Survival Pack Episode 3

January 20, 2013 
This is the third of the series by Brother Terry Gage. While this is not the complete sermon, it is the best I can type on a phone app. For best results, I suggest hearing the word in person. This information is meant to not just help you to survive but to thrive in the coming years.

Survival Phone

Matthew 6:9-15 (KJV)

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. [10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. [11] Give us this day our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. [13] And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. [14] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: [15] But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
NKJV
9 "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ' 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.



USAF Capt. Scott O'Grady, while he was waiting for his rescue, his radio was the most vital in the survival pack. More valuable than the water, more than the camo net.

We have to stay in contact with Central Control. We have to stay in communication with the One who can save us. We do this with prayer.

Lord, teach us to pray! There is something about this matter of prayer that is vital and the disciples knew it even back 2000+ years ago. There is no expert on prayer. We call the scripture listed The Lord's Prayer. It isn't Jesus' prayer because it asks to forgive of sin. He was without sin, so He had no sins to forgive. But this is a model prayer to show us how to pray. It shows us how to get in contact with God in prayer.

There are three parts:

Prayer is talking

The focus is on God, us talking to God. It is like a son or daughter speaking to their Father. What does this do to prayer? It implies a relationship; it makes it personal. It makes it familial. In order to talk to your father, you have to be part of the family. We are God's because he created us, but He isn't our Father until we are born again. When we ask Him into our heart to be our savior then you can call Him our Father. What is His address? Heaven, what a glorious place that will be. God has already set a rescue plan in place and He will come to this land of enemies and take us to His home. When we talk to Him, we don't speak flippant but we don't have to be flowery either. Talk to Him like you would your earthly father. Our Heavenly Father is what every Father is supposed to be, but is what every father cannot be.  We are subjects speaking to a King as well. Gods rule is not supreme right now. We are members of the Kingdom of Heaven. We need to pray every day for the thy Kingdom Come; for more  and more people to come to The Lord. We are in enemy territory but the King is on His way. Prayer is like a slave talking to his master, as well. The purpose of the slave is to carry out the will of his master. We are all slaves. You are a slave to the world or a slave to Jesus. I was glad to swap my servitude to my Lord Jesus Christ. He is always concerned with my well being and my life like no other. My job isn't concerned about how I am doing. That purse doesn't give two cents if I am okay. Jesus went from the Heavenly world where there were many  angels wishing to do His will to a world where very little desire to follow God's will is present. People think prayer is us talking God into our plans. We're smarter than Him, we have our PowerPoint in place, "God, just sign here and approve my plans." That isn't what prayer is. It isn't our will in Heaven, it's God's will on earth. Do you know what God's will is for your life? Do you think that if you surrender your life to Him, that He is going to ruin it for you? NO! He is going to make your life what you would do for your life if you had half the sense He does.

Prayer is asking:

The pronouns change, it goes from Thy to Us. The focus goes from God to us. We're asking for things now. We humans have three basic needs: material, social, and spiritual needs. We have the right to ask God to meet these needs. Give us this day put daily bread- all the material NEEDS. Our Heavenly Father knows how hard it is to meet our daily needs, and isn't it encouraging to know it's okay to ask for what your need? You don't have to ask specifically; He knows your need. He just loves to hear your voice. Just ask for your daily bread. Do you need a job? Do you need help paying bills? Ask daily to help with your material needs. Our social needs: forgive our debts (sins) and we forgive others for their debts (sins) every day. Let go the sins of your family and friends. Don't get historical when you get into a fuss with your spouse. Life is too short to hold grudges. Of course people have done you wrong and YOU have done others wrong. We killed God's only son but He forgave us. Ask him every day to forgive you, but forgive others of their wrongs, too. Neither will your Father will forgive you. If you don't have a forgiving heart, you haven't really had the God-experience in your life. Praying before the temptation instead of after, to try to avoid the temptation itself. The best offense is a good defense. Deliver us from [the] evil [one]. Satan is the original spiritual terrorist. His goal is to ruin your life.

Prayer is praising:

Do you praise Him when you pray? Kingdom, power and glory forever. All powerful and will you please have your power change my life? Your glory is all consuming and will your glory come over and lead me through the enemy territory?

If you don't have a church family, I implore you to find one.

