Participants: Pr. Lyle Albrecht
Series Code: RIN
Program Code: RIN000023
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00:59 Ladies and gentlemen,
01:02 the world is morally and financially bankrupt. 01:09 And one of those you know is directly connected to the other. 01:12 We have seen of late the result of arrogance, 01:17 together with thievery and greed beyond our imaginings. 01:25 We've seen greed from Wall Street to Main Street, 01:27 as so many talking heads have put it. 01:32 And we have in the last few days seen, not only our own economy 01:37 but those of the rest of the free world, go into a deep 01:41 black hole, a hole from which many say 01:45 we may never return. 01:48 I want you, if you will now please, to open your Bibles 01:51 to James chapter 5. 01:54 James, of course, was the elder brother of our Lord Jesus. 01:58 We believe that he was the pastor of the first 02:00 church in Jerusalem. 02:02 And he speaks directly to our subject matter tonight 02:06 in the final chapter of his book, the 5th chapter of James. 02:09 And I'm going to begin to read at verse 1 and read through 02:12 to the end of verse 6. 02:14 James chapter 5 verses 1 through 6. 02:20 "Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for the 02:24 miseries that have come upon you. 02:27 Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth eaten. 02:30 Your gold and silver is cankered and the rust of them shall 02:33 be a witness against you. 02:35 You shall eat your own flesh as it were fire. 02:37 Why? Because you've reaped up treasures 02:41 together for the... " 02:42 What, the middle ages? The dark ages? 02:44 What does it say in your Bible? 02:45 Which time? 02:46 Come on now. 02:47 "... for the last days, the end time. " 02:49 And so we see this as certainly apropos. 02:51 We see that, here, James was a prophet 02:55 and he's speaking here prophetically. 02:56 "You've heaped up treasures in the last days. 03:00 Look, the hire of your laborers you have reaped down in your 03:04 fields and you have robbed from them by fraud. 03:08 And the cries of those from whom you have stolen have entered 03:11 into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 03:13 You have lived wantonly and wastefully in pleasure 03:17 and you have nourished your own hearts 03:20 until the day of slaughter. " 03:22 Now we're going to go directly from here to 03:24 Revelation chapter 13. 03:26 Revelation, of course, is the last book in the Bible 03:29 for those who live in the very last days. 03:31 And we're going to see a very distinct connection. 03:34 Revelation chapter 13 and I'm going to take up reading 03:37 at verse 15 and read through to the end of verse 17. 03:41 Revelation 13 contains the most awesome warning, I believe, 03:44 to be found anywhere in God's word. 03:46 And it's the warning regarding the beast and his mark 03:50 in the end times. 03:51 Follow while I read Revelation 13:15 and following. 03:56 "He had power to give life to the image of the beast, 03:58 that the image of the beast should both speak 04:00 and cause as many as would not worship the image 04:03 that they should be... " 04:04 Now you tell me what it says in your Bibles. 04:07 "... they should be killed. " Thank you. 04:10 That they should be killed. 04:12 "And he caused all, small and great, rich and poor, 04:14 free and bond, to receive a mark either in their right hand 04:17 or in their foreheads, and no man could buy or sell 04:21 unless he have the mark or the name of the beast 04:23 or the number of his name. " 04:24 And then the final verse, the 18th says, "Here is wisdom. 04:27 Let him that understands count the number of the beast, 04:30 for it is the number of a man and that number is 666." 04:39 Thirty years ago, I began to preach a message like this 04:43 from the book of Revelation that there was coming 04:45 an economic crisis. 04:48 I preached that there was going to, one day, if we could 04:51 trust our Bibles at all, be in this country 04:53 an economic dictatorship. 04:55 And I preached it by faith alone, 04:58 because you couldn't see it really out on the horizon of 05:01 the business world or the religious world or otherwise. 05:04 I preached it by faith alone. 05:06 And there were many folks who were repulsed. 05:08 I got letters, I got emails, I got on one occasion 05:11 a death threat. 