Some might say that the title of this teaching is far wide of the mark. There could well be those who would say, “We are not nervous, rather, we are worried sick about the future.” Some might even go so far as to say, “We are scared to death.” That thumbnail being bitten in many instances has now gone down to the nub.

I sense that those who were acting casual about the future of America and of the world not so long ago, have now become concerned. And I sense too that those who have been concerned have now become worried, and that those who have been worried are now scared out of their wits. There is a shaking taking place not only in national allegiances and the world economy, but there is a shaking taking place deep in the hearts of men on an unprecedented global scale. We read in Luke 21:26,

“Men fainting from fear and the expectation of things which

are coming upon the world….”

In the drama that is life, even the followers of Christ at times look at and talk about Jesus Christ as the most peripheral of supporting actors. And to listen to us at times, it sounds like we are accusing Him of total non-support. The disciples of Christ reached that point in the midst of a violent storm at sea, when they awoke Jesus from His very at-ease sleep and said to Him in Mark 4:38,“Teacher, do You not CARE that we are perishing?”

There is an amazing and powerful story in the Bible that as a child I could never get enough of, and as a matter fact, I still can’t to this day. When my parents read it to us at the supper table or at bedtime, I didn’t want to miss one second of it, and as a matter of fact, I wanted them to read it slowly so that it would last longer. And more than once, I asked Dad or Mom to read it again. (It is a good thing when our children like to OD on the Bible, when tragically today they are OD-ing on everything bad.) It was one of the most awesome and exciting things that I had ever heard, and of course I as a young lad was struck only by the more colorful and powerful points of the story, and I missed some of the more subtle and perhaps most important points of all. Let’s take a look!

No pooch likes being firmly or scoldingly spoken to with the words, “Bad Doggie.” Dogs, like humans, much prefer being soothed with, “Good Doggie,” even though Rover here has chewed a hole in the rug, and knocked over and smashed a table vase that was a keepsake from grandma. I mean what dog wouldn’t prefer the luxury of being “Good Doggied” rather than being “Bad Doggied,” when in fact he has been a very naughty dog indeed. The caricature here of Rover the mischievous canine really says it all.

Over the past many months, the Holy Spirit has strongly impressed upon me five modern expletives that are rampant in our modern world, in American society, and even in the modern church. They have not been positive impressions, but rather, they have been very heavy, negative impressions from the Lord that would not let me go.

If the people of the world really thrill to what is happening to them or around them, they often exclaim with excitement, “Oh My God.” Have you noticed? How could you not? It is one of the most common mantras strangely enough in the unbelieving and God-ignoring society in this country. I can only speak for America, but I don’t doubt that it is very common in other countries and societies also. “Odios Mio,” in Spanish. “Oh Mio Dio” in Italian. “Ach Mein Gott” in German etc., etc. “Oh My God” in English.

What follows is a powerful lesson from Israel's history. The children of Israel had, by the blood of the Passover Lamb, come out of 430 years of slavery in Egypt. The Afro-American citizens of America can relate to this as no other people can. They are still slowly but surely coming out.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelites were approaching that very harsh, mountainous, wilderness area called Sinai. With that many people, there are always stragglers lagging behind, such as children, older folks, and the slower ones. Suddenly, out of the hills of the Sinai came desert terrorists known as the Amalekites. If you will, Amalek and his Ites. Amalek was the Osama Bin Laden of the Sinai. These terrorists did not attack the main body of the Israelites. They jumped on the halting, the weary, and the helpless young and old who brought up the rear. (Deuteronomy 25:18.)

A strange new Americanism some time ago arrived on the scene in our society which from the very first time I heard it, I found very frustrating and irritating. At first I did not know why there was that dis-ease in my spirit when I heard it.

I now hear it over and over again ad nauseum all over the place. I have noticed that my grandchildren and even my married children are using it as a response. You and I know how easy it is to become echoes of our society and conform to this world.  It is the word, WHATEVER. From the very first time I began to hear it, for some unknown reasons I developed a headache which pain began to travel down to my heart.

Nations Compared To God - Nothing But Flies And Bees

Sometimes God speaks to us in truths that are both bitter and sweet at the same time. He speaks to us in terms of both warning and comfort simultaneously. He has an unequaled knack in doing that throughout His Word. We hear Him speaking that exact way in Isaiah 7:18 where He says through the prophet Isaiah to King Ahaz of Judah, "And it will come about in that day, that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria."

There is an old expression that goes like this, “If you have seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all.” Or course, it may be true depending on what you are looking at, but it is more often not true and a gross over-simplification as well as a terrible lack of appreciation when it comes to the uniqueness and specialness of each individual.

But there is the flip side of that coin that is also being tossed around today which says, “If you look at them all, you are looking at all one and the same.” When it comes right down to it, it is the identical  thing that is being stated but in reverse order.