The Tampa Tribune printed an article on September 23, 2013, regarding Pope Francis’ remarks on gays, abortion, and contraception. The Pope remarked that, “the church has become too focused on ‘small-minded rules’” regarding these issues of today. Many applauded what they heard as a “message of inclusion.” One elderly Catholic lady said that the Pope was “spot on.” She went on to say, “As Catholic Christians, we do need to be more welcoming.”

No one has been more welcoming to a lost and sinful world than Jesus Christ who gave His life as a ransom for all and said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) That’s pretty inclusive IF one chooses to put His yoke on and learn from the Holy Spirit His way, His truth, and His life!

Not all will enter the Kingdom of Heaven as illustrated in the parable of the marriage feast as told by Jesus in Matthew 22:1-14. Jesus also said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Yes, there are rules, ancient boundaries, established by God Himself and most assuredly they are not “small-minded rules.” God’s words are words of sober truth and need to be obeyed in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

When we come to Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Savior, He will equip us and enable us to overcome all of our ungodly ways and habits and transform us into His glorious image. (Romans 12:2)

Remember, there is inclusion for the faithful and obedient and exclusion for the unfaithful and disobedient.

This sermon is not about fighting or war, as we know it. I’m talking about the reality of the spiritual warfare for your soul. And even if Jesus already owns your soul, the spiritual battles still continue in order to confuse you, weaken you and, as God puts it, “rob, kill and destroy” you. Whew, that’s some enemy we are fighting.

Satan is a “no holds barred”, evil and brutal enemy who is supernaturally determined to either own or destroy all that God has made…so you cannot take a knife to this gunfight! This spiritual war (that I fear our country is losing) cannot be fought with the weapons of this world but with the heavenly weapons of God that have divine power to demolish all strongholds. Trust God; let Him lead you in every thought, word and deed, for He has been leading this fight since the beginning. Onward Christian soldiers! John 14:27, Isaiah 30:15, 2 Corinthians 10:4

We will look at three huge points noted in Romans 1:16-32:

• The gospel is a roadmap to salvation
  
• All mankind is without excuse for not believing Him because God has revealed Himself through what He has made
  
• Disobedience =  Disaster
  

In these verses, God encourages us, but also warns us of the dangers of disobedience. You could say it boils down to…disobedience = disaster. Don’t go there!

Through His creation of dogs and other animals who find a kinship with mankind, the Lord gave us some wonderful examples of how we should live. There is a direct lesson in love, loyalty and patience found in these beautiful creatures that we can learn and follow.

Open your heart to God’s love and be a willing student. Like Christ, we should have a servant’s attitude born out of love. But, as humans, we are often weak. Rather than trust our God-given instincts and directions, we often go against them and selfishly serve only ourselves. Let the Master teach you the ways you can glorify and honor Him. Trust, honor, love and obey our Master Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose.”

[Be sure to view the video below that was referenced in Pastor Ted's message.]

In the Book of Revelation, God gives some messages to the “churches”, meaning the “called out” ones…not the buildings! Many people glean much information about the end times and its prophecies from that book, but tonight we shall cover some of God’s conversations on what He has observed…sort of His assessment of His followers. Hold on to your hats, it’s not pretty!

Revelation 2-3 compiles a listing of what God has seen in each of the churches in the different areas of the ancient empire. It is best not to be seen only as a report card on what happened long ago, but rather as a teaching tool, if not an outright warning, of what is still going on today.

I thank God He is not a vindictive and mean entity, for this assessment is pretty accurate; and, yet, He has not annihilated us. Rather, He wants to teach us and guide us out of our broken nature and into His marvelous light…to a better life, with Him eternal.

I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to listen up right about now!