Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

por Mike Letterman

Temporada 8

Jesus - The Word of God

Jesus Christ is the Word of God!

Temporada 7

Hope Against the Vipers of Life

21 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. Intro: The events in this passage occur very near the end of Israel’s 40 year journey through the wilderness. God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt 40 years earlier. It took them 2 years to reach the Jordan River. During that time, the Lord gave them His Law, and taught them about worshiping Him. When they arrived at Jordan, they refused to cross over the river into the Promised Land. Because of their lack of faith and rebellion against God, the Lord sentenced the entire nation to wander in the wilderness until every member of that rebellious generation, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, died. It took 38 years for them all to die. During that 38 year period, God was faithful to walk with Israel, to feed them with Manna everyday, to lead them from place to place, and to protect them from their enemies. God had been faithful to His people.

Hope for the Bullied

One of the unfortunate realities of living in this world is the existence of bullies. There are some people, and we all know who they are in our lives, who enjoy pushing others around. Bullying is not a new phenomenon. Bullies have existed in our world since Cain killed Abel at the dawn of the human race.

Hope for a Man With the Name of Legion

Jesus moves into a new set of impossible situations. He encounters a man possessed by thousands of demons. This poor, demon possessed man is in a desperate situation, He is unable to help himself, and the people around him are powerless to help him as well. After this incident, Jesus will deal with a diseased woman and a dead girl. All four of these situations were hopeless from a human perspective. Yet, in each of these cases, Jesus proved that He was the Master of them all.

Hope for the Dead Messiah

I would imagine that the hours after the death of Jesus were a hopeless time for His disciples and for the others who followed Him. • They expected great things from Jesus. • They had placed all their faith, and their hopes in Him. • They believed that He was the long-awaited Messiah, Who would deliver them from their Roman oppressors, and rule the kingdoms of the world. Where did they get ideas like that? From Jesus Himself, of course. • He told them that He was the Son of God. • He told them that He was the Messiah. • He told them that He would bring salvation to the world. • He told them that He would rule over and eternal kingdom. Yet, just a few days ago, many of His followers watched Him die a horrible death on a Roman cross. Others has seen His body anointed with spices, wrapped in linen, and sealed in a tomb. It was over. He was dead. He was gone. And, all their hopes had been buried with Him. It was a time of hopelessness, of shattered dreams, of broken hearts, of people filled with the dull ache of loss, and utter sadness.

Hope for the Hopeless Thief

Intro: This text presents three men. It speaks of three men who have been nailed to three crosses, dying three terrible deaths. The differences in their suffering were minimal. The differences in the men were enormous. • On one side there is a thief dying in his sins. He has lived a life of crime, broken the laws of Rome, and has been sentenced to die. The sentence is being carried out, and this man is dying a horrible death. This man is rude, arrogant, and proud. He is in a hopeless situation. He is dying in his sins. • On the other side, another thief is dying for his crimes. He is just as guilty as the first man. He has committed the same crimes, offended the same government, and has received the same sentence. He is paying the same price, feeling the same pain, and dying the same death. Yet, he is different from the first man. While the first man is dying in his sins, this man is dying to his sins. This man is well aware of what he is facing. His eyes are opened to his condition and he is willing to do what it takes to get God’s help. Yet, he is still in a hopeless condition. • In the middle another man hangs on a cross. He has offended some very powerful people. This man has spent the past three years traveling around the country preaching a message He calls “the Gospel of the Kingdom.” It is a message that promises salvation to all who will believe it. This man has healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead. He has done nothing wrong except expose the corruption of the religious leaders of the nation of Israel.

