Thus Saith God's Word
Rev. Ted Rrooks. Pastor of West Saddletree Hon'ist Cliurcli
"This utx is the caldron, and we be the llesh " (Hzckiel 11 2-3"
Hear ye the word which the Lord spcakcth unto \ou. () house ol' Israel
"Thus saith the Lord, leani not the w ax of the heathen, and be not dismayed
at the signs of heaven. Ibr the heathen are disrnaved at them For the customs
of the people are x ain: for one cuticih a tree out of the forest the work of the
hands ot the xxorkman with axe They deck it xxith silxer and xxith gold, thex
fasten it xxith nails and with hammers that it move not
Ihey are upright as the Palm iree but speak not. thex must need be home,
because they cannot go Me not afraid of them, for thex cannot do evil. neither
also is it in them to do good For as much as there is none unto thee. () Lord
thou art great, and thy name is great in might
"But they are altogether brutish and foolish, the stock is a doctrine of
vanities. And an excrlasting king, at his wrath the earth shall tremble and the
nation shall not be able to abide his indignation " (Jeremiah IU I-10)
Welcome home for the celebration of Liberty! While you are here, we pray
and hope you xxill find your stay enjoyable, but I do want to bring to xour
attention some ot the things which I feel that God xxould hax c us to share with
each other
1 he scripture tells us that when Judas had betrayed Christ and saxx that hewas
condemned, repented himself, saying. I have sinned (Matthexx 27 3-4)
11c hanged himself or he committed suicide The above xvords seem to unplx
a kind of hope What you realty see is how an unknown world failed an unhappy
man We leam from suicide that no man has the right to play prox idence to his
own life I Igor she is neither wise enough nor pure enough to be his or her ow n_
God Judas showed us it is morally xvrong for man or nation to take one's oxxn"
life, and one is spiritually dead and is eternally damned
We made reference last week to a scripture that says "It is not near Let us
build houses " (Hzckiel 11.3) Hzekiel was brought to the door of the court It
xx as here God commanded Hzckiel to dig a hole in the wall It xxas here he saxx
the wicked abomination lie saxv every form of creeping things He saxx idols
upon the xx alls of the people They were carved reptiles and animals Women
were seen xveeping for the god Tammuz, these "having exchanged the glory of
the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or
reptiles " (Romans 1:23) Oh. my friend, many today while claiming to speak
the word of God, prophesy out of their oxxn mind und folloxv their oxxn spirit
They are blind to the sorry state of the nation and unaxvare of the coming
judgment They are like men xvho hide their weaknesses in a mud-brick xxall by
daubing it over xvith whitewash
Will you look closely xvith me? Cannot you see the destruction Do you not
see the xvieked and mischief that comes upon mischief? Can you not see "The
law shall perish from the Priest and counsel from the ancient" (Hzekiel 7 2427)?
There needs to be an awakening in Robeson County. Someone needs to
bring it to our inner man There is a consequence for disobedience Oh my
friend, it is not another parade that xve need or a beauty contest Folks, we are
at an all time high in unemployment. There is a great danger of our children
becoming heathens. Somebody better dig for a spiritual insight.
When Amos saw the people of God xvho had begun to turn from God. he cned
out. "1 will not turn axvay the punishment thereof " (Amos 1:9) Behold 1 will
send a fire on the xvall because there did pursue his bother with the sxvord and
did cast off all pity. (Amos 1:11) I will send a fire. Why? Because thou hast
ripped up the women xvith child (Amos 1:13)
Is it not common among us now? Our people are having abortions I will
send a fire A few weeks ago on television, radio and the newspaper, it was told
that Robeson County headed the list for sexually transmitted disease and
ranked 17th in the nation. Oh my friend. God declared to all people who xxould
despise his law and keep not his commandments and counsel people to lie that
he would send a fire The message of Hzekiel. Amos, and Jeremiah is as clear
as a trumpet call. It sounds throughout the Bible Twill punish you for your
iniquities." (Amos 3:2)
Oh my friend, Amos was not a preacher xx horn folks enjoyed. I le was the
herald of judgment. The prophet of doom. The Lord is righteous.the nation is
sinful...ruin is inevitable Amos stared each nation face to face, denouncing
them for crimes against humanity, lor ruthless warfare and the slave trade,
broken agreements and lack of pity-, for brutality to mothers and the desecration
of the dead and for this God said, "I will not revoke punishment." (Amos 1 :.)15:
2:1-3) What was it that provoked God to indignation? They became social
rather than religious. They became involved in idolatry, bribery in the courts,
heartlessness, brutality, prostitution, self-indulgence, the evil of luxury, the
dispossession of the helpless and the oppression of the poor. For these sins
judgement did fall upon all classes of the people-...upon the king and his house,
the royal chaplain and his family, the leaders and the nobles, the luxury loving
men and the pampered women, the rapacious land owners and the idle rich. And
the common peqple were involved along with the noble man in the destruction
which came upon the whole nation. Escape was impossible. "Let them dig down
to shoal or climb up to heaven, the wicked shall not escape." (Amos 9:2-3) The
Lord will come. It will be a dav of thick darkness, of inescapable doom. (Amos
5:18-20)
Why all this? The preachers were told not to preach. (Amos 2:12) In doing
so God has promised to visit the transgression of the people "And I will smite
the winter house with the summer house and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses shall have an end," (Amos 312)
God said I will send a fire to any town that practices immorality, abortion,
drugs, illicit sex, prostitution, those who worship other gods and who exploit
the poor and powerless. It is a brave people who will defy' God's word When
he has told us "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serv e them, for
1 the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, (Exodus
20:5)
Job declared what shall I answer him'.' (Job 32:14) Are your ready for his
visitation? Have you obeyed or have you refused'1 God will do a fellow
up..."Him that sin again me I will blot out." (Exodus 32:33) Folks often say "It
is my body. I do xvith it as I please." No, my friend, it is not your body. It belongs
to God and on that visitation day you will find that out.
