The Minister The Ministry & Me Show - The 3M Podcast Jeremiah Wheelersburg (J.N.Wheels)

If The Foundations Be Destroyed..

Guest contributor: Randy Pritts


1  “I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! 2  The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. 3  The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?"
4  But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. 5  The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. 6  He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. 7  For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.”

-Psalm 11 (NLT)

Allow me to rephrase this for our current consideration:

If the foundations of civil society be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

I will explain why.

Religion and Politics

The old adage "religion and politics don't mix" no longer fits. At one time, it may have been polite for the saints to bite their tongues and not ruffle anyone's feathers. However, in the current social climate, politics is exactly where the ungodly is making his most ardent and divisive attack. The foundations of civil society are being destroyed, and being nearly destroyed, what is left that the righteous can do?

In this psalm (kjv@Psalm:11 ) we see the wicked "bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart". Let there be no mistake that it is at the upright he is pointing his bow. So frequent are these attacks, and uncomfortable, that the saint's soul might be tempted to say "Flee as a bird to your mountain". This psalm is not about what the wicked are doing however, no it is about the saint on which this psalm focuses. Under pressure and ensuing wickedness, what is the response of the righteous?

The mountain is a tempting place for us to flee. After all, what matter is it of ours what this society chooses for itself to become?

What matters is that "the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright". Therefore, "The LORD trieth the righteous". Like as with precious metals, HE puts them to the test in a foundry to separate us from the dross and prove to us HIS righteousness's worth. This separation and purification is not to be sought from atop some distant mountain top away from it all. It comes only from being in the boil and tumult of the cauldron's hottest flames.

For us, no doubt, these are dangerous and unfamiliar grounds. So much so, that it must be said to us as a reminder that "In the LORD,” the saint must put his or her trust.

Before we run out onto the political and social battlefield shooting at whatever target seen fit, let's better consider verse four at the heart of this psalm:

“The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.”
- Psalm 11:4

"The LORD is in his holy temple” (Gods Holiness)
Our LORD is much different from the lords of the rest of this world. This LORD alone is holy. It is not for this LORD to rule as we see fit. Who are we? Are we holy in the same sense? Not unless we allow HIS reign to have its effect upon us to such an extent that we reflect nothing but HIS holiness. Sadly, this is something that in our haste, we often neglect to maintain.
There have been plenty of similar occasions when we have raced onto the battlefield with our thoughts and bias, our beliefs, our strict legalism, our own insistence and our way of fixing things - only to shoot ourselves or our brothers in the foot. And by our inept misrepresentations of Christ, the person and purposes of Christ...

This video is about Mark chapter 4 verses one through twenty (Mark 4:1-20) in the Bible (The Parable of the Sower). Not everyone who hears the gospel and the message of salvation wants to bow the knee to Jesus Christ as their Lord and as their Savior. More at https://jnwheels.com

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“Awaken Deaf Ears”
I woke this morning and these three words were the first thought in my mind.
Awaken. Deaf. Ears.

I really believe that phrase. I believe that God wants that. Not because it popped into my mind this morning but because thats what He does. He’s good at this sort of thing.

But were good at other things, like deafening our ears and blinding our eyes.

I believe God is moving to cause this generation to hear Him and see Him.
But right now the many idols of our age are blinding us to the one who would become our rescue and salvation.
So many distractions exist in our lives. And the idolatry of self is a hard and mighty foe to cast down.
But, like passing through the eye of a needle, nothing is impossible with our God.

Do we still believe that God opens blind eyes?
Do we still believe in Jesus, the one who raises the dead?
Do we still believe that deaf ears can be opened?
Can the dead bones be raised to life and made whole?

I believe. I still believe that. Thats not ancient history, its a present reality.
We must now proclaim this reality that is ours in Christ, that He is Savior of the world. That he is the one who has rescued us from our sins.

Be bold believer. It is time. Its time to obey that great commission. To go into all the world and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.

What grabs our attention, better than most anything? Pain.
I believe that God is using the pain and realities of these times to bring us to our knees. To humble our hearts and allow us, by the grace and mercy of God, to see Him. To Hear Him.

So, Where are the preachers?
Where are those who will go for him?
Where are those messengers who are willing to be counted as fools for His sake and for His Gospel?

He is saying, “who will go for me, who will I send?”

Where are those who will answer?

“Here I am Lord, send me.”
END
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My New Book:
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This Sermon about the church in Antioch addresses these topics:
What is a christian?
What does Christian Character look like?
Antioch was where the church was first called christians.

My Book: https://jnwheels.com/a-book-about-assistant-pastors-for-assistant-pastors-by-j-n-wheels/

Podcast: https://jnwheels.com/the-3m-podcast/

For The Historical Record - How We Processed The Onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic - Corona Virus With Joel Wheelersburg & Ryan Ritchey-Wilson. This recording was recorded 4 weeks prior to when stay at home orders were issued throughout colorado and the country. more at JNWheels.com
music: Bensound.com and Evan Schaeffer

Have you ever wondered how previous generations of christians processed pandemics, plagues and virus's? Join me as we travel back in time 500 years and find out how Martin Luther processed how he and others might think about the bubonic plague that was ravishing Europe and his town. Audio Book reading of Martin Luthers, "Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague."
From Luther: https://blogs.lcms.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Plague-blogLW.pdf

From "The Hill": https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/488675-the-plague-coronavirus-and-martin-luther-why-they-all-matter-now

Made Possible by Craftsman Home Inspections llc CraftsmanColorado.com
Music: Evan Schaeffer and BenSound.com

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