Imagine with me, if you will, what it would be like to live next door to a family with the fanciest house in town. In fact, the fanciest house in the country. These next-door neighbors of yours have everything: they live in a mansion, drive the world’s most expensive cars, have a fleet of private jets, and eat like kings. Yet, they don’t really work. On paper, they work less than half the days in a year, but even when they’re working, their performance is so poor that any employer paying any amount of attention would have fired them years ago. Still, they continue to hold their so-called “jobs” and are never held accountable for failure after failure.

One day, these neighbors of yours come begging at your door, hat in hand, with a very sad story about how they’re about to have their mortgage foreclosed. They admit to you that they’re utterly broke and that unless you help them, they’re going to lose their home and everything they own. But they’re very sneaky in the way they present their plea. In fact, before they leave, they have you convinced that they’ve actually come to HELP YOU!

You’re a conservative Christian, and you work every day from sun-up to sun-down. You’ve been very fiscally responsible. You work hard to pay your bills on time, you drive a 15-year-old car, and you watch every penny, giving freely to Christian ministries and those in need. As a result, you have a small “nest egg” put away for a rainy day when your family may run into trouble. Being the most generous Christian on earth, you give your entire savings to this next-door family, which leaves your own savings account now at zero. “I can always start over again,” you tell yourself. “This family is in need, and I will help them.”

Immediately, however, you notice something amiss. Your neighbors start throwing huge parties at their house. Upon investigation, you find they haven’t spent a single penny you gave them toward their mortgage payments. Instead, they’re spending it on parties, lavish vacations, prostitutes, drugs — and they’re giving much of the money to wicked organizations that you, as a Christian and a conservative, vehemently oppose. They’re donating to Planned Parenthood, Marxist/Communist groups, the LGBTQP+ movement, and the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and they’re actively supporting a radical transgender curriculum in your local public school.

A month goes by, and your neighbors are back at your front door, weeping openly about how they have no money. They’re completely, utterly broke, and deeply in debt. But this time, they show up with a pre-approved credit card application good for $100,000, and they’ve already filled it out and signed your name to it. They just came to your door to show you what they’ve done, assuring you that they desperately need the money in order to keep their household running. They tell you they’re sending the application in and that the credit card will arrive in the next two weeks — to THEIR house, in their name — but the bills will be sent to you. And somehow, once again, they convince you this is for your benefit.

Another month goes by, the same as the first time. They’re still not paying their bills but continue spending with reckless abandon. And now you’re getting notices in the mail that the credit card has exceeded the limit, and you’re liable not only for the $100,000 but also for the 25% interest rate as well as the over-limit and late fees accruing daily.

By now, it’s gotten to the point that YOU are bankrupt, yet your neighbors continue living their high lifestyle. They still only bother to show up for work less than half the time, and they’re still the worst employees imaginable, yet they still keep their jobs for which they rake in more in one year than you would ever earn in ten. But they’re still broke. You then find out they’ve done the same thing to everyone else in your neighborhood, yet they’re not even attempting to pay so much as the interest on the debt they’ve racked up.

Then, you discover they’re actually traitors, working hand in hand with our enemies and selling out our country. Some in this family are even dealing drugs now, engaging in child sex trafficking, and routinely sponsoring or attending sadistic satanic rituals — all the while collecting huge sums of money and lining their own pockets with it. They still don’t have their financial house in order, they’re deeply in debt beyond anything you could ever fathom, and they just don’t care. You also learn they’ve been illegally printing counterfeit money, and every law enforcement agency in the country knows about all of their many crimes, but this family is “untouchable.” There’s no longer a court in the land that would ever even consider their crimes, much less convict them. They own everyone.

