Sunday, September 05. 2010Forgiving and Forgetting
Sunday Mornings Improving Your Serve September 5th 2010
Forgiving and Forgetting Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. The last time we were together we looked at the first of 3 basic ingredients for living this kind of life Giving This morning I want to look at the other two – Forgiving – Forgetting Forgiveness is not an elective in the curriculum of servant-hood. It is a required course. Our best example is God’s forgiveness of you and me. Psalm 103:1-3 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Vs. 10-12 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. And just as He has forgiven us we must forgive one another. Whether you are the offended or the offender the first move is always yours. A true servant doesn’t keep score. Ephesians 431-32 say’s Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. If you are the offender Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. Stop – Go- Reconcile- Return If you are the offended Matthew 6:12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Peter asked Lord how many times shall I forgive my brother who has sinned against me 7 times? Jesus said not 7 but 70 times 7 = 490 What if they will not receive my effort to reconcile? Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. But lets move on to forgetting That’s one difference between God and us We can forgive but the incident remains with us as long as we live. Servant’s must be big enough to go on, remembering the right, and forgetting the wrong. The old saying say’s, “Write injuries in dust, and benefits in Marble.” I am not talking about erasing a memory but rather filing it away in your junk mail file. I Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. The Message say’s it like this: Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Its not that the incident didn’t occur or that it is completely gone it is just put into perspective and it is not important any more. It is not easy or necessarily instantaneous Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Woven into those words are these 3 statements: 1. I have not arrived 2. I forget what is behind 3. I chose to move on to what is ahead It may take time but it’s like riding a bike, some peopleget on and take off and never fall others of us keep on falling off. The key is to keep getting back on until you stay. Genesis 41:51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh [f] and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." Is there someone whom I will not forgive? Is there something that I can not or will not forget? It will hurt you. It will be like a cancer that will eat away at your peace. I John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. Sunday, August 15. 2010Improving Your Serve
Sunday Mornings Improving Your Serve August 15th 2010
We are all saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our church’s most valuable members, Someone Else. Someone’s passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years, and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person’s share of the work. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results: "Someone Else can work with that group." Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone’s lists- Someone Else! "Let Someone Else do it" was a common refrain heard throughout the church. It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the largest givers in the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up the difference. Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing superhuman; but a person can only do so much. Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are going to do. Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? Remember- we can’t depend on Someone Else anymore! Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." This morning I want to begin the first of 3 messages on the subject of improving your serve. Our scripture reference will be: Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. But just what does that mean? Well for starters nothing means just that, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Stop permitting the 2 strong tendencies of selfishness and conceit to control you. Instead replace them with Humility of Mind. But How? By considering others as more important than yourself. Look for ways to encourage, to build up, to stimulate, other people. Now that requires an attitude that would rather give then receive. It say’s: “I care about people around me.” Why do I always have to be first? I’m going to help someone else win for a change. Today I am going to add value to someone else’s life. Pray this way. “Lord, I am willing to release my way today, show me how you would respond to others, then make it happen in me.” Now bear in mind that I am not talking about feeding a low self esteem. The Bible say’s that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and we are made in the image of God and the Bible goes on to say in John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. So we are made of good stuff & have great value. I am not talking about inferiority but rather unselfishness. “Well pastor, that sounds nice but I’ve always been taught that nice guys finish last. Charity begins at home and taking care of number one.” Your right and look at the world that that philosophy has given us. Lets look at what the Bible say’s about how we are to treat each-other: Romans 12:10-13 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. But how dose this look in the real world that you and I live in? Let me suggest 3 basic ingredients Giving – Forgiving – Forgetting How should a servant Give? Lets look at II Corinthians 8. Allow me to give you a little background on the setting. Paul the writer was collecting funds for the impoverished church in Jerusalem. As he is making his way through Europe, specifically the region of ancient Macedonia, he announces the need of fellow Christians in Jerusalem. What adds to the story is that the area of Macedonia was in poor financial straits themselves. It was the equivalent of asking the people of one impoverished area to give to another impoverished area. But the most remarkable thing about this story is that is exactly what they did, they gave and in a great way. II Corinthians 8:1-5 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. So How should a servant Give? 1. Anonymously Not one person is mentioned, simply the churches of Macedonia. No bronze statues just anonymity. Poet Ruth Harms Calkin puts it like this: In her poem, “I wonder” You know, Lord, how I serve You With great emotional fervor In the limelight. You know how eagerly I speak for you at the women’s club, You know how I effervesce when I promote A fellowship group. You know my genuine enthusiasm At a Bible study. But how would I react, I wonder If you pointed me to a basin of water And asked me to wash the calloused feet Of a bent and wrinkled old women Day after day Month after month In a room where nobody saw And nobody knew. 2. Generously Did you catch Paul’s description of their giving: When they gave they overflowed in the process, they liberally and sacrificially gave even beyond their ability. Their giving dripped of sacrificial generosity. Now understand this, their giving was more then just money look at II Corinthians 8:5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. Don’t think that you are excused from giving generously just because you have little or no funds. They gave themselves to God and then to the needs of others around them. 3. Voluntarily No one twisted their arm. II Corinthians 8:3-4 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. A little later on in the same letter Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. If you are giving because you feel you have to, don’t give. The Bible doesn’t say God loves the giver, it say’s “God loves a cheerful giver.” And that is true whether you are giving money or your time or talents. Do it voluntarily and with a smile on your face. When I go to the hospital it is meaningful to the people I see but when you go because you care out of the goodness of your heart I believe it can be more meaningful to the person that is visited. They see it as my job but with you taking your time and going voluntarily with a smile, well that say’s a lot. Seems like I am doing a lot for others but what about me and my needs. Being a servant with a giving lifestyle is not without it’s rewards: Luke 6:38 say’s Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." In summary: A true servant is a giving individual. A true servant Gives Anonymously A true servant Gives Generously A true servant Gives voluntarily And a true servants giving actions decides how he is rewarded: Elmer Towns tells about a member of a motorcycle gang who was converted to Jesus Christ dramatically and the first Sunday he did the only thing he knew he should do and so he went to church. Nobody in the church knew him and he walked down to the second row and sat in the pew. And the people stared because he looked the part; big burly, bearded, long hair, black jacket, covered in tattoos. It came announcement time and the minister got up and made an appeal for nursery workers. He said, “We need someone to work in the nursery.” But no one would volunteer. He asked a second time, “We really need someone to go be with our kids.” But no one would volunteer. And the cyclist prayed, “Lord, I want to do what you want me to do and if you want me to go work in nursery just have the preacher ask a third time.” And a third time the preacher said, “Please we need someone to work in the nursery.” And the cyclist raised his hand, nodded his head and started toward the nursery. And immediately 50 mothers followed volunteering to work in the nursery. Don’t let someone else receive your reward Let us Pray Sunday, August 08. 2010Total Commitment
Sunday Mornings Improving Your Serve August 8th 2010
Total Commitment Mark 10:45 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ROM.12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. There are close to 100 million church members in America and yet, why are they not making the moral and spiritual impact that they should? Why is it, that on Sunday morning, thousands of churches have empty pews? Why do so many churches have dwindling crowds and are in danger of closing their doors? If the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God, why do so few read it? If God is a prayer answering God, and if He meant for us to ask, seek, and knock, then why is so little praying going on? If you and I believe there is a heaven & hell, why do we keep so quiet about the gospel? If we believe that there is none other name under Heaven whereby we must be saved, why are we not sharing the message of His saving grace? There is a simple answer to all these questions. God’s people, most of them, have made a decision what to do about Jesus; but they have never made a commitment to Him!!! There is a vast difference between a decision to do something and a commitment to the person. The scripture that I read to you earlier said, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,” The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep taking themselves off the altar. Why are at least 50% of all marriages either on the rocks or headed for them? Why are so many divorcing? Why are people running around and being unfaithful? Every person who married made a decision! They stood before a Preacher and made promises and vows. * They made a decision; they kissed each other, and they walked out together to live happily ever after. So why do so many getting divorced? THE ANSWER: they made a decision, but didn’t commit their lives to each other! When a man and woman make a commitment to each other, they are saying," I GIVE MYSELF TOTALLY TO YOU; NEXT TO GOD, YOU’RE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE WORLD!!!" I FIRMLY BELIEVE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PARTIAL COMMITMENT" No one can be sort of committed! You’re either committed or you’re not! Illus: The chicken and the pig. The Chicken: “The farmer has been so good to us let’s do something special for him. Let’s see to it that he gets bacon and eggs for breakfast tomorrow” The Pig: “No way that is just a sacrifice for you but for me it’s a total commitment.” When a pilot of an airliner is speeding down the runway, there is a certain point where he cannot decide to remain on the ground. When he crosses that line, he is committed to the air, or else he crashes to the ground. Unfortunately, our churches are filled with many who have never left the ground. They’re sitting there revving their engines, they’re always getting ready! They have been planning on it, meaning to, wanting to, trying to; going to; aiming to, hoping to, but they never have left the ground. Today, let us get off the ground in the area of commitment of our lives. Luke 5:1-11 1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down[b] the nets for a catch." 5Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. There are 4 " T "s of commitment I will leave with you today: (1) TIME! Prayer, Bible study, attending Church faithfully, etc. All of our time belongs to God! 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can’t pick your time. (2) TITHES! 1 Cor.16:2 Mal. 3 : 10 "Preacher, I can’t afford..." HOW BIG IS GOD??? (3) TALENTS! Matthew 25 : 25 "So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground Do what you can for the Lord and for the Church! (4) TESTIMONY! In church and in the world! ***If you don’t tell it in the church, you wont tell it out in the world! ***Are you ashamed of being a Christian? .......of Jesus? Eze. 33 : 7 - 8 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for [a] his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. There is a great need for commitment today! The word "COMMIT" means: to bind or involve oneself, pledge, promise, etc. JESUS COMMITTED HIMSELF FOR YOU; WILL YOU DO IT FOR HIM? A commitment is something you can’t take back! "Well, I’ll try the Christian life a while." **NO! What plan did you get? 1 month, 3 months, 6 ...; 1 year, etc.** Don’t try it, just DO IT!!! Well Pastor what does this look like? Matthew 13:45-46 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. This is how this would look today. “I want this pearl. How much is it?” “Well,” the seller says, “it’s very expensive.” “But, how much?” we ask. “Well, a very large amount.” “Do you think I could buy it?” “Oh, of course, everyone can buy it.” “But, didn’t you say it was very expensive?” “Yes.” “Well, how much is it?” “Everything you have,” says the seller. We make up our minds. “All right, I’ll buy it,” we say. “Well, what do you have?” he wants to know. “Let’s write it down.” “Well, I have ten thousand dollars in the bank.” “Good—ten thousand dollars. What else?” “That’s all. That’s all I have.” “Nothing more?” “Well, I have a few dollars here in my pocket.” “How much?” We start digging. “Well, let’s see—thirty, forty, sixty, eighty, a hundred, a hundred twenty dollars.’ “That’s fine. What else do you have?” “Well, nothing. That’s all.” “Where do you live?” He’s still probing. “In my house. Yes, I have a house.” “The house, too, then.” He writes that down. “You mean I have to live in my camper?” “You have a camper? That, too. What else?” “I’ll have to sleep in my car!” “You have a car?” “Two of them.” “Both become mine, both cars. What else?” “Well, you already have my money, my house, my camper, my cars. What more do you want?” “Are you alone in this world?” “No, I have a wife and two children…” “Oh, yes, your wife and children, too. What else?” “I have nothing left! I am left alone now.” Suddenly the seller exclaims, “Oh, I almost forgot! You yourself, too! Everything becomes mine—wife, children, house, money, cars—and you too.” Then he goes on. “Now listen—I will allow you to use all these things for the time being. But don’t forget that they are mine, just as you are. And whenever I need any of them you must give them up, because now I am the owner.” My friend This is what it means to be a living sacrifice. This is Total commitment. Let us pray. “Father today I lay myself freely on the altar as a gift to you. Take my life and use it as you will. In Jesus name Amen. Sunday, August 01. 2010Improving Your Serve
Sunday Mornings Improving Your Serve August 2nd 2010
