Violence is a word that has become very prevalent in our
society today.  Violence has pervaded every facet of our lives. We
witness violence in everything we see and do.  

     The most viewed thing in the home today is the television.  It
is filled with violence.  The news programs let the viewer witness
the violence that is happening all over the earth, where the
murdered are thrown into mass graves for ALL the world to see man's
brutality to man.  Fifty years ago murder was almost unheard of,
except in big cities.  Now murder is an every day occurrence, and
it is hardly news any more unless someone kills a large number of
people, a mass murder occurs, or a celebrity is involved.  Only
then does murder get attention or wide news coverage.  

     Every form of what is called "entertainment" has turned
violent.  The movies are nothing but violence.  Each movie must be
more violent than the one before, with more explosions, machine
guns and more killings.  

     Music has turned violent.  Rock and roll, punk rock and acid
rock promote the message of violence to pervert our children by
warping their minds to think on sex, revolution, drugs, murder and violence.  

     It is hard to find a restaurant or store in which the customer
is not subjected to off-beat, out-of-tune perversion of what is
called music.

     Rock concerts have become scenes of violence where people are
trampled to death trying to get in.  Once they are in, the use of
drugs and the misbehavior of the human race is evident everywhere. 
Sexual activity is displayed openly and unashamedly.  All this has
become part of the violent culture that has replaced the decency
and sanctity that God has placed in His creation man.

     Newspapers and magazines are filled with the violence theme; 
the more violent, the more they sell.  With the violence is the
perversion that accompanies such articles.  Violence and per-
version go hand and hand.

    Another area where violence has taken over is sports;  not
only on the field of play, but by the fans, who in their zeal
become part of the mob.  Many are killed all over the earth at
sporting events which are supposed to be entertainment for those
attending.

     Men and women believe, that in order to be acceptable and
beautiful, they must be "macho".  The men disregard every sign of
manliness, chivalry and being a gentleman.  Instead they have
become crude, rude and unkempt, displaying every sign of the old,
beast nature that was created in man.

     The women, also, desire to act more like men than women.  They
show no sign of femininity or being a lady, instead they show
themselves to be loose, dirty, unkempt and available to any, and
all who would desire them.  This is all part of the violent scene
that is prevalent in today's society.

     This has happened in this nation and around the world in the
past thirty to thirty-five years.  It has happened since this
nation turned its back on God and did away with morality and
decency in the mind of the people.  This nation, and its people,
have become part of the "pepsi" generation, "if it feels good, do
it", and don't worry about the consequences.  

     Our justice system, or better termed our "injustice" system
favors the criminal, with no regard for the victim of violent
crime.  If they are fortunate enough to live through their
horrifying experience, they must live with it the rest of their
lives;  while the judicial system tries to find a way to release
the criminal, or at best make sure they get a reduced sentence.  

     The question has been asked, "How could this once Godly nation
become this godless, atheistic, perverted mess that it has become
today."  Homosexuals march in our streets, hold public office,
teach our children and stand in the pulpits.  How could these
abominations before God have happened?  It began when our Supreme
Court began to legislate against God.  

     They removed prayer from schools.  This, in itself, was not
the only crime against the children.  The real crime was the
removing of God from our children's thinking, outlawing God from
being displayed or spoken of, in any public assembly.  When God is
eliminated, violence prevails.  

     Today the cities are filled with gangs of children.  They are
considered the most violent of all the gangs that inhabit our city
streets:  killing, robbing, raping, plundering, pillaging and
destroying with no conscience of their debauchery.  This exists
because God has been removed from their thinking.

     When the Supreme Court legalized abortion as a constitutional
right, they opened the doors to the most violent acts that a
society could enact upon their people, and that was murdering their
un-born young.  Every natural instinct that God placed in His
creation man had to be overcome  in  their degenerate mind.  In
his letter to the Romans, Paul spoke of our day:

     "Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without
     natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:"  Romans 1:31

     Paul spoke of a people who would have no natural affection. 
Abortion means the mother and father are devoid of any and all
natural affection for the unborn life.  Paul also said they would
be unmerciful, showing no mercy.  When an abortion is performed,
the unborn child suffers great pain, no matter how soon the
abortion is performed after insemination.  No mercy is shown for
this unborn life, and violence prevails.  