Because of that, they’re now emboldened to do whatever they wish, with no accountability to anyone. There’s no limit to the evil they will do and get away with. Then, one day, you wake up and find they’re at your door with a long list of rules, which they say you must obey or go to prison. Handing over most of your hard-earned paycheck is among the least of these rules. They also announce that you will need to pay them for virtually everything you do. If you drive your car, you’ll be forced to pay them for the privilege. You were diligent in paying off your own mortgage, but you’ll still be forced to pay huge amounts of money each year to live there.

If you buy food, clothing, or anything else, you’ll be forced to pay for those privileges too. When you take your dog out for a walk, you’re reminded that you’re being forced to pay for the privilege of having a dog in the first place, as well as for the sidewalk you’re walking on and the shoes you’re wearing.

Then, one day, they call you up and tell you you’re not allowed to open the business you started from scratch and worked so hard over the years to build up. Others in your family are no longer allowed to go to work either. But it’s ok… they’re going to give you a small allowance to live on until you’re allowed to work again. But if you’re a business owner and if the company you built goes under after being forcibly shut down, it’s not their problem.

The next day, they come over and tell you that now you’ll be forced to wear a dog muzzle in order to be allowed to go out in public. If you don’t wear one, you have to stay home. They’ve now partnered with just about every “privileged” company in the country as well; so those companies now take their orders from your next-door neighbors, who have now become so rich and powerful that they literally control everything from the food you eat, to the home you live in, to the thoughts you are allowed to express in public. Then, they declare that you are to be stabbed with a shot that has a very good chance of permanently injuring you or killing you. YOU have no choice.

These neighbors continue to tell you that everything they’ve been doing is for your own good, and most of the town believes them. Oh, and not only do they control everything you do — they also openly spy on you, listen to your phone calls and private conversations, and they even claim ownership of your DNA now.

But they’re not really rich. In reality, they’re poor, blind, and naked, but they don’t have the sense to realize it. They’ve been living on credit all this time — in more ways than one. But now, having spent all the money that you and others in your town once had, they’re now using the credit cards issued by our country’s worst enemies. But our enemies are not so weak and far from forgiving. They’re demanding payment, but the neighbors are still broke.

So they make some backroom deals with our enemies. They hand over control of massive amounts of farmland and ports of entry and then start selling off private homes — just to pay the interest on their debt. They’re so desperate to keep the wolves away from their own front doors that they’re willing and eager to do whatever our enemies tell them to do — to US. For now, they’re not suffering at all. In fact, they’ve exempted themselves from all the rules they set for the rest of us. What’s more, they’re piling up even more “monopoly money” given to them by our enemies — for themselves, off the books, of course — while the official balance sheet has been in the red since long before you were even born.

Then the people of the town begin to wake up and start to say “enough is enough.” One day, the townspeople hold a massive rally to demand justice. But now, it’s too late. Hundreds are arrested and jailed — for daring to challenge the injustice. Others are persecuted and prosecuted for thinking illegal thoughts or having illegal opinions.

And the neighbors next door continue to host wild parties, eat and live like kings and thumb their noses at the “law” while imposing new restrictions and unjust laws on not just your town but the whole nation. After all, they’ve learned they can easily get away with it, and now that they’ve tasted power, they’ll do literally anything to continue to imbibe.

In 1981, at Ronald Reagan’s inaugural address, he stated, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” Indeed. Nothing the government does is efficient, cost-effective, or helpful to American citizens anymore. Our greatest enemies have become our so-called “public servants” — who enter politics with a modest net worth but somehow become multi-millionaires or billionaires within a year or two of their so-called “service.”

Meanwhile, our country mourns. I believe we’ve passed the point of no return. Short of a revolution in this nation, I see no way we’ll ever reclaim our God-given rights enshrined in our country’s founding documents and engraved on the very walls of the chambers where our “servants” strip us of those rights and load us down with ever-increasing, heavy, bone-crushing burdens. Our servants have now become our masters, or perhaps better stated: the inmates are running the asylum.