05:12 "You're not a loyal American. 05:15 You're a scare monger. 05:17 I mean, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave. 05:19 And an economic dictatorship? Horrors? Never, Never. " 05:24 Now we've seen a lot change in the last 30 years. 05:27 We have seen the greatest change, I believe, of those 05:30 30 years in the last 30 days. 05:36 A worldwide economic dictatorship. 05:42 I've been to 62 countries of the world. 05:45 It's been my happy privilege to preach in many of them, not all. 05:49 But I have discovered where I've fellowship with God's people, 05:52 a feeling that wherever you are, if for instance 05:57 you're in Germany, the folks sort of feel like 06:00 if you have a Bible different from a German Bible, 06:02 you have a phony. 06:04 I discovered the same thing to be true in Italy 06:06 that many Christians there felt like if you didn't have an 06:09 Italian language Bible, you had kind of a phony Bible. 06:12 I have discovered that here in the United States there are 06:14 lots of folks who feel like if you don't have an 06:16 old King James, you have kind of a phony one. 06:18 Well I've got news for you. 06:19 I love it and that's what I have here, but God didn't speak 06:22 the King James language either. 06:25 The point that I'm attempting to make just now is this. 06:29 The Bible is not only for Germans, is it now. 06:32 The Bible is not only for Italians, 06:34 it's not only for Americans, it is for all of God's people. 06:39 Our Lord Jesus, just before he ascended, gave the final 06:42 marching order to the church and said, "Go ye into... " 06:46 Where now? Help me. 06:47 Moses Lake, but also Montpelier, right? 06:50 Yeah. 06:51 Moses Lake and Minneapolis. 06:53 Go to Moses Lake and go into all the world and preach the gospel 06:57 and then shall the end come. 06:59 This is a book with a universal message. 07:02 The warnings, therefore then, of the end times 07:05 are for all of God's people. 07:06 An economic dictatorship prophesied in God's word 07:09 is not only for Americans, but it for Germans 07:13 and it is for Italians and it is for the folks who 07:15 live in the jungles. 07:16 It is for everybody. 07:19 Now, when 30 years ago I began to suggest this idea, 07:22 as I say, it took a lot of faith on my part. 07:26 Thirty years ago, there were so many different moneys. 07:31 I remember the first time I went to Europe, I went 07:33 on a 32 day junket. 07:34 In those 32 days, I believe we were in 25 different nations, 07:38 different countries. 07:40 We would run and take pictures all day long and 07:42 ride in the train all night long and run the next day and 07:45 shoot pictures and get bits of information to 07:47 illustrate our lectures. 07:50 And every time we crossed the border, the train on which 07:53 we rode would stop and officials would come through and they 07:56 check your passports and they would also then trade you money. 08:01 Your Deutsch Mark for the German Mark, 08:04 or your Swiss money for Italian money. 08:08 And it seemed like every 20 minutes we were changing money. 08:11 "A worldwide dictatorship, an economic lockdown 08:15 of all peoples, I can't imagine that. 08:18 We're so diverse, we're so different, there are so many. " 08:21 And now we're all so universally and financially tied together 08:25 that what one country does, as we've seen in the last few days, 08:28 the other major countries of the world must immediately do. 08:31 Either we all stand together or we all fall separately. 08:34 And one of the major economists 3 days ago called it 08:37 what I've been calling it for 30 years, 08:38 the domino effect. 08:41 And it's been about 25 years since I began to 08:43 use this illustration. 08:44 It's gotten around because I heard a news man 08:46 use it the other day. 08:47 I really believe it originated here. 08:53 If we sneeze on Wall Street, 08:59 over in Germany they catch a cold 09:03 and in Japan they have pneumonia. 09:08 Any of you folks remember reading a little article or two 09:12 from Fortune magazine, the name Steve Forbes ring any bells? 09:16 He's run for President of the United States 09:18 and his daddy was a multi-billionaire. 09:20 Let me tell you what he said 3 days ago. 09:22 He said, "The world, the economic world, 09:27 financially is in cardiac arrest. " 09:31 Those are strong words, ladies and gentlemen. 