Saturday Night Musings

TOLEDO, Ohio —  A drunken driver from Michigan sped down a highway in the wrong direction for about seven miles before his pickup truck slammed into a minivan carrying a family home after a holiday trip, police said. A woman and four children in the minivan, including two authorities say were from Michigan, were killed in the crash that scattered toys, stuffed animals and bits of gift wrap along the edge of the road. Tests showed that the pickup truck’s wrong-way driver had a blood-alcohol level of .254 percent, more than three times the legal limit in Ohio of .08, police said. (December 31, 2007 AP) The enemy hath done this!

Who is sowing  tares among the wheat? Why do the terrorists send raging fears like a tsunami that is out of control into wholesome lives? At the close of every year we must go back and try to make rhyme and reason why such gross evil exists in the presence of our Holy God.  Remember Virginia Tech where 30 students were shot and killed by another student this year? The bridge that collapsed killing some 15 people over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Thousands have been killed in the Iraq War during 2007 and the fear of a Nuke in the hands of anti-Semitic mad man lingers on.  And before New Years Day, January 1, 2008, another 5,000 babies will be destroyed in their mother’s womb! The enemy hath done this! 

Keep this in mind as you begin to un-ravel 2007, that God is a sovereign God who has not gone to sleep at the switch. His eye is still on the sparrow, and not one ever falls to the ground without His observance. He knows very well that the enemy is loose but in a noose. This wicked one has limitations and under the thumb of an omnipotent God.  

The simple truth is that today, the righteous and the wicked live together. God one day will separate the righteous from the wicked as night fades into the blissful rays of the sun-light. The wicked will be plucked and hurled into the everlasting hell where the thirst for water is never quenched and the fire never goes out. It will be a confined place for those who go to heaven as well as for those who will go to a Christ-less grave where the worm never dies. The enemy that has done this will come to the place where he will never do it again…to another Mama with 4 little children. 

2008—present the gospel story to someone and let them know that Jesus suffered for them so that they might not ever suffer in eternity. 2008—get busy in some local church where you serve your Master with the gifts that God has given to you. 2008—pray for specifics in the lives of others so that God will have the glory and the people will experience some good. 2008—see that someone is more curious about Christ at the end of the day having seen the grace of God in your lives. 2008—give up your place in line for the one who needs to get home quick. 2008—read your Bible all the way through from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. 2008—keep moving on your missionary trip, going into un-evangelized areas reaching others for your Master.  2008—remember to tell your family that you love them. 2008—look for Jesus, this just may be His crowning year. 2008—do you part to sow good seed countering the enemy’s seed in this evil, cruel, and sinful world. Have a blessed 2008 new year! 

Visit: www.cliffhartley.com

Have you ever robbed God? 

We soon will tuck 2007 away in the annals of our profile and measure our successes or failures with checks and balances. We will either show a profit or we will show a deficit. Someone will want to know how we gained in assets or how we suffered in losses. This gain/loss record will most likely tell what kind of a steward we have been. Have we been good managers of what belongs to God? Did we seek first His guidance and His glory in how we handled His estate? Did we fill our barns with dreams of having bigger barns? Will our balance sheet show we have more because we gave more away or will it show we have more because we did not give more away?  Does any one remember Gehazi or Ananias and Sapphira? 

I remember very well the Menendez Trial—the time when Lyle and Erik Menendez murdered their parents in cold blood. They ruthlessly robbed their parents of their future and foolishly robbed themselves of a fortune. They are now serving the rest of their lives in prison! Stupid! 

Will a man rob God? This is one of the most amazing statements in the entire Bible. If this account were not found in the scriptures, I would question the insanity from where it came. It seems to me that it would be totally un-thinkable and improbable for any sane person to commit such a heinous crime or to think of such a selfish act!   

Will a man rob God? The will of a man is so recklessly rude as to think he can rob God anytime. The will of a man is as low as the heavens are high. The heart of a man is desperately wicked, who can know it? His ways and God’s ways are worlds apart. God’s will is that all will come unto him and that none will perish—even the person who has defiantly said, it is my will that will be done, not God’s will. Our will must be crushed and die before we are rightfully in His will. The will of every man outside of God’s will is to rob God. 

Will a man rob God? This is the creature robbing the Creator day after day. They are the hogs who never look up to see where the figs are falling from. They do not give God glory, neither are they thankful, and their foolish heart is as black as mid-night. The man who will rob God will rob anybody. No man can be trusted who will rob God.  

