What in the world is going on?
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Two Mass Shootings in 10 days
Two Mass Shootings in 10 days
May 14, Buffalo, New York, Supermarket, 10 killed, 3 injured - all black, racially motivated
May 24, Uvalde, Texas, Elementary School, 19 children, 2 Teachers killed
both shooters were 18 years old
This study is not about whether we need gun control, or new security measures, or control on internet chat rooms, or mental issues . . . and all though those things need to be discussed . . .
This study is about the Biblical perspective, so that we can get to the root of “What in the world is going on?”
mass shootings are up
What we have witnessed in both instances, is pure evil unchecked . . . . and at the root, evil is a spiritual matter, spiritual problem, spiritual issue
What has led to this level of evil? REJECTION OF GOD (as a country)
When you reject, remove God, neglect God, God steps back
18 You neglected the Rock who had fathered you; you forgot the God who had given you birth. 19 “The Lord saw this and drew back, provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters. 20 He said, ‘I will abandon them; then see what becomes of them. For they are a twisted generation, children without integrity.
neglect God, forget God . . . . the Lord will draw back
you don’t want me . . . I will step back
children without integrity - people are not faithful to God
God often compares a nation that is not faithful to him, to a wife that is not faithful to her husband
So it’s like God saying, You want to cheat on me, You don’t want me, ok, I’ll let your new man take care of you . . . let’s see what happens
30 “How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had given them up?
preachers are famous for quoting the opposite of this scripture found, one of us will chase a thousand of the enemy, and two of us will chase ten thousand of the enemy . . . but that was based on following the Lord
But here, God also told them the opposite would happen if they stopped following the Lord
one of the enemy will chase a thousands of us, two of the enemy will be able chase ten thousand of us
and we see this, two 18 year-olds have put the whole country in a panic
we have all of this technology, military strength, nuclear bombs . . . and we are being chased by two teenagers.
how could that happen? The verse says the Lord has given them up
when God steps back, you lose the benefits, protection, grace, that comes from following him
that’s the heart/root of the problem: We rejected God, and God has stepped back (this has been ongoing for a while)
How have we rejected God?
How have we rejected God?
many examples, here are just a few:
no godly morals - right and wrong are not set by the Bible anymore for most Americans
most don’t even have a right or wrong anymore . . . just “do you”
whatever feels right to you, find a way to justify it, and do it, live it
no more guilt or shame, in fact be blatant, be extreme about sin, double down on sinful lifestules
less people go to church - don’t feel the need to have a connection with God’s church
don’t want spiritual guidance from Bible, trained leader
don’t want accountability that comes from going to church
just make up my own spirituality, and mix Christianity with other stuff
if you reject the church that God set up, you are rejecting God
complaint, “but a lot of these churches out there are crazy . . . . .”
there are some problems churches, but keep looking for a good one
just like you kept looking for right house, put some effort in it, time in it, research in it
when that job did you wrong, what did you do? . . . found a new one, you didn’t give up on jobs (because you knew you needed one)
if a church did your wrong . . . find a new church because you need church
but most people don’t put that type of effort in to church because God stuff ain’t that important, we neglect it
of those who do go to church, many are just “religious”
their bodies are at church, but their hearts are far from God, Christianity never applies to their “real life” just to their church life
push Christianity only when it agrees with their personal agenda
pushed him out of schools
When I was kid we prayed every morning in homeroom, but now prayer has been removed . . . and where there is prayer, Jesus name has been removed
in reality, the official religion of schools is atheism
do not teach God created heaven and earth
do not teach that people are special because we are made in God’s image
schools teach that we are all just cosmic accidents
So we have rejected God’s morals, neglected his church, and kicked him out of schools (just to name a few)
ever heard, “where there is no vision, the people perish”? Let’s look at that verse (the NASB says it this way)
18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.
NIV - no revelation, people cast off restraint
NLT - do not accept divine guidance, they run wild
ESV - no prophetic vision, cast off restraint
My version - When people are not hearing from God, they act crazy, they lose it
but people who follow God’s ways will be blessed, happy
so
THE ANSWER - Return to God
THE ANSWER - Return to God
Solomon was dedicating a magnificent temple to God, at a time when everyone generally was following God.
Being a wise man, he knew that people were likely to reject God in the future. So as part of his dedication prayer, he asked that if the people reject God in the
future, but they repented, would God forgive them and hear their prayer and their pleas
God came to Solomon in a dream and gave him this answer
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Here is the answer, here is how we return to God
humble - we (our country) ARE that bad/evil, instead of we are so great and mighty . . . no, we have been sinful
pray - Lord have mercy, help us, we really do need you God, give us wisdom
seek my face - seeking relationship with God
people start going to church, Bible study and learn about Him
praying more, reading my Bible
not just seeking his hand (benefits), but his face (relationship), be real
turn from their wicked ways - accept what God says is right and wrong, and then start doing right, and stop doing wrong
repent when you slip up instead of being proudly sinful
humble ourselves, pray, seek his face, and turn . . . then he will hear, forgive, heal
What can I do on a personal level?
What can I do on a personal level?
this seems so much bigger than me!
do your part
Humble yourself, Pray, seek his face, and turn
one person can make a difference with God on their side
God would have saved the evil city of Sodom if he had found just a few righteous people living there
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
this was referring to how the prayers of one man affected the whole nation
Tell others about Jesus Christ
he came, lived, died for our sins, rose again, to save us
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
more disciples, more God’s people, more impact on our country
one more saved person because of your testimony, can make a huge difference
remember one can put a thousand to flight, and two can put 10,000 to flight
Prayerfully research and support whatever solutions can be done in the physical realm . . . push that, back that . . . . but understand that the best protection comes from God
if we simply ignore it, and let it pass away . . . God will stay away
two years ago there were two mass shootings 13 hours apart
El Paso, Dayton Ohio
if we only push political solutions . . . it won’t work in the long term
Prayer
Prayer
pray for families in Buffalo, in Uvalde
pray for our country - mercy, touch hearts
pray for our leaders to have and use wisdom
pray for revival
pray for protection
Announcements
Announcements
Mother Alston, still recover, thinking that June 1 as a release date
we do have people in charge of security at church
just talked with a couple about doing some drills
working on video system (old and run down), reminder of importance, so we will probably spend most of our project fund on that