Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks

SURVIVING STORMS AND SHIPWRECKS JULY 3, 2022 Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •1 Timothy 1:18–19 (NIV) — 18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. • HOLD ON TO YOUR FAITH • Don’t Lose It-- Let Go Of It-- Devalue It • HOLD ON TO YOUR GOOD CONSCIENCE • "Conscience is the referee in the game of life." Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •Hebrews 10:22 (NIV) — 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. •DO NOT REJECT THESE: FAITH & GOOD CONSCIENCE—(HOLD ON TO THEM) • The Faith Of Our Fathers & The Warning Lights Of Conscience Are There That We May Keep Our Freedom • FAITH & GOOD CONSCIENCE ARE THERE FOR OUR SAFE-KEEPING Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • FAITH AND GOOD CONSCIENCE ARE BENEFITS NOT BURDENS • Conscience is like the red warning light on the dashboard of the car. You can either stop and deal with the trouble or break out the light. Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •WATCH FOR THE ROCKS • Pride • Procrastination • Tolerance Of Evil Influence • Rejecting The Warnings Given • Giving Up Or Giving In -- Turning Away Or Turning Back Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • 1 Timothy 1:18–19 (NIV) — 18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith • WHY DOES PAUL USE THE PHRASE: HOLD ON? • Someone Or Something Wants To Take It From You • Something You Are Going To Need In Order To Make It • A Rough Patch Is Coming Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (NIV) — 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. •It is Time To Stand Firm & Hold On To The Teachings That We Have Received About These Times and Days •Stand Firm -- Hold On To The Truth -- Don’t Let It Go For Anything Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •Apostasy Is A Turning Away From God. Rebellious, Rejection Of God By His People Willful, • Apostasy Is Rebellion, Rejection, Backsliding, Turning Back, Turning Away, Falling Away From God – It Is Faith That Is Shipwrecked •Jeremiah 8:5 (NIV) — 5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •When People Are Drawn Away From God To Worship Something Or Someone Else That Is Apostasy • Jeremiah 2:19 (NIV) — 19 Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. •This Is Dangerous –Even Fatal And Unwise •Proverbs 1:32 (NIV) — 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; •Those Who Turn Away From God – Do So In A Spirit Of Self-destructive Foolishness Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •In The NT We Have Warnings Against Such A Falling Away •2 Timothy 4:3–4 (NIV) — 3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. •Jesus Warned This Would Be A Sign Of The Last Of The Last Days As People Would Be Led Astray By Fasle Prophets And Their False Teachings •Matthew 24:10–11 (NIV) — 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •We Must Know The Real Truth -- Stay With The Real Savior •BECAUSE: To Abandon Or Add To The Word Brings A Sad Ending •To Ignore This Warning Is To Shipwreck Your Faith Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •There Is A Time Of Decision -- To Return Or Reject God •Which Choice Will Be Made? •There Is Hope For Those Who Return To God – Those Away Can Be Brought Back •James 5:19–20 (NIV) — 19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • The Persevering Church Of Ephesus Reminds Us To Repent And Return To Our First Love •The Benefit To Those Who Overcome – To Eat Of The Tree Of Life In Paradise –Eternal Rewards •Revelation 2:7 Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks •A Sad Fate for Those Who Continue To Reject The Lord •There Is A Permanent Apostasy It Is Irreparable – Due To The Rejection Of The Offer To Return To The Lord • Hebrews 6:4–6 (NIV) — 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • It Is Not That God’s Grace Cannot Overcome Their Sin – It Is That They Continue To Oppose And Reject God, Refusing To Return, They Determine Their Own Christ-less Future Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • Ezekiel 14:13–14 (NIV) — 13 “Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, 14 even if these three men—Noah, Daniel and Job—were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD. •What Are We Hearing Today? Cut Off Food Suppy And Famine •Ezekiel 15:8 (NIV) — 8 I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • Ezekiel 18:24 (NIV) — 24 “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die. • Ezekiel 22:4 (NIV) — 4 you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries. Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • If This Nation Has Ever Been At A Crossroads -- It Is Now. • 85 Percent of Americans Say Nation Is on the Wrong Track Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • 7 Existential Threats to America and How to Fight Them •#7 – Climate Change HYSTERIA •#6 – Food Shortages •#5 – Ubiquitous Voter Fraud •#4 – The Next Plandemic •#3 – War With Russia and China •#2 – Economic Collapse •#1 – Deceiving America Into Unbelief in God •this is the endgame, the culmination of all the plotting by the Powers and Principalities •They are chipping away at the soul of this nation. If they can succeed in reaching a tipping point of unbelief, they will have won the overall battle because America will be knocked off our status as the shining city on a hill. •JD RUCKER Surviving Storms and Shipwrecks • There are huge storms on the horizon that we can see. There are huge rocks laying hidden beneath the sea that we can’t see. •The Bible tells us several things regarding shipwreck •Our faith can be shipwrecked •Shipwrecks Can Be Avoided