Jim Bakker Show

Part 5

The automatic sliding doors were stuck in the open position and the flow of the people going in and out of the store seemed perpetual as Stan waited politely to slip inside. After waiting a few moments, he realized that most shoppers had long since discarded their manners as they made for the rapidly vanishing food supplies.

The large grocery store was dimly lit, as the juice dwindled and the battery-powered emergency lights dotting the walls. This store, like most modern grocery stores, drug stores, and department, had been built largely without windows to help prevent burglaries. It depended almost entirely on artificial interior lighting to brighten it’s aisles. Without electricity, the store became a huge, dark cave, with only the emergency spots providing any light at all.

Some people lit their way with flashlights as they attempted to find food, but most simply stumbled along in the dark, bumping from one person to the next, like a bizarre human pinball game. Several people tussled in the aisles, over claims of foodstuffs. A few actually engaged in fistfights, throwing punches wildly, flailing at each other in the dim light.  Civilization was deteriorating right between the canned goods and the macaroni and cheese. The store could not stay open much longer, but that mattered little; the food items most people were scouring the shelves for were all gone anyhow. More than a few brave souls purchased dog food in hopes that, if necessary, it would keep them alive until better sources of sustenance could be found. By now, Stan noted, even the dog food aisles were sparsely supplied.

The bread was gone; so was the milk. Empty egg cartons littered the dairy aisles. Most vegetable racks were vacant. The shelves where the canned foods were usually stocked were barren. Stan found a box of instant rice on the floor. Apparently someone had knocked it off a shelf and in the darkness, it had gone undiscovered. That and two dented cans of green beans were the extent of the food Stan carried as he made his way toward the long checkout lines.

“Oh, excuse me, ma’am,” Stan said, more from habit than civility, as he bounced off a grandmotherly woman in front of him. She had actually been the one to bang into him, but assessing blame in these conditions is as foolish as someone complaining about an open window on the Titanic while it was sinking.

“Quite all right, young man. Are you finding any food?” the woman asked sprightly.

“No, ma’am,” Stan replied. “Not much. And I have a wife and toddler at home. I don’t know what were going to feed our daughter.”

“Well, take this. The woman handed a loaf of bread in Stan’s direction.

“Oh, no! I couldn’t take your bread.” Stan replied, much to his amazement. “There’s no another loaf to be found anywhere else in the store. Believe me, I’ve looked!”

“It’s all right. Go ahead and take it,” the woman said sweetly. “You need it more than I do.”

“But what about you? What are you going to eat?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. My church is taking good care of me. I’m just here looking to find some food to help someone else. And I guess I found someone else I could help. “

“Your church?” Stan asked

“Yes, for the past few years, our church has been stockpiling basic food supplies to help our congregation and other members of the community get through times of shortages. Many laughed at our pastor when Y2K was hardly a bump in the road, but he was not diverted from his belief in preparing ahead of time. As the Bible says in Proverbs, a wise man sees the need and prepares for it ahead of time. So our church stays ready for an awful storm, a flood, or even an earthquake.” The woman paused for a moment, but it was long enough for Stan to notice the twinkle in her eye.

How can she be so calm in all of this? He wondered.

The woman’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Fortunately, we didn’t need nearly as much food as the leaders of our congregation had prepared for,” she said, “but it’s a good thing the church thought ahead. No one is poking fun at our food pantry anymore.”

“So your church is helping to feed you during these blackouts?” Stan asked, astonished.

“Oh, yes, the church provides food for about two hundred other people who live near our church property. We’re not eating fancy restaurant cuisine, but we’re surviving. A number of people are actually living in the church gymnasium. These stressful times have pulled our community together like never before.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” said Stan as he accepted the bread from the woman. “Are you sure you are going to have enough?” he asked with genuine concern.

The woman smiled at him in the shadows as they inched closer to the parallel checkout counters. “Thank you for your concern, but it is unwarranted. I’ll be fine. I have a good group of people around me. The church is just up the road from the grocery store.” The woman reached into her purse and produced a church bulletin, complete with a picture of the church, an address, and a phone number. Stan recognized the church immediately. He passed by it a thousand times before without giving it much thought.

“If you need help, please stop by,” said the woman joyfully. “We can always stretch the soup a little further.”

Stan was intrigued. Almost to his own surprise, he heard himself saying, “I’d really like to know more about your church.”

“Well, I’m on my way there as soon as I leave the store. Why don’t you come on over?”

