When God created the human race He took a chance … He gave us choice. And when we have a choice, there is a chance that the wrong choice will be made. And indeed, Adam and Eve listened to Satan and as a result each of us are born with a sin nature. But we should not be too rough on Adam and Eve … we have all made poor choices.

God also gave us a redeemer! His name is Jesus. Jesus, as you know, is the Son of God, of very nature God! He set aside His Godly power, according to Philippians 2, and became a man so that He could experience the temptations that we face. However, He did not sin! Therefore He was able to die for our sins. His resurrection from the dead proved that He had power over death, hell and the grave! Our redemption is paid for … we just have to receive the gift!

He passes that godly power on to those who receive Him as their Lord and Savior. We can be full of the Holy Spirit and walk in the anointing of God at all times if we will pay the price of commitment to God! But there is a battle on for your soul. Just because we have received Jesus as Savior and Lord does not mean that the battle is over. In fact, it may have just begun! When we get saved, we are forgiven for our sins and our spirits are renewed. However, we still have a wicked sinful nature. And that nature will bug us off and on for many years to come.

"Wicked?" you ask. "Me, wicked?" Well, no, you are not a wicked person, but you have a tendency to sin … the fallen human nature. And turned loose, it would be wicked. Wickedness in the heart of mankind is the result of the fall. But it can be conquered if we will watch our hearts and mind and be careful what we allow ourselves to think about and be … thus our title for today … "How Is Your Heart?"

For perspective on our Revelation verses for today, let’s start by looking at Genesis 6:5-8.

The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.

So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them."

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:5-8

Someone has said, "The more things change, the more they remain the same." So 'way back there in Genesis God faced a problem. He started over with Noah and his family, but the difficulty plagues God all the way through to the end! Revelation 2:2 states, "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false."

Ultimately, judgment comes. God is patient and kind, but He will judge sin! We can either roll the punishment over on Jesus, or we can take the punishment ourselves. It’s our choice! God prefers that we let Jesus bear the pain and sorrow for our sins. May I respectfully suggest that we let Him?

Revelation 9:13-21

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. It said to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.

The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The sixth angel releases four angels; these must be evil angels or demons, since holy angels are not bound. They are let loose to kill one-third of the world’s population. They are released from the river Euphrates. In Old Testament history, the Euphrates area symbolized a military invasion by which God brings judgment.

Bible interpreters differ widely as to the meaning of the two hundred million mounted troops. (200,000,000)

1. Some say that they represent demon like evil spirits from the Abyss under the four angels (verse 14).

2. Others see the mounted troops as representing many armies gathered for battle.

Verse 18 mentions FIRE, SMOKE AND SULFUR. John saw a reminder of God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. These words are God’s warning that those who indulge in the sinful ways of Sodom will also experience Sodom’s judgment.

Verse 20 states, "THEY STILL DID NOT REPENT." Even God’s judgment does not bring people to repentance! This demonstrates the depth of human depravity and its love for sinful pleasure. Jeremiah 17:9, 10 are very sobering verses: "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 'I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.' "

1. The worship of demons, participation in spiritism and participation in the occult and magic (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20)

Magic arts will be greatly revived in the last days before and during the tribulation period. (Revelation18:23; 21:8; 22:15; 1 Timothy 4:1)

Magic arts are associated with the occult, which includes contact with the dead, supernatural powers, paranormal energies or demonic forces in order to gain power to manipulate or influence things or people. The use of drugs may be involved with magic arts.

Always remember that God loves you … He loves you enough to work with you so that you can make it to heaven. The gift is there … and the choice is there. Sometimes Satan tells us that we have sinned too much to ever get forgiveness. Don’t you believe it! Martin Luther wrote, "Our Lord God must be a pious man to be able to love rascals. I can't do it, and yet I am a rascal myself." -- Martin Luther, "Martin Luther--The Early Years," Christian History, no. 34.

We control ourselves – our hearts and our souls – by our thoughts. Every wonderful invention and comfort we have today began as an idea in someone’s thoughts. Padded pews, beautiful church, shoes, glasses, chewing gum, computers, telephones. Everything started as a thought.

Failures also begin as a thought. Hitler once got an idea that he was a leader – but things got out of control. Crime sprees, murders, hate, etc., all have their beginnings as stupid thinking!

If we will learn to listen to God … if we will set a high standard for our lives, it will make a difference in how our lives turn out!

MANY PEOPLE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THEIR LIVES. How can you or I guarantee success?

Tom Friends of The New York Times asked coach Jimmy Johnson what he told his players before leading the Dallas Cowboys onto the field for the 1993 Super Bowl.

"I told them that if I laid a two-by-four across the floor, everybody there would walk across it and not fall, because our focus would be on walking the length of that board. But if I put that same board 10 stories high between two buildings, only a few would make it, because the focus would be on falling."

Johnson told his players not to focus on the crowd, the media, or the possibility of falling, but to focus on each play of the game as if it were a good practice session. The Cowboys won the game 52-7.

A Christian must not focus on what people think, but only on what is "excellent or praiseworthy" (Philippians 4:8). Steve Chandler in 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself; Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.

Let me close by challenging each of us to examine our lives in the light of the fact that one of these days this life will be over. The death rate is still 100%. Sooner or later each of us will personally face God.

Remember: The quality of your life will be determined by the amount of time you spend alone with God in reading, praying, and planning.

Let's go for the gold! The real Gold!

We're not ready for the seventh angel yet. First, read about another angel, the one with the little scroll, in Assurance from God.