09:35 The world is bankrupt. 09:38 And it's not just my idea. 09:44 I read today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer 09:47 just this afternoon. 09:50 And in that newspaper it said that the city of Seattle 09:53 faces a deficit like it's never known before. 09:58 Over 2 million dollars just in the last few weeks. 10:03 You have heard the movie star Governor of California 10:07 in the last few days and weeks say, "We need to ask our 10:11 Federal Government for somewhere between 10:13 7 and 10 billion dollars to survive. 10:16 I have just come here to share with you folks this lecture 10:20 from the city of Portland and I know firsthand from the 10:24 governorship there, I've worked around the Salem area 10:26 for a month, I know that the state of Oregon 10:29 is swimming in red ink. 10:31 I know that New York City is bankrupt. 10:34 I know that the place that I have for many, many years called 10:37 my home town, Boise Idaho is in serious, serious 10:41 economic meltdown. 10:43 I want to give you just a little bit of an illustration. 10:45 Our home, Peggy's and mine, was north from Boise 10:49 in a place called Garden Valley, for 26 years. 10:52 We'd be out on the road 8 or 9 months of the year, 10:55 and then our summers we would take there and 10:56 our Christmas holidays we would take there. 10:59 And we would fly in and out many, many times a year 11:02 from the city of Boise. 11:04 To go to Phoenix, to go to Atlanta, wherever we were going, 11:06 we'd fly in and out of Boise. 11:08 And every time we got aboard the jet and lifted off, 11:12 or every time on the other end we would make our final 11:15 approach, that final circle to land, I would look down at 11:20 the exploding city of Boise. 11:22 When I was a teenager, there were 60,000 people 11:24 in the city of Boise. 11:25 And it was big stuff, it was big time. 11:28 Because where I grew up, we had about 3,000 people 11:31 during the tourist season, you see. 11:33 Big time. 11:34 And then in the mid 70's, the city began to grow. 11:38 And in the 80's, it began to explode. 11:40 And high-tech moved in; Hewlett Packard, 11:42 and micron technology and all of the related industries. 11:46 And the subdivisions were here and there and everywhere. 11:50 And it seemed like every single week, they were plowing under 11:54 the most fertile soil, I think, in nearly all of the world 11:57 and pouring concert and building houses. 11:59 And they weren't building shacks and they weren't building 12:02 anything like we lived in. 12:03 They were building mansions. 12:04 And I said to my Peggy over and over and over again, 12:07 "I don't know where the money is coming from. " 12:10 I mean these homes, and I have well good reason to know 12:14 because one of my best buddies is in the cabinet business 12:17 there and he told me that nearly all of his work for 12:21 years and years was in homes from 350,000 dollars 12:24 to a million dollars. 12:26 Multi-million dollar homes up around Sun Valley 12:28 where I was born. 12:30 And I have said to my Peggy again and again, 12:32 "I don't know where the money is coming from. " 12:34 I mean, these folks are making a whole lot more 12:36 money than I'm making. 12:37 The city of Boise, 2 years ago, outstripped the city of Spokane. 12:43 For years and years, for decades and decades, 12:46 the big cities of the Pacific Northwest were these. 12:49 Seattle, number one. 12:50 Portland Oregon, number two. 12:52 Spokane Washington, number three. 12:55 But 2 years ago, Boise Idaho blew by Spokane 12:59 and they can't even see the dust any longer. 13:02 But the brakes have been put on. 13:05 We now know how those lower income folks and 13:09 medium income folks were getting into those 13:12 300,000 or 500,000 or 750,000 dollar homes. 13:18 They were being cheated in by Freddy Mac and 13:21 Fannie May and a bunch of crooks that were behind them 13:24 lining their own pockets while the American people were 13:27 being fleeced and they knew. 13:29 They knew that doomsday was coming. 13:31 You can only put so much air into a balloon, 13:34 ladies and gentlemen, and it's going to reach the maximum 13:36 and it's going to blow up. 13:37 And that's exactly what we have seen happen. 