Will a man rob God? How does a man rob an all-knowing God? He robs Him in tithes and offerings. Man either tithes or he is a thief. If a man tithes, there will always be meat in his house and if a man is a thief—then he should go to jail. Just as a reminder, your tithe this week is 10% of the figure on the left side of your check, not the right side. If you don’t know to figure your tithe, move the decimal point one number to the left! The tithe belongs to God.   

Will a man rob God? If you have anything for which you did not work for, inherit, or received as a gift, then it is most likely stolen property. If you have stolen it, you have stolen it from God, for which you are to give back to Him four-fold. Thank God, God is a forgiving God. Yet He says: “Return unto me and prove me if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And if that is not enough, He will rebuke the thief of all time so that the fruits of your ground will not be cursed. Remember this; it was our sin which caused His Son to suffer on the cross. Though you have robbed your Father, He stands at the gate ready to receive you. Just look at that ring!  Visit: www.cliffhartley.com

Remember David Koresh and The Branch Davidians, when his domain was torched and brought down to a pile of ashes in a matter of minuets in Waco, Texas by U.S Attorney General Janet Reno? This man labeled himself as the last and final prophet which deceived some 80 people to follow him in his death including 21 children. The Bible says that in the last days many (not just a few) will be deceived as the blind leads the blind—straight to hell. 

And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:  Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. Zechariah 6:12,13

I love the book of Zechariah. No one can read his account without having great expectations of a bright and blessed future. During the rebuilding of Jerusalem after their captivity, the people of God were encouraged by seeing the temple being restored and the security walls being built. They were home again, their high priest was being crowned, their worship center became the focal point and their fear of surrounding enemies was fading. God is saying to them, in the days that are forth coming this will be the true picture when The BRANCH will come and reign as Prophet, Priest and King. Do you see what I see?

Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;  A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. Hebrews 8:1

Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH—and he shall grow up out of his place. “as a tender plant and a root out of a dry ground” (Is 53:2). The Bible tells us that JESUS was born of a virgin, he was miraculously conceived the womb of his mother Mary by the Holy Spirit. This BRANCH grew out his place without the aid of a human father. Do you believe this? Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH—and he shall build the temple of the LORD: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary” (Mark 6:3). This man, the God-man in His incarnate state with a body that was prepared for him will build Jerusalem and rule as the seed of a woman, as David’s seed from His throne for a 1000 years. No longer a time of Jacob’s trouble, but a time of peace and prosperity. Do you know this BRANCH?  

Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH—and he shall bear the glory. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever” (Isaiah 9:6,7). “Even so come, Lord Jesus”.

Behold the man—The BRANCH. Born unto you this day is a Savoir. During this Christmas season, make him Prophet, Priest and King in your life. Let Him rule in your heart as Lord and Savior.  Let Him build your life for His glory or face a pile of ashes forever in utter ruin.

Visit: www.cliffhartley.com

If you believe Michael Vick, the former Atlanta Falcon’s famed quarterback would do the same thing that he did before he was convicted for illegal dog fighting and animal abuse—please raise your hand. Today, Mr. Vick is serving a 23 month prison term!  

For anyone to change their ways, they first must consider their ways. Their ways implies there are other ways, for example, God said your ways are not my ways. God’s way is straight and narrow that leads upward. This way is right up the middle of a wide and broad way which leads downward. God’s way leads to the bliss of heaven, your way leads to a hell engulfed in the eternal lake of fire where the worm dies not and the fire is never quenched.  

One of the most oblivious roads that many are traveling today is their ill-will convictions of the Lord’s House. They believe Sunday Morning is their time to sleep in on the Saint Cathedral Mattress. They would rather spend time with Terry, Howie, and Jimmy and forsake the assembly of God where Christ has promise to meet with them.  Sunday, my friend is not Fun-day. Sunday is the Lord’s Day, not our day. It is the time we stop what we have been doing for six days and give one day to the Lord in His place of worship. Yes, you might be able to worship God off a stump, but you can not enjoy it as much as being in the company and fellowship of believers. Oh, some of you don’t understand me—I know. You will never be able to appreciate the Son-light till you step in to it. 

Consider your ways of working hard and having less and less to show for it. God says it this way, you have sown much and bring in little. Won’t you try giving some volunteer time, sacrificing some of your money, and inviting some of your neighbors to help out in church. If there is a lack of care for the Father’s business in your life, there will little to consider at the end of the day. Won’t you make an effort of leading someone to Jesus in the pardoning of their sins and see how much God will bless you for such little time you give him. I double dare you. 

Consider your ways of getting all you can and canning all you get. You eat much, but are never full. If you are to have staying power, you need the things which are eternal. You need a daily diet of taking in the word of God. When you confess your sins and forsake them, you will experience a fullness of God’s presence that will fill you to the rim with Him. 

