Turning Point

By Pastor Bob Rasmussen

Welcome to those watching online, whether it is Facebook, YouTube, CWM, our website, or Roku – welcome!

What a beautiful day out yesterday and today, amen. I love this weather. Yesterday, we celebrated our granddaughter Prestyn’s first birthday, and the weather was perfect. This is also great weather for sleeping at night, it is nice and cool out.

• On average, according to Google, people spend about two hours a night dreaming. Google also reported that some research indicates that 95% of dreams are unremembered.
• Usually when I sleep, I am out – not just because of the physical work that I do. I have a medication that literally knocks me out, so I usually do not have dreams that I remember.
• That was up until about two weeks ago. I have had some very elaborate dreams, a couple of nightmares, and some that I have a hard time finding a word to describe other than spiritual.
• Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I have definitely been sensing something shifting and moving spiritually through the Holy Ghost’s discernment. An impending move of God and of the enemy. I think we are seeing a manifestation of that specifically since the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

I know brother Eric pointed out another pastor, pastor Bill Schonemann. Pastor Bill was found in April of this year with his arms open wide and affixed to the wall. Fitted with a crown of thorns. Why? Because the man who killed him said the Pastor was deceiving his church by proclaiming Jesus as Lord, a false God.

Evil! The suspect was also quoted as saying, given the chance, he would kill every priest and burn down every church. And that he will be redeemed for what he has done. Horrific.

But since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we have seen a sort of move of God, starting even with Charlie’s memorial service. A worship service with attendees, surrendering in worship. Political leaders, time after time, at the podium, proclaiming Jesus.

And in one of the most powerful moments – a woman, still grieving, Erika Kirk, with tears in her eyes and mustering all of her fortitude, offered something that may make no sense to other people – she forgave her husband’s killer.

Since that time, I have read that Turning Point has received 120,000 inquiries to start new local chapters at schools and universities. That’s good for Turning Point!

But I had a dream, and I saw throngs of people heading to a Turning Point building. It was cathedral-like. It looked shiny, but something was off – it was a feeling more than a visible flaw.

• Then, as if from heaven, I heard – that’s not the Turning Point, I am. Jesus is the Turning Point! Amen, amen, and amen!

Repentance is the turning point to be saved. Repentance is the acknowledgement and action of changing, starting to be set apart.

There are many folks who, according to media reports, are returning to church. Others are questioning their beliefs and actually considering whether there might be a God, and trying to learn more.

Maybe we are finally at a turning point in our country where there will be an awakening.

• 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Yes, that was a promise given to Israel, but I think it applies to anyone who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. Amen?

So with some of that in mind, I want to give a miniature Cliff Notes version of the bible for those that might be looking, with some commentary on some of it, where I see the most objections.

It is funny that people will gladly pop whatever pill in their mouth, take some injection or a vaccine, but when it comes to God, they’re like – no, I’m good. When the truth is that they are sick, spiritually and there is only one cure.

And many times, they will come up with an excuse like some of the ones that I will share today.I want to be honest with you – I have used some of these to reject the salvation of Jesus

God’s Word does not need defending; it stands by itself. But there may be opportunities now as people are looking, are seeking hope. That is indeed my prayer, that people would come to seek him.

And I also know that in this day and age, some might watch a video way before they make it through the door. We would love people to come through the door and let us pray with them, help them on their path, amen.

But the reality is this is a modern age, so I want to answer some questions as best I can with the Word of God and what I believe to be true.I’ll start in Genesis because, well, that is where it all began.

• Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

After these scriptures, it goes on about how God created basically everything. Now, some of you might disagree with that. You believe that there was some sort of big bang and that somehow, all of this came together from nothing.

I know pastor Jeff has a teaching on this, but how would an explosion generate a perfectly ordered universe? I know there are a lot of people who are way smarter than me, but really?

Just look around and see the beauty around all of us. They have those super-powered telescopes that scour the galaxy – have they ever found another planet that has life? No. They always say it could support life – then why doesn’t it?

Because God made this thing we call earth. Is it easier to believe a bunch of scientists whose theory isn’t even based on everything being correct because they had to guess? It is no mistake that the educational system only offers this in our schools.

No, God created the heavens and the earth!

• Genesis 2:22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

In Genesis, it says that God created man in His image. And the text I am sharing says He made a woman.

All of this self-identification and gender issues are all made up. I know that you may have been taught differently, but deep down in your soul, you know that there are only two sexes, male and female.

Maybe you are uncomfortable challenging people about it, because you do not want to offend. Well, honey, it is time to get offensive, now more than ever.

The thought of some boy going into my granddaughter’s locker room makes my blood boil. You cannot decide one day to be physically someone you are not. It is your genitalia; it’s in your genes. Wishing it to be does not make it happen. I am sorry if you are confused; confusion is the work of the enemy.

• 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Bob, are you saying that I don’t have a sound mind if I think that – yes, exactly, you are not thinking correctly. It is illogical! But I have good news, I know someone who can help, and His name is Jesus!

Let’s go, back to Genesis

• Genesis 2:22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

I know that the education system pushes something called evolution. God created a man and a woman, it does not say anything else. I do not have time to address all the problems with it, but luckily there is a place that you can go. Answers in Genesis. They have a ton of resources that will help educate you why the bible and science do not agree on this.

But I have always wondered, if it was evolution – and I used to believe in that. Why has man not changed anymore?

I remember I had a pain in my side – not from the ladder, but my appendix. It hurt so bad I went to the ER and they had to perform an emergency surgery before my appendix burst. Thank goodness.