New Year Survival Pack Episode 2

Survival Food

Psalm 119:129-133 (KJV)

Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. [130] The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. [131] I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. [132] Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. [133] Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Psalm 119:129-133 NJKV

Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps them. 130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. 131 I opened my mouth and panted, For I longed for Your commandments. 132 Look upon me and be merciful to me, As Your custom is toward those who love Your name. 133 Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me. 

If you want to be strong and healthy you have to have good nutrition. The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. It is important for us to have nutritious spiritual food. We have to feed on God's word. You cannot resist temptation and trials of the world without the Bible. Any dietitian will tell you that to resist the temptations of the "bad" foods, you have to start off the day with a healthy breakfast and have available throughout the day things to fuel your body.
119 is the longest chapter in the whole Bible, but it is chocked full of references to the Bible.

1.) Do you appreciate your Bible? How often have you thanked God for your Bible? Have you expressed your gratitude to God for providing the book of good nutrition for our spirit?

Inspirational Thy testimonies are wonderful, Wonderful references to another name for God, unique, one of a kind, none other like it. He is our wonderful savior. The Bible is one of a kind, it is unique. There are those that say it is inspired, much like any other book of literature. How many weeks would you come listen to lessons on Shakespeare? (I can remember having to sit through Romeo and Juliet and thinking that this is cruel and unusual punishment.) Some say some of it's inspired and some isn't. If the Bible is inspired in spots and some of it is divine, then who is going to tell us which parts are inspired and which are truth? You don't have a Bible that is filled with holes, you have a Whole Bible. Do you want to know how I know this was written by God?

2Timothy 3:15 (KJV)
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:15 & 16 NKJV
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
 
This book has sense of harmony, sense of oneness from 40 different writers from every strata of society, 1600 years of time span, and several different continents, but all have the same hero and the same message.
Indestructibility
The Bible has persevered regardless of the the attacks on it. It has been attacked like no other book. Around 303 a.d., The roman emperor set out to destroy the Christian faith. 22 years later, Constantine declares the Bible the book of truth. Voltaire hated the Bible, "when I am through the Bible will be extinguished from the minds of he people." $500k was spent on an old Greek Bible. The same year, someone spent only $0.08 for all of Voltaire's writings. Tom Payne wrote The Age of Reason. He said, when I'm through, there won't be 5 Bibles left in the world. In the congregation of our church today there were more than 200, and that was a small church on the side of the road on the edge of  Greene County Arkansas. Lawrence O'Donald, a television broadcaster is pushing to remove the Bible from the presidential inauguration. Mr. O'Donald believes why should my president lay his hand to swear on a book he doesn't believe in and neither does "most of America." Don't worry about this book. It will survive. (And Mr. O'Donald needs to check his statistics.)

This book has delivered addicts. It has dried up drunks. It has transformed liars and thieves. The Bible has soul saving power. It also has soul comforting power. Broken hearted families have been comforted by God, by the word of God. It has wisdom-giving power. It has joy-giving power. The rich people are not usually the happy people, quite opposite. It is foolish for Christian people to sell themselves for the pursuit of money.

2.) Do you absorb your Bible? Do you let the Bible get into your life? Do you allow God's word to be digested into your life?

You first have to read it. The devil will do what ever he can to make you believe you don't have time to read your Bible. Make a commitment, make it a priority. He'll tell you that you can't understand it. TRY! If you were having trouble getting a package of Twinkies open, you'd do what ever you had to in order to get into those Twinkies. Try to understand. One of the keys to understanding is to apply the rule of context. Before and after verses show you the context of what is being said. What translation should I read? Don't let the devil mess you up with that! Read the translation that speaks to you. An unread Bible is like uneaten food. You can't get through the day without getting the sustenance to thrive. Not a Little Debbie cake and a Mt. Dew, but real food.

3) Do you apply your Bible?

While reading the Bible is imperative, it isn't the only thing we have to do. It's not just how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times has the Bible been through you? You have receive it, you have to have a teachable spirit when you read it. Are you willing to obey what you read the instant you read it? If you are, the good news is you're in for blessings unending. It is not only to be read but is to be applied in out daily lives. How can people who profess to be Christian live contradictory lives? They have failed to allow what they believe to affect the way they behave. Be not just hearers of the word, but doers.