Now we have the “Inflation Reduction Act” — with a price tag said to be $740 billion. There’s no doubt that it will cost much, much more than that. Analysts across the board have stated that this new move by Congress will do anything BUT reduce inflation. Even those who imposed this monstrosity upon us are no longer talking about “inflation reduction.” Instead, they’re referring to it as “climate change” and “healthcare” relief. But friends, lies are lies. Climate change and the whole agenda that goes with that is a lie, and so is our healthcare system. Our “justice” system is equally beyond repair as the innocent are imprisoned while the worst of the worst criminals walk free and continue to party on.

Among the many things charged on this latest credit card are 87,000 new IRS agents. And not just any IRS agents. The new recruits are going to be hand-picked, and they must be willing to undergo firearms training and be willing to use deadly force against US citizens in their new careers with the “SS.” It was said these agents were only going to be looking at tax-cheaters who earn $400,000 or more a year. But you don’t need 87,000 new agents to accomplish that. They’re coming for you and me, friends. And now, they’re planning to come armed… even as they work hard to remove all our defenses.

Couple this with the now fully compromised FBI — which has steadfastly looked the other way regarding the crimes of Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jeffery Epstein, and the Biden Crime Cartel, to name just a few; our Department of Defense, which has now been authorized to use force to inject citizens with the Monkeypox stab — or any other stab of their choice; the CIA, which continues to perpetrate black ops and then roll out the “official narrative” to the public via the mainstream media, as they’ve been doing for years — and it’s obvious to anyone with eyes to see that our government is absolutely, totally, and completely corrupt to the core.

How do we rescue ourselves from such despotism? The answer is, we don’t. God can, and maybe He will, if we will sincerely repent of our national hedonism and apathy and the lukewarmness among professing Christians. But I believe we’re too stiff-necked as a people to ever bow the knee to the Almighty — until that Day when the “credit card” comes due and ALL knees will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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Audio CDs and text versions of this message are available when you call me at Wisconsin Christian News, (715) 486-8066. Or email Rob@WisconsinChristianNews.com. Ask for message number 369.

Psalm 37:4, Psalm 91:15, Isaiah 65:24, Jeremiah 33:3, Luke 11:9, John 14:14,1 John 3:22

Summary: We tend to pray for the salvation of someone we know, or for a job, or for the return of the LORD, or some other issue, and He answers it in a way that either we don’t expect or like. Let’s not forget that God is in charge, and His will overrides our ideals.

I want to share with you an insight that the LORD impressed upon me as it pertains to prayer and how the LORD graciously answers our petitions and requests that are presented before Him. You are probably familiar with the saying that He answers our prayers three ways: Either He will tell us “Yes,” “No,” or the one that honestly rubs us the wrong way because we live in an age of instant gratification, and that is the answer “Wait.” I would like to add a fourth category of answer to prayer. He will give you the impression that the answer will be, “Yes, but not in the way you expect.”

I want to address this category for the fact that when He does answer it (1 Corinthians 14:20; Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 5:12), we often tend to spiritually get bent out of shape because it was not answered in the way that we expected, and I dare say, demanded. I want to give you some conditions of successful prayer according to God’s Word, so pay attention.

We should have an attitude before the Sovereign of the Universe of contrition, or humbleness. We come before the presence of God with reverence, humility, and with the idea that we are approaching the Holy One who has made both nations and prophets throughout history aware of their sins and the need for redemption (Exodus 20:18-21; Isaiah 6:1-8; 2 Chronicles 7:14). We are to approach our God and Father with whole-heartedness, or the faith that what we petition before Him will be answered according to HIS Sovereign will (Jeremiah 29:13; Mark 11:24). We are to have the attitude of submission to His direction and that He is in charge of how everything will turn out in the end (Matthew 6:10; Romans 6:13; James 4:7).

When it comes to whether your prayers will be answered at all, ask yourself these questions: Are you at peace with the brethren? Do you hold anything against your pastor or elders that is really nothing more than pettiness on your part? Are you upset at your spouse or children right now over something that, in the end, to quote the title of a Shakespeare play, is “much ado about nothing”? Right now, are you harboring any “secret sins” that you hope will either be overlooked or forgotten?