Mark 10:45 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." But to really make this clear I need to put this verse in the proper context so let me back up to verse 35 and read what was going on that prompted Jesus to make this statement. Mark 10:35-45 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." 36"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. 37They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." 38"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" 39"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." 41When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Did you get that? Jesus the creator of the universe came to serve not to be served. And he wants you to follow His example. That flies in the face of our societies system of leadership. Mark 9:33-37 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." 36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Why should we take on a servants heart? 1. It is required by Jesus. Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Well pastor I am waiting for God to tell me what to do. Do what you have an opportunity to do. God wants to use you and speak through you. He will lead you in the way and open the doors for you. You are to serve where you are. Some really good people are waiting, expecting in some way that they will be called out in service for the Master. Instead of that we are to serve where we are; to find the souls that are about us, to get hold of them with the gospel which possesses us, and bring them to Christ. Phineas Bresee 2. The Results are tremendous when we serve. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. People ask why are you doing this? Because they don’t expect it. 3. The Rewards Servant-hood brings What is so rewarding about preaching or teaching? Great thing about being a teacher is turning the light on turning their head and saying look this way, and from then on they get all the credit. Or like giving them the ball in a football game and they make a touch down. You didn’t make the touch down you just gave them the ball. Here on this earth we are God’s hands. The church needs to wake–up. The church is at its best when the actions of those in its pews mirror the love of Christ rather than the self-centeredness of the world. The church through its true nature becomes a force for righteousness in the world when it shares its message of hope and cultivates the personal faith of its people. The church is unified because she loves her Founder. She matures into a mighty force because of a basic belief system based on God's Word. The church has the potential to solve our problems in its desire to put differences aside and become more generous with one another. Solving our challenges by praying together and forgiving one another is essential to her success. The church is often connected to the word "revival." Whatever form revival might take, there is a need for the Body of Christ to rekindle a spark in the life of every believer, and recognize that our potential is not based on the material elements, like numbers and dollars, but the powerful Spirit of God that lives in every one of us — especially you who lead her. We can make a difference. "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6). In Conclusion: Francis Chan Video “Jesus, More then a Savior” I John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Here’s my question for you. How are you serving? What are you doing for the cause of Christ? Monday, July 26. 2010A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 16
Sunday Nites A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 16 July 25th 2010
All the Time God is Good/ God is Good All the Time. I. GOOD FELLOWSHIP Ps. 16:3 “As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.” God has given us good fellowship with one another and for this, we should be thankful. ILL.- A little girl once cried out in the night and woke her mother. She asked if she could get in bed with her mother. “What’s the matter?” the mother inquired. “It was dark in my room,” said the child. “Yes,” replied the mother, “but it’s just as dark in here.” “I know, Mom,” the little girl said, “but you’re here.” Everybody needs someone in the dark and in the light. Night and day we need one another. Few people want to live alone. God said about the first man, “It is not good for man to be alone.” We need one another. People need people. It’s as simple and as important as that. As I look at you I wouldn’t exactly say that you are “glorious,” but neither would you consider me as being “glorious.” God’s people were glorious enough to David, however, that he delighted in them. Thank God that we don’t have to live in isolation! Thank God for the church! For the people! For the fellowship that we enjoy on the Lord’s Day and on other days! Some of the best times we experience in life are at the church, with the church, eating, yakking, laughing, praying, praising, etc. We should relish these times, look forward to them and promote them all we can! Heb. 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” God is good. He has given us a great fellowship with one another. II. GOOD HERITAGE Ps. 16:5-6 “LORD , you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Notice the words that David uses: my portion, my cup, my lot. And the words: secure, pleasant, and delightful. It sounds like David was satisfied with his lot in life. My portion, my cup, my lot is secure, pleasant and delightful. My heritage is even more than these and yours is too. We have more than family, but they are most important. We begin life with them and end life with them. God is good. He has given us a good portion or cup in life. III. GOOD COUNSEL Ps. 16:7-8 “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” David speaks of the Lord who counsels him. He is, no doubt, happy with God’s counsel and instruction. I read about a family sending their son to his freshman year at Duke University, his parents gave him a Bible, assuring him it would be a great help. Later, as he began sending them letters asking for money, they would write back telling him to read his Bible, citing chapter and verse. He would reply that he was reading the Bible--but he still needed money. When he came home for a semester break, his parents told him they knew he had not been reading his Bible. How? They had tucked $10 and $20 bills by the verses they had cited in their letters. God is good. He has given us many treasures in His Word, and it doesn’t take much searching to find them. IV. GOOD HOPE Ps. 16:9-11 “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” God has given a good hope, no, a great hope in the gospel. Without hope and without dreams we only exist. We don’t live the richer, fuller life. The applies to sports, work, to all of life in general and certainly to our faith! I Cor. 15:19 “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” There is more to the Christian life than just going to church, singing hymns, having fellowship dinners, etc. THERE IS ANOTHER FELLOWSHIP DINNER WAITING DOWN THE ROAD THAT IS FAR BETTER AND INFINITELY GREATER THAN ANYTHING WE WILL EXPERIENCE IN THIS LIFE! II Cor. 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” OUR HOPE IN CHRIST IS LIFE AFTER DEATH! God is good! He has given hope beyond this life and beyond the grave! WE MUST BELIEVE! We must take Jesus at His word! We must cling to this eternal hope! God is good! I recently read of a missionary couple returning to the United States after serving as missionaries in Africa for 40 years and no one to meet them at the dock. Then President Teddy Roosevelt was returning for a safari in Africa and was on the same boat and was welcomed home with great celebration. The missionary complained to God, Lord we have served you all these years and no one met us when we got home and yet this man who killed all these animals got a huge welcome, it just doesn’t seem right.” To which God replied, “Son you are not home yet.” Sunday, July 25. 2010Now That You Know
Sunday Mornings Now That You Know July 25th 2010
Finding Favor series II Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. John 13:7 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. The last time I spoke to you on this subject I said that there are 3 kinds of blessings recorded in the Bible and any one who desires to can claim them. The first is simply to live by doing the right thing. And it is available to anyone in the world. The second involves a personal invitation from God to become one of His children. John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God This is God’s grace, His unmerited favor. You and I did nothing to deserve it and it is available to anyone in the world. It is the third area of blessing that we have been talking about. This 3rd area of blessing is available to those who have accepted God’s invitation to become His children and are living by the principles that He has put in place. The first denotes action the second just being but this 3rd is both. Notice that this blessing is not received from just obeying God’s principles or by accepting God’s invitation to become a child of God. It is a combination of both. Look at Joseph’s life as recorded in Genesis 39:2-3 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Potiphar a pagan that had no relationship with Lord, recognized that the Lord was with Joseph because he witnessed the Lord blessing everything he did. He Did… Not just talking about God but doing about God… One of the great problems of our western civilization is that after 2-3 generations of affluence we have become lazy and have bought into the lie that say’s to us that we are owed a comfortable lifestyle just because we are as good as everyone else. The result is that we have developed an entitlement mentality that says we don’t need to put forth anymore effort then just enough to get by and so we begin to coast. The great tragedy of coasting is that it can only take you in one direction and that is down. Research tells us that 80% of the population will work just hard enough to master the skills necessary on their job just to avoid getting fired. And then they begin to coast. James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. If the implanted Word is received it will work itself out into actions. It is never sufficient to simply hear the Word, we must take it into our heart and do it. Simply hearing a good sermon or Bible study will not make you grow and receive God’s best blessings. The implanted Word must be accepted & then put into action. It is in the doing of God’s Word that spiritual growth and the blessings of God come. It is common knowledge that the doctor’s most ANNOYING PATIENT (except for the one who doesn’t pay his bills) is the one who doesn’t follow his orders. Such a person comes into the doctor’s office with a complaint, submits to an examination, hears the diagnosis, and is told what to do. But that’s as far as it goes. The patient either cheats on the recommended diet, doesn’t take the prescribed medicine, refuses to exercise, continues to smoke, or doesn’t return for a checkup. In so doing, he not only frustrates the doctor but also may hasten his exit from this world. God has "problem patients" too–Christians who hear His Word and understand what they should do, but who don’t follow through. And the result is people don’t see God’s blessing on what they do because they don’t do anything. Unless we obey God’s Word, we cannot experience spiritual health. If we are doers of the Word, we will not be God’s "problem patients." Obeying God is the best prescription for spiritual health and being in a position to receive His blessings and favor in our lives… Amen? The Lord hasn’t made His Word available just to give us interesting reading. He is preparing us for action. God’s word only flourishes in the enriched soil of true obedience. To think otherwise is to delude ourselves. Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ calls for more than simply putting new information into the computer of our brain – important as that is. When we listen to a sermon, read a devotional message, or gain new insight from a book, we must determine to put into practice what we have learned. Only then can God’s truth become a personal possession. Do not merely listen to the word, Do what it says. That’s the kind of serious-minded response to truth the apostle James is calling for. A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas or dreams about God. Do you feel as if you’ve reached a spiritual plateau? New light is not given unless you are walking in the light you already have. The growth equation for the Christian is always hearing + doing = growing. One step forward in obedience is worth years of hearing about it. The Bible contains the stories of people performing or living out the Word of God. It’s obedience that pleases God and proves our love for Him Jn 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.” No truth of God stored in the mind will ever meet our needs, Until that truth gives birth to faith And faith gives birth to deeds. Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Let me encourage you to 3 lifelong actions to position your self for God’s blessing on your life. 1. Seek God Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 2. Study God’s road map II Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV) 3. Surrender you will to God James 4:7 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. John 13:7 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Too many Christians mark their Bibles but their Bibles never mark them! God wants His people to put His Word into action Sunday, July 11. 2010His Promises are True
Sunday Mornings His Promises are True July 11th 2010
Finding Favor series Prayer The O.T. writer Moses said, Today I put before you life and death..” Which would you chose? Life I’m sure. But not just any life… Psalm 34:12-14 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, The principle 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Heres my point. There are 3 kinds of blessings recorded in the Bible and any one who desires to can claim them. The first is simply to live by doing the right thing. And it is available to anyone in the world. The second involves a personal invitation from God to become one of His children. John 1:12 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God This is God’s grace, His unmerited favor. You and I did nothing to deserve it and it is available to anyone in the world. It is the third area of blessing that we have been talking about. This 3rd area of blessing is available to those who have accepted God’s invitation to become His children and are living by the principles that He has put in place. Let me explain it like this: If you and I grew up and both worked hard and did the right things we would each be blessed. But if your father owned the company that we both worked for you would have doors open to you that would not be open to me. II Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring-not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. Romans 4:16 Let me brag a little. Not about me but about my Lord.. 1. God said He will meet all our needs Phil.4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 2. God’s grace is sufficient for any problem that I face II Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 3. God has promised that His children can not be overcome by temptation II Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 4. God has promised us a life with Him in Heaven John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 5. God has promised to for give our sins and cleanse us if we ask. I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 6. God has promised to never leave us. Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Charles Tindley was the son of slaves, he taught him¬self to read and write at age 17. He later worked as a jan¬i¬tor while at¬tend¬ing night school, and earn¬ing his di¬vin¬i¬ty de¬gree through a cor¬re¬spond¬ence course. In 1902, he be¬came pas¬tor of the Cal¬va¬ry Meth¬o¬dist Epis¬co¬pal Church in Phil¬a¬del¬phia, Penn¬syl¬vania, the church where he had ear¬li¬er been the jan¬i¬tor. At the time of Tindley’s death, his church had 12,500 mem¬bers. In 1905 he wrote these words.. When the storms of life are raging, Stand by me; When the storms of life are raging, Stand by me; When the world is tossing me Like a ship upon the sea Thou Who rulest wind and water, Stand by me. In the midst of tribulation, Stand by me; In the midst of tribulation, Stand by me; When the hosts of hell assail, And my strength begins to fail, Thou Who never lost a battle, Stand by me. In the midst of faults and failures, Stand by me; In the midst of faults and failures, Stand by me; When I do the best I can, And my friends misunderstand, Thou Who knowest all about me, Stand by me. In the midst of persecution, Stand by me; In the midst of persecution, Stand by me; When my foes in battle array Undertake to stop my way, Thou Who savèd Paul and Silas, Stand by me. When I’m growing old and feeble, Stand by me, When I’m growing old and feeble, Stand by me; When my life becomes a burden, And I’m nearing chilly Jordan, O Thou “Lily of the Valley,” Stand by me. Some people are living by the principles of God without the power of God. You don’t Have to… Prayer Sunday, July 04. 2010Bringing America Back to God
Sunday Mornings Bringing America Back to God July 4th 2010
