Evil is everywhere in this world today, and probably nowhere more prevalent than the United States

It has become so commonplace, most people don’t even flinch when they encounter it anymore

If I were the Devil...

This was a piece that Paul Harvey read on the air in 1965

WOW, he was right on target with how the devil was making our country his playground

We see exactly what you are talking about but what can we do about it?

That’s the thing, evil has become so prevalent that people feel as if nothing can be done.

I am going to read another letter to you this morning

These are the very instructions for how to deal with the evil in the world today

We are in the end times and we do not know the day or the hour of Christ return

We are usually pretty good with what we would consider the big things

Murder, Burglary, Assault….you know all the big things

But what about other stuff

We invite evil into our hearts on a daily basis

We have TV shows and movies that glorify evil

We go to movies that are even called Horror movies and pay to open our hearts to evil

We read books that are all about evil

You see instead of abstaining from evil or fleeing from evil we invite it in

The “we” I’m talking about here is not the lost world but people who call themselves believers

God’s people have got to wake up and realize that the toxic things of the world are exactly that, TOXIC

We know that judgement day is coming and instead of remaining vigilant and watchful we practice evil ourselves

I work for the NWS and their job is to keep the people safe by warning them of incoming bad weather

What if the NWS decided to just keep all the info to themselves and not put out the warnings. People would die!

If God’s people who know what is coming do not tell others, people don’t just die.

They spend an eternity in a devil's hell in eternal torment

Stop entertaining evil and instead pray without ceasing!

Sound the alarm and tell people how they can be saved!

Do you know Jesus?

Most of you know, I went through a lot of pain last week

By Wednesday afternoon, I was feeling kind of sorry for myself and hoping for relief

Then I thought about all the pain others were going through

All those around me that I know had much worse pain that I was dealing with, yet they continue on

How about the Apostle Paul? He was shipwrecked 3 times and lost at sea for a day and night

He was stoned, scourged 5 times, beaten, scandalized, slandered and even bitten by a poisonous viper

Paul never left the path God put him on, and his focus and energy never wavered

So, is there something we can learn from the pain that comes in our lives?

First of all, we need to know that pain happens

We would like to think that God would allow those who know him to have less pain and suffering, but that isn’t the case

I read someone said “life starts with a swat to the bottom and goes downhill from there”

Those who serve God have pain too, in fact, we have already talked about some of Paul’s struggles

To top everything else off, Paul was given a thorn in the flesh that was straight from Hell

Our passage today says it was a messenger from Satan sent to torment him

Paul begged God 3 times to take away that pain, but God said "My grace is sufficient"

We know that pain is part of life, but do we ever look for purpose in our pain?

In our passage today, Paul says the thorn was given to keep him from exalting himself

Also think about Philippi, where Paul and Silas were beaten in public and locked up

After that happened, the message of Christ exploded in that city

Or maybe Ephesus, where Paul ministered for a long time and then, after a huge riot, was run out of the city

More people came to Christ in the aftermath of that riot than during the whole 2 years Paul preached there

While we are in the midst of Pain, it is hard to see a purpose, but we can trust God to have a purpose, and we should seek it

Not even Jesus was spared from pain, so, we should remember that pain also has power

In Paul’s pain, and his begging for relief, he received from God power

Paul determined at that point, he would rather be strong in Christ through pain, than in his own strength

We watch people who are in pain but work through it anyway with a great respect

A football player, who is hurting, but stays in the game to carry the team to victory

A soldier, who even injured, fights on to keep his platoon safe

How about Christ, who, while enduring the worst torture even before the cross, pressed on to finish the fight

These are things that inspire us to fight on through the pain

Pain happens, pain has a purpose, and pain has a power

One last thing to consider, Have you ever thought about how a pearl is made?

A pearl is made through great suffering to the oyster

The gem inside has great beauty and great value, all from the suffering of the oyster

We can be inspired by Paul, but it was the pain that Christ endured that gives us life

While we still endure some pain in this world, through Christ, we can be relieved of all pain when we get home

Are you certain of that fact in your life?

Have you been enjoying the Heat lately?

We have had new record high temps all over our area just this week.

I don’t know about you but all this heat made me think about one thing...

HELL!

So many people go through life never giving the existence of Hell one thought

For those who believe the Word of God, thinking about hell should cause us to work even harder to reach people

For those who have never made a decision to follow Christ, the thought of hell should be terrifying

There are those who argue, “a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to Hell”

To that I say you are right. But unrepentant people send themselves to hell

Today I want to look at several scriptures that tell us about hell

Hell is a place of eternal torment and agony

“Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched”

In this chapter in Mark that phrase is repeated 3 times! Do you think it is important?

“In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”

Have you ever seen a dog that is in terrible pain?

The outer darkness is also a reference to hell as indicated by weeping and gnashing of teeth

Have you ever sat in total darkness for an extended period of time?

There are months in Alaska where the sun never shines and the depression rate is off the charts

Total darkness can make you feel as if you are being crushed to death.

How hot will hell be?

This fire was so hot the guards died just getting near it. We have to believe hell is hotter than that.

We’ve already established that the fire is not only hot but unquenchable meaning it never burns out

The point today is that hell is real and those who do not accept Jesus send themselves there.