     Violence has inundated our society from the oldest down to the
very youngest who are set in front of the television to watch the
violent cartoons which are no longer funny, but more and more
violent, corrupting the minds of our children.    God would not
have it so.   

     John the Baptist was the voice of one crying in the
wilderness.  John was only the voice of the "One" crying in the
wilderness.  Today that same "One" is still crying in the
wilderness of con-fusion and false teachings, where lies,
misunderstandings, misconceptions and mouths of false prophets are
heard.  God's people no longer hear the voice  of the "One" who is 
crying, "Repent ye:  for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  ***Matthew 3:2

     John was a useable vessel in speaking what the Spirit was
saying unto the false religious system of his day.  Today, God is
looking for a voice to proclaim what the Spirit is saying unto the
churches.  

     When John was in the wilderness baptising, some soldiers were
attending his baptism, and they asked John what they must do to
become acceptable in the sight of God.  John's answer was:

     "Do  violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and
     be content with your wages,"  *** Luke 3:14

     The soldiers of Rome were very violent people, trained in hand
to hand combat, and were very accustomed to the sight of blood.  In
battle they would be covered with blood.  So violence was their way
of life.  They were trained in methods of cruelty, to torture,
maim, and show no feeling or emotion.  When John spoke to them, "Do
no violence", these words were totally foreign to them.  To accuse
any falsely and to be content with their wages would be the words
of a mad man to a Roman soldier.  And yet today everyone who calls
himself by the name of Christ needs to heed these words.

     All who call themselves by His name are soldiers of Jesus
Christ, and they need to heed John's words in their lives.  Paul's
second letter to Timothy informs us:

     "Thou therefore endure hard-ness, as a good soldier of
     Jesus Christ.

     No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs
     of this life;  that he may please him who hath chosen him
     to be a soldier."  *** II Timothy 2:3-4

     As soldiers of Christ, we must learn to endure hardness.  The
word hardness should have been translated "hardship".  Hardship
means "to suffer evil, to suffer trouble and to endure
afflictions".  The "No Suffering Message" that is rampant in the
church today does not come from the Bible, but from man's desire to
receive the glory, not willing to pay the price to receive it.

     Paul tells us not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of
this life.  And yet most who are called by His name are involved
with "things", the cares and the activities of this life.  These
have no time to be involved in the things God has called us to. 
Paul gave this direction so we may be pleasing to Him who has
chosen  us   to  be   His  soldiers.   As soldiers of Christ, the 
words of John the Baptist are for us when he proclaimed, "Do
violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely and be content 
with your wages".  

     Most who are called by Christ's name would say, "I am not
violent.  I don't do violence."  The word violence has many
meanings.  It means "to shake violently, to intimidate, to be
harsh, strict or severe".  It also means "injustice".  Violence
means to do physical, ethical or spiritual wrong.  We can do much
violence with the tongue, and it can be more damaging than a 2 x 4. 

     An old saying states, "Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words can never harm me."  This is a total lie.  Those who have
been wounded by the tongue suffer much pain, and some are never
healed from the attack of the tongue.  Some people's tongues are
sharper than any sword or honed razor, and the damage they do cuts
deep into the soul, into the very spirit of its victim.  James
wrote:

     "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity:  so is
     the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole
     body, and setteth on fire the course of nature;  and it
     is set on fire of hell."  *** James 3:6

     The tongue is set on fire of hell, and it sets on fire the
course of nature.  Man's ways are misdirected by the tongue.  His
boasting, bragging and lies set a course he cannot, nor did God
intend for him to live up to.  The Psalmist wrote:

     "Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows
     to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:"  *** Psalm 64:3

     This whetted sword of a tongue does tremendous damage as it
shoots arrows that pierce the soul and spirit of their victims. 
When this happens violence prevails.  James wrote:

     "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect
     man."  *** James 3:2

     When we offend we shake violently, we intimidate, we are
severe and we do injustice to all who hear our misdirected words. 
When we do this we become guilty of violence.  Our words can
inflict wounds that may never heal, and can some-times be
spiritually fatal.  Jesus spoke of our offensive words:

     "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which
     believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone
     were hanged about his  neck,  and that  he were drowned 
     in the depth of the sea."  *** Matthew 18:6

     When our words offend, Jesus said it would be better if a
millstone were hanged around our neck, and we be drowned in the
depth of the sea.  When we do violence with our tongues, God's
judgment is severe.  