Have you seen the back of the Herald Dispatch? Ps. 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. Prayer… The book of Judges in the O.T. records the history of the nation of Israel for 305 years after the death of Joshua. Israel declined, backslid, and got away from God. If you study the book you will find that there are many frightening parallels between nation of Israel and America. Israel was established by God Himself, and God gave Himself to them. He also gave them the law--the 10 commandments and the covenant. And He gave them Canaan, the best land of the earth at that time. And so God gave them the Lord, the law, and the land. God only asked them for one thing in return--that they would love Him, obey Him, and serve Him. What did Israel do? They denied the Lord, they defied the law, and they defiled the land. So, God had to judge them. The parallel with America is obvious and alarming. No nation has ever had a Christian beginning like the USA. We too have been given the Lord, the law, and a land, and we’ve denied Him, defied Him, and our land is being defiled. 1. America has denied the Lord. The Lord is slowly but steadily being expelled from every public venue. It started in the public schools, and has spread to public places, court houses, our coins, our pledge of allegiance, and on and on to the point where today we are fighting battles about what we can even say in the church! It is no longer just about the separation of church and state but rather the separation of America from the God Who founded her and has so blessed her! America has denied the Lord... 2. America has defied the law. The Supreme Court says that it is against the law to display the 10 Commandments in a public place, reasoning that if you display them people might ponder them and if so, they might obey them, and that would be a violation of the separation of church and state. We are doing just what Israel did. It is now the official position of our government that the 10 commandments are dangerous! Wouldn’t want kids in school to see Honor your mother and father/ Don’t lie or steal/ wouldn’t want them to see ’thou shalt not kill’ because what if they obeyed it! Ladies, what if you broke down in the worst part of town and had to walk, after dark, to find help. While you walk a group of 4 men leave a house you are passing and begin walking just behind you. How do you feel? As you listen to what they are saying you notice they are talking about God, and have just left a Bible study session. You turn around and see they are all carrying Bibles. How do you feel now? The direction our once Christian nation is now going in is just foolish, and contrary to basic common sense. We have allowed the world to chip away at our core of morality. Like Israel, we have denied the Lord, defied the law... 3. America has defiled the land. We’ve done this in many ways, but perhaps the #1 way is found in the spilled blood of aborted babies. God took away His glory from His people Israel when they did such things. And I believe He is in the process of removing Himself from the US. We need a national revival. We need a moral and spiritual awakening. I don’t know what it’s going to take. If 9/11 wasn’t enough, what will be enough? The book of Judges is the record of God raising up 13 men to deliver Israel from backsliding in order to bring about national revival. Barna Research shows that 67% of Americans say there is no such thing as absolute truth. They say that right and wrong are not clear...what is wrong for you is not necessarily wrong for me. If that doesn’t scare you, consider that they did the same survey in evangelical churches like this one and among Sunday morning attendees 52% said the same thing! Imagine, Christians saying there’s no black and white, right and wrong! Look how Israel got to this point. It was thru a series of compromises. 2:2a God had told them to drive the enemy out of the land, and further, not to have anything to do with them. They were to separate themselves from the world, just as we are supposed to do today. 1. The Canaanites that they feared. 1:19 They were afraid. They could have trusted in God and won, but they were afraid to try with those who were strong. They said, these people are impenetrable. We cannot conquer them. Therefore we might as well learn to accommodate them, surrender to them, and learn to live with them. And there are some Canaanites that we are fearing in America today: • Many of our leaders want to surrender in the war on terror. They say we are losing and we might as well quit trying to win. We need to sit down and negotiate with the terrorists, and stop trying to police the world. And in so doing we invite them to come to us. • Many leaders today are calling for an end to the war on drugs. They say that we have lost, so we should surrender and legalize it. Because if we legalize it we can control it, they say. Yeah, just like we have full control over alcohol, right? But trying to control drugs by legalizing them is like trying to control a fire with gasoline. • Many parents are surrendering in the area of sexual promiscuity. They throw up their hands and say, well, you’re not going to be good, so just be careful. Here, wear protection. Now what message does that send to a young person? In the past few weeks there has been much controversy School system in Mass. decision to hand out condoms to children as young as first graders… We are putting ambulances at the bottom of the cliff, when we are supposed to be putting fences at the edge of the cliff! It’s time we get back to confronting our culture with the truth of God and His Word. Young people, God wants you to be pure and chaste. He wants you to be a virgin when you get married! We’ve become afraid of the confrontation, and way too sensitive about how we might offend someone who has gone too far. Well, whom shall I offend? Man, or God? The truth is offensive, but it is our only hope. John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. • We’ve become so politically correct about homosexuality that it has become wrong to say anything about it. We say we personally are against it, but leave it as a personal decision and ok in our society in spite of what God says and in spite of what always happens to a society when they go that route. The Canaanites that they feared... 2. The Canaanites that they favored. 1:28 They said, look, we can use these people. They made slaves of them, in spite of the fact that God said not to have anything to do with them. Sure they are wicked, but there’s some good can that come out of them. What about America today? Legalized gambling, the lottery, and such things. Look at the gain we can find from something that many consider only to be bad. Why, we’ll build roads and schools, and generate lots of tax dollars! Isn’t it sad that our government has turned itself into a pimp? Think about it. A pimp puts women on street corners to lure in men, in order that he, the pimp, might profit from their vice. And our government now encourages its citizens to participate in a vice so they can profit. It’s time we stop saying look at what we can gain and start asking, what might we lose by doing this?! Canaanites that they feared, favored... 3. The Canaanites that they fellowshipped with. 1:32 Hey, these people aren’t that bad. They may worship different gods but they are good neighbors. We read on and find that Israel learned their wicked ways and entered into their idolatry, including the sacrificing of their children to Molech. Israel ended up in the last verse of the book where every man did what was right in his own eyes...and God had to judge. The parallels today are paralyzing when I consider them. Some say arrogantly, "Would a loving God allow that?" If we ask for it! "Where was God when those students gunned down their classmates at Columbine?" I’ll tell you where He was, you expelled him in 1962! You threw out the Bible and prayer and said, God, you’re not welcome! Is there any hope? Where there’s God, there’s still hope! 2:16 God would always rather forgive than to judge...but if we insist, well, we should be afraid. A benevolent gentleman during the civil war saw a young lady being auctioned off as a slave. He began to bid just above every bid he heard until he finally won the auction, paying a very high price. They say that after winning he began to walk away, and she followed him. He said, "Young lady, I bought you not to own you, but to set you free." "Free?" she asked. "Yes, free to go wherever you want and do what you wish." She replied, "Then I choose to go with you." After all God has done for America, how can we spit in His face as we are? We need to pray for national revival! As we pause to remember our freedom will you pause also to remember the God who brought us here. Ps. 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. Prayer… Tuesday, June 29. 2010Finding Favor #1
Sunday Mornings Finding Favor #1 June 27th 2010
II Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. I have good news for you today… Jesus delights in blessing you. It is His good pleasure to see you blessed in every area of your life. Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually. From my studying the Bible and from years of listening to and observing the testimonies of men and women I have come to this conclusion. There are essentially 2 ways you can live your life. The first is to depend entirely on your self-efforts, and the other is to count on the unmerited favor and blessings of God. 2 Peter 1:2 says: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Prayer The sweltering Egyptian sun blazes down on the bustling market. The smell of spices are in the air. People calling out wares collected from the Known world. There is an assortment of people gathered there. Dancers musicians, thieves, housewives, and pickpockets are all gathered together. A top bid will buy you anything you want. Genesis 39:1-2 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. God’s definition of success is different then the world’s definition. In corporate America success is based on what you have done, on what you have accomplished, and what you have accumulated. It is based entirely on you, you focus all your time, energy, and resources in acquiring titles and collecting accomplishments. This self focus at the corporate level has brought us as a country to the economic mess we find ourselves in today. From the example of Joseph we read here that it is not what you have in your life that makes you a success but rather who you have. V: 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, I can not imagine starting in a worse place then Joseph. He was completely naked, he had nothing! No bank accounts, no educational qualifications, no natural connections with people of influence, nothing. And I thank God for this Biblical picture of Joseph who began with nothing, so that you and I can have hope today. Well Pastor I don’t know about this favor stuff it sounds a little like prosperity gospel to me. And you would be right, because that is exactly what it is. Do not confuse it with teachers who have put their own spin on it and have skewed the truth. Listen….. truth that you slant toward your desires is no longer the truth. So I am not talking about the teachings or gimmicks spilled out that talk of making a gift and receiving a reward. I am not telling you that if you plant a monetary seed it will give you back everything you want in life. I am telling you to surrender your self to God and let Him do what He wants with your life. Turn my daily life and my future over to God , that is taking quite a chance. What if He messes it up? Well so far you have been in charge… How is it going? How do I know that he has something good in store for me? Matthew 7:11 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Friends the gospel is the good news and the good news is that you and I don’t have to stay the way we are depending entirely on our self-efforts and limited abilities, we can count on the unmerited favor and blessings of God. Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You have been led to believe that God wants to take away your rights. But the truth is God wants to give you your rights as His children. You have believed that God is some cosmic kill-joy wanting to spoil your fun by saying don’t do this and don’t do that. When the truth of the matter He is simply saying, “Come this way, it is the path that I have laid out for you, it is the least dangerous and offers the best in the way of blessings. Come this way.” In closing here is the key: It is not what you have in your life that makes you a success but rather who you have. V: 2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, Immanuel “God with Us” Monday, June 14. 2010In the Shadow of the Steeple
Sunday Mornings In the Shadow of the Steeple June 13, 2010
Luke 14:16-23 16Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. Movie producers want to have packed theatres. Those who own professional sports teams want to have their stadiums and arenas packed. Concert promoters want to sell out every show. Restaurant owners want to have a waiting list of those desiring to dine at their tables. Hotels and Resorts want their accommodations filled to capacity. Institutions of higher learning want to have every classroom seat filled. The amusement park wants to have every ride and show packed. The Airline wants to fill every seat on every flight. And the Lord wants every seat in His House to be filled at every assembly! Luke 15 Lost sheep Lost coin Lost son Luke 16:19-31 19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " He did everything a person should do but he did it all TO LATE He lifted up his eyes to late He prayed to late He shed tears to late He cared for the lost to late Lanny Wolf Verse 1 There is peace and contentment In the Father's house today Lots of food on His table And no one is turned away There is singing and laughter As the hours pass by, the Father sadly cries My house is full but My field is empty, Who will go and work for Me today It seems My children All want to stay around My table But no one wants to work in My field No one wants to work in My field Verse 2 Push away from the table Look out thro' the window pane Just beyond the house of plenty Lies a field of golden grain And it's white unto harvest But the reapers where are they In the house oh can't the children Hear the Father sadly say My house is full but My field is empty, Who will go and work for Me today It seems My children All want to stay around My table But no one wants to work in My field No one wants to work in My field Tell the drug dealer there’s still room Tell the convict there’s still room Tell the molested teenager there’s still room Tell the abused wife there’s still room Tell the aged person there’s still room Tell the gambler there’s still room Tell the exotic dancer there’s still room Tell the divorcee there’s still room Tell the unwed parent there’s still room Tell the addict there’s still room Tell the abandoned child there’s still room Tell the backslider there’s still room Tell the unemployed there’s still room Tell the broken, bruised, and burdened there’s still room Tell the weak, wayward, and wanton there’s still room Tell the damaged, and depressed out there’s still room Tell the sick, suffering, and sinner there’s still room Tell the anguished, afflicted, and anxious there’s still room Tell the tempted, tried, and tortured there’s still room Tell the lost, lame, and least there’s still room Tell the outcast, over-looked, and overtaken there’s still room Tell the poor, persecuted, and perverted there’s still room Tell your family, friend and neighbors, There is still room. Stand, Joey “Lord lay some soul upon my heart” Tuesday, May 18. 2010Jesus Loves the Little Children
Sunday mornings Jesus Loves the Little Children May 16th 2010