Stop right here then and confess your sins before God, all of them (Numbers 32:23; Psalm 51:1-12; Mark 11:25; Luke 11:4, 17:4; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). Repent without hesitation and ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you here and now. Return to Him with your whole heart, make amends, settle debts, and ask your family and friends to forgive you of your attitude, actions, and words that compromised the walk with Christ you claim to possess (1 John 3:22, 5:14). Only then will He hear you and not before.

Now, I want to look at some examples where you might have earnestly prayed for, say, a job. That is a noble and selfless request. You want to provide for your family or yourself and earn your keep (Ecclesiastes 9:10; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:12). You want to be a good role model to potential co-workers and be someone who reflects an authentic faith that people would be drawn to and ask about the LORD.

Well, He can answer your prayer, and it will more often than not be a far cry from the ideal or dream job that you might have envisioned. For instance, if you’re a teacher, that prayer of being in a Christian school has turned into being hired to teach in the worst school in the district with a class full of delinquents in training. You can do one of two things; either grumble and quit or obtain some spiritual maturity and see your situation as a mission field where those kids can have for the first time in their lives a role model they can emulate.

Your Christian witness might be the voice of reason to one student who is ready to either quit or try to end their life because they see no way out of their situation. That kid who is hell on wheels with other teachers starts to pay attention because you show genuine care for his life and well-being, and he ends up being an honor student because you did not give up and look for an ideal situation that might have fit your way of thinking but not God’s directive for your life.

How about when you find yourself sweating in a factory, putting together items on an assembly line for 8-12 hours per day instead of being in that office job you wanted or that position that looked like the dream career that would be all you needed for what you saw as “success”? How did God answer that prayer for a job? Well, it could have been that you needed to “grow up” emotionally and gain some experience, not in your “ideal situation” but in the harshness of the “real world” with its problems and difficulties that may have never affected you until now.

God’s greatest servants, at one time or another, had to be “toughened up” by long sojourns in the desert, or seeing that the messages He told them to give to the people ended up ignored and hated, or that they were in literal peril for their lives, and even now undergo persecutions for Christ that might not end until He returns or death takes them (2 Corinthians 11:24-33; Hebrews 11:32-40).

Here is something to consider as you work and wonder how God can possibly put you in that hot, dirty factory, or by mopping floors in a local store, or cleaning up an old man who has defecated on himself in that nursing home you’re working at until “something better comes along.”

God Almighty sovereignly placed you in those “unpleasant circumstances” to be the channel of blessing some employer desperately needed, or that you were the answer to another believer’s prayer. You were the only other Christian there, and he needed another brother or sister in the faith to encourage and strengthen him in the hard times. Your presence may be the answer for someone who is searching for the meaning of life, or truth, and who is hungry for answers. He or she comes to you for help, and you end up leading them to faith in Christ because you began to see that the sweaty factory job that seemed so unglamorous at first was now a ripe field of souls ready for the harvest. The prayers and needs of others were graciously provided in a way that you did not expect.

What would have happened if you had decided to quit or fussed and instead ended up depriving yourself of the rewards that Jesus could have given to you if you had just been obedient and not acted like an immature and self-centered hellion because things didn’t go “your” way as far as answered prayer was concerned (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10)? I want to face the LORD with the satisfaction of having obeyed Him when I give an accounting of my life, and I hope you are of the same mindset.

Let me conclude with other examples of prayer that can be answered in an unexpected way. Let us say that you are a devout and godly young man or woman seeking companionship and possible marriage to the one whom the LORD has selected for you. That someone has not come into your life, and you keep asking God why the delay, or why hasn’t He provided the answer? Well, the answer might be staring at you when you look in the mirror. Your appearance, manners, weight, style, hygiene, and conduct might need some drastic improvement, or you need to gain some desperately needed maturity and emotional stability before you can handle a serious relationship.