13:40 Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac had to be bailed out by the 13:42 Federal Government. 13:43 And then it was Lehman Brothers and then Wachovia 13:45 and then Washington Mutual. 13:48 You ever heard of a company called AIG? 13:51 Insurance and financial backing and all of the rest. 13:56 About 80% of the 401k's of the American people 14:01 are filtered through or owned by that company. 14:03 And that includes mine. 14:07 And it was not my choice, I didn't have a choice 14:09 about where my retirement funds went. 14:13 I talked to a pastor buddy of mine who's a bit younger 14:17 than I just yesterday. 14:21 I said, "What do you think about this economic mess?" 14:24 He said, "If it weren't for Jesus I'd commit suicide. " 14:28 I said, "Is it really that bad for you?" 14:29 He said, "I'll tell you how bad it is. 14:31 In the last two weeks, I have seen 33% of my 14:36 retirement funds blown away. " 14:40 The American people, in the last month have lost multiplied 14:44 trillions, that is with a "t" ladies and gentlemen, 14:47 trillions and trillions of dollars. 14:51 We weren't warned, you and I. 14:54 Nobody rang the bell that heard. 14:56 How about you? 14:57 I don't remember any congressman with any force saying, "Look, 14:59 we've got to put the brakes on this business. 15:02 We're being too free with our money. " 15:03 I don't remember hearing anyone say that. 15:06 Fifty years ago, there was a saying that went like this, 15:09 "As General Motors go, so goes the world. " 15:12 General Motors is just about to go under. 15:16 What does that say about the world? 15:19 Not only is General Motors broke, so also is Ford broke. 15:22 Chrysler Daimler Corporation is broke. 15:25 And there is much consideration now that they will all three 15:28 go together to try to survive. 15:30 And while these CEO's of these great companies 15:33 bankrupt the rest of the world, they line their pockets 15:36 with multiplied millions of dollars and walk away 15:39 and never even say, "I'm sorry. " 15:43 Golden parachutes, they're talking about it now. 15:46 I remember thinking the other day, it'd be a real good idea 15:49 if they took them sky diving and they forgot their parachutes. 15:54 It's hard, it's really difficult not to have feelings of anger. 16:00 And we're going to see that anger displayed at the 16:02 voting booths in just a few days now. 16:09 Crude oil. 16:11 One of the big expenditures of the people of the United States. 16:15 Crude oil, you've been hearing a lot about that. 16:16 But that's not the only thing that's getting 16:18 deeply into our pockets. 16:20 There is a Middle Eastern war that continues to rage 16:23 and we continue to spend every week, billions and billions 16:25 of dollars; Iran and Iraq. 16:27 And then we have the terrible storms; Katrina and Eric. 16:30 And we have the tsunami's out in the far east, 16:32 and there are earthquakes and fires and floods. 16:34 And the Bible says these are birth pangs. 16:36 You remember, we've talked about this before. 16:38 Both in Old and New Testaments you find this allusion 16:41 to the final days. 16:42 And it says like a woman in travail, a woman pained 16:46 to deliver a child. 16:47 That is the illustration. 16:48 And the suggestion, of course, is that the nearer the end time, 16:53 the nearer are the contractions and the more painful they 16:57 become until the final end. 16:59 And that's certainly what we've been seeing 17:01 of late, isn't it now? 17:03 You don't have to be a prophet in order to see it. 17:05 Revelation 13, a worldwide government control. 17:10 We know now that Great Britain started this pumping up 17:15 of the big companies when the British pound began to fail. 17:20 And they did it, what some are now calling, in the dark. 17:23 They infused into their government and into their 17:26 banks, billions and billions of British pounds. 17:29 And the British pound, by the way, is worth about two 17:32 of our American dollars. 17:33 About 2 to 1. 17:35 And then France said, "We're in the same situation 17:38 and we better jump on. " 17:39 And then it was Japan and then Germany, and then it was Italy. 17:43 Now again, may I transition 17:47 and begin by saying to you that Lyle is a loyal American. 