Apply God's word to your family and it will heal your family. Bring the entire family to the altar of God and ask Him to wrap His arms around you and heal what you have broken.

It will change our national life. If we can get those who just say they are Christians to start doing and not just saying, we will not just survive but we will thrive!
Make a commitment to read your Bible every day. It will change you, your church, your family, and your nation.


dcs/TG




Regarding the choice of translation, I have my preferences, but so does each and every person. It also depends on what I am doing. When I am reading my morning scriptures, I prefer Holman or NKJV. When I am writing, I reference NKJV or KJV, sometimes both. When I was searching for a Bible, I asked the clerk which she preferred and she said the same, it depends on the purpose. If the translation is one of the things that is causing you pause for reading the Bible, try reading the different versions on the various websites. I use www.biblestudytools.com but there are as many sites as there are translations. 

New Year Survival Pack: Episode 1

Survival Plan

Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

We, as a nation, are concerned about many things regarding our nation: the direction we're headed, terrorism, financial woes, loss of our rights. As a Christian, we need to be concerned that we have what it takes to get us through. 

John became a follower of Jesus as a young man, and during this time, the church came under the persecution of the Roman Empire. He was exiled to Patmos where he faced the whips of the taskmaster, worked hard labor, and lived in a cave for 16 months. God gave him a letter which was a survival plan for Christians during difficult times. Not just survive, but thrive. The great thing about the Bible is what was good for the Biblical times is good for us now.  

1.) You need a nutrition plan-

The world has food, but the food of this world is junk food. You might be happy to see a lunch box full of Oreos, but you won't survive with it. 

Revelation 10:8,9 

The Bible references the book of God to food and milk several times. When you are a young Christian, you need the milk to grow, like an infant needs its mother's milk. Other references are regarding food, Man shall not live on bread alone shows up in three verses (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4)  It contains all the sweetness and nourishment we need to grow and thrive. 

The Bible isn't just sugar but has bitterness, too. It talks of our sins and our faults. 

Have you wondered why there are so many anemic and weak Christians walking around? They don't feed daily on God's word. You have to feed every day just as you eat meals. I don't know too many folks that skip eating, but it's easy to skip church. What's it going to hurt? I don't have to go to church to be a good Christian.

2.) Communication Plan 

You have to stay in constant communication with Central Control. Think about all the help we have with God on our side: Jesus, angels, God. All we have to do is pray to him each and every day. Talk to Him, those eyes in the sky are more seeing and more knowing than we could ever be. Make a decision to wake each day and say Good Morning, Lord! Thank you for giving me another chance to do good in your eyes. Talk to Him throughout the day. Prayer is a conversation between you and God, talk to Him like you love Him; He loves you.

3.) Protection Plan

Can we be safe in these dangerous days? My children? How can we know that we're protected. 

Revelation 7:3,4 "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: This was regarding the Jews during The Great Tribulation 

Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. All 144,000 were still there; they were protected by God.

Sealed means you are totally protected. It was a mark put on us when we are genuinely born again that identifies us as owned by our Heavenly Father. 

4.) An Anticipation Plan

You have to be looking for someone to rescue you when you're in survival mode. We are looking for Jesus to come. It will get bad before He does. But it is a cause for hope and anticipation that the Mighty Redeemer comes quickly. 

Rev 22:7, 20 He tells him three times

You might say, John died and Jesus didn't come.  Either way, He did. If you die before The Lord comes, then you go to Him. Otherwise, He comes to you. Win/win situation. 

A woman was on a train full of passengers, and the conductor came over the intercom to tell them the train was in trouble and the passengers were going to have to brace for impact. One woman was completely calm and full of grace throughout the crash. When they were talking later, her fellow passengers asked her how could she remain so peaceful when faced with such an uncertain outcome. She said, she was on her way to see her daughter in California that she hasn't seen in several years, but if she would have died, she would have been greeted by her other daughter that died. Either way, someone she loved would be waiting for her at her destination.

Rev22:17 (how you can get survival plan.)
And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.  If you haven't accepted Christ as your savior and been born again, you must know this is the only survival plan that matters. It's all well and good to know how to skin a squirrel and make a duck call out of bamboo, but if you haven't been washed in the blood of the lamb, your goose is cooked.