Matthew 19:13-15 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 15When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. 1.- Children Were Brought To Jesus Notice that it doesn’t specifically that they were brought by their parents … although that may have been the case with some of the children. Not every parent is interested in the spiritual well-being of their children. Many are still struggling with their own spiritual well-being. Therefore we are to be sensitive to the spiritual needs of ALL children not just our own. Some parents: Don’t understand the importance of teaching them about Jesus. They want them to wait until they are old enough to decide for themselves about spiritual things … or go to church. But they will not be able to make an intelligent decision out of a vacuum. The children were brought to Jesus. That’s what Jesus wants YOU to do, … He wants YOU to bring them to Him. 2.- Jesus Wanted To Bless Them It was common in Bible times for people to bring children to a prophet or priest for them to bless their children … like a “Child Dedication Service”. As a prophet of God, they wanted Jesus to pray for the child, to tell them how much God loved them, and give them a special blessing from God. Jesus has a special blessing He wants to share with the children. For some it might be to let them hear for the FIRST TIME that Jesus loves them. For others it might be to let them experience a Christian environment around those who love them and love Jesus. For others it might be to plant the seed of the gospel, that later will be ripe unto harvest. For still others, it might be to touch their heart to trust Jesus as their personal Savior. I don’t know how Jesus is going to bless these children. BUT – I DO KNOW, that Jesus WANTS to bless the children. 3.- There Were Hindrances To The Children The Disciples rebuked those who brought the children to Jesus! They thought that Jesus was too important to mess with little children. They thought that they were a bother, a nuisance, trouble. “Can’t you see that Jesus is busy with more important things than children? He’s got work to do … leave Him alone! He’s busy teaching us … He doesn’t have time to waste on little kids!” The Disciple tried to keep the children away from Jesus. Sometimes, without realizing it, we provide hindrances to little children. 1.- The Hindrance Of Neglect – Children often get overlooked in ministry. We have a tendency to view children differently: Some people may not prepare themselves in teaching their lessons … like we would if we were teaching adults. After all they are just kids. Some people might treat Sunday School, Wednesday Night Youth & Children’s Church like a time to “occupy” the children to keep them from interfering with “adult” worship. Some people might ignore the children of our church because they can’t contribute to the church … they are a liability and not an asset … an expense and not a source of revenue. Let’s not hinder our children by neglecting our children … Jesus didn’t! He felt they were important enough to give them His full attention. 2. The Hindrance of a Poor Example – The Disciples sure weren’t being very good examples, WERE THEY? BY EXAMPLE, they were teaching the little children that they weren’t important to Jesus. What kind of LESSONS are we teaching our children … What kind of EXAMPLES are we … WHEN: We don’t bring our children to Sunday School or Caravan on Wednesday nights? We only come to Sunday Morning Worship Service, occasionally, if nothing else comes up? The only thing they hear about Church is negative? They don’t see that Jesus is important in YOUR life? The WORLD is full of HINDRANCES for our children … drugs, sex, violence, TV, movies, bad influences, peer pressure, etc. Let’s be a POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT to our children … not a HINDRANCE to them. 4.- Jesus Teaches The Disciples Humility & Grace The Disciples must have thought they were pretty important … MORE IMPORTANT than a group of children. They thought Jesus was more interested in THEM … after all, THEY were the ones who did all the IMPORTANT things … tithed, taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, mowed the grass, kept the nursery … What had this child DONE to DESERVE the love of Jesus? Had he sacrificed to put money in the offering plate? Had he taught a Sunday School class … or practiced to sing the choir special? NO! Jesus shows them a living picture of GRACE … unmerited favor. Jesus shows them LOVE for a little child who hadn’t DONE anything to EARN it. Jesus shows them what His GRACE is all about. The Disciples were saying: “Jesus doesn’t have time for your children … take them to McDonalds … they’re not welcome here … take them to somebody who cares!” What a shame. The Disciples had “rebuked” those who brought the children … Jesus “rebuked” them! Jesus is telling us that … “The way you treat a child is the same way you are treating Me! Children are what the Kingdom of God is all about!” When we invest in our children, we are investing in the Kingdom of God. 85% of those who come to know the Lord, do so before the age of 18. Only 15% are saved after age 18. Child Evangelism: The church spends 85% of their evangelistic dollars trying to reach adults and only 15% on Children. But we are only 15% effective with Adults & 85% effective with children. NOW you see why children were such a priority with JESUS … NOW, you see why children ought to be OUR priority! Children are an INVESTMENT … an ETERNAL investment. Where will this church be 20 years from now if we don’t invest in our children today? We invest in HOUSES that will get eaten by termites, burn, or get washed away in a by flood waters. We invest in cars that will rust, break down, & get crushed for scrap metal We invest in clothes that go out of style, get too small, & we throw them away. I won’t be able to take my HOUSE with me to Heaven … I already have one there waiting for me. I won’t be able to take my CAR with me to Heaven … I will travel at the speed of thought. I won’t need any CLOTHES in Heaven … I will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The things I accumulate here on earth will be left here for someone else to acquire. BUT, what we invest in our children will count for ETERNITY. CHILDREN are our HERITAGE … they are an ETERNAL investment. What an OPPORTUNITY we have before us concerning kids! Let’s not trivialize it … let’s not minimize it … let’s not waste it. How can God use you to take a child … and lift them up … and place them into the loving arms of Jesus. Lord What Can I Do? Van Driver, 2nd hour, Sunday School Helper, Vacation Bible School… Come and pray for our children…… Monday, May 10. 2010A Man with 2 Mothers
Sunday Mornings A Man with 2 Mothers May 9th 2010
Exodus 2:1-10 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said. 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?" 8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, [a] saying, "I drew him out of the water." Our mothers are a very important part of our lives. We wouldn’t be who we are without our mothers. The man Moses became the kind of man he was because of the type of mother he had. In fact, who he was, was very much determined by the type of MOTHERS he had, because God gave Moses two mothers. And they were both good mothers because they both had some of the same instincts for their roles. For example: They both loved babies Now, that may seem like a given… but not every woman loves kids. I once read the story of a woman who went shopping for swimsuits with her mother. In the department store, she was having a hard time finding one that fit. After trying on at least 10, all to no avail, she grew increasingly frustrated. Trying to calm her, her mother said "Look at it this way: what would you rather have – the husband and three children who adore you, or a swimsuit that fits?" Before she could answer, a faceless voice from the next dressing room stall replied "I want a swimsuit that fits!" Not every woman wants kids. But these two did. And that WAS no small thing in their day because Moses’ 2 mothers lived in a culture of death. A decree had gone out from the throne of Pharaoh that every male child born to a Hebrew was to thrown into the Nile and drowned. And Moses’ birth mother Jochebed was a Hebrew woman. So she had a choice to make. The society in which she lived made it virtually impossible to keep her child and she could have decided to simply allow her child to be thrown away. She could have chosen death (the easy choice)… but she chose life instead. And this was not an easy decision for Jochebed to make. It required her to hide her child for 3 whole months always fearing that Egyptian soldiers would discover the baby… and not only would they kill her child but punish her entire family for disobeying the law. Choosing life was not an easy decision. But then consider Pharaoh’s daughter. She knew who this baby was. Exodus 2:6 “She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.” She knew he was a Hebrew. Her father had decreed these children should die. Her society had decided that these babies shouldn’t live. It would have been so easy to let the child die. But she chose life instead. Both mothers lived in a culture of death. Both mothers lived in a society that has decreed certain children shouldn’t live. And so do we. But Moses lived because Jochebed and Pharaoh’s daughter never accepted that culture of death. They chose life. You may know of someone who has had an abortion… or you yourself may have had one. I want you to remember that: God is a forgiving God. Today God tells us that we escape judgment – from ALL of our sins - when we apply by the blood of the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) to our lives. By the blood of Jesus, God removes all of our sin from our lives. When we believe in Jesus, repent of our sins and confess Him as our Lord God removes our sins as far as the East is from the West. He buries it in the depths of the sea. He removes it from our lives and remembers it no more. Why would God do that for us? He does that because our God is a God who chooses life. Not just life for the unborn, but also for those of us who have made decisions that have brought us shame and guilt. Decisions that have robbed our lives of the joy and promise God created us to have. It’s only by the blood of Jesus that we have that hope in our lives. Let me repeat: Moses lived… and became the kind of man he became… because his 2 mothers loved life, and loved babies. 2ndly – Moses became the kind of man he was because his mothers did everything they could for him. Jochebed hid Moses in order to save his life. Well, she decides to get a bit creative. If Pharaoh wanted her child to be thrown into the river… that’s where she’d put him. But not before she had given her boy an edge, an advantage in life. And then there’s Pharaoh’s daughter Moses’ adoptive mother. She loves this boy - takes him into her home and makes him her son. She (like Jochebed) did everything she could for this boy as well. Acts 7:22 tells us that “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.” Pharaoh’s daughter wanted Moses to have all the advantages her culture could supply. She wanted him to be a leader of men/ a ruler of nations. And she succeeded, Moses was powerful in speech and action. Both of Moses’ mothers loved him so much that they did everything they could think to do to give him every advantage he could have. But only Jochebed gave Moses the one thing that changed his life. Pharaoh’s daughter supplied Moses a knowledge of the wisdom of Egypt. She got him into the best schools. She arranged to find him the best teachers She had supplied him with the ability to be a man who was powerful in speech and action. She had supplied him with all the training and education he needed to be a success in this world. And yet Hebrews 11:24 tells us that the time came when Moses “…refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” There was something Pharaoh’s daughter had not supplied him with. Something was missing from his extensive education in the schools of Egypt What was missing was a different kind of knowledge… a knowledge of who God was. As parents and grandparents and uncles/ aunts we need to realize that even with the most advanced education our society can supply - without God at the center of our children’s lives there will be an emptiness that nothing else can fill. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon looks at all the advantages a man can have in life. Wealth, and education, and power, and success. Toward the end of his book he declares "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!" Ecclesiastes 12:8 Solomon ends his book on the meaninglessness of life with this advice: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Eccles. 12:13 What did Solomon mean? He meant that – without God – life become meaningless and empty. Only God can help us to reach the potential. Only God can help us to realize our promise and possibility. Once we know who God is… then we can realize that we’ve been made in His image, We are part of His plan We have been created for a purpose and we have a reason to exist. Ephesians 2:10 “… we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We have purpose / We have value We have a reason for our lives … because God is IN our lives. And that’s what Jochebed gave her son. She couldn’t read to him from the Bible. None of that had been written yet She may have told him the stories of great men like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I think she did even more than that. I think she gave that knowledge of God by sharing HER faith in God. She told him what she believed She told him what God had done in her life… and in his She told him what God wanted for their people (Promises) And because God was REAL to her… God became real for him as well. Jochebed loved her son so much that she wanted him to know the most powerful force in her life. And she wanted Moses to know her God. And our children/ grandchildren/ nephews and nieces still need to know Him Monday, April 19. 2010Baptism leaves a Mark
Sunday Mornings Baptism leaves a Mark April 18th 2010
A Marking Point Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Prayer January 27th 1937 the Ohio River crested at 69 ft. How many people remember where they were and what they were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001? There are events that happen in our lives that become marking points in our memory – some of these moments have little to do with us, but then there are some marking points that are very personal. July 1st 1972 At Taylor Station on the East Side of Columbus Ohio Stand and tell us, what was your wedding date? When husbands and wives struggle in their marriage, their wedding and their vows become, or should become, an anchor point for them – a reminder that they have made a commitment and they can work it through. Their wedding is a marking point in their life. It’s not that something “magical” happens at a wedding but it does serve as significant marking point in one’s life because they sort of establishes who a person is. This morning, I want to suggest that Baptism is one of those marking points in a persons life. Notice, I didn’t call it a “turning point”. When someone gets married, their love didn’t just start that day. Weddings are not a turning point in people’s love – but a marking point. Similarly, getting baptized isn’t a turning point. No one is getting “saved” when they are being baptized. If someone isn’t a Christian before being baptized, they’re not going to become one because of the act of baptism. So baptism, as with weddings is not so much a “turning points” as much as they are “marking points” – an anchor point. And we all need those marking points to remember who we are. When we remember our wedding, we remember our commitment to someone we love. But what about baptism. How is baptism a marking point in one’s life? How does baptism help us? I would like to suggest to you that baptism is critical in a Christians life in that it is symbolic of several things. 1. REPENTANCE: Matthew 3:11a "I baptize you with water for repentance. turning from your old ways. Illustrate: The word means a reversal. To reverse from the direction of sin. A reversal of sin… many Christians are just rewinding their sin… to repeat it again. Unlike rewinding a videotape.., God expects us not to repeat the sin. 2. IDENTIFICATION: Identifying yourself with Christ. Identifying yourself with Christ means following the example of Christ – to endure and do as Christ has done. Rom 6:3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Gal 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 3. CLEANSING: Symbolic display of forgiveness of sins Mark 1:4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4. CONFESSION: of death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Illustrate: Dead flesh doesn’t sin. Rom 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Rom 6:5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. Rom 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- Rom 6:7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Rom 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Rom 6:9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. Rom 6:10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Col 2:12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. Now, being baptized isn’t going to mean your done with the sinful nature, any more than getting married means it is impossible for someone to have an affair. But just like your wedding reminds you of who you belong to and who you are committed to, and therefore presumably, you will stay faithful to your spouse, so also baptism reminds you who you belong to and who you are committed to, and it too will help you stay faithful to your Lord. But unless the commitment is already there, baptism won’t really do much at all. But when there is a commitment, baptism will become a marking point – an anchor point – in your spiritual life – marking for all time your commitment to the Lord – holding you when you are being tempted by the sinful nature. I think we often give up way too quickly. We say we’re only human. It will be a marking point in your life – an anchor point, but only in as much as it is a reflection of your commitment to Christ and His ownership of you. So why be Baptized? 1. Because it will be a marking point in your life for you and the world around you. 2. Because Jesus said we should be baptized. Matthew 28: 18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Sunday, April 11. 2010But even If He does Not
Sunday Mornings But even If He does Not April 11th 2010