     We need to understand when God speaks of violence, He is not
only speaking of physical violence that shows man's inhumanity to
man, but he is also speak-ing of mental and Spiritual violence. 
Mental violence is the wounding of the soul.  Spiritual violence is
the wounding of the Spirit.  When one is wounded mentally, they
give up any will to accomplish for God in the flesh.  When they are
wounded Spiritually they cease to try to please God with the inner
man, and give way to the will of the flesh, forsaking all morality
and sanctity of life.  

     Those who are wounded in the Spirit believe that God is a
cruel, harsh God and that He does not love them, nor has He called
them, nor is His plan of salvation for them.  They do not feel
part of His kingdom, nor can they have a personal relationship with
their God.  This feel-ing comes from an act of violence that has
wounded their soul and spirit.  No matter how innocent, these  acts 
of the violent tongue may seem, they wound into the innermost being
of man.  

     These acts of violence can be in the form of condemnation. 
Condemnation comes from a condemning spirit and is not of God:

     "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
     in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
     the Spirit."  *** Romans 8:1
 
     There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
whose walk is after the Spirit, not after the flesh.  But what
happens to those who have not come to this place in God?  When they
are condemned, their spirits are wounded, and some will never try
to achieve their rightful place in God.  They get a dejected,
rejected attitude, with a "what's the use" mentality saying, "I can
never achieve in God anyway", and their wound is fatal.  An unruly
tongue has inflicted violence, and Spiritual death is the result.

     Another way Spiritual wounds are inflicted is by belittling
someone:  on who they are, how they dress, their station in life,
how they talk, how they act, who their parents are, where they
live;  the list is endless.  Belittling someone is an act of
violence.  It may be done in innocence, not  intending to in-
flict deadly poison into the victim's soul or spirit;  or it could
be done in jest.   The result is the same.  Violence has occurred
and there is a victim of a violent act.  These violent acts can
destroy those who are trying to walk in Christ Jesus.  

     When Cornelius was baptized in the Holy Spirit, Peter stated,
"I perceive that God is no respecter of persons,"  *** Acts 10:34. 
Paul wrote to the Romans:

     "For there is no respect of persons with God."  *** Romans
     2:11

     God is no respecter of persons.  But man is very much a
respecter of persons.  James wrote:

     "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus
     Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

     For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold
     ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor
     man in vile raiment;

     And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing,
     and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place;  and 
     say  to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my
     footstool:

     Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become
     judges of evil thoughts?"  *** James 2:1-4

     When we belittle a person because of his clothes or station in
life, we are a respecter of persons.  Because of these acts,
violence presents itself and inflicts wounds to that person's soul
and spirit.  These are evil thoughts that come from a wicked heart.

     "The Lord trieth the righteous:  but the wicked and him
     that loveth violence his soul hateth."  *** Psalm 11:5

     God always tries the righteous, but the wicked and those who
love violence, His soul hateth.  Those who inflict violence are
wicked, and God will judge them as He judges all wickedness.  King
Solomon wrote:

     "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life:  but
     violence covereth the mouth of the wicked."  *** Proverbs
     10:11

     What comes out of our mouths is either life or death.  The
righteous speak life, the wicked speak death.  Our words determine 
our  thinking patterns.  Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, "Out of the 
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh," *** Matthew 12:34.  
We speak what is in our mind, words of life or words of death.  
When we speak evil, violence covers our mouths.  Violent words 
destroy.  Words of life edify.