“Maybe I will.” Stan replied, as he thought of Christine and the baby at home in the cold, with nothing to eat. “Maybe we will.”

Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 1
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 2
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 3
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 4
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 6

Part 2

Stan noted with concern that his gas gauge still worked accurately, as the indicator tilted far to the left, hovering precariously close to “E.”  He had planned to get gas anyhow, but he didn’t realize they were so low. This is no time to be out of gas, Stan fumed, frustrated that Christine apparently hadn’t filled up the last time she was out. Why can’t that woman get it through her head—gas isn’t always available these days! We have to get it when we can. Stan whipped the car out of the apartment area and headed toward his usual service station. Even at this hour, the roads leading toward L.A. were congested.

Sure enough, as the gas station came into sight, the right lane of traffic slowed to a crawl, then a stop. Cars lined the roadside for nearly half a mile, waiting for their turn at the pump. Stan’s parents had told him that life now was reminiscent of the gas lines they had experienced during the Arab oil embargo in the early 1970s, when gas prices had sky rocketed while available supplies plummeted. This time, however things were even worse. In an attempt to service as many customers as possible, many gas stations limited the amount of gasoline they sold to each customer. No more than ten dollars’ worth could be purchased on good days, five dollars’ worth when the station’s supply was running out. Some days, a handwritten sign alerted customers to the bad news: NO GAS TODAY.

Just as Stan inched the Chevy across the gas stations property line an attendant came out to the sidewalk and put up the dreaded sign: NO POWER, NO GAS. TRY TOMORROW. Tomorrow! Stan cringed. I’ll be lucky to make it home tonight! And I still have to get to the grocery store!

Although the gas pumps were turned off, the snack bar and convenience store portion of the station remained open, lit by battery-powered emergency lighting. Stan couldn’t help noticing the unusually large number of people congregating inside the store, in front of the food area. Many were buying whatever staple food items they could find on the shelves, but a large number of people were simply milling about as though shell-shocked. It looked as though they were gathered around a radio, listening.  Some were crying; others sat dumbfounded outside on the sidewalk curb, as though they had been suddenly over-taken by a dizzy spell and sought the first available place to sit down before they fell down.

Something strange is going on, Stan thought. Stan pulled hi car over to the station parking area and turned off the ignition. He hopped out of the car and gingerly walked toward the crowd. The closer he got, the more he felt like he intruded on a funeral procession.

Everyone wore somber expressions. Many people wept openly. Others stared blankly into nothingness. Several women huddled together, arm in arm, swaying precariously, looking as though the entire group might tumble to the ground if even one of them let go.

A man and two teenage boys stood to the right of the store entryway. Stan noted with bewilderment that they were praying. Praying at the gas station? For what? Asking God to miraculously send a fresh supply of gasoline? Ha! Stan chuckled at the thought.

Stan walked past the praying fellows and entered the station. The interior of the convenience store section of the gas station was surprisingly quiet, especially considering the large number of people in the building. People pressed against a counter, focusing their attention on a small radio behind the counter. “Turn it up!” A large disheveled-looking woman called from the isle next to the darkened ice cream freezer.

“The volume is up as high as it will go,” a man behind the counter replied. “My batteries are getting low. I’ll replace them in a few minutes, but I don’t want to miss anything right now. Just try to keep it down in here, and we’ll all be able to hear.”

Stan nudged a middle-aged fellow dressed in Jeans and a sweatshirt.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re about to give the latest death toll,” the man replied sadly.

“Death toll? From what? Is something wrong? Was there an accident? A wreck on the freeway? People just need to slow down a bit when we have these brownouts …” Stan shook his head disgustedly.

“This is not just another brownout,” replied the man in the sweatshirt.

“Oh?”

“Do you mean you haven’t heard?”

“Heard what? What are you talking about? Our power has been out in our apartment complex, and I haven’t seen a television or heard a radio broadcast all day. What’s happened?”

“There was an earthquake in Los Angeles, a big one.”

“So what’s new?” Stan answered flippantly. He quickly sobered. He didn’t mean to sound so callous, but earthquakes in California were nothing new, especially these days. According to recent reports, seismic activity was so rampant that the needles on the recording machines were having to be replaced regularly.

The man glared back at Stan as though he had insulted his mother. “Loa Angelas is gone,” he said icily.

Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 1
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 3
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 4
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 5
Who Ya Gonna Call? – Part 6

You only have to look around you to see that things are coming apart in today’s world, quickly!  Every day we read and hear things that are pointing to dire days ahead.  Sometimes I don’t even recognize this country in which we live.  One news article I read today said that the ‘new’ American dream was renting a home.  Remember when the American dream was actually owning a home?

But that issue is minor compared to what’s happening in our world at large.  Governments are being overturned.  Israel is fighting for her life.  People are calling good things evil, and calling evil things good.  In the midst of all that, we are see another thing happening which, unfortunately, we sometimes become complacent about.   We’re seeing a rise in natural disasters, freaky weather, terrorist attacks – any of these things could put us in a life-threatening situation in a matter of minutes.

You may say, “well Jim, hasn’t it always been that way?”  The answer of course, is “yes.”  But keep in mind that these things are increasing in frequency and intensity, just like the Bible says in Matthew 24.  When you see the increase… that’s the time to act.  When you see the ‘birth pains’ getting closer and closer, you can be sure that the baby is coming.  You better get to the hospital!
Keep in mind that the people who were watching Noah build the Ark were scoffers.  Why did they scoff?  Why didn’t they act on the warning?  They were busy with life as usual… building, marrying, partying.  It’s a sad thing when people hear the warning sound, but decide to ignore it.  It’s sadder still, when Christians disregard the Bible’s warnings.

Yet, these same people will be calling out to God for help when Times of Trouble come.  Bill Whaley, a recent show guest that specializes in self-sufficiency and survival techniques using everyday ‘junk’ , said that the people who snub survival warnings are the same people who scream “God save me!” when things come apart.

Perhaps He will.

But God sent His Word ahead of these things so that those who are wise will prepare.  I’m not the only one crying out with the warning.  Many others are warning people as well.  Even secular sources are warning people – so much so that the suppliers of emergency food and survival equipment can’t even begin to keep up with the demand.

Will you be one who prepares ahead of time when you see disaster coming?  Or will you be the one praying “God save me!”  If you’re prepared, you can help others.  If you’re not prepared, you’re the one needing help.  Don’t be a victim.

Love,

The week after the Japanese earthquake, many people world-wide began to take emergency preparedness seriously, at least for a little while.  The same seriousness fell like a blanket on this country after ‘911’.  People went back to church – at least for a few weeks.  Then, after the initial shock wore off, they were back to business as usual.  I don’t know why, but it seems like it always takes a major calamity to jolt people into action.     

This Spring and Summer, we have seen weather extremes like never before.  Record-breaking floods, droughts, temperatures and storms have battered the country and left much of our farmlands barren.  What do you think this is going to mean to food prices?  Well, I’ll tell you – food prices are going to skyrocket – and sooner than you think!

This past week, we have seen the stock market go up and down like a roller coaster.  What we don’t readily understand is what all that means to the economic situation in this country and the entire world.  What it means is that our money is very soon going to be worth almost nothing!

In Matthew 24:8 Jesus said the signs of nature will be like “birth pangs.”  The closer a pregnant woman gets to the time her baby is born, the birth pangs increase in two ways. They increase in frequency and intensity.  That is exactly what Jesus meant here. The closer we get to His coming, the more frequently we will see natural calamities like weather extremes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, plagues, famine, wars and the like. 

Why does Jesus tell us about the signs of His coming?  Jesus didn’t say that He would take us out of this world before we would experience any of these things.  If that were true, we would already be gone, wouldn’t we?!  No, Jesus told us about the signs because He didn’t want us to be taken by surprise and be unprepared! 

Why then do we yawn when we hear these things in our newscasts and act as if we are not going to be affected?  It’s time now to ‘read and heed’ Matthew 24! 

A recent article I read said we can count on three things very soon:

1. Food supplies becoming scarce
2. Food prices doubling in 2-3 years and then doubling again in the next 2-3 years
3. Growing food will be more valuable than gold

Today, you may only hear about the world’s violence and economic woes, or see the faces of famine in another country on the news, or watch as natural disasters effect other parts of the nation and the world. But rest assured, we will not always be exempt from all these things. The world you see around you today may be very different tomorrow.  Don’t wait until it comes to you – you need to be ready today for what may come tomorrow.

The prophetic dreams, visions and revelation that the Lord gives his people are for a reason! We are not to ignore them! Everywhere, the Prophets are warning to get ready!  Of course, that means spiritually FIRST – but it also means get ready with food, water and other necessities! 