Saturday Morning paper stated are worst fears, “No Survivors 29 Dead” Daniel 3:13-27 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." 25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. I’m concerned that we have heard so many messages about God’s: Miracle working power, Healing power, Providing power, Delivering power, That sometimes we just take for granted that God will always: • Heal every sickness • Meet every financial need • Open every prison door • Put back together every broken marriage But, sometimes God does not heal! Sometimes God does not come through with a miracle! Sometimes God does not repair the broken home! Sometimes God does not provide financial relief! And my question this morning is one that’s not popular: • WHAT WILL YOU DO IF THE ANSWER IS NO? • WHAT WILL YOU DO IF GOD DOES NOT DELIVER? • WHAT WILL YOU DO IF GOD DOES NOT HEAL? Sometimes we become so conditioned to the fact that God will say yes that we don’t know what to do when He says no! This morning it may serve us well to take stock of our experience and say: • I know God CAN heal, • I know God CAN put my home back together, • I know God CAN provide my financial need, BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT: I’ll still love Him! I’ll still trust Him! I’ll still serve Him! MY TEXT IS A VERY FAMILIAR ONE FROM THE O.T. • The fourth man and the fact that He’s still in the furnace just waiting for us when we go through the trial • The courage of (3) men who gained the favor of God through separation • The furnace designed to destroy actually delivered them But, as I was re-reading this passage this week, something jumped out at me that I’d never noticed before. It’s a simple statement, one consisting of only (6) words, yet it speaks volumes about the character of these young men. They said: • We know that God is able to deliver us out of the fiery furnace • We know that God can send angels from heaven to bear us up and out of this crowd • We know that the same God that opened up the depths of the Red Sea so our forefathers could walk through on dry ground can also keep us from a measly furnace! • We know that our God is able to deliver us, Oh king, BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, WE STILL TRUST HIM! And, this statement was made BEFORE they knew what the outcome would be! • For all they knew, they were speaking their final words! • For all they knew, they were writing their own death sentences! • For all they knew, they would wake up in glory! But, it’s as if these men were saying: Oh king, just in case we die in this furnace and don’t get a chance to tell you again, let us make ourselves crystal clear: • We will never bow down to a graven image! • We will never serve your gods • We will never forsake our experience! • We will never turn our backs on God! We don’t know what’s going to happen in 5 minutes, but let us just say that we know God is able, BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT we still worship HIM! What we need today is for some men and women to take a stand today and say: • I don’t know what tomorrow holds!... • I don’t know if God’s going to heal me or not! • I don’t know if God’s going to deliver me or not! • I don’t know if God’s going to meet my financial need or not! But, devil, just in case I don’t get another chance to tell you this let me say it one more time: I KNOW GOD’S ABLE, “BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT” I STILL WORSHIP HIM! I KNOW GOD CAN, BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, I STILL SERVE HIM! If I die in the furnace, that’s okay, because I’ll just wake up shouting on the hills of glory, so just in case let me tell you one more time: I WILL TRUST HIM NO MATTER WHAT TOMORROW HOLDS! Sunday, March 28. 2010Compromise in Egypt/Huntington
Sunday Mornings Compromise in Egypt/Huntington March 28th 2010
Moses walked down the great hall that lead to Pharaohs throne room. On each side of the hall stood soldiers on guard. Down the middle stood a long line of local dignitaries and the representatives of foreign governments all waiting their turn for an audience with the great and mighty Pharaoh. He walked through a large doorway that led into the throne room itself. The walls and floor were made of the finest marble that was covered with beautiful frescos that boasted of ancient battles and great victories. And now before him at the end of the room between two large Nubian slaves each waving a large fan to stir the air and surrounded by guards and servants and advisors on a large throne that had been inlayed with precious stones sat Pharaoh the most powerful leader in the whole world. For a moments Moses was taken back by atmosphere of power in the place and then he remembered that he had just come from an audience before the one who was the creator of this world, one whose power was not limited, one whose reign spanned not just the few years of a dynasty but for all eternity. He had just come from a private audience with God. So he stood up tall pointed at Pharaoh and said, “The Lord God of Israel say’s, Let My People Go.” And thus began a great tug of war a clash of wills between Pharaoh and Moses that is recorded in chapters 5-14 of Exodus the second book of the Bible. It is a story often overshadowed by the ten plagues recorded there. 1. The Nile turned red with blood 2. A plague of Frogs 3. Gnats 4. Flies every where nearly drove the Egyptians insane 5. Their livestock died 6. Boils covered their bodies 7. A hail storm destroyed their crops 8. Locus covered the land and devoured what the hail did not destroy. 9. Darkness covered the land for three days and nights. 10. And finally the angel of death moved throughout the land and took the lives of all of the first-born. Almost overlooked and hidden in the midst of these catastrophic events was Pharaohs repeated attempts to offer Moses a compromise to what he was asking and yet still retain the slave labor force that Egypt depended so heavily upon. The 4 Compromises 1. Exodus 8:25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God here in the land.” You can be a Christian if you want but you do have to go anywhere or put forth any extra effort. You can do it right here. Just be one of the boys. You don’t need to go to church. Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 2. Exodus 8:28 Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God in the desert, but you must not go very far. Ok you can make a short trip into religion only don’t go to far. Don’t be cut off from all the bright lights and opportunities that Egypt has to offer you. And still today people are making a brief trip for about an hour on Sunday mornings every now and then into religiosity and then heading back and living the rest of the week (Their real lives) in Egypt. 3. Exodus 10:8-10 Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But just who will be going?” 9Moses answered, “We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, because we are to celebrate a festival to the LORD.” 10Pharaoh said, “The LORD be with you—if I let you go, along with your women and children! Clearly you are bent on evil. 11No! Have only the men go; and worship the LORD, This was probably the most subtle compromise of them all. For what parent does not want the best for their children. We desire to give them the very best education, we drive them to multiple activities through out the week, Physical needs are met, and yet spiritually they are with out direction. I don’t want to force them. 1. Little children don’t like to take baths, but parents don’t say, “Well little Johnny doesn’t like taking a bath so I don’t make him take one, because I’m afraid that they will grow up hating it and grow up to be a dirty old man that never takes a bath. 2. In climate weather, “O my the weather is so nasty today, I sure do hate to send little Susie out on such a nasty day.” So much to her delight Little Susie gets to stay home, but if the in climate weather stays around until Monday morning Little Susie finds out that the same rules do not apply. So we are teaching our children to go to school and learn about math and reading is terribly important but going to Sunday School and learning about God is not so important. Many children today are left in Egypt with the full consent of their parents 4. Exodus 10:24 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.” Only 4% of members nation wide actually tithe 20% of the people of this church contribute 80% of the funds. Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Jesus talked more about how we handle our money that about Hell or Heaven in the Bible. Stewardship is a reflection of our trust in Him. Do you really trust Him? Well you know pastor I think I do a fair job with some of these things, at least enough to get by. O really? Let look and see what God has to say about a just doing ok in some areas. Revelations 3:15-17 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Sunday, March 21. 2010WHAT’S IN YOUR HAND
Sunday Mornings WHAT’S IN YOUR HAND March 21st 2010
Excuses, excuses, you'll hear them every day. And the Devil he'll supply them, if from church you stay away. When people come to know the Lord, the Devil always loses So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses. In the summer it's too hot. And, in the winter, it's too cold. In the spring time when the weather's just right, you find some place else to go. Well, it's up to the mountains or down to the beach or to visit some old friend. Or, to just stay home and kinda relax and hope that some of the kin folks will drop in. Well, the church benches are too hard. And, that choir sings way too loud. Boy, you know how nervous you get when you're sitting in a great big crowd. The doctor told you, "Now, you better watch them crowds. They'll set you back." But, you go to that old ball game because you say "it helps you to relax." Well, a headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night. But by worktime Monday morning, you're feeling quite alright. While one of the children has a cold, "Pneumonia, do you suppose?" Why the whole family had to stay home, just to blow that poor kid's nose. Well, the preacher he's too young. And, maybe he's too old. The sermons they're not hard enough. And, maybe they're too bold. His voice is much too quiet-like. Sometimes he gets too loud. He needs to have more dignity. Or, else he's way too proud. Well, the sermons they're too long. And, maybe they're too short. He ought to preach the word with dignity instead of "stomp and snort." Well, that preacher we've got must be "the world's most stuck up man." Well, one of the lady's told me the other day, "Well, he didn't even shake my hand." Exodus 4:1Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” 2Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. Our society, in general, and the church in particular, has become deluded with impressions of insignificance. A rising crime rate, erection of walls of hate, the lapsing of integrity, and the drift into moral decadence. These are the seeds that give rise to an indifferent and cynical generation that say’s society is riding a fast train to hell and the tracks have been greased, and I cannot do a thing about it. Moses was such a man: • saved from abortion at birth • fed the best food • educated by the best and most learned teachers in the land • he wore the best clothes • he was trained in the skills of combat • he was given every benefit, every opportunity And, yet when he tried, he failed and he ran. 40 yrs. Egypt - 40 yrs. shepherd - 40 yrs. Hey, Moses, now that you’ve learned. (Learned what?) In the mathematical equation of the universe “God is the only figure that really counts.” Without Him we are incomplete, but with Him there is nothing we can not complete. The Apostle Paul said to the church at Philippi 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength Exodus 4. What is in your hand Moses? Just a staff (staff-snake), (staff stirs waters into blood), (staff divides the Red Sea), (Staff - water from a rock), (staff- Exodus 17:9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” the staff of God When it belonged to Moses it was good for leaning on and poking sheep, but when Moses gave it to God it became much more. I can not do much. I am not gifted with talents or abilities. God is not looking at your ability, He is looking for your availability. I Cor. 1:26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. I love the story in the New Testament Bible book of Acts that describes an encounter the disciples Peter and John had with the Pharisee’s. Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Numbers 17:1-8 The Budding of Aaron's Staff 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. 3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. 4 Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites." 6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them. 7 Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony. 8 The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Aaron’s staff flowered. God made a dead piece of wood spring to life, blossom, and even produce fruit. And He will do the same for you. Let God give life to your dead dreams. Andrew’s attitude (John 6) Jesus feeds five thousand. Lad with 5 loaves and 2 small fishes. What is this little bit when the need is so great? Jesus took the 5 loaves and 2 fishes and fed 5,000 We are all about to enter a teaching moment. God does not want or need what you don’t have. He’s already got it. What He wants is what you have. Not a follower of Christ? He wants your expression of faith in Him. Jesus I have sinned. Forgive me. Come into my life. Are you already a follower of Christ? He wants that part of you that you consider insignificant, that part you’ve held back. If it’s a stick. If it’s a loaf of bread. If it’s a fish. Time Talents Treasures Illustration. The story is told of little Joey - a boy born with club feet. The doctors had assured his parents that he would walk normally with treatment, but that he would never be able to run well. But the parents never told Joey this. Day after day he would join with the other kids, and try to run and play with them. Eventually, in 7th grade he even tried out for the cross country team, and made it. What was the reason the parents gave for Joey’s success? “We never told him he couldn’t do it.” Dr. Amos Henry: (“You can push a pound.) Stop making excuses about what you don’t have and give God what you have Sunday, March 14. 2010Promise/Plague
Sunday mornings The Secret to Success #4 March 14th 2010
Promise/Plague Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven We have been looking at the keys to unlocking the Abundance that God has for us. 1. The first and most important key is our Priorities. Decide what is most important in your life. Matthew 6:33 seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 2. The second key is Persistence. Persistence declares that our initial action must be repeated. We must develop a pattern of behavior. Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 3. The third Key is Perseverance. Over time our repeated efforts are not just added to each other but are actually multiplied. Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Which key is most important? I believe that all of them are necessary to find success. Its an equation. Your question is like asking if 2+2=4 which number or symbol is the most important? Which one of them can you do without? NONE; THEY ARE ALL NECESSARY Today I want to share the 4th key to achieving your Success. 4. The fourth Key is Promise or Plague “Well, make up your mind. Which is it, pastor?” That is entirely up to you and me. God has given us the responsibility to choose which we will have in my life. God said in Duet. 28:2 2All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God. Joshua said in Joshua 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Elijah said in I Kings 18:21Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” Today in your hearing I say Choose. Claim the promises not the plagues. Choose the Abundance of God’s blessing not it’s Absence. Live in His wealth and not in the Devils Want. Drink deeply from the springs of His abundance, Place yourselves directly under the windows of heaven under the spout where the glory comes out. Psalms 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. The formula for success is; Right Decisions, Made Repeatedly, Over Time, = Success But how do you do this? How do you make the move from setting in a church service like this to applying these principles in the real world in which you and I have to live? Remember the 3 contributing factors in obtaining our Abundance 1. What We Do. 2. Blessing Ground. 3. God’s Supernatural Intervention. #2 has been predetermined by God, set in the Bible #3 is at God’s discretion, but #1 is left up to you and me. John 13:17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Romans 4:17b The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Visualize it I’ve got to see it. Verbalize it I’ve got to talk about it. Vitalize it I’ve got to do what I can to give it life by working on it with all my abilities 2 Qualifying verses to consider James 4:2b “You do not have, because you do not ask God.” and 3 “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” And now the how to…. Visualize it Write it down Physical need Financial need Spiritual need Relationship need Verbalize it Talk to God (and others) about it. Vitalize it Work on it with all your abilities. John 13:17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. When will you be blessed, when you know or do? When you Do James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. Promise or Plague Sunday, March 07. 2010Don't give up!
