managed to perform his duties assigned him well. He never held or allowed himself to hold a slave’s mentality or attitude. He eventually, through always accepting his responsibilities, was able to go from having been in a prison and a slave to where He’d ended up being rewarded for having done so. His reward was in being placed, holding the second highest place of great honor in the country. With that he moved into a good position to rescue his own people from famine and many others in the rest of the world. He became and was always a very successful man there, holding a right and noble attitude, despite any of his worldly situations.)
They all have sworn by oath to accomplish those duties given them on their very first day. They should learn “A good workman is to be worthy of their hire” and do so.
Are we asking them to do their job well, or praying for them, asking the Lord to help them stand the course and do well for us all?
Those who call themselves the authority in this, are telling us they are good and, yet they’re telling us good things are bad, and bad things are good. That’s right and the Bible declares it this way. In the last days, they will call “evil,” good, and “good,” evil. Yes, and they do it all in the name of “tolerance,” and all in the name of whatever the “talking point” is for the day. But I’ve come this morning to bring what God has said about all of this.
In 2 Thessalonians, chapter two, beginning at verse seven, It says, “for the mystery of iniquity.” I’ve already taught on the anatomy of sin before. We each do have to deal with sin and then there’s iniquity, which becomes that sin after it has been thoroughly conceived. The Bible says, how many know sin begins in the heart, not in one’s fingers? Sin doesn’t begin in the doing of it but has begun in the actual thinking of it. Each of us should be guarding our hearts the best way we can so the enemy can’t take us out…
Continued…