My own life is a testimony to this situation. When I was a young man, I was serious about my faith, but at the same time, I was a fat, immature, irresponsible, indifferent slob with no real direction after I got out of high school by the skin of my teeth and a lot of last-minute study. I was lonely for the companionship of the opposite sex, but my approach and conduct towards girls was a combination of the charm of the movie star Ronald Colman and the goofiness of Jerry Lewis. Interesting, but not ideal.

My prayer was unexpectedly answered when I ended up working with My Dad over in the United Arab Emirates building oil rigs for 12-20 hours per day, six days per week in temperatures that averaged 110-120 degrees per day. I had been thrown into the “briar patch,” learning to figure things out for myself and to genuinely work for a living. Apart from my salvation, the time I spent there was the best thing that ever happened to me. I gained maturity, confidence, a sense of pride in a day’s work, good pay, weight loss, and spiritual growth with the guidance and care of a godly Anglican minister.

When I returned home to attend college a couple of years later, I soon met and married the girl whom God had chosen for me. Before my prayers could be answered, I had to undergo a season of purging and growth before that came to pass. That takes patience and faith, folks. Are you willing to allow the LORD to take you through the rough times in order to gain the rewards He has for you?

All right, here’s my last point. If you’re like me, you are waiting with expectation for the LORD Jesus to appear in the air and take us, His Bride, home to be with Him (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10). A lot of us have been jumping up and down in our backyards for “rapture practice,” and we keep looking up, yet it seems that He will never arrive, even though He promised in Scripture that His return is very soon. The days go by, the prophecies we read of in the Word come to pass, and we see the signs that He is nearby. Inside we cry, “All right, LORD, we’re ready! What’s taking you so long?” We get wearier with the inner nagging that maybe what we have believed about the return of the LORD might not be as close as we wish, and prayers seemingly go unanswered for the “blessed hope.”

Brethren, let me encourage you with this thought. He waits for all to come to Him for salvation (2 Peter 3:9). There is still someone, somewhere whom you believe will NEVER give their heart to the LORD, be they relative, friend, or someone who gets under your skin (such as an obnoxious ungodly politician or official). To your shock, they have their hearts opened and get graciously saved despite what you think or feel about them. That person whom you would rather see lick a crocodile than share heaven with you is the last person to be saved before the Rapture is triggered. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Your prayer for Jesus’ arrival was answered in a way that totally caught you off guard and ruffled your eschatological feathers.

He has a way of doing that, and we need to keep our hearts open to the fact that while He is coming, we also need to be about the master’s business more than ever to make sure that His will and not our wishes are done. The prayers we present to the Sovereign LORD God Almighty are answered, and His answers are always ready to amaze us and for Him to get the glory in all things.

Isn’t HE wonderful?

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com

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My book, “The Scope of Biblical Prophecy” is now available through Parsons Porch Publishers

(www.parsonsporch.com).

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Donald was born and reared in the authentic “Cajun Country” of southern Louisiana. He is a graduate of Louisiana College (B.A. in History Education/ Biblical Studies, 1984), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. In Christian Education, 1994), and Andersonville Baptist Seminary (Doctor of Ministry, Biblical Exposition, 2000). He has been in the Gospel ministry since 1986, serving as an evangelist, interim and supply pastor, hospital and rescue mission chaplain, high school and college teacher, and pastor in churches in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

In 2018, he began to devote his time to the rich field of internet and social media evangelism and outreach. In 2021 he became a member of the Oklahoma Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, using his skills as a writer to contribute articles and sermons to websites such as Rapture Ready, Sermon Central, and Inspirational Christian Blogs. He also writes Bible studies and curricula for churches in southeast and central Asia and Africa, the locations of which are anonymous. He can be contacted at: donaldwhitchard@gmail.com for inquiries, information, and speaking/preaching engagements. A copy of his resume is also available upon request.