Thank God for good things, and one of them is the weather. I am looking forward to a good day, a good week, and good weather. Look at the 3rd in my sermon series from sunday morning Persevernce. Next sunday will be the last in this series. I hope you have found it helpful I have. You might want to listen to sunday nites sermon on the Cross. Sorry no notes available.
Bob Sunday, March 07. 2010Perseverence
Sunday Mornings The Secrets to your Success #3 March 7, 2010
The Key’s to your Abundance (Perseverance) Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven Over the last few weeks we looked at 2 of the four keys to unlocking the Abundance that God wants to give us. The first key Priorities emphasized the importance of discovering and doing what was most important in our lives while the second key Persistence declared that our initial action must be repeated. Today I want to share the third key it is the key of Perseverance. Perseverance while similar to Persistence continues our initial repeated action over an extended amount of time. The formula for success is; Right Decisions, Made Repeatedly, Over Time, = Success Right Decisions (Priorities) Made Repeatedly (Persistence) Over Time = (Perseverance) Key verses: Priorities = Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Persistence = Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? Perseverance = Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Keep on Keeping on! The Bibles poster child for Perseverance was Joseph. Joseph’s story begins in chapter 37 and concludes in the last chapter 50 of Genesis the first book of the Bible. He was one of 12 sons’ of Jacob and his life’s journey took him from tending his father’s sheep to being the personal assistant to Pharaoh. He made it because he had stick-toit-iveness. How you spell that is up to you. He hung on, he kept at it, he didn’t give up, he didn’t quit. You get the idea. 1. He persevered against a troubled background Genesis 37:8 Genesis 37:8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 2. He persevered against the temptation of moral impurity Genesis 39:6-20 Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 11One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. 13When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 16She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.” 19When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. 3. He persevered against temporary setbacks His father’s favorite/ sold into slavery by his brothers. Top man in Potiphars house/ falsely accused Interprets the dreams of the baker and the cupbearer/ forgotten 4. He persevered against the temptation of success Genesis 50:18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 19But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. How does Perseverance affect the 5 important steps to seeking God’s Kingdom? 1. Church Attendance Perseverance Builds us and the Church. I am trying my best needs improvement 2. Bible Study Perseverance increases our level of understanding and our ability to stay the course and help others. I am trying my best needs improvement 3. Prayer Perseverance helps us to pray through on the difficult matters of life and it empowers us and our level of trust. I am doing my best needs improvement 4. Tithes and Offerings Perseverance develops our level of trust, determines our return, and helps fulfill God’s mission to the world. I am trying my best needs improvement 5 Christian Conduct Perseverance helps develop good character and is a positive witness to the people around us. I am trying my best needs improvement 1. What We Do. 2. Blessing Ground. 3. God’s Supernatural Intervention. Monday, March 01. 2010Once is not enough.
Had a great week-end. Dinner with about 30 church folks at Coach Pruett's Steak house and then a great crowd on sunday morning. If you are looking for some follow-up thoughts to last week read the sermon below about persistance. Have a great week.
Bob Sunday, February 28. 2010Persistence
Sunday Mornings The Secrets to your Success #2 February 28th 2010
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. The formula for success is; Right Decisions, Made Repeatedly, Over Time, = Success Right Decisions (Priorities) Made Repeatedly (Persistence) Last week we discussed the first and most important secret to your success and that was Putting God in His place by making Him the first in your Priorities. Today I want to share the another ingredient to unlocking the blessing that God wants you to possess. The second secret is Persistence. The first key Priorities emphasized the importance of discovering and doing what was most important in our lives while the second key Persistence declares that our initial action must be repeated. Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? To often we start out well but our effort is short lived. I believe that in order to know and experience the full measure of the blessing that God we must not only get our priorities strait, we must keep them strait. A Question: Am I counting on a one time action, (an event) Or are am I developing a lifestyle pattern, (The way I do life). While it is essential to begin doing what is right it is also absolutely necessary to continue on in those action until they become a part of our daily lives. Illus. Climbing a nearby mountain to Heaven. “I’m going to climb this mountain all the way to Heaven.” 200’ I’m on my way, 500’, 750’ I’m on my way “ “ 1000’ top Where’s Heaven? It was a good start it just didn’t go far enough. Lose weight. Start tomorrow morning at breakfast with a yogurt, but by mid-morning you start eating Krispee Kreeme donuts. Where’s the weight loss? It was a good start it just didn’t go far enough. I could go on, but you get the idea. Last week I told you that there are 3 contributing factors in obtaining the success that God has for each of us they were: 1. What We Do. 2. Blessing Ground. 3. God’s Supernatural Intervention. #2 has been predetermined by God, set in the Bible #3 is at God’s discretion, but #1 is left up to you and me. Well how does this play out in real life? How do I move form making a decision about what is most important (my priorities) in my life and initiating an action to repeating that action until it becomes a part of who I am? Right Decisions (Priorities), Made Repeatedly (Persistence) Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 5 important steps to seeking God’s Kingdom 1. Church Attendance Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Question What do you get from church? Fellowship, direction, purpose, opportunity to serve and be served, accountability and shared worship. Actions Sunday School Morning Worship Evening Worship Week day Wednesday nite circle what you do regularly I am trying my best needs improvement 2. Bible Study II Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Bible is a road map for this life. It is GPS God’s Positioning System for daily living You and I have never been this way before. God has some good advise, Take him up on it. Actions Daily Devotions Sunday School organized Bible study circle what you do regularly I am trying my best needs improvement 3. Prayer Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. There is an old saying that say’s, “Prayer Changes Things” And the very first thing it changes is me. When I begin to talk to God don’t be surprised if He just doesn’t start talking back to you a little bit. Listen to what He has to say He just might offer a few course corrections. Follow His leading. I Thess. 5:17 Pray continually Make a prayer list of 30 things and spend 30 seconds on each one every day. Start with yourself and expand it to others. Galatians 6:19 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up We need to pray as though everything depended on God and work as though everything depended on us. . Action: Daily once a week crisis circle the ones you do regularly I am doing my best needs improvement 4. Tithes and Offerings Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Action: Tithes, Offerings, Weekly every now and then once a year never circle what you do regularly I am trying my best needs improvement 5 Christian Conduct Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Our society has become exceptionally good at compartmentalizing our daily lives. We live by one set of standards on Sunday at church and another when we are at home or work or play. What face do you wear at: Sports/Work/Home/with Friends? If your religion is based upon the current circumstances then you are at the mercy of whatever is going on around you. God wants to give you victory over your circumstances so that you can be the same person every hour of the day 7 days a week. Pastor, you don’t know my situation, the circumstances are just to overwhelming. Your right but there is nothing that you will ever face that will be bigger then God. I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. So let me ask you again, How are you, Sports/Work/Home/with Friends? Action: circle what you do regularly I am trying my best needs improvement Sunday, February 21. 2010Putting God in His Place
Sunday Mornings February 21st 2010
Last Monday I began the assent to the top of a small mountain located behind a church in Phoenix. It’s a little over 2100 to the top and there are no landscaped trails so you have to make your way up over craggy and loose shale rock. The mountain has been dubbed prayer mountain because people from around the world climb it to spend time in prayer. I climbed the mountain a year earlier when I was in the area but decided to take a different route to the top because it looked less steep, let me tell you looks can be deceiving. I started about noon and soon found that the route I had chosen was very precarious and I could just imagine myself stuck half way up and no one around to help so I started my praying earlier then I expected. I finally arrived at the top about 30 minutes later having stopped at least a dozen times to catch my breath and determine where I should place my feet. Settling down on a large bolder on the top, the view was spectacular. I could see for miles in every direction, my vision only limited by the surrounding much higher mountain ranges. For the next couple of hours I read from my Bible and wrote down notes of my time with God. God was in that place. What place does God hold in your life? I believe that we will be blessed and find good success when we give God first place in our lives…. Let’s Pray together. The Secrets to success Deuteronomy 28 1If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 13The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. # 1 The Secret of Putting God in His Place Giving God first place in our lives means He is our # 1 Priority = arraigned by order of importance We each only have 24 hours in a day. Only 7 days in a week. So how do we use them? Whether we will admit it to ourselves or not, we each do what we want to do. We find the time to do the things that are the most important to us. AND in so doing we prioritize our lives. We all want what is best for us and so does Go Paul said, “God will meet all your needs” Philippians 4:19 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;” Matthew 16:19 Did God say in Duet. 28 3 “You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 6You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 13The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Do you want to be blessed by God? Are God’s promises of abundance and blessing automatic and without condition? Deuteronomy 28 1If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: Matthew 6:33 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Now let me ask you again. Are God’s promises of abundance and blessing automatic and without condition? Yes No Before you can receive God’s blessing you must be on Blessing Ground. First we need to define reality. What are my Priorities? What gets my first time, my energy, and my recourses? On a scale of 1-5 with 1= most important & 5 the least important rate what gets your time, energy, and recourses. _ Family _ God _ Job/Career _ Pleasure _ Self All of these things are important, but to receive God’s blessing God must be the most important. Let me ask you again. Do you want to be blessed by God? Yes No circle one Then who must be first place in your life? Why have we moved away from blessing ground? Option oriented We don’t want to commit. We have a shot gun approach to life. We need to nail it down. Drive in the stake and commit ourselves. Paul said, “This one thing I do”, not these many things I dabble in. How do we seek first the Kingdom of God? 3 factors in our Blessing 1. What we do 2. Blessing Ground 3. God’s supernatural involvement Our part is to maneuver ourselves toward blessing ground and let God do the rest. Start at the beginning Have you been born again? John 3:3 “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” I’ve heard all this before. But are you doing it? Hearers and doers Rate yourself circle one I have asked for forgiveness of my sins and accepted Christ as Savior. Going to Church My best needs improvement Studying the Bible My best needs improvement Praying My best needs improvement Giving Tithes and Offerings to God My best needs improvement What are you going to do? Saturday, January 30. 2010A brand new day
Follow my notes and ask God to help you understand don't be like the disciples who saw the miricles and were still ignorant. You might want to listen to the audio of the message as I illaborated a little but then thats what preachers do don't we? God bless and thanks for reading.
Bob Saturday, January 30. 2010How Much is Enough?