17:51 I always have been. 17:53 One thing that my visiting the 60+ countries of the world 17:57 has done for me is make me love the United States. 18:00 There's no place like it that I have ever found. 18:04 And I'm loyal to it and I honor the flag and 18:08 all that it represents. 18:10 But while I'm a loyal American, I am a very concerned 18:14 American as well. 18:17 Since the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked, 18:22 we, ladies and gentlemen, we Americans have lost 18:26 more liberties than in the prior 200+ years. 18:33 Listen, this is our Federal Government. 18:36 "The FBI has described in a recent report it's effort 18:40 to analyze the potential for extremist criminal activity 18:44 in the United States by individuals or domestic 18:48 extremist groups who profess an apocalyptic view 18:52 of the millennium and attach a special significance 18:55 to certain years or periods. " 18:58 Now listen closely, will you please. 19:02 "Our report defines an extremist as one who believes in the 19:06 end of the world, the second coming of Christ. 19:10 Our report sites specifically Christian identity churches 19:15 and apocalyptic cults who fall within this description. 19:19 It, moreover, implies anyone who believes in the 19:22 end of the world and the literal second coming of Jesus Christ, 19:27 though they may not subscribe to the beliefs of specific cults 19:31 mentioned in our above report. 19:35 Draw your own conclusions," it goes on to say. 19:40 I can't mention a name just now, ladies and gentlemen, 19:45 but I know very well and very personally a young man, 19:49 one of the brightest minds I know that I have ever met. 19:53 Summa cum laude from college, cum laude from university, 19:57 and then invited by request to go to Colorado's 20:03 Air Force Academy for a PhD degree. 20:08 And he accepted the invitation and was in the top of his class. 20:13 And after his being there about 2 months, there was sent out to 20:17 every young man and woman a questionnaire that asked, 20:23 "Would you, in a time of crisis, be willing to take the life with 20:29 force of arms of your fellow Americans if directed by 20:34 a senior office of the United States or 20:36 of the United Nations?" 20:43 We were promised, ladies and gentlemen, 200 years ago 20:46 that our armed forces would never fire upon Americans. 20:53 City police and the sheriff's department, 20:55 that was their jurisdiction. 20:58 But we saw that change at a place called 21:01 Ruby Ridge in Idaho. 21:02 I happened to be working over in Sandpoint at the time. 21:06 I saw it change in Waco, Texas when I was about 212 miles 21:10 north in Oklahoma City. 21:12 We've seen it drastically change. 21:15 During the time of our former president Richard Milhous Nixon, 21:19 there came what were called the Executive Orders to be 21:23 put into place at time of national emergency 21:26 and/or economic crisis. 21:29 I'm going to read a few of those briefly. 21:32 "A seizure of all communication media in the United States. " 21:35 Freedom of the press? No, No. 21:38 When Waco was burning, the reporters were disallowed 21:43 to be within 2 miles of what was happening there. 21:50 Who fired the first shot? 21:52 I don't know. 21:56 "A seizure of all electrical power and fuels and minerals, 21:59 both public and private. 22:00 A seizure of all food supplies and resources, 22:02 public and private. 22:03 A seizure of all farms and farm equipment. 22:04 A seizure of all means of transportation, 22:06 including personal trucks and vehicles of any kind. 22:09 A control of all highways, seaports, and waterways. 22:11 A seizure of all American people to work under 22:14 federal supervision, including the splitting up of families 22:16 as the government sees need. 22:18 A seizure of all health and education welfare facilities 22:20 for both public and private. 22:22 Moreover, we empower the Postmaster General 22:25 to register all men, women, and children of the United States. 22:29 A seizure of all airports, all housing and finance authorities, 22:33 and all railroads. " 22:34 And on and on and on and on. 22:37 The land of the free and the home of the brave. 22:54 In the last two weeks, ladies and gentlemen, 22:58 I have, for the first time in my years, heard fear in voices 23:07 and seen fear in the eyes of legislators, 23:13 of bankers, federal reserve agents, politicians, 23:18 and economists. 