“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”  (Proverbs 22:3 NLT)

“A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks and suffers the consequences.” (Proverbs 27:12 TLB)

As we see the events of Revelation escalating at a phenomenal rate, let’s make sure we are prepared – spiritually and physically. We still have time but we need to act NOW. The economic situation in this country and all over the world is going to make it very difficult, very soon to gather things we need for Times of Trouble. The stock market is on a roller coaster and it’s not going to end well.  The drought and extreme weather we are having is going to make food prices unaffordable rapidly!  It’s all coming together, or maybe we should say it’s all coming apart.

For now, we have a good supply of emergency food that we can hold the line on the pricing.  But in the very near future, you won’t be able to get this food at any price!  It’s fast coming to that and we know it to be true by the economic forecasts.  Don’t wait on this – your family is counting on you to provide the basic necessities of life for them when calamity strikes.

Do what you can today for your family and then rest in the fact that we are in the hands of a loving God.  Get your plan going! Do something today to prepare for tomorrow!

I don’t want anyone I love to have to suffer unnecessarily, and I want to have something left over to give to others.

Love,

Jim

When the Lord told me back in December that this would be a “Major March”, I knew the events that were coming would be remarkable. I felt that there would be major events that would shake the World this month and it would be a wonderful time of healing and blessing for some of God’s people.  Today, I know that what is happening in the world is only going to accelerate and NOW is the time for the Church’s finest hour.  Listen to me now, and believe me when I say that when the world is coming apart, the true Church will come together and be prepared!

The Bible tells us that when the events of Revelation start to happen, they will happen in rapid succession – this is the generation that will not pass away before we see the coming of the Lord!

God showed me that an earthquake so big would shake Japan and it would cause a financial crisis of their nation that would cause great financial distress to the United States.  A week before this Great earthquake hit Japan, I felt God spoke to me that there would be a 9 point earthquake soon and I said so on our program.  God has spoken to me over the last few years that  there was coming a massive earthquake to California that would devastate LA.  The next few days and weeks could bring a shaking over the West coast from from top to bottom!

When I told a prophet, whom I trusted, of the Japan and LA earthquake God had told me about, he said when the earthquake that God showed me hits Japan,  the big one – the California earthquake is coming next!  (see page 110 of my book, Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse) There may be many more earthquakes coming to Japan and one of them, a big one, centered near or under  Tokyo.  I believe we all had better be prepared for a Time of Trouble that Jesus told us about. WE ARE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION NOW! 

A trusted friend, Dr. Paul Williams, called me yesterday and told me in a very somber tone about a dream he had where he had seen a green road sign.  The road sign simply said “Advent 2”.  When Jesus came the first time, as a baby in a manger, it is known as “The First Advent” or Advent 1.  Friends, this dream was clearly telling us that Jesus is coming again very soon!  How much clearer can He make this?

But before Jesus returns the second time, He tells us what will happen on this earth, and those things are happening NOW!  The Bible tells us that the foolish know what is coming, but do not prepare.  If you listen to our broadcasts, we have been saying over and over:  GET PREPARED – THE TIMES OF TROUBLE ARE UPON US!

BY FAILING TO PREPARE, YOU ARE PREPARING TO FAIL!

Preparation for the Time of Trouble preceding the Lord’s second coming is first, spiritual.  People, you need to EAT the Word of God.  Devour every spiritual Word of God you can by reading your Bible and digesting its instruction.  Get your heart right with God!

Then, get yourself and your family prepared physically, as much as you can!  Jerry Jones has friends in Japan.  Within one day, the shelves in the stores in Japan were emptied because all logistics (ways to get the food to the stores) had broken down.  Jerry was absolutely delighted to hear from Tom and his wife and kids and they said that they were not standing in the long lines in Japan for food handouts.  No!  They were eating from the food buckets of emergency food they had gotten from Food for Health, the same food we send out to our friends over television. They were prepared!

This week, we are talking with Carl Palmer on the show – the founder and inventor of our Seychelle water purification products.  I have no doubt that this is one of the greatest developments ever and it is for “such a time as this”.  You are going to need food and water!  You are going to need a way to purify your water sources!  You can get the very best water purification products available right here!  Go to our online store or call 1(888)988-1588.  We are here to help you!

When the Church sees the signs of what is foretold in the Bible, they will start to see and recognize the times and truly comprehend what is important and they will prepare.

How much more can we do than tell you and plead with you – JESUS IS COMING SOON – but before He comes, there will be Times of Trouble.  Get ready NOW! 

Love,

Jim