Sunday Mornings How Much is Enough? January 31st 2010
As we wrap up this series on Handling Money God’s Way I want to accomplish 4 things: 1. To encourage you. If you are handling your money well I want to encourage you to keep it up. If you have not been handling your money well I want to encourage you to start doing so. 2. I would like to make order out of confusion. It is not rocket science. After all you can only do about 5 things with money and I want to share those things with you in a moment. 3. Recognize that men & women’s views about money are different. Illus. A teacher was teaching French to her class and said that all nouns are either male or female. A student ask which the word computer was and the dictionary did not say, so the teacher divided the class male and female and gave them the assignment to determine which it should be male or female. The men said it should be female because 1. Only there creator understands their internal logic. 2. The language that they use to communicate with each other is incomprehensible to the rest of the world. 3. Even the smallest mistake is stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval. 4. Once you spend your money on one you find yourself spending the rest of your money on accessories. The women said no there are some reasons why computer should be male. 1.In order to get their attention you have to turn them on. 2. They have a lot of data but they are clueless. 3. They are supposed to help you solve the problem but most of the time they are the problem. 4. You find out after you buy one that if you had just waited a little longer you could have gotten a better model. In 80% of marriages that end in divorce money is given as a reason. 4. I want to challenge your belief system. Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We each have 3 choices: 1. Where is your treasure? For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. You and I can chose where our heart is going to be by where we place our treasures. We get to make the choice. 2. Where is my truth system going to come from?Matthew 6:22-23 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Where is my truth system going to come from? Is it going to come from the world that say’s, “You only go around once in life get all the gusto you can. You want it, you deserve it.” The average American family has 12 credit cards and the average unpaid debt is around $18,000. %0% of Americans spend more then they make every year. The world say’s one thing and God’s word say’s something else. And right now you and I have a choice which will we chose to believe? 2. Who are you going to serve? Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Notice it does not say its real hard to serve two masters…. It says you can not serve two masters. This area of stewardship is one area of your Christian life that you can not fake because your checkbook reveals your true feelings. Let me move on to 5 thoughts about money: 1. The Paradox of Prosperity. In America we are the most wealthy people the world has ever seen. 40% of the worlds wealth is located here and only 4% of the worlds population. And yet 50 million families are in great debt living from pay check to pay check… On the one hand the greatest prosperity and on the other people who are living in bondage financially. And not only bondage financially but they believe a lie.. The lie, “If I have more I will be ok.” When Cindy and I started in our first Pastorate 34 years ago we lived trailer that was 50’ by 10’ and made $40 a week. We now live in a 2500 sq. ft house, have raised 2 kids and own 2 cars and a dog and a host of other things and here’s the question, “Has our life gotten more complex? Yes. And here is the paradox. The more you have the less freedom you have. Having more is not the answer to financial freedom. The answer to financial freedom is knowing that God really owns it all and He has given us some of His stuff to use for a while and learning how to handle what we have been entrusted with. Holding it with an open hand. I lose my freedom when I begin to close my hand and hold on tight. Indecently He can’t put any more in when I am holding my hand closed. 2. My Perspective on the Economy. Economic uncertainty is certain and will continue to be so. So if your security is based on economic security you will always be insecure. I believe That The only True security is found in Biblical Wisdom. 3. If we live in economic uncertainty, How do we live in it? The answer is that we follow principles. Because principles transcend time and tax codes and policies. 1. Spend less then you earn. 2. Avoid debt. Do I need this or want this? 3. Build reserves in your financial situation. 4. Have some long term goals. That will work at any income level… You have now done everything you can to live in any insecure financial system. 5 things you can do with money 1. Pay taxes. 2. Give it away. 3. Repay your debt. 4. Spend it on yourself. 5. You can not spend it and save it. How much is enough? Illus. The fisherman seting beside his boat seen by a rich man. Mark 6:30-31 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." 1. Come away with the Lord and listen to Him What do you think God would have you do? Mark 6:32-34 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Have a plan but don’t be married to it. V: 35-36By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." Good advise but not God’s will V:37-44 But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" 38"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish." 39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42They all ate and were satisfied, 43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. How many trips did they make? How many times did they see the miracles? 12 baskets left He sends them and goes to them some time later. Why want God answer Me? A picture of the Christian life…. Hopelessness V:45 45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 51Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. 53When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed. John Wesley said there are three things that need to be converted. The heart, the mind and the pocket book Prayer Sunday, January 24. 2010Amounts and Accounts part 2
Sunday Nites Amounts and Accounts part 2 January 24, 2010
Giving to God is Serious it is Sacred and it is Scriptural it is Spiritual and finally Giving to God is: 3. Symbolic and Sacrificial When we give to God it is to be both symbolic and sacrificial. Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. It’s Relational First Fruits, The first check I write after I get paid each week is to The Huntington First Church of the Nazarene. Why? I want my God bill to be paid first. I don’t want to go through all my bills and say oops, “Sorry Lord there’s nothing left.” Why? Because I would rather try and negotiate with Sears or Penney’s then to negotiate with God. You see I give God my first because I like seconds. First fruits an agrarian society when I get my first orange, when I get my first grapes I say, “Lord I have been praying and you have sent rain and sunshine and I have this the first of my crops and now its mine?? No its yours Lord. Why would you do that? Because it is an act of faith that when you give to God your 1st you can trust Him for 2nd and 3rd and 4th It is symbolic because I believe that He is my provider and it is Sacrificial because 10% is the same for you as it is for me. Its not equal giving, Its equal sacrifice. Every scripture so far has been out of the Old Testament. Remember that was for the Jews I am not under the Law. We are under the Love of Christ. Let me ask you a question, “Do you think that the Law will be greater then the Love demonstrated in the New Testament? No the Love of Christ is far greater. So now that we are under love can we just reach in our bag and only give God 3 pieces back? The difference between an O.T. tither and a N.T. tither is that the O.T. tither had to give and N.T. tither wants to give. The O.T. giver said, “Lord the tithe is yours. The N.T. tither says, “Lord its all yours.” If you want me to teach a Sunday school class, if you want me to work with the homeless, Whatever I have, its all yours Lord. I hope you see that heart in Me. When I look at the Bible I do not see anywhere that God has said forget the tithe but in the N.T. I can show you where God has said that He wants us to give more. More! I can’t even afford the O.T. standard…. Lets move on to some other teaching. Not until I give you the heart of God revealed in the N.T. 2 final points: I Corinthians 16:1 1Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatians churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 1. Our giving should be regular and proportionate Our consistency with God will demonstrate our relationship with God. I would submit to you that if you give to God when its convenient or when you feel like it. You will also serve Him when its convenient and when you feel like it. And when you start giving to Him more regularly you will find that you will start serving Him more regularly because as the Bible says where your treasurers are there your heart will also be. If I looked at your check book and I see $300 to Dicks sporting Goods for a new set of golf clubs I know where your heart is because you treasure has gone there. If I see $300 to Macy’s for clothes then I know where your heart is because I see where your treasure has gone. Where my money goes, my mind goes. 2. Our giving should be generous and voluntary II Corinthians 9:6-7 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. If later on this week you are talking to your kids and say, “Sorry I can’t buy you that new I-Phone you want because the Pastor is on this kick about tithing, something he got out of the book of Leviathan or something so God’s got my money and don’t ask for anything for a long time because I have to pay back some back tithe so that God can have His way with me. Hey, Keep it. Don’t give it grudgingly. It needs to be given generously and voluntarily. No obligation, no trickery, no scams. There is a church in Fla. That does lotto tithing. They put every bodies check into a wire basket give it a couple of spins and if they pull yours out you get back 10 times what your check was for. Pretty neat idea.. next week… no we are not going to do that here at Huntington first church of the Nazarene. Why not? Because ewe are not going to use carnal means to serve a spiritual purpose. We are going to teach the word and we are going to do what it says. I’m not going to work you and I am not going to plead. Unlike the O.T. giver the N.T. giver is not policed with people showing up at your door saying pay up. It is voluntary.. And the good news is you get a double blessing.. What do I mean by that? If you give you get to see the benefits here and now but when you die you will be rewarded again by what you gave here. Philippians 4:15-17 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. Credited to your account. Its not my account, Its your account. Matthew 6:19-20 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Look at this when you die and we meet in heaven you say “Hey Bob thanks for what you taught me concerning giving because of what you said I gave and I have all this because you were faithful to teach me the word. As opposed to “Hey, you Knuckle head I got nothing because you never told me what the word said about giving.” I don’t want you to have to be woken up late some night by an angel that scares the life out of you and say’s wake up you scrooge. makes you wake up the next morning and buying a turkey for tiny Tim’s family. I want you to be in the place where God can fully Bless you. PRAYER Sunday, January 24. 2010Amounts and Accounts
Sunday Mornings Amounts and Accounts January 24th 2010
Prayer: Have you ask yourself through this series, What is God’s interest in my income? Or what percentage is actually His part? I am convinced that we all need to have a structure for spending, we all need a standard for sharing and we all need guidelines for giving. I believe that we have to have….Have to have…..Yes have to have because having a structure, having a standard, having guidelines will quite the voices we hear…. Pastor you hear voices? … Well sure, Don’t you? We all spend everyday. And when we reach into our pocket to get that green or our wallet to get that card there is a voice that say’s do I really need this. And then choices: For lunch today: Is it going to be McDonalds or Chili’s? For clothes: Is it going to be Kohl’s or Macy’s? If it’s groceries: Is it going to be Kroger’s brand ice cream or Haagen Dazs? We need an answer. We need some direction because we would all like to spend without feeling guilty. We would all like to save without feeling greedy. We would all like to share without feeling stingy. But how do we do that? One word…. Drum role please… Here it is the one word… Tithe Tithe I can not believe you said that. Tithe tithe tithe. Hey easy some of us don’t even know what a tithe is. 1/10th Leviticus 27:30-34 " 'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod—will be holy to the LORD. 33 He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.' " 34 These are the commands the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. This was God’s requirement for the Jew’s, If you were in relationship with God you had to give this to the Lord. This act would reveal your relationship to Him. This one word,,, Tithe It would prove your love to His purpose. It would test your obedience to His commands for your life. He would also give your directions for a loan and repayment plan back to Him. Giving to God is: 1. Serious and Sacred That 1/10th of the Jewish persons income was Holy. Holy means separate, different, unique, out of the ordinary. God would gift to the Jew 100% and then command back 10%. Wait a minute He gives it to you and its mine and then He say’s give me back 10%. If you wanted to teach your children generosity how would you do it? Illus. A bag of Candy. I am giving all of these to you. Thanks Now give me back 10. No wait you said they were mine, I’m not giving you any back. O really.. Yeah! After you just said that you gave them all to me why would you ask for 10 of them back? Because I wanted to see your attitude. If I had given you the 90 and kept 10 then I would never have an opportunity to have this conversation with you about your attitude. My asking back opens up the door to talk with you about this. So how does the Body of Christ behave? Statistically 1/3rd gets our bag of candy and say’s Mine…All mine and you don’t get any of it. 1/3rd How much did you say you wanted 10? No you get 1.Now I love you very very much and thank you for Jesus and the cross but here’s what you get…1 There’s another group that say’s wow you want 10 Pastor this is the 3rd sermon on this subject well you may want 10 but your getting 5 now I hope your happy so get off my back and go to the book of Revelation. And then there’s another group that say’s Wow let me get this right, you gave me 100 and you want 10 back as a test. Hey if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have any so 10, I’ll give you 15 hey I’ll give you back 50 because without you I got nothing. Hey pastor you are not suggesting are you that we all give 50% are you? Hey, I’m just wandering what you would do if He ask. This is serious to God and He wants you to demonstrate an attitude that doesn’t even have to think about it, you just give it back. Look at v:33 He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.' How did this work? The priest counts out 1-10 and the 10th one belongs to the Lord. The shepherd was not to argue the point. If he takes the 10th one he must pay it back plus another animal. What!! We don’t mind borrowing God’s money and giving it to pay our Master card bill at 18% and some of you will forget to pay back the original 10% let alone the interest you owe. Well this is mine and I am keeping it. And God is saying you miss the point. My point here is not that I not trying to raise money. My point is that I am trying to raise a family that is generous kind hearted and cares about the needs of others. This is money that is not to be used for McDonalds and credit card bills. You see this 10% is Holy money.. Holy money, What is that? I am a Holy God, you are a Holy people, this place that you have dedicated to me is a Holy house where we do Holy things and this tithe is to be set aside to accomplish those Holy things. What Holy things? Giving to God is: 2. Scriptural and Spiritual Deuteronomy 14:22-23 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. Honor and Respect Our income is used as an expression of the honor and respect we demonstrate to those we have a relationship with. Example: When Cindy and I were dating I did not have a car. I saved my money from my job, bought her a pumpkin, a birthday card, and a present and called a taxi to take me and my offerings the 6 miles to her house to give them to her on her 16th birthday. 34 years later I took her out to dinner and handed her another card that said I love you have fun and the card had 10 one hundred dollar bills in it. WOW! You know what your right… Because when it comes to my love relationship to my wife, “There aint no mountain high enough, aint no valley low enough to keep me away from you babe”. Do you see what I’m saying here? When you love somebody money is one of the means of showing how much you care for somebody. You are saying I really really care… God say’s “If you really honor me, I will see that in your tithe.” Malachi 1:6-8 6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' 7 "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty. See what God is saying here? He ask, “Why is it that when you people give to me it is not from your first it is always the last? It is not the best it is always the worst. And this seems to be a part of our human nature, doesn’t it? Or a clothing drive and we look in our closet and say man I will never wear that, that’s the one that goes to God. Or like my missionary friend from the Philippines who open a box from the States to find a box of used tea bags. When we have a can drive for food how many of us go to our pantry and find that can of okra and black olives that have been there for who knows how long. If the Governor of the WV came to your house would you feed him okra and black olives? Then why are you serving it to me? “O God I am not serving it to you, I am giving it to the poor people.” And God say’s, Haven’t you ever read in my word that if you do it to the least of these you have done it unto me? Here’s the point we will do a whole lot of things for a whole lot of different people to show them how much we love and honor them but when it comes to God we show up to church and say, “I’m yours Lord, I love you and thank you for ever thing I am and have just try me Lord and see and God say’s I’d like 10% and we say, “Woe now that’s pretty heavy Lord.” Let me tell you what’s happening here. The truth is being revealed in your heart. It’s not like God has a need here. It’s not like He is saying, “We got to keep the ministry going here, without you 10% we’re going to have to close the doors. The sun won’t rise tomorrow unless I have your support, I’m going to have to lay off people and close down the earth unless I get your help.” Stop it Psalm 50:10-15 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, 15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." It’s relational. There are people that have held on to their bag of candy their whole life and God has showed them poor people that they could minister to and they said, “NO” He’s showed them opportunities to share and they said, “NO” and finally it slips from their hand and they find themselves in a chapter that is not found in the Bible its called Chapter 11. I have seen people that all of their lives they have lived high on the hog spending all that they had on their own desires and then in an instance it is strip away from them and they say to me, “Why did God allow this to happen to me? I’ve been a good person.” Based on What? Surely not your obedience to God. Malachi 3:8-9 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. A widow goes to the priest and say’s Help me but he can’t because no one has given. What you give or do not give affects many people. I am convinced that if the people of God would just tithe we would be able to do far more in our community and around the world then we are. Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. It is Serious it is Sacred and it is Scriptural it is Spiritual and finally it is: Symbolic and Sacrificial But more about that tonight. Monday, January 18. 2010Monday Morning
If you are looking for Attitudes II it's just below this entry. But I felt compelled to say something about the situation in Haiti especialy in lite of my recent teaching series on "Handling Money" Would you consider giving something to those hurting people? $10 is not very much to you but it could mean some clean water to drink for those who are thirsty. There are many good reputable charities out there, check them out and give something. If you are blessed in any way in your life please consider passing it on to someone else Today, you will not be sorry. As amatter of Biblical principle you will be blessed even more when you are a good steward. I am not preaching a gospel of prosperity, I am preaching what the word say's Luke 6:38. I do not know what your blessing will look like but If you give to other worthy causes out of a cheerful and thankful heart you will be blessed.
