Men's Frailty and God's Protection: A Reminder for Every Generation
The content explores how men are quick to forget their frailty and need for God's protection, drawing insights from Psalm 90:10-12 and Romans 8:31-37. It reflects on historical events like Pearl Harbor and 9/11, emphasizing the importance of faith in times of crisis and the unwavering love of God.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Serving God When the Trumpets Sound
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God Only when we see our frailty will we be able to gain true wisdom to live. (Psa 90:10-12)
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God Psalm 90:10-12 - The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God In 2001 I was scheduled to hold a meeting the Sunday after the world trade center attacks. Tension and fears were very high. For the Bible class, Curtis Flatt spoke in my place and recalled his generation s reaction to Pearl Harbor in 1941. He then spoke on the providence of God.
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God Every generation has one or more of these events that brings the confident expectations of the masses to a sudden and frightening halt. In these occasions a mature faith in God can become so powerful and attractive to others. We have God with us! (Rom 8:31-37)
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God Romans 8:31-37 - What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? .
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God This is a product of walking with God over time! We have had time to think about death and what follows! (Rom 8:18)
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God Romans 8:18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Men are quick to forget that they are frail and need the protection of God What do we need to know for such a time as this?
Remember that God rules among the nations God has shown us time and again that He brings nations up and also takes them down. (Rev 2:26-27)
Remember that God rules among the nations Revelation 2:26-27 - "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations -- 27 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels' -- as I also have received from My Father;
Remember that God rules among the nations He gives nations opportunity to repent by warning them. There comes a time where a nation reaches the point of no return. (Gen 15:16)
Remember that God rules among the nations Genesis 15:16 - "But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
Remember that God rules among the nations The book of Revelation gives a detailed account of God s warnings to the nation of Rome and His eventual destruction of that nation. The book of Revelation was written primarily for the struggle of that generation. (Rev 1:1)
Remember that God rules among the nations Revelation 1:1 - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants -- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
Remember that God rules among the nations God used trumpets that is calamities of various kinds to humble men so they might repent and seek God. (Rev 8:6-10)
Remember that God rules among the nations Revelation 8:6-10 - So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 7 The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up .
Remember that God rules among the nations Consider the effects of a sudden catastrophe. We see the world anew!
Remember that God rules among the nations Even while numbness sets in, something else happens. A mental "window" opens for a period of time that shocks us into an appreciation of our existence in a more poignant way than our everyday awareness allows for. We become more sensitized to the simple beauty of our being alive and the importance of those who matter to us.
Remember that God rules among the nations Suddenly the important things in our lives jump forward in bold relief. The window tends not to stay open for too long, as we slowly drift back into our common mentality.
Remember that God rules among the nations These trumpets affected everything that was important to the worldly man. The misery was so great that many wanted to die. (Rev 9:5-6)
Remember that God rules among the nations Revelation 9:5-6 - And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
Remember that God rules among the nations Sadly most failed to repent when the trumpets sounded in Rome. (Rev 9:20-21)
Remember that God rules among the nations Revelation 9:20-21 - But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Remember that God rules among the nations Most today will not respond with repentance. Foolish men never learn. (Prov 27:22)
Remember that God rules among the nations Proverbs 27:22 - Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Consider how the apostle Paul reacted in terrifying circumstances. Paul gave loving, sound advice and was ignored. (Acts 27:10-11)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Acts 27:10-11 - saying, "Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives." 11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like A lengthy, terrifying storm ensued and men gave up all hope. Their priorities changed and the things once considered very important were cast overboard! They stopped eating! (Acts 27:18-20)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Acts 27:18-20 - And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands. 20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Up to this point Paul was in the background and was ignored or even looked down upon. If they had been paying attention, they would have seen something! Paul now steps up and tells them about the God they did not know and showed the confidence and peace that faith in the true God brings! (Acts 27:21-25)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Acts 27:21-25 - But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 "And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like 23 "For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 "saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25 "Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like That moment of terror caused them to listen to a message they would not have given consideration of before!
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Daniel and Belshazzar show the contrast of the prepared and the unprepared! It is a truly sad day when men experience this kind of terror! (Daniel 5:5-9)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Daniel 5:5-9 In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like 8 Now all the king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like God allows the wicked to continue for a time. There will be a day of reckoning that will be filled with terror. (Mt 8:12; 13:41-43)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Matthew 8:12 - "But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like While this pitiful, miserable event was brought on by God, He had done all that could be done to prevent it. God gets no joy out of it! (Ezk 18:23)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Ezekiel 18:23 - "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Why did God do the many things He did with Nebuchadnezzar? Like his father before, now thoughts are turned to know what the living God wants. Daniel stands like a rock showing a complete confidence in God. (Daniel 5:18-23)
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like Daniel 5:18-23 - "O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 "And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like 20 "But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. . They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like 22 "But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 "And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
We will have a great opportunity to show what faith in God looks like It never pays to willingly forget. Daniel could not help Belshazzar.
We have many doors of opportunity now placed before us We have a great opportunity to strengthen our personal faith! How would we have reacted to being beaten and our lives threatened? (Acts 4:29)