     There is another word that goes hand and hand with violence
and that is vengeance.  Another word for vengeance is revenge. 
Revenge and vengeance are the most destructive emotions in the make
up of man.  To get even is a basic emotion, and it is one emotion
that is the most difficult to overcome.  It is part of the old
beast nature, and it is the food that violence feeds upon.  The
Psalmist David wrote:

     "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man:  preserve me from
     the violent man;"  *** Psalm 140:1

     The evil man and the violent man are the old man nature, and
our prayer should be, as David's, "God deliver us from the evil man
and the violent man who dwells within each of us that  seek
vengeance and revenge.

     When we are wronged, the new man that is created in
righteousness and true holiness is the man that will love and
forgive.  But until we are delivered from the old, evil man, and
the man of violence, that new man  cannot  emerge.  The 
"get even" emotion has not been overcome in that life.

     One of the most common sayings today is, "I don't get mad, I
get even".  If the "get even" emotion is not dealt with, it will
always lead to violence, either physical violence, mental violence
or spiritual violence.

     In today's society when one is wronged, their only thought is
to get a lawyer and sue someone.  This is part of the old man's
"get even" attitude, seek-ing vengeance at someone else's expense. 
This attitude keeps the courts full, and lawyers rich.  Paul asked
the question, 

     "...Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be
     defrauded?"  *** I Corinthians 6:7b.  

     Why will we not allow oursevles to be defrauded?  It is
because that old man and his "get even" attitude has not been
brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.  When we are wronged
anger arises, and we are going to make the wrong doer suffer as we
have suffered.  Vengeance and revenge are sought, and we have
entered into an act of violence.  Paul wrote to the church at Rome:

     "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give
     place unto wrath:  for it is written,  Vengeance is 
     mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."  *** Romans 12:19

     We need to give place to wrath.  The word wrath is ORGE and
means "anger and indignation".  When someone's wrath or anger is
kindled against us, and we re-vile back, then we have entered into
the same realm of thinking  as those who are yielding their
thoughts and emotions to the spirit of darkness.  The old man
nature, the evil man and the violent man have taken over the
situations.  There is no well of life coming forth from the
righteous mouth.  We have allowed ourselves to become part of the
situation instead of rising above and overcoming in our trial.

     Peter was given the keys to the kingdom.  The Holy Spirit
directed Peter to write of Jesus:

     "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again;  when he
     suffered, he threatened not;  but committed himself to
     him that judgeth righteously:"  *** I Peter 2:23

     When Jesus was reviled, He reviled not again.  He is our
example of over-coming.  Jesus committed Himself to Him that
judgeth righteously.  Jesus  had overcome the old man nature that
is inherent in each of us who are born in the  flesh.  He  is  our
example of over-coming the old fleshly Adam nature;  the evil and
violent man.

     God, in His infinite wisdom, gave us His Spirit that we may
see and hear His Word.  He has revealed His desire and direction
for His creation man in the hour we live. Luke recorded Jesus'
words:

     "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in
     the days of the Son of man."  *** Luke 17:26

     As it was in Noah's day, so shall it be in the day of our
Lord's coming.  So, how was it in Noah's day?

     "And God saw that the wicked-ness of man was great in the
     earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
     heart was only evil continually."  *** Genesis 6:5

     Man's wickedness was great in the earth.  The wickedness was
in the earth, not on the earth.  The wickedness was in man's
thoughts and imaginations.  What was the result of man's thoughts
and imaginations being continually evil?  The Lord recorded:

     "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was
     filled with violence.

     And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was
     corrupt;  for all flesh had corrupted His way upon the
     earth.

     And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come
     before me;  for the earth is filled with violence through
     them;  and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." 
     *** Genesis 6:11-13

     The earth was filled with violence through the people.  Today
God's creation man is filled with violence.  Because of violence
man stands corrupt before God.  The evil, violent man is present in
everything man does and thinks.  His thoughts and imaginations are
continually evil and violent.

     In God's revelation in Genesis, ALL FLESH had corrupted God's
way upon the earth.  It was not man's way that they corrupted,
rather it was God's way that had been corrupted upon the earth. 
Because of this, man's way had become corrupt in every thought,
imagination and every evil work.