I pray God's richest blessing upon you and those you love, TODAY. Thanks for stopping by. Bob Monday, January 18. 2010It’s All About Attitudes #2
Sunday Nites It’s All About Attitudes #2 January 17th 2010
From the series “Handling Money God’s Way” Prayer You will remember that last Sunday morning I began this teaching with you about attitudes and introduced you to Bigger Barn Builder Bill. Tonight I want to share 2 of his friends with you. The Ritchie Rich crowd Luke 16:14-15 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. Brains It is detestable to God when you become so smart that you have no space in your brain for Him. Wealth They don’t need God. They can take care of things with out Him. These things can blind you and bind you. Looks She’s drop dead gorgeous. It’s not a matter of how you look it’s a matter of how you carry your looks. Strength Strength is not a bad thing, “I like the no neck guys around the church. Here’s the point these things are not bad but when they become so important that they blind yourself and others to the presence of God. Luke 16:19 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. Now wait don’t be to critical of this Rich guy because its easy for us to say well someone else, someone who has more money, someone who has more time, someone who has more skills, & God is saying you help him. Luke 10:30-36 30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' 36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" Here’s the question, “Are you prepared to meet Lazarus’ need?” I am not into that whole money thing, I just have enough to take care of me. You may not have an abundance that you are hoarding for yourself but neither are you willing to give out of the little you have. $10 to help those in Haiti that have lost everything but their lives is not so much to you and me but it can be life changing even saving to them. And why isn’t the Body of Christ willing to give to a need? Because we don’t get the law of reciprocity. We don’t get the fact that if we give to a worthy need God will give it back to us. So some of us are over here in the lack and others are over here in the lots but neither one of them is where God wants us to be. I want to be here in the middle where I can say I want go give, I want to be in the place of blessing. Blessing? Yes Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." But pastor I don’t have much. Give what you got. God does not ask you to give what you do not have. He wants you to give out of what you have. And why do I know that. Pharisaical Phil Luke 18:9-14 Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Here’s the lesson here, “Even if you do tithe, watch your attitude”. I tithe and I have stuff and am blessed and the reason is because I tithe so I am better then you.” I Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Lets not judge. 5 talents /2 Talents / 1 Talent Danny 5 Bob 2 Lets not judge others for what they have lets just take care of ourselves. Its all about the attitude. Prayer Lord help us to be good stewards with what we have and to enjoy it but to remember that it was you who gave it to us not to hoard, not to spend it all on ourselves, but to distribute it to the needs we see in our lives. Our own, others and o yes to give back to you and your work. Amen Sunday, January 10. 2010It’s All About Attitudes #1
Sunday Mornings It’s All About Attitudes #1 January 10th 2010
From the series “Handling Money God’s Way” I am you are Buyers, spenders, investors. I am you are Christians, believers, followers, disciples. And those facts will define the way we function in our daily lives. If I equate being a spender and being an investor and being a Christian it means that according to the Bible I am not just a spender but also a saver, not just a consumer but also a giver. If we follow the Biblical teachings when money is put into my hands I become a conduit for it’s distribution. The money in your hands and my hands, well it’s just a tool, an instrument, a device. It’s like water. Is it good or bad? Water if boundaries are in place can become the place where you and your family can enjoy yourself. But boundaries not in place will allow that same water to become the flood that can destroy property and destroy lives. But, the water is neither good or bad it’s just a tool. In the same way fire in a house’s fire place can provide warmth but let it get out of its defined place and it can cause all kinds of damage. The same can be said about money. Like water, like fire, like a baseball bat. One guy will hit a home run with it the next guy will strike out. But if you strike out do you blame the bat? Stupid bat, what’s wrong with this bat anyway? No…. it’s the person. Baseball bats and money are both a-moral but you and I are either Moral or immoral and based upon how we spend, how we save, how we share, Our expenses are an expression. I can determine a lot about you by the way you take dollars and dispense them. For it’s not all about dollars it’s about sense. Common sense, Scriptural sense, as we take the time to see how we manage our money and make sure that we are aware of the attitude we have about money. Here is something that I have noticed. In no other area of our Christian life do we have the attitude, “Well pastor this is kind of personal and when I want to give I will and I will use my own guidelines to determine just how much that is.” The truth of the matter is that on average only about 8% of people who attend church in America tithe consistently. Now a whole bunch of other folks give something sometimes but what would it be like if this same attitude was to drift into the rest of our daily lives. What if we only lived like Christians only when we felt like it. What about worship? Joey would say something like, “Hey we are going to worship now but if you don’t feel like it talk on your cell phone or text someone.” He wouldn’t do that. Why? Because it’s not a feel like it issue. The Bible say’s that we are to worship the Lord. What about prayer? Hey we are going to pray right now but I realize that prayer is a kind of personal issue so if you don’t want to every one else will but you just do something else. I would not say that because the Bible tells us to pray. Again why do we hand out Bibles? Why do we have Sunday school and small groups? It’s because studying God’s word is not just a feel like it thing we are told to study it. Our reputation in the community would be awful. No one would want to come here. The church leadership would say and rightly so to the Pastor you need to address this.. or you are out of here…. So why do we feel that we need to ignore this subject? We had better be careful. Because when it comes to Bible knowledge and application of that knowledge I am seeing people diverting from the center either way to the right or way to the left expressing radical extremes. You can turn on TV and watch programming where money is everything. They tout promises of prosperity and we are going to conquer the land because Jesus was rich and He wants you to be rich,,, OH REALLY?… And other ministries encourage you to vows of poverty.. Jesus didn’t have and He doesn’t want me to have because after all “Money is the root of all evil” so I am taking a vow of poverty. Same book same body with two completely different opinions. Some people want to be rich in the name of Jesus some people want to be poor in the name of Jesus. Pastor can you help me understand that? Yes I can and that is why we are tackling the subject, money is just a tool. With the same $20 you could buy a bottle of booze or you could buy a box of Bibles. It’s a matter of what you do with it. So let me ask you, How are you spending it? How are you sharing it? How are you saving it? There’s the Materialistic Christian on one side and the Ascetic Christian on the other. Wikipedia, Materialistic as a person who is markedly more concerned with material things (such as money and possessions) rather than spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals No matter if you are on this side Asceticism “I don’t care about money” or this side “I care about money, I want all of it I can get”. Neither is taught in scripture as being the model that you and I are to follow. Well then pastor what is our position as far as money, & its management? I Timothy 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. When John D. Rockefeller died, one man was curious about how much he left behind. Determined to find out, he set up an appointment with one of Rockefeller's highest aides and asked, “How much did Rockefeller leave behind?” The aide answered, “All of it.” So if you can not take it with you, then what you do with it while you are here is very important. You and I will live a certain number of years and the gifts and resources that we have been given and how we used them are all being recorded and as we learned last week, one day we will all have to give an account of them to God. So we need to be careful or sinful attitudes may slip in. Its one thing to walk into the room with the I have attitude “Look at me and what I have” It’s another thing to walk in with the I have nothing attitude “Look at me I’m so holy because I have nothing” The result is the body of Christ has been polarized. I want to look at 3 key characters here: Bigger barn builder Bill, Ritchie Rich and Pharisaical Phil. I Timothy 6:8 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Well what kind of a person is going to be content? The have not’s? I want more…. The haves a lot? I want more. Well then who can be content? Look at I Timothy 6:9-11 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Another translation says to run. Luke 12:13-15 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Those who die with the most toys Does Not Win because our life is more then the things we accumulate. Well pastor, when I have enough. “How much is enough? The best things in your life are not the things that you have purchased. Grace, peace, friendship, the love of your spouse and children. Paul McCartney had it right with the song “Can’t Buy me Love” Luke 12:16-21And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." Think about this for a moment… That nice car you have, that home you live in, that really nice gun you saved up for. You really like that don’t you.. Well some day those things are going to belong to someone else. One day guys you are going to die and your wife is going to put out the gun in a yard sale, she’s going to give that car to your grandson and that house is going to be to big for her so its going to be sold to someone else just like it was sold to you. And you have no control over it… Bigger Barn Builder Bill. He has been blessed but he has kept it all for himself he is assuming on the grace of God for tomorrow. Maybe you are saying “Well you know pastor I don’t have much now but one day I will and when my ship comes in then I will give” Luke 16:1012 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? How are you with what you have? If you are not generous with the little you have Why do you assume that you will be more generous when you get more? Cindy and I are in our 35th year of pastoring. We are nearing our 10th anniversary of ministering here at Huntington First and during these past 9 ½ years we have always been in the top 10 largest givers to this church. This last year we were the 7th largest giver. That is not to brag but to point out this fact to you. That pattern of consistent giving didn’t start when we got to pastor a large church with a good salary, it started 35 yrs ago when we were called to a small church of 35 people and a salary of $40 a week. The issue is not that Big Barn Builder Bill had a lot, its what he did with what he had. But What about the guy who doesn’t have anything? The first guy thinks he’s special because he’s been blessed and the guy with nothing thinks he’s holy because he has nothing. Colossians 2:23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Well pastor I am not into money I have taken a vow of poverty. How much have you impacted the world for Christ with that philosophy? Well I give my time. Poor man you need to give your time and your money. Rich man you need to give your money and your time. You see I see Jesus walking among both camps. Joseph of Aramathea on the other hand he hung out with some poor people, John the Baptist lived in the woods, but right in the middle Jesus found a home where he liked to hang out the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. But he felt comfortable with the rich man and the poor man He was brother to all. When we come through those double doors we strip ourselves of our secular status and we become brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. The Bible says in James who are you to judge your neighbor? We have a tendency in the body of Christ to pay more attention to how other people spend their money then how we spend our money and that’s one of the reasons that it is such a sensitive subject. Remember this as with everything else in this life, “It is you attitude, not your aptitude, that will determine your altitude or just how far you will go in this life. We will continue this and look at the other two characters: Richie Rich and Pharasaical Phil when we are together again. Prayer Monday, January 04. 2010Handling Money, God's Way
Good New Year to You.
If you are looking for my thot's on Handling Money this coming year then look at my sermon note entries for the 3rd of January. These are some thoughts I gleaned from Bob Coy a great pastor Writer from south Florida where it is warmer then it is here today. I have really enjoyed researching the subject of Biblical stewardship and plan to continue the teaching throughout the month of July. So return each Monday morning to see what's new or stop by on sunday morning or evening at 321 30th st here in huntington and here it live. Have a great week and may God Richly Bless you and those you Love. Bob |
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