23:20 Fear. 23:25 And so the wise men of the world get together. 23:27 They met over in Paris a few days ago, the leaders 23:30 of the euro dollar. 23:34 They met again in the United States only just recently. 23:36 The solution? 23:38 Print more money. 23:40 Make more money available. 23:41 Give the American people more money. 23:42 "We're going to give them another $500. 23:45 We gave them $600 a while back and $600 before that, 23:48 and now we give every American another $500 or $600. 23:51 And you American folks, when you get this check 23:54 you go down and spend it. 23:55 You go down and you put a down payment on a washing machine, 23:58 you put a down payment on a car. 24:00 We're going to give you money and you go down and you 24:01 spend the money. " 24:03 What kind of a system solves its debt problem 24:06 by encouraging its people to go farther and farther 24:09 and farther into debt? 24:10 Help me understand this. 24:12 Something doesn't fit here. 24:15 We're the only country in the world that I'm aware of 24:17 that rewards its people for going into debt. 24:22 You cannot get at the bank on your savings account but about 24:26 a percent and a half, if you're real lucky these days, 24:30 in your savings account. 24:31 But on the other hand, if you will use your credit card 24:34 you can deduct that at the end of the year. 24:36 You can deduct all of the interest on all 24:40 of those credit cards. 24:41 Oh, we're being so good to you. 24:43 We're going to reward you if you go deeper and deeper into debt. 24:50 Some of you folks are old enough to remember 24:53 the first real depression here from the '20's and early '30's 24:57 when folks sat on street corners and sold apples or sold pencils. 25:01 But we've moved a long ways from that position. 25:05 And we have taught a generation now that if they 25:09 see something they want, they don't go to work and save and 25:12 put aside for it. 25:13 They take a club or a knife or a gun and they get it right now. 25:16 We have taught instant gratification, 25:19 not only to the babies, but to the seniors as well. 25:27 And then I'm going to further suggest that you folks join me 25:31 in taking every dime, I don't want you to go into debt 25:34 to do it, now understand me, but it's time we put our money 25:39 into God's work. 25:50 Folks called me yesterday and said, "We wanted you to go 25:56 this January to a certain church. 25:59 And we have to tell you that we can't have you 26:06 because we don't have the money. " 26:12 It's time to spread the gospel. 26:18 And Jesus said there'd be earthquakes. 26:21 And we're seeing them, they're increasing in their violence 26:25 and in their number. 26:26 But He didn't tell us how many there'd be. 26:29 He said there'd be floods, but He didn't tell us 26:31 how many there'd be. 26:33 He said there'd be signs in the heavens and all, 26:35 but He didn't tell us how many there would be. 26:38 He did, however, give us one absolute certain sign. 26:41 He said, "This gospel of the kingdom must go to the 26:44 whole world and then I'll be back. " 26:46 It's time we send the gospel out by every possible means. 26:51 Every possible means. 26:53 And like Abraham, it says he looked for a country 26:58 that was better because its builder and its maker 27:00 was our God. 27:03 Let's pray. 27:05 These are serious times, Lord. 27:10 And while we could fear, while some could possibly 27:15 go away with an attitude that causes them not to be able to 27:18 sleep, we have Your promise, we have Your sure word 27:23 that instead of being afraid of studying Your prophecies 27:26 we are thrilled because we know how the story ends, 27:29 we've read the last page. 27:31 And Revelation brings peace. 27:33 Jesus is coming. 27:36 He's going to create a world where there is plenty. 27:40 A world without crime and violence, 27:42 a world without greed, 27:44 a world without abusers. 27:47 Hasten the day, dear Lord. 27:48 We need You so desperately. 27:51 Answer our prayers, not according to our worth, 27:56 but according to our need. 27:59 For we speak from the abundance of our need 28:02 to the abundance of Your grace. 28:05 And we do it always in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17