Amos' message was "Prepare to meet thy God. And seek me and live."
(Amos 5:4)
Amos was a God-intoxicated man. He was constrained to go and preach to
men who were proud, self- indulgent, lazy and luxurious, laying on couches
inlaid xvith ivory, feasting, playing music, xvho cared not for the common
people." (Amos 6:4-6) And the ladies were no better (bring that we may drink)
(Amos 4:1) Like men you know of today whose wives make continual demands
on their husbands. The only salvation is for our local churches to band together,
to support here at home, come together as one and to be our brother's keeper
Next week: Return Unto Me.
The periodical variety of cicada
take 13 to 17 years to develop
but then live only a few weeks.
They are also called 17-year
locusts.
HUCKLEBERRY FINH
(fircoM wow ^
fe?,1bw,8sr
vj -fov mg?r
*ieu *e>.ea ^ rx) 1
a ?me just &r >ovR J
ccxo *oo ,T ^
TfcU *ti? *"f LOO?* 1
1
nCR SeCAv^St SMt is
PW TTY, *i L?A$r I
? * tH^TTV S
o?*?**et5 vp snt-s 0t*cfAA
S" S OpT >?cy<*?wvt e*w
> Anfc Tr? S*^tTe<r ?A>?t?
Evev 5** or* *
w OvJT SWCM, SMt WOJV.0 ?*T
f^o gtKm ?,.
rI mc*
or V?
4ST SOUTHEASTERN
kKLJ REGIONAL
+& MEDICAL CENTER
Neighbors Caring For Neighbors
"If I was a patient,
I'd rather have it be
here in my
backyard
than go
somewhere they
don't know you."
. s Y" * *v". " ^ ;
"As Mayor of Fairmont, I've met all kinds of people.
Friends and strangers. The people at Southeastern have
1 beeri rfVitSPpart'df my life.'A few years back, I lost my
wife and daughter to cancer. Southeastern worked hard
to keep them on Earth, but they had to go. The people
there are some of the best I've ever met.
I couldn't ask for better service.
I'm living witness that people care."
Southeastern Regional Medical Center Lumberton 910-671-5000 \ www.srmc.org
rMir ran
Every Monday at Pembroke
9" IIIII >11 >11HU
UlkULILJUu
KID'S NIGHT - 5 P.M. - 10 P.M.
One Kid's Meal FREE with purchase of adult entree.
MONDAY - Egg Breakfast Special - $2.99
TUESDAY - Egg Breakfast Special - $2.99
SUNDAY FEATURE - $5.59
Your choice of one meat country fried steak, grilled
chicken, or chicken tenders. Plus mashed potatoes
& gravy, vegetable, and Texas Toast.
Add dessert for only $1.29.
OPEN 24 HOURS
725 W. Third St. Pembroke, NC
521-7685
SFI
MARKETING GROUP
Long Distance Service
5.9 cents per minute state-to-state
6-second billing
24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week
Save up to 50% or more on every long
distance call!
All day, Every Day!
Residential or Commercial!
Great in-state rates!
Toll free numbers 5.9 cents!
Special International Rates!
No long term commitment!
No enrollment fee!
No Minimum usage!
World Wide travel card!
Your SFI Referrer is:
http://www.ezinfocenlcr.com/449668 , JOHN BRAYBOY