Jesus saves us from the wrath to come.

To perish means to spend eternity in Hell

Good news God did not send Jesus in the world to condemn the world but to save it.

Today if you are here or watching online you still have the opportunity to accept Jesus

“whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”

That eternal life is in heaven with Jesus!

A recent study of adults in the United Kingdom found they checked their smartphone every 12 minutes

I personally believe, today, in the US, it is probably closer to every 5 minutes

A recent commercial uses this to ask “ever wonder what all those people are doing on their phones”

The title of the message today is God or Google

The question is – Who do you turn to first?

It has been said that, if Google were to suddenly go away, a whole generation of young people would be lost

The reality is, it isn’t just young people!

This passage is about having confidence that you can take everything to God and He will answer

I asked the question "God or Google?", because too many believers ask Google instead of asking God

Understand that Google is people who have selected possible answers for random questions

Google isn’t your creator that knows you intimately

Yet many people would rather just Google it than to get on their knees and give it to God

John wrote this so that you may know you have eternal life.

I asked Google “How can I have eternal life?”

I received 201 million possible answers

I asked God “How can I have eternal life?”

One answer! The true answer!

Don’t get me wrong, Google can help you find out some things, but it is not always right!

You see there is never a time that God is unreachable

We know, without a doubt, that, when we pray, God hears us.

When He hears us, He will answer

Google gives you possible answers

The point I’m trying to make here today is the same point I was making Wednesday night

We have got to live Godly and not worldly lives

If we are believers, why are we not going straight to the creator first and always for the answers we need?

What if we talked to God every five minutes during a day instead of our smartphone?

What if “knee” mail became more important than email?

What if we in this world, truly trusted God more than Google

What a huge difference that would make in our world

Are you ready to do that today?

Have you ever just wished you could get away from all the junk in the world and have your own private world?

You’re not alone!

The truth is that if you know Jesus as Savior you are not of the world.

Because you are not of the world, the world hates you!

This is the main reason that we, as believers, desperately want to be apart from the world.

Take heart because the world hates you just like the world hates your Father

If we were comfortable in the world, it would mean we were not of our Father

Notice that Jesus says He did not ask to take us out of the world

Some believers want to hide away from all things and just be out of touch

This is not what Jesus said. He said He didn’t want us taken out of the world, just protected from the evil one

So if we aren’t intended to be taken out of the world, what does that mean?

Once again Jesus says we are not of the world as He is not of the world.

Why is something repeated in scripture?

For emphasis! Jesus says twice we are not of this world.

Then in vs 17 Jesus asks the Father to sanctify them in the truth

He also emphasizes the fact that God is the truth.

Don’t take them out of the world, just sanctify them, meaning prepare them in truth.

One of the reasons that God’s people would rather be out of the world is they aren’t spending time in His Word

Instead of spending time wishing we could get out, spend time studying why we are here.

Jesus says He has sent us into the world.

If He sent us, why are we trying to get out of it.

This passage shows that God’s people are to be in the world but not of the world

We, as a the human race, spend large amounts of time trying to get out of stuff

Probably if we spent more time just doing things instead of hiding we would all be more joyful

If Jesus says He sent us into the world then isn’t it about time we obeyed and went out trying to reach people

Instead of hiding in the safety of the church walls, let us Go and Tell!

Join me today in praying that God will reveal to us where and how we need to go

Are you ready to be part of this awesome family?

2 Corinthians 2:14 NASB

“Thanks be to God who always leads us”

Paul’s original plan had been derailed slightly, and he wanted to let the Corinthians know he was following God

This is how we all need to be, followers of God no matter if it isn’t according to our plans

Smells tend to stick in our memory. Both pleasant and unpleasant smells.

In this passage it is talking about a triumph parade during which the generals burned incense as they passed by

The picture here is of God in His triumph as a sweet aroma that we should always remember

We too should have a sweet aroma to God as we serve Him daily

The aroma of the triumph smelled great to the victors but very bad to those defeated

In this passage the drastic difference is the gospel is sweet to those who have received and foul to those who have rejected

Never the less, we are to strive to send that sweet aroma to God’s nostrils as we serve Him

Who is sufficient?

Is anyone sufficient?

Truly not one is really worthy but through Christ we can consult God

When we truly spend time with the Father our message to others is not corrupted by self

We give to them what God gives to us and it is a great thing

“we are not peddling the Word of God”

The meaning here is that we aren’t watering down or changing the Word of God but delivering it as we receive it

Have you ever watched an interpreter?

Sometimes I wonder are they really saying exactly what the person told them to say or not?

There are people in this world today that try to spin God’s word to fit their desire

When this happens the aroma is actually a stench

“we speak in the sight of God in Christ”

It is because of Christ and His propitiation of our sins, that we can hear from God in the first place

Through Christ we speak the Word of God and the first audience of that is God

When we hear from God and then share the gospel with others, God is the first audience member

He is listening so you better not spin it but pass it on, just like you received it.

When we do, God is pleased and we are like that sweet aroma that God loves so much.

If you choose not to share the word that God has given you, the aroma is not sweet but foul

Today will you march in triumph and produce a sweet aroma as you speak the gospel message?

Or will you remain stagnant and give off a foul stench that would not be pleasing to anyone especially God?