Consider your ways of never being able to quench your thirst. Jesus is the Water of Life. When you have him, there will be a gushing well of water in you that can not be stopped. 

Consider you ways of piling on many clothes and never getting warm. Ever think about putting on His robe of righteousness? When done—a fire will be burning on the inside of you. 

Consider your ways of putting your money into a bag with holes. What do have to show and what will you leave for a life of pleasure seeking trying to fill the lush of the flesh? Listen to Red Foley song: Wasted Years: Wasted years oh how foolish. As you walk on in darkness and fear. Turn around, turn around, love is calling. Keeps calling me from a life of wasted years. Jesus said, I am the way. If you walk with Him, he will always walk with you, even through the valley of the shadow of death. His comments to you in that day will be: well done! Visit: www.cliffhartley.com

Do you believe there was a world-wide flood that swept all away that breathed except Noah and his family? Do you believe there was a city called Sodom which was completely destroyed by fire and no one escaped except Lot and his daughters? If so, then you must believe one day God will destroy this world and wipe it clean as a woman would wipe a dish. It is called the great Day of His wrath. How close are we to it, we are 24 hours closer to it than we were yesterday!  

Zephaniah, the prophet of God writes that there is coming a day of God’s wrath: That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land (Zephaniah 1: 14-18). It is going to be an awful day in the neighborhood! When it happens (not if it happens) those who are left will walk around stunned, dazed, like blind men unable to find their way in a state of incredible horror. When God strikes, it will be swift and sure—there will be no more violence because all the wicked people will be annihilated in a moment of time. Nations will be wiped out, a world-wide great depression will hit like the Indonesia tsunami which will bring to an end of money crazed people which is the root of all evil.  

There are groups today that say, God is too kind to allow this to happen or that He is too good for this to happen. Friend, hasten greatly to the voice of the Lord—when booze flows from the White House to the poor house, when legislators send this world to hell in a hand basket, when activist judges can throw out the Ten Commandments, when the Supreme Court makes it legal to murder little babies, when States imprison parents for using the rod of correction on their children, when Presidential candidates can not accept every word in the Bible as God’s word, God says, it’s enough! We are seeing a people who knows no longer how to blush. It will be a day when God will intervene and bring to an end the affairs of cruel men. 

When nations turn their back on God and refuse to seek His counsel, they will faced a price for their ignorance which they can not pay. When an amoral agenda is accepted as a norm and gender gives no distinction—a wide path on a slippery slope is just ahead for them. When violence is tolerated and left unrestrained they will awake to their worst night mare. When respect for the Lord has diminished they will feel the heat of His wrath. A day is coming when mighty men will cry like babies and their gold and silver canker as waste paper.  

The great day of the Lord will also usher in a new day—a day filled with singing, joy, peace, and freedom.  No longer will the fear of enemies dominate living. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Trust Jesus now before the great day of His wrath. 

Visit: www.cliffhartley.com

 …O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; …Hab. 3:2 Our shelves are filled with authors whose books have written about how God moved in their day in great revivals. Men like George Wihtfield, Charles Finney, J. Wilbur Chapman, Sam Jones, Billy Sunday, R.A. Torrey, George Truett, Wesley, Vance Havner, and even Billy Graham. These men were men just like us today, they sought nothing but the power God as they stood to preach. When men like David Brainard preach his famous sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”, it said that men and women stood clutching the back of pews until their knuckles turned white fearing only the God of love and judgment.

Revival can happen today, it must happen if we are to see Amweica saved from internal destruction. It is our only hope for survival. Suicide is an all time high among teenagers, kids are murders today and being tried like adults, pre-marital sex is common place among young people, drugs, pornography, homosexuality has become a norm among us, kids knows nothing about prayer in the home any more, and preachers are watering down the word of God that brings conviction in our churches today. Sin is found today from the White House to Our House.

Revival will come in our day in the midst of all that the low-life can muster. It will happen when the people of God will seek after Him only with all heart, mind, body and soul. In our day could be the greatest days of revivals. Consider  what we have to day: Christian literature, Christian TV, Bible colleges and seminaries, Christian schools, soul-winning churches, and great preachers.

“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 (GOD) will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.” We are God’s people for this day.

We have come to His kingdom for such a time as this. We must have revival in our day for a legacy to those who will follow us to the third and fourth generation.Evangelist Gypsy Smith drew a circle on the ground and asked God to send a revival inside that circle. He then stepped into that circle! What will the next generation read about revival in our time? 

Visit: www.cliffhartley.com