     "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."  ***
     Genesis 6:8

     One man, Noah, found grace in the sight of God.  God said of 
Noah that he was a "just man, perfect in his generation, and Noah
walked with God,"  *** Genesis 6:9.  Noah's name means "rest".  Today
God has a people who desire to enter into His rest, the seventh day
rest which lies directly before us.

     In the days of Noah, God had one man who found grace in His
sight.  Today, God has one man who has found grace in His sight,
and that one man is the corporate body of Christ.  Paul spoke of
this one man in his letter to the Corinthians:

     "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all
     the members of that one body, being many, are one body: 
     so also is Christ."  *** I Corinthians 12:12

     The man that God has in the earth today is His many, membered
body of Christ, whose complete desire is to put on the mind of
Christ.  These have allowed the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit
to change their thoughts.  They have cast down their vain
imaginations and allowed the new man who is created in
righteousness and true holiness to walk again in God's way upon the
earth.

     But unfortunately man's basic nature has not changed.  Paul
wrote to the Romans of man's perverted ways:

     "They did not like to retain God  in  their knowledge, 
     God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those
     things which are not convenient;"  *** Romans 1:28

     When man does not retain God in his thoughts, then God will
turn him over to a reprobate mind.  The word reprobate means
"rejected of God".  So when man is turned over to a reprobate mind
his thoughts and imaginations are continually evil.  When man comes
to this place, then the judgment of God will come, just as it did
in the days of Noah.

     Can man be far from judgment?  Can a nation who has turned
their backs on God be far from judgment when their man-made laws
state that even the mention of God is forbidden?  Israel was given
to us as an example upon whom the end of the age has come:

     "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: 
     and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the
     ends of the world are come."  *** I Corinthians 10:11

     God judged our example, Israel, severely.  Judah had a king by
the name of Manasseh who allowed the Sodomites to perform their
debauchery next to the temple of God.  It was said of Manasseh that
he filled the  streets of Jerusalem with the blood of the innocent. 
God had recorded in II Kings:

     "Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these
     abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the
     Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah
     also to sin with his idols:

     Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am
     bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that
     whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.

     And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria,
     and the plummet of the house of Ahab:  and I will wipe
     Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning
     it upside down.

     And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and
     deliver them into the hand of their enemies;  and they
     shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

     Because they have done that which was evil in my sight,
     and have provoked me to anger, since  the  day  their
     fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day." 
     *** II Kings 21:11-15

     Manasseh filled the streets of Jerusalem with innocent blood. 
Today we witness our nation allowing these same abominations.  Our
streets are filled with the blood of the innocent.  Abortions of
the unborn are performed in every town with the blessing of the
Supreme Court, the highest court in the land.  And as He did in the
days of Manasseh, God is about to wipe the United States plate
clean and turn it upside down.

     In ancient times when a plate was wiped clean and turned
upside down, it was the sign of rejection.  You would never eat at
that table again.  You were on your own.  All blessings and protec-
tion were removed.  This nation's plate is in the hand of the Lord. 
Will He set our place to eat, or will He wipe it clean and turn it
upside down?  I believe we know the answer.  When the richest
nation on the earth has become the biggest debtor in fourteen short
years, we have witnessed God's blessing being removed and His
curses have taken its place.  As God states, we have become the
tail and not the head, *** Deuteronomy 28:44.  Our violent way of life
has come up before God.

     Habakkuk was a prophet to Judah in the days of King Josiah and
Jehoiakim.  Josiah was the last king anointed by the children of
Israel before God alllowed Judah to be overthrown and taken
captive.  Jehoiakim was then appointed by Pharaoh Necho, King of
Egypt.  Habakkuk was much troubled about the violence and miscar-
riage of justice in the land of Judah.  Habakkuk cried:

     "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? 
     even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not
     save?"  *** Habakkuk 1:2

     Habakkuk's heart was broken before God when he witnessed the
violence and wickedness in the land of Judah.  Habakkuk was crying
out for God's people:

     "Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold
     grievance?  For spoiling and violence are before me:  and
     there are that raise up strife and contention."  ***
     Habakkuk 1:3

     The land of Judah [the people of praise] was filled with
strife and contention because of the violence that was in the
land.  Today our land is full of violence.  Strife and contention
exist everywhere.  Strife and contention still exist in the church. 
We witness those who are supposed to be becoming that new man in
Christ being a part of this abomination.  These all hope to find
grace in the sight of God in the day when His judgment fills the
earth, even though they have allowed strife and contention to
hinder their walk in God.  Habakkuk described what we witness in
our judicial system today:

     "Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go
     forth:  for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; 
     therefore wrong judgment proceedeth."  *** Habakkuk 1:4

     The law is slacked, favoring the criminal,  the innocent
suffer and judgment never comes forth.  Habakkuk cried, "The wicked
compass the righteous".  Everything that is righteous has been
twisted and turned to evil.  When a righteous person expects moral
behavior, they are called "old-fashioned, moral freaks, antiquated
and out-dated".  When a righteous person insist that their children
grow up to be moral, decent, respectful young people, they are told
they are too hard on them, and that they are only young once;  let
them do as they want.  This warped mentality has caused pre-marital
sex to become rampant which leads to abortion.  Many unmarried
mothers do not even know who the fathers of their children are. 
This has created a sense of violence in the children, leading to an
uncontrollable  outbreak of teenage suicide.  Suicide is the most
violent act one can commit on one's self.  The prophet Isaiah
pronounced a woe upon today's mentality:

     "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;  that
     put darkness for light, and light for darkness;  that put
     bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"  *** Isaiah 5:20

     Habakkuk stated, "Wrong judgment proceedeth".  Today those who
call good evil and evil good have put darkness for light and light
for darkness.  They have allowed the spirit of darkness to hinder
their sense of judgment, and because of this their ways have been
perverted before God.

     Jesus is, was and always will be the Light of this world.  But
Jesus has been replaced by the spirit of darkness, and Isaiah
proclaimed "Woe unto them".  The prophet Ezekiel also spoke of our
day when he penned God's inspired words:

     "Make a chain:  for the land is full of bloody crimes,
     and the city is full of violence."  *** Ezekiel 7:23

     Our land is full of bloody crimes.  Our cities are full of
violence.  This has all come about because this nation and  this 
people,  as  Israel,  did not retain God in their thinking.  And
because of this God has turned them over to a reprobate mind. 
Man's ways, man's thoughts and man's imaginations are continually
evil just as in the days of Noah.  God's judgment came as a flood
in the days of Noah because of the violence in the land.  Peter
wrote:

     "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the
     word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth
     standing out of the water and in the water:

     Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with
     water, perished:"  *** II Peter 3:5-6 

     Even today God's people are willingly ignorant of God's
righteous judgment.  They choose to overlook the inevitable.  They
fail to admit, nor recognize that God's Word is true and that they
can depend on it.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever. 
God has not changed.  The only thing that has changed is man's
relationship to God for the better or for the worse.  

     If God judged the world because of the violence in Noah's day,
and if God judged Sodom and Gomorrah for their homo-sexuality and
all their sexual sin, how can  He  not  judge  this nation, or any 
nation which permits these abominations.  On the same note, if God
judged Israel whom He chose to carry His name, how can He not judge
the church that is called by His name.  Peter informed us:

     "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the
     house of God:  and if it first begin at us, what shall
     the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"  ***
     I Peter 4:17

     God will judge His house first, and that judgment has begun. 
Peter asked, "What will be the end of them that obey not the gospel
of God?  Those who obey not the gospel have become violent.  Their
mouths have become violent, and many times their actions are
violent.  These violent actions and reactions are prevalent in the
church today.  The prophet Zephaniah wrote:

     "In the same day also will I punish all those that leap
     on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with
     violence and deceit."  *** Zephaniah 1:9

     Our Master's house is our body, and many who are called by His
name have filled His house with violence and deceit.  The one they
have deceived the most is themselves.  We are informed seven times
in Revelation, chapters Two and  Three  to  hear  what the Spirit
is saying unto the churches.  The voice of the Holy Spirit is
crying in the wilder-ness today, "Repent for the kingdom of God is
at hand."