But if we are evolving, why do we have something that can kill us.? And why can we live without it? For sure I will ask Jesus about that one, but take it a step further. Why do we consistently have 10 fingers and 10 toes? Why don’t I have an extra hand? I know I could use one, Doug could use one – he would definitely be able to play more drums!

Why doesn’t pastor Jeff have my hair? And why don’t I have his muscles? So many questions that make me wonder about evolution.

And this verse:

• 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

This is the definition of marriage given to us by our Lord. It is the formula that He created for marriage. It is also logical, because two men cannot make a baby and two women cannot make a baby. If you like to use science to discount the Word of God, you can’t just throw it out because it fits your narrative here.

The narrative of our life was handed down by our creator, which is why we as a people cling to it, amen?Our church should not have to have an opt out for marriage that is not within the Word of the Lord

• SECTION 7: Marriage
  • 1 We believe that Christian marriage is a sacred institution ordained of God for the happiness of mankind and the propagation of the race. It is the spiritual and physical union of one man and one woman. Genesis 2:21-24
    • a) Any licensed minister reserves the right to refuse to perform a marriage ceremony to anyone.

It breaks my heart that we have that language. I love marrying people. I have had the honor and the privilege to marry 2 of our children. Jeff and Mike many more – but I know that none of us, none of us – want to say no – unless it is outside of what God has declared.

Another subject I hear a lot as to reason why not to believe in God and why God is such a meanie is found in Genesis as well.

In Genesis chapter 4, Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy after God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s offering.

And many will be like, What kind of God allows that or does that? And the answer is pretty simple, He gave His creation, us, free will. Fratricide, the name given when a person kills a brother or sister, is horrible. It was awful back then, and sadly, it still happens today, and it remains terrible. But God did not tell Cain to murder Abel; it is that simple. It is an event of mankind that people take to show how evil God is, when it is more about the history of the evil of sin and humanity, amen?

In this event, Cain is angry and jealous of his brother Abel. And God steps in here at verse, asking him, What is wrong? Why are you angry?

• Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

The Lord knows that there is something wrong, he is stepping in before Cain makes a mistake – reminding him that sin is sitting on his doorstep, a choice is to be made. He needs to make the correct choice.Well, Cain does not listen, as we know

• Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

Reminds me of what a narcissist would say. And immediately, what does God say?

• Genesis 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

As a result, Cain was banished and cursed to be a restless wanderer, a consequence that marked the first murder in history and demonstrated God’s judgment on unchecked anger and the severe ramifications of sin. 

You can’t just pull out the “look at the murder in the bible card” without what happens before and what happens after.

If God had wanted puppets, He would have made them. But our God is jealous, in that He wants people to choose to worship Him. He wants people to choose to honor Him by being obedient to Him.

There are things in the bible that were bad, because Mankind has had issues from the very beginning. As a matter of fact, the disease of sin spread so much that there came a point that God finally  had enough.

There was a man named Noah who was to build an ark. Noah was a righteous man who submitted to the Lord. He built the ark and gathered a large number of animals. That’s where answers in Genesis can help again, they have a full-sized ark as a bible event exhibition. But Noah submitted to the Lord and got everyone in the ark.

• Genesis 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

That is a lot of destruction, and some say that God is a mass murderer.

God saw the wickedness of man; it was so overwhelming that every imagination and thought of the heart of mankind was only evil. It was morally putrid, and the Lord regretted even creating it. Except for Noah.

• God is good. God is righteous. God is holy.

The judgment that befell all those people is mind-boggling, but that is how much God hates sin, amen? And after Noah and the crew found land and the world started repopulating, if not for one promise, we would be building arks to this day, I would think. Because the truth is, the heart of man in this generation may be as black as it was back then.

What was that promise?

• Genesis 9:11 And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

We should all be grateful for that promise, or many of us would not be sitting here today. In my business, working on computers with customers, the first thing I ask is did you reboot? If I were the Lord, I would have rebooted maybe a few more times, but thankfully, I am not Him.

But the power of that promise, with a reminder of the rainbow of that promise, is important to us. That is why I find it so repulsive that it has become the symbol for the LGBTQ movement. They take the symbol of the promise, and I quote ”to symbolize hope, diversity of the LGBTQ++ community, and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender.”

Some will not consider what Christians have to say about homosexuality and transgenderism. Others may re-interpret God’s will in his Word. They may follow false prophets and teachers who do so to fill seats in the church or to substantiate their own desires. Maybe it is to help justify friends who are gay.

Christians should not be labelled as “homophobic” – that word phobic means an extreme or irrational fear. No sir, our beliefs are based on rational consideration of scripture, not irrational fear.  Instead, understand what we actually believe, and know our intent in expressing it. It is most assuredly out of love. We do not share out of hate; it is really out of love.

Well, I did not make it as far as I had hoped, so I think there may be part two. Like I said, I feel there is a massive opportunity for people to find their footing in faith. I pray there really is a revival in this nation!

I have never felt more alive than when the Spirit of the Lord is moving. And I definitely feel that. But revival is not just worship events, amen?

• Real revival comes with a focus on Jesus.
• Real revival requires repentance and passionate prayer.
• Real revival is focused on the Word of God, a yearning for the Word and a burden for the lost needing salvation.
• I think genuine revival will yield salvations and people surrendering to the call of service and ministry. Generosity in giving for the work of the Lord.
• And most importantly, a manifestation of the presence of God through conviction of sin, healings, signs and wonders, and hallelujah, fillings of the Holy Spirit!

So, is today the day of your turning point, where you will submit to the will of God and repent? What will your turning point look like?

We encourage anyone watching to please come visit us. You can also send an email to jamjanesville@gmail.com. We can provide private bible studies, or we would be happy to start a conversation if you would like as well.