Hope for the Hopeless Guilty Woman

John 8:1-11 HOPE FOR THE GUILTY WOMAN 8 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. Intro: In 1983, a former intelligence operator and sniper became the unwelcome guest of some very unsavory individuals. He and a member of his team were kept in a hole of knee deep water, their only company the decomposing body of another unfortunate floating in the water with them. He had already witnessed their Kuna guide who was stripped and eviscerated while alive and that of another member of their team who was hung and forced to do “the dance” as it was called. The captors made bets as to how long the captive would live. Every day the man asked God to either deliver him from the situation in which he found himself or for him to die a brave and honorable death. One day, while these evil men slept through the heat of the day, one of his captors dropped the crude ladder into the hole and motioned the intelligence operator to come up. He was very weak from the treatment he suffered and he knew whatever he was going to do, he had to do it quickly as in another day he might not have the strength. As h climbed up, he noticed his captor was the operators own military harness and hanging upside on the left side was the operator’s KA-BAR knife. As he climbed up, the operator made it appear he stumbled, and grasping the handle of the KA-BAR, he ripped it from its sheath and plunged it into the man’s throat, silencing him forever. He quickly grabbed a nearby AK-47 rifle and he and his companion disappeared into the jungle. In an instant, what appeared to be a hopeless situation became a door of hope. T I told that story to ask this: • Can you imagine the fear that must have gripped the heart of that young man as he watched their guide eviscerated while he was alive and watch him die, knowing that he was next? • Can you imagine the horror that must have gripped the heart of that young man as he watched another member of their team hung from a short rope, revived, and hung again, while he captors bet ion how long he would live and when he would die, knowing his time was coming soon? • Can you imagine the terror as he was led into the grove of trees and that noose was placed around his wrists and he was raised suspended for hours from the ground, all the while holding tightly to the knot that would keep his thumb from being ripped from him. • Can you imagine the darkness of that hole and the pain he endured to squeeze some precious drops of moisture through his failing kidneys, the only water supply available. • It must have been a moment of terror that few have ever experienced! Our text tells us about a woman who knew just how this young man must have felt. The guilty woman, who’s story is related here, knew that kind of fear. As she is brought trembling into the presence of Jesus, she knows in her heart that she is about to be stoned to death.

Hope for the Hopeless Vessel

The story of the prophet Elijah is a fascinating account of the power of God in action. We thrill when we hear about Elijah standing tall before King Ahab, the priest of Baal, and the wayward people of Israel. About how he prayed and the fire of God fell from Heaven. Let’s read from Gods word! 1 Kings 17:8-16 King James Version 8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. Let me remind you of some of the events of that special day on Mt. Carmel. The nation of Israel had turned their backs on the Lord. They followed the god Baal, who was the deity worshipped by Ahab’s Queen, Jezebel. On Mt. Carmel, Elijah challenged the 450 priests of Baal to a showdown. He said they would pray and the God who answered by fire would be the God of Israel. The people agreed, the king agreed, and the priests of Baal agreed. The showdown commenced. The priests of Baal prayed all day and nothing happened. Baal did not answer. No fire fell. The priests of Baal gave up in frustration. It was Elijah’s turn to call on the Lord God Almighty. In preparation for his prayer Elijah, gave a command for a trench to be dug around the altar, and for twelve barrels of water to be poured over the sacrifice and the wood on the altar. When this was done, Elijah stepped up, prayed a short prayer, and the fire of God fell on the mountain. In 1 Kings 18:38 the Bible says, “Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” When the people of Israel saw this miracle, “they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God,” 1 Kings 18:39. Elijah took the priests of Ball to the brook Kishon and killed all 450 of them. I think you would agree that this was a mighty display of the power of God. Elijah was the conduit through which that power flowed that day. He was God’s man, doing God’s work, in a big way. But, it wasn’t always that way! Elijah did not just wake up that morning and head to that mountain to do what he did. Elijah wound up on that mountain because he had been prepared through a series of hopeless situations.

Hope for the Dead Brother

John 11 describes one of the greatest hopeless cases in the Bible. Anyone looking in on the death of Lazarus would conclude that he was dead, and that there as no hope. Yet, even in the face of absolute hopelessness, the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrates His power to step into any situation and transform that situation into a time of blessing; this even includes situations that appear hopeless.

Hope for the Hopeless - The Hopeless Pharisee

Our text revolves around the life of a man named Saul of Tarsus. Most of us know him by the name of Paul. After he was saved, Paul became a mighty weapon in the hand of God. LETS READ FROM GODS WORD. 9 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

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