                     FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION


    *   THE CRIME AGAINST OUR CHILDREN
    *   A WILDERNESS OF CONFUSION
    *   WHOSE SOLDIERS ARE WE
    *   THE VIOLENT TONGUE
    *   THE WOUNDING OF THE SOUL
    *   THE EVIL AND VIOLENT MAN
    *   THE MAN WITH NO GUILE
    *   THE JUST AND PERFECT MAN
    *   JUDGMENT ON THE HOUSE OF GOD



Questions

1.  What has now become an every day occurrence that was almost
    unheard of fifty years ago? 

2.  Name something which promotes the message of violence and
    perverts our children's minds to think on sex, revolution, drugs,
    murder and violence.  

3.  Does our justice system favor the criminals or the victims of
    crime? 
 
4.  What prevails when God is eliminated?

5.  What are the most violent acts a society can enact upon its
    people?        

6.  As soldiers of Christ, what must we learn to do? 

7.  What is one of the messages prevalent in todays church that
    does not come from the Bible? 

8.  What does the word "violent" mean?  

9.  What did Jesus say would be better than speaking words that
    offend His innocent people? Matthew 18:6


10.  _________________ someone is an act of violence. 

11. Is God a respecter of persons? Romans 2:11

12. If words of life edify, what do violent words do? 

13. What is another word for "vengeance"?      

14. What did Jesus overcome that is inherent in each person who is
    born of the flesh? 

15. Who is the one man today who has found grace in God's sight?  

16. When man does not retain God in his thoughts, what will God
    turn him over to? Romans 1:28

17. When a plate was wiped clean and turned upside down in ancient
    times, what was it a sign of? 

18. What is the most violent act one can commit on one's self? 

19. Why did God's judgment come in the days of Noah? 

20. What words are cried out by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness
    of today? 


ANSWER  KEY

1.  What has now become an every day occurance that was almost
    unheard of fifty years ago?
     Murder


2.  Name something which promotes the message of violence and
    perverts our children's minds to think on sex, revolution, drugs,
    murder and violence.
     Rock and Roll, Punk Rock and Acid Rock music

3.  Does our justice system favor the criminals or the victims of crime?
     Criminals

4.  What prevails when God is eliminated?
     Violence
 
5.  What are the most violent acts a society can enact upon its people?
     Abortion or murdering unborn young

6.  As soldiers of Christ, what must we learn to do?
     Endure hardship

7.  What is one of the messages prevalent in todays church that
    does not come from the Bible?
     The "no suffering message"

8.  What does the word "violent" mean?
     To shake violently, to intimidate, to be harsh, strict or
     severe, injustice;  to do physical, ethical or spiritual wrong

9.  What did Jesus say would be better than speaking words that
    offend His innocent people?   Mat 18:6

    He said, "It would be better if a millstone were hanged around
    our neck, and we were drowned in the depth of the sea."  Mat 18:6

10. _________________ someone is an act of violence.
     Belittling

11. Is God a respecter of persons?  Romans 2:11
     God is no respecter of persons.  Romans 2:11 

12. If words of life edify, what do violent words do?
     Destroy

13. What is another word for "vengeance"?
     Revenge

14. What did Jesus overcome that is inherent in each person who is
    born of the flesh?
     The old man nature

15. Who is the one man today who has found grace in God's sight?
     The corporate body of Christ

16. When man does not retain God in his thoughts, what will god
    turn him over to?  Romans 1:28
     A reprobate mind   Romans 1:28

17. When a plate was wiped clean and turned upside down in ancient
    times, what was it a sign of?
     Rejection

18. What is the most violent act one can commit on one's self?
     Suicide

19. Why did God's judgment come in the days of Noah?
     Because of the vengeance in the land

20. What words are cried out by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness
    of today?
               "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand"!


Vital Words to the Body of Christ 

Freely We Have Received, Freely We Give
E-mail:
Vitalwords@aol.com


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