DOOMSDAY PREPPERS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

SERMON STARTER

        Uncertainty in our time has given way to a whole spontaneous reactionary movement. People are disillusioned with politicians that promise the sky and deliver very little. They have lost much of the self-reliance and personal independence that was so characteristic of the past century. Many have given up on solutions to joblessness and cultural problems devised by others.

        The Doomsday Preppers have been around for decades. Remember David Koresh and his eighty-one Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas that died 19 years ago? He and his followers held off the Bureau of Firearms and Tobacco for 51 days. Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma Bombing in 1995 (168 people died) revealed the capability of survivalists and their fierce belief that the government should stay out of their business.

        This sermon explores the Prepper Movement and contrasts it with God's Word and the teaching of Jesus.

Our certainty is not in ourselves it is rooted in God's incredible promises. Our faith in Him is the Key.

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

Mount Vesuvius

Pastor Phil Roland

May 20, 2012

DOOMSDAY PREPPERS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

VARIOUS TEXTS

"There is much fatalism among even Christian believers regarding the future of the world as we have known it. Keep your eyes on Jesus."    Pastor Phil  <><<

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,"  Philippians 3:20

 

I.  PREPPERS BELIEVE THE WORLD WILL END MANY WAYS

          A. NUCLEAR WAR/ RADIATION

                        1. Preparing Radiation sheltering tents when it happens

                        2. They are buying vegetable seed by the pound

                        3. Preston White the Johnny Appleseed of Preppers

                         "I’m preparing to survive a catastrophic nuclear accident."

            B. WORLD-WIDE PANDEMIC

                        1. Europe's Black Death (Bubonic) of 14th Century

                                    a. Killed 25 Million

                                    b. 1/4 of population of Europe died

                        2. Spanish Flu discovered March of 1918

                                    a. Identified in a Military Camp in Kansas

                                    b. 20 to 100 million people died

                        3. HIV and AIDS discovered in 1969

                                    a. Death Toll may reach 90 - 100 million by 2025 in Africa

                                    b. 31 Million in India, 18 Million in China by 2025

            C. ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

                        1. Country-wide Economic Implosion

                        2. Banks could fail

                        3. Feds become unable to honor their debts

                        4. Global Economic Collapse

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3-vwYJiD8g

            D. CATACLYSM

                        1. Meteorite hits the Earth

                        2. Earth shifts on its Axis and Results in a Rapid Polar Shift

                        3. In 7 years Glaciers and Land Ice Masses Lost 4.3 Trillion                                              tons of ice (Global Warming?)

                        4. The Mayan Calendar predicts the world will end on 12/21/12                E. ELECTRO MAGNETIC PULSE

                        1. Massive Solar Flares - Coronal Mass Ejection

                        2. Knock out our aging Electrical Grid

                        3. Send us back to the Stone Age

            F. EXTREME OIL CRISIS

                        1. In 1973 Gasoline Crisis caused by OAPEC

                        2. Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries

                        3. Declared an Oil embargo because we re-supplied Israeli                                       military after the Yom Kippur War

DOOMSDAY PREPPERS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD, cont., p.2

                                                                       

            G. MEGA QUAKE / TSUNOMI

                        1. March 2011 Earthquake Tsunomi left 28,000 people dead or                                missing

                        2. Destroyed NE Japan

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/doomsday-preppers/doomsday-dashboard/

                                                                       

II.  OUR CITIZENSHIP IS NOT OF THIS WORLD - 1 Peter 2:9,10

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

            A. This World (Cosmos) is Upside Down

                        1. People Hate when they should Love

                        2. They quarrel when they should Resolve Differences

                        3. The fight when they should Pursue Peace

                        4. They Wound when they should seek Healing

                        5. They Steal and Hoard when they should Share

                        6. They Choose Wrong when they should Choose Right

            B. Politics will not Usher in God's Kingdom

                        1. Both sides of partisan issues are flawed by sin

                        2. Scandals abound in each Administration and Congress

                        3. The only One to Rule Mankind is Jesus

                        4. He rules the Hearts of Men.

                        4. Out of the Heart are the Issues of Life - Matt. 15:18-20

"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the

                         heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil

                         thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,

                         blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man,"

            C. Environmentalism will not Usher in God's Kingdom

            D. The Kingdom of God is an Eternal Kingdom - Daniel 2:44

            "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom

            which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other

            people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it

            shall stand forever."

1. The USA is not an Eternal Kingdom

                        2. We will only be disappointed if we expect it to be Eternal

                        3. Jesus said it plainly - John 18:36

                        "Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom                             were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be                               delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

                        4. God's Angel told Mary about Jesus and His Eternal Kingdom

                        "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,

                         and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called

                         the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of

                         His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob

                         forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

DOOMSDAY PREPPERS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD, cont., p.3

                                                                       

5. We are a nation w/ Christian believers in our midst

                        6. We were and are always a minority

                        6. Our nation was founded on Christian Principles

III.  GOD TAKES CARE OF HIS OWN - Matthew 6:25-27

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

          A. God's Provision is our Security - Philippians 4:19

            "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in

             Christ Jesus."

                        1. His Promises are True

                        2. We may fail, but He never fails

            B. Get a "Kingdom of God" Perspective - Matthew 6:33-34          
            "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for   tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

1. Remind yourself regularly, "God's in Control"

2. Submit yourself and your needs daily to Him

                        3. Pray it and mean it - Matthew 6:11

                          "Give us this day our daily bread."

C. Five Practical Suggestions for Believers

                  1. Know who you are!  You are the church!

                  2. Know Jesus Christ Intimately!

                  3. Listen to and for God’s Messengers!

                  4. Judge all things by the Word of God!

                  5. Be ready!